The contest is intended to help catalyze the development and sale of viable cost-competitive aquafeeds free of fishmeal and fish oils. Contestants from Thailand, Indonesia, China, South Africa, Australia, Pakistan, Myanmar (Burma), the Netherlands and the U.S. are advancing to the second sales reporting stage of the multi-stage contest to develop fish-free feed for the aquaculture industry. The next sales submission deadline is April 15, 2017.
The F3 Fish-Free Feed Challenge launched in Nov. 2015 on the HeroX crowdfunding site to encourage innovation of alternative ingredients for aquaculture fishfeeds that are as nutritious and healthy to fish and consumers as conventional fish-based feeds. The F3 Fish-free feed prize of $200,000 USD will be awarded to the first team to produce and sell 100,000 metric tons (MT) of aquafeeds that do not contain marine animal meal or oil by Sept. 15, 2017. This prize is intended to spark innovation in the aquafeed industry to find sustainable alternative protein sources that reduce pressure on ocean ecosystems to supply aquaculture fishfeed components and help meet global food security needs in the future.