Cermaq has defined ‘Sustainable Aquaculture’ as its overriding mission and EWOS makes significant investments in R&D, systems and people to ensure that this mission is respected in the production of aquaculture feed.
Sustainable aquaculture requires sustainable aquaculture feed. The production of this feed impacts the environment, for example, through the use of fishmeal and fish oil resources, the use of other terrestrial raw materials and through the generation of direct and indirect green house gas emissions. EWOS is committed to minimising these impacts and our investment in R&D has yielded the following improvements over time:
• EWOS has reduced the proportion of marine ingredients in salmon feed from typical levels of more than 75% of the diet in the early 1980’s to less than 25% today in certain feeds.
• Significant progress has also been made towards reducing the proportion of fishmeal used in feed and EWOS can now produce effective commercial diets with fishmeal levels below 15% of the diet. A key target for EWOS is to develop the capability, through both research and commercial activities, to develop dietary formulas which allow the industry to become fully independent of marine raw materials in future.
• Where customers agree, EWOS is reducing the level of fish oil added in feeds to 50% of added oil and still retains the high levels of omega 3 fatty acids that are needed to ensure the health benefits for people who eat farmed salmon. These health benefits are significant and they are scientifically proven.
• EWOS has, with the support of external partners, developed detailed carbon and ecological footprint models aimed at further understanding the impact of choices we make in the type of raw materials and distribution methods used for different aquaculture feed formulations.
• EWOS has developed new formulae that can be used to measure the efficiency of salmon farming based upon its use of nutrients sourced from marine raw materials (fishmeal and fish oil). These ratios challenge the traditional weight based “fish in: fish out” ratios which ignore significant differences between the nutritional value of forage fish (used to produce fishmeal and fish oil) and farmed fish. The Marine Protein Dependency Ratio (MPDR) and Marine Oil Dependency Ratio (MODR) are simple, easy to audit ratios that respect the law of conservation of energy and show that with current EWOS feeds, salmon farmers can already achieve nutrient equivalency ratios of close to 1:1 for both fish protein and fish oil.
• EWOS has, for the past decade, developed and marketed a programme of “functional feeds” which are used by fish farmers around the world to support the health and welfare of farmed fish. Functional feeds generally contain natural additives with zootechnical properties, helping, for example, to reduce stress, improve growth and performance or improve digestion.
These improvements, resulting from long term investment in R&D, are helping the aquaculture industry along on its journey towards becoming an even more sustainable industry. However, EWOS has also made broader commitments towards the ‘Sustainable Aquaculture’ mission in 2008.
In the sourcing and selection of marine raw materials, EWOS is keen to ensure its actions do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We are therefore active in supporting the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation’s (IFFO) initiative to develop a Code of Responsible Practice for the production of fishmeal and fish oil, which is due to be implemented in 2009. This code is designed to be audited by third parties and it will meet the needs of the aquaculture value system in addressing issues relating to fishmeal and fish oil such as: food safety and contamination risks; responsible sourcing of raw materials from legal sources; and responsible fishery management.
EWOS has taken part in several multi-stakeholder forums during 2008, such as the Seafood Summit and the WWF salmon aquaculture dialogues, in order to engage with debates on the sustainability of aquaculture and to address specific concerns over the sustainability of aquaculture feeds.
Feed Quality and Safety
In 2008, EWOS became the first international group within fisheries and aquaculture to achieve ISO 22000 certification for all of their commercial fish feed companies. ISO 22000:2005 is an international standard for securing food safety and EWOS’s certification confirms our commitment to provide high security for our partners based on internationally recognized standards.
EWOS has also increased its focus on the supply chain for raw materials during 2008 through establishing an improved system for supply chain risk analysis and supplier approval. The new system increases the focus on how we select, approve, audit and control raw material suppliers. The purpose of this work is to manage feed and food safety risks in a more systematized way.
EWOS has a strong track record in continuously improving its position with regard to food safety and sustainability and is committed to continue in this regard through constructive stakeholder dialogue and active investment in researching the area of fish nutrition.
EWOS takes an active role in securing a sustainable future for salmon farming and aquaculture in general. New sustainable innovations in products and customer service will continue to be at the heart of EWOS’s business in future.
EWOS - Knowledge Makes the Difference
