Nigerian Undergraduate, making it big in Fish Farming
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire: News - Shiny Rayquaza Event and Hoopa officially confirmed!
NAFDAC ‘s Lab Gets International Accreditation
The regional drug laboratory of the National Agency for Food
and Drug Administration and Control ( NAFDAC ) located at Yaba in Lagos
State, has recorded a major feat with its international accreditation by
the National Board of American Society for Quality .
The news of the international accreditation of the drug laboratory
filtered out after a thorough audited and assessment of the Quality
Management System (QMS) of the entire laboratory carried out by
officials of the American Society for Quality technically known as
ASQ-ANSI .
Director – General of NAFDAC , Dr. Paul Orhii dropped the hint while addressing Regulatory Officers of the Agency at the Annual Budget Retreat held in Lagos, last week, Thursday .
Orhii disclosed that the Yaba Laboratory has now joined four other NAFDAC laboratories that have gained international accreditation in the last one year.
He listed the Mycotoxin , Pesticides, Food and High Performance Liquid Chromatography ( HPLC ) laboratories as the four laboratories that have obtained international accreditation .
According to him, NAFDAC is making giant strides not only in infrastructural transformation but also in the area of international standardization and recognition of the agency‘s regulatory activities.
The Director –General said the international accreditation of NAFDAC laboratories has positive ripple effect on the current effort of the federal government to diversify the economy by boosting production and export potential of indigenous industries.
Director – General of NAFDAC , Dr. Paul Orhii dropped the hint while addressing Regulatory Officers of the Agency at the Annual Budget Retreat held in Lagos, last week, Thursday .
Orhii disclosed that the Yaba Laboratory has now joined four other NAFDAC laboratories that have gained international accreditation in the last one year.
He listed the Mycotoxin , Pesticides, Food and High Performance Liquid Chromatography ( HPLC ) laboratories as the four laboratories that have obtained international accreditation .
According to him, NAFDAC is making giant strides not only in infrastructural transformation but also in the area of international standardization and recognition of the agency‘s regulatory activities.
The Director –General said the international accreditation of NAFDAC laboratories has positive ripple effect on the current effort of the federal government to diversify the economy by boosting production and export potential of indigenous industries.
Strange but True! Dreams May Be Linked To Health Problems, Experts Say
The report revealed scientists believe that a dream can
disclose clues about people’s health and the possible occurrence of an
illness even before the physical symptoms emerge.
Here are some forms of dreams and what they reveal about our health:
Nightmares
The occurrence of nightmares could be due to heart conditions, migraine, sleep deprivation and beta blockers. According to Professor Jim Horne from the Loughborough University, blood pressure drugs can cause nightmares.
A study of 6,000 people, published in Netherlands Journal of Medicine, has revealed it could be a sign of a faulty heart. Another study revealed that it could be due to a looming migraine as disclosed by analysing 37 migraine patients. This may also be caused by less sleep as explained by Dr. Nicholas Oscroft of the Papworth Hospital in Cambridge. Less sleep can trigger sleep paralysis.
Dreams About Being Attacked
According to Dr. Oscroft, these kinds of dreams are early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. These dreams may be experienced about 10 years before other symptoms surface.
“It can be the first symptom we see, I warn people diagnosed with this to look out for other warning signs of neurological disease, such as tremors or memory loss, as this will enable them to get early treatment,” Oscroft said.
Dreaming More Than Usual
When a person dreams more than what he usually does, the roots of the symptom could be brought by hormonal changes, chronic pains or getting too hot or cold at night.
According to Prof. Horne when a person feels too hot or cold in between the sleep, it can cause him to dream too much and the dreams are easily remembered.
Hormonal changes or pain during periods and other times can also cause dreaming more than usual. A person tends to wake up in between the sleep which means that she will remember the dream.
Oscroft added few sleepless nights or nights with very little sleep would also result in a night full of vivid dreams.
