Salmon feed used in aquaculture typically consists of compound feeds formulated to meet the nutritional needs and growth requirements of farmed salmon.

Common additives include animal-based ingredients such as fishmeal and fish oil combined with plant proteins like soy protein, wheat gluten, and corn gluten meal.

These additives serve to supply essential proteins and nutrients while reducing reliance on feed-grade fish—small or low-value wild fish processed into fishmeal or fed directly to salmon—helping to mitigate environmental impacts from overfishing juvenile wild stocks for feed production.

Uncommon or emerging additives have gained attention for their roles in enhancing fish health and sustainability.

Probiotics and prebiotics, including glucans and lactic acid bacteria B4 yogurt, are added to improve immune function, increase resistance to pathogens such as streptococcus, boost growth rates, and lower mortality.

Another novel category of additives includes insect-based proteins, such as powders from black soldier fly larvae, under development in France as high-protein, environmentally friendlier alternatives to fishmeal and soy proteins.

In Norway, research efforts focus on deriving feed additives from fish processing by-products—collagen, gelatin, and omega-3 rich oils obtained from salmon skin and bones—which support sustainability and nutritional value in feed formulations.

Health and environmental concerns related to feed additives in salmon farming encompass nutrient pollution from excess feed and feces, which can degrade local aquatic ecosystems.

While antibiotics and pesticides are not traditional feed additives per se, they are often delivered through medicated feed to control disease and parasites.

This practice raises consumer health issues including potential residues in edible salmon tissue and the risk of antimicrobial resistance development.

Monitoring programs in countries like China report veterinary drug residue pass rates exceeding 99%, indicative of regulatory control, but concerns remain regarding chemical residues and their impact on consumer safety.

Additionally, overharvesting of feed-grade fish threatens marine biodiversity and ecosystem balance.

Instances of illegal or controversial additives, such as industrial chemical soaking agents, have been reported, further emphasizing vigilance in regulatory enforcement.

Regulatory standards governing salmon feed additives vary by country.

China has implemented policies to reduce feed-grade fish use, promoting compound feeds rich in plant proteins like soy and regulating additives.

It enforces minimum size limits for wild fish caught for feed and aims to keep feed-grade fish catch below 20%, supported by provincial regulations.

The country maintains rigorous monitoring and law enforcement regarding veterinary drugs and aquaculture inputs to ensure food safety.

In the United States, regulations, particularly in Maine, focus on environmental sustainability by limiting stocking density and total biomass in finfish farms, alongside licensing systems that control waste discharges to protect coastal water quality.

These measures strive to balance aquaculture productivity with ecosystem and community protection.

Norway’s regulatory approach emphasizes innovation and resource efficiency in feed additives.

Norwegian research seeks to maximize marine by-product utilization for feed components, reducing fishmeal reliance while exploring alternative vegetarian feeds, though these are currently suitable for limited species.

Contrasting with these national efforts, the European Union has been criticized for insufficient environmental monitoring in aquaculture and for supporting intensive carnivorous fish farming practices that impact wild fish stocks negatively.

Chile, another major salmon producer, was not covered in the available data regarding feed additive regulations.

However, its aquaculture industry faces scrutiny over chemical use and environmental sustainability, suggesting regulatory frameworks may be evolving or challenged similarly.

For nutritionists advising consumers, it is important to note that while feed additives contribute to enhanced fish growth, health, and sustainability, residual veterinary drugs and chemical contaminants in edible tissue present consumer health considerations.

Regulatory oversight aims to minimize these risks, but ongoing monitoring and transparency are vital.

Environmental effects indirectly influence product quality and the sustainability credentials of farmed salmon, factors relevant in dietary recommendations.

In conclusion, salmon feed additives comprise common protein sources of animal and plant origin, immunostimulants like probiotics and prebiotics, and emerging sustainable ingredients such as insect proteins and fish by-products.

They support nutritional adequacy, fish health, and environmental goals in salmon farming.

Associated health concerns relate to ecosystem impacts, chemical residues, and feed ingredient sourcing.

Regulatory regimes differ globally, with examples from China, the United States, and Norway demonstrating varied strategies to ensure feed additive safety, environmental protection, and sustainable aquaculture development.

Additional details from countries like Chile would enrich overall understanding and consumer guidance regarding farmed salmon products.

Salmon feed used in aquaculture typically consists of compound feeds formulated to meet the nutritional needs and growth requirements of farmed salmon.

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Content: 262
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China Works to Get Wild-Caught Fish Out of its Aquaculture Feed

[By Zhang Chun]

A 2021 Chinese government initiative to stop aquaculture feed being made from only young or low-value fish and to instead start producing “compound feed” – mixed with ingredients harvested from the land – is opening up a greener future for the sector.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, in a series of trials last year, the sole use of low-value “feed-grade” fish as aquaculture feed was reduced by 77 percent, and by as much as 94 percent in farming of largemouth bass. Experts say the switch to compound feed could see overall use of feed-grade fish slashed by half for farming of certain species.

What is compound feed?

Compound feed normally contains a mixture of animal- and plant-based ingredients, and added nutrients such as vitamins. For aquaculture feeds containing fishmeal and fish oil, common additives include soy proteins, wheat gluten and corn gluten meal.

Feed-grade fish are those in a catch that are small, low in commercial value, or unsuitable for human consumption. They are sent to be processed into fishmeal and fish oil, or fed directly to farmed fish. But a significant proportion of feed-grade fish consists of juveniles of commercially important species. Once caught they can no longer grow into adult fish and breed, or be caught and sold on the market. Their removal damages ocean food chains and ecosystem stability.

The last decade and more has seen increased calls for China to tackle the use of feed-grade fish in aquaculture, but the current round of trials is the first organised by the Ministry of Agriculture. It focuses on species such as the yellow croaker, Japanese sea bass and largemouth bass, which tend to be fed more feed-grade fish. While those species don’t account for much of China’s fed aquaculture output, they do require much more protein than others to put on the same amount of weight. Compound feed cuts down on the use of fish by substituting vegetable alternatives, and is cheaper.

In the long term, sustained reductions in the use of fishmeal and fish oil in feed will be necessary to protect wild fisheries.

Aquaculture driving feed-grade fish catch

Fishers never used to set out to catch feed-grade fish; it was bycatch, with no economic value. Then in the 1980s, global aquaculture took off. “There was a lot of need for fishmeal and oil,” Rashid Sumalia, a fisheries researcher at the University of British Columbia, told China Dialogue. People started going out “purposely to catch them at distance, because there was a market”, he added.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) 2020 global fisheries and aquaculture report, the use of fish for reduction to fishmeal and fish oil peaked in 1994 at 30 million tonnes, and stood at 18 million tonnes by 2018. Another 4 million tonnes were used elsewhere, including directly in feed for aquaculture, livestock and fur animals.

