Barley protein could replace fishmeal

ABERDEEN, Idaho, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've developed a barley protein concentrate that might be fed to trout and other commercially produced fish instead of fishmeal.

Scientists from the U.S. Department Agriculture's research service and Montana Microbial Products LLC of Butte, Mont., have applied for a patent on a new enzymatic method that concentrates barley protein and that also produces raw material for ethanol.

Researchers said the process provides a high-protein ingredient that could replace other, more expensive protein sources like fishmeal and soy protein concentrate in commercial fish feed.

Fish physiologist Rick Barrows at the USDA's small grains and potato germplasm research unit in Aberdeen, Idaho, said there's currently no commercial production of barley protein concentrate, but it might completely replace fishmeal in fish feed if other essential nutrients are provided as supplements.

That, added Barrows, could help reduce the demand for millions of tons of fish taken from the ocean each year to produce fishmeal.

The study appears in the magazine Agricultural Research, which is available at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/feb10/fish0210.htm.