Commercial production of algal-oil-fed salmon begins

Norwegian salmon farmer Lingalaks says it is the first company to feed its Atlantic salmon with this feed. The algal oil replaces fish oil, making it more sustainable, and allows the company to differentiate itself and its products from the rest, it said.

“Omega-3 EPA + DHA 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. Our courage to pioneer a new and more sustainable production method using algal oil resonated well with our philosophy,” says Lingalaks owner Erlend Haugarvoll.

He added: “By being the early adopter of this new technology, we found partners along the seafood value chain who supported us in realizing our vision of superior, sustainable salmon quality and finding new outlets for it.”

Those “partners” are Skretting, which produced the feed; Veramaris, which produced the omega-3 EPA + DHA algal oil from natural marine algae; and German retailer Kaufland, which will retail the salmon locally this year.