Fish-Free Fish Oil Contest Competitors Announced

10 global companies registered for F3 Fish Oil Challenge, partnerships opportunities still available

 

May 31, 2018—Ten global companies have officially entered the race to replace the “fish” in fish oil. Using novel ingredients from algae paste to mixed nuts, the contestants will compete in a 16-month sales contest for a $100,000 prize, while at the same time working toward solving a major bottleneck to growth in the multi-billion-dollar aquaculture industry.

The F3 Fish Oil Challenge will award the prize to the company or team that makes and sells the most marine-animal free oil to aquaculture operations or feed manufacturers. The contest is aimed at accelerating commercial-scale products for farmed fish feed that produce the same nutritional requirements needed to raise healthy farmed seafood without utilizing wild-caught fish.

Aquaculture, or fish farming, supplies one of the world’s most efficient sources of animal protein. However, the industry is being held back by the availability of one key ingredient: fish oil, which provides important omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids necessary for animal and human nutrition.

Each year, an estimated 16 million metric tons of wild fish are caught exclusively for use in fish oil and fishmeal. Wild-caught fish are currently the major source of these essential fats needed to grow healthy farmed-raised fish. Without alternative oil sources, the world’s oceans will not be able to keep up with the demands from the growing world population, which could result in major supply chain disruptions in the aquaculture industry.

“These innovative companies are disrupting the industry to ensure consumers get the same positive health benefits from fish in the future without further depleting our oceans,” said Kevin Fitzsimmons, a F3 Challenge judge and professor at the University of Arizona.

Interested companies may still enter the contest by partnering with an existing contestant. Those interested should contact the contestant directly. The deadline to register additional partners is Nov. 30, 2018.

The University of Arizona, University of Massachusetts Boston, Synbiobeta, Anthropocene Institute and The World Bank are sponsors of the crowdfunded prize.

Team Profiles

Aquaculture Innovation
UK-based Aquaculture Innovation has a history of bringing innovation to the aquaculture market, with a track record of successfully commercializing novel feed control systems and biotechnology. The company has now turned its interest to new fish feed ingredients that will facilitate sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector. Aquaculture Innovation has a material that provides a high level of digestible protein as well as omega-3, with the ratio between the two being controllable, and the production technology being highly scalable. The company is looking for partners. For more information, visit: http://aquainnovation.com/

Evolutionary Mfg., Ltd.
Evolutionary Mfg., Ltd. is a development platform for value-added protein-rich nutrient supplements. The company is creating protein meals with custom nutrient enabling vegetarian clean-labeling for a wide variety of species. Its goal is to make food cheaper, healthier and more ecologically friendly through increased yields, better animal welfare, reducing food miles and eliminating the use of ocean by-catch. Evolutionary Mfg., Ltd. is based in the United States. For more information, visit: http://disruptsoybeans.com/

Global Algae Innovations
California-based Global Algae Innovations is a leader in low-cost algae production. The company has designed and implemented radical advances throughout the entire process resulting in industry breakthroughs for large-scale algae cultivation and harvesting. These advances have been demonstrated in one of the world’s largest open raceway facilities utilizing power plant flue gas as the carbon dioxide source. A high return is now projected for algal commodities utilizing Global Algae Innovations’ technology, positioning the company to play an important role in solving international concerns on climate change and protein shortages. The company is strategically partnering to deploy this technology for commercial protein and oil production. The San Diego-based company is seeking contest partners. For more information, visit: www.globalgae.com

Guangdong Evergreen Feed Industry Co., Ltd.
China-based Guangdong Evergreen Feed Industry established in 1995, is a corporate enterprise integrated in seedling breeding, feed production and marketing, micro ecological preparation and health products, import and export trade. There are 32 subsidiaries belong to Evergreen, which are located in many different provinces, such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Jilin and even some Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam. The domestic sales of Evergreen’s special aquatic feed have been the top sales for many years. For more information, visit: http://www.evergreenfeedindustry.com/en/

