Fish, Without the Catch

Humans are overfishing the oceans and we’re going to pay for it soon

85% of the world’s fisheries are either overfished or exploited. We have hit the largest seafood demand in human history. And at our current rate of consumption, studies show that by 2048 all of the earth’s fisheries will collapse. 

The global fishing rate is 2–3 times bigger than what the ocean can sustainably support. It’s very possible that we’ll run out of fish; a scenario we should try to avoid. 

We have even more problems with current fishing tactics: we’re polluting the oceans which means many of the fish you’re consuming contain dangerous chemicals and toxins. Our fish supply — known as one of the healthiest sources of protein is becoming dangerous to eat because of pollution and climate change, human-caused issues. 

So humans are polluting the oceans, causing climate change and overfishing the oceans. Eventually, we’ll have no fish supply left, and by 2050, we’ll have 9.7 billion hungry people. 

Catching fish also harms other forms of marine life. Trawling and gillnets (nets used to hunt fish) capture more than the targeted seafood. These nets also damage ecosystems such as coral reefs. 

The problems continue. With the demand of fish going up and fish supplies plummeting to the ocean floor (pun intended) the cost to buy fish will go up. Soon people might not even be able to afford fish. 

We’re depleting fish at a faster rate than they’re being produced. The global fish market is valued at an estimated $1B. We definitely can’t have this market to collapse due to overfishing. 

The solution is cultured meat

There are a few fish themed cultured meat companies working on producing fish in labs. A Canadian cellular agriculture company, SeaFuture is a very early-stage startup in the culture fish space. They’re working on researching and understanding fish, trying to comprehend how their cells behave and model it in a lab using tissue engineering. Another company is Wild Type. They’re also a pretty early stage company, but their vision is growing salmon without salmon. Read up on their business case here. 

The most advanced cellular agriculture company producing seafood is probably Finless Foods. They are working on culturing fish cells to produce sustainable seafood. Their products will not contain heavy metals and other contaminants (their fish is literally cleaner) and they’ll be way friendlier to the environment. 

So far finless has made fish croquettes entirely out of cells (no fish). They have been the first company to ever make fish inside a lab. 

How did Finless foods make “finless” fish? 

They start by isolating myosatellite stem cells from a harmless fish biopsy. Myosatellite cells are adult muscle stem cells; they will eventually grow into muscle, but they aren’t muscle yet. From the biopsy taken, they remove the fat so they’re just left with the myosatellite cells. Normally, these cells grow into muscle in the animal’s body, but finless foods and other cultured meat startups aim to grow them in-vitro. 

“In-vitro” means “in glass”(as in test-tube or petri dish). Currently, the cells are being grown in-vitro. They’re placed inside a petri dish on a nutrient-based medium that feeds the cells. As the cells are fed they proliferate into many more cells. 

Then, a scaffold is added. A scaffold is a tissue engineering technique used to help cells grow into tissue. Scaffolds mimic extracellular matrixes (ECMs) which are found in the bodies of most living things, and they help cells grow and form tissues. Scaffolds are added to direct tissue growth. 

Eventually, the isolated cell sample turns into muscle. It is normally grown in bioreactor tanks. 

The benefits of cultured fish 

The obvious one is it uses no animals (cruelty-free). Since no animals are needed, we no longer need to go fishing, and our oceans won’t be overfished. Less human contact with the ocean means less fish (and untargeted seafood) dying, and fewer ecosystems destroyed (i.e. we can have coral reefs!). Overall, the environment and oceans will definitely thank us. 

The fish will be healthier. We’re polluting our oceans super fast and our fish are consuming our toxins. And we’re consuming the fish, therefore, we’re consuming toxins. Not sure how many people like their salmon with heavy metals, I certainly don’t. Cultured fish is literally “clean” meat since it’s cleaner for the environment and clean from any contaminants. 

Since we’re crafting fish from the cellular level, we can adjust and monitor what flavours and fats are being added to the fish, and make the fish healthier (e.g. less saturated fat). 

The fish will also be affordable. In a few years who knows how the price of fish will increase. (Since the supply is going way down and demand is going way up it’s expected the price will increase.) Finless foods is creating fish that is not only cleaner but more affordable. So that everyone in the world can eat cleaner, healthier and more sustainable seafood. 

Current setbacks of the clean seafood tech

Our tissue engineering skills aren’t advanced enough to create complex structures of seafood (e.g. squid, a whole salmon). Hopefully, we’ll get there someday. 

One area of setback is the nutrient medium. Researchers haven’t found a good enough serum to grow the cells in at a decent price. One of the main goals in the cultured meat industry is to find a good medium to grow cells in (that is both effective and cost friendly). 

It is hoped that in the future they’ll be able to replace all seafood. Currently, they’re working on simpler cellular structures of seafood so they can hit the market soon. 

The goal is to enter the market asap once they have (a) good tasting product(s) at a decent price point. 

Overall, cultured meat has the capability to save the world’s oceans and hunger. Soon we’ll run out of resources to feed everybody. We also need to ensure that the food we’re eating is healthy — at this rate, we’re destroying + polluting oceans and there are no guarantees. 

Finless foods, SeaFuture and Wild type are addressing the challenges of our generation: climate change, overfishing/ocean resources and health. And cellular agriculture is the solution. 

Feel free to contact if you have any questions!