Dr Ken Overturf – Securing a Sustainable Future for Aquaculture

To help feed a global population of the magnitude expected by 2050, fish farming will need to increase dramatically. Two main factors limiting the expansion and future sustainability of the aquaculture industry are finding feed replacements that have equivalent or improved nutritional benefits, and preventing disease. Over the last 20 years, Dr Ken Overturf and his team at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in collaboration with the Aquaculture Research Institute at the University of Idaho have been working to establish a genetic enhancement program for rainbow trout, with the aim of helping to boost global fish production in a sustainable manner.