November 8, 2022 — With several fish farms planned to open in Maine over the next few years, new research shows an unlikely union between the seafood and logging industries could help the environment and both of their bottom lines.
A study from earlier this year has raised the idea of using byproducts from Maine’s sawmills to grow yeast for fish food on fish farms. Gina Scott, an at-sea fishing monitor who conducted the study at the University of New England, found the strategy could save fish farmers money, cut back on fishmeal’s environmental impact and provide a new market for wood waste after the downturn of Maine’s paper mills.
One of the main ways fish farms feed their fish is fishmeal, a food that is often made with herring or menhaden. But the cost of the fish food has tripled in the past 20 years, sending farmers in search of other potential foods. It’s also in low supply and uses a high amount of the important forage fish to make it.
At the same time, the closure of several paper mills has cut down the market for forestry byproducts such as sawdust and woodchips.