Asia’s aquaculture – the domestic production of fish – has earned Dr. Modadugu Gupta the position of 2005 World Food Prize Laureate.

Gupta spoke Tuesday about the Blue Revolution of Asia, explaining his work in aquaculture.

Thirty years ago, Gupta, World Fish Center research coordinator, began his research into increasing the amount of small-scale fisheries in Asia to reduce hunger, malnutrition and poverty in Asia’s developing countries.

He said in order for these countries to continue developing, they need to solve the problem of the scarcity of food.

“Freedom from hunger is essential for sound economic growth,” Gupta said. “Also, reduced poverty is the key to economic security.”

He said in some Asian countries, fish are the largest source of animal protein – sometimes even 100 percent of the animal protein consumed in coastal communities.

This demand has led to the increasing popularity of aquaculture. These fish are sold for human consumption, but are also made into fish meal, which is fed to livestock and back to fish.

Gupta said feeding fish meal to fish is not a hazardous practice, but other options are being explored because the number of fish grown commercially is so high there won’t be enough other fish to feed the fish being produced. “We are researching other options, such as soybean meal, to replace fish meal as a feed,” Gupta said.

By growing fish in rice fields, aquaculture has become a practical route for Asian farmers to take, he said. The fish help with fertilization and insect control.

“Combining fish with rice decreases the cost of production and pesticides can be completely avoided because of the fish. Also, the fish have been shown to increase rice production from nine to 11 percent,” Gupta said.

He said fish are an excellent way to diversify Asian farmers’ commodities, especially because the farmer can fall back on fish if the rice crop fails in a season.

Aside from traditional established farmers, the new aquaculture movement has mostly involved many “vulnerable groups” such as the landless and women. Gupta said when women raise fish, they can increase their income, nutrition and social status. In some cases, their incomes can even double.

“The primary lesson that we in Iowa can learn through the aquaculture in Asia is integration,” said Wendy Wintersteen, interim dean of the College of Agriculture. “True solutions lie in bringing concepts together. Thinking about it like that is one of the most important things.”