Here are some forms of dreams and what they reveal about our health:
Nightmares
The occurrence of nightmares could be due to heart conditions, migraine, sleep deprivation and beta blockers. According to Professor Jim Horne from the Loughborough University, blood pressure drugs can cause nightmares.
A study of 6,000 people, published in Netherlands Journal of Medicine, has revealed it could be a sign of a faulty heart. Another study revealed that it could be due to a looming migraine as disclosed by analysing 37 migraine patients. This may also be caused by less sleep as explained by Dr. Nicholas Oscroft of the Papworth Hospital in Cambridge. Less sleep can trigger sleep paralysis.
Dreams About Being Attacked
According to Dr. Oscroft, these kinds of dreams are early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. These dreams may be experienced about 10 years before other symptoms surface.
“It can be the first symptom we see, I warn people diagnosed with this to look out for other warning signs of neurological disease, such as tremors or memory loss, as this will enable them to get early treatment,” Oscroft said.
Dreaming More Than Usual
When a person dreams more than what he usually does, the roots of the symptom could be brought by hormonal changes, chronic pains or getting too hot or cold at night.
According to Prof. Horne when a person feels too hot or cold in between the sleep, it can cause him to dream too much and the dreams are easily remembered.
Hormonal changes or pain during periods and other times can also cause dreaming more than usual. A person tends to wake up in between the sleep which means that she will remember the dream.
Oscroft added few sleepless nights or nights with very little sleep would also result in a night full of vivid dreams.
Alcohol: Check Your Consumption This Yuletide Season
It is that time of the year again, when most people get to be
more indulgent with alcohol. It is important that you consider more
reasons to quit or, at the very least, check your alcohol consumption.
Ultimately, drinking too much can cause dehydration. When you become dehydrated, your skin might become baggy and loose, including the skin under your eyes. This can make dark circles appear more prominent. Baggy eyelids can cast shadows that increase the impression of dark circles. Chronic alcohol use can increase dark circles under your eyes. Skin thins in alcoholics, making blood vessels beneath the surface more visible.
Research shows that, if you drink alcohol in excess, you can throw your electrolytes out of balance, including your sodium level. Also, while, dehydration can cause low sodium levels too; eating very little food and drinking beer, which is low in sodium, can also cause hypernatremia, the medical term for low sodium.
Remember, your body doesn’t break alcohol down into glucose. Instead, the liver breaks alcohol down into acetate first, and then into carbon dioxide and water. So, if you drink a mixed drink containing juice, soda or other foods containing carbohydrate, those elements will break down into glucose, but the alcohol itself will not.
Experts assert that, some drinks do appear to cause more severe hangover than others, so, the type of alcohol rather than whether or not the drink contains sugar might make the difference.
Studies show that, the drinks most likely to cause hangovers are dark-coloured drinks high in congeners, substances used to colour and flavour drinks. Brandy topped the list of drinks likely to cause hangovers, followed by red wine, rum, whiskey, white wine, gin, vodka, beer and, last, pure alcohol mixed with orange juice, which negated the presence of congeners.
However, light-to-moderate alcohol intakes are not known to have adverse effects on your body’s ability to absorb and store vitamin B-12. However, chronic alcohol consumption damages the delicate villi in your intestines. The villi are crucial to B-12 absorption, as well as other B vitamins such as folate and thiamine. Therefore, long-term, chronic alcohol consumption puts you at risk for B-12 deficiency.
Ultimately, drinking too much can cause dehydration. When you become dehydrated, your skin might become baggy and loose, including the skin under your eyes. This can make dark circles appear more prominent. Baggy eyelids can cast shadows that increase the impression of dark circles. Chronic alcohol use can increase dark circles under your eyes. Skin thins in alcoholics, making blood vessels beneath the surface more visible.
