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Salmon have the most efficient feed conversion ratio (FCR) of all farmed livestock.
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Fact Information
Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) is the amount of body weight gained for every kilogram of feed consumed. Using current feeding practices, and depending on what ingredients are available, it takes between 1.1 and 1.2 kilograms of feed to grow one kilogram of farmed Atlantic salmon. Feed companies are always working to improve this ratio and have nearly reached a one-to-one ratio.
When it comes to converting feed into protein for human consumption, salmon are the most efficient out of all farmed animals:
| Salmon | 1.2 meaning it takes 120g of feed to produce 100g of salmon |
| Beef | 8.7 meaning it takes 870g of feed to produce 100g of beef |
| Pork | 5.9 meaning it takes 590g of feed to produce 100g of pork |
| Chicken | 1.9 meaning it takes 190g of feed to produce 100g of chicken |
Efficient use of wild resources
Salmon feed only uses 1.265 kilograms of small wild fish to grow one kilogram of salmon.
Salmon feed contains fishmeal and fish oil, which comes from small wild fish caught in one of the world's most sustainable fisheries, as well as ingredients from plant-based sources.
Our feed is approximately 16 % fishmeal and 13 % fish oil.
Fishmeal and fish oil is made from processing small wild fish. Wild fish yields about 22.5 % fishmeal and about 5% oil, and both fishmeal and oil are produced from the same fish.
The percentage of fishmeal and oil used in the diet (16% + 13% = 29%), divided by the total yield of fishmeal and oil from wild fish (22.5% + 5% = 27.5%), multiplied by our feed conversion ratio (FCR, 1.2), gives the actual amount of wild fish used to grow one kilogram of salmon, which is 1.265 kilograms.
| (Fishmeal and oil used) (Fishmeal and oil yield) |
x FCR | = 1.265 kg of wild fish to grow one kg of salmon |
Efficient eaters
One of the main reasons why salmon are so efficient is because they are cold-blooded and do not use energy to heat their bodies. As well, they do not have to support their body mass in an aquatic environment, and they have a lighter bone structure requiring less energy than land based animals to maintain. Finally, in a farm setting, they do not have to expend energy hunting for food and avoiding predators, which allows salmon farmers to produce a very efficient source of nutritious protein.
For more detailed information about feed production, download the latest publication from feed manufacturer EWOS.