How Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) can Save the Seas
The BSF don’t just transform discarded organic matter into high-quality protein feed for fish, poultry, and other industries. The waste that BSF produce while doing so can also be put to use as a highly valuable organic fertilizer. This is what a real circular and sustainable ecosystem should look like.
How does BSF farming save life in the oceans?
First and foremost, black soldier flies do not have a negative impact on the humans or the environment - they are harmless in the sense that they don’t sting, don’t spread diseases and also don’t pose risks to the local ecosystem.
Apart from not harming the environment they make positive contributions in helping us combat some of the results of unsustainable food and feed growing practices. Here are some of the incredible ways through which BSF saves our oceans and the life inside them:
(1) BSF supports sustainable agriculture
Soybeans have also been used as a feed source for poultry. Growing soybeans has led to severe deforestation along with the dangerous usage of high volumes of pesticides and herbicides which outflow into our waters. Deforestation also leads to less food for the fish since less zooplankton is present.
The good news is that BSF can be used as a substitute for commercial feed. The level of inclusion, or percentage of BSF that should be used in a feed depends on the species. Generally speaking, optimal inclusion percentage for poultry varies between 5-15%. Making the switch from soybean to BSF can help our precious water resources, minimize the use of pesticides and insecticides as well as put a halt to or limit deforestation.
(2) BSF supports sustainable aquaculture
Commercial feed is produced using fishmeal, and this is one of the reasons why we see a sharp decline in fish population across all the oceans and seas. A large amount of fish caught is used to feed other fish and not humans! It is estimated that up to 80% of fish processed to be used as fish meal can actually be used directly for human consumption. It is absurd that we’re wasting so much resources to feed fish to the fish.
(3) BSF supports waste management
The waste-management problem is a global issue. Aside from unsightly landfills, there is a serious threat from poisonous gases that the waste produces, which can be equally dangerous for humans, environment, and ultimately waters since this is where the liquefied waste ends up.
Black soldier flies have the solution to these severe problems since the larvae of BSFL thrive on decaying matter. This means that they can break down all kinds of waste (including your kitchen waste) into nutritious food for other species.
This conserves the environment and reduces pressure on exhausted landfills, which, as a result, helps to save the seas.
Conclusion
Black soldier flies - no matter how small - have a huge potential impact on the conservation of our environment.
These incredible insects are super-efficient at breaking down waste material into useful products such as protein-rich feeds. Whether you’re consuming them in your diet, feeding them to your pets, using them as industrial feed substitute, or using their organic fertilizer, by supporting the BSF economy, you will be helping to save the very endangered life in oceans and seas across the globe.