We have been dependent on our oceans as a source of food for centuries. But it was not until the 20th century that we discovered the impact of modern fishing methods on fish stocks. However, since this discovery humans have continued to deplete our oceans at an unsustainable rate, and seem to be determined to continue until the seas run dry.

Our world’s fish reserves are being depleted

Aquaculture is the aquatic equivalent of agriculture and it has been growing exponentially in the last 5 years. Although aquaculture offers an alternative to conserve our oceans, it does not come without its challenges, such as high input/energy costs, fish diseases, complex system design, and managing water quality.

Improving aquacultute inputs

• Reducing the fish in-fish out ratio (FIFO)

• Improving the quality of feed [materials]

• Reducing inputs costs

• Reducing the use of antibiotics

Improving aquaculture technology

• Energy-efficient systems sourced by renewable energies 

• Redesigning aquaculture systems to maximize efficiency

• Improve water treatment technologies

• Automation leveraged on Artificial Intelligence

Improving consumer awareness

• Improve consumer's health 

• Raise consumer awareness

• Provide traceability throughout the value chain

• Direct to consumer channel

Priority number one is feed. Here’s why. 

Since aquaculture breeds and grows fish independent from the environment, it offers a solution to overfishing. However, most fish have very different nutritional requirements compared to other farmed animals. Fish require a very high protein diet, with a mix of specialty oils (Omega 3/6/9), in their feed that is almost exclusively found in marine products. In order to meet these specific requirements, the majority of aquafeeds are formulated with a high percentage of wild fish. The industry average for Salmon is 5 pounds of wild fish per pound of grown fish, this is called fish-in fish-out ratio (FIFO). 

A relatively high FIFO across the industry, combined with the rapid expansion of aquaculture, has led to an increase in demand for forage fish used in aquafeed, putting even more pressure on dwindling global fish stocks. Due to increasing scarcity of this resource, aquafeed prices have skyrocketed in recent years, putting significant cost pressure on aquaculture growers.

Our natural ocean ecosystems have been strained to the breaking point, and the need to formulate more sustainable feeds for aquaculture is now more critical than ever before.