Maarten Bijl took over the role of Skretting CEO on 1 September, succeeding Bastiaan van Tilburg, who is now the CEO of parent company Nutreco.
Since joining Nutreco in 2021 as managing director for Nutreco subsidiary Trouw Nutrition North America, Bijl has held senior roles across the organization, most recently serving as chief digital officer and a member of Nutreco’s management board. In the latter capacity, he spearheaded a digital transformation across the company, leveraging data-enabled business models to accelerate growth at both Skretting and Trouw Nutrition.
“My focus is always on making our customers more successful and evolving ourselves to remain their trusted, leading partner,” Bijl told SeafoodSource.
Regarding his new role, Bijl emphasized the importance of continuity in Skretting’s strategy while simultaneously setting ambitious priorities for the next 12 months.
“It is a priority for me to ensure we continue to develop our people and provide a safe, inclusive, and high-quality work environment,” he said. “Our innovation agenda continues to focus on delivering measurable impact in feed efficiency, animal health, and sustainability. The core objective is to ensure that every innovation tangibly improves farm outcomes while aligning with social, environmental, and regulatory expectations.”
The company, Bijl said, believes in the continuous and sustainable growth of the aquaculture industry – both in traditional and new ways of farming; however, he added that there are still many challenges to overcome, such as health-related issues across species that are threatening growth.
“We will accelerate our focus and innovations aimed at finding the right solutions together with our partners,” Bijl said.
Central to this effort is Nutreco Exploration (NutEx), a discovery platform that leverages proprietary phytocomplexes derived from whole plants – ingredients never before used in animal feed. The recent launch of Necto, Skretting’s first commercial product containing these compounds, is the start of a broader pipeline of innovations designed to improve fish and shrimp health globally.
“There are still many challenges to overcome, and we will remain committed to being a frontrunner in innovation,” Bijl said.
Skretting is also expanding its focus on closed aquaculture systems, which require specialized feed to minimize waste and maintain water quality.
“We’re frontrunners in this fast-growing segment and will continue to build our unique competence through partnerships with some of the most exciting projects globally,” Bijl said.
All of these ambitions come with a digital-first mindset, Bijl said.
“To create impact with digital, it’s about deeply understanding customer needs, finding or developing the right quality solution, and then ensuring adoption,” he said, explaining that precision feeding is a prime example of this strategy. “This drives more complexity in our operations, but the reward is more value for the farmer. Digital solutions will be a key enabler in this journey going forward.”
In fact, Bijl said precision nutrition and farming offer the most exciting opportunities to transform aquaculture productivity looking forward.
“Many customers have told me that they are still feeding ‘blind’ and that having real-time insight into biomass development is on top of their minds to improve their operations," he said.
Armed with real-time insight and a holistic view on farm performance with accurate industry benchmarking to compare data, farmers can actively participate in optimizing the entire value chain, Bijl said.
“I’m aware that I’m likely biased because of my digital background, but I believe that the biggest change in productivity can be achieved with these developments that will further accelerate the progress that can be obtained through feed alternatives and circularity strategies,” he said.
Along with a focus on digital, Bijl also stressed that sustainability is not merely a corporate imperative; it is inseparable from positive business performance. Skretting’s new ACT framework – focusing on action, connection, and transparency – seeks to link sustainability outcomes directly to operational benefits.
“We put strong focus on co-creating solutions that help our customers achieve their sustainability objectives while generating additional value through higher efficiency, better health, and more precision in feeding and farming,” he said. “This will be fueled by increased investments in innovation and a strong emphasis on developing and adopting digital technologies and solutions.”
Though the new role will be a challenge, Bijl said he’s ready to guide Skretting into the rapidly evolving future.
“I’m truly honored to lead this team with its legacy of 127 years. There are many colleagues with long aquaculture experience but also plenty from other industries,” he said. “This diverse combination keeps Skretting relevant for our customers and continuously innovating.”
