Abstract
Soy protein concentrate (SPC) is a key ingredient in fish feed and most of it originates from Brazil. However, the Brazilian soy industry has reportedly resulted in significant environmental problems including deforestation. Consequently, new sources for protein are investigated and protein extracted from farmed seaweed is considered an alternative. Therefore, we investigate how seaweed protein product (SPP) can compete against SPC as a protein ingredient for fish feed. The study uses the positioning matrix, cost analyses involving the power law, and uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo simulations, and key research challenges are identified. The initial finding is that, with the emerging seaweed industry, the cost of producing SPP is too high to be competitive for fish feed applications. To overcome this challenge, two solutions are investigated. First, substantial investments in cultivation and processing infrastructure are needed to accomplish scale, and a break-even scale of 65,000 tonnes is suggested. The second but more promising avenue, preferably in combination with the former, is the extraction of seaweed protein and high-value seaweed components. With mannitol and laminaran as co-products to the SPP, there is a 25–30% probability of a positive bottom line. Researches on extraction processes are therefore a necessity to maximize the extraction of value-added ingredients. Over time, it is expected that the competitive position of SPP will improve due to the upscaling of the volume of production as well as better biorefinery processes.
Highlights
With an increasing world population and rising living standards, food systems are under increasing pressure and utilizing the oceans has arguably become more important.Aquaculture is expected to increase in importance, and the global amount of farmed fish is currently at about 80.1 million tonnes (FAO 2019a) out of which approximately 1.4 million tonnes of farmed fish was produced in Norway in 2018 (Statistics Norway 2018)
Approximately 90% of the soy protein concentrate (SPC) used comes from Brazil (Lundeberg 2018), and soy production in Brazil has come at the large expense of deforestation, and according to Siegle (2009), over the past two decades, 300 million hectares of tropical forests has been felled globally as a result of soybean production
In “Strategic analysis of seaweed protein product (SPP) versus SPC,” we develop the strategic analysis including a discussion on the strategic implications for the expansion and sustainable establishment of a Norwegian seaweed industry
Summary
With an increasing world population and rising living standards, food systems are under increasing pressure and utilizing the oceans has arguably become more important. To meet this challenge, one of the ways to better utilize the oceans is through the production of seaweed for food and feed ingredients. The main objective of this paper is to explore how seaweed can become a protein source for fish feed at a scale interesting to the Norwegian aquaculture industry, and for that purpose the following questions are addressed: (1) is there a strategic position where seaweed can compete successfully against SPC, and (2) what will be the economics for such a position?. Known physical challenges associated with seaweed farming are discussed in “The challenges of seaweed farming.” These two first steps are crucial since they are matters of physical realities and set important ramifications for the economic estimates. In “Closure and future work,” we relate the results from our analysis to guide future research towards the development of the seaweed industry in Norway
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