Multiple international companies have announced commitments to testing and potentially using the winning products of the F3 Krill Replacement Challenge in their operations.
F3, or Future of Fish Feed, has run different challenges since 2015, with a goal of pushing companies to innovate fish-free aquaculture feed for the aquaculture industry. Past winners of its challenges include Veramaris, Star Milling Co., Empagran, and more.
The organization launched the krill-replacement challenge in June 2023, concentrating on finding solutions to removing krill from aquaculture feed. The competition attracted 40 initial applicants, which were eventually narrowed down to 10 finalists in November 2023. Now, those finalists are undergoing comparative feed trials that have each company’s replacement ingredients incorporated into the same F3-designed, plant-based feed for Atlantic salmon.
F3 said five companies have agreed to test the winning products within commercial operations, which the organization called a “significant milestone for the future of fish feed.”
"We commend these companies for recognizing the importance of finding alternatives to krill to ensure global food security and protect ocean health,” F3 Chair Kevin Fitzsimmons said.
The five companies include Denmark-headquartered BioMar Group, which reported strong financial results in 2023 and recently posted its highest-ever Q1 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). The company has already placed a focus on minimizing the use of marine ingredients with its “Blue Impact” feed product, which was adopted by Scottish salmon company Loch Duart to better-than-expected results.
Denmark-based Aller Aqua – a fish feed producer that produces fish feed for more than 30 species of freshwater and saltwater fish – is another of the five companies. The company has pledged to reduce its CO2-equivalent emissions and, in 2021, pledged to eliminate its use of soy from South America, citing sustainability concerns.
Grouper farmer Aqquua, based in Thailand, has also pledged to use the F3 Krill Replacement Challenge feed for its products. The company is the only Aquaculture Stewardship Council-certified producer of farmed grouper in the world.
Dainichi Corporation, another of the companies making the pledge, is based in Japan and trades over 50 species of fish, specializing in the manufacture, import, and sale of aquaculture feeds.
The final company, China-based Yuehai Feed Group, is a pilot enterprise “that encompasses large-scale collectivization and management for high-quality aquatic feeds,” F3 said.
The winners of the F3 Krill Replacement Challenge will be announced in early 2025, the organizer said.
