The Future of Fish Feed has announced that the Netherlands-based joint venture Veramaris has won the F3 Fish Oil Challenge for selling the most ''fish-free'' oil for use in aquaculture feed.
The US$200,000 challenge is designed to help promote commercial-scale ingredients for aquaculture feed that meet nutritional requirements without using wild-caught fish.
“We are pleased with the efforts made by all of the contestants to innovate and sell fish-oil alternatives for aquafeeds that don’t rely on ocean resources,” said Kevin Fitzsimmons, F3 Challenge chair and professor at the University of Arizona. “I know this is just the beginning for Veramaris and others to address a major bottleneck in supply chain for aquafeeds support healthy farm-raised fish and healthy oceans in the future.”
Veramaris, a joint venture between DSM and Evonik, sold nearly 770,000 kg, roughly 90% of the total contest sales, of its algal oil rich in EPA and DHA omega-3 and arachidonic acid (ARA) produced at its pilot-scale facilities in Slovakia and the United States.
Earlier this year Norway-based Mowi committed to test the winning formula from the F3 Fish Oil Challenge, along with China-based Yuehai Feed Group and AlphaFeed. The companies will provide the results of their trials through the F3 Feed Innovation Network.
The Future of Fish Feed has also announced its third contest. The F3 Challenge - Carnivore Edition is now open to companies or teams that produce and sell 'fish-free' feed for farm-raised carnivorous species. Registration is open until 30 April 2020.
