Contestants competing in the F3 Challenge – Carnivore Edition have sold a combined total of over 3,141 metric tons (3.14 million kilograms) of fish-free feed at the halfway point in the sales contest, which is designed to spark innovation in the aquafeed industry to find viable, cost-competitive replacements to fishmeal and fish oil in aquaculture feed.
Dainichi Corporation takes the lead in the Other Carnivorous Species Category for its “fish-free” feed for red sea bream. The contestant teams Star Milling Co./The Scoular Company (salmonid category) and Empagran/Veramaris (shrimp category) maintain their leads in their respective categories.
An estimated 84.6 million forage fish have been saved from being fish food since contestants began reporting sales, according to the F3 Feed Innovation Network’s forage fish savings calculator. The goal of the F3 - Future of Fish Feed is to assure greater global food security by reducing the aquaculture industry’s reliance on fishmeal and fish oil derived from small forage fish, such as menhaden and sardines, and future-proof it against shocks to the supply chain.
The award is USD 100,000 in each of three categories—salmonid, shrimp, and other carnivorous species. The F3 Challenge is a sales competition to award prize monies to the contestants that produce and sell the most “fish-free feed” within their designated category.
Eight qualifying F3 feeds were submitted by the six contestants competing toward the $300,000 in prizes. Contestants began recording sales as of October 1, 2020 or after submitting their feed. The qualifying F3 feeds for all prize categories must not contain any ingredients consisting of or derived from marine animals, including but not limited to fish, squid, shrimp, or krill. All sales reported by companies remain unverified. F3 Challenge judges will verify F3 feed sales prior to announcing the winners per the contest rules.
Sponsors of the F3 Challenge include the University of Arizona, The Campbell Foundation, Synbiobeta, The Nature Conservancy, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Anthropocene Institute, Dawson Family Fund, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Tides Foundation, Cuna Del Mar, the National Renderers Association and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
