FROM SEA TO FORK
Aquaculture disruptors offer unexpected ways to safeguard our planet.
BY 2050, THE PLANET’S POPULATION IS
expected to balloon to 10 billion, according to the UN. With more people to feed than ever before, finding sustainable food solutions amid a growing climate crisis is a top concern for the food industry. Some market disruptors are tapping into what could be an overlooked approach to our future food problem: aquaculture.
Aquaculture includes farming and harvesting in the water, such as growing certain aquatic plants and fish farming. While the practice is not new, aquaculture remains a largely untapped method of food sourcing. Only a fraction of our global food supply production comes from aquatic farming—about 2% to be exact—despite our oceans making up more than 70% of earth’s surface, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Our oceans have long been an important food source. They have tons of natural potential to feed us and future generations through sustainable seafood farming,” said Catarina Martins, chief sustainability officer at Mowi, an industry leader in sustainable fish farming and the world’s largest producer of farmraised Atlantic salmon. “Feeding our growing population with healthy, accessible seafood while lessening our carbon footprint is Mowi’s priority.”
The Bergen, Norway–based company’s multifaceted sustainability initiative, Leading the Blue Revolution, is designed to produce food in a way that respects the ocean’s assimilative capacity, allows local communities to flourish, and offers consumers tasty, highquality products. Mowi delivers on this mission by maintaining full internal control of its value chain. From the early phases of the salmon’s breeding to the final stages of product processing and logistics, the company ensures traceability of its raw materials and cuts waste across the production chain where possible.
“We, at Mowi, believe that producing more food from the ocean is an integral part of dealing with the major issues humanity is facing, including food security and climate change,” says Martins. “We have the opportunity to position the aquaculture industry as a solution to tackling these global challenges.”
There’s also the health bonus: Salmon is known as a superfood because it’s chock full of important nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, protein, selenium, and vitamins A, B12, and D. And the general public is becoming more aware of these benefits. Consumption trends show that people are now eating more fish and other seafoods, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, making fish farming the next future-forward food source.
“Mowi is dedicated to ‘sea to fork’ production, which puts sustainably sourced, healthy salmon on the plates of consumers worldwide,” says Mowi chief operating officer Ola Brattvoll. “Balancing the benefits for both customers and the environment is extremely important.” ■