Identification of specific demands on feed in Dutch organic aquaculture

Summary

The evaluation of specific demands for organic feed focussed on feed demands for four fish species which can be cultured in Recirculation Aquaculture Systems (RAS), tilapia, African Catfish, shrimp and turbot. The evaluation of the various feed formulations indicates that there are several ingredients, which are common for the four species, and will therefore be used for further elaboration on the organic availability. These feed ingredients, are: fishmeal and oil, corn meal, wheat meal, blood meal, vitamin mix, mineral mix, and antioxidants. Besides the evaluation of the feed ingredients an inventory was made on the demands set by three key organic standards and legislation documents; European legislation (in prep), IFOAM and Naturland. A draft consensus standard containing a synthesis of all demands has been described. The implication of the demands, and the possibilities and bottlenecks for organic feed production were evaluated for the selected feed ingredients. It was concluded that organic feed production for RAS can meet the general criteria set for feed, on GMO material and organic composition. However, for the production of organic feed, a bottleneck will be the necessary requirement of synthetic amino acids for health improvement. The lack of these amino acids in organic feed can result in potential disadvantage for animal needs. This raw material restrictions will most likely also result in the lack of possibilities for fine tuning the feed for animal needs