Canadian Seafood Farmers hails 'remarkable progress' in sustainable salmon feed

The organisation representing seafood farmers in Canada has provided new information showing the sustainability of salmon feed used in the country.

The press release by Canadian Seafood Farmers (formerly the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance) follows articles from several news outlets related to the sourcing of salmon feed ingredients.

“When salmon farming in Canada started close to 50 years ago, 100% of salmon feed was made from fish and fish products. Since then, Canadian salmon farmers have made significant progress in diversifying the feed ingredients and improving sustainability to produce healthy and nutritious food for Canadians,” said Canadian Seafood Farmers (CSF).

It said it was providing advance communication of sustainability data for salmon feed that will be released in full in November. The results show that 80% of feed in Canada is from non-fish derived sources, and 95% of the fish products in feed are from certified sustainably managed fisheries.

Remarkable process

“This is remarkable progress, and we are committed to 100% sustainable sourcing and constant improvement and innovation. New innovations in feed – for example in omega-3 rich algae oils, single-cell protein fermentation, and insect proteins used in formulations by Canada’s fish feed producers – are being developed and tested,” said CSF president and chief executive Tim Kennedy.

“Canada’s salmon farmers purchase more than CAD 250 million (£132.4m) in grains, seeds, oils and other proteins from Canada’s farmers. Additional growth in the sector will benefit Canada’s farmers and create new value-added opportunities.

“Canadians should be confident in our product. We should be growing more salmon in Canada for Canadians, as we know the standards are amongst the highest in the world. We are only using a fraction of our potential.”

A moveable feast

While changes in Canadian salmon feed content have been considerable over the past decades, the use of fish meal and oil derived from certified sustainable fisheries and non-marine ingredients has remained roughly the same since 2022, with some fluctuations.

The percentage of feed derived from non-marine ingredients fell from 88% in 2022 to 80% last year, and the percentage of fish meal and oil derived from certified sustainable fisheries rose from 92% in 2022 to 97% in 2023, and 95% last year.