Eide Fjordbruk tested flies, sunflower, and chicken meal in salmon feed—here’s what happened

Black soldier flies, fermented seeds, and chicken meal: New feed alternatives for salmon farming.

The Norwegian aquaculture industry is exploring innovative feed solutions to reduce its carbon footprint and reliance on imported ingredients.

A recent study led by Linn Haug Eide, a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), has demonstrated that black soldier flies, fermented sunflower seeds, and chicken meal can match the performance of traditional salmon feed in terms of growth, health, and feed conversion efficiency.

Eide, who also works for Eide Fjordbruk, conducted large-scale trials to test these alternatives under commercial conditions, with each feed type performing comparably to conventional options. “We found no negative effects across the board,” she said, emphasizing the scalability and practicality of these alternatives.

Addressing Sustainability Challenges

The research aligns with the Norwegian government’s sustainability targets, which include making all aquaculture feed sustainable by 2034 and producing at least 25% locally. Professor Margareth Øverland, director of Foods of Norway and Eide’s academic advisor, highlighted the sector’s vulnerability due to its reliance on imports, with 92% of salmon feed currently sourced from abroad. Feed production accounts for over 75% of the industry’s carbon footprint.

“Focusing on locally produced alternatives is crucial,” Øverland noted, citing geopolitical risks and climate goals as drivers for change.

Promising Alternatives

Eide’s trials focused on three feed innovations:

1. Black Soldier Flies: These insects consume plant and food waste, transforming it into protein-rich biomass.
2. Fermented Sunflower Meal: The fermentation process enhances nutrient availability and palatability, making it a viable feed ingredient.
3. Chicken Meal: Derived from byproducts of poultry production, this ingredient addresses growing waste from the sector.

The trials, conducted in fjord-based net pens housing up to 50,000 salmon per pen, marked the first large-scale evaluation of these alternatives. Previous studies had been limited to laboratory settings.

Open Access to Results

Eide emphasized the importance of making her findings publicly available. “A lot of feed research is proprietary to feed companies and remains confidential. By sharing these results, we hope to benefit the entire industry,” she said.

The research has already garnered international attention, with publications in scientific journals and industry outlets such as FeedNavigator.

Industry Adoption

Eide Fjordbruk has begun incorporating some of these findings into its standard feed practices. “Feed is the biggest contributor to our carbon emissions,” said Erlend Eide, the company’s technical director. “We’ve shifted focus to reducing our footprint and increasing the use of local ingredients.”

Eide noted that the current proportion of locally sourced feed remains small, underscoring the need for continued innovation.

Linn Haug Eide will defend her doctoral thesis, “Alternative Protein Sources for Farmed Atlantic Salmon Evaluated Under Commercial-Scale Field Conditions,” at NMBU on January 29. Her research has been supervised by Professor Margareth Øverland and supported by experts from the Veterinary Institute and NMBU.