by Dr
Neil Auchterlonie
At IFFO we talk often, and extensively, about the nutritional contribution that is provided via marine ingredients, and the way that they are the foundations for aquafeed and fed aquatic species in general.
Within the trade press, and even the mainstream media, there is a lot of interest in novel ingredients for aquafeed, and that is, of course, understandable, given the pressures on providing more volume of supply to maintain growth in aquaculture.
Whilst we cannot say, in a technical sense, that fishmeal is essential in the formulation of a nutritionally complete aqua feed for any particular species, we can at least say that it is indispensable in a practical sense. The reason for that is because the provision of essential nutrients in one material package, such as fishmeal, removes the need for feed producers to supplement individual nutrients, such as specific amino acids, a deficiency of which may carry the risk of restricting growth performance. Fishmeal is practically essential, in this sense.
One aspect of the use of concepts such as Fish In : Fish Out ratio (FIFO), and Forage Fish Dependency Ratio (FFDR) that aspire to reduce the level of fishmeal and fish oil in aqua feeds that we have been looking at this year, is the nutritional relationship to the end product and the health of the farmed fish. In no other species is this more contentious than in farmed Atlantic salmon. Our argument in IFFO is that these concepts are not relevant, providing the marine ingredients that are being used are responsibly produced and sourced.
There really is no rational argument for setting limits on fishmeal and fish oil in salmon feed, on a preconception that the link will improve the management of the fisheries. In many instances, these are the best performing fisheries anyway, as the biology and life history of many of the small pelagic species makes management relatively more straightforward (in general), so this really is a non-sequitir. Certification schemes, such as the IFFO Responsible Supply scheme, are the best way to achieve those kinds of improvements.
Read more HERE.
At IFFO we talk often, and extensively, about the nutritional contribution that is provided via marine ingredients, and the way that they are the foundations for aquafeed and fed aquatic species in general.
Within the trade press, and even the mainstream media, there is a lot of interest in novel ingredients for aquafeed, and that is, of course, understandable, given the pressures on providing more volume of supply to maintain growth in aquaculture.
Whilst we cannot say, in a technical sense, that fishmeal is essential in the formulation of a nutritionally complete aqua feed for any particular species, we can at least say that it is indispensable in a practical sense. The reason for that is because the provision of essential nutrients in one material package, such as fishmeal, removes the need for feed producers to supplement individual nutrients, such as specific amino acids, a deficiency of which may carry the risk of restricting growth performance. Fishmeal is practically essential, in this sense.
One aspect of the use of concepts such as Fish In : Fish Out ratio (FIFO), and Forage Fish Dependency Ratio (FFDR) that aspire to reduce the level of fishmeal and fish oil in aqua feeds that we have been looking at this year, is the nutritional relationship to the end product and the health of the farmed fish. In no other species is this more contentious than in farmed Atlantic salmon. Our argument in IFFO is that these concepts are not relevant, providing the marine ingredients that are being used are responsibly produced and sourced.
There really is no rational argument for setting limits on fishmeal and fish oil in salmon feed, on a preconception that the link will improve the management of the fisheries. In many instances, these are the best performing fisheries anyway, as the biology and life history of many of the small pelagic species makes management relatively more straightforward (in general), so this really is a non-sequitir. Certification schemes, such as the IFFO Responsible Supply scheme, are the best way to achieve those kinds of improvements.
Read more HERE.
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