BioMar to supply greener feed to Chinese trout grower

In a press release, BioMar said its teams in China and Denmark had been working closely with grower Qinghai Minze Longyangxia Ecological Aquaculture Co on technical onsite trials that took into account the daily conditions of the water and the fish.

The formulation that was created considered the parameters of growth performance and fish welfare while limiting the discharge of nitrogen and phosphorous into the local ecosystem.

Raw materials

Minze Longyangxia  grows 15,000 tonnes of trout per year in Qinghai Reservoir on the Tibetan plateau near the small mountain village of Longyangxia, approximately 100 miles from Xinjing, capital of Qinghai Province.

“Our extensive knowledge on nutritional requirements of trout as well as a strict selection of raw materials according to their characteristics and contribution to sustainability impacts, have together made it possible to discover an optimal feed recipe and feeding strategy. Through the onsite trials we have been able to demonstrate a better total performance,” said BioMar chief executive Carlos Diaz.

BioMar said that creating a low impact feed recipe by varying the ingredients plays a crucial role in reducing a farmer’s overall environmental footprint. That is because traditional aquaculture feed is responsible for up to 80% of the environmental impact of raising fish due to the feed ingredients and production operations accounting for most of the mass energy flows in the value chain.

Government guidline

The Chinese government is rolling out a new guideline to accelerate green development of its aquaculture industry, which outlines a set of policies to reduce fish farmers’ overall environmental footprint and promote transformation of the industry.

BioMar said it expects that other farmers in the Chinese market will look to more sustainable feed solutions as the government implements the new initiative, Green Development of Aquaculture.