Fisheries Dept explores usage of seafood by-products

Seafood processors in Guyana export a large quantity of products on the international market as a form of economic trade, but a large portion of fish and shrimp by-products is dumped into the water bodies, carrying negative imprints.
The Fisheries Department of the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday announced areas of research which were undertaken in recent time, highlighting how the usage of these waste materials can be processed to earn revenue. At the same time, local farmers can be adequately supplied with the new product. In present time, there have been complaints of lacking feed for animals or high costs attached for it to be sourced.

The researcher, Nakita Dookie, explained that some 55 per cent of the caught seafood are by-products after it is processed. It was recognised that the aquaculture and marine sectors have been stymied by some challenges, which can be eradicated through mutual assistance to each other.
“The aquaculture sector presently, and in the past, has been plagued with high cost of feed and unstable supply, while the marine sector is inherently being plagued with the fragile industry and limited stock. These two sectors can complement each other by working together, where the waste of one can be the solution for the other,” Dookie explained.
Dumping of by-products from the marine sector not only causes environmental degradation, but an increase in secondary costs. By-products of fish include the head, fins, bones, viscera, scales and skin, while those of seafood are the viscera, head, tail and shell.
According to Dookie, the utilisation of these parts will provide a cost-effective remedy for farmers. In most scenarios, fishmeal is commercially produced to feed animals in agricultural setting.
“By utilising the seafood processing by-product, farmers can have access to cost effective, local ingredients that are rich in protein. We can expand our aquaculture industry and we can also encourage the development of an aquafeed sector, where they will get involved in the development and formulation of feed to supply our farmers,” she insisted.
This method would benefit processors, hailing from the private sector, as they can earn an income from these waste materials. However, the research indicated that environmental sustainability would prove to be the greatest advantage.
“The environmental sustainability from this the whole thing basically comes from our ability to develop the seafood processing by-product into a feed ingredient…When these processors dump the seafood by-product into the river, it causes change in abundance, it affects reproductive capability and feeding behaviour of the species within the area”.