Govt unveils new fish feed
Boniface Oyet feeding his fish in one of his ponds in Lira District. He sees aquaculture as a way to ensure Uganda’s food security. Photo/Charity Akullo.
What you need to know:
According to Dr Wanda, Spirulina is one of the best solutions for production of high quality fish feed, adding that currently, fish meal (Silverfish) is not the most desirable as it impacts on food security
The National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI) has unveiled Spirulina, a new fish feed it says contains high quality content.
Dr Fred Wanda, a senior research scientist at the institute, says Spirulina is a more nutritious and digestible feed for farmed fish compared to some commercial feeds.
“Spirulina is a filamentous microalga that occurs locally in Uganda’s water system, and has unusually high quality protein content of between 55 percent and 70 percent dry weight,” Dr Wanda said in an interview at the weekend.
According to Dr Wanda, Spirulina is one of the best solutions for production of high quality fish feed, adding that currently, fish meal (Silverfish) is not the most desirable as it impacts on food security.
He added: “The production of silver fish is likely to reduce because of the high demand of fish feed and food for people. Spirulina could, therefore, serve as an excellent source of plant protein to replace animal-derived proteins in fish feed.”
He further explained that Spirulina can generate biomass that can be used as fish feed ingredient.
Ms Joyce Akumu, also a research scientist at NaFIRRI, says the aim of the research is to ensure that the percentage of people consuming silver fish increases.
“Currently, human consumption of silver fish is at 30 percent, while 70 percent is used for fish feed. We want this to be reduced with the alternative use of Spirulina,” she said.
She noted that feeding accounts for the biggest cost in fish farming because it involves the use of a very expensive protein source (silver fish).
“When we come up with feeds which are very easy to process and less expensive, compared to those which are composed mainly of silver fish, that will be good,” she said.
She noted that Uganda is under looking Spirulina’s potential for human benefits.
“When Spirulina is highly processed and all the toxins are removed, it is a very good human supplement, especially in treating cardiovascular diseases, proper liver and kidney function and is an immune booster,’’ Dr Akumu said.
She added that they are currently tapping the utilisation of Spirulina as biodiesel because other fuels are very expensive and not renewable.
She added: “If we concentrate on Spirulina on a large scale, we shall be able to tap the potential of biofuels, which is going to be a cost-effective means of cleaning waste water.”
Dr Mark Olokotum, a research scientist at NaFIRRI, says utilising Spirulina as fish feed will save the environment because when it self-shades and dies, it sinks to the bottom of the lake and that process of decomposition takes away oxygen.
Subsequently, he adds, there will be low abundance of fish in areas where Spirulina exists.
