Futuristic solutions to feed

by Rob Fletcher, editor

This issue covers some of the cutting-edge advances in feed research, showing an extraordinary range of innovative ideas behind the scenes and also how much things have changed since the days when fish-based ingredients were the only game in town. While fish meal and fish oil are still very much on the scene, their comparative expense has driven innovation and diversification in the feed industry and it’s extraordinary to think that insects might provide a large part of the feed of the future – let’s hope the salmon don’t know what awaits them for breakfast in 2025! – although, to be fair, insects are a key component of juvenile salmon in the wild, so perhaps feeding them black soldier fly larvae is not such an eccentric an idea after all. While most of the projects outlined are not yet available commercially, it will be interesting to see which ones go on to be commercially viable and also what impact, if any, they have on fish health and flesh content. Given the level of research and the funding involved it seems likely that new ingredients and new formulae could well prove to be beneficial, and not just for the producers’ bottom lines. Indeed, as is noted on the article on page 17, new research from NIFES reveals that the decline of a number of contaminants in farmed salmon coincided with the increased substitution of plant proteins for fishmeal, showing the wider impact of feed ingredients, and how they can affect the content of the fish themselves. This issue also includes an article, by Odd Grydeland, outlining how genomics is already being used to make radical changes in the industry. While the very mention of the work might inspire cold sweats in anyone lacking a PhD – myself included – it is encouraging to see that the sequencing of the Atlantic salmon genome has proved to be such a happy hunting ground for improving breeding programmes and that there’s scope to improve resistance to any number of fish health challenges. Speaking of which, it is also interesting to see the impact that cleaner fish species are having on the sector – creating their own industry within the industry – and it seems that both lumpfish and wrasse are likely to be around for the long run. It’s an exciting time to be involved in the industry and it will be fascinating to see how the use of, and rearing of, cleaner fish evolves over time. It seems incredible how quickly the cleaner fish business has taken off in the last few years and it is likely to provide work for a whole new generation of farmers, not just in the salmon-producing parts of the planet. Indeed, it was good to be able to visit a lumpfish nursery on England’s south coast – not somewhere you’d expect to find anything related to the salmon farming industry other than the occasional smoked salmon sandwich – and be given the chance to witness the emergence of a whole new branch of the sector. Using cleaner fish is proving to be a genuine breakthrough and another hugely positive story, which needs to be told. It is also a privilege to be able to witness a bid to domesticate a new and enigmatic species, which we still know remarkably little about. Such pioneering projects not only provide some positive press for the industry but also help it to attract the dynamic and enthusiastic people that it needs to ensure its continued evolution. It’s always a pleasure to meet those at the frontline.