AlgaPrime DHA wins Global Aquaculture Innovation Award

AlgaPrime DHA wins Global Aquaculture Innovation Award

The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) has announced that the fifth annual Global Aquaculture Innovation Award will be presented to TerraVia and Bunge Oils for their AlgaPrime™ DHA aquaculture feed ingredient. The AlgaPrime™ DHA aquaculture feed ingredient has been manufactured at a facility in Brazil since 2014, running off the steam generated by a sugarcane mill, as part of a joint venture with Bunge Oils. "The Global Aquaculture Innovation Award represents the future of aquaculture, and we believe that AlgaPrime DHA is a key feed ingredient for the industry’s continued growth."

September 13, 2017

Walt Rakitsky, Ph.D., senior VP of emerging business at TerraVia, will accept the award and give a presentation at GAA’s GOAL 2017 conference at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, on Oct. 5. AlgaPrime™ DHA is rich in the long-chain omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

The AlgaPrime™ DHA aquaculture feed ingredient has been manufactured at a facility in Brazil since 2014, running off the steam generated by a sugarcane mill, as part of a joint venture with Bunge Oils (operating as SB Oils). The microalgae is fermented, converting sugars into oils and other ingredients.

TerraVia was founded as Solazyme in 2003, producing microalgae for use in fuels and chemicals before refocusing on human and animal nutrition and personal care products. The company is based in South San Francisco, California.

“We are extremely honored to receive this award," stated Rakitsky. "The Global Aquaculture Innovation Award represents the future of aquaculture, and we believe that AlgaPrime DHA is a key feed ingredient for the industry’s continued growth. A new sustainable and transparent source of long-chain omega-3 DHA, AlgaPrime DHA can cost effectively enhance the nutritional value of seafood, delivering an important win-win for both people and planet."

A total of 18 applications were submitted for consideration for the 2017 Global Aquaculture Innovation Award, representing 12 countries — Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, France, Germany, Isreal, Italy, Poland, Portugal, South Africa and the United States. Many of the innovations, including AlgaPrime™ DHA, originated from the aquafeed ingredient sector.

The competition was coordinated by GAA Standards Coordinator Dan Lee. The judges included Lee, GAA President George Chamberlain, and GAA Standards Oversight Committee members Alejandro Buschmann of i-mar Research and Development Center of Coastal Resources and Environments, Dawn Purchase of the Marine Conservation Society and Michael Tlusty of the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Preferred Freezer Services has sponsored the award. GAA established the award in 2012 to recognize individuals and companies finding new solutions to the key challenges facing aquaculture.