The manufacture of animal feed by using the waste from production processes allows the Las Tunas Fishing Company (Pescatun) to generate economic income and, at the same time, eliminate solid waste polluting the environment.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- As part of the circular economy, the entity has been involved in this production for almost two years, converting oyster shell waste into feed for pigs, poultry, and fish species.
Yordan Rueda Paz, technical director of Pescatun, told the Cuban News Agency in an exclusive interview that there are established clients such as the Ministry of Agriculture and the Swine Company, and are also working on diversifying inputs for a greater reach in the local and national market.
The processing of the shell guarantees about 98 percent of the calcium in the pigs' food, the manager added. Meanwhile, the fish guts are also used for clarias raising in the three breeding centers currently in operation in the province.
Although the income from this method is not high, it is constant. Its environmental impact is considerable, as the solid waste that went to the micro dumps as a polluting element is used today for animal feed, Rueda Paz said.
The province is working on the construction of breeding centers, and the expansion of the existing ones in the municipalities of Colombia, Manatí, and Majibacoa. The breeding of Cyprinus carps and other species is being promoted to reach a production plan of 20 million fry this year.
The completion of a hatchery in the coming weeks in the Gramal reservoir, in the northern municipality of Manatí, is among Pescatun’s plans, which aim to cover the aquaculture production in the eight Las Tunas municipalities.