Merchant’s Garden AgroTech Inc.
U.S.-based Merchant’s Garden is a commercial aquaponics farm that grows leafy greens to serve Southern Arizona. The company is working with insect farm Hexafeast to grow insects to offset the feed cost for our aquaculture. They utilize a non-retail leafy greens to feed the insects. The Arizona-based company is seeking contest partners. For more information, visit: www.merchantsgarden.com

Shen Zhen Alpha Feed Co. Ltd.
China-based Alpha Feed established in 1998 is an international high-tech company specializing in high-end feed research and development, production and sales. At the same time, the services Alpha Feed provides include integrated solutions for animal nutrition, breeding environment purification and breeding mode consultation. The company is seeking contest partners. For more
information, visit: www.alphafeed.com

Two By Sea
Two By Sea (or TwoXSea) is a sustainable seafood wholesaler located on Pier 45 of historic Fishermen’s Wharf in San Francisco. Since 2009, the company have been sourcing 100% traceable seafood harvested and grown by small-scale fishermen from the U.S. West Coast. Known for its commitment to quality, TwoXSea sells to many of the top Bay Area and Portland, Oregon restaurants, markets, and fish mongers. With the help of fish nutrition scientists, TwoXSea developed the world’s first and only plant-based fish feed that is void of fishmeal and fish oil. Consisting of many regionally sourced ingredients, such as nut meal and nut oil, and super nutritious algae, TwoXSea have developed a product for the F3 Challenge that uniquely eliminates the need for wild fish in the diet of farmed fish without sacrificing an ounce of nutrition for fish. The end-product is a vibrantly colored fish that is higher in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids than fish raised on conventional feed. For more information, visit: www.twoxsea.com

Veramaris
Veramaris is a 50:50 joint venture of DSM and Evonik to produce the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA from natural marine algae. Located in Delft, the Netherlands, Veramaris was launched in 2018, because its parent companies shared a vision: to conserve marine life by using a resource the ocean provides – natural marine microalgae. Producing an algal oil rich in the two essential omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA through large-scale fermentation at its facility in Blair, Nebraska, USA, Veramaris enables partners along the value chain to become independent from wild-caught fish and meet the growing demand for animal protein responsibly. Veramaris’ omega-3 from microalgae is a high-quality alternative to fish-based ingredients for sustainable animal nutrition. Feeding Veramaris omega-3 oil directly to animals helps protect marine habitats and conserve the biodiversity of our oceans. For more information, visit: www.veramaris.com

Wintershine
Singapore-based Wintershine produces an algae extract including omega-3 fatty acids, proteins and carbohydrate, encapsulated in an FDA-approved and patented carrier for better bioavailability and ease of compounding, possibly combined with soldier fly protein and fillers. For more information, visit: www.wintershine.net

ZeaChem
Since its formation in 2002, U.S.-based ZeaChem has continued to progress its biorefining technology advancing from lab-based R&D through research center-based pilot and on to demonstration-based operations building out a portfolio of biorefining IP, physical assets, and commercial opportunities., demonstration plant in Boardman, Oregon. ZeaChem is actively engineering its first commercial project, which will be located adjacent to the demonstration plant. Each component of ZeaChem – Technologist, Technology Institute, Project Developer – compliments and drives the growth of the other. ZeaChem built the plant in Oregon to demonstrate its core technology platform at scale. The Oregon-based company is looking for contest partners. For more information, visit: http://www.zeachem.com/

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The goal of the F3 Fish Oil Challenge is to accelerate the availability of cost-competitive, viable alternatives to fish oil that provide the essential nutritional components for fish that at the same time help reduce demand for wild-caught fish feed and enhance food security. The contest is sponsored by Future of Fish Feed (F3), a collaborative effort between NGOs, researchers, and private partnerships to accelerate and support the scaling of innovative, alternative aquaculture feed ingredients. To learn more, visit: f3challenge.org.

F3 Challenge media contact:

Annie Reisewitz
858.230.1419 (office)
858.228.0526 (cell)
annie@healthyocean.com