Air Feed®
A new solution for fish farming: zero-carbon aquaculture feed
Until now, the majority of fishmeal used in fish farming has been made from processed wild anchovy. However, issues with price, catch rates, and unstable quality due to a decrease in the anchovy’s zooplankton food sources—to say nothing of the inherent irrationality of feeding wild fish to farmed ones—have generated a long-standing demand for a suitable alternative to existing fishmeal solutions.
While development of feeds containing vegetable protein and other ingredients that minimize the use of fishmeal is underway, the nutritional value of these products remains insufficient. In comparison, Air Feed® is a zero-carbon aquaculture feed that offers a new solution for the aquaculture industry of today.
Growth levels on par with traditional feed
Air Feed® is produced with the help of marine purple photosynthetic bacteria, photosynthetic organisms capable of converting air into resources. These microorganisms are cultivated in seawater conditions while being exposed to light suitable for the photosynthesis that causes them to fix carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Through a collection and drying process, the metabolites, proteins, and amino acids stored by the organisms are then processed into feed that is easily consumed by fish.
Symbiobe’s Air Feed® contains higher levels of crude protein (pure protein plus non-protein nitrogen such as amino acids) than fishmeal, and has an excellent amino acid score. Furthermore, Air Feed® contains carotenoids (red and yellow pigments found in green and yellow vegetables), which have antioxidant properties, making Air Feed® a promising functional feed solution.
Indeed, length and weight measurements taken from Japanese killifish provided with Air Feed® have demonstrated growth rates on par with commercial feed products.
Our advertisement feature in the online version of Nature
Unusual microbes on the menu for farmed fish
Our advertisement feature ‘Unusual microbes on the menu for farmed fish’ was published on 11 July 2024, as part of Focal Point on Building a Carbon-Neutral Society in the online version of Nature, a weekly international journal publishing the finest peer-reviewed research in science and technology.