Research shows that, if you drink alcohol in excess, you can throw your electrolytes out of balance, including your sodium level. Also, while, dehydration can cause low sodium levels too; eating very little food and drinking beer, which is low in sodium, can also cause hypernatremia, the medical term for low sodium.
Remember, your body doesn’t break alcohol down into glucose. Instead, the liver breaks alcohol down into acetate first, and then into carbon dioxide and water. So, if you drink a mixed drink containing juice, soda or other foods containing carbohydrate, those elements will break down into glucose, but the alcohol itself will not.
Experts assert that, some drinks do appear to cause more severe hangover than others, so, the type of alcohol rather than whether or not the drink contains sugar might make the difference.
Studies show that, the drinks most likely to cause hangovers are dark-coloured drinks high in congeners, substances used to colour and flavour drinks. Brandy topped the list of drinks likely to cause hangovers, followed by red wine, rum, whiskey, white wine, gin, vodka, beer and, last, pure alcohol mixed with orange juice, which negated the presence of congeners.
However, light-to-moderate alcohol intakes are not known to have adverse effects on your body’s ability to absorb and store vitamin B-12. However, chronic alcohol consumption damages the delicate villi in your intestines. The villi are crucial to B-12 absorption, as well as other B vitamins such as folate and thiamine. Therefore, long-term, chronic alcohol consumption puts you at risk for B-12 deficiency.
Plantain As Food And Medicine
Plantain also known as ‘’Musa Paradisiaca’’ has been used
throughout the world as food and medicine. It has been tested
scientifically for the treatment of diarrhoea, diabetes, dysentry,
injuries, malaria, and ulcer. Plantains are famed to be diuretic and
also can help prevent kidney and bladder problems. TUNDE OGUNTOLA writes
on the health benefits of plantain.
Plantain is basically cooked and served in many dishes as the chief carbohydrate source in most parts of the world. The fruit can be roasted or fried as food. In Nigerian it is called bole when roasted and dodo in some Nigerian languages. The ripe fruit can also be eaten raw as fast food.
This plant known as ogede or ogede agbagba in Yoruba, Oghede in Benin, Ayaba in Hausa, while it is known as abereka, ojioko and ogbadejieko in Igbo, is rich in vital vitamins and minerals, it has soft trunk with lots of fluid.
Plantains are rich in certain vitamins and minerals that contribute to good health. Plantains are available at most local markets, large grocery stores and can add new flavours and recipes to your healthy-eating plan.
Research shows that, plantain relatively has more calories weight for weight than that in the fruit bananas. 100 g plantain holds of 122 calories, while dessert banana has only 89 calories. Indeed, they are very reliable sources of starch and energy; ensuring food security for millions of inhabitants worldwide.
It has more vitamin C than bananas. 100 g provide 18.4 mg or 31 per cent of daily required levels of this vitamin. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals.
Plantains have more vitamin A than bananas. In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, vitamin A plays a vital role in the visual cycle, maintaining healthy mucus membranes, and enhancing skin complexion. 100 g fresh ripe plantains contain 1127 IU or 37.5 per cent of daily required levels of this vitamin. Besides being a powerful antioxidant. Vitamin A is involved in numerous bodily functions including reproduction, immunity and communication between the cells.
Experts asserts that plantain has vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), in which pyridoxine is an important B-complex vitamin that has a beneficial role in the treatment of neuritis, anaemia, and to decrease homocystine (one of the causative factors for coronary artery disease (CHD) and stroke episodes) levels in the body.
For healthy living, men need between 30 and 38 grams of fiber a day and women need between 21 and 25. Getting these adequate amounts of fiber promote an efficient digestive system, which can prevent constipation, haemorrhoids and diverticular disease. Eating plenty of fiber can lower your cholesterol level, which might reduce your risk of heart disease.
Plantains also provide adequate levels of minerals such as iron, magnesium, and phosphorous. Magnesium is essential for bone strengthening and has a cardiac-protective role as well.
