Skretting

Background

Norwegian multinational Skretting is the world’s largest fish feed producer.¹ In 2021, it was the world’s top salmon feed producer and third biggest shrimp feed producer.² It was established in 1899,³ and now has production facilities in 19 countries.⁴ It is based in Stavanger in the South West of Norway, where it has its head office, research stations, feed technology plants, and a biotech lab.⁵

Skretting is owned by Dutch animal feed company Nutreco,⁶ one of the world’s largest feed companies, which is a subsidiary of multinational trading company SHV.⁷

In 2023, Skretting produced more than 3 million tonnes of fish and shrimp feed,⁸ a significant increase from the 2.3 million tonnes produced in 2020.⁹ Skretting’s feed is used for over 60 species of farmed seafood in total,¹⁰ however most of it goes toward the following six species: salmon, trout, shrimp, sea bass, sea bream, and tilapia.¹¹

Skretting is one of four aquafeed companies – together with Mowi, Cargill Aqua Nutrition, and Biomar – which control the majority of the salmon feed market.¹² These four companies also supply almost all of Norwegian salmon feed.¹³ The Norwegian salmon industry has been criticised by multiple environmental nonprofits for the large volume of wild caught fish used in feed,¹⁴ very high sea lice levels,¹⁵ poor salmon welfare and mortality,¹⁶ ¹⁷ and environmental pollution.¹⁸

Environmental nonprofit Feedback called the use of wild-caught fish in the feed of Skretting and other Norwegian fish feed producers “inefficient and wasteful”, and linked Skretting to “the loss of livelihoods and exacerbating malnutrition” in West Africa.¹⁹

Controversies

Reliance on Wild-Caught Fish for Feed

Fish like Atlantic salmon are carnivorous and rely on smaller forage (or ‘pelagic’) fish for their nutrition.

Manufacturing the feed for farmed salmon therefore requires the inclusion of fishmeal and fish oil, which is made from wild-caught fish.²⁰ Between 2010 and 2017, the salmon industry tripled in size, leading to a 429 percent increase in the total volume of feed consumed.²¹

The salmon industry’s reliance on wild-caught nutritious fish has led to criticism of the industry as an inefficient use of marine resources.²²

The fishmeal and fish oil industry has also been criticised for its negative impact on food security and jobs in the Global South,²³ and high levels of pollution around its factories;²⁴ as well as for its negative impact on other wildlife and marine food webs.²⁵ ²⁶

The industry also stands accused of spurring overfishing primarily in countries in the Global South, such as Peru, Vietnam, and India, and off the coast of West Africa.²⁷ ²⁸

In 2023, Skretting’s salmon feed contained up to 22.8 percent fishmeal and fish oil, made from wild-caught fish, alongside other ingredients such as vegetable oils and proteins.²⁹

Fishmeal and fish oil trade group IFFO – of which Skretting is a member – emphasises the sustainability of the fishmeal and fish oil industry because marine ingredients are made from an increasing share of trimmings – parts of fish such as heads and bones, which are considered waste by-products of fish processing for human consumption – as well as whole, wild-caught fish.³⁰

In 2023, 33 percent of the fishmeal and fish oil used by Skretting came from trimmings – a 6 percent drop compared to in 2022.³¹

Skretting has stated that it is important to reduce the use of human-edible fish in aquafeed.³² ³³ The firm’s director of innovation also stated in June 2024 that it should not be Skretting’s goal to completely replace fishmeal and fish oil, because “the problem” is not the sustainability of fishmeal and fish oil, “it’s just the availability”.³⁴

Skretting recognises the need to develop alternative feed ingredients to fishmeal and fish oil, and spent $2 million in 2019 on the development of these ingredients. This sum represented 0.07 percent of its sales that year, according to non-profit financial think tank Planet Tracker.³⁵

