Revolutionary Changes In The Aquaculture Sector Taking The Seafood Business

The innovations and techniques made in the aquaculture industry have boosted the overall seafood production

At the 2022 Seafood Expo North America, the panel, “Transforming Aquaculture: The Future of Seafood Must Include Innovation," hosted by AquaBounty CEO Sylvia Wulf, exchanged thoughts on how the revolution in aquaculture will boost the seafood industry. The panel including resource persons from the seafood industry has emphasised the importance of focussing on aquaculture which can thereby enhance productivity in the seafood sector.

According to Joseph Samuel, Vice-President of the New Production development team of Samuel and Son Seafood, aquaculture has boosted the company’s seafood production and has become a key player in the seafood industry. He said although 65 percent of products they purchase are from aquaculture, people are still not bothered about focusing on this sector. According to him, during the covid pandemic, the demand for seafood had increased, and found it difficult to purchase the products. He also mentioned that even though everyone knows that the key to seafood is aquaculture, they are unable to find a proper solution on how to bring it to the forefront.

 The panel suggested that a recirculating aquaculture system can draw aquaculture more into the traditional farming techniques. According to Lasprogata, a great deal of the aquaculture sector is executed through floating net pens which are not favourable to the coastal environment. The limited space to grow only a certain kind of fish and the newer offshore technologies that are still in their early stage of production are the biggest challenges they are facing.

Elena Natker, President of Sage Leaf Communications, predicted that the next important revolution to occur in the seafood sector is in aquafeeds. She also mentioned that prominence should be given to the aquaculture model to track the diet of the fish which will enable us to know about what they are consuming. According to her, algae feeds and other substitutes can aid in boosting omega-3 production in fish. So people who consume these fishes will automatically get benefitted from these nutrients.

Lasprogata has pointed out that it is significant for the industries to shift their focus on implementing technological advancement in the aquaculture industry. He commented that earlier Salmons were topping the business and it was difficult for the customers to find oysters and shellfish on their menu cards, but now the whole scenario has changed and these seafood have become easily accessible to the consumers