A project in Oman aimed at developing fish feed featuring the aquatic fern azolla as its main ingredient has moved closer to reality after the Zubair Enterprise Development Center, an Omani business management consultancy firm, completed an economic feasibility study on the initiative.
The Sustainable Tuhlub Project is part of an effort launched by stakeholders in both Oman’s public and private sectors to increase local fish feed production and, therefore, reduce the emirate’s fish feed import volumes, which surged 375 percent from around 3,250 metric tons (MT) in 2020 to over 15,500 MT in 2023.
The project also aligns with aquaculture objectives laid out in the Oman Vision 2040 framework, which is a guideline for economic and social planning in Oman between 2021 and 2040.
“The Sustainable Tuhlub Project marks a significant leap forward in innovation for the fish feed sector, providing environmentally friendly, high-quality nutrition for farmed fish,” Zubair said in a statement. “By leveraging azolla, the project aims to enhance fish health and quality in aquaculture, reduce reliance on imported feed, and support sustainability goals by utilizing natural, renewable resources.”
According to the Azolla Foundation, a U.K. nonprofit that aims to promote the environmental benefits of using the plant in myriad industries, azolla – which is also referred to as mosquito fern, water fern, or fair moss – can be a boon for freshwater fish farming because the product allows nitrogen to thrive, which can be “a limiting factor for productivity of tropical aquatic ecosystems.”
It also estimated that 95 percent of the cost of formulating an average effective diet “is related to meeting protein and energy needs of the fish.”
Zaher bin Salem Al Alawi, the CEO of the Tuhlub Project, said the initiative “will not only meet local market demands but also position Oman as a leader in eco-friendly aquaculture solutions.”
Previous reports released by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have found that laboratory feeding trials on the use of azolla as a complete diet for fish returned inconclusive results, with the agency saying “adequate consideration should be given to the preference of each target fish to particular species of azolla before they are used as feed.”
FAO further explained that although fresh azolla used as a complete diet for high-density cage culture may not be economically viable, it “may be useful in low-density and low-input cage culture [operations].”
