No abstract

Soy protein concentrate (SPC) is a key ingredient in fish feed and most of it originates from Brazil. However, the Brazilian soy industry has reportedly resulted in significant environmental problems including deforestation. Consequently, new sources for protein are investigated and protein extracted from farmed seaweed is considered an alternative. Therefore, we investigate how seaweed protein product (SPP) can compete against SPC as a protein ingredient for fish feed. The study uses the positioning matrix, cost analyses involving the power law, and uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo simulations, and key research challenges are identified. The initial finding is that, with the emerging seaweed industry, the cost of producing SPP is too high to be competitive for fish feed applications. To overcome this challenge, two solutions are investigated. First, substantial investments in cultivation and processing infrastructure are needed to accomplish scale, and a break-even scale of 65,000 tonnes is suggested. The second but more promising avenue, preferably in combination with the former, is the extraction of seaweed protein and high-value seaweed components. With mannitol and laminaran as co-products to the SPP, there is a 25-30% probability of a positive bottom line. Researches on extraction processes are therefore a necessity to maximize the extraction of value-added ingredients. Over time, it is expected that the competitive position of SPP will improve due to the upscaling of the volume of production as well as better biorefinery processes.

No abstract

The continuous increase in global population and living standards, is leading to an increase in demand for food and feed resources. The world's oceans have the largest unlocked potential for meeting such demands. Norway already has an extensive aquaculture industry, but still has great ambitions and possibilities to develop and expand this industry. One of the important topics for improving the value chain of Norwegian aquaculture is to secure the access to feed resources and to improve the environmental impacts. Today, most of the feed-protein sources used in aquaculture are imported in the form of soy protein. The research project Energy efficient PROcessing of MACroalgae in blue-green value chains (PROMAC) aimed, among other research questions, to investigate cultivated seaweeds as a potential raw material for fish feed. This paper assesses Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)-perspectives of scenarios for future seaweed production of feed-protein for fish and compares this with today's situation of imported soy protein for fish feed. The insights from the LCA are very important for the configuration of the entire production value chain, to ensure that the environmental aspects are taken into account in a holistic fashion.