AquaFarm 2025 joins NovelFarm & AlgaeFarm

October 15, 2024 - AquaFarm, the International conference & trade show on aquaculture and sustainable fishing industry announced the dates for the eighth edition and joins forces with NovelFarm & AlgaeFarm, the exhibitions dedicated to controlled environment agriculture and cultivation of algae and other microorganisms. The events are scheduled February 12-13, at Pordenone Exhibition Centre.

The decision to bring together the three events dedicated to innovation in sustainable food production comes from the increasingly strong synergy between the three sectors. Aquaculture and hydroponics are closely intertwined in aquaponics, the cultivation and breeding in the same controlled environment of fish and plants, but also molluscs, algae and mushrooms, building artificial ecosystems where the waste of one species constitutes the nourishment of another, with high food productivity. Fish farming and algaculture are also increasingly becoming synergetic, just consider the importance of microalgae in the production of fish feed with zero impact on ocean resources.

The common thread linking the three events is environmental change. For aquaculture and shellfish farming, the leading players of AquaFarm, the modification of aquatic habitats due to climate, man-made pollution and the intrusion of new species brought in by sea trade have already had major impacts, such as the very serious losses in shellfish production, especially clams, due to the blue crab. Farmers, suppliers and research centres are engaged in a unanimous effort to find mitigations to these phenomena.

Controlled environment cultivation has one of its main raisons d'être and its main economic strength in its reduced impact on the natural system. It is not just a matter of saving water and nutrients and eliminating the use of agrochemicals. By disconnecting cultivation from the soil, a farm can be installed close to places of consumption, reducing the impact of the logistics chain, resulting in less pollution, energy consumption and congestion. It is also worth remembering that the stage of the food chain where there is the most loss and waste is transport. Less transport therefore equals less waste of food.

Cultivated algae are a virtuous response to environmental changes as well, as they allow proteins, fats (such as Omega-3) and active ingredients to be produced directly, without the need to obtain them from animal or plant sources higher up the trophic chain, with less impact and greater efficiency.

Not everything will turn out to be related to climate in the upcoming edition. Aquaculture and shellfish farming guarantee good, healthy, more controlled and short-chain food when produced in Italy. Products from vertical farms are better in every aspect than comparable from traditional techniques: no residues, constant and perfectly controlled organoleptic characteristics, no contaminants such as nickel and other heavy metals. Microalgae makes active ingredients such as antioxidants and useful materials for the pharmaceutical, food and fine chemicals industries available at lower costs than traditional sources.

Climate research and innovation will be discussed in Pordenone, but also self-production of energy in livestock farms including farms when controlled environment, animal welfare, technologies and animal/human nutrition, reducing the use of plastics. The packed conference program will flank an international exhibition area. Another important theme will be the use of artificial intelligence and autonomous robotics in numerous fields, from breeding and crop management to genetic improvement. Also confirmed the area dedicated to universities with the possibility of exhibiting scientific posters and the show cooking Arena, where national production excellence can be tasted.

For more information and to register, visit HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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DNA modelling drives seabed sampling evolution

October 15, 2024 - A new environemental-DNA (e-DNA) approach for monitoring the seabed conditions around marine fish farms could significantly speed ip the assessment of sediment samples, enabling salmon producers and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to gather timely, accurate information to demonstrate environmental impact and recovery.

Marine benthic invertebrates are essential for maintaining the natural ecosystem, helping to process biomass and protect the health of farmed and wild fish. These sediment-dwelling animals can also act as bioindicators of the effects of human activity on seabed health. Because of this, they are monitored by SEPA and operators of marine fish farms to ensure that farms are operating sustainably.

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Previously, benthic monitoring relied on scientists painstakingly picked out all the invertebrate animals from samples of seabed sediments and then identifying each animal with the aid of microscopes. However, the process can take up to three days for a single sample and estimates suggest that it is costing the aquaculture sector up to £1 million per year.

An alternative, faster and more cost-effective process is now available, drawing upon DNA techniques first used in human forensics to identify the organisms preset in sediment samples. Scientists have used metabarcoding - a technique that cross references samples against a sequence database to identify different species - to identify thousands of bacterial species simultaneously.

