The next F3 Challenge is now open!
关键问题
Fish farms, or aquaculture, now provide about half of the world’s seafood, and are poised to grow. But aquaculture’s key feed ingredient faces a supply-chain bottleneck. Fishmeal and fish oil supplies fluctuate; they are growing scarce; and their prices are rising. Fish farm owners need new and reliable ingredients to derisk their supply chain, and ensure continued production and growth.
What is more, reliance on small, wild-caught fish threatens commercial fisheries since in the wild, fish for commercial markets such as cod, salmon, tuna, eat these smaller, oily “forage fish” (sardines, anchovies and menhaden). Currently, most of these forage fish are ground up to feed for aquaculture. These small fish also sustain seabirds and marine mammals such as whales, seals and dolphins. If these fish at the center of the ocean food chain disappear, so will the life that depends on it.
The industry has made tremendous strides to vastly increase the productivity of fishmeal and oil, but if it is to expand, most scientists agree that more needs to be done to find substitute ingredients.
Substitute sources of protein exist that can substitute for protein without any impact on fish growth and health. However, there is no substitute for fish oil that is cost-effective and available at scale.
挑战
开发非鱼基 "鱼油" 替代品 Fish oil contains a number of essential fatty acids. One of those, DHA, is available from non-fish sources such as algae. However, DHA is only one of the essential fatty acids necessary for fish nutrition. Innovating a fish oil replacement that contains other essential fatty acids such as EPA and ARA in an optimal ratio to mimic the average fatty acid profile found in forage fish is the 这次挑战的目标. The goal of this challenge is to reduce demand pressures on wild-caught stocks, by accelerating the availability of cost-competitive, viable substitutes for fish oil. To accelerate innovation towards a substitute for fish oil and the widespread adoption of fish-free feeds, the F3 Fish Oil Challenge has compiled the target values from four known fatty acid profiles found in forage fish that the contestants must meet.
Why Participate?
More important than the prize reward, participants gain access to significant public relations and media attention. The previous F3 (Fish-Free Feed) Challenge was mentioned over 100 times in news stories during the past year. The stories often named participants, and are targeted towards the aquafeed industry in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, participants with qualifying F3oils will be invited to an invitation-only meeting focused on substitute ingredients for aquaculture, to be held in San Francisco, California in February 2019. Participants will have the opportunity to present their products to investors, feed companies, and media.
Who Can Participate?
The contest is open to companies that sell or aim to sell a fish-free fish oil (“F3oil”) substitute as described in Product Criteria outlined in the challenge rules. These sales can be directly to end customers in aquaculture or indirectly through distribution channels during the contest period. VIEW CHALLENGE RULES
如何获胜?
The prize will be awarded to the team that has sold the 最多 DHA + EPA + ARA的团队, as calculated from sales of Qualified F3oil(s) by the end of the Challenge. Amount of DHA + EPA + ARA will be calculated using the following formula: (concentration of (DHA浓度 + concentration of EPA浓度 + concentration of ARA浓度)) per unit of a single F3oil Type sold multiplied by ((F3替代油的销售总量)).
F3oil Criteria
For an F3oil to qualify towards the Challenge prize, it must meet the following Product Criteria: The F3oil must:
- be in dry powder or liquid form
- be free of marine animal ingredients
- have a fatty acid profile that meets the criteria in the table below:
Omega 6 20:04 ARA (% of total fat) | Omega 3 20:05 EPA (% of total fat) | Omega 3 22:06 DHA (% of total fat) | n3:n6 Ratio | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum | 0.2 | 8.4 | 4.9 | 12 |
F3oil Sample Submission Requirements.
Sales Criteria: 本次挑战仅限于销售用于水产饲料的F3替代油ࠋ所᭷参赛团队必须严格按照“赛程表”中的约定时间汇报F3替代油的销售㔞,并提供相关客户信息以供裁判团抽查所ࠋ格保密᭷提交的客户信息都将严格保密。
比赛时间
Registration opens on September 4, 2017 and the contest concludes on September 15, 2019. 查看赛程表