AQUA 2024

August 26 - 30, 2024

Copenhagen, Denmark

NAVIGATING THE COMPLEXITY: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE RAW MATERIALS IN COMMERCIAL AQUAFEEDS

Kyla M. Zatti1*,  Erik O. Gracey1

1BioMar AS, Trondheim, Norway

*kylza@biomar.com



The importance of sustainability  in aquafeed  is emphasized by increasing customer consciousness​ and demand for transparent and responsibly sourced raw materials. Central to this effort are standardized frameworks such as p roduct e nvironmental footprint (PEF)​, sustainability methods  like  carbon footprint, full l ife c ycle assessment (LCA),  and metrics like  the forage-fish dependency ratio (FFDR) and fish-in fish-out (FIFO) . Aquafeed production accounts for up to 80% of the scope 3 green house gas emissions in salmon farming . It is therefore necessary to explore sustainable alternatives while ensuring optimal nutrition across a broad range of aquatic species . Transitioning to circular and restorative practices in aquafeed production by valorising waste streams  and shifting to sustainable farming practices provides aquafeed producers a way to reduce scope 3 emissions in a manner that benefits multiple value chains.  Novel ingredients such as insect meal, single cell proteins, low-impact agricultural crops,  and by-products from food processing industries are gaining traction and hold promise to mitigate ecological footprints without compromising nutritional profile .  However, cost, scalability, food safet y, legislation,  and consumer acceptance challenges widespread adoption ; driving the importance to engage  and educate consumers at an early stage . Overcoming these challenges requires collaborative efforts  throughout the value chain including researchers, policy makers, producers, retailers, and consumers. To ensure holistic sustainability and avoid problem shifting, standardised methodologies and versatile tools for comprehensive assessments of raw materials are required . While  LCA is a valuable industry tool, its limitations are known . Incorporating supply chain biodiversity indicators is essential to account for impacts not covered by an LCA. Furthermore, ensuring the quality, credibility, verification, and accountability of data is imperative to ensure the reliability of the assessment for accurate decision-making. Novel and standard raw materials should be designed  with significant improvements over predecessors including both nutritional and environmental aspects . Promising ingredients for wide industrial adoption have low volume constraints, scalable potential, and  are  located near the supply chain. Raw materials with emphasis on renewable bioenergy feedstocks that leverage proximity to inputs or co-locate with renewable energy in a circular economy, display significant advantages over traditional materials and score highly on certain metrics. The complexity of shifting  the global mindset  toward implementing sustainable raw materials for aquaculture lies in creating standardised methodologies ,  navigating diverse stakeholder interests, overcoming deep-rooted practices and ideologies, and addressing economic and regulatory barriers across the value chain, with collaboration  as the cornerstone.