17 minute read
Why sustainability is a key issue
Feed the fi sh, save the planet
Sustainability is the theme of the latest developments in aquafeed
BY ROBERT OUTRAM
Feed is a cri� cal factor for the aquaculture sector, not just because of its economic importance but also because ge� ng this issue right is vital for the industry’s long-term sustainability.
The ongoing debate about aquaculture’s impact on the environment is increasingly focused on what farmers feed to their animals and where those nutrients come from. It’s not surprising, then, that later this month the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) will be launching a new “kind Feed Standard”.
The Standard will address the hot topic of fi shmeal – clearly fi sh farming is not sustainable if it is seen to be contribu� ng to the overfi shing of bait fi sh species – but it goes much further than that. Feed producers will need to show that both their marine- and land-based ingredients meet strict environmental requirements, are responsibly sourced and also that their supply chain is not exploita� ve, especially for the workers and communi� es involved in it.
The ASC’s approach is to start with a 14-month “eff ec� ve period” stage in order to allow auditors, producers and their suppliers to prepare for cer� fi ca� on, followed by a 24-month transi� on period before the standard takes full eff ect. More details on the new Standard can be found on page 58 of this issue.
Why has feed become such an issue for the industry? One reason is concern regarding overfi shing. While some fi sheries are well regulated and held to sustainable levels, there is reason to believe that some parts of the ocean are facing the possibility that their fi sh stocks will soon be depleted – not just to provide fi sh for human consump� on but also for fi shmeal.
One accusa� on o� en levelled against fi sh farming – especially salmon farming – is that it consumes more fi sh than it produces, and so it is therefore fundamentally wasteful of the planet’s resources.
That may have been true at one � me, but the Sco� sh Salmon Producers Associa� on stresses that it is a diff erent story now. Aquafeed contains an increasing propor� on on non-marine ingredients, and also marine ingredients sourced from fi sh trimmings – a by-product of fi sh for human consump� on that would otherwise go to waste.
The SSPO says: “Sco� sh salmon farmers are commi� ed to ensuring that ingredients derived from wild fi sh, used in our fi sh feed, comes from managed, cer� fi ed sustainable fi sheries – we don’t currently use feed ingredients sourced from West African fi sheries.
“Our sector has commi� ed to achieving full traceability of all of its feed ingredients, along with major investments in feed and monitoring technologies to maximise the effi cient use of feed to minimise any wastage and poten� al impact.”
Most of the six million or so metric tonnes of fi shmeal and fi sh oil produced each year is for livestock feed – including marine, but mainly landbased species such as pigs and chickens- and pet food. Sco� sh salmon produc� on accounts for only 0.75% of it, the SSPO says.
Of the marine ingredients used in feed for Scot� sh salmon, around a third are now sourced from trimmings. With a Feed Conversion Ra� o (FCR), of 1.23:1, it currently takes 1.23kg of pelle� sed feed to produce 1kg of salmon, but only just under 25% of that is fi shmeal; and of that propor� on, just over 26% is derived from trimmings.
The SSPO calculates that the “FIFO” (Fish In, Fish Out) ra� o is around 0.81 for Sco� sh producers, on average, meaning that the sector actually produces more fi sh than it consumes.
The global demand for marine protein is expected to grow signifi cantly over the coming decades, however, and this means that the aquaculture industry must con� nue to search for alterna� ve forms of protein for feed, not to men� on the other components required to raise healthy fi sh.
The sustainability ques� on does not just apply to marine ingredients, either. Increased reliance on soya protein, for example, puts extra pressure on the world’s fer� le land areas and the unregulated produc� on of soya is already responsible for
alarming levels of deforesta� on – which is why the world’s leading aquafeed producers are focusing on their supply chains to ensure that they can be sure that they can be cer� fi ed as sustainable.
Feed giant Alltech Coppens has developed a Sustainability Index in order to approach this issue objec� vely and verifi ably. The company says: “The Alltech Coppens R&D and Procurement departments evaluate all raw materials used in our aquaculture products, ensuring they are sustainably sourced and responsibly and ul� mately benefi t farm performance and the future of our industry and planet. With data sourced from Global Feed Life Cycle Ins� tute (GFLI) and BLONK databases, diff erent feed is characterised according to its impact on diff erent factors, such as climate change, acidifi ca� on, etc.
“However, we also need to combine the data within this database and tailor it toward our own specifi c condi� ons. Assessing how much feed we produce, how much of each raw material or ingredient we use in each feed produce, how much of each raw material or ingredient we use in each feed and the geographical loca� on of our suppliers, we can evaluate the raw maand the geographical loca� on of our suppliers, we can evaluate the raw materials. We are determined to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development terials. We are determined to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and evaluate the origin of raw materials.” Goals (SDGs) and evaluate the origin of raw materials.”
In 2020, 80% of the raw materials that the group sourced were produced within Europe. Of these, 30% came from Germany (where the group’s main within Europe. Of these, 30% came from Germany (where the group’s main factory is based) and 16% from the Netherlands (where the head offi ce is factory is based) and 16% from the Netherlands (where the head offi ce is located). The company says that it expects that the numbers of local supply will located). The company says that it expects that the numbers of local supply will further increase throughout the current year. further increase throughout the current year.
