MARINE-BASED INGREDIENTS
Big things have small beginnings Isak Bøgwald, Hogne Abrahamsen, Zooca The zooplankton company Zooca is set for growth, both in production volumes and nutritional terms. New studies show that the protein hydrolysate from Calanus finmarchicus has growthpromoting properties.
Figure 1. Zooca is looking to grow beyond the snowy mountains of northern Norway following the completion of the new factory in Sortland, Vesterålen. Credits: István Kiss.
Small beginnings with big potential The bold idea of using the tiny zooplankton Calanus finmarchicus for humans and animals was conceived by Prof. Kurt Tande in the early 2000s. Its big potential was the combination of extraordinary nutrients and an enormous annual production estimated at 300 million tonnes in the Norwegian Sea. Calanus AS was founded in 2002 and named after the resource it was centered around. It has since rebranded to Zooca (The Calanus Company) and currently employs over 40 people. Through developments of harvesting, processing, novel products, regulatory approvals, marketing, and sales, the efforts to commercialize the resource have now culminated in the world’s first factory specifically designed to process C. finmarchicus
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(Fig. 1). With an increased production capacity from 600 to 10,000 tonnes of raw material every year, the company is looking to grow beyond the Arctic Circle and offers aquaculture ingredients for various fish and shrimp species.
A protein hydrolysate for increased growth The company's main protein product is Zooca® Hydrolysate, a pure protein hydrolysate from C. finmarchicus. New studies reveal its potential to improve growth even when compared to other protein hydrolysates of marine origin. A feeding trial was performed by SPAROS in Portugal, where European seabass juveniles were fed diets with low fishmeal contents and 4% inclusion of the various hydrolysates.
Aquafeed: Advances in Processing & Formulation Vol 15 Issue 4 2023