Sustainable Aquafeeds to Maximise the Health Benefits of Farmed Fish for Consumers

Aquamax is an initiative funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme.

Production with safe and healthy seafood from aquaculture starts with the feed

In 2001, global seafood consumption was estimated at 100 million tons, and a further increase of 65 million tons is expected by the year 2030. It is clear that fisheries will be unable to meet this demand and, as a consequence, the role of aquaculture will become more and more pronounced.

To achieve the position where a sustainable aquaculture industry can produce safe and healthy seafood products, the sector has to cope with several important challenges. The three major issues identified are:

1. Shortage of marine resources. There is a growing concern as to whether there is sufficient fishmeal and fish oil to meet the increasing demand of aquaculture and, therefore, whether this growth will be limited by their availability
2. The expansion of fish farming requires the development of sustainable feed resources. Nutrients and contaminants in fish. It is already well known that eating seafood is good for one’s health. At the same time, fish – farmed as well as wild – can be contaminated with undesirable substances, like PCB’s and dioxins, which may affect human health and must be reduced to minimal levels
3. Scientific documentation in the whole food chain Environment. More information and data needs to be collated on the factors affecting the complete food chain and environmental contributions to this.

The Aquamax project has been set up in line with the need to cope with these challenges.