It wasn’t until the mid and late 1990s that aquaculture took off in China. The FAO’s 1998 fisheries and aquaculture report describes how rare it was for fish catches in Asia to go unused or be used as aquaculture feed. But in Asia, particularly in China and Vietnam, aquaculture has expanded rapidly and the region now accounts for almost 90 percent of global output. In China, output tripled between 1998 and 2020, to represent 60 percent of the global total.

Although many of the species farmed in China need little or no feed, fed fish and crustacean aquaculture accounts for half of output and requires millions of tonnes of feed-grade fish from Chinese waters alone. China does not currently have statistics on its feed-grade fish catch or use in fed aquaculture. One study calculated that in 2016 4.6 million tonnes of feed-grade fish were caught, 35 percent of the total recorded catch in China’s waters, and most was used directly as feed.

“The state is certainly aware of the problem,” said Fang Qing, China general manager for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, adding that the difficulty in banning some harmful types of fishing gear in China is due to the ongoing market for the feed-grade fish it brings in. Since 2018, China has put minimum size limits in place for 15 commercial fish species, and ruled that feed-grade fish catch would drop to below 20% by 2020. There is no data available indicating whether this target was met.

This it isn’t just a Chinese problem. According to a 2017 study by the University of British Columbia, many countries, including the US and Norway, use feed-grade fish directly as feed. But the practice increased significantly in Asia between the 1990s and 2010, with feed-grade fish coming to account for a high percentage of landed catches.

Replacing feed-grade fish

In early 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture announced it would work to make Chinese aquaculture more environmentally friendly, and proposed the use of compound feed instead of purely fish-based feed. In April 2021, several provinces started trials of compound feed as part of more concrete action plans.

Compound feed for aquaculture is usually a mix of fishmeal, fish oil, wheat flour, soybean meal, vegetable oil and other land-grown ingredients. The amount of fishmeal and fish oil needed depends on the type of fish to be fed, and its stage of growth. According to Fang Qing, carnivorous fish such as the yellow croaker need huge quantities of meat protein at certain stages in their growth, and the relationship between particular nutrients and the growth and physiology of the fish can be complex. Hence, producing appropriate compound feed involves a lot of research and development.

To quantify how efficiently a species is farmed, the aquaculture industry uses a ratio called Fish in:Fish out (FIFO). The closer the FIFO is to 1, the more fish meat is produced per unit of input; a score of 1 means an extra kilogram of fish used as feed results in an extra kilogram of fish to harvest.

A study published in 2020 shows a FIFO of almost 1 for salmon and trout, thanks to the use of compound feeds which require less fishmeal and fish oil. If only fish were used to feed those species, the FIFO figure would be similar to that of the yellow croaker – over 6, according to an upcoming paper co-authored by Zhang Wenbo, an assistant professor in the College of Fisheries and Life Science at Shanghai Ocean University. His research into conventional yellow croaker aquaculture in China found that the direct use of feed-grade fish is still the best option for the yellow croaker farmers. But Fang Qing told China Dialogue that a lot of feed-grade fish fed to yellow croaker goes uneaten, and ends up sinking to the seabed or rotting, causing pollution and increasing the risk of disease.

More compound feed use would help reduce FIFO numbers in two ways: by cutting use of feed-grade fish, and by increasing conversion ratios – that is, generating more fish growth per unit of feed.

Zhejiang is taking the lead in both those areas. Since 2016, the province has been shutting fishmeal factories during the closed season and restricting the percentage of feed-grade fish in the overall catch. This, combined with the use of compound feed, saw Zhejiang cut the use of feed-grade fish by 835,000 tonnes across 710,000 mu (474 square kilometres) of aquaculture farms during the 13th FYP period (2016-2020). “Previously, feed-grade fish were the primary feed for largemouth bass in Zhejiang. These last two years that’s almost all been replaced with compound feed.” The FIFO ratio for farmed largemouth bass in Zhejiang could come down to 1.5, half the national average for this species, according to 2016 calculations Zhang Wenbo contributed to.

But cutting back on feed-grade fish use in China won’t be easy. Fishers catch a wide range of fish with a wide range of gear. At the local level there is a lack of fisher associations that can impose rules on the sector, making management tricky. Zhejiang’s success can be ascribed to strong local regulations. “There are no successful [international] examples that China can apply,” said Fang Qing. Alongside legislation to bolster oversight of the feed-grade fish catch, he also suggests developing feeds which will be more palatable to fish, and labelling products according to their use of feed-grade fish or compound feed, so consumers can make an informed choice.

Increasing the efficiency of fish inputs

The use of compound feed isn’t the end of the story. At least for now, fishmeal and fish oil are essential ingredients in those feeds. And while the global supply of fishmeal and fish oil has fallen from its peak in 2000 to a fairly stable level, the demand for aquaculture feeds has been increasing. That requires the development of feeds containing less meal and oil.

Plans announced by Norway to boost salmon farming have led to concerns about the supply of fishmeal and fish oil as well as vegetable ingredients. The country has started researching the use of mesopelagic fish (which inhabit the middle depths of the ocean), algae and farmed insects to meet that need and make feed more efficient. A more complete solution would be to develop entirely vegetarian feeds, with no fishmeal at all. However, as things stand that would only be suitable for a few species.

“Fishmeal is the most expensive of the ingredients found in bulk feeds. Reducing the amount in those feeds is the best way to make them cheaper,” Zhang Wenbo points out. A tonne of fishmeal costs around 10,000 yuan (US$1,500), compared to 1,000–4,000 yuan for bran or soybean meal, he added. “Feed conversion ratios are also affected by the type of aquaculture, the make-up of the feed, and genetic selection – the breeding of strains more suited to compound feeds,” he said. This is more difficult in China, with its wide range of farmed species, than in Norway, where salmon dominates. But progress is still being made, and associated targets have been set in the 14th Five Year Plan (2021–25).

Increasing the efficiency of fishmeal and fish oil use in China will also ease global pressures on the supply and help protect juvenile fish. China is the world’s biggest consumer of fishmeal, with the largest part being used in aquaculture, and the second largest being fed to pigs. But the country only produces 400,000–700,000 tonnes of fishmeal a year – not even close to meeting domestic demand. Fishmeal imports have held steady since 2017, at about 1.4 million tonnes, but jumped to 1.82 million tonnes in 2021, with experts ascribing the change to the recovery in pig farming. The extra fishmeal came from the Americas and elsewhere in Asia.

Zhang Wenbo explains that China’s fishmeal and fish oil imports come from forage fish, caught specifically to be turned into fishmeal, and Peru is the main supplier. Relatively little of China’s fishmeal is made from feed-grade fish. “Imports of by-product processed fishmeal from Vietnam and Thailand have been increasing in recent years,” he said.

Minimizing the feed-grade fish catch

Cutting back on the use of feed-grade fish is good for the sustainable development of both wild fishing and aquaculture. It will also help protect already vulnerable ocean ecosystems. In 1959, fishing vessels in China’s Bohai Sea caught 420 kg of fish per net for every hour they worked. By 1993, that had fallen to 30 kg, and only 8 kg between 1998 and 2011. The above-mentioned research into China’s feed-grade fish catch found that a long-term stable total catch has masked trends including falling biomass and changes in end use.

