31/10/13: The ASC celebrates a milestone; development ban in British Colombia; promoting aquaculture in Peru

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) recently celebrated a milestone. 500 products now carry the ASC logo, a marker that shows products meet with ASC certified criteria. 

At the end of September last year,  five months after the ASC logo was established, 92 products were certified. Just over a year on, that figure has increased five fold.

ASC labelled seafood can be found across 24 countries, with the ASC logo now reaching South Korean consumers.

Read full article here.

Gail Shea, federal fisheries minister, Canada has announced she will not lift the moratorium on aquaculture development that currently surrounds the Discovery Islands of British Colombia, Canada.
 

The announcement came earlier this week, almost a year after Justice Bruce Cohen, a B.C. Supreme Court Judge, released a report that told of the collapse of the Fraser River sockeye run in 2009. 

Full report here.
 

Peru has been a hot topic in the aquaculture world lately, amid reports from the Exporters Association of Peru (ADEX) that suggest value-added fisheries and aquaculture exports generate over US 1,000 million.

According to Humberto Speziani, president of ADEX, in 2002, Peru managed to export US$240 million worth of aquaculture products.

According to reports from ADEX, value-added fisheries and aquaculture generate exports for over 

Among the main resources traded abroad, squid (giant squid), scallops, shrimp, mahi mahi, horse mackerel, anchovy and trout are highlighted.

Read more...

Refuge Cove at south end of West Redonda Island in the Discovery Islands of British Columbia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

30/10/13: EU sea lice investigation, organic aquaculture definitions

The Irish ombudsman will go forward with a full investigation into the country’s Department of Agriculture, following a preliminary inquiry into allegations made about its conduct during the EU’s recent investigation into sea lice contamination in salmon farms.
Read more …

Full implementation of EU-wide rules into the labeling of “organic” aquaculture products has been delayed for 18 months following requests from fish farmers. Farms were originally given three years to adapt their practices to be eligible for certification by the EU, instead of their national body, but the process has taken longer than expected.
Read more …

Meanwhile, in the United States arguments continue over whether farmed fish should be granted an “organic” label at all. Politico reports on continuing discussions at the US National Organic Standards Board, about whether fish farmers have enough control over inputs and farm conditions to justify the prestigious status. On the other hand, countries including Norway and Canada do have a framework for aquaculture to work towards, putting markets like the USA at a competitive disadvantage.
Read more…

The coastline near the town of Waterville in County Kerry, Ireland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Biomin

A leading animal health-in-nutrition company, Biomin is dedicated to finding innovative, trend-setting solutions in areas including growth promoters and mycotoxin risk management

29/10/13: Fish is the dish! Seafood campaign goes from strength to strength

At The Aquaculturists we keep a close eye on groups aiming to boost seafood's profile among the general public. Fish is the Dish, an online campaign showcasing to consumers the benefits of eating seafood, is celebrating its second anniversary but aims to expand further still.

Karen Galloway, head of marketing at Seafish, which runs the campaign and promotes responsible practices from the fishing and aquaculture industries, stressed that if more consumers are to be reached, further collaboration from the industry worldwide is required.

"We have enjoyed great success so far but it's time to up the ante and make as much of an impact as possible. We are looking for industry partners to work with us in spreading the word, whether this be through events, sharing resources or a collaborative approach online.

"We see so much potential in using this campaign to support seafood companies in engaging with their consumers."

More information:
http://www.fishisthedish.co.uk/
Fish is the Dish on Facebook
http://www.seafish.org/

29/10/13: EU antibiotics reduction, New Zealand conference blast

Sales of veterinary antimicrobials are down across the board, according to a new report from the European Medicines Agency. This will be seen as positive news in the aquaculture nutrition industry, which has made great efforts to develop products allowing fish farmers to reduce their antibiotic usage in line with EU restrictions.
Read more …

Legal obstacles to New Zealand fish farmer King Salmon are having a chilling effect on the country’s aquaculture, according to the Marine Farming Association. Citing the risk posed by anti-aquaculture activists both to individual projects and company reputations, King Salmon chief executive Grant Rosewarne warned against the ‘disproportionate’ influence of ‘extreme and minority views’ at the Aquaculture NZ conference held last week.

