More about aquaculture

Mediterranean marine aquaculture is a rapidly growing part of the bioeconomy. The sourcing of the fish feed is a crucial factor in the sustainable development of the sector.

Reducing reliance on marine sourced feed raw materials, especially fish meal that is produced from wild-caught fish, is the central challenge for all aquaculture. The key resources are the proteins and oils required for healthy and efficient fish growth.

The global aquaculture sector is growing rapidly. Wild fisheries, e.g. trawled anchovy, cannot support this growth. Alternative raw materials derived from sources ashore are needed to maximise the amount of fish produced in relation to the amount of fish harvested. Agricultural products such as soya are already successfully used to reduce reliance on fishmeal. In addition to soya, several other legumes such as the lupin, pea or faba bean are also used. But increasing their use and sourcing them efficiently in relation to the very high quality requirements of fish feed remain a challenge. They must meet the demanding nutritional requirements of marine farmed fish. Our vision is an aquaculture sector based on sustainably-produced plant-based raw materials of European origin.

Using European legumes in fish feed is a win-win. The knowledge and insights provided here aim to add value to EU-certified legumes, and to boost competitiveness of both certified agriculture and aquaculture. This will help meet the expectations of consumers who rightfully expect healthy food from sustainable production systems, especially systems that are disconnected from deforestation and other types of land use change.