The management and disposal of solid wastes from seafood processing, food manufacturing and allied industries is a major economic and environmental issue for Australian industry.   Large quantities of wet waste of this nature are routinely disposed of to landfill at considerable cost to industry.  Some companies have developed markets or alternative uses for their wastes (such as petfood, bait, pig food or fertilisers) to avoid or offset the costs of disposal, but generally the wastes are supplied free of charge to secondary users and there is limited opportunity for downstream value-adding.

The utilisation of seafood, aquatic and other food processing wastes as a replacement for imported fishmeal in aquafeed production is the main focus of this project.   The availability of locally-produced formulated feeds using these otherwise wasted resources would provide a firm base to underpin current and future aquaculture production in Victoria and indeed Australia.

The study emphasised the need for a multi-pronged approach to determine the suitability of ingredients for incorporation into fish diets.  In all cases, the findings have to be confirmed through growth trials, prior to possible commercialisation.