MFA executive director Graeme Coates was emphatic about the impact of the NZ$10 million lost in the legal process: “What King Salmon has gone through would put anyone else off.”
Read more …

Salmon Farm in Ruakaka Bay, New Zealand (Photo credit: SidPix)

Andritz

Andritz is a world-leading supplier of plants and services for a number of specialized industries including animal feed. From raw material to finished bags, Andritz manufactures and supplies every part of the feed extrusion line.

28/10/13: Plankton bioreactor, Scottish salmon controversy, Aquaculture without Frontiers proceedings

A Canadian bioreactor manufacturer has garnered some press from the Peninsula News Review for its prizewinning microalgae technology. Industrial Plankton, fronted by two University of Victoria graduates and headquartered in Sorth Saanich, British Columbia, they aim to develop cost-effective, large-volume algae producing technology to provide aquaculture facilities with the foundational feed ingredient.
Read more …

Residents of Ullapool, Scotland are up in arms over a Highland Council decision to expand a Wester Ross Fisheries salmon farm in Loch Kanaird. Protect Wild Scotland, which protests against wind farms as well as threats to wild fish populations, is angry that local councils and conservation authorities raised no objections to the scheme despite nearly 50 complaints from local residents.
Read more …
 
Friends of The Aquaculturists, Aquaculture without Frontiers, has uploaded the multimedia proceedings from its special session held during February's World Aquaculture 2013 conference in Nashville, USA. Taken together they provide an overview of the organization’s past, present and future, with presentations from seven directors and ambassadors and an emphasis on its projected network of Aquaculture Learning Centres.
Read more …

English: Anchorage in Loch Kanaird near Ardmair, to the north of Ullapool (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

28/10/13: World Aquaculture Society announces AquaForum for Jeju 2015

World Aquaculture 2015 will have a new addition when it rolls into Jeju Island, South Korea in two years' time. The 1st AquaForum aims to increase participation in the event from the Asia Pacific aquaculture industry with topical sessions, roundtable discussions, workshops, farm tours and designated meeting spaces. 

Although the inaugural AquaForum will not take place until May 27-29, 2015, the World Aquaculture Society is urging interested attendees to get involved soon to take advantage of its offer of simultaneous translation services, as well as reserved seating. The organizers will cover topics particularly relevant to the Asia Pacific region, which may include flatfish and shrimp health, aqua feed technologies, marine finfish and shellfish production and integrated aquaculture systems.

The forum will be formally presented at Asia Pacific Aqualculture 2013 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Organizers WAS welcome industry input, so pitch them your ideas at booth 33 of the show on December 10-13, 2013.

More information:
www.was.org

YSI

Ohio-based YSI is a brand of Xylem Inc, and provides sensors, instruments, software, and data collection platforms for the monitoring and testing of water quality.

Friday video: Instrument storage with YSI

With the clocks going back across Europe this weekend (and the weekend after in North America), it seems that winter is finally upon those of us living in the soon-to-be-frozen north. Instead of something to warm your spirits, this week's Friday Video is a very practical one.

It's a webinar from water quality gurus YSI, taking you through how you can keep your instruments safe from the ravages of winter. When spring rolls around, you'll find that your vital instruments are still in perfect condition. Check it out. 

25/10/13: Chinese aquaculture gears up for symposium

The Ninth Symposium of the World's Chinese Scientists on Nutrition and Feeding of Finfish and Shellfish (SWCSNFFS) will be held in Xiamen, China on 12-16 November, 2013 amid much interest from the global aquaculture community.

For 2013 the symposium will focus on the theme 'Low-carbon, high-efficiency, co-operation and innovation', and among the speakers from the science, aquaculture and R&D project management worlds, topics like sustainable development, quality control and collaboration between feed and additive companies are high on the agenda.