The losses to biodiversity and ecological services cannot be measured in financial terms, and the fishing industry needs more than simply output. Wang Songlin, president and founder of the Qingdao Marine Conservation Society, believes the industry needs to work towards a balance of ecological, economic and social benefits. He told China Dialogue that even if total catch may still be the same by volume, the underlying destruction to the integrity of ecosystems and the environment should not be ignored.

Management of the sector in China has acquired a new ecological focus. Alongside the use of compound feeds, some provinces are providing fishery stewardship subsidies for the protection of rare and endangered species and for keeping down feed-grade fish catch volumes.

Protecting juvenile fish isn’t just a matter for China – it’s crucial for ocean ecosystems around the world. Rashid Sumalia said: “If you look at the economies and the ecology at the higher level, you don’t want to [catch feed-grade fish] because the losses are too high” to be sustainable. Sumalia acknowledges that many people rely on that fishing for their livelihoods but says: “We need to take it down as far as we can.”

Zhang Chun is a senior researcher at China Dialogue. This article appears courtesy of China Dialogue Ocean and may be found in its original form here

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

Common additives include animal-based ingredients such as fishmeal and fish oil combined with plant proteins like soy protein, wheat gluten, and corn gluten meal.

These additives serve to supply essential proteins and nutrients while reducing reliance on feed-grade fish—small or low-value wild fish processed into fishmeal or fed directly to salmon—helping to mitigate environmental impacts from overfishing juvenile wild stocks for feed production.

Uncommon or emerging additives have gained attention for their roles in enhancing fish health and sustainability.

Title:

Content: What Is A Salmon Sperm Facial? The Dark Side To The Beauty Trend

People are having DNA derived from salmon sperm injected into their faces to make them look younger

By

5 Minutes Read

Salmon sperm facials made the news last year after Jennifer Aniston told the Wall Street Journal she had tried one. Now the anti-ageing treatment is tipped to become a big beauty trend of 2024.

Injecting sperm into your face sounds gross – though it isn’t actually sperm that’s used. But the bigger problem is the industry behind the trend: salmon farming and fishing.

Here we delve into the dark side of the salmon sperm facial and the problem with using animal products in cosmetics.

What is a salmon sperm facial?

The “sperm” in the facials is actually DNA derived from the sperm of salmon. It’s technical name is Polydeoxyribonucleotide, or PDRN, which is how the ingredient may be labelled on cosmetics products. PDRN refers to several bioactive molecules derived from purified and sterilized DNA taken from salmon sperm.

A treatment involves having PDRN injected into your face using a small needle. It is supposed to stimulate collagen production and help cell renewal. Several sessions are recommended across several months to see results. PDRN is also found in some luxury skincare products like lotions and supplements. The fad originated in South Korea, the home of skincare regimes that have become a global phenomenon known as K-beauty.

There is some research showing that PDRN can help wounds to heal, discovered through animal experimentation. But there have been few human trials to test it’s efficacy for cosmetic or medical purposes.

Where does the sperm come from?

According to Metro, the salmon-derived ingredient in the treatment is a by-product of seafood production. “[R]ather than it being tossed away when wild Alaskan salmon is prepared, instead the beauty industry snaps it up.”

It’s not clear whether the PDRN used by beauty companies comes exclusively from wild Alaskan salmon, or whether some is obtained from farmed salmon. Either way, both industries are deeply problematic, and the use of their by-products by the beauty industry is not as harmless as it sounds.

Taking fishes from the wild

Populations of wild Atlantic Salmon are declining globally, with some communities in crisis. For example, in UK rivers – a breeding ground for the species – populations hit a record low in 2022.

This is despite efforts to conserve Atlantic salmon numbers through fishing exclusion zones being established since the 1980s. The global decline is likely due to illegal and unregulated fishing activity, according to one study. Dammed rivers, warming waters due to the climate crisis, and sea lice proliferating at salmon farms attaching to wild fishes may also impacting the health of wild salmon populations.

Salmon farming

Farming salmon is supposed to help alleviate pressure on wild populations. Most of the salmon sold in supermarkets in the UK come from Scottish farms. Indeed, globally more fishes killed for food now come from farms than from the wild. This makes it seem more likely that the PDRN in cosmetics is currently, or will in future be, derived from farmed salmon (though we don’t know its origins for sure).

Salmon farming has many negative impacts on the fishes and the marine environment. Undercover investigations have shown how farmed salmon suffer from predation, sea lice infestations, and disease outbreaks. Mortality rates on farms have also been rising due to warming waters – a problem only set to get worse in future.

The sea lice infestations on farms are bleeding into wild salmon who swim past the pens of their captive kin. In Scotland, there are plans to establish protection zones for wild salmon to keep them safe from the sea lice outbreaks on farms.

Pollution including waste and pesticides from farms has been rising and wreaking havoc on surrounding ecosystems.

By-products aren’t harmless

Using by-products from the meat, fishing, and farmed fish industries – known as rendering – does not simply reduce waste from those industries. It financially supports them by adding value to their products.

Slaughtering animals for food produces a lot of waste, such as blood, bones, skin or scales, hoofs, intestines, and fish swim bladders. Treating and disposing of it in an environmentally safe way is expensive, which is why animal industries would rather sell it. Development in technology are increasingly enabling them to extract materials from waste and monetize it.

The value that rendering adds to animal industries can lead to the products derived from waste becoming a driver of destructive practices.

For example, bovine collagen, used like PDNR as an anti-ageing treatment, has become extremely popular. In 2023, an investigation by several news organizations uncovered links between collagen supply chains and Amazon deforestation. The booming collagen industry means that, along with leather, collagen makes up an increasing portion of the profit made from cows raised in the Amazon who are killed for beef.

Marine collagen, derived from the skin of fishes, is also becoming popular. It could potentially provide a new revenue stream for seafood companies. Collagen, salmon sperm, and other fish waste products that can be rendered could thus become more of a reason in themselves for slaughtering fishes.

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Probiotics and prebiotics, including glucans and lactic acid bacteria B4 yogurt, are added to improve immune function, increase resistance to pathogens such as streptococcus, boost growth rates, and lower mortality.

