The environmental impact caused by fish farming has become significantly smaller in the last ten years thanks to development of fodder and feeding methods. According to the Finnish Environment Institute, fish farming's share of the phosphorus load in the water system was about 2.1% and nitrogen load about 0.9% in 2005.

The highest environmental loader was agriculture, whose share of the phosphorus load was 63% and of the nitrogen load 53%. Fish farming is an efficient way to produce food. Compared with meat production, it performs well in terms of life cycle assessment.

A well-considered and sustainable feeding system

The most crucial factor in environmentally friendly fish farming is feeding. In the early 2000s, several Taimen Group plants began feeding once a day, which has significantly reduced the amount of sludge and environmental load. The feeding system is adapted to the prevailing conditions at the different plants and requires strong expertise from the personnel. The amount of food is influenced, e.g., by the water temperature, oxygen content, and mass of the fish pond.

Feeding efficiency is measured by a fodder factor which indicates the amount of fodder that the fish must eat in order to increase weight by 1 kg. According to the Finnish Environment Institute, the average fodder factor is about 1.25. In Taimen Group, the fodder factor is usually lower than this, and a factor lower than 1 is often achieved.

Sustainable development through recycling and innovation

Taimen Group bears its responsibility to promote sustainable development in a number of ways including recycling. Gutting waste is delivered to fur farms for utilisation and as raw material for biodiesel and oil-based paints.

The Group was involved in bringing a brand new environmentally-friendly production technology to Finland: a circulation water technique that circulates pond water to enable close management of breeding conditions and environmental effects. The new technology is used at Taimen Group's fish farms in three locations.

Sources: Website of the Finnish Fish Farmers Association and the Finnish Environment Institute report 'Kirjolohen tuotanto ja ympäristö' from 2001.