Personnel from International Aquafeed magazine will also leave a strong impression. Its publisher, the dean of animal feed journalism Roger Gilbert, will give the symposium a European perspective on the aquaculture feed industry chain, and Prof Kang-Sen Mai, Associate Editor for the magazine's Chinese edition, will give a talk on the sustainable development of the industry in China. Regular contributor Prof Dominque Bureau of the University of Guelph will also be present, speaking on the importance of nutrition in reducing aquaculture's environmental impact.

SWCSNFFS is China's leading aquaculture conference: this fact alone gives it global prominence given the level of opportunity in China's aquaculture sector. The country accounts for more than 70 percent of the world's production (in 2011 reaching 16.52 million tonnes), a fact largely attributable to the rapid development of aquatic animal nutrition and feed technology in China.

However, the use of formulated feed in China is still not widespread, and though the biggest in terms of production, it is far from a power. It still lags behind Western countries in the research and development of aquatic nutrition and feed technology: The symposium, above all, seeks to readdress the balance. In Xiamen this November it will provide a line of communication between academic and industry circles, in the hope of strengthening their cooperation and accelerate the development of aquaculture nutrition and technology.

This is the first time SWCSNFFS has visited Xiamen, one of China's first Special Economic Zones and an economic centre for the West Coast of Taiwan Strait. More than ten million tourists a year come to the city nicknamed the 'Garden of the Ocean', and The Aquaculturists will be there to cover it all.

Final registration closes on 31 October, 2013, so there's still time to book a place. For more information, visit www.9wcsnffs.org, or send an email to swcsnffs2013@163.com
 

Chinese flag (Photo credit: BWJones)

25/10/13: INVE Aquaculture unveils new hatchery expert

Randall L Aungst, new Global Technical
Support Manager at INVE Aquaculture

News fresh off the wire from INVE HQ:

Earlier this year INVE Aquaculture, global leader in nutrition and health, strengthened its technical expertise by adding Randall L. Aungst to its team of hatchery experts.

Aungst, like INVE, has been a true pioneer in the aquaculture industry. Starting in Panama in the early 70s as a top technician, he has designed, built and managed numerous successful shrimp hatcheries in both the Americas and Asia. Until recently, he was Managing Director of the aquaculture division for Nobleworld Consultants. While working for Black Tiger Aquaculture, he helped renovate and manage a 220 hectare farm that was ceased in 1996 due to white spot disease and turned it into a profit center, while simultaneously designing and managing the first SPF Monodon breeding programme in Asia, which as of today has reached five generations.

Aungst will work as Global Technical Support Manager and take on a consulting role at shrimp hatcheries worldwide that use or plan on using INVE Aquaculture products. Aungst says: “Having worked in commercial hatcheries for nearly 40 years, I’ve always looked at INVE Aquaculture as a reliable, constant factor.  

“Our industry wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for companies like INVE. I look forward to not only assisting our customers by offering advice and tackle certain bottle-necks they might be facing, but also to fully introduce the newly developed Best Balance concept, something I truly believe in.”

Wenger

Introducing 23 innovations and 11 new patents in 2010 alone, the family-owned Wenger, Inc is committed to groundbreaking innovation in the extrusion market.

Sparking investment in aquaculture

Demand for fish continues at its insatiable rise. Since 1961 - that's over 50 years ago - the worldwide demand for fish has been increasing at twice the rate of the growth in global population and today we are eating more than twice the amount of fish we did 50 years ago - and that is likely to increase in the years ahead, rising to an anticipated 230 million tonnes by 2050.

In the past, captured fisheries have been supplying the main source for fish for consumption. Presently, almost 85% of worldwide fish stocks are either being made use of or, at worse, reducing. It is not sustainable to continue to put pressure on capture fisheries; scientists predict that our oceans will become virtual deserts in less than 35 years.

