Tag fishmeal

Gorjan Nikolik, senior industry analyst for Rabobank, presented on fishmeal’s transformation from commodity to a “high-priced strategic protein” at the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s annual GOAL conference in Vancouver. See the full video of his presentation. 

The aquaculture industry is doing a poor job of educating consumers about farmed fish, according to polling results from the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s annual GOAL conference in Vancouver, Canada. View the results from all 18 audience questions, with photos from the diverse audience. 

Interest is growing in a two-year-long competition aimed at driving innovation in the aquafeed sector. The F3 prize for a demonstrably fish-free feed comes with a cash reward, and possibly a glimpse at the future. 

Aquaculture remains dependent on fishmeal and fish oil, crucial marine ingredients in aquafeeds, particularly at key life stages. Andrew Jackson, technical director at IFFO and one of the world’s foremost fishmeal experts, tells the Advocate that the two industries can coexist well into the future if properly managed. 

Since fish consume more feed in the final stages of growout, the development of ecologically efficient and nutritionally adequate diets for adult fish should be a priority. Digestible protein-digestible energy ratios are important for optimizing feeding efficiency in feed formulation and aquaculture production. 

The British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association releases its first annual Sustainability Progress Report as the Global Aquaculture Alliance hosts its GOAL conference in Vancouver, B.C. The group intends to share progress on environmental, social and economic impacts. 

Turbot are typically fed diets containing 45 to 65 percent fishmeal. In a study that gave turbot feed with 40 percent soy protein concentrate, the fish had decent growth and excellent survival. 

Shrimp farmers in Australia believe that applying smaller amounts of feed regularly is an effective strategy for maximizing feed conversion in ponds. By providing more time for shrimp to rest between eating cycles, consistently lower FCRs have been achieved. 

A feeding demonstration in Costa Rica evaluated the partial replacement of fishmeal in diets for spotted rose snappers with soy protein concentrate (SPC). It found no significant difference between the performance of fish fed an SPC-based diet and those that received commercial fishmeal-based diets. 

Fishmeal sparing in aquafeed is often limited by the presence of anti-nutritional factors found in plant-derived feedstuffs. Fermentation may be a cost-effective means of addressing such factors and improving utilization of plant ingredients in feed. 

Fish is the world’s most traded protein – and a healthy choice that will help feed the world’s growing population into the future. Aquaculture represents the most efficient method by which to convert feed to edible protein, and its use of marine ingredients is being addressed. 

Although its overall production is rising, aquaculture is using less fishmeal and fish oil in feed formulations, and increasing amounts of this fishmeal and oil come from byproducts of fish processing. 

A series of experiments showed that fishmeal is not an essential ingredient in hybrid tilapia feeds and that plant protein-based diets can yield results similar to those obtained with diets containing 10 percent fishmeal. 

The authors have achieved good growth using a fishmeal-free diet for the carnivorous marine fish Florida pompano. In studies, they used pompano as a model marine species in a cost/benefit analysis of two extruded diets. 

With the market volatility of fishmeal, as well as rising sustainability concerns, the aquaculture industry is seeking sources of protein, such as animal byproduct concentrates, to substitute for fishmeal.