Salmon farmers adopt ‘trusted’ algae feed

corbion

MORE than 350,000 tonnes of aquafeed containing an algae based protein source have been sold to salmon farmers over the past two years, the North Atlantic Seafood Forum in Bergen was told yesterday.
AlgaPrime DHA, made by Netherlands company Corbion, is being sold to Norwegian salmon farmers in feeds formulated by BioMar.
Developed to reduce dependency on marine fisheries and enhance the nutritional value of seafood, AlgaPrime DHA is a native, whole algae ingredient that contains approximately three times the level of DHA of fish oil, said Corbion.
It enables farmers to reduce fish-in, fish-out ratios while improving omega-3 levels in the feed.
The company acquired the feed’s inventor, TerraVia, in 2017, and last year it bought Bunge’s stake in the joint venture for a reported US $22.5 million (£17 million).
The novel ingredient is produced at industrial scale through fermentation based cultivation with cane sugar as a feedstock and has been used in BioMar aquafeeds for two years.
Corbion\’s algae operations are based in San Francisco, and the company operates research and development and pilot facilities in California as well. Bunge’s factory is in Brazil.
‘Through our partnership with BioMar, we\’ve seen strong adoption of AlgaPrime DHA and have shown our ability to make a significant impact on the aquaculture industry over a short period of time,’ said Marc den Hartog, executive vice president of Innovation Platforms at Corbion.
Salmon brands that include AlgaPrime DHA are now available in US, UK and EU markets, said Corbion.
The product was awarded the 2017 Global Aquaculture Innovation Award by the Global Aquaculture Alliance, which recognises individuals and companies finding new solutions to the key challenges facing the aquaculture industry.
BioMar global sustainability director Vidar Gundersen said: ‘At BioMar, we\’ve seen increased global demand for feed formulated with alternative ingredients, such as AlgaPrime DHA, due to their nutritional performance and sustainability excellence.
‘Our aquaculture feeds with AlgaPrime DHA continue to be adopted and trusted by salmon farmers, as they look to improve the omega-3 content and sustainability profile of their salmon.’
* The North Atlantic Seafood Forum, in Bergen, continues today and tomorrow.
Picture: Corbion

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