ISSUE FOCUS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE August 2025 49 feed dependency ratio for protein, fell to 0.5 in 2020 (from 0.6 in 2016), highlighting a reduced dependence on marine proteins (Table 1). At the same time, there was an increase in forage fish dependency ratio in oil – so the industry was adding more fish oil – related to performance, health and welfare of the fish (as well as delivering the higher omega 3 in the salmon fillet) (Table 1). Adoption of targets and commitments on sourcing of marine stocks and ensuring sourcing from sustainably managed fisheries has been evident in the last years. For example, MSC and MarinTrust certified marine ingredients and adoption of fisheries improvement programs in some markets. If we look at the raw material basket for salmon feeds, it is the vegetable proteins and vegetable oils that have a large proportion of the environmental impact. Even though we hear a lot about marine proteins, the carbon footprint of the feed is not highly driven by these raw materials. When we start comparing different raw materials in terms of sustainability, we need to consider the full picture using multiple criteria and reliable data. Example: Norwegian Salmon Feed Production (2012-2020) % reduction in feed (2020 compared to 2012) Reduced reliance & increased use of trimmings meal -40% +4.3 +0.4 0 -2% No reduction on reliance on soy protein concentrate level Different marine schemes Trimmings meals & oils From 19.5% (2012) to 12.1% (2020) Fish Meal Certification schemes Companies’ own sourcing standards From 21.3% (2012) to 20.9% (2020) Soy Protein Is the new raw material in feed in 2020 Guar Protein Use of algal oil, insect oil, and single cell proteins Novel Raw Materials Novel materials can be more sustainable, but so far have had very little impact % inclusion in feed of guar protein & novel raw materials (2020) Forage fish dependency ratio protein (FFDRm) feed Forage fish dependency ratio oil (FFDRo) feed 0.6 1.5 0.5 1.8 Nofima (2017, 2020) GSI & salmon farming companies' sustainability reports 2016 2020 Reference Table 1. Forage fish dependency ratio in Norwegian salmon FFDRm = (forage fishmeal in feed % * eFCR) / 24% FFDRo = (forage fish oil in feed % * eFCR) / 5% ASC allows for 5% or 7% oil yields depending on the source of the oil, but to be conservative, the lower yield has been used in this calculation. Actual FFDRo is considerably lower if actual oil yield are applied for each species used Figure 1 (Nofima 2022, Ytrestoyl et al. 2015)
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