Salmon farmer replaces dietary fish oil with marine algae

Norwegian salmon farmer begins commercial production of salmon fed on omega-3 marine algal oil.

The Norwegian salmon producer Lingalaks is replacing fish oil in its feeds with a natural marine algal oil that contains omega-3 eicosapentaenoic (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic (DHA) fatty acids for increased sustainability and product differentiation, according to an announcement from Veramaris, which produces the algal oil.

Beginning in October 2018, Lingalaks started feeding 50% of its production salmon a diet produced by Skretting that includes the omega-3 algal oil produced by Veramaris, the announcement said.

“Omega-3 EPA + DHA (fatty acids) from natural marine algae allows us to produce healthier and better salmon. It also gives us the unique opportunity to differentiate our company within a competitive market. ... By being the early adopter of this new technology, we found partners along the seafood value chain who supported us in realizing our vision ... and finding new outlets for it,” Lingalaks owner Erlend Haugarvoll said.

Veramaris, a Dutch joint venture of DSM and Evonik, orchestrated the stakeholder dialogue of players along the value chain over the past few years, from feed producers, farmers and retailers to non-government organizations.

“Our omega-3 algal oil rich in both fatty acids EPA and DHA is a novel ingredient for better and more sustainable salmon farming, but sometimes, it takes a lot of courage and the right mindset to take the first step to adopt a breakthrough innovation. We quickly realized that traditional marketing and sales approaches would likely be to no avail, and we had to bring key stakeholders around one table. Only by collaborating were we able to make this change to current practice,” Veramaris chief executive officer Karim Kurmaly said.

Skretting Norway director of product development Mads Martinsen said, “As an industry leader with the knowledge to produce 100% fish-free feeds on a commercial scale, Skretting is very happy to support Lingalaks in taking this innovative step. It’s not as simple as just substitution, and many years of research have allowed this breakthrough.”

The Veramaris algal oil is currently the only commercial non-fish source of omega-3 fatty acids that is rich in both EPA and DHA. Produced on land by fermentation of natural marine algae, the algal oil is of a high purity, free from seaborne contaminants and stabilized with natural antioxidants, excluding ethoxyquin.

Lingalaks AS is a family-owned Norwegian fish farming company in operation since 1978.

Skretting is a global leader in providing innovative and sustainable nutritional solutions for the aquaculture industry. Skretting has production facilities in 19 countries on five continents and manufactures and delivers feeds for the hatching to harvest stages of more than 60 species.