From water to table – Aquatic Growth: Blue Food & Feed
Land scarcity, repurposing of agricultural land, and skyrocketing lease prices are the buzzwords of our time. It seems only natural to shift our focus to water—after all, we live on the Blue Planet, 75% of which is covered in water.
The aquatic world boasts an impressive diversity, extending far beyond fish, crustaceans, and shellfish. Water plants and algae, in particular, offer an unrivaled richness in variety. According to the FAO, global fish and seafood production has risen to 150 million tons, half of which already comes from controlled environments known as aquaculture.
The demand for control, standardization, transparency, and traceability does not stop at aquatic systems. Alongside enclosure farming and traditional pond fisheries, aquatic growth is increasingly taking place in closed systems, such as recirculated aquaculture systems (RAS). Advanced filtration and water treatment technologies enable water reuse, making fish or shrimp farming independent of location—a form of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA).
For algae production, photobioreactors and open pond systems in greenhouses allow for closed, controlled cultivation. Algal biomass is grown using light, nutrient salts, and CO2.
And then there’s aquaponics—a combination of fish farming in aquaculture and plant cultivation in hydroponics. This method of food production perfectly aligns with contemporary demands for sustainability, resource efficiency, and regionality. You can already find it in supermarkets: shoppers at Rewe in Wiesbaden, for example, can witness the synergy between fish and plants firsthand.
Honestly, what an incredible field of work! If I weren’t fortunate enough to help shape DLG events on these topics, I wouldn’t be able to keep track of it all either!
#AlgaEurope, #Seagriculture, #InhouseFarming
Be curious, explore for yourself, and you’ll discover macroalgae in your pudding, Spirulina (a cyanobacterium) as a blue dye in gummy bears, and omega-3 fatty acids from microalgae (Schizochytrium) in vegan meat substitutes.
Blue food & feed is making waves—so why not make it blue?
