Aquaculture waste has become a sought-after resource

In late 2023, the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) announced a new chemical-free approach to treating aquaculture waste. With funding support from the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), Scottish Sea Farms, water technology supplier Power and Water and waste services company Tradebe, the goal of the approach is to enable seafood producers to deal with waste in a more circular way by returning by-products to the sector to fuel the growth of ocean life such as marine worms and seaweed.

Using an electrochemical process and ultrasound technology, the approach involves extracting excess water from waste matter and feeding the remaining nutrient-rich material to polychaetes to boost their growth.