The Caviar d’Aquitaine Association, a group of sturgeon farmers based in the southwest of France, has become the first in its sector to implement BioMar’s Blue Impact feed, a product designed to reduce the environmental impact of aquaculture.
The feed incorporates circular raw materials and is intended to minimize the carbon emissions associated with feed production.
The diet also meets the nutritional needs of sturgeon while adhering to strict animal welfare standards, according to the aquafeed major.
Known for their high-quality caviar and responsible farming practices, the Caviar d’Aquitaine producers have chosen this feed as part of their broader commitment to sustainability, said BioMar sustainability lead, Rocio Alvaro.
Reaching consensus
The move to adopt Blue Impact feed required coordination among multiple farmers within that association, outlined Alvaro.
“Reaching consensus among the producers was a key challenge. However, a shared commitment to sustainability helped overcome these obstacles.”
Measuring impact
The environmental benefits of Blue Impact feed are tracked using BioMar’s BioSustain parameters, which assess:
- Carbon footprint reduction
- Forage Fish Dependency Ratio (FFDR) to evaluate reliance on wild fish stocks
- Circular and restorative indicators for resource efficiency and biodiversity
“The adoption of Blue Impact feed is expected to enhance the positioning of Caviar d’Aquitaine in the market, which is largely dominated by imports from China.”
The producers aim to set themselves apart by combining traditional French methods with modern sustainability practices.
“There is no other caviar in France positioned this way,” said Alvaro, emphasizing the importance of sustainability as a differentiator in the premium food market.
Broader applications
BioMar hopes the success of Blue Impact feed with Caviar d’Aquitaine will inspire similar initiatives in other aquaculture sectors.
The feed has already been incorporated into salmon production in Scotland and New Zealand; BioMar sees potential for broader adoption across species and regions.
Loch Duart, the small-scale, low-impact salmon farm based in Northwest Scotland, switched to the Blue Impact diet last year.
According to BioMar, the new diet means Loch Duart can further improve its quality and sustainability through:
- Further carbon footprint reduction: Loch Duart’s carbon footprint from feed production is now below 2.0kg CO2 eq/kg.
- Managing scarce resources: The Blue Impact feed, specially commissioned for Loch Duart, uses a minimum of 75% of marine ingredients from by-products from UK fish processing.
- Fish Forage Dependency Ratio (FFDR) reduction: Loch Duart uses the lowest possible number of wild/foraged fish in its feed. The change in the feed now means that Loch Duart Foraged Fish Dependance Ratio is just 0.7, more than half of the current average levels for standard farmed salmon.
- High omega-3 levels: The feed maintains a high marine content and a careful selection of ingredients guarantees high omega-3 levels for Loch Duart salmon.