Title:

Content: Yogurt is amazing! Feeding Wu Guo to eat for 2 months, the fisherman smiles and wears a helmet: anti-collision
▲ The water laboratory said that in recent years, due to climate change, the unusually high temperature in the summer, it is easy to cause the fish to be attacked by germs. (Photo by reporter Yang Chih-hing)
Journalist Hsu Chien-yi / reporting from Taipei
In recent years, the unusually high temperature in summer has led to the outbreak of germs, which has caused great losses to farmers. The probiotic Lactic Acid Bacillus B4, which helps to improve fish growth and enhance their immunity, and its glucan product Lactic Acid Bacillus B4 functional yogurt was added to the feed. Farming time to reduce the risk of breeding.
The water laboratory pointed out that glucan can be used as an emulsifier and thickener flavor carrier in food processing. In terms of health care, research shows that glucan can be used as a prebiotic to increase the number of probiotics - bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria in the body, and regulate immunity.
As mentioned in the water test, lactic acid bacteria B4, previously screened from the gut of perch fish, is a probiotic with special enzymes. Adding cheap sucrose can promote the production of glucan by lactic acid bacteria B4, and developed functional yogurt and ice cream containing glucan with lactic acid bacteria B4.
[Advertisement] Please continue reading...
According to the water test, the literature points out that probiotics or prebiotics such as glycans and oligosaccharides as feed additives can effectively improve the growth and immunity of fish and shrimp. The combined use of probiotics and prebiotics is usually higher than the combined effect of the two alone. Probiotics that produce pathogens can also produce glucans themselves, so the lactobacillus B4 yogurt is applied to aquaculture.
Experimental studies show that the addition of lactic acid bacteria B4 yogurt in the feed helps to improve the growth and resistance to pathogens.
▲ The feed in the test tank is evenly mixed with lactic acid bacteria B4 yogurt and the feed by an electric mixer.
(Photo / Supplied by Aquatic Research Institute)
In recent years, due to climate change, the unusually high temperature in summer can easily lead to the outbreak of germs, causing the death of fish and loss of farmers. Three years ago, the Kaohsiung City Animal Protection Department sought technical assistance from the water laboratory. 4 Yogurt feed for 2 months, fish feeding conditions are better than the control pond, growth is very fast, at the end of May harvest, no disease, fish average weight 570 grams, strong and healthy.
When the fish are harvested, the fisherman must wear a safety helmet to avoid being injured by the energetic Wu Kuo. The fish in the control pond eat worse than the test pond and grow more slowly. In mid-June, the fish suffered from streptococcus disease. It must be treated with drugs. The average weight is 467 grams, which is much lower than the average. Test pool.
The water laboratory further stressed that in order to understand whether the feed containing lactic acid bacteria B4 yogurt can really survive the cool summer, and the Kaohsiung Municipal Bureau of Animal Protection specially arranged the test in the summer the previous year. The results showed that although the test group and the control group of the fish containing lactic acid bacteria B4 yogurt were all suffering from streptococcal disease, the test group were milder drug. The treatment only takes 3 days to heal, and the control group is more serious, requiring more than 7 days of drug treatment.
Therefore, the addition of lactic acid bacteria B4 yogurt in broccoli feed helps to improve the growth and health of the fish, shortens the breeding time, reduces the breeding risk and slows the severity of the disease, and the cost of adding lactic acid bacteria B4 yogurt per kilogram of feed is only about 0.5 yuan.
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Another novel category of additives includes insect-based proteins, such as powders from black soldier fly larvae, under development in France as high-protein, environmentally friendlier alternatives to fishmeal and soy proteins.

Title:

Content: Insects food farmed fish in France
Insects food farmed fish in France
RITEL, France – A plant in the French region of Ardennes is breeding a black soldier fly, which converts agricultural waste into proteins used to feed pets, especially farmed fish, in a market that is booming worldwide due to rapidly increasing demand.
Rafael Semia, director of the Agronotris plant in Ritel, which will release its first batch of insect flour this summer and aims to produce 5,000 tonnes of it in 2024, explains that “the growth of aquaculture is phenomenal, which means we need raw materials to feed these breeding farms. ”
Last week, the company announced the construction of a second plant at Ritel, which will begin next year, to convert “more than 280,000 tonnes ” of organic waste into“ 30,000 tonnes of flour, ” without specifying at what date or amount of investment.
There is no interest in feeding fish with fish that can be eaten directly by humans or with soybeans that are widely imported.
Under recent changes to European rules, more than 5 percent of fish consumed in the EU could come from farms using insect-based proteins by 2030, according to estimates by the pro-insect flour lobby group in Brussels.
Existing farmed fish diets are made partly from wild fish.
International NGOs have for years denounced this contradiction, which they blame for overfishing, with dire consequences for ecosystems, the marine food chain and the livelihoods of local populations.
Therefore, the insect meal represents an alternative being developed in France from three players that are now in the manufacturing stage: Insect, Innovavid and Agronotrice, which raised 100 million euros in 2021 and finally signed a contract worth “tens of millions of euros ” with Biomar.
This Danish company, a world leader in the manufacture of farmed fish feed and salmon in particular, has decided to invest in this project.
“There is no interest in feeding fish with fish that can be eaten directly by humans ” or with soybeans, which are widely imported and whose intensive farming contributes to the expansion of deforestation, says Biumar ’ s marketing director Catherine Briar.
In Ritel, inside a transparent container, there are like thousands of semolina seeds.
Cedric Oriol, co-founder of Agronotris, says, “These larvae have just hatched.
Today, it weighs 15 micrograms, and this weight will double ten thousand times in just two weeks.
So 100 grams of larvae will become a ton of larvae in two weeks. ”
The rapid growth of black soldier fly larvae is one of the reasons the company chose this non-invasive species known as the composting queen.
French factories raise black soldier flies that convert agricultural waste into proteins used to feed animals and fish
This choice, along with the dough recipe or optimal conditions for the marketing of the production, has been the subject of 12 years of research at a laboratory in Toulouse, according to the company.
After two weeks of growth, 98 percent of the larvae are crushed to make proteins, while 2 percent are kept for use in reproduction.
Inside one of the cages, where adult flies move, Antoine Riebois, wearing a hat covered with insects, explains that “the main activity here is to lay eggs, and the goal is to recover as many eggs as possible. ”
The black soldier fly can lay between 600 and 1,000 eggs in its short two-week life.
Another use associated with fly breeding is a mixture of insect droppings known as feras, which is an excellent fertilizer for agriculture.
The company aims to produce about 16,000 tons quickly.
The use of this waste to manufacture human food is not expected any time soon.
Rafael Semia, director of the plant, said: “It will take time, but tomorrow the actors in the insect branch will be at the forefront of human food processing. ”
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In Norway, research efforts focus on deriving feed additives from fish processing by-products—collagen, gelatin, and omega-3 rich oils obtained from salmon skin and bones—which support sustainability and nutritional value in feed formulations.

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Fish residues can compensate for raw materials shortages and improve our health in the bargain

More than a million tons of fish residues can rescue the food and cosmetic industries from raw materials shortages—and create new jobs. The key factors here are oils rich in omega-3, collagen and gelatin.

Researchers are currently working to develop technologies that can boost our utilization of fish residues, and thus optimize our exploitation of biomarine resources. One aspect under study is whether fish skin can be used to manufacture collagen and , because we know that fish skin and bones both contain a lot of collagen.

Collagen is currently extracted from the skin and bones of pigs or cattle, but gelatin derived from fish skin offers many benefits.

This work is being carried out as part of a project called SUPREME, which is being headed by the Norwegian science institute SINTEF Ocean in collaboration with several research partners, including the Norwegian university NTNU and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

"In the first place, fish-derived collagen is often of higher quality, and enables people who don't eat meat to enjoy products containing gelatin," says Rasa Slizyte, who is a Senior Research Scientist at SINTEF Ocean.

