Scientist banks on fish farm

US - In a basement lab at the Inner Harbor, one of the world's most intensely studied fish is swimming in a computer-monitored tank - a journey designed to end on a dinner plate.

For years, the gilthead seabream, a Mediterranean delicacy fished nearly to extinction, has been the focus of research at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute's Columbus Center.

To try to mass produce saltwater fish indoors - away from the ocean - scientists have been probing what they eat, how they mate, their growth rate, the water temperatures they prefer and techniques for ridding the massive tanks of their waste.

Now they believe they've figured out how to do it - and make money.

"The beauty of the system is that the tanks can be installed in warehouses and placed anywhere - in the Midwest, near an airport or railway, in an inner-city neighborhood where jobs are scarce," said Yonathan Zohar, director of UMBI's Center of Marine Biotechnology and godfather of the decade-long project.

Source: Baltimore Sun