Soy, Barley & Beer Show Promise in Fish Feed

Issue # 56 Aquaponics Journal www.aquaponicsjournal.com 1st qtr, 2010

Soy,Soy, BarleyBarley && BeerBeer ShowShow PromisePromise inin FishFish FeedFeed

By Rebecca Nelson

One of the primary concerns and expenses in the aquaculture and aquaponics industries is the use of The OSU team working on this project has three main fish meal as the protein source in commercially objectives: to determine if genetically improved yel- manufactured fish food. Millions of tons of fish are low perch reared on soybean meal-based diets per- removed from the oceans each year to feed fish and form just as well as those on fish meal diets and as- other farmed animals. New developments are al- sess whether sufficient genetic variation exists for se- lowing fish food manufacturers to look to and util- lective breeding; determine if soybean meal-based ize other sources for protein. diets are suitable for spot fin shiners, a popular bait- fish; and develop and implement educational pro- Research into soy, barley and beer (actually, the grams and promotional materials designed to promote sludge that results from the beer brewing process) the growth of the aquaculture industry in Ohio. is demonstrating that viable alternatives to fish meal are becoming available. Wang is confident that the chosen aquaculture species Soy will perform well with soybean meal-based diets Ohio State University aquaculturists with OSU through genetic improvement. The final step is dis- South Centers at Piketon, Ohio are exploring the seminating the information to Ohio fish farmers. Re- feasibility of using soybeans as an alternative to searchers plan to educate soybean and fish farmers fishmeal, and plan to test the new fish food product and other stakeholders on incorporating an agricul- on yellow perch. The project is supported by a one tural product into the aquaculture industry. Ohio’s -year $50,000 Ohio Soybean Council grant, with aquaculture industry has exploded over the past dec- the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development ade, increasing from $1.8 million in 1997 to $6.6 mil- Center providing a $50,000 match. lion in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Ag- riculture. If successful, soy-based fishmeal and soybean oil would be an answer to declining fishmeal produc- Barley tion, said Han-Ping Wang, director of the Ohio Agricultural Research Service Aquaculture Research and Development Integration (ARS) scientists and Montana Program, and the university’s principal investiga- Microbial Products (MMP) of tor. Butte, Mont., have developed a barley protein concentrate “The aquaculture industry demands 25 percent of that could be fed to trout and the global fishmeal supply and 36 percent of the other commercially produced global fish oil supply, but fishmeal production is fish. decreasing because of the decline of ocean fish used to make the product,” said Wang. “As a result, Physiologist Rick Barrows at the ARS Small Grains we see a great potential for us to use soybeans as a and Potato Germplasm Research Unit in Aberdeen, 20 replacement due to its high protein content.” Idaho, teamed with MMP to apply for a patent on a Issue # 56 Aquaponics Journal www.aquaponicsjournal.com 1st qtr, 2020

new enzymatic method that concentrates Beer Sludge barley protein and produces raw material Biologist Andrew Logan, for another valuable commodity—ethanol. Idaho Springs, Colorado, is This process provides a high-protein ingre- turning waste from brewer- dient that may replace other, more expen- ies into food for farmed fish. sive protein sources like fishmeal and soy His company, Oberon FMR, protein concentrate in commercial fish feed. spent a decade refining a proprietary mixture of mi- Currently there is no commercial produc- crobes trained to eat food- tion of barley protein concentrate, but MMP based wastewater. When is producing small quantities for fish- dried, the bacteria become high-protein flakes for the feeding studies with trout, salmon and other booming $100 billion aquaculture industry. species. MMP projects that the concentrate will sell for $700 to $1,200 per ton. Since By law, breweries and foodmakers must find safe removal fishmeal costs about $1,200 per ton, the solutions for wastewater; hauling it away and composting it projected costs of barley protein concen- (or, in winter, storing it) can cost up to $3 million a year. trate compare favorably. Now Oberon takes it off companies' hands for free. With 65 million tons of seafood farmed for human consumption Feeding trials conducted by the Aberdeen annually, fish farms are growing by an average of 9% a researchers and MMP show that barley pro- year and need a new kind of premium feed. tein concentrate successfully replaced both fishmeal and soy protein concentrates in Logan and classmate Seth Terry read a book that suggested fish feed, meeting the fishes’ protein re- creating protein from modified bacteria, and Oberon was quirements. Barrows and other researchers born. The pair tried feeding their product to tilapia, then in the ARS unit also are examining the ge- took it to the salmon in Norway. A 16-month pilot project netics of barley to modify the grain for im- at Colorado's New Belgium brewery (makers of Fat Tire proved protein yield and nutritional compo- ale) followed. Oberon has since inked a deal with Miller- sition. Coors to turn 5,000 tons of sludge into 6,000 tons of food flakes. According to Barrows, feed is part of a complex interplay of genetics, nutrition and Conclusion economics in fish production. Barley pro- The demand for protein sources used in animal feeds will tein concentrate could completely replace only continue to grow. At the same time, the natural fish fishmeal in fish feed if other essential nutri- populations caught to make fish meal are shrinking. Soy, ents are provided as supplements. barley and beer sludge are three potential sources that can reduce the need for fish meal and the continued harvest of Using barley protein instead of fishmeal in fish from the oceans for this purpose. In addition, research commercial fish feed could help reduce the is being done on other sources of protein for animal feed, demand for millions of tons of fish taken including corn, wheat and even feathers from chicken proc- from the ocean each year to produce fish- essing. meal. As aquaculture and aquaponics continue to grow, this re- ARS is the principal intramural scientific search and the companies pioneering this effort, will help research agency of the U.S. Department of to ensure our industries sustainability and profitability. Agriculture (USDA). This research sup- ports the USDA priorities of promoting in- About the Author: Rebecca Nelson is the editor of ternational food security and developing the Aquaponics Journal. She can be reached by AJ new sources of bioenergy. email at [email protected] 21