Skretting concerned by the use of "finite marine ingredients" in aquafeeds

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations forecasts that by 2030 there will be a 30 million tonne increase in aquaculture production, which will require an additional 45 million tonnes of feed raw materials.

As a result, Skretting believes that: “To ensure that the sector can maximise its contribution to sustainably feeding a population that will reach 9.5 billion people by 2050, there is a fundamental need to overcome the reliance on formulating feeds from finite marine ingredients.”

While the application of sustainable novel ingredients in aquafeeds – both through replacement and interchange – are recognised as a viable means to achieve this aim, the biggest challenge facing innovations in this space is reaching commercial scale, the feed producer points out in a press release.

Skretting says that it is focused on increasing the flexibility of the macro- and micro-ingredient inclusion in its aquaculture feeds. A key aspect of this ambition is development of the circular bioeconomy through the utilisation of proteins generated from the use of waste streams, and by- and co-products. This progress has already seen the group establish working relationships with and provide support to a number of start-up innovators.

“For aquaculture to meet its full potential, the sector will need access to sufficient volumes of these novel ingredients. At the same time, Skretting recognises that these technologies are only able to reach scale through collaborative efforts,” said Trygve B Lea, sustainability manager at Skretting. “This Our Ocean commitment is focused on overcoming this significant barrier and providing a fast-track to market for these innovations. The hope is for the first few novel raw material sources to achieve scale-up in 2020.”

At Our Ocean 2019, which is taking place in Oslo on 23-24 October, Erlend Sødal, Skretting’s global operations director, will join a panel of experts to focus on the topic of foods and livelihoods from the ocean. Specifically, this group will look at how to ensure access to sufficient, safe and nutritious foods from the ocean that meet dietary needs and food preferences for a growing population, as well as how to build food value chains that can deliver from healthy oceans to healthy people.

“It is a huge honour to be asked to contribute to this world-class forum, with the conference providing an ideal platform to share global insights, experiences and ambitions from Skretting and the aquaculture sector with a broad group of ocean leaders. It is clear that the farming of protein-rich, healthy aquatic foods such as fish and shrimp has a crucial role to play in meeting the nutritional needs of the planet, but alongside capitalising on aquaculture’s incredible potential, there’s also a fundamental obligation for all stakeholders to engage and make meaningful contributions to marine health,” said Sødal.

With the vision to learn, share and act for a clean, healthy and productive ocean, Our Ocean 2019 has been organised by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will be hosted by Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide. The conference will be attended by approximately 500 invited delegates from around the world, including heads of state, financial institutions, young leaders, civil society organisations and representatives from the scientific community.