Plantain is basically cooked and served in many dishes as the chief carbohydrate source in most parts of the world. The fruit can be roasted or fried as food. In Nigerian it is called bole when roasted and dodo in some Nigerian languages. The ripe fruit can also be eaten raw as fast food.
This plant known as ogede or ogede agbagba in Yoruba, Oghede in Benin, Ayaba in Hausa, while it is known as abereka, ojioko and ogbadejieko in Igbo, is rich in vital vitamins and minerals, it has soft trunk with lots of fluid.
Plantains are rich in certain vitamins and minerals that contribute to good health. Plantains are available at most local markets, large grocery stores and can add new flavours and recipes to your healthy-eating plan.
Research shows that, plantain relatively has more calories weight for weight than that in the fruit bananas. 100 g plantain holds of 122 calories, while dessert banana has only 89 calories. Indeed, they are very reliable sources of starch and energy; ensuring food security for millions of inhabitants worldwide.
It has more vitamin C than bananas. 100 g provide 18.4 mg or 31 per cent of daily required levels of this vitamin. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals.
Plantains have more vitamin A than bananas. In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, vitamin A plays a vital role in the visual cycle, maintaining healthy mucus membranes, and enhancing skin complexion. 100 g fresh ripe plantains contain 1127 IU or 37.5 per cent of daily required levels of this vitamin. Besides being a powerful antioxidant. Vitamin A is involved in numerous bodily functions including reproduction, immunity and communication between the cells.
Experts asserts that plantain has vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), in which pyridoxine is an important B-complex vitamin that has a beneficial role in the treatment of neuritis, anaemia, and to decrease homocystine (one of the causative factors for coronary artery disease (CHD) and stroke episodes) levels in the body.
For healthy living, men need between 30 and 38 grams of fiber a day and women need between 21 and 25. Getting these adequate amounts of fiber promote an efficient digestive system, which can prevent constipation, haemorrhoids and diverticular disease. Eating plenty of fiber can lower your cholesterol level, which might reduce your risk of heart disease.
Plantains also provide adequate levels of minerals such as iron, magnesium, and phosphorous. Magnesium is essential for bone strengthening and has a cardiac-protective role as well.
How Diets Help In Management Of Diabetes Mellitus
Medical experts say that healthy eating is a cornerstone of healthy living especially in diabetes. VICTOR OKEKE writes on this
According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), diabetes is a group of metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia (high level of glucose in the blood) resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both.
In Africa, Nigeria has the highest number of people with diabetes. According to WHO, Nigeria has the highest mortality rate from the disease. Approximately 1,218,000 people are affected and an estimated 3.85 million people have impaired glucose tolerance says International Diabetes Federation (IDF). According to Diabetes Association of Nigeria an estimate of 6 million people have full blown diabetes mellitus. The WHO/IDF report of 2011 alerted that diabetes mellitus will continue to be a major threat to public health beyond the year 2030.
According to Nutrition expert and registered Dietitian, Eneregbu Akunna Isobel, dietary management of diabetes involves being conscious of what we eat so as not to trigger the risk factors in diabetes.
“Protein intakes range from 15 to 20 percent of total calories for diabetics with normal kidney function and should be adequate in quality and quantity to maintain synthesis of body protein. Higher protein intakes are discouraged because they are detrimental to kidney function (may lead to diabetic nephropathy). Sources include lean meat, low fat milk, egg white, fish, legumes and more,” she said.
Eneregbu said that “People with diabetes have a high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, and their guidelines for dietary fat are similar to those for others with high risks. Saturated fat (such as those found in butter, margarine, whole milk, fatty meat etc.) intake should be limited to less than 7 percent of calories, trans fat (found in deep fried foods, pastries etc.) intake should be minimized, and cholesterol intake should be limited to less than 200 mg daily.”