Skretting states that by 2025 it aims to source all marine ingredients from fisheries certified as sustainably managed or from Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs),³⁶ ³⁷ which are aimed at improving management of fish stocks. However, in 2023, they sourced 77 percent of their marine ingredients from both categories combined, down from 84 percent in 2022, according to company annual reports.³⁸ ³⁹

Supply Chain and Sourcing of Fishmeal and Oil (West Africa)

Like other aquafeed companies, Skretting is not fully transparent about the volumes, countries, and provenance of species of the wild-caught fish that are used in its aquafeed.⁴⁰

Skretting discloses in its annual reports that between 2019 and 2023, it sourced every year from the fishing region FAO34 – off the coast of Northwest Africa – where the fishmeal industry is booming and its operations are known to cause pollution, food insecurity, and job losses for women fish workers in Mauritania, Senegal, and The Gambia.⁴¹ ⁴² ⁴³ ⁴⁴ ⁴⁵

In January 2024, Skretting told the Financial Times that they source Mauritanian fish oil from one of two factories recognised by MarinTrust – a certification programme for responsible sourcing of marine ingredients – as working to improve sustainability of the fishery.⁴⁶

In July 2024, Skretting told DeSmog that from 2024 it will “only purchase ingredients coming from the [small pelagics Fishery Improvement Project] FIP [in Mauritania]”.⁴⁷

Use of Certified Ingredients

Skretting’s policy states that it aims to source feed ingredients from either: fisheries certified as sustainable or pre-certification initiatives such as Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs).⁴⁸

In line with this policy, Skretting sources fishmeal and oil from the Mauritania small pelagics FIP, where key fish species that are targeted by the fishmeal and fish oil industry – round and flat sardinella – are still classed as overexploited and declining, according to the UN FAO,⁴⁹ ⁵⁰ seven years after the FIP was set up (in 2017), prompting the Mauritanian government to prohibit the use of whole round sardinella in fishmeal and oil production in 2021.⁵¹

In 2019, 2022, and 2023, Skretting reported using whole sardinella species from the FAO34 fishing zone – which includes Mauritania – but did not specify the country origin of the sardinella.⁵² ⁵³ ⁵⁴

Skretting uses another human-edible fish in its feed: sardines (also known as ‘European pilchard’) sourced from FAO34.

The Mauritanian European pilchard fishery has been found to have “serious management issues”, with Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing warranting concern, according to a 2022 report by the non-profit Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.⁵⁵ According to FIP news in September 2024, sardines are now classed as overexploited in one zone within the fishery.⁵⁶

Food security claims

Skretting states that its purpose is “Feeding the Future” and that it contributed to the production of over 26 million portions of seafood per day worldwide in 2023.⁵⁷ ⁵⁸

Skretting states that aquaculture is the “world’s most efficient protein generator”.⁵⁹ It bases this on farmed seafood’s feed conversion ratio – the volume of feed required per kilo of seafood – which is lower compared to the feed required by land animals, and its superior retention of protein and energy.⁶⁰

A 2024 study published in Nature found that farmed carnivorous fish like salmon have lower nutritional content for six out of eight essential nutrients compared to the small forage fish that they ate,⁶¹ suggesting that consuming small forage fish directly is more nutritious than carnivorous farmed fish.

Skretting says it “is committed to ensuring that safe, high quality and sustainable feeds and seafood are available for the world”.⁶² Skretting “actively support[s]” the growth of the aquaculture industry in Africa,⁶³ and its CEO Bastiaan van Tilburg stated in June 2024, that he will increase the company’s focus on Asia and Africa, where he sees “untapped potential for growth.”⁶⁴

Despite Skretting’s claims of addressing global food security through aquafeed and aquaculture,⁶⁵ as the top salmon feed producer and third biggest shrimp feed producer in 2021,⁶⁶ it feeds carnivorous seafood, which is mostly sold in the Global North.⁶⁷

A 2020 Nature study also found marine seafood farming’s food and nutrition claims to be “empirically inaccurate”. It stated that high-market value carnivorous fish species in particular will “remain inaccessible to low-income consumers and the food-insecure”.⁶⁸

