Marine ingredients – raising the bar

Part of the family

It is well-established that pets provide health benefits to their owners and the COVID-19 outbreak has shone a new light on the support they offer humans. In fulfilling their special role, pets are sometimes considered as family members, which leads pet owners to keep raising the bar in terms of pet food. It does not come as a surprise that fish oils, which contain long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A and D, are becoming increasingly popular in pet food. Plant-sourced shorter chain omega-3s

do not confer the same health protection or benefits.

Responsible usage

The challenge is to secure sufficient raw materials sourced from marine environments and ensure that they are responsibly sourced and produced. We know that pet food markets enjoy huge growth potential, especially in China. We also know that fishmeal and fish oil supplies should remain stable at around 5 million tonnes of fishmeal per year and one million tonnes of fish oil. This explains why sustainability is high on the agenda of retailing today: good use must be made of these strategic resources and we can expect pet food brands to increase their sustainability credentials and claims.

By-products

The use of by-products and trimmings offers great possibilities. The marine ingredients industry has been a pioneer in terms of circular mindset, already producing one third of fishmeal and fish oil volumes through by-products and trimmings that would otherwise have been discarded. This rate is set to increase over the coming years. As aquaculture continues to grow, there will also be increased availability of trimmings from processing farmed fish.

Highest standards

Beyond the use of by-products, the industry is working hard to champion best practices so that sustainability credentials apply to the whole sector. To date, over 50% of all marine ingredients produced worldwide are certified against MarinTrust standards, which attest that the fishmeal and fish oil have been responsibly sourced and produced. This is one of the highest, if not the highest, certification rates within the food sector. The concept of Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), defined as ‘the maximum catch that can be removed from a population over an indefinite period’ (Encyclopedia of Ecology), is adopted across the world.

Further efforts to raise the bar are underway, reflected in MarinTrust’s ambition to have 75% of all marine ingredients certified, in assessment, or in the MarinTrust Improver Programme by 2025. Collective efforts are needed to do so, as fishery management involves a wide range of stakeholders who are responsible for setting up regulations and enforcing them in compliance with international guidelines.

Corona crisis

The COVID-19 outbreak has stressed how much we live in an interconnected system. This advocates for values such as traceability, social responsibility and animal welfare to be shared across the food system.