As the farmed salmon industry grows, we need to know what they eat too

Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our food and drink newsletter for free Get our food and drink newsletter for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Environmental campaigners have long made the case that the growth of cage farming salmon results in a net loss of fish because they are fed “marine ingredients”, which includes fishmeal and, increasingly, processing offcuts from the fishery industry – fish oil that is pressed out of the same fish and more specialised high-value protein ingredients. open image in gallery Trout is also farmed in a similar way to salmon Finding alternatives As farmed fish gets relatively cheaper but the price of marine ingredients to feed them continues to climb, the pressure to find alternatives is likely to continue. Major fish stocks used to produce marine ingredients, however, are now subject to much more intense scrutiny, as are the fish farms that use the feeds, which is leading to both better efficiency and practice. The Marine Ingredients Organisation itself has introduced a certification system for fisheries that produce marine ingredients, and the eco and social certification of farms has created competing bodies such as the Global Aquaculture Alliance and the WWF-inspired Aquaculture Stewardship Council, whose own independent certification schemes have reducing marine ingredients as a central theme.