Scientists aim to turn salmon vegetarian

Published on Sunday 18 January 2004 00:00

SCOTTISH scientists are leading the race to develop the world’s first vegetarian salmon in an attempt to make the salmon-farming industry more environmentally friendly in the wake of a series of scares over its safety.

Scientists at the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture believe they have found evidence that some fish can take well to a vegetarian diet, and they hope that to be able to selectively breed a new generation of vegetarian salmon for use in fish-farming.

Farmed salmon currently feed on a diet of pellets made from processed fish caught in large-scale industrial fisheries. The diet mimics the feeding habits of wild salmon, which prey on smaller fish.

But the scientists believe that taking the tiny fish from the sea to feed to farmed fish is unsustainable because of pressure on fragile sea-fish stocks. Species such as cod and haddock also feed on the smaller fish.

Even if the salmon will be unable to go completely vegetarian, experts hope to be able to minimise the amount of the fish in the diet of farmed salmon. The new diet will be a mixture of soya-based protein and vegetable oils. Studies have also found vegetable-based feeds contain fewer toxins than those made from processed fish.

A report from the United States published 10 days ago, warned consumers against eating more than six portions of Scottish farmed salmon a year because of levels of toxins.

But the report has been criticised by other scientists. Dr Douglas Tocher, senior lecturer at the institute, said: "Farmed Scottish salmon is safe. I eat it. But we still want the industry to be sustainable. As the amount of fish-farming worldwide rises, there will be more and more demand for processed fish and unless we move to vegetable-based substitutes."

A spokesman for Scottish Quality salmon said the industry was unlikely to switch to vegetarian salmon unless they could be sure the new breeds were as high quality as the ones currently being produced.