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As the global aquaculture industry navigates fluctuations in the supply of fishmeal and fish oil, manufacturers are increasingly recalibrating their feed formulations. However, industry leaders from Cargill and IFFO warn that the sector currently lacks the comprehensive environmental data required to measure sustainability accurately and prevent unintended ecological consequences stemming from ingredient substitution.
Speaking at the IFFO Annual Conference in Buenos Aires, Dave Robb, Sustainability Director for Aqua Nutrition at Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health, and Brett Glencross, Technical Director at IFFO, presented a showcase on the footprint of marine ingredients within Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) databases. The experts emphasized that sustainability assessments must transition from evaluating individual ingredients to analyzing the environmental footprint of entire feed formulations.
Robb noted that environmental stewardship has become a fundamental expectation for aquaculture operations, extending across the entire value chain—from raw material sourcing to the final retail sale. Historically, the sustainability discourse centered on marine-derived ingredients. In response, many producers shifted toward plant-based alternatives, which has inadvertently introduced new concerns, such as deforestation risks associated with specific soybean supply chains.
Data presented during the conference highlighted that between 2000 and 2020, European aquaculture production more than doubled, while the feed composition shifted significantly. By 2020, marine ingredients represented only 20% of feed, while plant products surged to 75%. Despite the reduction in fishmeal and fish oil usage, the research found that the carbon footprint of feed production grew fourfold, land-use footprints increased eightfold, and water consumption rose threefold during the same period.
According to Glencross, these findings illustrate the danger of relying on single metrics like the fish-in-fish-out (FIFO) ratio. Feed manufacturers must now adopt a holistic approach that considers nutritional requirements, cost, and environmental impacts collectively. The experts proposed a structured five-stage LCA framework covering fishing, transport, and processing to provide a more nuanced picture of aquafeed sustainability and identify genuine opportunities for impact reduction.
Source: SeafoodSource