Our Skretting purpose is to 'Feed the Future', but what does that mean? Globally, there is increasing competition for land, water, and energy, all of which will increasingly affect food production. Safe, high-quality protein is essential, and aquaculture has the potential to provide it to a global population that is growing at an unprecedented rate.
We get a lot of questions about aquaculture, what it is and what it means, and here we try to answer some of those questions, largely from the point of view of the balanced feed producer, but sometimes on behalf of the industry, to provide a clear understanding of our industry and the steps we are taking to deliver on our purpose. We are committed to achieving this by focusing on reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact.
Read what the GAA (Global aquaculture alliance) says about aquaculture and why we need it
Click on the different questions to read our answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about aquaculture and aquaculture feed.
There are many positive reasons to choose farmed fish over wild fish. In many cases, wild fish populations are threatened due to overfishing, habitat loss, or other changes. We know exactly what a farmed fish has eaten and the level of control over the ingredients, while we have no control over the wild fish or the potential contaminants they have consumed or been exposed to.
Yes. Regardless of whether it has been caught or farmed, fish and prawns are a fantastic source of high-quality protein, valuable vitamins and minerals. This food group is also the best source of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, which are essential for human health.
The regulations governing the collection and processing of seafood for human consumption are among the strictest in the world. Aquaculture standards have been developing for many years and high-quality fish and prawn feed is a prerequisite for the industry. To minimise the industry's exposure to risks, Skretting has implemented dynamic quality assurances and controls at every stage of all our production cycles. Nutrace® is the management program for all Skretting companies that ensures safety and quality from feed to feed. It has been developed in such a way that all potential risks associated with aquaculture feed production are minimised and any irregularities are detected and acted upon quickly.
According to WWF, 85% of the world's marine populations are virtually exploited or overexploited. Our planet's population is forecast to expand by more than 2 billion people by 2050, and with this growth will come a much greater demand for food, including seafood. Because there is negligible scope for fisheries to increase their catches, aquaculture needs to close the gap between supply and demand in the long term, while doing its best to also reduce pressure on wild capture fisheries.
Yes, when done correctly. As a global society, we are around 7.5 billion people who are on track for 9.5 billion by 2050. Not only does this present the problem of another 2 billion mouths to feed, but human diets are also increasingly changing in line with growing prosperity. Consequently, the forecast that current global agricultural production is expected to nearly double by the middle of this century makes long-term food and nutrition security one of the most urgent challenges we face today.
In most regions, aquaculture is subject to strict controls at all stages of production up to human consumption. Skretting feeds undergo strict quality control processes. Because we take food safety very seriously, Skretting has a comprehensive global quality programme whereby we monitor unwanted substances in both raw materials and food.
Skretting provides safe and sustainable food and services around the world to fish and prawn farmers to ensure responsible production of healthy and delicious food. We are focused on reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact.
Skretting is committed to producing food that meets global sustainability requirements in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable feed is essential to support the growth of aquaculture as one of the most efficient protein production methods in the world.
Yes, in aquaculture, the circular economy uses by-products and waste generated by supply chains in the production of food for human consumption. For example, trimmings from fish processing account for approximately 35% of fishmeal used in aquaculture. In addition, by-products of the slaughter of terrestrial animals intended for human consumption can be transformed into meals with high nutritional values. Novel ingredients, such as insect and bacterial meals, offer greater potential in utilizing waste streams as inputs.
In nature, the flesh of salmon and trout can be a red/pink color, due to an antioxidant called astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is produced in natural waterways by algae, yeasts, and bacteria, all of which are found in the salmonid food chain. Astaxanthin is an essential nutrient for salmon. It is required to stay healthy and disease-free.
Aquaculture feeds contain essential nutrients that must be fed in the right amounts for fish and prawns to grow healthily. These nutrients come from a variety of different sources. In addition to fishmeal and fish oil, they may contain other vegetable meals and oils, fish trimmings, and processed by-products of terrestrial animals.
Yes. At Skretting, we maintain that one of the most positive sustainability impacts we can make is to make sure we make our food from responsibly sourced raw materials. We therefore set strict minimum criteria for the supply of seafood and for the management of the fisheries from which fishmeal and fish oil originate. We also follow the principles of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
No, the safety of animal by-products has been proven by numerous scientific studies. Using these raw materials, which would otherwise go to waste, also helps to drastically reduce the amount of fishmeal and fish oil used by the industry. This contributes to the sustainability of the food industry and the circular bioeconomy.
No, Skretting foods do not contain any growth-promoting hormones. In some markets, antibiotics are added to Skretting feed at the customer's request and on veterinary prescription, in accordance with specific rules set by law. The veterinary prescription requirement ensures that use is well documented and justified, based on proper diagnosis and thus helps reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.
No, aquaculture feeds are subject to strict controls to ensure that they do not pose any threat to human health. The preservatives used must comply with the laws and regulations governing their use.
No, the latest feed formulations are specifically designed to provide aquaculture species with all the nutrients they need to optimize their health and growth performance, and to ensure the quality of the final product. These new feeds also help meet the finite resource demands of marine feedstocks, particularly fishmeal and fish oil. Fish and prawns need nutrients, not ingredients. Our knowledge allows us to formulate based on nutritional composition. This is similar to humans meeting nutritional requirements such as vegetarians or other specific dietary needs.
Yes. Skretting fully supports the development of novel ingredients and we have been using some of these in our diets with the support of those customers. We work proactively to fully understand the complexities of all new alternatives from sustainability, nutrition, quality and safety, regulatory and financial perspectives. For us, flexibility is key.
Skretting now has the know-how and R+D to produce feed for Atlantic salmon that requires zero fishmeal and zero fish oil. We invest in R+D which provides full flexibility.
Fishmeal is a powder obtained after cooking, pressing, drying, and grinding fresh raw fish, while fish oil is a liquid extracted from cooked fish. Both are obtained from catching populations of small, bony, and fast-growing short-lived and blue-blue fish for which there is little or no demand for human consumption. By-products or offcuts from seafood processing are increasingly contributing to the production of fishmeal and fish oil.
No, fish and prawns, like humans, depend on a balanced diet to stay healthy and have different nutritional needs throughout their life cycle. Skretting produces feed that supports fish and prawns throughout their life cycle and production needs.
Fish and prawns are extremely efficient at converting feed into high-quality protein. On average, farmed fish need 1.1 kg of feed to gain 1 kg of body mass, compared to 1.7 kg for poultry and 6.6 kg for livestock.
Yes. Thanks to modern systems designed to support decision-making related to the diet of fish or prawns, farmers can optimize the amount of feed used, thus improving efficiency and reducing waste and environmental impacts.
In aquaculture, all factors of production are optimized. This makes it possible for farmed species to reach market sizes faster than wild species. This approach ensures that aquaculture can increasingly meet the food demands of a growing global population. At Skretting, our expert scientists at the Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre have detailed knowledge of the nutritional, health and food needs of the species we feed to. Extensive R+D programs mean we can optimize each feed to maximize fish and shrimp performance while ensuring they stay healthy.
Aquaculture systems must meet extremely strict requirements designed to safeguard animal welfare, hygiene, and safety. These also ensure the optimisation of a wide range of features, including water and waste management.