Four companies are vying for the USD 100,000 (EUR 88,000) prize awarded to the winner of F3 Fish Oil Challenge, awarded to whichever of them sells the most “fish-free” fish oil for use in aquaculture.
The challenge’s goal is an incentive used in the hopes of speeding up the implementation of fish oil for aquaculture feed that meet the needs of farmed fish without the use of wild-caught fish to produce the oil. Every year, around 16 million metric tons of wild-caught fish are used for fish oil and fishmeal for aquaculture. Experts say that the industry is being held back by the availability of fish oil, which provides the omega fatty acids which are important for both fish and human consumption.
“We are excited by the global reach of the contestants in the F3 fish oil race,” said Kevin Fitzsimmons, F3 Challenge judge and professor at the University of Arizona. “These top-notch competitors will help move the industry toward more sustainable ingredients in fish feed.”
The four companies competing for the prize are the United Kingdom-based Aquaculture Innovation/Qualitas Health, the China-based Guangdong Evergreen Feed Industry Co. Ltd., Shen Zhen Alpha Feed Co. Ltd., and the Netherlands-based Veramaris. Currently, Veramaris, which was launched last year and uses marine algae instead of fish to produce the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, is in the lead. In all, 77,535 kilograms of oil were sold during the competition’s first sales period from 1 October to 31 December, 2018. The contest will end at the end of August 2019.
The contest is sponsored by Future of Fish Feed, an effort collaborated on together by NGOs, researchers and private funding to accelerate the use of innovative and alternative aquaculture fish feed ingredients.
The last F3 challenge, which ended in 2017, saw Guangdong Evergreen take home the prize for its tilapia feed.
