Aquaculture Feed Sustainability and Welfare

The fish meal and fish oil used in aquaculture feed links farmed fish welfare to wild fisheries welfare. Sustainable feed innovation reduces pressure on both wild fish populations and farmed fish nutrition.

Key Facts

Approximately 20% of global wild fish catch is reduced to fish meal and oil for aquaculture feed
Salmon farming is particularly fish-in, fish-out intensive — it can take 2-5 kg of wild fish to produce 1 kg of farmed salmon
Novel protein sources including insects, algae, single-cell protein, and plant proteins are replacing some fish meal
Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA, DHA) from algal sources can replace fish oil in aquaculture diets
Feed quality directly affects fish welfare — nutritional deficiencies cause cataracts, skeletal deformities, and immune problems
Insects farmed for feed (black soldier fly larvae) represent a lower-welfare-footprint protein compared to fish meal

Welfare Considerations

Aquaculture feed is a welfare issue at two levels: the welfare of wild fish reduced to fish meal (often caught and processed under conditions causing significant suffering), and the welfare of farmed fish whose health depends on nutritionally complete diets. Nutritional deficiencies in aquaculture feed cause specific welfare harms — cataracts from inadequate taurine in salmon, skeletal deformities from vitamin imbalances, and immune suppression from omega-3 deficiencies. Feed innovation that reduces wild fish use while maintaining nutritional quality benefits welfare across the supply chain. Supporting companies investing in insect protein, algal oil, and precision-fermented feed ingredients helps drive this transition.

What You Can Do

Choose aquaculture products from producers committed to reducing fish meal and fish oil in their feed
Support organizations researching insect, algal, and novel protein sources for sustainable aquaculture feed
Advocate for certification standards to include feed sustainability and nutritional welfare requirements
Look for salmon and trout products from producers using high proportions of alternative protein in feed