F3 launches global competition to accelerate shift to fish-free aquafeeds.
The Future of Fish Feed (F3), a collaborative initiative aimed at reducing aquaculture’s reliance on wild-caught marine ingredients, has launched a new international competition to drive adoption of fish-free diets in carnivorous finfish farming.
The F3 Fish Farm Challenge, announced on 16 September, is open to farms worldwide that produce carnivorous species such as salmon on diets made without fishmeal, fish oil, krill, or other marine inputs. A total of $200,000 in cash prizes will be awarded across two contest tracks.
The first, running for two years, will reward farms already producing and selling fish on marine-animal–free feeds. The second, running for four years, is aimed at farms trialling new feed innovations or raising slower-growing species. Registration opened on 16 September.
Kevin Fitzsimmons, professor at the University of Arizona and a judge for the competition, said the initiative was designed to improve supply chain resilience. “Amid growing supply chain uncertainties, this contest offers an opportunity to future-proof farm operations by developing strong, sustainable feed contingency plans,” he said.
F3 is a multi-stakeholder effort bringing together NGOs, academics, and industry partners to accelerate the development and scaling of alternatives to marine ingredients in aquafeeds. Its challenges have previously focused on replacements for fishmeal, fish oil and krill, stimulating commercial trials of ingredients such as algae, microbial proteins, and insect meal. The group also runs the Feed Innovation Network, which shares open feed formulae and testing protocols to support adoption.
Aquaculture supplies more than half of the world’s seafood but remains heavily dependent on forage fish and other marine-based inputs. Supply disruptions, such as the 2023 closure of the Peruvian anchoveta season, have highlighted the sector’s vulnerability to wild-capture variability.
F3’s broad call to eliminate marine inputs is not without controversy. Krill fisheries in the Southern Ocean are certified under the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) framework, and producers argue they are among the most tightly regulated and sustainable fisheries globally. Industry representatives warn that campaigns positioning krill as part of the problem risk undermining investment in certified marine resources that already have sustainability credentials.
