Salmonfood has been working on nutritional strategies free of marine ingredients together with its customers due to the rising concerns in sustainable management in the aquaculture industry. The company has just successfully reached the first milestone of its trial to produce Atlantic salmon without marine ingredients. The trial was performed at the company’s Aquaculture Experimental Center (CEA), where fish have already reached half of their productive cycle without feeding on fishmeal or fish oil.

“At our new experimental center, we have performed digestibility tests of new raw materials and tests with new additives and we want to support the sustainability of the industry by eliminating the content of fishmeal and fish oil from the diets,” said Feed Technology manager of Vitapro Chile, Pablo Leyton.

“We already have a fishmeal- and fish oil-free diet that uses alternative sources of omega-3, such as microalgae oils,” added Leyton. He added that he hopes to establish important links with suppliers of these ingredients, as well as explore the possibilities that genetically modified canola oil offers.

“We have taken the last step to reduce dependence on marine sources. This allows us to alleviate the demand for pelagic fishing for the salmon industry and establish formulation criteria that can vary from the current levels of fishmeal and fish oil to nothing at all,” Leyton said.

“Concern for the environment is part of Vitapro's DNA, where we have always bet on sustainability in the development of balanced feed, under its Nicovita and Salmofood brands,” said Ian Lozano, general manager of Vitapro Chile.