Aquafeed innovation will be key to sustaining growth in the most in-demand farmed species

Producing more fish with a limited and variable supply of marine ingredients requires progress across the entire feed manufacturing chain, not just in the formulation.

For the most in-demand farmed species, the challenge extends from selecting raw materials to processing, preserving and supplying them to farms. The value of new solutions will depend on whether they can maintain production performance and fish quality while keeping feed costs-compatible with farm profitability.

Formulation is one of the main areas for action. Fish need nutrients in the right amounts and proportions, which can be supplied through different combinations of ingredients.

This creates scope to diversify raw materials, provided their composition, digestibility and limitations are understood, and the formulation is adapted to the needs of the species and production system.

The viability of a formulation also depends on how it is manufactured. Milling, mixing, extrusion and drying processes must turn the ingredients into feed with the physical characteristics needed for use.

Manufacturing innovation should make it easier to incorporate a wider range of raw materials and preserve their quality during reception, storage and processing.

Making use of fishery and aquaculture by-products offers another way to increase the availability of fishmeal and fish oil. As the Marine Ingredients Organisation (IFFO) has highlighted, processing should preserve the raw material’s nutritional qualities as far as possible.

From an industrial perspective, this makes collection, preservation and logistics among the factors that determine how much material can be recovered to a high standard and a competitive cost. Having by-products available is the first step; turning them into a regular, usable supply requires processors and feed manufacturers to work together.

The scale of the challenge is reflected in a recent RaboResearch analysis: if formulations remained unchanged, projected demand growth could require around 900,000 additional tonnes of fishmeal and 130,000 tonnes of fish oil by 2030. These figures describe a conditional scenario; they do not point to an inevitable supply shortfall.

Over that period, changes can be expected in both feed formulations and manufacturing processes and the availability and use of raw materials. Their impact will depend on whether solutions can be validated and applied at industrial scale at competitive cost.

Rabobank’s analysis also notes that, in previous decades, lower inclusion rates and efficiency gains have enabled aquaculture to expand without a proportional increase in the consumption of marine ingredients.

Producers, for their part, will need to follow these developments and assess how formulations and manufacturing processes can be adapted to changing circumstances.

That is why it is important to assess the technical support feed manufacturers offer their customers, including feed management systems, feeding advice and analysis of production results.

The value of these services will depend on whether they deliver measurable improvements in performance and help producers assess the cost and results of each solution.