Peas, Flax Mooted as Fish Farm Food

REGINA - Jan 5/04 - SNS -- Pea protein concentrate and flaxseed oil have the potential to become important feed ingredients in the rapidly growing global aquaculture industry.

Output from the industry has advanced from 13 million metric tons (MT) in 1990 to 37.9 million MT in 2001, as fish farming is seen as an important and reliable alternative to pressured fish stocks in the world's oceans, lakes and rivers.

Dr. Murray Drew of the Prairie Feed Resource Center at the University of Saskatchewan notes, "The typical farmed-salmon diet is composed of 50% fish meal and 14% fish oil, which provides a feed source that is virtually the same as in the wild. Not only does it help to produce farmed fish with a flesh quality that is similar to that of their wild counterparts, it helps to maintain the immune system and optimize disease resistance."

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