The Center of Marine Biotechnology in Baltimore… Who Knew? I by Tim Campbell
magine a day when fish waste is turned into gas to power machinery, and the fish we put on our tables to eat tastes better than ever. The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute Center of Marine Biotechnology (COMB) is making great strides in bio-fuel development as well as in advancing the next generation of seafood production. On October 8, 2009, while attending the Coastal Conservation Association Baltimore Chapter’s annual banquet, a group of us had the opportunity to go on a special guided tour of COMB located at 701 East Pratt Street in Baltimore City. I’ve lived in the Baltimore area most of my life and didn’t know the center existed. When I
focused on during my second guided tour. We talked about aquaculture research and development, re-circulating and filtering water, and transforming fish waste into fuel-grade methane gas, which when perfected, can run some of the center’s pumps and other machinery. If the center’s energy use can be offset by just 10 percent using methane gas, then total self-sustainability may not be too far away. Many researchers and scientists in the field of biotechnology consider this development very exciting and a real breakthrough in bio-fuel technology. About 160 people work in the building as part of COMB. Most of the staff are researchers and scientists, including a large
At COMB, fish waste is turned into sludge that creates methane gas, which helps make electricity for the facility. asked some of my friends, none of them knew the place was there either. During the tour, I asked our guide, John Stubblefield, laboratory manager and research scientist with a specialty in induced spawning, if I could interview him for an article sometime, and he graciously accepted. The center opened in 1995. Among the many unique studies COMB is known for are re-circulating aquaculture and biofiltration, which is what Stubblefield and I 52 April 2010 PropTalk
number of microbiologists working on such things as fish nutrition, reproduction, developmental biology, disease treatment and immunology, marine microbial ecology, marine microbiology technology, and molecular biology. Dr. Yonathan Zohar, the center’s director, specializes in fish endocrinology and aquaculture. On a COMB website video, he says that the oceans have reached “maximum sustainable yield” and that the
“global supply of seafood has been under greater pressure due to higher demand, over-fishing and environmental factors.” By the year 2020, aquaculture will need to produce one out of two fish to provide the world’s population with seafood, according to some estimates. The center is doing problem-solving research and is taking steps within the field of aquaculture to study how to better use the ocean’s resources. COMB studies recirculating aquaculture as a means of producing eggs to grow high-value food fish in captivity while re-using filtered tap water in a completely self-contained setting that has little or no impact on the environment. The ultimate goal of this type of aquaculture is to reduce pressure on natural fish stocks and to provide a nutritious food source for the world’s growing population in a manner that is environmentally friendly. At COMB there are large fish tanks connected to other big tanks that recycle water and filter fish waste that turns ammonia, which is toxic, into fuel-grade methane. In other words, fish waste turned to sludge creates methane gas, which helps make electricity. Some energy companies are very interested in the development of bio-fuel production. COMB wants to eventually become part of a consortium of other research institutes, federal and state agencies, and private industry groups to study bio-fuel production. The notion of transforming fish waste into fuelgrade methane gas for energy production is still in the early stages, and much more work needs to be done; but the process works, and the potential for environmentally friendly energy production is on the horizon. The center is home to cobia, gilt-head sea bream, and striped bass blissfully swimming around in pristine filtered re-circulating water tanks. There are tanks with brood stocks as well as younger fish swimming in proptalk.com
