Dear Friends,

We hope you, your families and teams are staying safe during this difficult time. It is inspiring to see that in spite of the difficulty, many of you have been able to continue to innovate and develop incredible new technologies to lessen aquaculture's demand for fishmeal and fish oil.

Realizing that the need for more sustainable protein still exists despite other pressing global matters, we have decided to update our sales reporting guidelines for the current F3 Challenge. Effective October 1, 2020, participants in the F3 Challenge - Carnivore Edition may begin recording sales towards their Sales Totals for the competition as long as they have submitted a qualifying feed sample prior to recording sales.

As a reminder, registration for the F3 Challenge - Carnivore Edition is open now and will remain open until a new deadline and timeline for the competition are announced. Six companies have now registered for the contest, and several are seeking product development or sales partners. For a list of current participants, including contact information, visit https://f3challenge.org/participants.

Please feel free to reach out to the F3 Team with any questions at [email protected].
Recent News
  • After nearly 2 decades, a feed that contains no marine animal ingredients and is nutritionally balanced and commercially viable has been achieved for Kampachi Yellowtail. Informal blind taste tests showed 62% of tasters preferred the Kampachi fed the fish-free formulation. Check out the article here and video below.
  • AquaChile, the largest salmon producer in Chile, just announced its Verlasso salmon, produced with Veramaris algal oil, is partnering with What Chefs Want to supply consumers with affordable, sustainable salmon. 
F3 Research Continues
The F3 Team is making progress on fish-free feeds with research on fishmeal and fish oil alternatives. See below for notes on our latest feed trials.

Whiteleg Shrimp, Penaeus vannamei
  • Shrimp fed feeds containing zero fishmeal performed as well as shrimp fed fishmeal-based feeds in a growth study and EMS/AHPND and WSSV challenge. Results and publication may be found here. 
  • Shrimp fed a feed with no fishmeal or fish oil showed enhanced survival in a challenge with EMS/AHPND as compared to shrimp fed fishmeal-based feeds. Check out the writeup in GAA’s Advocate.

Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides
  • Production of this species is growing dramatically worldwide but primarily in Asia where high levels of fishmeal have been fed. Two studies were recently conducted confirming that largemouth bass fed feeds without fishmeal or fish oil can grow and survive as well as fish fed fishmeal-based feeds. Publication of results is pending.

California Yellowtail, Seriola dorsalis
  • California Yellowtail were fed a fishmeal and fish oil free feed for 9 weeks and grew to over 600% of their initial weight, equivalent to Yellowtail fed the fishmeal-free diet. Publication of results is pending.
  • Algal oil was shown to effectively replace fish oil in this trial.

Florida Pompano, Trachinotus carolinus
  • In a 12-week study, pompano fed diets without fishmeal and fish oil grew as quickly as the pompano fed the fishmeal/fish oil control feed. This confirmed results seen with yellowtail that algal oil is as effective as fish oil as a source of essential fatty acids. Publication of results is pending.

We appreciate your support and look forward to learning more about your innovations in fish-free feeds. Your progress will keep more fish in the environment, enabling aquaculture to continue to grow more reliably, offering greater food security for future generations. In the meantime, hoping you take care and stay safe!

Regards,

The F3 Team
F3 Future of Fish Feed | [email protected] | f3challenge.org | f3fin.org