Aquaculture is now the fastest-growing food sector and is as big as traditional fisheries in production volume. As such, aquaculture feed is following this trend, relying heavily on plant based ingredients complemented by essential marine ingredients (fishmeal), which represent 20% of the total fisheries volumes. However, this strategic ingredient is now a fully exploited resource and alternative ingredients cannot fully replace fishmeal. This marine protein crisis endangers the sustainable growth of aquaculture and human nutrition. Aquanzo is pioneering the transition of marine ingredients production from harvesting to farming. We are developing technologies (engineering, genetics and feedstock nutrition) to farm artemia, a marine zooplankton, on land and at scale using agricultural byproducts. We have demonstrated that artemia meal is nutritionally comparable to fishmeal. As a result, we are now moving forward with plans to scale up production operations. To achieve this, we have assembled a team of experts (9 staff and 5 advisors) from fish nutrition to engineering with the support of Innovate UK, SAIC and several industrial companies. We have produced several kilos of product and have several trials planned in both fish and poultry diets to validate and iterate the first farmed marine ingredients for animal feed available globally. This project will innovate the novel farming system by analysing the feasibility of a mobile unit in order to leverage underused industries' nutrient-rich wastewater and reduce environmental impact of operation. Our project is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Glasgow (CENSIS), who are partnering with us to develop the mobile unit's IoT monitoring. Through this project, we will develop and test a mobile unit approach that assesses the economic and environmental impact of farmed marine ingredients using nutrient-rich wastewater. This innovative approach will help accelerate the commercialisation of these technologies, benefitting industries such as malting, distilleries, and dairy industries that produce large volumes of wastewater. This fundamental shift in producing marine ingredients will enable supporting the growth of aquaculture and animal feed and human nutrition while reducing the environmental impact by producing locally. It will also cement the role of the UK as a leader in innovative solutions to global problems.

Marine ingredients, in the form of fishmeal, are one of the best sources of nutrients for young farm animals, both terrestrial (especially young broilers and peri-weaning piglets) and aquatic.However, harvesting (fishing) of marine ingredients has a significant impact on the environment, sustainability is stretched to its limits, GHG emissions are significant due to long distance transport and the long-term resilience of the sector is dependent on a fragile environmental balance under climate change threat. Additionally, the animal feed sector is growing rapidly between 2 and 6% a year, for example broiler meat production has increased 500% in the last 40 years, while marine ingredients harvests have been stagnating for the last 40 years. This has led to the current marine protein ingredient crisis.To address the core marine protein availability problem with a long-term solution, as opposed to producing alternative ingredients, Aquanzo is developing technologies to produce, sustainably, at scale and on land, artemia, a marine zooplankton and process it into marine protein ingredients for the animal feed industry. By farming artemia, this novel animal feed production system will offer a long-term solution to the marine protein ingredient crisis. It will benefit the consumers by offering a product with no ocean-harvested ingredients but without losing the proven benefits of marine ingredients inclusion for the animal's health and farming productivity. Additionally, the ability to exploit agricultural byproducts as a feedstock to grow artemia will enhance the UK circular economy. It will benefit the compound feed manufacturers by access to tailored marine proteins, sustainably produced and of constant quality with reduced emission (precision farming system), all of which are not possible from harvesting marine protein. A comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of Artemeal as an alternative protein source is included and will provide a robust quantification of the proposed solution sustainability.To ensure the project aligns to the industry technical, environmental and commercial needs, dissemination and knowledge exchange is a strong component of this project, including through engagement with our expert advisory panel and wider stakeholders. Demonstrating the feasibility of using artemia meal in starter broiler feed (replacing fishmeal) will pioneer a new sector in the animal feed industry. Farmed marine proteins, alongside other novel ingredients such as insects and single cell proteins will develop a portfolio approach to support the development of a strong and resilient animals industry in England, the UK and further afield.