Feed made from food wastewater spurs hopes of cheaper fish

Fish on your dinner table could one day be produced more sustainably - and possibly more affordably as scientists in Singapore have found a way to create fish food from food processing wastewater.

- Ariel Yu

Farmed fish such as Asian sea bass are typically fed fishmeal pellets made from powderised wild-caught fish that has been cooked.

But fishmeal is expensive and unsustainable, as it contributes to overfishing at sea.

The alternative - feeding fish with expired bread and baked goods, a common practice at traditional fish farms in ponds or rivers - pollutes saltwater environments and leads to lower oxygen levels in the water.

"And so the idea is to find a sustainable source of protein in the feed, so that the aquaculture industry can grow," said Professor Stefan Wuertz, lead investigator of a study published in the journal Scientific Reports in January.