# Stretching out supplies of fish food to aquaculture species

> A University of Washington study finds that aquaculture's growing reliance on wild-caught forage fish could exhaust supply without changes. It lists options including shifting to soy-based diets, raising forage fish catches by 30% over 2012 levels, and improving farmed fish efficiency, with the work published in Nature Sustainability.

- Date: 2018-06-20 · published 2018-06-20T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region Global · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/64610-stretching-out-supplies-of-fish-food-to-aquaculture-species
- Commodities: [Fishmeal](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FISHMEAL.md), [Soybean Meal](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SBM.md)

## Why it matters

The study suggests a structural shift toward soy and crop-based feeds, which supports soybean meal demand and keeps pressure on fishmeal supply. Its effect on near-term prices is minimal since it is a research paper.

## Read by commodity

- SBM: bullish ▲
- FISHMEAL: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SBM | 2022-02-04 | [Rabobank sees strong outlook for aquaculture amid Covid recovery - Responsible Seafood Advocate](https://feedsoft.ai/events/42777-rabobank-sees-strong-outlook-for-aquaculture-amid-covid-recovery-responsible.md) | +3.9% | +5.4% |
| SBM | 2025-09-24 | [Fishmeal shortages are expected to begin in 2028, a new report suggests - WeAreAquaculture](https://feedsoft.ai/events/22940-fishmeal-shortages-are-expected-to-begin-in-2028-a-new-report-suggests.md) | -3.1% | +3.9% |
| SBM | 2018-02-12 | [Aquaculture: A Growing Opportunity for U.S. Soy - U.S. Soybean Export Council](https://feedsoft.ai/events/66575-aquaculture-a-growing-opportunity-for-u-s-soy-u-s-soybean-export-council.md) | +8.6% | +7.6% |
| SBM | 2016-05-11 | [Soy edges toward 21-month high as supplies tighten - Agweek \| #1 source for agriculture news, farming, markets](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6521-soy-edges-toward-21-month-high-as-supplies-tighten-agweek-1-source-for.md) | +2.4% | +15.7% |
| SBM | 2023-04-02 | [Futures File: Cattle bolt on low supplies - CNHI](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8668-futures-file-cattle-bolt-on-low-supplies-cnhi.md) | -2.6% | -5.8% |

## Sources

- fish.uw.edu: https://fish.uw.edu/2018/06/stretching-out-supplies-of-fish-food-to-aquaculture-species/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.