However, a larger percent of dietary should be derived from mono and polyunsaturated fats. These have a protective role against cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, almost all the diabetes association advise the consumption of two to three servings of fish (preferably oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, sardines, tuna, shrimps etc. not the commercially fried fish filets) each week and plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. rapeseed oil, soybean oil, nuts and some green leafy vegetables).
The dietician explained that the amount of carbohydrate in the body affects blood glucose levels more than the source of the carbohydrate. “A consistent carbohydrate intake spaced throughout the day helps to maintain appropriate blood glucose levels and maximize the effectiveness of drug therapy. Eating too much carbohydrate at one time can raise blood glucose too high, stressing the already-compromised insulin producing cells. Eating too little carbohydrate can lead to abnormally low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia). Low-carbohydrate diets (less than 130 grams of carbohydrate per day) are not recommended,” she said.
Sources people with diabetes should derive carbohydrate from high fibre foods such as beans, green leafy vegetables, legumes, produce with skin like apple orange, and other whole fruits, whole grains (e.g. whole wheat bread, corn on the cob, oat bran.etc.) that have more moderate effects on blood glucose than do highly processed starchy foods. Sugar recommendations for people with diabetes are similar to those for the general population, which suggests choosing foods and beverages with little or no added sugar.
An important thing to bear in mind when choosing carbohydrate source is the rate of glucose absorption. Diabetics benefit from limiting foods that produce too great a rise, or too sudden a fall, in blood glucose. To aid their choices, the use of glycemic index, a method of classifying foods according to their potential to raise blood glucose is a handy tool. Some studies have shown that selecting foods with a low glycemic index is a practical way to improve glucose control.
According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), diabetes is a group of metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia (high level of glucose in the blood) resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both.
In Africa, Nigeria has the highest number of people with diabetes. According to WHO, Nigeria has the highest mortality rate from the disease. Approximately 1,218,000 people are affected and an estimated 3.85 million people have impaired glucose tolerance says International Diabetes Federation (IDF). According to Diabetes Association of Nigeria an estimate of 6 million people have full blown diabetes mellitus. The WHO/IDF report of 2011 alerted that diabetes mellitus will continue to be a major threat to public health beyond the year 2030.
According to Nutrition expert and registered Dietitian, Eneregbu Akunna Isobel, dietary management of diabetes involves being conscious of what we eat so as not to trigger the risk factors in diabetes.
“Protein intakes range from 15 to 20 percent of total calories for diabetics with normal kidney function and should be adequate in quality and quantity to maintain synthesis of body protein. Higher protein intakes are discouraged because they are detrimental to kidney function (may lead to diabetic nephropathy). Sources include lean meat, low fat milk, egg white, fish, legumes and more,” she said.
Eneregbu said that “People with diabetes have a high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, and their guidelines for dietary fat are similar to those for others with high risks. Saturated fat (such as those found in butter, margarine, whole milk, fatty meat etc.) intake should be limited to less than 7 percent of calories, trans fat (found in deep fried foods, pastries etc.) intake should be minimized, and cholesterol intake should be limited to less than 200 mg daily.”
However, a larger percent of dietary should be derived from mono and polyunsaturated fats. These have a protective role against cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, almost all the diabetes association advise the consumption of two to three servings of fish (preferably oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, sardines, tuna, shrimps etc. not the commercially fried fish filets) each week and plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. rapeseed oil, soybean oil, nuts and some green leafy vegetables).
The dietician explained that the amount of carbohydrate in the body affects blood glucose levels more than the source of the carbohydrate. “A consistent carbohydrate intake spaced throughout the day helps to maintain appropriate blood glucose levels and maximize the effectiveness of drug therapy. Eating too much carbohydrate at one time can raise blood glucose too high, stressing the already-compromised insulin producing cells. Eating too little carbohydrate can lead to abnormally low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia). Low-carbohydrate diets (less than 130 grams of carbohydrate per day) are not recommended,” she said.