Antibiotics in Feed

Antibiotics are frequently used in aquaculture and fish farming to prevent disease and control the growth of bacteria that can infect and kill farmed seafood.⁶⁹ A 2020 study estimated that aquaculture “carries the highest use intensity [of antibiotics] per kilogram of biomass” between humans, terrestrial food animals, and aquatic food animals.⁷⁰

The use of antibiotics in farming, both on land and in aquatic environments,⁷¹ contributes to antibiotic resistance, which affects the effectiveness of antibiotics used in both humans and animals.⁷² The World Health Organisation recommends “significantly drastically reducing” the use of antibiotics in farmed animals.⁷³

In 2023, Skretting used antibiotics in 1.6 percent of its feed.⁷⁴ The increase in antibiotic use and resistance has been linked to intensification of aquaculture and overcrowded conditions.⁷⁵ ⁷⁶ In 2023, Skretting’s antibiotic feeds were mostly used to treat diseases such as bacterial kidney disease and salmonid rickettsial septicemia (SRS) in salmon,⁷⁷ diseases which are exacerbated by overcrowded conditions on salmon farms.⁷⁸ ⁷⁹

Links to Deforestation

As well as fish oil and fishmeal from wild-caught species, Skretting’s fish feed is made up of ingredients such as vegetable oils, animal byproducts, and soy, the production and sourcing of which has been linked to deforestation.⁸⁰

Soy has been used increasingly as a source of protein to replace fishmeal and fish oil because of lower costs and reputational risks linked to the use of wild-caught fish.

In 2018, environmental nonprofit the Rainforest Foundation Norway linked Skretting and other salmon feed producers Cargill, Mowi, Biomar, and Polar Feed/Europharma to soy farmed on deforested land in Brazil.⁸¹

Skretting’s Director said the report’s allegations are “completely unacceptable to Skretting” and, if correct, would be “a violation of our Supplier Code of Conduct”.⁸²

Skretting sourced soy farmed on recently deforested land in Brazil in 2020, according to environmental non-profit Trase.⁸³

Skretting told DeSmog: “In 2023, 8 percent of our total soy purchases were untraceable or originated from high-risk regions without any certification, whereas 92 percent of our soy purchases in 2023 were compliant with our intermediate goals […] We are committed to sourcing 100 percent deforestation-free by the end of 2025”.

The company states that it aims to use only deforestation-free soy by 2025. In 2023, 92 percent of Skretting’s soy was classed as free from deforestation,⁸⁴ under the definitions used by Skretting’s parent company Nutreco.⁸⁵

A wider criticism of using a higher proportion of terrestrial ingredients such as soy in fish feed is that soy is less digestible than marine ingredients, leading to a higher level of fish excretion and pollution.⁸⁶

Carbon Footprint

Skretting uses its carbon footprint – which is low compared to that of beef and lamb – to market itself as sustainable and ethically responsible.⁸⁷ ⁸⁸

A 2022 paper in academic journal Nature ranked farmed salmon and trout among the higher emitting categories of seafood.⁸⁹ There is evidence that farmed carnivorous fish like salmon will always be higher emitting than eating small pelagic fish directly, due to the high carbon footprint of ingredients in fish feed such as soy.⁹⁰

Skretting discloses its carbon emissions, and has stated commitments to reduce its scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 30 percent and scope 3 emissions by 39 percent by 2030 against its 2018 baseline.⁹¹ (Scope 1 and 2 emissions are those released directly or indirectly by its operations;⁹² ⁹³ Scope 3 emissions are those released in Skretting’s supply chains).

