What fish feed do you allow?
Perhaps the most widespread and justified criticism of non-organic fish farming is the use of industrial fisheries to literally ‘vacuum up’ small fish, convert them into fishmeal and oil, and feed it to carnivorous fish like salmon.
Organic feeds are made from the filleting waste of fish caught for human consumption, recycling them into high quality food, and therefore do not add to this problem. While this is a significant step forward and is recognised as such by the Marine Conservation Society and other environmental NGOs, it is not good enough. Our goal is to use wastes from fisheries that are independently certified as sustainable, preferably by the Marine Stewardship Council.
50% of the aquatic ingredients must be organic.
- Salmon feeds are dominated by wild-harvested marine resources
- Organic feeds currently focus on recycling fish processing wastes
- generally dominated by herring and mackerel
- small amounts of white fish
- cold water shrimp wastes for natural pigmentation
- Typically from 'local' North Atlantic fisheries Increasing competition for marine resources
- Competition for certified sustainable fishery resources is going to be intense
- It is clear that feed ingredients are going to have to diversify
- There is the potential for mixed farms to grow significant amounts of food species
Organic feeds will combine:
- Farm grown marine ingredients
- Shellfish, algae, invertebrates
- Vegetable ingredients
- Organic wheat, rapeseed, linseed, soya etc
- Microbial DHA/EPA or protein sourcest to complete nutritional profiles
- Independently certified sustainable marine resources