Click to view video
Mike Velings says that by 2050 the world will need at least 70 percent more protein that what is available today. Global meat consumption has more than quadrupled in the last fifty years, up from 71 million tons to 310 million tons. A number from the UN suggests that the earth’s population will reach 11 billion by 2100, and Velings doesn’t think there will be enough protein to feed all of those people.
Velings discusses his methods of fish farming, using the oceans as a sustainable protein source. He says that the oceans are the current largest source of protein but globally we are fishing 2.5 times what is sustainable. The World Wildlife Federationpublished a report saying that in the last forty years marine life has been cut in half due to human destruction or fishing.
His solution to this looming problem is aquaculture. Over 500 species of fish can be harvested and consumed, vs the slim choices available for beef, pork, chicken, or sheep. Farming requires resources, and the amount of resources needed to raise domestic land animals far exceeds the work required to grow seaweed, shellfish and crustaceans. In general one pound of feed is required to make one pound of usable fish, and fish require very little water to farm. Fish are cold blooded and don’t need to use energy to regulate their body temperature.
Fish feed constructed from microbes, microalgae, seaweed and insects is natural for the fish to eat and sustainable to produce. Automated feeders can sense when the fish are hungry to efficiently use the feed. Software is being developed to pull data from the world’s fish farms and share best practices and optimize production.
This talk is mostly meant to inspire and call to action as opposed to giving big technical details, but Mike’s company Aqua-spark has several of their current projects on their website. Sogn Aqua uses a pump system to bring water from Norwegian fjords and farm halibut on the land. Calysta is a California biotechnology company developing sustainable components to make fish feed. The Chicoa Fish Farmencourages small entrepreneurs in Africa to create small aquaculture businesses. Owners are given small fish, feed, and trained to sustainably grow the fish into large schools.
Recent Comments