This is the reason behind setting up AquaSpark (view the video here), new business that looks at ways to help companies continue to invest - through a global investment fund for small to medium-sized businesses - in the aquaculture sector for good!

Read more ...

AB Vista non-starch polysaccharide forum set for 2014

The inaugural Inspire (International Non-Starch Polysaccharide) Forum addressing the development and use of NSP enzymes in animal nutrition is set to take place between 31 March and 2 April 2014, in Pitlochry, Scotland.

Sponsored by leading micro-ingredient supplier AB Vista, the Inspire Forum 2014 will bring together over 70 leading academic and industry experts in NSPs and NSP enzymes for three days of technical presentations and discussion workshops.

“Bringing this collective expertise together provides a fantastic opportunity to promote open discussion, and will create a unique forum for debate on the wide-ranging issues relating to NSPs in animal nutrition,” states Dr Nell Masey O’Neill, AB Vista’s Research and Development Manager.

“By clarifying NSP misunderstandings, highlighting the mechanisms by which NSP enzymes act and examining the reasons behind product performance, Inspire Forum 2014 will also seek to define those potential directions for future development most relevant to the needs of the marketplace.”

A full agenda, plus confirmed speakers, will be released during the coming months, and posted to the dedicated website, inspireforum.com.

Twitter users interested in receiving the latest information before and during the forum can also follow @inspireforum or the #nspforum hashtag.

24/10/13: Marine Harvest's Scottish boom, Walmart salmon protests, killer jellyfish

Norway-based Marine Harvest yesterday revised up its production forecast for 2013 and 2014, while announcing third quarter rofits of NOK 793m. The world’s largest fish farming company believes it is on course to produce 340,000 tonnes of fish by the end of 2013, and 405,000 tonnes in 2014. CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog had special praise for the performance of Scotland’s fish farms, which delivered a record high.
Read more …

It’s not all been good news for Marine Harvest though, as RTE News reports that the company’s salmon facility in Clare Island, Ireland has been devastated by an attack from killer jellyfish. 20,000 fish – 25 percent of its total stocks – were wiped out, and harvesting of the other 75 percent is being “accelerated” to reduce the long-term damage to the farm.
Read more …

Protesters took to a British Columbia Walmart on Tuesday, raising their concerns about the effect of disease from farmed salmon crossing over to coastal wildlife. Walmart , which stocks salmon it considers to be sustainably farmed, has no plans to alter its supply, citing various NGOs and the Global Aquaculture Alliance, as well as the Canadian government, as evidence that disease outbreaks are being properly addressed.
Read more …

Sea Nettle (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) Jellyfish in captivity in the Monterey Bay Aquarium (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reed Mariculture

Founded in 1995, Reed Mariculture with its "scientist farmers" is the world's largest producer of marine microalgae concentrates, which it sells as a food source for the global aquaculture industry.

22/10/13: Mitsui movements, ocean governance, and post-tsunami oyster reconstruction

East Japan will pass a milestone in its reconstruction following the March 2011 tsunami, if its oyster farms post their expected catch numbers. Production volume in the affected Miyagi prefecture, which pre-disaster was second only to Hiroshima, should return from 15 percent to 40 percent of 2010 levels.
Read more …

Japanese conglomerate and Novus owner Mitsui will buy a 30.8 percent stake in top Vietnamese shrimp exporter Minh Phu Seafood, reports Reuters. It’s expected the move will give Minh Phu a significant boost in its ability to reach foreign markets.
Read more …

A survey from the Global Ocean Commission has revealed that three-quarters of the world’s population would welcome a single organization tasked with protecting international waters and their sea life. The full results of the survey, which is part of continuing work by the Commission to produce recommendations for ocean governance, were released as part of the Third International Marine Protected Areas Congress, held in France all this week.
Read more …

Shrimp farms (Photo credit: -JvL-)

Pharmaq

Headquarted in Norway, Pharmaq produce vaccines and carry out research into the inflammatory diseases of commercial fish species. Recently the company had a big presence at AquaNor in Trondheim, documented extensively in the September/October edition of International Aquafeed magazine.

