Which types of fish are in most need of a cell- or plant-based alternatives right now? And why have you chosen the type of fish please? Very much looking forward to your thoughts!
I would suspect that tuna is the most likely candidate and some effort has already been made to create a meat alternative. This is because it is probably going to be one of the more difficult to aquaculture. And probably salmon would be second on the list because of their use of animal protein for their feed. But I must admit that I believe we can accomplish a lot more by working on alternate feeds for salmon, where progress has been made and on “total utilization” of the harvested fish. That might actually give a better return on investment.
I’m terms of potential market demands, I say it’s shrimp.
Shrimp is consumed most widely through out the world. Shrimp farms also create most of the environmental and health problems.
Hello everyone, do you think our prize should focus on fatty or lean fish?
And please provide examples, if you can!
I left crustaceans off, because the surimi folks have made a reasonable crab, shrimp and scallop product which fills a niche market. And I don’t think it has remained “niche” because of quality issues – but I do think there is resistance to these imitation products – why not be creative and make totally new products.
I also think there is a lot of work to be done in the seafood industry with respect to total utilization of what is already caught – from landing of by-catch to better utilization of mince (mechanically deboned meat).
On by-catch, I was recently in Alaska and they were allowed to bring in high-value by-catch as long as it was sorted out before processing and these could be used for Second Harvest and other feeding programs. So there is a lot more that can be done with what we have now.
@spoggio, @ProfLindsayFalvey, @roopeshms, what do you think? Should we incentivize the creation of fatty or lean fish alternatives in this prize competition?
The specific fish species is not that important. But cell based fish should target species that are not farmed, are often contaminated with pollutants (mercury!!) or are heavily overfished. There is a large industry for farmed salmon in Europe and in the USA. That would mean a lot of headwind because of political and economic pressures.
Fish species that are tend to have high levels of mercury and overfished/endangered fish would be the best targets in regards to benefits for the public. Bluefin and Yellowfin Tuna, Red Snapper, Patagonian Toothfish, several groupers, Swordfish, …
Fatty or lean fish should not be the question. Some people like leaner fish, other fatty (for sushi). The nutrient content should be similar to the conventional fish, which would require a minimum quantity of fats. For example, a cell based fish product could be" lean" but have more omega-3 than the conventional variety.