Aquaculture companies are seeking to put sustainability at the forefront of their fish farming activities, Syndel’s CEO, Chris McReyonlds, stated, highlighting the move towards more environmentally friendly practices within the industry.
Syndel, which specialises in providing aquatic animal health solutions for fish reproduction, disease prevention, treatment and biosecurity, has sought to position itself a global leader in its sector of the industry with a key focus on sustainability.
“I was in Norway this last week and that was the discussion in every single one of our meetings,” the global aquaculture health solutions company boss claimed, citing how companies are concerned that what they used protects the environment they work in.
“They’re all looking for documentation that says here’s how you best use your product. Is there anything we need to do to protect the environment? Any risks for their products and if there’s not risks, how can we define that in a quantifiable manner.”
Contribute to the catch, don’t compete against it
As environmental concerns become more prominent among both business and their customers, McReynolds was frank that “it’s key for a lot of people” throughout the chain.
“They’re all focused on sustainability, whether it be sustainability in terms of an ongoing business or whether it be protecting the environment because they know that they rely on the environment for their industry. If they don’t protect the environment, they don’t have an industry.”
“Whether it’s in the wild catch or on the farm side, we have a growing population globally, we have a limited amount of wild catch. We need to contribute to, not compete against wild fish, to work together, so we can expand the protein source from fish and seafood.”
Financial incentive
When asked by SalmonBusiness about the potential motivation behind companies turning towards products that contribute towards sustainability, McReynolds was open that there’s “no question” the financial incentive plays a role.
“If you look at groups like Costco, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, they themselves have a very high standard for what they accept. They do their own inspections, their own audits on their supply sources.”
“The companies that are willing to step up and take the extra effort to assure the products, the raw materials they are using in the raising of their fish, how they ship the product, etc weights in heavily on whether or not they get the business.”
Developing markets
Despite the difficulties that have emerged in recent months, Syndel’s CEO was optimistic that there is potential room to grown and develop into new countries and markets, as they emerge.
Syndel has its sights set on Japan, according to McReynolds, as they are now turning away from importing salmon towards developing their own, ensuring they no longer have to be “almost a hundred percent reliant on the outside world.”
While Japan might be the main target, Syndel sees Russia, South Korea, France, Greece and the Mediterranean as potential future targets, especially “with RAS giving us an opportunity fort salmon to be harvested anywhere.”