Sources people with diabetes should derive carbohydrate from high fibre foods such as beans, green leafy vegetables, legumes, produce with skin like apple orange, and other whole fruits, whole grains (e.g. whole wheat bread, corn on the cob, oat bran.etc.) that have more moderate effects on blood glucose than do highly processed starchy foods. Sugar recommendations for people with diabetes are similar to those for the general population, which suggests choosing foods and beverages with little or no added sugar.
An important thing to bear in mind when choosing carbohydrate source is the rate of glucose absorption. Diabetics benefit from limiting foods that produce too great a rise, or too sudden a fall, in blood glucose. To aid their choices, the use of glycemic index, a method of classifying foods according to their potential to raise blood glucose is a handy tool. Some studies have shown that selecting foods with a low glycemic index is a practical way to improve glucose control.
Farmers Educated On Modern Fish Farming Methods
THE key on how to make money through fish farming was revealed recently when Aqua¬ton Konsults Company Nigeria, held a semi¬nar at the Unity Hall of the Federal Secretariat Complex, Asaba, the Delta State capital.The seminar which brought many farmers in the state together was titled “Fish for House hold” and was designed to educate farmers on the sim¬plest form of fish farming and livestock manage¬ment.
Other aspects of livestock practices and pro¬duction as poultry, snail farming and piggery were deeply espoused during the seminar.
The Managing Director of Alamine Resources and expert in poultry farming, Mr. Emmanuel Alajemba spoke extensively on effective poultry management and gave insights into how profi¬ciency and productivity could be enhanced in poultry farming. These, he said, include proper monitoring and feeding of birds.
Also speaking, Mr. Gabriel Akalue of River¬side Consults educated the farmers on ways to achieve proper hatchery and nursing of catfish, stating that the acidity and level of water in fish farming as the basic aspect could make or mar farming.
The representative of the Central Bank of Ni¬geria (CBN), Asaba branch, Mr. Alli Bukar, in his own contribution, told the farmers on how to ac¬cess credit facilities for agricultural business. He explained that C BN had long credited this agric segment solely to encourage Nigeria farmers to increase their output.
The Aquaton Konsults Chief Executive, Mr. An¬thony Adefarakan, who convened the seminar, told the farmers on the need to go into fish farm¬ing, adding that it was very easy to start and the fastest growing venture.
A representative of the Nigeria Agricultural In¬surance Co-operation, (NAIC) Asaba branch, told farmers the modalities to acquire CBN loan.
Fish farming could become $1B industry in Indiana
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When the hog market went south a few years ago, farmers Darryl and Karlanea Brown decided to raise a new kind of livestock. At least, new to these parts. Inside an old barn on their Fowler spread sit giant tanks filled with saltwater shrimp. Their company, RDM Farms, grows and sells them for $15 a pound to the public. Sort of like a roadside produce stand. A really, really popular roadside produce stand.
“We actually had to shut our doors one Saturday, because we couldn’t fill people’s orders,” Karlanea said. “We ran out of shrimp.”
To make sure this doesn’t happen again, they’re quickly outfitting a second building for shrimp production. They’re also showing the ropes to others interested in the business. When they opened in 2010, they were the only place in Indiana to purchase live, locally raised shrimp. Since then, two more startups have come online. And more could be on the way, judging from the number of people who’ve asked to poke around RDM’s facilities.
“We’re averaging three to four a week,” Karlanea said. “We give tours because when we were starting out, there was no place like this to visit.”
At first glance, Indiana and fish farming (or aquaculture) seems like an odd fit. And, indeed, statistics—actually educated guesses, given the lack of solid data—place current annual in-state production at just a few million dollars.
But some believe the state’s central location, abundant land and water supplies, and relatively benign regulatory environment could foster a $1 billion industry in the next 10 years.
Already, there are several dozen, mostly smallish players scattered across the state—from Ladoga’s Aqua-Manna LLC, which sells seafood-raising technology, including the shrimp tanks used by RDM; to Elkhart’s Northern Indiana Aquaproducts, which raises about 35,000 pounds of seafood (including tilapia) annually. The firm also uses the nutrient-rich water in the fish tanks to grow vegetables hydroponically.
