Regal Springs tilapia fish farm on Lake Toba, Indonesia.
Photo by: Regal Springs.
Global tilapia farming giant Regal Springs has launched "Natural Additions", a business unit devoted to fish by-products and committed to utilizing 100% of the fish the company produces.
“For the last 35 years we have held strong on the policy of leaving no waste matter behind and to optimising use of our resources and now we look to up our game and extend further opportunity in the fish here," said Regal Springs CEO Alois Hofbauer in a press release.
"We think beyond the simple utilisation of fish waste for fishmeal and are pursuing a wide range of high-quality products for multiple applications. Indeed, we want to utilise 100 percent of our tilapia by 2030," he said.
"Fish fillets themselves make up around 30-35 percent of the fish and up to 65 percent of the fish is considered as by-product: namely heads, collar bones, bellies, bones, trimming meat, eyes, scales and skin," Hofbauer explained.
It's this 65% that Regal Springs now hopes to make better use of, under its separate business segment, "Natural Additions", supplying high-quality ingredients for use in cosmetics, nutrition, pet food, pharmaceuticals, fashion, and other sectors.
Highlighting that the company views byproducts as "not merely waste to be avoided but rather a valuable resource," Regal Springs says its strength lies in the "high level of segmentation of all the individual components of the fish carcass, which enables us to provide raw materials for highly specialized applications."
For example, the company notes that its fish scales are used in the production of collagen for cosmetic, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products - and have also even been used in furniture manufacturing.
The launch was supported by independent seafood industry advisor Melanie Siggs together with Thor Sigfusson, founder of the "100percentfish" movement and the Iceland Ocean Cluster.
"Regal Springs are the first global aquaculture company to make the #100percentfish commitment - every industry needs bold first leaders but in time all will come to realise this is good for people, planet and business," Siggs wrote in a LinkedIn post welcoming the Regal Springs initiative.