"If we optimize our exploitation of whitefish residues, we can produce more than 6,500 tons of gelatin from fish skin every year.

Collagen and gelatin are both sought-after ingredients used in the pharmaceutical, dietary, nutrition and cosmetic industries, where they are used in the manufacture of creams, capsules, powders and jellies. It is not uncommon for these industries to experience shortages in marine raw materials.

A major market

These industries constitute a major market for collagen. However, even if the whitefish sector is able to supply large volumes of fish skins, it is no easy task to exploit their potential. Many have limited space on board and not all are equipped to supply fresh, high-quality raw materials, or to freeze them, which is essential to avoid quality deterioration.

The SUPREME project has involved the testing of a number of preservation technologies such as freezing, salting and low pH techniques. All of these methods produced satisfactory results, with high gelatin yields and good compositions of amino acids.

"This means that if we optimize our exploitation of whitefish residues, we can produce more than 6,500 tons of gelatin from fish skin every year," says Slizyte.

Good oils from salmon

It isn't only whitefish that offer excellent skins. The skin and the backbones of salmon are rich in collagen, and both could be exploited much better than they are today. When a salmon is fileted and deboned, some residual muscle tissue remains attached to the bone.

This mixture is especially well-suited for gelatin extraction and the production of oils and protein hydrolysates. The hydrolysis process, using tempered water, breaks the collagen protein molecules into smaller, taste-neutral peptides. The word hydrolysis is derived from combining "hydro," which means water, with "lysis" which means to break apart.

Salmon skin and bones contain much more oil than those of whitefish. As part of an EU-funded project called DAFIA, SINTEF researchers have been working to develop, among other things, a multi-stage processing technology that incorporates gentle heat treatment to break down the skin or backbones and remove the muscle fraction. This makes it possible to extract as much as 90% of the oil.

Extraction of the oil at an early stage preserves its high quality. The process also requires less water and enzymes to enable the hydrolysis process to break up the protein molecules.

These results demonstrate that if the source raw materials are of high quality, it is possible to produce high-quality gelatin, oil and taste-neutral proteins. Moreover, extracting most of the oil early in the process also reduces energy consumption.

A new industry?

This new technology is promising with a view to both economics and quality, not least because several high-quality products can be manufactured from the same raw materials. Marine oils are easily oxidized, which reduces their quality. However, if we add antioxidants and enclose them in capsules, the oils can be protected. Proteins such as gelatin are used to encapsulate fish oils, while also serving to mask unwanted odors, taste and rancidity.

Today, large volumes of fish are sent out of Norway for processing. We are sending valuable raw materials overseas that simply go to waste.

"If we were to process more of the fish here in Norway, we would not only be better able to exploit the potential of the fish skins, but would also create more jobs," says Slizyte.

In order to safeguard the quality of the marine oils and gelatin, it is important to stabilize these as rapidly as possible. As part of a project called OMEGA, researchers from SINTEF, together with NTNU, DTU and Indian scientists, have demonstrated that gelatin and oils derived from salmon can be used to make the stable microcapsules needed to protect these two raw materials

"These projects demonstrate that it's entirely possible to make use of all fish raw materials," says Slizyte. "We've completed our investigations of whitefish and salmon, so now it's herring's turn," she says.

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Citation: Fish residues can compensate for raw materials shortages and improve our health in the bargain (2024, May 6) retrieved 6 May 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-05-fish-residues-compensate-raw-materials.html
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Fish waste as a raw input for industrial goods

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Health and environmental concerns related to feed additives in salmon farming encompass nutrient pollution from excess feed and feces, which can degrade local aquatic ecosystems.

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Anticipating obsolescence: The next step to enhancing the sustainability of aquaculture

With growing concerns about the environmental toll of single species fish farms, a research project has been looking at the feasibility of introducing a more sustainable and potentially more profitable method of fish farming, using three complementary species.

Much as native American people planted squash, maize and climbing beans together to benefit each other, (often called the "three sisters"), farming finned-fish, shellfish and seaweeds together could benefit each other and reduce any environmental effects of fish farming. Small scale integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), as the system is called, has traditionally been used at a small domestic scale in Asia, providing the farmer with more than one product to sell or use.

The feasibility study conducted by Bangor University and published in Ecological Modelling has identified the locations around the Atlantic coast which would be most suitable for IMTA, based on farming salmon, and Oarweed, a type of kelp seaweed commonly found in temperate Atlantic coasts. The research considered the natural distribution of the three species, whether suitable locations clashed with busy shipping lanes or marine protected areas and whether there was close access to sizeable ports in order to reach markets.

The western coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland; Lough Swilly in County Donegal, Ireland, and the western coast of Brittany, northwest France were found to be the best locations to further develop IMTA based aquaculture.

As Conchúr Hughes of Bangor University's School of Ocean Sciences explained, "One of the problems with the type of single species aquaculture practiced in Europe is that excess food and feces can lead to deterioration of local ecology, while density can mean that aquaculture companies need to use antibiotics and other additives to maintain a healthy fish-stock.

"Mussels are filter feeders, they can be responsible for removing up to 54% of salmon waste materials from the , using it as energy to grow, while the oarweed removes soluble nutrients from the water column. Oarweed can then be farmed to use in a variety of products, from food supplements for human consumption or for fish farms, as a fertilizer or as an ingredient in pharmaceuticals.

"Each of these species complements the other and mitigates against problems."

IMTA-based aquaculture

Both salmon and mussels are important food sources in Europe, and while oarweed is not as yet, this is a sector that is expected to experience a rapid increase in demand in the coming years- and can provide an alternative sustainable source of fertilizer and other products.

Seaweed cultivation can also provide environmental benefits. The seaweed in the water acts as a buffer against as it approaches the shore, reducing the energy as it passes through the seaweed, much as trees act as a buffer against strong winds, which can help reduce erosion. It also elevates the pH and oxygenates the water.

More information: Conchúr Hughes et al, Habitat suitability modelling for an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system along Europe's Atlantic coast, Ecological Modelling (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2023.110459

Provided by Bangor University

Citation: Anticipating obsolescence: The next step to enhancing the sustainability of aquaculture (2023, September 27) retrieved 27 September 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2023-09-obsolescence-sustainability-aquaculture.html
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How the humble sea cucumber could transform fish farming

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While antibiotics and pesticides are not traditional feed additives per se, they are often delivered through medicated feed to control disease and parasites.

This practice raises consumer health issues including potential residues in edible salmon tissue and the risk of antimicrobial resistance development.

What has the release of Netflix's ecological crisis documentary "Seaspiracy"  exposed?

The pollution risks associated with antibiotics used in sea-farmed salmon.

What health concerns are there specifically related to additives in farmed salmon feed?

Monitoring programs in countries like China report veterinary drug residue pass rates exceeding 99%, indicative of regulatory control, but concerns remain regarding chemical residues and their impact on consumer safety.

