Algal oil producer Veramaris will be able to produce 15 percent of the entire salmon industry's need for marine oils once its third factory is up and running, the company CEO told IntraFish.

Veramaris, a joint venture between DSM and Evonik, currently has two factories, one in the United States and one in Slovakia, with a third plant in the United States under construction. And if demand is there, then further expansion is easy, according to Karim Kurmaly.

The company uses an algal strain of Schizochytrium from the North Pacific, which naturally produces the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA that are key to fish and human health.

"Algae oil products are free from foreign matter, and it is far more concentrated than oil from wild fish," said Kurmaly. "This allows salmon production to become more sustainable."

First fish comes to market

Lingalaks in Hardanger, Norway, is one of the first companies to use feed produced with the new algae oil, and the first generation of fish -- around 5,000-6,000 metric tons -- will soon be harvested and sold.

The use of the algae oil has also brought Lingalaks fish-in-fish out ratio below 1:1.

"Although I have not used the feed all the time the fish has been in the sea, I have become a net producer of fish," said Lingalaks' Erlend Haugarvoll. "This is an advantage. We have always used a feed with some extra marine ingredients, but now we usually use less kilos of fish in the feed than the kilos of fish we produce."

Getting that price premium

The downside to the oil is that it is more expensive than conventional products, and Lingalaks is working to get a higher price for the salmon it has fed with it.

"It costs approximately NOK 0.50 [€0.05/$0.06] more per kilo of fish, but I expect that it will be lower when the production of algae oil increases," said Haugarvoll.

A price drop, however, is not in Kurmaly's vision. He says the algal oil is a superior product that creates a superior fish.

"Consumers will understand that this is premium," he tells IntraFish, saying the key for fish farmers is getting a better price from the buyers.

"Our surveys show that it is possible. I have talked to many retail chains, especially in Germany, France and the UK, and they see that consumers are changing. Sustainability is something they are very concerned with, and our solution is a positive story for the salmon. "The question is whether one can deliver enough salmon throughout the year produced with this algae oil," he said.

Time to go fishmeal, oil free?

Skretting is currently the one feed company producing salmon feed with algal oil from Veramaris and the company has already produced salmon fed with no fish oil at all on a trial basis. This salmon was served during August's Aqua-Nor conference and tradeshow in Trondheim. But, as yet, no fish-oil-free feed is available for commercial production.

"We have produced salmon without the use of fish oil right up to harvest," Skretting's Director of Product Development Mads Martinsen tells IntraFish.

"It grows perfectly well, and the taste is the same.

"We could today go to zero use of fish oil if we wanted to, but it is not something that is yet in demand in the market."

Lingalaks' Erlend Haugarvoll agrees that feeding the fish algal oil does not make any noticeable differences to health and biology.

"We have taken blood samples and fillet tests along the way in the production that show that the level of omega-3 is at the same levels as if we use other marine ingredients."

One bonus is that this is a product entirely without environmental toxins, said Haugervoll, adding that he has not made a decision yet on whether he will switch to producing salmon on algal oil alone.