“Is there a huge opportunity for the domestic production of farm-raised fish?” said Richard W. Martin, publisher of Fish Farming News. “Absolutely. I think it’s immense.”
Martin said overfishing caused stocks of wild-caught fish to plummet in the 1980s and 1990s. Strict management helped those populations rebound, but there’s no way (short of creating a new ocean) to increase wild supplies enough to satisfy an increasingly seafood-hungry world.
Indeed, the supply of wild-caught fish has flattened out while aquaculture has grown exponentially. About half the seafood humans consume now comes from aquaculture. In 1990, the proportion was just 19 percent, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
Americans already shell out $10 billion annually for imported seafood, creating a yawning trade deficit second only to oil. Then there’s China, where 26 percent of each resident’s annual protein consumption comes from lakes or oceans. Recently, and for the first time in its long history, that country became a net fish importer, driving up prices on the international market. Which means that if Americans want seafood at anything like a reasonable price, they need to grow some of their own.
“Our trade deficit in fisheries products is just phenomenal,” said Bob Rode, lab manager of the Aquaculture Research Lab at Purdue University. “For the next probably 20 years, we’re looking at pretty much relentless demand increases.”
Which is where Indiana comes in.
One of the biggest advocates for Indiana aquaculture is the Indiana Soybean Association. And for obvious reasons. The U.S. Soybean Export Council estimates that 10.5 million metric tons of soybeans already go into aquaculture feeds annually, and that the total could increase to 24.5 million tons by 2015.
“Global aquaculture production is growing at 6 to 8 percent annually and we see it as a major market for soybeans,” said Dr. Steven Hart, director of aquaculture for the Indiana Soybean Alliance.
The ISA is so excited about Indiana’s prospects that it conducts workshops throughout the state on how to start and run an aquaculture business. The organization also funds studies to develop optimal soy-based feeds for yellow perch, hybrid striped bass and large-mouth bass, and to process fish waste into a commercially salable fertilizer.
The ISA’s golden boy is Redkey-based Bell Aquaculture, the state’s only industrial-scale fish farming outfit. While Indiana’s aquaculture industry produces only 1 million pounds of fish annually, expansion plans at Bell will double that number by next year.
And the technology the company is developing could pave the way for even higher production. Put simply, company officials have figured out how to raise their fish—yellow perch—indoors under highly controlled conditions, just as chicken and hog farmers do.
The company’s plant raises 1.8 million fish annually. That number will balloon to 3 million when a $5 million expansion wraps up in 2012.
To no surprise, Bell President Norman McCowan is bullish on Indiana’s aquaculture potential, believing that the state (and his company in particular) possesses the three things necessary to make a go of it: sustainable technology, readily available food (soybeans) and water, and funding. The company two years ago hired Denver-based investment bank SDR Ventures to line up millions of dollars from outside backers—an infusion that helped make the current expansion possible.
“We believe those pieces of the puzzle are quickly coming into play, and that industry is ripe for growth,” McCowan said. “I don’t know if I can put a limit on it. I know of projects that are potentially in the works that are very large. If Indiana would go after this industry, I could see it as a billion-dollar industry in Indiana alone.”
Finding a niche
To understand the scope of demand, consider that Bell hasn’t had to go looking for potential markets. Prospective customers from as far away as Ireland and Switzerland have contacted the company—and been turned away. Bell, even with its industrial-scale operation, can’t come close to meeting domestic orders for its yellow perch, let alone service export clients.
“We’ve not looked at any of those requests at this time, because of the high demand for our product inside the states,” McCowan said.