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Content: People 's Daily Online > > Economy and Technology
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs: In the first half of 2023, the pass rate of veterinary drug residue monitoring of aquatic products in China is 99.2%.
08 / 09 / 2023 14: 07 | Source: People's Daily Online
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Beijing, August 9 (Reporter Li Dong) Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released the monitoring of veterinary drug residues of aquatic products in the first half of 2023.
The monitoring results show that in the first half of 2023, the qualified rate of veterinary drug residue monitoring of aquatic products in China is 99.2%, and the qualified rate of veterinary drug residue monitoring of aquatic products in China is continuously stable at more than 99%.
From the sampling of species, the yellow fish, turbot, flounder, rainbow trout, floral perch, spotted catfish, prawns and clayfish are all qualified.
In March this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs launched the implementation of the 2023 National Aquatic Products Veterinary Drug Residues Monitoring Plan and the 2023 National Aquatic Animal Disease Monitoring Plan to deploy the supervision of veterinary drugs and other inputs for aquaculture in 2023 and the prevention and control of aquatic animal diseases.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, according to the plan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs monitors the residual status of aquatic veterinary drugs in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government), four planned cities and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and investigates the hidden safety risks of so-called "non-pharmaceutical" "" and other unapproved inputs for aquaculture.
"At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will also carry out special monitoring of 11 aquatic animal diseases in 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, investigate three aquatic animal diseases and carry out research on grass carp related diseases," the person said.
"In the next step, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will strengthen the supervision and law enforcement of key varieties and key drugs according to the monitoring results, strengthen training and publicity and guidance on the popularization of drug related knowledge, and guide all localities to further implement the local responsibility, supervision responsibility and the main responsibility of producers and operators.
(Editor: Qiao Yiqiong, Gao Lei)
Public Number ： People 's Network Finance
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Additionally, overharvesting of feed-grade fish threatens marine biodiversity and ecosystem balance.

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The EU must not support intensive fish farming — it's not sustainable

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The Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will run between 1 July and 31 December 2024, has announced in its programme that it will pay particular attention to the development of “sustainable and competitive aquaculture”, arguing that “it is the animal protein production sector with the smallest environmental footprint.”

Beyond a supposedly low carbon footprint, aquaculture is also presented as an alternative to mitigate declining wild fish catches. However, under the term “aquaculture” we find various production models – some of which are more environmentally benign when conducted at appropriate scale, such as the cultivation of mussels, clams, and oysters, and some of which come with significant damaging impacts.

Many European consumers who want to eat fish from sustainable sources believe farmed salmon, trout and seabass are sustainable choices. But the intensive farming of carnivorous fin fish is neither socially nor environmentally sustainable.

The environmental impacts of this industrial production model include an increase in harmful algal blooms, a negative impact on sea grass meadows due to the accumulation of organic matter around farms, mass fish die-offs, the use of the harmful substances such as carcinogenic formaldehyde or antibiotics, and water pollution, creating dead zones on the sea bed underneath the farms. Adding to this, carnivorous farmed fish such as salmon and seabass require high volumes of fishmeal and fish oil from wild-caught fish in their feed.

In Europe, industrial aquaculture of carnivorous fish at sea is damaging the environment and displacing traditional activities such as coastal small-scale fisheries.

On the island of Poros, Greece, for example, the plan is to increase the area dedicated to open net pen carnivorous fish farms by 28 times. Yet, underwater video depicts that marine ecosystem near the current small-scale pens is completely dead from the waste and pollution of the farms, and local professional fishermen attest to a loss of wild fish since the influx of fish farms.

Beyond Europe, the production of fishmeal and fish oil necessary to feed carnivorous farmed fish is depleting wild fish stocks. This is the case in West Africa where the overfishing of small pelagics such as sardines and mackerel for industrial fish farms in Europe is undermining food security and the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and women fish-processors. Fish is taken away from people in low-income countries to feed the farmed fish which will be consumed in wealthy nations.

The UN special rapporteur on the right to food acknowledged this in his report to the Human Rights Council in early 2024: “Many farmed fish are carnivorous species that require feed products harvested from wild fish stock, thereby creating another source of pressure on wild fish stocks and disrupting ecosystems.

Moreover, global feed companies are exacerbating food insecurity in some communities. For example, over half a million tons of pelagic fish that could feed over 33 million people in the region are instead extracted from the ocean along the coast of West Africa and converted to fishmeal and fish oil, primarily in order to feed farmed fish and livestock, mostly in Asia and Europe.”

The current EU strategy for aquaculture does not respond to the social and environmental challenges posed by this sector and fails to clearly define what “sustainable” aquaculture is. In fact, in a special report on aquaculture, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) found that the European Union has been pouring funds into the development of aquaculture with little proof that this has contributed to the sector’s “environmental and social sustainability or its competitiveness.” The ECA report further highlights that “there are currently no indicators available to monitor the environmental sustainability of EU aquaculture.”

Under the agriculture and fisheries agenda, Hungary has reaffirmed its wish to support farmers, and fish farmers, through a “farmer-friendly European food system.” Rather they should support low impact small-scale fishers as primary food producers.

Under the Hungarian presidency, the EU should discontinue support for industrial aquaculture of carnivorous species and instead promote more sustainable small-scale aquaculture options that can co-exist instead of negatively affecting small-scale fisheries in Europe and beyond. If Europe wants to be a model in sustainable ocean governance, it must place small-scale, low-impact fisheries and aquaculture at the heart of its food policy.

This is an open letter signed by the following organisations from Africa and Europe: African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Organisations (CAOPA), Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements (CFFA), Feedback Europe, Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE), Compassion in World Farming and the Rauch Foundation.

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This article is sponsored by a third party. All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author and not of EUobserver.

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The Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements is a platform of European and African organisations that raises awareness about the impacts of the EU-Africa fisheries agreements on artisanal fishing communities.

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The Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements is a platform of European and African organisations that raises awareness about the impacts of the EU-Africa fisheries agreements on artisanal fishing communities.

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Instances of illegal or controversial additives, such as industrial chemical soaking agents, have been reported, further emphasizing vigilance in regulatory enforcement.

