The Akaroa team with the FAO's recognition certificate.
Photo: Akaroa King Salmon.
Akaroa King Salmon has received a Global Technical Recognition award from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) for its leadership in sustainable aquatic food systems. Specifically, it has been recognised for pioneering circular and regenerative feed strategies, demonstrating that boutique-scale aquaculture can deliver innovations of global significance.
As reported by WeAreAquaculture, in this edition commemorating its 80th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the 'Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries', FAO recognized a total of 46 organizations worldwide for their role in advancing sustainable aquatic food systems.
Among such well-known names in the seafood industry as MarinTrust, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) and its Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program, or IFFO - The Marine Ingredients Organisation, Akaroa King Salmon became the first farmed salmon producer to receive this recognition from the FAO.
Under the theme 'Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future', each of them was recognised for advancing sustainability and resilience across blue food value chains. Their collective efforts are driving FAO's 'Blue Transformation' to accelerate the shift to more resilient, productive and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
"We have seen how technical excellence paired with commitment can deliver real results. We have seen what is possible when people work together across disciplines and sectors," said FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol during the awards ceremony, recognizing technical excellence, collaboration, and best practices in food processing.
Technical excellence, commitment, and collaboration are three concepts that can also be associated with Akaroa King Salmon's circular and regenerative feed strategies, now recognized by the FAO, which took a major step forward a year ago thanks to its partnership with feed innovator BioMar.
In October 2024, Akaroa became the first King Salmon producer to adopt Blue Impact feed - replacing wild-caught fish oil with fermented algal oil and incorporating New Zealand hoki trimmings that would otherwise have gone to waste, thereby reducing dependence on wild catches, lowering emissions, and improving fish nutrition.
All this in a species, the New Zealand King Salmon, which, as confirmed by a recent life cycle assessment by ThinkStep ANZ, has one of the lowest carbon footprints of any animal protein.
As it recalled in its statement celebrating the FAO award, this December will mark 40 years since Akaroa King Salmon began production with a single cage. The company is a 100% New Zealand-owned partnership that includes Ngāti Porou, Ōnuku Runanga - the mana moana (guardians) of Akaroa Harbour - and the founding Bates Family.
This partnership has a whakawhanaungatanga (relationship) based around intergenerational sustainability, aiming to provide local employment and healthy seafood for today and future generations. However, even as the world's smallest ocean salmon farm, Akaroa shows that size is no barrier to innovation or influence.
The company said that, like the small-scale fisheries that provide around 40% of global seafood, Akaroa demonstrates that smaller operators can contribute solutions with global reach. Its Marketing Manager, Nik Mavromatis, agreed. "This FAO recognition shows that even the smallest farmers can have a global impact," he stated.
"We tuned in online at 4:30am NZ time to watch the ceremony and it was humbling to be recognised alongside much larger organisations like the Marine Stewardship Council," he continued, commenting on the FAO award. "It proves innovation doesn't only come from the biggest players — smaller producers like ourselves, working with partners such as BioMar, can set new benchmarks that move the whole industry forward."
