BioMar and Yield10 Bioscience want to grow fish oil on land. After a decade of research, both companies believe that the Omega-3 Camelina technology is now moving towards market availability and has the potential to become another important high-quality supplement to the scarce supply of marine long-chain fatty acids.
The two companies have signed an agreement to form a long-term partnership to commercialize this crop that contains EPA and DHA levels comparable to many of the marine oil sources used today.
BioMar explains that this new Omega-3 Camelina product is ideally designed for the needs of the aquaculture industry and fits in a complementary way in the company's Omega Technology concept together with other sources of essential Omega-3s. The production of Omega-3 Camelina oil, they say, represents a land-based way of producing this key aquaculture feed ingredient.
"We believe that the Yield10 Omega-3 Camelina technology represents a potentially excellent solution for producing crop Omega-3 oils at commercial scale," said Carlos Diaz, CEO of BioMar Group. "Reliable and scalable sources of EPA and DHA is critical for aquafeeds to ensure the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry. We look forward to working together with the Yield10 team to make this product a commercial success."
The feed company has been actively involved in the Rothamsted Omega-3 Camelina development effort since its inception in 2013 and has conducted many of the salmon trials published by the Rothamsted Research team. Now, the two companies are signing a long-term agreement that will see them go further with this innovation.
"A partnership with BioMar has the potential to combine the strengths of both companies for the accelerated development of the Omega-3 Camelina product," stated Oliver Peoples, Ph.D. President and CEO, Yield10 Bioscience. "We look forward to working closely with BioMar to develop a collaborative program to bring this new source of high-quality EPA and EPA+DHA omega-3 oils to the market to strive to meet the aquaculture industry's growth demand and sustainability goals."
Over the next year, Yield10 expects to scale up planted acres of Camelina to supply BioMar with oil for formulation and testing. At the same time, the agricultural bioscience company is working to obtain regulatory approval for the commercial production of Omega-3 Camelina oil and meal in the targeted production geographies. Both companies believe Omega-3 Camelina technology will play an important role in the future Omega-3 market, "enabling access to key nutrients from sustainable sources and paving the way for future growth within the aquaculture industry."
Aware that fish oil is a finite resource, BioMar is focused on finding alternative sources to offer innovative and sustainable nutritional solutions. As an example, the company recently published a study demonstrating that full substitution of fish oil with algae oil in salmon feed is not only possible but a commercial reality. "We are trying to reduce the use of fish oil to be better for the environment but still be able to maintain the omega-3 fatty acids," Dr. Kyla Zatti, head of BioMar’s study explained to WeAreAquaculture. If then the solution was sought at sea, now in partnership with Yield10, they hope to find it also on land.
BioMar is an innovator in high-performance aquafeed dedicated to contributing to the creation of a healthy and sustainable global aquaculture industry. The company supplies feed worldwide to around 90 countries and for more than 45 different species and operates 17 feed factories across the globe in Norway, Chile, Denmark, Scotland, Spain, France, Greece, Turkey, China, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Australia. BioMar is wholly owned by the Danish industrial group Schouw & Co, which is listed on the NASDAQ, Copenhagen.
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. is an agricultural bioscience company that leverages advanced genetics to develop the oilseed Camelina sativa ("Camelina") as a platform crop for large-scale production of sustainable seed products. These seed products include feedstock oils for diverse uses, including omega-3 oils (EPA and DHA+EPA) for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and aquafeed applications. Headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts, the U.S., it also has a Canadian subsidiary, Yield10 Oilseeds Inc. located in Saskatoon, Canada.
