Aker BioMarine

Last updated
Aker BioMarine AS
Company type Public (OSE: AKBM)
Industry Marine biotechnology
Headquarters,
Key people
Trond Brandsrud (CEO)
Kjell Inge Røkke (chair)
Revenue469 million kr (2012) [1]
NOK –35 million (2012) [1]
NOK –66 million (2012) [1]
Website www.akerbiomarine.com

Aker BioMarine is a Norwegian fishing and biotech company providing krill products through a fully documented and secured catch and process chain. Based in Oslo, Aker BioMarine is part of the Aker Group and the company also created Eco-Harvesting.

Contents

History

Aker BioMarine was established as an independent enterprise in 2006, building on years of deep-sea fishing experience as part of Norway's Aker Group. Its previous business activities were with the exception of the biotechnology company Natural, previously organized under Aker Seafoods Holding, a 100 percent subsidiary of Aker ASA. In 2003, Aker BioMarine began harvesting and processing Antarctic krill. [2] Aker BioMarine claims to solve the problem of harvesting krill in both a commercially viable and environmentally sound way through its proprietary Aker ECO-Harvesting technology. The company re-listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange on July 6, 2020. [3]

Technology and products

Aker BioMarine produces krill products rich in omega-3 phospholipids. Krill is mainly used for the production of krill meal and krill oil, which in turn is used for animal or aquaculture feed and for human consumption through health products and omega-3 supplements.

The company has registered Superba as the company’s brand name for nutraceuticals and Qrill as the company’s brand name for its krill meal and krill oil products for aquaculture. [4]

As for research, a 2009 study of Superba krill oil found that it gave a substantially larger reduction of fat in the heart and the liver than omega-3 from fish oil. [5] A clinical study in children with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) suggests that Superba krill oil offered significant improvements in both clinical scores and in identified EEG patterns as compared to typical ADHD EEG patterns. [6] In one study, krill-fed salmon acquired 11% greater body weight than that of the fish in the control group. [7]

In 2011, krill oil was classified as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a human food ingredient. [8] In one study, krill-fed salmon acquired 11% greater body weight than that of the fish in the control group. [7]

The company uses eco-harvesting, a technology that brings live krill on board the boat and prevents the unnecessary by-catch such as birds and sea mammals. It also reduces the waste incurred by traditional methods when a proportion of the catch at the bottom of the net is rendered unusable through pressure from the rest as it is hauled aboard.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified ECO-HARVESTING as sustainable on June 15, 2010. [9] As of 2013, Aker BioMarine is the only krill fishery to achieve this distinction.

Fleet

As of 2024, Aker Biomarine operates a fleet consisting of four vessels, [10] Three factory trawlers, and one support vessel, which transports krill from the trawlers, and crew and supplies to the trawlers, similarly to a platform supply vessel and reefer.

NameTypeYear Built
Antarctic Endurance Trawler 2019
Saga SeaTrawler1975/1999

Converted 2005

Antarctic SeaTrawler/factory 1999

Converted 2009

Antarctic ProviderSupport Vessel2021

Awards and accomplishments

Aside from Superba receiving GRAS status and achieving MSC certification, the company received the "Investment in the Future Award 2012" from Nutrition Business Journal. Aker BioMarine received the award for "strategically investing more than $550 million to build out the krill supply chain in the Antarctic with a long-term focus on sustainable harvesting". [11]

Memberships and associations

Aker BioMarine works closely with WWF-Norway and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) as well as independent scientists and marine conservationists to ensure that the company contributes to the well-being of the krill fishery and the Antarctic food chain. To that end, Aker BioMarine is a founding member of the Association of Responsible Krill harvesting companies (ARK), which works with CCAMLR to ensure a healthy and sustainable krill population in Antarctica. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquaculture</span> Farming of aquatic organisms

