The project "The Feed of Today is The Food of Tomorrow" is designed to support sustainable fisheries, ensure the supply of sustainable raw materials and to protect the right of future generations to access nutritious and healthy food. This partnership will bring sustainable omega-3-rich fish to the market and create an opportunity for retailers to expand their nutritious and sustainable seafood offerings.
The collaborative project has been implemented in cooperation with Skretting Turkey, Metro Turkey and Hatko Aquaculture.
Marine Omega™ is Skretting's innovative feed solution containing Veramaris algal oil, which is a cornerstone of the project. One hundred and fifty tonnes of fish have been fed Marine Omega™ in the first phase of the project, representing a decrease of 180 tons of marine ingredients. This corresponds to the annual fish needs of 30 thousand people.
Today, the sea bream can be found on the shelves of Metro Turkey under the “Metro Premium” brand. Sea bass will be available from May.
Skretting has over 100 years of expertise in fish nutrition and solutions, enabling the development of this innovative product. The research and development provided by Skretting Aquaculture Innovation (AI) ensures that future generations will have access to quality protein with innovative, healthy, and sustainable methods and continues to increase the use of sustainable resources in feed solutions.
The first harvest of fish from the project is now complete after the initiation in 2021. Sea bream and sea bass fed with Skretting feed contain approximately twice as much Omega3 fatty acids than their market counterparts fed other feeds.
Skretting, together with its business partners, continues to produce innovative solutions that will carry aquaculture into the future
The project also aims to increase animal welfare. The fish offered to consumers with the Metro Premium brand are grown with 8-10 kg of fish per cubic meter in Hatko Aquaculture pens.
“Skretting, together with its business partners, continues to produce innovative solutions that will carry aquaculture into the future”
Pınar Demir Soker, Technical Manager of Skretting Turkey, which is a stakeholder in the project with its innovative feed solution, said, “The pandemic has emphasized the need for sustainable, healthy and local foods and revealed consumer expectations for companies to continue their operations in a conscious, transparent and ethical manner. We know that only if every link of the value chain is a part of the solution in the journey of sustainability in food, we can leave sufficient, healthy, quality sea foods to future generations. We are glad that we have highlighted the responsible use of marine resources in our market in cooperation with our stakeholders thanks to the project, which is the first in Turkey, and that we are part of the solution."
“Moreover, through this valuable cooperation, we, together with our partners, contribute to more than one 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development goals such as Good Health & Wellbeing, Responsible Consumption and Production, Partnerships for the Goals, in addition to the Zero Hunger goal, which is directly related to our purpose of “Feeding the Future”,” she added.
Karim Kurmaly, Veramaris CEO said: We’re proud to be working with Skretting Turkey, Metro Turkey and Hatko Aquaculture to be bringing more sustainable fish with higher EPA & DHA Omega-3 levels to the Turkish consumer. As the demand for aquaculture raised seafood continues to grow globally, it’s critical that our industry continues to bring sustainable innovations to market as this will help to ensure the continued, sustainable growth of our industry. It’s encouraging to see that industry leaders in Turkey, one of the world’s largest sea bass and sea bream producing countries, are working with partners along the value chain to deliver more healthy and sustainable products to meet the growing demand for farmed fish”.
Stating his complete support and faith in the project, Skretting Turkey General Manager Ziya Özaydin made the following statement about the project: “We know that one of the future challenges of aquaculture, which will meet the healthy protein needs of the increasing world population, will be access to raw materials that are sustainable and will not compete with human food. We are aware of our long-term responsibility to bring innovative solutions to combat it.”