Sustainable Aquaculture Feed
As part of Cermaq group, routine sustainability reporting for EWOS is included in the Cermaq sustainability report.
This independently reviewed, GRI level B+ report details our strategy, profile, management approach and performance on all aspects of our sustainability: economic, social and environmental.
Building on this, we maintain that 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 energy use and the associated generation of direct and indirect green house gas emissions. EWOS is committed to minimising these impacts and our investment in R&D has yielded significant improvements over time.
Click through to explore the following aspects of feed sustainability in further detail:
• Integrated Management Systems
• Responsible Sourcing
• Functional Feeds
• Use of marine resources for feed production
• Alternative protein sources
Improvements in these and other areas of feed sustainability have resulted from long term investment in R&D. This helps the aquaculture industry along on its journey towards becoming an even more sustainable industry. New sustainable innovations in products and customer service will continue to be at the heart of EWOS’s business in future.
Some interesting references:
Integrated management
EWOS is a leading player in the supply chain for healthy and nutritious farmed fish.
We are proud of our strong track record with regard to quality and food safety and we remain committed to continuous improvement.
All EWOS salmon feed plants are independently certified to four international management standards for quality (ISO9001); food safety (ISO22000); environment (ISO14001); and health & safety (OHSAS18001) management. In addition, individual feed plants can be accredited to different standards, like GlobalGAP for example, to meet local market needs.
This commitment to continuous improvement according to international standards is called EWOS Integrated Management System (EIMS). EIMS has become pivotal to the way we do business at EWOS. It represents a systematic way of managing social and environmental risk in our business, working to recognised international standards. EIMS also ensures that we are focused on the continuous improvement of our business in a transparent and responsible way. For example, all EWOS operating companies take part in a global program for the monitoring of undesirables in feed.
In addition to international standards accreditation, EWOS has a high focus on the supply chain for raw materials. A system for supply chain risk analysis and supplier approval 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.
Responsible sourcing
In sourcing and selecting 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 initiatives such as the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation’s (IFFO) Responsible Sourcing standard that was introduced in 2010. This code is designed to be audited by third parties and it meets 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.
We recognise that sustainable aquaculture feed depends upon responsible sourcing. Therefore we engage with our supply chain to ensure that any risks are identified and managed. This process begins with supplier self assessment, the point of entry for new prospects who wish to become suppliers to EWOS. The self assessment leads to a risk analysis, which is the basis for supplier approval, monitoring and development. We assess risk related both to the supplier and to the raw material being supplied. All raw materials are risk assessed at least annually and plans for supplier audits are made and followed up routinely.
Functional feeds
Since 1999, EWOS has marketed a range 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. Examples of these products include:
• EWOS boost – a natural dietary supplement that provides fish with additional building blocks for energy and cell production in the form of nucleotides. This concept has proved extremely successful in improving fish health and performance by enhancing immune responses, disease resistance, and improving several other cell-dependant biological processes.
• EWOS prebiosal - helps fish to absorb nutrients from the feed more efficiently and results in better overall health for the salmon. This in turn promotes faster growth.
EWOS has invested considerable time and knowledge in the field of functional feeds and as a result, 2010 sales in this sector represented 35 percent of total feed sales by volume, increasing from 25 percent in 2009 and 16 percent in 2008. This sustained growth speaks volumes for the effectiveness and value created for salmon farmers by EWOS functional feeds.
Marine resources
The availability of fishmeal and fish oil has been relatively constant at 5-7m tonnes of fishmeal and 1m tonnes of fish oil.
The majority of this is derived from small pelagic fish like anchovy, sardines and capelin, whilst and increasing minority is derived from by-products and trimmings from seafood caught for direct human consumption.
Salmon farming is the most efficient way to transform these marine nutrients into healthy food for people to eat and enjoy.
However, in order for aquaculture to continue to expand, our industry must become more efficient in its use of these important resources. In recognition of this, EWOS has successfully reduced dependency on 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 been made towards reducing the proportion of fishmeal used in feed and EWOS can now produce effective commercial diets with fishmeal levels at 10% of the diet.
Where customers agree, EWOS is reducing the level of fish oil 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.
In conclusion, we assert it is now possible for salmon farming to be a net producer of marine resources without reduced growth rate or feed efficiency and still meet the long-chain omega-3 fatty acid requirements of the human consumer.
Ecological footprint:
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. More details are available in this article:
• Buttle et al (2011) Life Cycle Analysis Model Quantifies Ecological Footprint Of Salmon Feed
Alternative proteins
Considerable effort has been put into the development of alternative protein sources in recent years, to help diversify the basket of raw materials and to reduce dependency on marine resources.
Plant proteins:
Most of the plant protein used by EWOS in commercial fish feed is derived from co-products of oil or starch production. Both Soy and Sunflower crops are grown and crushed for oil. EWOS uses the co-products from soya and sunflower because they are rich in proteins. Producers of starch use raw materials like wheat, corn as well as pea. Co-products from starch are protein concentrates, rich in highly digestible proteins. EWOS have extensive knowledge in how to use proteins from vegetables in order to achieve good performance in feeds for fish farming. This compound knowledge enables us to substitute between plant proteins as well as we are able to substitute most of the marine proteins in feed.
Animal by-products:
For many years, EWOS has used animal by-products (ABPs) like bloodmeal and poultrymeal in feeds produced in both Chile and Canada, where the salmonids exported by these countries are recognized for their quality in the major markets of the world, just like the ones grown in Europe. The use of ABPs in salmon feed has been avoided in Europe in recent years, to comply with regulations and market requirements. But this could change in the near future. Animal by-products are a safe source of cost effective, high protein, nutritious raw materials that can be sourced locally in all regions. The inclusion of ABPs in feed formulations increases the scope for nutritionists to further expand the raw material basket and reduce dependence on marine resources. Blood and poultry meals of the right quality are extremely good protein sources and EWOS encourages the use of these raw materials on sustainability and economic grounds in all regions.
EWOS - Knowledge makes the difference