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater, brackish water and saltwater populations under controlled or semi-natural conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish. Aquaculture is also a practice used for restoring and rehabilitating marine and freshwater ecosystems. Mariculture, commonly known as marine farming, is aquaculture in seawater habitats and lagoons, as opposed to freshwater aquaculture. Pisciculture is a type of aquaculture that consists of fish farming to obtain fish products as food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic krill</span> Species of krill

Antarctic krill is a species of krill found in the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. It is a small, swimming crustacean that lives in large schools, called swarms, sometimes reaching densities of 10,000–30,000 individual animals per cubic metre. It feeds directly on minute phytoplankton, thereby using the primary production energy that the phytoplankton originally derived from the sun in order to sustain their pelagic life cycle. It grows to a length of 6 centimetres (2.4 in), weighs up to 2 grams (0.071 oz), and can live for up to six years. It is a key species in the Antarctic ecosystem and in terms of biomass, is one of the most abundant animal species on the planet – approximately 500 million metric tons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krill</span> Order of crustaceans

Krill(Euphausiids), are small and exclusively marine crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian word krill, meaning "small fry of fish", which is also often attributed to species of fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic toothfish</span> Species of fish

The Antarctic toothfish, also known as the Antarctic cod, is a large, black or brown fish found in very cold (subzero) waters of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. It is the largest fish in the Southern Ocean, feeding on shrimp and smaller fish, and preyed on by whales, orcas, and seals. It is caught for food and marketed as Chilean sea bass together with its sister species, the more northerly Patagonian toothfish. Often mistakenly called "Antarctic cod", the Antarctic toothfish belongs to the notothen family (Nototheniidae), a family of fish genera that are abundant near Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patagonian toothfish</span> Species of fish

The Patagonian toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass, mero, icefish, and Antarctic cod, is a species of notothen found in cold waters between depths of 45 and 3,850 m in the southern Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and Southern Ocean on seamounts and continental shelves around most Subantarctic islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing industry</span> Economic branch

The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing, as well as the related harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors. The commercial activity is aimed at the delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or as input factors in other industrial processes. The livelihood of over 500 million people in developing countries depends directly or indirectly on fisheries and aquaculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krill oil</span> Commercial oil product from krill

Krill oil is an extract prepared from a species of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba. Processed krill oil is commonly sold as a dietary supplement. Two components of krill oil are omega-3 fatty acids similar to those in fish oil, and phospholipid-derived fatty acids (PLFA), mainly phosphatidylcholine. Fishing for krill where previously the focus was on marine life of higher trophic level is an example of fishing down the food web.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astaxanthin</span> Chemical compound

Astaxanthin is a keto-carotenoid within a group of chemical compounds known as carotenones or terpenes. Astaxanthin is a metabolite of zeaxanthin and canthaxanthin, containing both hydroxyl and ketone functional groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine Stewardship Council</span> Fishing certifier

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organisation which aims to set standards for sustainable fishing. Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable compared to the MSC's standards are assessed by a team of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krill fishery</span>

The krill fishery is the commercial fishery of krill, small shrimp-like marine animals that live in the oceans world-wide. The present estimate for the biomass of Antarctic krill is 379 million tonnes. The total global harvest of krill from all fisheries amounts to 150–200,000 tonnes annually, mainly Antarctic krill and North Pacific krill.

Mowi ASA, formerly known as Marine Harvest ASA, , is a Norwegian seafood company with operations in a number of countries around the world. The company's primary interest is fish farming, primarily salmon, the operations of which are focused on Norway, Scotland, Canada, the Faroe Islands, Ireland and Chile. The group has a share of 25 to 30% of the global salmon and trout market, making it the world's largest company in the sector. Mowi also owns a 'value added processing' unit, which prepares and distributes a range of seafood products, and a number of smaller divisions.

Sustainable seafood is seafood that is caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. It was first promoted through the sustainable seafood movement which began in the 1990s. This operation highlights overfishing and environmentally destructive fishing methods. Through a number of initiatives, the movement has increased awareness and raised concerns over the way our seafood is obtained.

