SFP launches aquaculture Feed Solutions Toolkit for seafood companies

October 29, 2024 - Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) has launched its aquaculture Feed Solutions Toolkit, a one-stop resource for companies to tackle the climate change, habitat and biodiversity risks associated with aquaculture feed. The toolkit combines over 80 tools, standards, initiatives and platforms from multiple organisations, along with guidance and case studies on practical steps to improve feed sustainability.

The Toolkit connects seafood companies with tools and resources to make commitments, assess the risks associated with their feed ingredients and implement improvements. Major suppliers and retailers, including Sainsbury's, Tesco, Thai Union and Walmart, have already set goals and targets to improve the sustainability of the feed used to produce their products or the ingredients it contains.

"We want all seafood companies to include aquaculture feed in their sustainability commitments and policies because feed poses significant environmental and climate challenges," says Paul Bulcock, aquaculture information manager at SFP/ "Addressing this issue, along with continued improvements in farm planning and management, will enhance aquaculture's role as a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible food source."

Aquaculture now accounts for more than half of the world's seafood, by volume, and is critical to meeting increasing global demand for seafood while offering a low-carbon alternative to other animal products. However, aquaculture feed remains a significant climate change and environmental hotspot, with Riss such as land conversion, deforestation, overexploitation, pollution and bycatch from the production or capture of feed ingredients. It is estimated that aquaculture's use of compound feed ingredients is responsible for up to 70-80 percent of its carbon impact and up to 90 percent of certain environmental impacts such as land and water use.

While multiple tools, standards and improvement initiatives have already been developed to assist the seafood supply chain in meeting the challenge of feed sustainability, the Feed Solutions Toolkit represents the first time these resources have been curated in one place.

The Feed Solutions Toolkit was produced with funding support from the Walmart Foundation for the project titled, 'Addressing the Carbon and Biodiversity Impacts of Aquaculture by Motivating Responsible Aquaculture Practices at Scale.' 

For more information, visit HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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Race to the Top: Ecuador leads the way towards sustainable and responsible aquaculture

October 29, 2024 - On Tuesday, October 22, during AquaExpo Guayaquil, the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) and the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA) hosted the inaugural edition of the new sustainability forum, Race to the Top. With over 300 participants, the event, held at the Guayaquil Convention Center, brought together global leaders and key executives from Ecuador to discuss how the country's shrimp industry has become a global benchmark for sustainability.

José Antonio Camposano, executive president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA); Alex Olsen, CEO of Corporación LANEC, and Sandro Coglitore, CEO of Omarsa during the Panel “Cultivating the Future of an Industry. A Conversation Among Leading Producers with a Common Goal: Elevating Standards in Aquaculture”.

Over the course of four sections focused on governance, environmental responsibility, economic sustainability and social responsibility, Race to the Top featured 15 presentations in the form of talks, panels and success stories from Ecuador's shrimp industry. The forum brought together 35 nationally and internationally renowned speakers. Leaders from various sectors - including academia, agriculture, finance and aquaculture - participated, all united by a common goal, sustainability.

During the event, the director of the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP), Pamela Nath, stated: "Excellence is not a destination but an ongoing race. In Ecuador's shrimp sector, we live that race everyday because we now that being leaders in volume or quality is not enough - we must keep improving, innovating and constantly surpassing ourselves. At SSP, we aim to raise standards and lead by example, inspiring others to join our efforts. This forum serves as an analogy for the journey we call Race to the Top, shaped by the commitment, discipline and strategy of our producers. This is the message we want to convey to industry stakeholders and representatives from other sectors joining us today."

The Executive President of the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA), Jośe Antonio Camposano, empahsised: "Ecuador has established itself as a global benchmark in the shrimp industry thanks to its commitment to innovation and sustainability, proving that it is possible to lead responsibly. In this race to the top, it becomes clear that collaboration among the various players in the value chain - ranging from companies, international organisations and banks to environmental groups - is essential to advancing toward a more responsible, balanced and efficient future for industries, people and the planet."

Among the speakers were representatives from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), BASF, BioMar, Biolan, Conservation International (CI), Cofimar, Corporación Lanec, DSM-Firmenich, Earthworm Foundation, Edpacif, FMO, Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), GPS Group, Grupo Almar, Grupo Ekos, Houdek, Inve Aquaculture, MSD Animal Health, Nicovita, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Omarsa, Skretting, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), among others.

For more information, visit HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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Finnforel accepts investment from Mitsubishi Corporation

October 25, 2024 - Finnforel, a leading aquaculture technology company headquartered in Finland has accepted the investment from Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) to accelerate expansion of land-based fish farming projects globally.

Finnforel Gigafactory in Varkaus © Finnforel

Through this investment from Mitsubishi Corporation, Finnforel will develop their farming of rainbow trout, which is suitable cold-water fish species for Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS). These systems employ advanced biofiltration to allow control of all essential environmental factors and ensure stable, safe and clean indoor conditions, while efficiently recirculating and reusing water within a closed system, ensuring zero biowaste and minimum wastewater. The usage of recirculating aquaculture systems facilitates year-round fish production, irrespective of environmental conditions.

Finnforel's Gigafactory concept is covering also processing and packaging of consumer fish products onsite. Finnforel's solution allows to minimise the number of parties involved in the logistic chain and cut transportation time. This will naturally guarantee ultimate freshness of fish products delivered to consumers and lower the cost. Concept also supports local food systems and reduces the carbon footprint associated with long-distance transport.

Founded in 2015, Finnforel is an innovative aquaculture technology company that currently operates recirculating aquaculture systems facilities in Finland, with a total production volume of 3000 tonnes per year. Through a high degree of vertical integration from hatchery to farming and packaging, Finnforel achieves significant efficiency and scale, demonstrated in its ambition to multiply its capacity through global expansion by 2032.

Pekka A Viljakainen, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Finnforel Group, said: "Finnforel's mission is to save the seas and feed the planet. This huge mission requires strategic partners and shareholders, with whom we can deploy our technological and operational knowledge to all continents. I believe that in future Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) play a crucial role in enhancing food security by enabling efficient, sustainable and reliable production of fish where execs nutrition and waste will not end up in the seas. That is why we developed our Finforel Gigafactory with zero percent waste policy, to be implemented there were the consumers are. We are very proud to have Mitsubishi, with a global distribution channels, talent and resources to support our Finnforel's journey."

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), aquatic foods constitute 15 percent of the world's animal protein intake. Global apparent consumption of aquatic foods per capita amounted to 20.6 kilograms in 2021, having more than doubled over the past 60 years. FAO projects that consumption will increase by a further 12 percent by 2032. In 2022 and for the first time in history, global aquaculture surpassed capture fisheries as the main producer of aquatic animals, with aquaculture production reaching an unprecedented 94.4 million tonnes. Simultaneously, consumer groups and environmental agencies around the world have raised the importance of changing the current fish farming and fishing methods towards fully sustainable, zero percent waste/environmental emission concepts.

Akihiko Soga, Division COO, Marine Products Division of Mitsubishi Corporation said: "We are pleased to join Finnforel's journey through this investment. We deeply empathise with Finnforel's vision to develop sustainable protein supply through their gigafactory concept, in which they handle feed manufacturing, farming, processing and product branding integrally. MC will continue to strengthen our farming business and contribute to sustainable supply of food resources and addressing societal needs.

For more information, visit HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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