Feed
Aquafeed alternatives
Feed
BY ROBERT OUTRAM
G
RASS�FED meat may be the gold standard in terrestrial farming, but grass hasn’t been seen as a feed ingredient in aquaculture. That might be an oversight, however. In its search for new fish feed ingredients, Aller Aqua is tes�ng “green protein” from BioRefine, a company based in Janderup, Denmark. The material is an organic protein concentrate made of grass harvested from 3,000 hectares of land in Denmark. Out of this, BioRefine produces 7,000 tonnes of green protein concentrate suitable for animal nutri�on per year. The green and organic protein concentrate has a similar nutrient profile to soybean meal and therefore has the poten�al to play a part in Aller
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Aqua’s fish feed. By way of comparison, Denmark imports around 50,000 tonnes of organic soy annually. BioRefine has been launched by three agricultural companies – DLG, Danish Agro and DLF – with the inten�on to create a climateand environment-efficient alterna�ve protein source for animal feed. The func�onality of BioRefine’s green protein in fish feed will be evaluated in feeding trials conducted at Aller Aqua Research, Aller Aqua’s trial sta�on located in Büsum, Germany. In nutrient diges�bility and growth trials, the green protein will be tested in feed for rainbow trout, the main fish species in Danish aquaculture. Grass protein could be a valuable raw material for reducing the carbon-footprint of fish feed in Denmark. Dr Hanno Slawski, Group Research and Development Director at Aller Aqua, says: “New raw materials are seldom found. And here we have an en�rely new and locally produced raw material. It is a perfect match for us because this is the kind of raw material we are searching
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Here we have an en�rely new and locally produced raw material
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Above: The Skre�ng and eniferBio teams – from le�: Heikki Keskitalo, Ana Ward, Gunvor Baardsen, Me�e Me�e Lütcherath, Joost Ma�hijssen, Erik Tveteraas and Joosu Kuivanen Left: Grass
www.fishfarmermagazine.com
11/01/2022 14:54:53