Title:

Content: All-Russian conference on the quality of fish products will be held in Vladivostok
May 15, 2013, 17: 51
The need for such a conference is due to extremely alarming trends in the market of fish products.
The need for such a conference is due to extremely alarming trends in the market of fish products
Experts from Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus will take part in the International Conference on Technical Regulation in September 2013 in Vladivostok.
One of the main topics of discussion will be the development of proposals to ensure the quality and safety of fish products.
According to the President of the Pollock Miners Association (ADM) German ZVEREV on his Facebook page, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) has agreed on the dates of the conference on technical regulation.
- The initiator of the conference is the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), - explained German Zverev. - Most recently, in April they gathered experts on the quality and safety of food products in Nizhny Novgorod.
They discussed the procedure for the application of the technical regulations of the Customs Union "On the safety of food products" and "On the safety of food products in terms of its labeling."
In addition, they discussed technical regulations for fat-and-oil products and dairy products, there was no talk about fish.
The need for a thematic "fish" conference is due to extremely alarming trends in the market of fish products.
According to Lyudmila CHIKINA, head of Rospotrebnadzor ’ s department, at a meeting of the RSPP Commission on Fisheries and Aquaculture, violations of sanitary legislation were found at 25% of fish processing enterprises, and non-compliance with microbiological and sanitary-chemical standards was revealed in almost every tenth batch of fish products inspected.
According to the RSPP Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission, in general, there is no pre-market control, market control is ineffective, and the fish market is largely vulnerable to unsafe and poor-quality food products.
A conscientious national producer is inferior in competition to manufacturers and suppliers of low-quality and unsafe products, and bona fide certification systems are uncompetitive in comparison with certification bodies and testing laboratories that legalize “shadow ” flows of fish products.
During the international conference on technical regulation in Vladivostok, specialists of control departments and experts will evaluate the preliminary results of the implementation of the technical regulations of the Customs Union “On food safety ” and“ On food safety in terms of its labeling ”.
During a separate section, the draft technical regulation “Fish and fish products ” will be considered and answers to the questions of technologists of fish processing enterprises will be prepared.
If you are interested in participating in this conference, we inform you that Andrey LOTSMANOV, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Technical Regulation, Standardization and Conformity Assessment, has been appointed as the responsible representative for organizing the conference from the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
Phone in Moscow 8 (495) 663-04-50, е-mail: [email protected]
Maria Kuzovleva.
ZRPRESS.RU, Vladivostok.

Regulatory standards governing salmon feed additives vary by country.

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Content: SALM

EU says Norwegian salmon producers might have distorted competition

Credit: REUTERS/SERGEI KARPUKHIN

Adds company responses and share price reaction

Jan 25 (Reuters) - The European Commission has informed six Norwegian salmon producers of its suspicion that they breached EU antitrust rules by distorting competition for spot sales of Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon in the EU, it said on Thursday.

The Commission said it was concerned that Cermaq, Grieg Seafood GSFG.OL, Bremnes, Leroy LSG.OL, Mowi MOWI.OL and SalMar SALM.OL had exchanged commercially sensitive information about prices and volumes between 2011 and 2019 to reduce market uncertainty.

Mowi, SalMar, Leroy and Grieg Seafood issued statements contesting the Commission's preliminary findings, maintaining their commitment to competition laws and expressing their intention to cooperate with the investigation.

Cermaq said it explicitly disagreed with the Commission's preliminary findings but will refrain from further comment until watchdog's final decision.

A Bremnes representative was not immediately available for comment.

Shares in Mowi, SalMar, Leroy and Grieg Seafood fell 4.9%, 1.9%, 5.7% and 7.1% respectively after the Commission announcement.

Antitrust regulators raided salmon farms in several European Union countries in February 2019, including some owned by Mowi, on suspicions of involvement in a cartel.

The Commission did not name the companies at the time. But Mowi, the world's biggest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon, said that EU regulators had raided two of its businesses, in Scotland and the Netherlands.

Norway accounts for more than half of the farmed Atlantic salmon worldwide and the EU is its main importer.

The alleged conduct concerns sales of fresh, whole and gutted Atlantic salmon farmed in Norway. It does not concern frozen farmed Atlantic salmon or processed products such as salmon fillets, loins or smoked salmon, the commission said.

The statement of objections sent to the companies does not prejudge the outcome of an investigation, it added.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer additional reporting by Jesus Calero Editing by David Goodman )

((Bart.Meijer@thomsonreuters.com;))

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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China has implemented policies to reduce feed-grade fish use, promoting compound feeds rich in plant proteins like soy and regulating additives.

What countries or jurisdictions have regulations concerning additives in salmon feed?

It enforces minimum size limits for wild fish caught for feed and aims to keep feed-grade fish catch below 20%, supported by provincial regulations.

The country maintains rigorous monitoring and law enforcement regarding veterinary drugs and aquaculture inputs to ensure food safety.

In the United States, regulations, particularly in Maine, focus on environmental sustainability by limiting stocking density and total biomass in finfish farms, alongside licensing systems that control waste discharges to protect coastal water quality.

Title:

Content: Lawmakers in Maine -- home to aquaculture producer Cooke and land-based yellowtail farmer Kingfish --are continuing to call for stricter regulations when it comes to current and future aquaculture leases.

The latest set of proposals come from Maine Democratic Sen. Nicole Grohoski, who has two bills in the works aimed at regulating the industry.

The first proposal from Grohoski would ask the state's Commissioner of Marine Resources to not issue a lease for marine finfish aquaculture if the stocking density exceeds 22 kilograms per cubic meter or if the biomass exceeds 780 metric tons. The measure would also apply to current leases under the current version of the bill.

That bill is scheduled to have a public hearing on Thursday.

"Arbitrarily changing stocking limits through legislation may simply restrict a producer’s ability to introduce new technologies and innovative equipment which otherwise enables aquaculture farms to operate even more sustainably," Joel Richardson, Cooke's vice president of public relations, told IntraFish.

If passed, he added, any existing or future fish farming companies in Maine would be impacted by the legislation.

While Richardson did not comment on the stocking densities at Cooke's salmon aquaculture facilities in Maine, the state's Department of Marine Resources lists the company as having 24 licenses active aquaculture leases in the state.

"The salmon farms of today have improved significantly from the farms of decades ago," Richardson said. "In our experience, some legislative changes can be counterproductive and do not typically keep up with the rapid pace of technological advancement in the aquaculture sector.

"One of the key reasons why Maine has been successful in aquaculture growth is that the state, academia, industry and communities work collaboratively to establish the associated regulatory policy and legislation."

The lawmaker's other active bill would direct the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to review state laws and rules regulating the licensing of waste discharges from proposed finfish aquaculture facilities, including any waste discharge modeling requirements or standards.

“On-water finfish farming is not what it was decades ago," the senator said of the legislation in a statement, adding she was working to protect both the state's coast and the livelihoods of its lobstermen.

"Nor are our coastal marine environments as healthy as they once were. This bill will move Maine in the right direction as we ensure our regulations are up to date with modern practices, so we can protect the health of our cold, clean waters.”

That bill received a divided committee report, with nine members in favor and four against, reported the local news site Mount Deseret Islander. A majority vote is needed to move the bill out of committee for House and Senate review, the news site said.

The latest of many

This is not the first time this year that strict measures have been proposed by Maine legislators for aquaculture. In March, a measure brought forward by a different Maine senator sought to place strict new regulations on land-based aquaculture facilities in the state.

While that proposal died in committee following significant industry outcry, the state's aquaculture industry remains on edge, with local opposition from residents and lawmakers having the ability to significantly hinder projects.

"As with many bills you see proposed, while it may not directly impact all aquaculture producers, they can set a precedent for unreasonable regulations in future," Megan Sorby, an operations manager for Maine's land-based yellowtail producer The Kingfish Company, told IntraFish of legislation such as Sen. Grohoski's.