Alltech’s evalua� on of fi sh feed quality is not only determined by parameters directly related to the fi sh (such as performance). There is also a focus on the directly related to the fi sh (such as performance). There is also a focus on the eff ect of the feed on the planet. The company conducts trials of alterna� ve raw materials, like insect meal and single-cell proteins. The Alltech Coppens R&D and Procurement departments are constantly sourcing new alterna� ve raw materials with a strong focus on lowering the impact the feed has on the environment. The company has also replaced 60% of its marine products with trimmings.
The approach is in line with what Alltech Coppens calls its “Four Pillars of Excellence” in fi sh nutri� on: Palatability, Performance, Pollu� on Control and Profi tability.
Climate change presents a direct threat to aquaculture as well as to the planet in general. Skre� ng, another of the major global feed producers, is se� ng out to evaluate and report its carbon footprint, star� ng with its Italian subsidiary, which in January this year became the fi rst in the group to have its carbon emissions independently cer� fi ed. Skre� ng’s Carbon Footprint Systema� c Approach has been cer� fi ed under ISO 14067:2018, the interna� onal standard that covers the quan� fi ca� on and repor� ng of the carbon footprint – the carbon emi� ed into the atmosphere from the en� re produc� on chain – of a product.
Skre� ng Italy is now in a posi� on, the company says, to provide cer� fi ed
Top: A school of anchovies Above: Feed pellets Left: Feed barge in Shetland
Above: The eniferBio team. From le� : Anssi Rantasalo, Joosu Kuivanen, Simo Ellilä, Heikki Keskitalo and Ville Pihlajaniemi. Right: Tetraselmis microalgae, Inalve Below: Black soldier fl y Opposite: Inalve’s facility and lab team (photos: Fanny Tondre) carbon footprint fi gures on any of the aquaculture feed products in its por� olio. This should help fi sh farmers to calculate their own carbon footprint and understand ways in which it can be reduced.
The cer� fi ca� on was conducted by Norway-based risk management and assurance group DNV GL, and covers the en� re produc� on process, from raw material procurement, through formula� on, and to fi nal product despatch through the factory gates.
Umberto Luzzana, Marke� ng Manager at Skret� ng Italy, said: “We have entered a cri� cal phase of climate recovery. Through carbon neutrality, fi sh farmers in Italy and beyond have the opportunity to become part of the solu� on as climate leaders. They can accelerate progress by making these bold but essen� al commitments to our planet’s health and wellbeing, while at the same � me establishing a pla� orm that will enable them to increase revenues, reduce costs and risks, and engage many more consumers.”
Skre� ng plans to roll the cer� fi ca� on programme out on a global basis as part of its ac� on plan for sustainability.
Skre� ng Italy launched a carbon-neutral aquaculture feed, Feed4Future, in 2020, which is produced with 10% lower CO2 emissions. The remaining emissions are off set by carbon credits.
The group has also been exploring alterna� ve sources of protein. Earlier this year, in partnership with Finnish biotech start-up eniferBio, Skre� ng announced the successful comple� on of process pilo� ng trials of its “Pekilo” mycoprotein. The next phase will be to test the ingredient in its R&D facili� es at Skre� ng Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC) in Norway.
“We have been working closely with the eniferBio team to support them and help speed up the process to receive a commercially relevant novel ingredient for the fi rst valida� on at our salmon R&D facili� es in Norway,” said Jenna Bowyer, Category Manager Novel Ingredients, Skre� ng. “Our desktop assessment verifi ed the poten� al of this ingredient to be an alterna� ve protein source to marine and soy proteins in our aquafeeds. This is another example of Skre� ng’s commitment to iden� fying, developing and commercialising novel ingredients that can have a posi� ve contribu� on to the sustainability of the aquaculture industry.”
To produce the quan� ty required for Skre� ng tes� ng, eniferBio teamed up with Tereos, a global leader in the sugar, alcohol and starch markets. Tereos provided the raw material for the trial, in the form of vinasse, a by-product from the produc� on of ethanol from beet molasses. The process of eniferBio allows the effi cient conversion of dilute side streams such as vinasse into a valuable protein ingredient for aquaculture feed.
“This is a very important step for us as a company as we re-establish the Pekilo produc� on process, now as a major source of aquafeed protein,” said Simo Ellilä, CEO of eniferBio. “We believe the process is unique in off ering a cost-compe� � ve, sustainable alterna� ve to soy protein concentrate. The process is very scalable, and Pekilo can be produced close to the end users – promising to decrease dependence on imported protein. This pilot trial is an excellent example of bringing together the whole value chain in Europe.”
Skre� ng has commi� ed to ensuring that 5-10% of its feed ingredients will come from alterna� ve novel sources by 2025.
Alterna� ve protein sources such as soya or insects – which can be raised on food waste as part insects – which can be raised on food waste as part of the “circular economy” – can provide basic nuof the “circular economy” – can provide basic nutrients for carnivorous fi sh, but there are elements trients for carnivorous fi sh, but there are elements in the fi sh’s marine diet that are hard to subs� tute in the fi sh’s marine diet that are hard to subs� tute with these land-based alterna� ves.
