Feeding through climate change
Climate variability is making the availability of some of aquaculture's most important raw materials increasingly difficult to predict. Events such as El Niño can disrupt marine ecosystems and fisheries, affecting the supply of fishmeal and fish oil. For aquafeed producers like us, changes in raw material availability can affect sourcing, formulation, and production costs.
The latest figures from IFFO show that the pressure on marine ingredient supply continued throughout 2026. By August, cumulative fishmeal production was 45% lower than during the same period in 2025, while fish oil production was down 26%. Although global output improved in August, IFFO expects total fishmeal supply in 2026 to fall below 4.6 million tonnes—the lowest level since 2016—with fish oil production potentially declining to around 1.15 million tons.
For fish and shrimp farmers, these fluctuations matter, as feed is one of the largest costs in aquaculture, and changes in raw material availability can affect costs and sourcing. At the same time, farmers need consistent nutrition to support growth, health and feeding efficiency.
From ingredient dependency to nutritional flexibility and understanding
For decades BioMar has been researching how to make better use of available raw materials. By expanding the range of ingredients used in our feeds, we have more options when supply conditions change, while continuing to meet the nutritional needs of fish and shrimp.
However, using a wider range of ingredients also requires a deep understanding of their nutritional properties, as each has its own characteristics, digestibility and functional properties. Replacing one ingredient with another is complex, because each species and life stage has different needs and nutritional requirements.
Our research and development teams are key to this work. They study how different ingredients work together, how fish and shrimp use nutrients, and how formulations can be adjusted while maintaining nutritional quality and supporting performance.
Diversification is already happening
Microalgae are a good example of how research can expand our ingredient options.
BioMar began studying algae-based ingredients in 2013 and launched its first commercial feeds with microalgae omega-3 in 2016. By 2024, almost one million tonnes of our feed around the globe contained microalgae.
Other options, including plant proteins, insect meals, fermented single-cell proteins and responsibly sourced by-products, are used today in our formulations and are under evaluation to have an extended use for aquafeed formulation.
Using marine resources where they bring the most value
Marine ingredients remain valuable sources of essential nutrients, and their responsible use will continue to play an important role in aquaculture, but as marine resources become less predictable, their use needs to become increasingly strategic.
BioMar is improving efficiency across its formulations, tracking fishmeal targets, addressing deviations and working with Research & Development in developing alternatives to reduce long-term dependence without compromising performance.
What does this mean for farmers?
For our customers, all of this comes down to something much more practical.
A broader range of researched ingredients, together with nutritional knowledge and flexible formulation capabilities, enables us to respond to changing availability while keeping the nutritional requirements of fish and shrimp at the centre of our decisions.
This means that diversification is not simply about finding substitutes. It is about building the knowledge and flexibility needed to support consistent nutrition in an increasingly unpredictable environment.
We cannot control climate variability. What we can strengthen is our ability to adapt to them.