RASTECH Magazine

Industry update News Feeding and Nutrition
Norwegian alliance seeks novel fish feed source

December 17, 2020  By  Nestor Arellano


(Photo: BioMar Group)

An environmental foundation has joined forces with the Norwegian Seafood Federation and seven major players in the fish feed industry to seek out new sources of raw materials for fish feed. The alliance’s main goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of the Norwegian salmon industry.

Members of the alliance are The Bellona Foundation, an independent non-profit organization that aims to meet and fight climate challenges, the Norwegian Seafood Federation, Aker Biomarine, BioMar, Calanus, Cargill, Hordafor, Skretting and Mowi.

The group established a collaboration platform called Råvareløftet.

Advertisement

“The goal is to accelerate the phasing in of new and sustainable raw materials for fish feed,” according to Bellona. “This will enable increased production of seafood, and reduce the overall climate and environmental footprint of the aquaculture industry.”

Feed alone accounts for approximately three quarters of greenhouse gas emissions of Norwegian farmed salmon – when airfreight to distant markets is omitted, according to Bellona.

Reducing the use of vegetable raw materials, such as soy and rapeseed, in the feed is an important measure to reduce the climate footprint, the group said.

Råvareløftet will explore the potentials of  new marine raw materials like mesopelagic fish and species low in the food chain, such as algae, copepods and krill. It will also focus on the cultivation of new feed raw materials, and how future salmon feed may rely on products derived from insects, yeast and bacteria. It will also examine how raw materials for fish feed can be derived from animal and vegetable by-products of other production processes, such as capture-based seafood production.


Print this page

Advertisement

Stories continue below