She pointed to the senator's proposal to limit stocking densities as being in conflict with the current regulatory decisions, which are "driven by the unique environmental conditions at each farm site and the sites’ ability to process the nutrients coming out of the farm."

"Each site is different and Maine’s environmental monitoring regime is designed to help the farmer determine the appropriate biomass that will not exceed the sites carrying capacity and harm the environment," she said.

"This is trying to impose a 'one size fits all' approach, which would eliminate the existing robust analysis that is currently part of the regulatory framework."

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These measures strive to balance aquaculture productivity with ecosystem and community protection.

Norway’s regulatory approach emphasizes innovation and resource efficiency in feed additives.

What countries or jurisdictions have regulations concerning additives in salmon feed?

Norwegian research seeks to maximize marine by-product utilization for feed components, reducing fishmeal reliance while exploring alternative vegetarian feeds, though these are currently suitable for limited species.

Contrasting with these national efforts, the European Union has been criticized for insufficient environmental monitoring in aquaculture and for supporting intensive carnivorous fish farming practices that impact wild fish stocks negatively.

Chile, another major salmon producer, was not covered in the available data regarding feed additive regulations.

However, its aquaculture industry faces scrutiny over chemical use and environmental sustainability, suggesting regulatory frameworks may be evolving or challenged similarly.

For nutritionists advising consumers, it is important to note that while feed additives contribute to enhanced fish growth, health, and sustainability, residual veterinary drugs and chemical contaminants in edible tissue present consumer health considerations.

Regulatory oversight aims to minimize these risks, but ongoing monitoring and transparency are vital.

Environmental effects indirectly influence product quality and the sustainability credentials of farmed salmon, factors relevant in dietary recommendations.

In conclusion, salmon feed additives comprise common protein sources of animal and plant origin, immunostimulants like probiotics and prebiotics, and emerging sustainable ingredients such as insect proteins and fish by-products.

They support nutritional adequacy, fish health, and environmental goals in salmon farming.

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Drug-resistant sea lice an increasing problem for B.C. fish farms, new study finds

By Melanie Nagy

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    May 14, 2022 (CTV Network) — Every spring, endangered juvenile wild salmon migrate from B.C.’s rivers to the Pacific Ocean, but their numbers are dwindling and some fear sea lice parasites are increasingly to blame. Sea lice are tiny, oval shaped crustaceans that can cling to the backs of wild salmon, feeding on their skin, muscle tissue and blood. Adult fish are generally not harmed when a few lice attach themselves, but juveniles with underdeveloped scales can be harmed or killed when heavily infested. While the parasite occurs naturally in the waters off B.C.’s coast, there’s long been concern over outbreaks on aquaculture farms where open-net pens make it possible for lice to move from farmed fish to young migrating salmon. “Salmon farms act as this year-round reservoir for sea lice, potentially providing sea lice to wild juvenile salmon when they wouldn’t normally get them,” conservation biologist Sean Godwin said. Godwin is the lead author in a recent study that looked at the state of sea lice in the Pacific Ocean. Along with his fellow researchers, he found the parasite is increasingly becoming resistant to one of the main tools the industry relies on to combat the problem. “Our paper found that this tool, which is a pesticide known [as] SLICE, or emamectin benzoate, is becoming less effective and that sea lice are developing resistance to it on farms here,” Godwin said. To assess parasite resistance, “bioassay, treatment and salmon-louse count data from 2010 to 2021” were analyzed. During that time, the researchers found a notable decrease in the effectiveness of SLICE. “It is going to be more difficult for salmon farms to control sea lice outbreaks on their farms,” said Godwin. In the province’s stunning Clayoquot Sound, Bonny Glambeck routinely uses a fine-mesh net and a sample cup to test the waters near fish farms. Glambeck heads the Tofino-based conservation society known as Clayoquot Action and every year she monitors industry lice counts and tracks wild salmon infestations. “The control of sea lice on fish farms is something I do not believe the industry has ever been able to crack,” she said. “Parasites like these sea lice proliferate on these farms and then they can pass them on to wild salmon. With that, we feel that every year that goes by and these farms are allowed to pollute the waters with these infestations, they are just wiping out another generation of wild salmon.” Fisheries and Oceans Canada requires all fish farms in Canadian coastal waters to have a sea lice management plan. The federal department also places a limit of three lice per salmon during the spring when young salmon are out-migrating and are most vulnerable. In addition to that, the industry publicly reports lice counts on individual company websites every month. “The worry is that those lice levels might accumulate and then be released back to affect wild migratory salmon. The science doesn’t support that, but the concern exists so the industry responds to that,” said Brian Kingzett. Kingzett is the science and policy director with the BC Salmon Farmers Association. He says the industry has warned the federal government for years about the waning efficacy of SLICE, and has long called on Ottawa to approve new pesticide options. “There are other anti-parasite agents that have been approved in other areas of the world and we would certainly like to add that to our toolbox.” While SLICE is the only approved pesticide in Canada, it is not the only option for a fish farm struggling with a lice infestation. Kingzett says other environmentally friendly methods include the use of specialized delousing boats. One readily used vessel can suck fish from ocean-based pens into tanks where pressurized water is used to forcibly remove any attached lice. According to the industry, any dislodged bugs are collected by filters for disposal so they are not reintroduced to the marine environment. “During the last five years, the industry has spent about $100 million on importing new technologies,” Kingzett said. “Fish farming is an important industry in B.C. because we are facing a global seafood shortage and the farming sector is looking to provide sustainable, high-quality product.” The industry, however, is controversial and there’s been an ongoing battle to have all fish farms in the province removed. Earlier this month, there was a large protest in Tofino involving Indigenous leaders, conservationists and environmentalists. The group took to the waters near a local fish farm to voice their opposition to the industry and call on Ottawa to evict them. “It is a do-or-die moment for the salmon farming industry,” said Alexandra Morton, who is an independent biologist and longtime wild salmon activist. “We need to do whatever we can to save wild salmon populations because they are sadly on the verge of extinction.” In response, those in support of fish farms argue they are not a direct threat to wild salmon and are a vital industry. According to the BC Salmon Farmers Association, there are nearly 5,000 jobs linked to fish farms and at least $1 billion “in economic activity” is generated annually. Despite that, Ottawa has previously announced that it’s committed to phasing out open-net salmon farms in B.C. by 2025. In addition, it’s uncertain if 79 federal fish farm licenses expiring in June will be renewed.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Matthew Talbot
matthew.talbot@bellmedia.ca

CNN Newsource

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Associated health concerns relate to ecosystem impacts, chemical residues, and feed ingredient sourcing.

Regulatory regimes differ globally, with examples from China, the United States, and Norway demonstrating varied strategies to ensure feed additive safety, environmental protection, and sustainable aquaculture development.

Additional details from countries like Chile would enrich overall understanding and consumer guidance regarding farmed salmon products.