In 2023, Skretting’s absolute scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions increased by four percent compared to 2018, and its scope 3 emissions decreased by 11 percent, according to its annual report.⁹⁴ Skretting’s scope 1 and 2 emissions in Latin America grew by 14 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, due to an increase in feed production. The major sources of Skretting’s carbon emissions are from vegetable-derived proteins and oils such as soya in its feed.⁹⁵

Lobbying

Skretting is a member of a number of lobby groups that have pushed to increase access to fisheries and weaken European environmental regulations such as the EU Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategy.

Skretting’s parent company Nutreco is a member of the animal feed trade group European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation (FEFAC)’s Sustainability Committee.⁹⁶

In November 2022, FEFAC wrote a letter with agribusiness trade group Coceral lobbying to weaken a draft EU law banning food imports linked to deforestation, five days ahead of the international climate change conference COP26.⁹⁷ FEFAC does not have specific policies on aquaculture on its website but states its ambition to “contribute to climate-neutral livestock and aquaculture production through feed”.⁹⁸

FEFAC has also lobbied against the EU’s Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR).⁹⁹ The regulation, passed in summer 2023 and set to take effect in December 2024,¹⁰⁰ mandated that products sold in the EU market would be derived from land not deforested after 2020.¹⁰¹ FEFAC argued that the EUDR would have extensive negative economic impacts on feed producers and traders in the EU.¹⁰²

In October 2024, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen instigated a one-year delay to the EUDR.¹⁰³ The decision to delay the regulation was criticised by multiple non-profits, including Human Rights Watch, which called it “a deplorable abdication of leadership in the face of a climate emergency”.¹⁰⁴

Deforestation contributes between 6-17 percent of global carbon emissions,¹⁰⁵ and is a major driver of climate change. Soy – a key ingredient in Skretting’s fish feeds¹⁰⁶ – is one of three main products driving deforestation globally.¹⁰⁷

FEFAC spent between $210,000 and $315,000 in 2023 lobbying the EU on topics such as the EU Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy.¹⁰⁸

Skretting is also represented in Norwegian seafood industry trade group Sjomat Norge’s negotiation committee and advisory member bodies for the board.¹⁰⁹ ¹¹⁰

Sjomat Norge spent between $26,000 and $53,000 in 2023 lobbying the EU on topics such as animal welfare and use of medicated feeds.

Affiliations

In addition to the lobby groups above, Skretting has affiliations and partnerships with numerous organisations that have been accused by campaigners of greenwashing and of pushing to weaken fisheries management.

Skretting is a member of fishmeal and fish oil trade group IFFO,¹¹¹ a marine ingredients industry group that represents fish farmers, aquafeed producers, and fish oil traders, among others.¹¹²

IFFO’s principal objective is “reputation management”,¹¹³ ¹¹⁴ as it claims that the fishmeal and fish oil industry faces “much negative and unfair criticism”¹¹⁵ and works to counter “negative messaging, exaggeration and misinformation”.¹¹⁶ ¹¹⁷ It also aims to demonstrate that the marine ingredients industry is necessary for “feeding a growing world population, sustainably and responsibly”.¹¹⁸

Skretting is a member of the Global Roundtable on Marine Ingredients,¹¹⁹ an industry group whose members include marine ingredients lobby group IFFO, food corporations, and feed companies.

The Roundtable is dominated by animal feed and fishmeal and fish oil companies, which currently source from West Africa, and has been criticised by campaigners and academics, who have called it “an industry body that is there to protect [the industry’s] interests”.¹²⁰

Skretting states in its 2023 annual report that it is a “member of the MarinTrust [certification programme] governance board”.¹²¹ The representation of feed producers like Skretting on MarinTrust’s multiple standard-setting committees have been criticised by campaigners and academics as a “massive conflict of interest”.¹²²

Skretting is a partner and funds the Mauritania small pelagics Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP).¹²³ It claims that being a partner in the Mauritanian FIP shows Skretting’s “commitment” to being part of the solutions to sustainable aquaculture.¹²⁴ However, the FIP has thus far failed to address a drastic drop in stocks of pelagic fish, which are a vital source of nutrition and women’s employment in West Africa.¹²⁵