The ocean’s food chain contains important elements and oils – like omega-3 – that are not only important for the health of the farmed fi sh but also for those who consume them. In the wild the fi sh would normally absorb those through smaller fi sh, crustaceans and other marine creatures, but they o� en originate in organisms such as algae. It makes sense, therefore, to look at algae as a source of nutrients for farmed fi sh (and for humans, too).
A number of businesses around the world are looking at ways to cul� vate and process micro-algae to make use of these valuable nutrients. The founders of one start-up in the south of France believe they have found a new, game-changing technique for doing this. Inalve, based in Nice, uses a “biofi lm” approach to grow micro-algae in higher concentra� ons.
Krystyna Ledóchowska, Growth Manager with Inalve, explains: “Typically, micro-algae is grown in suspension in water, or using a fermenta� on process in tanks. biofi lm is more produc� ve. It is a natural process in which cells grow on a surface. “Our approach is sustainable and uses photosynthesis – and the sun is free! The algae grows on a
‘carpet’ which means we can use land area more effi ciently.
“Algae growing out of water secretes a protec� ve substance which itself is useful and can be harvested. The process creates polysaccharides, which can help to boost the fi sh’s immune system.”
Inalve follows a “3-in-1” approach – innocula� onscul� va� on and harvest. The
result is a paste of microalgae that is 100 � mes more concentrated than other micro-algae produc� on methods, without needing intermediate physical or chemical processes.
The company was co-founded in 2016 by two academics in France; Christophe Vasseur and Hubert Bonnefond. Its pilot farm (300 m2) was inaugurated in Nice in January this year, and the company plans to build a commercial scale farm in 2024 with a produc� on capacity of several thousand tons of microalgae a year. The plan is then to roll out the model to sites throughout the world.
The aim is to produce nutri� on and feed addi� ves for fi nfi sh and other aquaculture species, and protein and feed addi� ves for land-based livestock.
Micro-algae can contain up to 4,000 nutrients in combina� on. The biofi lm process contributes to the capture of atmospheric CO2, with 2kg of CO2 absorbed per 1kg of biomass produced. In terms of absorbing CO2 it is four to nine � mes be� er than protein produc� on derived from fi shmeal or plants, the company says.
Fine tuning aquafeed and the nutrients and addi� ves that go with it helps to keep fi sh healthy. Adisseo’s SANACORE feed supplement, for example, is based on combina� ons of synerge� c natural compounds, such as phytobio� cs, immune-s� mulants and organic acids, that can promote gut health and compensate for the impact of a plant-heavy diet on the gut of a carnivorous fi sh (see ar� cle below for more on this).
You can also fi nd out more about the benefi ts of nucleo� des as feed addi� ves, as explained by life science company BioIberica (page 59).
Meanwhile, fi sh feed producer Aller Aqua says it has been able to increase both the coloura� on and nutri� onal content in sea bream through the launch of a new product.
The company says farmed sea bream o� en lacks the deep and appealing colours of wild sea bream, but maintains its new feed, ALLER LUCET, can help bring them out.
Paired with added omega-3 fa� y acids, the deeper coloura� on increases the fi sh’s overall consumer appeal and nutri� onal value.
Wild sea bream generally feed on a large variety of organisms and this diet creates a deeper coloura� on. However, while the farmed diet is op� mised for health and growth, its limited variety makes for a lighter coloured fi sh. Naturally derived raw materials in the farmed sea bream diet can however change this, enhancing the coloura� on and adding nutri� onal value.
Get the diet right and your farmed fi sh will literally be “in the pink”, it seems. FF
Left: Roast sea bream
Feed ingredients are crucial for healthy fi sh and shrimp
The aquaculture feed industry, like other animal feed industries, constantly examines the market and the latest developments in search of new ingredients that can add in terms of quality and functionality, and have a direct impact on animal production parameters and performance.
In an industry as thriving as aquaculture, with an expected signifi cant growth in production and where the introduction of new species is being investigated, the addition of new functional ingredients into the diet plays a very important role now and, even more so, in the future.
Nucleotides are semi-essential nutrients that have key functions in the bodies of marine species. They are very useful at some specifi c stages of development, particularly in those where cell and tissue replication are very important: early stages of life, infections and diseases, vaccination and stress conditions. Nucleotides help the animal immune system to develop faster, preparing it for any challenge. In addition, they contribute to healthy gut development in diets containing a high percentage of plant proteins, improving productivity and overall performance. Nucleotides are a very interesting ingredient used in aquaculture and DNA long chains or small fragments are production systems, both fi sh and shrimp, to far too large to pass across cell membranes. So BIO_NucleoForceAqua_130x92mm_AFT.pdf 1 1/6/21 10:50 preserve animal health, boost production and providing an animal with free, readily available improve profi tability. nucleotides is a practical way to support the
Nucleotide products for animal nutrition must overall animal’s metabolism. be free-form (“free nucleotides”) because RNA www.bioiberica.com
