Fish Feed

Havsbrún, which is a fishmeal, fish oil and fish producer established in 1966 and bought by Bakkafrost in 2011, produces all the fish feed that Bakkafrost utilizes. They start with locally caught fish from sustainable pelagic stocks, a non-GMO product from start to finish. The short transport from local fishing grounds to feed production plants by super-cooling well-boats leaves a small CO² footprint and ensures freshness and provides complete traceability from initial catch to a final feed with a high content of marine food. Bakkafrost’s extensive production and storage capacity allows for immediate distribution of the right feed for the salmon’s need and life cycle.

The composition of the Havsbrún fish feed is first and foremost fishmeal and fish oil which originates from our integrated fishmeal plant. Therefore, the majority of the top quality proteins and lipids in the Havsbrún feed is supplied by ourselves, which results in a unique traceability and control of key feed ingredients. The Havsbrún feed probably has the highest inclusion of marine raw materials within the salmon industry. Additional plant-derived proteins and -lipids in our feed originate strictly from NON-GM sources.

Because the Faroe Islands are positioned in the North Atlantic Drift between Iceland, Norway and the British Isles, our fishmeal factory and feedmill are situated close to the fishing grounds that surround our islands. Together with a highly developed fishing fleet, our geographical location enables us to process fresh high-quality fish material to fishmeal, fish oil and ultimately to fish feed. The fish material originates from responsibly sourced stocks that are neither listed as IUU* or are on the IUCN** red list of endangered species.

Atlantic salmon is a carnivore species which feeds on other organisms such as smaller fish and crustaceans in the wild. Therefore, marine proteins and -lipids are the natural parts of the salmon diet. Havsbrún has adapted this dietary strategy to our feed where the majority of proteins and lipids derive from our self-supplied marine raw materials. Not only does the fishmeal and -oil contribute with essential nutrients to ensure good fish health and growth, our marine raw materials also have a significant influence on the salmon quality. For example is the characteristic redness of the salmon fillet highly influenced by the by the marine raw materials. Thereto, the fatty acid profile in the salmon reflects the richness of the long chain omega-3 fatty acids in the feed. In addition, the high inclusion of fish oil in the feed provides a good balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in both feed and salmon.

Overall, Havsbrún’s feed formulation aims to satisfy the nutritional- and health requirements of salmon to ensure a robust fish with good growth, while simultaneously ensuring a conversion of feed into high-quality salmon products.

* Illegal, unreported and unregulated, ** International Union for Conservation of Nature