Laura Martinez Rubio is research, development and technical Manager for Marine Harvest Fish Feed, where she hopes to create more sustainable fish feeds that lead to better performance and robustness of farmed fish.
SeafoodSource: You’ve stated you want to help find new raw materials and ingredients that could potentially make more sustainable fish feeds. What’s wrong with the materials being used today and how could they be improved?
Martinez Rubio: I won’t say there is something wrong with the raw materials used in salmon feed as the inclusion of marine- and non-marine ingredients from sustainable sources is continuously increasing. However, the inclusion of fish meal and fish oil from sustainable fisheries on the feeds for carnivorous species, like salmon, is still essential for an optimal performance and welfare of the fish, as well as to ensure the nutritional value for the consumers.
Byproducts from fisheries and livestock food manufacturing processes are valuable resources that could contribute to sustainable growth in our industry. Many projects focus on increasing the knowledge about the minimum level of marine ingredients required in salmon production and the components that make fishmeal and fish oil essential. Hopefully in 10 years fish feed will be even more efficient, contributing not only to an optimal performance but also to the welfare of the fish through the use of functional ingredients.
SeafoodSource: What are the top one or two issues facing aquaculture today?
Martinez Rubio: Each of the fish and shellfish species cultivated around the world faces different issues, but in general, health issues are probably common on the top of all of them. For example, today in salmon farming, sea lice are the greatest challenge and many projects are trying to control the incidence of this parasite with different approaches. These include the addition of certain components in feeds that could potentially alleviate the symptoms or repel the lice.
SeafoodSource: What are the challenges when it comes to making changes in aquaculture, fish feed in particular? Is this industry open to change?
Martinez Rubio: Sustainable and affordable ingredients are crucial for the future development and growth of our industry. Reducing the dependency on marine ingredients and improving feeding strategies are probably among the main challenges for fish feed, but aquaculture is still a young industry fairly open to change and innovation.
SeafoodSource: What’s it like for you as a woman in a predominantly male-dominated industry?
Martinez Rubio: My experience in both academia and industry is fairly good – I believe my opinion is as well-considered as the opinions of my male colleagues, and clearly big seafood companies in general are encouraging a better gender balance on the management teams to ensure richer discussions with different points of view. It’s still more complicated for women to reconcile a well-balanced personal life with a successful career, but I think today we’re in a better place to achieve that.
SeafoodSource: If there were one thing you could change about the seafood industry as it relates to your ability to instigate change and make improvements, what would it be?
Martinez Rubio: There are efforts from different public and private organizations to promote the consumption of fish but there is still work to be done making consumers fully understand that the seafood industry is following very strict regulations and sustainability schemes to guarantee top quality products and reduce man’s footprint while respecting wild populations of fish.
I would also try to encourage the diversification of farmed fish species available in certain markets. That will only be possible if consumers accept the diversification of seafood choices in their diet.
