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DuPont signs sustainable salmon farming contract in Chile

By Andrew Nusca | July 20, 2011, 1:55 PM PDT

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The farming of salmon and trout is global business estimated to be worth some $10 billion. Once a luxury food, salmon is now one of the most popular species of fish in the United States, Europe and Japan — and about 60 percent (or 1.26 million metric tons) of the world’s salmon comes from fish farms.

The cold, hard truth: people like their fish. And there’s no end in sight: the sector grows 6 to 10 percent each year.

One of the strategies to support that kind of demand without fostering poor aquaculture practices is through the reduction in the use of feeder fish in the farmed salmon diet.

Feeder fish are problematic because a diet based on them is high in polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a carcinogenic chemical compound found in industrial waste, according to a 2004 study published in the journal Science.

DuPont and fish producer AquaChile announced on Tuesday that they were working together to formulate a new diet that reduces the need for wild-caught feeder fish by 75 percent.

The diet is based on a new yeast-based feed ingredient developed by biotechnology researchers at DuPont that it says provides an alternative source of long-chain Omega-3 acids.

Seven years in the making, the product is protected by some 55 patents, DuPont says.

Currently, about 9 lbs. of feeder fish are used to produce the fish oil needed to raise just over 2 lbs. of farmed salmon. The new diet requires 1 lb. of wild fish per lb. of salmon, but maintains Omega-3 levels.

AquaChile has already rolled out the new diet in its commercial farms in the Patagonia region of Chile. (Chile and Norway are collectively responsible for two-thirds of the world’s farmed salmon.) The first salmon from these farms will be introduced to select customers via market testing in the U.S. this September.

For DuPont, it’s the latest round in several moves in the aquaculture space. The company also researches and develops seed genetics to improve the yield, productivity and nutritional value of crops, as well as develops packaging for those products to arrive on retail shelves.

Seaweed feed will make organic farmed salmon a reality

Galway-based Ocean Harvest Technology announced on Tuesday its intent to begin commercially producing a new seaweed-derived salmon feed ingredient that will make possible the world's first organically raised farmed salmon.

OceanFeed’s development is being celebrated as a key breakthrough in product quality and environmental consciousness within the farmed salmon industry, currently worth a yearly EUR 6 billion.

The new feed is meant to take the place of the synthetic additives now used in commercial salmon feed. Extensive trials with farmed salmon have been conducted with some of the world’s leading salmon farm companies, and they have yielded excellent results regarding the health, taste and appearance of the salmon raised on OceanFeed.

Leading aquaculture feed producers have already been showing great interest across the globe. EWOS UK, a leading salmon feed producer, has already optioned the first year's production, according to Business World.

"The long term importance of aquaculture in helping to feed the world has always meant that sustainable solutions would need to be found,” said Ocean Harvest CEO Patrick Martin. "The belief is that OceanFeed will be a key ingredient in helping to make the industry more environmentally, as well as financially, sustainable."

OceanFeed is made with a proprietary blend of seaweeds harvested from waters around the world, but some of its key elements are sourced exclusively off the Irish coast. It is the first 100 per cent sustainable and organic marine sourced complete aquaculture feed formula.

Martin said Ocean Harvest is developing a firm in the West of Ireland that will eventually be able to supply salmon farms in Scotland, Norway and Chile.

First post and I'm going to advertise my twitter account, terrible I know! Look for me at Salusalmon for up to date salmon related sustainability and welfare reports. Plus the day to day life of a PhD student.