Not that international competitors would welcome Indiana’s fledgling aquaculture industry with open arms. Indeed, the highly competitive world seafood market already resembles a piranha tank. Commodity items such as tilapia are cornered by enormous, well-established international players using cheap labor to keep prices down. Players such as the Vietnamese, for instance, have decimated the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry with their cut-rate product.
“It would be a long time before we could even think about becoming an exporter,” Rode said.
But there’s also good news, and it has the potential to be very good. The trick, say industry experts, is to forget about large-scale production of mass-market items such as tilapia and catfish and concentrate on domestic niches.
Those niches can be vast. Consider what Bell does with its shoals of yellow perch. The vast majority of its production is gobbled up at fish fries around the upper Midwest, where yellow perch is the battered, deep-fried fillet of choice.
A 1980s study found that some 38 million pounds of the fish were consumed within a 50-mile perimeter around the shores of the Great Lakes. Yet wild-caught supplies have plummeted—in part because the Lake Michigan population was decimated by an invasion of zebra mussels—from around 18 million pounds in 1980 to 8 million in 2005.
That leaves lots of slack for Bell to pick up. So much that the company, already the nation’s largest yellow perch farm, plans to increase production to an astronomical 20 million perch by 2016.
“We’re looking to expand the market, of course, and develop new territory for yellow perch,” Bell’s McCowan said. “But fish fries are our main target at this point.”
Bell also is ramping up a bluegill production line targeted at high-end restaurants. That’s where much of Indiana’s aquaculture future may lie—raising fresh, restaurant-grade fillets from semi-exotic species.
“That’s where we’re moving,” Purdue’s Rode said. “There’s a lot of talk right now about walleye. They’re still working out the bugs in the technology, but it looks to be even better than yellow perch, in terms of growth.”
So Indiana’s play is to offer niche fish to the domestic market, capitalizing on the distribution advantages of being near the middle of the country.
Tough business
But there are plenty of hurdles to overcome. For one thing, the industry isn’t exactly friendly to most mom-and-pop outfits. Growing fish profitably generally requires economies of scale. And that means millions of dollars in startup funds.
Take Bell Aquaculture. The company, which currently employs 39, told the Indiana Economic Development Corp. it planned to plow $58 million into its operations from 2010 to 2018. The IEDC offered the company up to $625,000 in tax credits based on its plans to create 111 jobs during that period.
“Commercial fish farmers, once their facilities are up and running, need to be able to cover operating costs for months, even years, until their first harvest,” Martin at Fish Farming News said. “Cash flow can be a huge problem. Commercial fish farming, on a large scale, is not for the under-capitalized, nor the faint of heart.”
Add to that what Martin calls over-regulation. He said the domestic aquaculture market has been “waiting to explode” for 20 years, but has been held in check by public resistance and regulatory uncertainties. It’s been cast as a polluting industry (all that fish poop), making regulation sometimes dicey and unpredictable.
“The permitting process for opening and expanding an aquaculture facility can be very difficult,” he said. “It depends on what the politics and the climate are in your particular state or region.”
In Indiana, at least, aquaculture still flies mostly below the radar—for better or worse. It doesn’t face a lot of regulatory static, but doesn’t enjoy much public awareness, either. For instance, though IEDC was happy to provide Bell a tax break, it doesn’t make any special effort to promote fish farming in general.
Bell, for its part, calls Indiana a pro-aquaculture state and doesn’t profess to facing onerous regulatory hurdles. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Bell’s state-of-the-art production facility addresses many of the problems inherent in raising livestock of any sort.
Instead of slurping up the local water supply, Bell’s system is almost a closed cycle, endlessly filtering and reusing about 97 percent of what it takes in. Fish waste is treated and stored, and there’s research under way to turn it into fertilizer.
Martin would like to see more companies launching similarly aggressive investments. Opportunities abound, he believes, for aquaculture firms that develop the right business plans.
“Can domestic fish farmers compete with either wild harvest products or imports?” Martin said. “They can if they find a niche. Why are we leaving this opportunity on the table?”•
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