Five prominent international companies have committed to testing the winning products of the F3 Krill Replacement Challenge within their commercial operations, signaling a significant milestone for the future of fish feed.

The companies, that made the commitment during the F3 - Future of Fish Feed Meeting this week in San Francisco, include:

• BioMar Group, a leading supplier of high-performance feed to the aquaculture industry, including feed for salmon and trout in Norway, the United Kingdom, and Chile, feed for trout, eel, sturgeon, seabass, and seabream in Continental Europe and for tilapia and shrimp in Central America;
• Aller Aqua, a family-owned company that produces over 250,000 tons of feed annually fish feed for over 30 species of freshwater and saltwater fish;
• Aqquua, a technologically advanced aquaculture seafood company with operations in Thailand and distribution in the USA specializing in growing marine fish, including their signature product Aqquua Grouper, along with developing innovative technologies for the aquaculture space;
• Japan-based Dainichi Corporation, which specializes in the manufacture, import, and sales of aquaculture feeds; the sale of aquaculture mendicants and aquaculture equipment, and the manufacture and sale of fish and processed marine products;
• China-based Yuehai Feed Group, a certified national innovative and high-tech pilot enterprise that encompasses large-scale collectivization and management for high-quality aquatic feeds.

"We commend these companies for recognizing the importance of finding alternatives to krill to ensure global food security and protect ocean health,” said F3 Chair Kevin Fitzsimmons, a professor at the University of Arizona. “Their pledges underscore the dedication to innovation and collaboration that was nurtured at our meeting in San Francisco this week, aimed at promoting sustainable ingredients that enhance global food security and safeguard ocean and planetary health.”

The F3 Krill Replacement Challenge finalists and their products are:

• U.S.-based APC LLC (spray-dried plasma)
• Brazil-based BRF Ingredients (chicken hydrolysate)
• China-based Calysseo (single-cell protein)
• Finland-based eniferBio (fungus)
• Singapore-based Entobel (black soldier fly)
• Netherlands-based Orffa Additives (amino-acid extract)
• France-based Phileo by Lesaffre (yeast extract)
• Netherlands-based Protix (black soldier fly)
• India-based Shaivaa Algaetech (algae)
• Germany-based Symrise (protein hydrolysate)

Currently in progress is the contest’s comparative feed trial in which each competitor’s feed additive was incorporated into an F3-designed, plant-based feed for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

The F3 Initiative was founded on the premise that there are not enough fish in the ocean to feed our growing world population and that new aquaculture feed ingredients are necessary to ensure a food-secure future and healthy ocean. The first three contests focused on eliminating wild-caught fish in feed.

The krill replacement products have the potential to benefit many other farmed seafood producers seeking to enhance the performance of “fish-free” feeds since krill is not only used to enhance nutrition, but also for its attributes as an attractant and palatant.

The F3 Krill Replacement Challenge was motivated by feed companies, particularly from China, who suggested finding alternative attractants and palatants would greatly assist in the transition to “fish-free” feed.

The winners of the F3 Krill Replacement Challenge will be announced in early 2025.