This page is a list of fishing topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forage fish</span> Small prey fish

Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish that feed on plankton and other tiny organisms. They are preyed on by larger predators, including larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the base of the food chain on plankton, often by filter feeding. They include particularly fishes of the order Clupeiformes, but also other small fish, including halfbeaks, silversides, smelt such as capelin and goldband fusiliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing industry in Russia</span>

The coastline of the Russian Federation is the fourth longest in the world after the coastlines of Canada, Greenland, and Indonesia. The Russian fishing industry has an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 7.6 million km2 including access to twelve seas in three oceans, together with the landlocked Caspian Sea and more than two million rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquaculture of salmonids</span> Fish farming and harvesting under controlled conditions

The aquaculture of salmonids is the farming and harvesting of salmonid fish under controlled conditions for both commercial and recreational purposes. Salmonids, along with carp and tilapia, are the three most important fish groups in aquaculture. The most commonly commercially farmed salmonid is the Atlantic salmon.

<i>Dissostichus</i> Genus of fish

Dissostichus, the toothfish, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefish. These fish are found in the Southern Hemisphere. Toothfish are marketed in the United States as Chilean sea bass or less frequently as white cod. "Chilean sea bass" is a marketing name coined in 1977 by Lee Lantz, a fish wholesaler who wanted a more attractive name for selling the Patagonian toothfish to Americans. In 1994, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted "Chilean sea bass" as an "alternative market name" for Patagonian toothfish. The toothfish was remarkably successful in the United States, Europe and Asia, and earned the nickname "white gold" within the market. Toothfish are vital to the ecological structure of Southern Ocean ecosystems. For this reason, on 4 September a national day is dedicated to the toothfish in South Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial fish feed</span> Fish food manufactured commercially

Manufactured feeds are an important part of modern commercial aquaculture, providing the balanced nutrition needed by farmed fish. The feeds, in the form of granules or pellets, provide the nutrition in a stable and concentrated form, enabling the fish to feed efficiently and grow to their full potential.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Duart</span>

Loch Duart is a small, independent Scottish salmon farming company. It is headquartered in Scourie, Sutherland in north-west Scotland and has just over 100 employees. The company owns and operates eight sea sites and two hatcheries in Sutherland and the Outer Hebrides. Sales, marketing and finance departments are located in Montrose and a French sales and marketing office in Lorient, Brittany.

Neptune Wellness Solutions, Inc. is a diversified wellness company that provides nutraceuticals, organic food and beverages, and consumer packaged goods to retail and business customers. Originally known for Antarctic krill oil production, the company previously operated an industrial-scale licensed cannabis processing plant in Quebec, CA, and a hemp processing facility in North Carolina in the U.S. until selling the cannabis business in 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Aker BioMarine. "Financial data". Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
  2. Archived March 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Kjell Inge Rokke's Aker Biomarine begins trading on Oslo Stock Exchange | Intrafish". Intrafish | Latest seafood, aquaculture and fisheries news. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  4. "Qrill™ - Aker BioMarine". Archived from the original on 7 April 2013.
  5. Batetta, Barbara; Griinari, Mikko; Carta, Gianfranca; et al. (2009). "Endocannabinoids May Mediate the Ability of (n-3) Fatty Acids to Reduce Ectopic Fat and Inflammatory Mediators in Obese Zucker Rats1–3" (PDF). The Journal of Nutrition. 139 (8). Jn.nutrition.org: 1495–1501. doi: 10.3945/jn.109.104844 . PMID   19549757 . Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  6. "Superba Krill Oil Shows Benefits For ADHD". Nutraceuticals World. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  7. 1 2 "FIS - Worldnews - Benefits of krill in salmon feed verified". Fis.com. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  8. "Superba Safe for Foods". Naturalproductsinsider.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  9. "Aker Biomarine Antarctic krill". Msc.org. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  10. "Aker BioMarine | Our operations". www.akerbiomarine.com. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  11. "Investment in the Future Award 2012: Aker BioMarine". Newhope360.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-05. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  12. "Licence to krill: the destructive demand for a 'better' fish oil". the Guardian. 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2021-12-20.