The Need for Aquaculture

Wild-caught fisheries cannot sustain the increasing pressure of global seafood demands. By 2030, an additional 41 million tons of fish per year will be needed to maintain current levels of seafood consumption. Wild fish capture reached its maximum volume cap in the mid-1980s and cannot grow to meet this increased demand.
 

Asian sea bass
Asian sea bass, also called barramundi, can be raised responsibly in ponds and ocean cages to meet strict consumer standards.

Responsible fish farming is the only way to bridge the gap between the wild supply shortfall, critical consumer demand, and health needs. Increasing the availability of soy-fed, farm-raised fish will fulfill this growing need while conserving our natural resources.

Why Soy-Fed Fish?

  • More than 40% of all seafood consumed globally is raised in farms
  • Aquaculture serves as a “relief valve” for wild-capture fisheries and bridges the 88-million-ton gap between the world’s wild supply and consumer demand for healthy seafood
  • Using soy in fish feed is a healthful, sustainable, and environmentally sound way to raise healthy seafood
  • Soy-fed fish supply a growing global population with renewable sources of nutritious and affordable varieties of fish and shellfish

For Aquaculture Industry Professionals

U.S. soybean farmers are an essential partner in the prosperity of the aquaculture community and are helping to revolutionize aquaculture globally by providing a consistent, healthy and efficient source of protein that nourishes the fish that feed families around the world.

Pacu
Pacu, a native Amazonian fish, is well suited to soy feeds and has become a popular species in both Latin America and Asia.
 

U.S. Grown Quality

  • Soybean meal is consistent in quality and is produced in a range of protein levels to suit the needs of the aquaculture industry
  • Soybean meal has the best amino acid complex of all of the plant protein ingredients
  • Soybean meal is highly digestible to most cultured fish and shrimp species

Consistency

  • Soybean meal provides a consistent product to fish farmers, which in turn allows the farmers to supply consumers, chefs and retailers with fish of consistent quality, size and supply

Affordability

  • Soybean meal has a significantly lower cost than most animal feeds, and a much lower cost than fishmeal or fish oil
  • Soy protein can replace animal proteins in feeds for freshwater and marine fish with rapid fish growth and low feed conversion ratios

Sustainability

  • Availability of a high-quality, renewable protein product like soybean meal is critical to the future of the global aquaculture industry
  • Soybean production has increased more than tenfold in the past four decades and can sustain this growth in the coming years

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