Homepage

Editorial - April 2019

As the World Water Day was celebrated around the world on March 22nd, there is a growing awareness of our ocean’s fundamental importance to all life on earth. Oceans are home to millions of species and are playing a specific role as global ecological regulator, in climate regulation and in food security.

Tangible commitments towards more sustainability were displayed during the events that took place recently in Bergen, Bangkok, Boston, and Wuzhen City. With novel ingredients entering the market, marine ingredients were presented as well positioned for the long run as feed ingredients. With the industry’s responsibly sourced raw materials for fish meal and fish oil, the high level of certification and unmatched nutritional performance, fish meal and fish oil provide steady commercial raw material volumes to the feed industry and represents a strategic basis for growth in aquaculture.

Leaving the linear mindset behind is not new in the Marine Ingredients industry. But digitalisation can drive change even faster and the global food system is on the edge of a digital revolution, as we report from Bangkok. Let’s be inspired!

Insight into the would-be insect supply chain

Dr Neil Auchterlonie attended a workshop on insect farming, in Edinburgh, on the 7th February 2019.  This was a one-day workshop designed to “bring together key organisations from across the would-be insect supply chain to share information and network”.  It provided a crash-course in insect production, the emerging insect meal industry, and the potential utilization of the product in animal feed, pet food and aquafeed.  It was a well-organised and managed event with numerous interesting snippets of information provided throughout the day.  The audience was introduced to a new acronym “BSF” referring to the Black Soldier Fly, currently the basis for commercial insect farming interests.

The 4th agricultural revolution is coming!

Focusing on the digital revolution in feed and livestock farming was the highlight of the 6th Global Feed and Food Congress (GFFC) held in Bangkok in March 2019. A new acronym was provided – Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) and the importance of ensuring that diets are absolutely specified for the farmed animals.  This very clearly represents a business opportunity for a high value nutritious product like fishmeal and fish oil, where the absolute nutritional values will be essential in optimizing growth and production efficiencies as we talk about in IFFO at length. Digitialising agriculture is seen as the next (the 4th) agricultural revolution.

Oceana Report on Dark Fishmeal in Peru

On February 13th 2019, the NGO Oceana published a Press Release on the production of illegal fishmeal in Peru.  The communication cites the results of an Oceana report into the diversion of approximately 150,000 tonnes of anchovy from direct human consumption into the manufacture of fishmeal.   

Any illegal activities in fisheries supplying raw material for fishmeal manufacture are obviously unacceptable, and IFFO recommends the adoption of the IFFO Responsible Supply scheme, which is the only fishmeal plant certification scheme, in tackling raw material supply issues. 

IFFO/JCI 2019 Fishmeal and Fish Oil Forum

The 6th IFFO/JCI Fishmeal and Fish Oil Forum was held in Wuzhen City (China) on March 22nd 2019. It was chaired by IFFO China Director Maggie Xu and kicked off with a presentation by IFFO Market Research Director Dr Enrico Bachis.