After gathering a sample, the bacteria present in the sediment is first characterised using DNA, with a machine learning model then applied to predict the health of invertebrate community based on the bacteria. The Infaunal Quality Index (IQI) - a well established ecological quality benchmark - is then used to classify the health of the invertebrate community.

Following an extensive six-year project, samples analysed using the new method are now being presented to SEPA for validation, with an open-source toolkit and standard operating procedures also being created for anyone in the sector to use.

The research was supported by the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), Institute of Biodiversity and Freshwater Conservation at UHI Inverness, Mowi (Scotland), SEPA, University of Kaiserslautern in Germany, Scottish Sea Farms, Salmon Scotland and lead research partner, the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS).

Stephen Macintyre, Head of Environment at Mowi Scotland, said: "Demonstrating good environmental performance at our sites is critical, both for our customers and for compliance reasons. At the moment, we sample the seabed followed by sieving and sorting sediment to identify species, but it is a time-consuming, labour-intensive process that hasn't been updated for 30 years or so.

"As an alternative, the DNA-based approach will enable us to understand our environmental performance much quicker, almost in real time, and take action where required to improve the environmental picture. Environmental DNA is already widely used elsewhere for nature-based assessments and also has the potential to be applied to assess the wider marine biodiversity that exists around our fish farms. The practical outputs from this project are very promising, and we are now in talks with SEPA about integrating DNA-based compliance assessments into our site monitoring programme."

Technical components of the research, including DNA sequencing, data analysis and statistics, and the development of a machine-learning algorithm to predict the IQI of samples based on their bacterial characterisation, were independently reviewed by Biostatistics Scotland.

Sarah Riddle, Director of Innovation and Engagement at SAIC, added: "This project has been years in the making and it is great to see the results of a long-term collaboration between the sector, academia and regulators having the potential to transform a key aspect of aquaculture monitoring. E-DNA sampling could provide widespread benefits to both the aquaculture sector and its regulators, with potential for this approach to be adopted across the global by seafood producing nations. Armed with data, producers can be better informed to make decisions around key environmental and fish health factors influenced by the seabed."

Peter Pollard, Head of Ecology at SEPA, said: "The MeioMetBar Project has been an important and successful collaboration. It is truly the beginning of a step change in our ability and that of fish farm operators to cost-effectively assess, manage and regulate the effects on seabed life of fish farm discharges and so help protect the health and biodiversity of Scotland's seas.

"The research is an example of the rapid innovation now taking place in more efficient and effective ways of monitoring the environment. Work is already underway to expand and enhance the capabilities of the method developed by the project, with the next-generation method expected to be available in 2025."

For more information, visit HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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Stolt Sea Farm begins construction of a new RAS facility in Portugal

October 14, 2024 - Stolt Sea Farm (SSF) held a groundbreaking ceremony in Tocha, Portugal this month to officially mark the start of construction of its new recirculation facility, RAS II, for sole production.

As one of the world's most advanced high-tech aquaculture companies, SSF is renowned for developing pioneering land-based techniques. This includes its recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology, which offers high levels of biological safety, energy optimisation and resource conservation. RAS II will allow for up to 95 percent of the water used for its operations to be recirculated, reinforcing SSF's commitment to environmentally responsible aquaculture practices.

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The new facility will be similar to the RAS operations SSF already has in Cervo, Spain, and on the same site in Tocha, both of which have exceeded expectations in terms of performance and return on investment.

The Tocha project is the last step in SSF's ongoing expansion programme. Earlier this year, the company expanded its sole broodstock facility in Merexo, Spain and it is also halfway through an extension to its sole hatchery in Cervo, Spain. Both are key milestones on its journey to achieving its 12,000 tonne sole production target by 2035.

Jordi Trias, President of SSF, said of the groundbreaking ceremony: "Everyone at SSF is excited to see this project beginning at Tocha. So much talent, effort and collaboration has been put into it by our amazing teams; it makes me immensely proud to see it finally break ground. It was a joyful event, and sets a landmark for our company, as we continue to execute our growth plan.

"Growing in aquaculture is not an easy task, and SSF continues to be an exception in many ways. This new RAS sole facility will take us one step further towards achieving our long-term ambition and delivering on our company purpose to ensure that future generations continue to enjoy wonderful seafood."

For more information, visit HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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