Congratulations to EWOS
Grant Warkentin, The Courier-Islander November 8, 2013
Like Colleen Campbell, we are very concerned about the ingredients in the feed we use to grow farmed salmon.
That's why in the past decade, our feed supplier EWOS has reduced the amount of wild fish content by nearly half, to the point where it is only 31 per cent of the feed.
EWOS uses marine ingredients sourced only from sustainable fisheries - that is one of the reasons why EWOS was certified to the Best Aquaculture Practices standard.
It now takes approximately 1.1 kilos of feed to grow one kilo of farmed salmon, which is more efficient than any other farmed livestock, and more efficient than wild salmon, which require 10 times their own weight in food to grow.
Fishmeal and fish oil is still a key ingredient in salmon feed, but the amount being used by salmon farming is still declining, thanks to innovation in feed composition. Marine ingredients have been replaced with protein meal sourced from trimmings from other fisheries, and from land-based sources.
This is recycling. We are using materials which would otherwise be thrown away to grow a healthy, safe source of protein for human beings.
We congratulate EWOS for the work it has done to make this possible, and we continue to work with them to continue to reduce the amount of marine ingredients in the feed we use.
Grant Warkentin/Mainstream Canada Communications Officer
Grant responded to the following letter:
Of the three-star aquaculture award
Colleen Campbell / Campbell River Courier-Islander
Interesting to read about the three-star award by the salmon.aquaculture alliance to EWOS for high quality farm fish food. Isn't this like two pieces of a puzzle that fit together, congratulating one another?
As an interested person, I would like to know if the industry has stopped using fish from the coasts of other countries and what comprises the food. That would be newsworthy and meaningful.
Colleen Campbell
Mainstream now 3-star certified
Campbell River Courier-Islander, October 25, 2013
Mainstream Canada's salmon are now three-star certified, since the company's feed supplier was recently certified to one of the highest global standards for aquaculture.
EWOS Canada's Surrey feed mill, which provides all the salmon feed used by
Mainstream Canada's salmon farms, was certified this month to the Global Aquaculture Alliance's Best Aquaculture Practices standard.
"This is a big milestone for us," said Jason Mann, managing director of Ewos Canada.
"By meeting this standard, we show that we are dedicated to using only the best and most sustainable ingredients in our feed.
"As well, it shows we meet and exceed the highest standards for worker safety and quality control."
Reference Link: Mainstream Canada
EWOS certification helps Mainstream Canada achieve three-star BAP certification
2013-10-22: Mainstream Canada’s salmon are now three-star certified, since the company’s feed supplier was recently certified to one of the highest global standards for aquaculture.
EWOS Canada’s Surrey feed mill, which provides all the salmon feed used by Mainstream Canada’s salmon farms, was certified this month to the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices standard.
“This is a big milestone for us,” said Jason Mann, managing director of Ewos Canada. By meeting this standard, we show that we are dedicated to using only the best and most sustainable ingredients in our feed. As well, it shows we meet and exceed the highest standards for worker safety and quality control.”
EWOS Canada was also certified this month to the high standards of the Global GAP, a global non-profit organization dedicated to safe, sustainable agricultural production worldwide.
EWOS’ certification will benefit Mainstream Canada.
“Our harvesting farms and Tofino processing plant are already BAP-certified. Now that the feed we use is also certified, our salmon in the market will be three-star certified as well,” said Mainstream Canada’s managing director Fernando Villarroel.”This certification shows once again that our salmon are safe and nutritious. They are raised on the best available feed, which is made up of ingredients that are sustainable and sourced responsibly.”
Reducing fishery-based ingredients
A large requirement in the BAP standard for feed mills is that “Fishery-based ingredients from wild sources shall come from sustainable sources.” Fishmeal and fish oil created from small wild fish, such as Peruvian anchovies, are still the most important ingredients in salmon feed because they provide salmon with essential nutrients and proteins.
However, thanks to land-based protein sources, and by utilizing discards from other fisheries, EWOS has been able to drastically reduce the dependence of farmed salmon on wild fish as a food source.
EWOS has been working for more than a decade to reduce the amount of fishmeal and fish oil in salmon feed. Led by research at EWOS Innovation in Norway, EWOS has reduced the amount of fishmeal in feed by 44 per cent and the amount of fish oil by 52 per cent during the last decade.
Thanks to this reduction, it only takes about 1.1 kilograms of wild fish to produce one kilogram of Mainstream Canada salmon, and this ratio will continue to decrease as EWOS finds new, more sustainable ingredients to replace fishery-based ingredients.
