Producing at scale

It is estimated that the aquaculture sector will require an additional 30 to 40 million tonnes of feed ingredients, fuelling a race for raw materials. However, the growing demand for these resources brings with it important environmental and social considerations. GHG emissions and the impact on local communities must be balanced against costs and market prices.

In this context, ingredient diversification is becoming increasingly valuable in managing supply volatility.

Novel ingredients, in particular, have been gaining attention for several years now. Yet, behind the promise of innovation lies a challenging reality: the scale of the aquaculture industry’s demand requires large-scale production of feed ingredients. A few thousand tonnes of a new ingredient are insufficient to meet the sector’s needs.

Some of these novel ingredients also require significant investment to produce. Insect farming, for example, has seen considerable support from governments and investors, yet many businesses struggle to remain viable. Ynsect, for instance, is currently facing significant challenges and restructuring its operations.

So far, the inclusion of novel ingredients in aquaculture feed remains minimal. Skretting’s latest impact report shows that these ingredients make up less than 1% of its feed formulations (0,99% compared with 0.79% in 2022). A higher uptake by the feed companies in the coming years is likely, as some ingredients like microalgae and single cell proteins show the ability to scale production.

All stakeholders in the aquaculture industry stand to benefit from the growth of an innovative feed ingredient sector. Precision nutrition is a key component of that innovative trend, aiming at maximising the use of ingredients.

Ultimately, what matters most is to take the fish’s preference into account, so it grows fast and in good conditions, with a nutrient dense profile ensuring that farmed fish contributes to healthy human diets. There's no doubt that, in the race to fill in the 30-40 million tonnes of feed ingredient gap, novel feed ingredients will play a role in complementing the fish's preferred ingredients.