Exciting news for Canada's aquaculture industry as 24,000 young Atlantic salmon were delivered to the country's first commercial pilot facility of a land-based, closed-containment aquaculture system that has been constructed near Port McNeil by the 'Namgis First Nation.
Nanaimo's PR Aqua supplies, a world leader in the manufacture of equipment for the aquaculture industry, played an integral role in the establishment of the facility by providing almost all of the state-of-the-art equipment and technical expertise for the pilot project.
Jackie Hildering, a spokeswoman for the Namgis closed containment salmon farm, said the first harvest is scheduled in about a year and the farm should be in continual production after that.
She added that PR Aqua supplies was chosen to provide its expertise and equipment to the project because the company meets all the technical requirements and was close to Port McNeil.
"PR Aqua are seasoned aquaculture suppliers and the success of this pilot project would see a big boom for its business as well as the fish-farm industry on Vancouver Island."
Conservation and other groups have been advocating for years for the salmon farming industry to switch to landlocked, closed-containment systems from the open-pen systems currently operating along B.C.'s coasts.
Tunicates could be used as both biofuel and fish food. Tunicates are marine filter feeders that serve as bacteria eaters and as a foodstuff in Korea and Japan. Although not widely known, new research suggests these filter feeders could soon become prevalent.
Five researchers at the University of Bergen (UiB) and Uni Research have found that a certain type of tunicate - ascidiacea- can be used as a renewable source of biofuel and fish food. This is particularly good news for the growing aquaculture industry, which for years has struggled to find enough quality feed for its fish.
Usable as fuel
It is the cellulose, the protein and the omega-3 fatty acids in the ascidiacea that is the cause for its many uses.
"Its mantle consists of cellulose, which is a collection of sugars. When cellulose is cleaved, one can obtain ethanol. Ethanol can be used for biofuel in cars. The animal's body consists of large amounts of protein and Omega-3. This can be used for fish feed," said Eric Thompson, professor at UiB's department of biology.
Commercial potential
At the innovation conference GROW, arranged by business region Bergen, the researchers received a prize for innovative research and were awarded NOK 300,000 for their discoveries. The researchers plan to use the prize money to create commercially viable products based on their research. They have already acquired a patent for biofuel and have a patent application pending for the cultivation of ascidiacea as fish feed.
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| Future food and fuel? Tunicates are marine filter feeders that weigh between 50 and 70 grams and are found in all oceans. (Photo credit: Doskeland) |
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