We can afford to feed our growing hunger for Atlantic salmon up to 2100

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-08-19 01:00

Australia; VIC

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The world can afford its growing appetite for Atlantic salmon despite the finite resources needed to farm the fish, according to Australian researchers. Australia is among the countries expected to see rapid growth in its Atlantic salmon industry in the coming years, and Aussie researchers have analysed the likely availability of two products the world needs to continue to feed farmed salmon; fish meal and fish oil derived from wild-caught marine creatures, mostly white fish. The researchers say we can continue current usage of fish meal and fish oil for salmon until the early to mid 2030s if the industry continues to grow by about 2-3% each year. To sustain 2% growth until 2100, the researchers say, we'll need to reduce the amount of fish oil we feed the salmon which would reduce the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids they contain.