Hero X and World Fish: Fish Farming to End World Hunger

World Fish Center working in Asia towards end of poverty and hunger and health improvements.

Since the beginning of human history the Oceans have provided a way of life, nourishment and culture. Today things are no different...billions of people depend on the ocean for food and economic sustainability. 

The impacts of climate change, development and increase of global food demand driven by a relentless increase of global population has impacted fish stocks and the Ocean environment. The consequences are at plain sight. But still hope prevails…

Advances in Aquaculture prove that a Real Revolution for the food industry is on its way and it could knock our door faster than we think. World Fish Center and HeroX are two of the big names working the industry towards a solution.

On January 18 World Fish Center reported on a new study which revealed that a long term commitment to farming mola fish -small local fishes of Bangladesh could improve Vitamin A intake in 98% of the Bangladeshis who eat fish. The Fish Center adds that the program would save 3 thousand lives in just 11 years. 

Working separately but on the same line of work, on January 15 HeroX reported on advances made in their Challenge F3, an inspiring contest looking for groundbreaking innovation in aquaculture. “The world's fisheries are not only a major part of the global economy. They also provide sustenance to billions of people worldwide. But owing to the growing problems of overpopulation, unsustainable methods, and the issue of Climate Change, the world's fisheries are in danger of being severely depleted...but an innovative solution to this problem may be available,” HeroX stated.

FAO the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization explains that aquaculture accounts for a large percentage of global seafood consumption. In 2005 93.2 million tonnes of fish were captured by commercial fishing and 48.1 million tonnes produced by fish farms. It is expected that by 2030 fish farms will produce the same amount as wild commercial fishing. 

Fish farming has also been a part of human history since the very beginnings of our time. From original communities of the pre colonial America to Africa, Asia and what today is known as Europe communities living side by side the ocean they harnessed the secrets of fish farming. Today aquaculture is an international industry which provides increased value to the food market and a way of life for more local communities. 

Aquaculture for the past decades has been stigmatized by high costs, use of water and water treatment requirements, moral and ethical argumentations and ecological issues but the sector has learnt to adapt and evolve and meet the challenges of today. Aquaculture today considers seriously the demanding and strict global “environmentally-aware” market as well as poverty impacted livelihoods and nourishment and health. 

One of the main issues with fish farming is what we feed fish that we are growing in fish farms. 

"The problem with aquaculture is you have to feed fish other fish before we can eat them," Alan Shaw CEO of Calysta explains. The company is interested in the HeroX F3 Challenge. "That's not sustainable … we're basically tapping this planet dry," Shaw of Calysta told CBC. Calysta is working to replace fish and fish oil used to feed fish in the aquaculture sector with a methane-produced protein feed -known as FeedKing. 

“Not only is FeedKing over 70% protein, it can be produced by harvesting methane from garbage dumps or fracking operations -two other major environmental concerns. "There's a lot of waste methane," said Shaw. 

Underdeveloped coastal areas affected by poverty, lack of job opportunities and economic crisis worsen by a malnutrition frame and health concerns also benefit tremendously from fish farming. The World Fish Center is working in these sometimes remote areas around the world with a focus on Asia and Africa for the past several years and is on to new success. 

“In ‎Bangladesh‬, around 60% of the population have inadequate intake of vitamin A, which is needed for normal vision, reproduction and a good immune system,” Senior Scientist Dr. Shakuntala Thilsted of the World Fish Center spoke about the findings of their new report. 

World Fish Center says that they are on a mission to “reduce poverty and hunger” by improving fisheries and aquaculture. “We strive to achieve large scale, environmentally sustainable, increases in supply and access to fish at affordable prices for poor consumers in developing countries,” the Center explains.

With a staff of over 400 skilled workers in seven offices spread across Asia, Africa and the Pacific the Center has brought fish farming and related programs of real hope and reality to local people. 

One of their programs “Fishing for a Future” is an initiative which aims to create profitable, well-governed, and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture sectors that delivers social and economic benefits to society and ensures a continuing supply of fish to meet the needs of a growing population. Their “Aquaculture for Low Income Consumers (AquaLINC)” program works to increase supplies of affordable and nutritious fish for poor consumers.

International press reported on the new report of the World Fish Center as the new year broke in. In Bangladesh working with locals the Center is exploring the Mola fish as a way to give population a “nutrition boost”. 

“Small indigenous mola fish are an excellent source of micronutrients -such as iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin A and vitamin B12, as well as fatty acids and animal protein. Over 75 % pre-school children are vitamin A deficient in Bangladesh. Low cost, locally sourced mola can become a staple for the poor in Bangladesh,” the Center said. 

The study of World Fish Center is to be published in February in Aquaculture. The focus of the study is the Mola Fish Species -Amblypharyngodon mola.  

Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, lead author and nutrition scientist of the WorldFish Center assured that the study provides a low cost effective food approach to combat diseases such as VAD -leading cause of preventable blindness in children and other which increase the risk of disease and even death.

