A group of companies have teamed up to create ‘In the Blue’ - an innovative farmed fish feed that conserves marine resources and reduces environmental contaminants in farmed salmon.
The companies involved are Norwegian fish farmers Kvarøy and Selsøyvik, importer Blue Circle Foods, feed company BioMar and Whole Foods Market.
The new feed has led to the first farmed salmon with a fish-in, fish-out ratio below 1-to-1, earning it a ‘Good Alternative’ rating from Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program, a rare mark for farmed salmon.
Unlike conventional feeds, which are produced with fish caught solely for feed, In the Blue is made with trimmings from wild-caught fish that are already bound for human consumption. The trimmings are pressed into oil that is cleaned to reduce environmental contaminants like heavy metals and PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls). Because environmental contaminants found in farmed fish are predominantly passed through feed ingredients, removing those substances from the oil keeps them out of salmon that end up on dinner plates.
The production method for this salmon feed was developed by connecting existing capabilities. The trimmings are sourced from established wild-caught seafood processors, and the oil-cleaning technology is already common in producing fish oil supplements.
This salmon is sold at Whole Foods Market, which launched its rigorous farmed salmon standards in 2007 and has continued to strengthen the requirements every year since. Whole Foods Market’s aquaculture standards have target ratios of 1-to-1.
“This new process for fish feed is so exciting because it’s exactly the kind of industry-leading solution that we hoped would result from Whole Foods Market’s Responsibly Farmed standards,” said Carrie Brownstein, seafood quality standards coordinator for Whole Foods Market. “We developed ambitious yet achievable standards to create a model of more sustainable aquaculture, and we are thrilled to see In the Blue bring that to life with better farmed salmon for our shoppers, and a better example for the industry at large.”
Going forward, all stakeholders involved – BioMar, Blue Circle Foods and Whole Foods Market – hope the model created for farmed salmon feed can become common practice, and eventually expand to other species.
