Wednesday, October 2, 2013

02/10/13: Developing diets for farmed sea urchins; harmful algal bloom forecast technology helps limits aquaculture losses; Marine Harvest buys Morpol

If you live in the USA, farmed, uni, the sex organs of sea urchins, may soon be coming to a restaurant near you.

Stephan Watts, biology professor, University of Alabama, USA, has spent almost 20 years working on ways to grow sea urchins in captivity and now he's ready to launch his creatures into the market. 

One of the biggest hurdles to overcome has been developing a sustainable feed to reduce pressure on the kelp that sea urchins feed on in the wild. After experimenting with different feed formulas, Watts believes he has created a feed that is not only sustainable but one that also improves the taste of the finished product.

The delicacy is popular with sushi fans and is praised for its creamy, briny flavour.

Watts is currently looking for investors to bring his urchins from the lab and to the table.
Read more...

A forecasting system that warns aquaculture operations of harmful algal blooms has won the Best Service Challenge award from Copernicus Masters, a European earth monitoring competition.

The Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Forecast combines in-situ monitoring, satellite data and modelling to give fish farmers a weekly alert to warn of the likelihood of a toxic or harmful event in the next week.

This warning will give farmers time to adapt their culture or harvesting practices to miminise potential losses.

The HAB was developed by a team of 11 companies from five European countries.

The project will receive satellite data worth 40,000 euros as its prize.
HAB Forecast won the award for Best Service Challenge from Copernicus Masters, a European Earth monitoring competition that annually awards prizes to innovative solutions for business and society based on Earth observation data. This year there were nine challenge categories. As winner of Best Service, HAB Forecast will receive satellite data worth EUR40,000 made available with financial support from the European Commission. - See more at: http://www.sams.ac.uk/news-room/news-items/new-forecast-service-wins-award#sthash.ovgF0Urt.dpuf
HAB Forecast won the award for Best Service Challenge from Copernicus Masters, a European Earth monitoring competition that annually awards prizes to innovative solutions for business and society based on Earth observation data. This year there were nine challenge categories. As winner of Best Service, HAB Forecast will receive satellite data worth EUR40,000 made available with financial support from the European Commission. - See more at: http://www.sams.ac.uk/news-room/news-items/new-forecast-service-wins-award#sthash.ovgF0Urt.dpuf
More information about HAB...

Marine Harvest's plans to become an 'integrated protein company' took a step closer after the European Commission agreed its purchase of seafood processor, Morpol.

In a statement on the Marine Harvest website, Alf-Helge Aarsko, CEO said that the acquisition would fit very well with Marine Harvest's current processing business as well as its downstream strategy. 

"Morpol will give our innovation and product development a strong boost. Together we can develop even more innovative and delicious seafood products for the consumer market," said Aarskog.
Read more... 

Sea urchins have five gonads. These gonads (ro...
Sea urchins have five gonads. These gonads (roe) are a sought after as a delicacy. { (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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