Tuesday, February 27, 2018

28/02/2018: Fishmeal research with IFFO – Opportunities through AquaFarm

by Dr Neil Auchterlonie

Although I have contributed articles previously, this is my first opportunity to write a column for International Aquafeed, in what will become a regular contribution by invitation of the magazine

 
I am delighted to accept this kind offer and look forward to discussing current topics in the fish meal and fish oil industry which I hope will be of interest to the readers. I am excited by the opportunity to bring more attention onto fishmeal and fish oil during a time when journalists’ interest seems so focused on the next new novel ingredient that can apparently replace these ingredients. At IFFO we recognise the importance of more volume of ingredients for feed supply, but it should be “as well as, not instead of” fishmeal and fish oil.

For this edition, there is no better place to start than to mention the AquaFarm conference in Fiere Pordenone February 15-16, where I met Roger Gilbert, the Publisher of International Aquafeed, for the first time. For those who have not experienced the event, AquaFarm is the Italian aquaculture industry’s forum for engaging with the sector, which also provides a platform for updates on the latest developments in research and technology.

Roger chaired a session on aquaculture feeds at which I had been invited to present by the organisers of AquaFarm. In the first half of the session, my presentation lined up with those of Dr Niels Alsted (of Biomar, but representing FEFAC), and Dr Umberto Luzzana (representing Skretting). What was most pleasing was to see that both my feed company friends’ presentations aligned perfectly with the key message of my own, without any coordination to that effect.

That message is that fishmeal and fish oil are important constituents of aquafeeds – they provide important nutritional contributions to farmed fish that cannot be entirely sourced from any other individual ingredients. The supply of fishmeal and fish oil, however, is finite, and approximates to five million tonnes of fishmeal and just under one million tonnes of fish oil produced every year, which makes supplying a growing feed industry challenging.

The production of fishmeal and fish oil is unlikely to change too much over time (although there is some interesting data on the possible use of by-product as a raw material, and particularly from a growing aquaculture processing industry). The supply of ingredients to meet the demand of aquafeeds, therefore, will come from other sources.


Read the full article, HERE.

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