Brande, Denmark-based BioMar has signed a cooperative agreement to provide Chinese trout farming firm Minze Long Yang Xia with its high-performance fish feed.
BioMar has participated in a two-year trial with the Qinghai Province, China-based farmer, conducting technical trials to formulate an “ideal recipe solution” for the farm, according to BioMar.
“Our extensive knowledge on nutritional requirements of trout, as well as a strict selection of raw materials according to their characteristics and contribution to sustainability impacts, have together made it possible to discover an optimal feed recipe and feeding strategy,” BioMar CEO Carlos Diaz said in a press release. “Through the onsite trials, we have been able to demonstrate a better total performance.”
The new feed has “almost half the environmental footprint” of conventional feed used in similar farms in China, according to BioMar. The new feed formulation limits nitrogen and phosphorous discharge into the local marine ecosystem, the company added.
“Creating a low-impact feed recipe by varying the ingredients plays a crucial role in reducing a farmer’s overall environmental footprint. That is because aquaculture feed traditional is responsible for up to 80 percent of the environment impact of [raising] fish, due to the feed ingredients and production operations accounting for most of the mass energy flows in the value chain,” the company said in its release.
Long Yang Xia, the country’s largest trout farming company, is on the vanguard of a movement in China toward more sustainable aquaculture operations, according to BioMar. The new feed, combined with investment in modern aquaculture technologies, aligns the company with the “Green Development of Aquaculture” plan, a government guidance plan designed to accelerate the sustainable development of the country’s aquaculture industry.
“The importance to our environment for protecting ecosystems can’t be underestimated. Long Yang Xia is leading the way in the Chinese market by significantly reducing their environmental footprint with a diet created by BioMar that delivers on growth performance but is also considerate to the local ecosystem,” Diaz said.
A delegation led by Yan Jinhai, the vice governor of Qinghai Province, attended the 18 June signing of a cooperation agreement between the two firms.
Photo courtesy of BioMar
