Bespoke diet reduces Salmon Group’s dependency on marine ingredients

IN another innovative development in alternative feed, BioMar has teamed up with algae ingredients pioneer Corbion to supply the Norwegian based Salmon Group with AlgaPrime DHA.

Salmon Group represents 44 Norwegian fish farmers and 12 per cent of all fish feed sold to salmon and trout farms in Norway.

As the largest network of local, family owned aquaculture companies, Salmon Group has a goal of reducing the overall environmental footprint of feed while maintaining feed quality, feed performance and fish welfare.

BioMar responded by creating a bespoke feed that maintains high omega-3 levels (EPA and DHA) in the feed, reduces the carbon footprint, and significantly reduces the fish-in, fish-out ratio and contamination of pollutants.

The Danish company achieved this by formulating with a variety of alternative ingredients, including AlgaPrime DHA.

The first farmed salmon fed on the new recipe are expected to reach the market by the end of 2019.

Anne-Kristine Øen, CEO of Salmon Group, said: ‘Salmon Group has been working systematically for several years to ensure more sustainable farming practices, and feed is a key element here.

‘Through BioMar’s innovation efforts, they have identified and sourced alternative ingredients, like AlgaPrime DHA, that help put our sustainability goals into practice, and meet retail and consumer demand for more responsibly raised seafood.’

Marc den Hartog, executive vice president of Innovation Platforms at Corbion, said: ‘The leadership shown by Salmon Group is impressive and we are thrilled to play a part in improving sustainable aquaculture across the globe.

‘AlgaPrime DHA continues to be adopted and trusted by salmon farmers, as they look to improve the omega-3 content and sustainability profile of their salmon.’

BioMar said it had sold at least 500,000 tonnes of feed containing AlgaPrime DHA over the past three years.

‘As demand for sustainable food options is hitting a critical mass, key industry players in food service and retail are increasingly relying on their supply chains to improve their environmental impact,’ said Vidar Gunderson, global sustainability director at BioMar.

‘The use of alternative feed ingredients, such as algae based omega-3s, is an important part of the effort to address sustainability issues within the salmon industry and beyond.’

Since 2016, Corbion has been producing AlgaPrime DHA at large industrial scale relevant to the needs of the aquaculture industry. Developed to reduce dependency on marine fisheries and provide a new source of long-chain omega-3s for the aquaculture industry, AlgaPrime is a native, whole algae ingredient that contains approximately three times the level of DHA of fish oil.

It is sustainably produced through fermentation with non-GM cane sugar as a feedstock and a production system powered by renewable energy.