A project launched by the BioMar Group and U.S.-based retailer Whole Foods Market promoting the use of fish processing by-products in farmed salmon feeds has been given a thumbs up by the Marine Ingredients Organization (IFFO).
Approximately 35 percent, translating to nearly 5.7 million metric tons, of raw material supply for the marine ingredients industry originates from by-products produced at the other end of fish processing. Despite this, there is still a significant volume of by-product raw material that is not utilized from fish processed out at sea – it was estimated by the University of Stirling last year that 6 million metric tons of by-products are still not utilized by global industry. This same study predicted that considering the growing aquaculture feed industry and the trend for more whole fish to enter human consumption markets, the percentage of raw material from by-products stands to increase to over 50 percent within ten years.
According to the IFFO, “the main barriers to capturing more raw material are logistic, given the difficulties of collecting by-products, preservation during transport and the availability of local marine ingredient processing facilities.”
The organization hopes that initiatives such as the one being touted by BioMar and Whole Foods will serve to “encourage feed companies to work more closely with their suppliers to solve the logistic challenges and increase recovery levels.”
