Better fish-farming – making aquaculture sustainable

Like all intensive farming, aquaculture can have a devastating impact – particularly on marine habitats and wild fish stocks. Mangrove forests are destroyed and replaced by shrimp farms; salmon farming pollutes waterways with antibiotics and pesticides; escaped fish that are genetically weak infiltrate wild populations. Alongside this, millions of tons of wild fish are caught and processed into fishmeal to feed the farms.   

Alternative forms of protein – derived from algae and from insects – are being trialled to reduce pressure on wild fish stocks. Insect farms fuelled by human waste not only produce protein but also natural fertilizer to grow plants.    

A campaign is underway to regulate the UK wrasse fishery. Wild populations of these marine ‘cleaners’ are collapsing as wrasse are caught and sold to salmon farms to remove the sea-lice that arise from overcrowded sea cages.  

Blue Marine also promotes sustainable shellfish restoration projects, and the aquaculture of species such and oysters and mussels. These filter-feeders create healthy ecosystems that support a diversity of marine life and are more resilient to climate change.   

The largest traded food commodity on earth is fish. And for the first time in history, more than half of all traded fish is provided by fish farms. Blue Marine is determined to influence the future of aquaculture by developing sustainable practices and driving innovation in the field.