The Mola fish which the World Fish Center focuses on -Amblypharyngodon mola should not be confused with the Giant Sunfish or Mola Mola. IUCN explains that the species Amblypharyngodon mola which World Fish Center aims to utilize has a current population trend listed as “Stable” and is registered under a “Least Concern” Status while the Sunfish or Mola Mola containing both species M. mola and the southern sunfish, M. ramsayi are listed as “Vulnerable”.

The World Fish Center worked in Bangladesh with the local Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies BIDS to conduct the study published in World Development. Researchers analysed fish consumption from 2000 to 2010, using nationally representative data, which showed that rates of fish consumption in general and farmed fish in particular grew at the quickest rates among the poorest groups of consumers. 

In another program in Africa Zambia the World Fish Center is working to develop new techniques that encourage fishermen and are designed to reduce poverty. There the Fish Center joined forces with the Cultivate Africa’s Future CultiAF Fund -initiative jointly funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre and the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research ACIAR.  Despite being an NGO the World Fish Center has big names in their donor list and is known for its ability find strategically massive opportunities in its allies and partners and donors. The Zambia program addresses specifically post-harvest losses of fish. 

“The three year project, aims at improving effectiveness, reducing losses, and promoting greater equity among the men and women who work in the fisheries sector. The project is led by scientists of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the University of Zambia and the international organization WorldFish,” World Fish Center explained the importance of loss of production. 

Data shows that the sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest fish supply per person of any global region, with supply predicted to fall by 20 per cent in the next two decades. Poor processing and management are major factors, resulting in losses. 

Across the regions the World Fish Center continues to work with local people side by side in poverty and humanely designed programs. 

In the Solomon Islands the World Fish Center works out to “Scale Out Community-Based Marine Resource”. There they have witnessed the impacts of climate change and the damage it has caused to valuable ecosystems. Overfishing has created a problem in the Pacific Islands. WorldFish and the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research ACIAR aim to promote greater food security through a national program of marine resource management for the worst affected communities. “The goal is to halt the degradation of inshore reefs and fisheries, which act as nurseries for marine ecosystems and to empower local people to manage these valuable resources,” World Fish Center detailed how climate change impacts play a vital role in the issues at hand.

Late last year the Fish Center highlighted the report “Getting to Eden” from the global action network Fishing for a Future. The report assures that “Business as usual will not be enough to meet future fish demand”. 

World fish demand for human consumption is expected to exceed 170 million tonnes by 2030. The report “Getting to Eden” suggests three roads to meet the demands, increase sustainably the “catch” from fisheries, reduce waste and loss along the system and production chain and through innovations increase aquaculture production sustainably. 

“More than one billion people obtain most of their animal protein from fish and approximately 800 million people depend on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods. Failing fisheries will have a detrimental effect on global food security and the livelihoods of many of the world’s most vulnerable people,” Getting to Eden says. 

Stephen Hall, Director General, WorldFish called for an increase in sustainable ways but where “the economic and nutritional benefits from the sector are equitably distributed”. “They must also be done in ways that sustain, and where needed, improve ocean health,” Hall concluded. 

And that is where the creators of the HeroX F3 Challenge comes into play, into what seems to be a mission impossible scenario, they respond with grand plans, ambition, hope, security and creativity, imagination and innovation. 

The HeroX F3 Challenge is “a $100,000 prize to document the sale of 100,000 metric tons of aquaculture feed that does not contain fish, shrimp, squid or krill,” Michael Tlusty, Ph.D. told the Advocate on January 18.

Michael Tlusty, Ph.D., is the director of Ocean Sustainability Science at the New England Aquarium and a research faculty at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Tlusty is also on the the Global Aquaculture Alliance Standards Oversight Committee and a Judge of the HeroX F3 Challenge. 

“Why am I a judge for the F3 challenge? Because it is the first X Prize for aquaculture. Plain and simple,” Tlusty responded the question in a long interview published in the Advocate which addressed many issues...and many of which are everything but simple. 

“This challenge was the idea of Dr. Fitzsimmons, a tilapia specialist and aquaculture guru. When he called, asking if I wanted to be involved in judging an X-prize for aquaculture, I could not turn him down. Given his significant involvement in the development of aquaculture globally, you listen to his ideas,” Tlusty PhD added and spoke with details of innovation and what is needed to take the win or to participate in the HeroX Challenge. 

HeroX calls for anyone to participate in their challenges because they believe that they exist “to enable anyone, anywhere in the world, to create a challenge that addresses any problem or opportunity, build a community around that challenge and activate the circumstances that can lead to a breakthrough innovation”. Not an understatement given their record. 

The University of Arizona, Monterey Bay Aquarium and New England Aquarium took HeroX´s inspiration to the letter and went for the breakthrough. 

Globally the Challenge is now clear; “To encourage innovation in fisheries and aquaculture for the benefit of the entire human society, global food demand, human global health, global poverty, global hunger and global Ocean health and environment”.

“Plain and simple, right?” just like the Good Doctor said.