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We often see that our customers and partners have the same questions when it comes to krill and our products. This article explains the most common questions our European operations get and the focus is largely on marine fish and how QRILL Aqua can impact their diet. Keep reading to find out how Aker BioMarine answers its most common European inquiries.
1. When should I use QRILL Aqua for marine fish? And what are the main benefits?
Aker BioMarine: Krill meal is combination of essential nutrients. It contains proteins with essentials amino acids, a high amount of phospholipids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as EPA and DHA, sterols (mainly cholesterol) and astaxanthin esters that contribute to the performance, good health and well-being of the fish.
Krill meal is aimed to be used :
• For Broodstock feed, we see that egg composition and spawning quality of marine fish (such as gilthead sea bream) is directly affected by adding PUFAs to the diet.
• For early stages, marine fish are more vulnerable with high mortality issues, which is why they need good quality marine ingredients to increase their survival, robustness, and disease resistance.
• Before and during stress period (ex : transfer, bacterial or environmental challenges) krill meal is shown to help increase the palatability of the feed, leading to greater feed intake and reduced stress.
• For the Finishing diet, the benefits of krill meal can lead to an increased yield, enhancement of the physical properties of the slaughter fish and a better fish/fillet quality.
2. What amount of QRILL Aqua should I incorporate in the marine fish diet?
Aker BioMarine: The answer to this depends on the fish species, life stage, other ingredients in the feed formulation, as well as what’s expected from krill. Typically, we recommend between 1% to 12% QRILL Aqua added to the feed. Here are some general recommendations:
• Early stages 1.5-6%
• Growing diet with 3-6% for marine fish, 67-10% for salmonids
• Functional feed about 6-12% (for 6-10 weeks or finishing diet), including broodstock feed
• Transfer feed 5%-10%
3. Can QRILL Aqua be a good alternative to fish oils?
Aker BioMarine: QRILL Aqua contains in average 26% fats and 57% Protein. It does also contain natural astaxanthin, cholesterol, phosphorus, vitamins, and other nutrients that are important for fish health and performance. It could then be a powerful alternative to fish oil and fish meal.
It’s fats composition in average is :
40% phospholipids (81% phosphatidylcholine)
24 % Omega 3
13% EPA / 7 %DHA
4. Can QRILL Aqua reduce stress for marine fish?
AKBM: There are challenging conditions for marine fish, and trout such as during transfer phase, in addition to the added threat of diseases and environmental challenges (temperature variation, crowding, low oxygen). This results in high levels of stress in the fish. Krill is shown to enhance the robustness and immune health of fish, which enables the animal to better cope stressful conditions.
5. Why is QRILL Aqua sustainable and what is it's Co2 footprint?
Aker BioMarine: Krill is recognized worldwide as the most sustainable fishery. QRILL Aqua has been best scored MSC certified since the last 15 years and it’s the only fishery who obtained score A from sustainable fisheries organism.
Krill is the largest biomass on earth, with a rapid life cycle. There is one unique area in Antarctica where it’s fishery is allowed. The quota is set to 1% in that particular area an eco harvesting system avoid by catch. Only 5 nations are allowed to fish krill and Norway is the leader.
In the last ten years, Aker BioMarine has halved its CO2 emissions per ton of krill produced. The ambition is to cut this in half again within the next 10 years.
Download our whitepaper on seabass to learn more about a study where Antarctic krill replaced fishmeal in diets for seabass:
