Aquaculture Feed Sustainability and Fish Welfare

The composition of aquaculture feed affects both the welfare of farmed fish and the wild marine populations harvested to make fish meal and fish oil.

Key Facts

Traditional aquaculture feeds relied heavily on wild-caught fish reduced to meal and oil, creating ecological pressure on forage fish stocks.
Salmon farming is particularly feed-intensive: roughly 1.5 kg of wild fish are used per kg of farmed salmon produced.
Alternative protein sources including insects, algae, single-cell proteins, and plant-based ingredients are increasingly viable.
Feed composition affects fish health, immune function, flesh quality, and behaviour in farmed populations.
Some plant-based feed substitutions reduce fatty acid content, affecting fish welfare through altered brain function and stress response.

Welfare Considerations

The welfare dimension of aquaculture feed is often overlooked. Wild forage fish (anchovies, herring, sand eels) harvested for meal experience the same capacity for suffering as farmed fish, yet are killed in vast numbers with minimal welfare consideration. Transitioning aquaculture to feeds that spare wild fish directly reduces this toll. Simultaneously, feed formulation must maintain optimal nutrition to support the welfare of the farmed fish receiving it.

What You Can Do

Choose certified aquaculture products from farms committed to sustainable, low-impact feed sources.
Support research into insect-based and algal aquaculture feeds as humane alternatives to fish meal.
Advocate for feed sustainability requirements within aquaculture certification standards.
Reduce personal consumption of feed-intensive farmed species like salmon as part of a sustainable diet.