“Seafood” Made from Plants Could Relieve Stressed Oceans

A third of our planet’s oceans are over-fished, with record breaking global consumption. But companies across the world have been coming up with innovative solutions that sustainably tackle our growing demand for seafood.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization says that such advances are key to both maintaining fish stocks and to helping fishing communities earn a higher income.

An agricultural science center in Britain, for example, is responding to over-fishing concerns that has led to a switch from feed rich with oily fish to alternatives such as soy farmed fish, causing a significant decline in the levels of omega-3 fatty acids essential for human health. “If we can use a land-based source of fish oils as a way of augmenting or adding to the stuff from the oceans, then we can relieve the pressure on the oceans,” says Johnathan Napier from Rothamsted Research, where he and his team have genetically modified plants rich in components that make up omega-3 fatty acids.

Good Catch in the United States is also set to provide “seafood without sacrifice”, recreating the texture and taste of tuna using legumes and algae oil. Also in the U.S., California-based BlueNalu is tackling warming oceans along with illegal and over-fishing, by ensuring a steady food supply chain through growing mercury-free seafood cells in labs.