LACQUA 13 proves a Spanish success

More than 500 participants from 23 countries attended the recent LACQUA 13 conference, described as 'the most important Spanish-language meeting in the history of Latin American aquaculture'.

The remarks came from Dr Antonio Garza de Yta, president of the Latin American and Caribbean Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society, after a successful conclusion to the event held in Villavicencio, Colombia on 8-11 October.

Stressing the need for further co-ordination within the region, Dr Garza attributed some of the conference's success to its recognition of the Spanish language as Latin America's greatest unifying force.

"Remarking the importance of the Spanish language in the region is the more practical and simple way to integrate the industry, the academics and the decision-makers," he noted.

Along with technical presentations and networking opportunities, on the programme were the 4th Latin American Culture of Native Fish meeting, the XIX Aquaculture Meeting of Los Llanos, and the VI Regional Forum of Aquaculture.

More information: www.was.org

21/10/13: Liberia's fish co-operative, Hyundai design theatre, fish round-ups

Liberians with HIV have set up a fish farm with the help of poverty charity Shalom, reports AllAfrica. The fish grown by the co-operative (the first of its kind) provide subsistence farmers with a clean source of protein, more crucial than usual for people with HIV, and also give them something to trade with the local community.Read more …

Car manufacturer Hyundai has hooked up its hydrogen-powered ix35 FCEV to an aquaponics system for a one-day display at the Design Museum in London, UK. In what the Korean car maker rather grandly calls ‘design theatre’, water vapour from the car’s fuel cell is condensed and filters into the fish tank, and fish waste is recycled as fertilizer for vegetables.
Read more …

Authorities in Newfoundland, Canada were forced to issue special licences for salmon-catchers after some 20,000 of the fish escaped from a Cooke Aquaculture fish farm. Around one in ten were corralled by the fish cowboys and returned to the facility; the rest, presumably, were not so lucky. 
Read more …

Despite resource wealth and a relatively favourable climate, Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

O&J Højtryk

Denmark's O&J Højtryk is a leading independent refurbisher of dies, rollers and other wear parts for pellet mills and feed machinery. Using reconditioning machinery of its own design, O&J also sells its products directly.

Friday video: David Suzuki's maggot meal

We've had quite a few positive responses about the Vancouver Sun story on insect larvae feeds we covered yesterday on the blog.

So for our weekly Friday video, I thought I'd share a video from the company which explains their products in a little more detail. They're called Enterra Feed, and were founded by venture capitalist Brad Marchant in association with the well-known TV science personality David Suzuki.


And here's an article published today by All About Feed, reporting on the need for European Union legislation to allow the development of insect-based animal feeds. The story appears to be gathering momentum, so watch for further updates in the months ahead ...

Norel

Norel produces nutritional additives for a range of animal species. Headquartered in Madrid with labs and factories in Mexico and Egypt, the company is a leading player in global feed nutrition.

17/10/13: Maggot brain, sustainability reports

The Vancouver Sun reports that Canadian environmentalist and broadcaster David Suzuki has got behind a Vancouver start-up which aims to produce fish feed from insect larvae as a more sustainable alternative to fishmeal. The benefits don’t stop at relieving the pressure on the ocean’s wild fish reserves: the maggots are fed on traceable food waste destined for the landfill.
Read more …

Stating the need to maintain aquaculture’s current rate of growth as “imperative”, the FAO has rubber-stamped a new global partnership between national governments, UN agencies, NGOs and the aquaculture industry. The private-public partnership hopes to fight aquaculture’s corner under increasing competition for space both inland and at sea, while ensuring that the solutions found will be sustainable in the long-term.
Read more …

A World Bank backed report has urged businesses to help safeguard the ocean’s fish stocks. Thinking along the same lines as the FAO, it recommends public-private partnerships as part of a ‘paradigm shift’ in how national governments and seafood businesses work with local communities to protect the vital food source for future generations.
Read more …

David Suzuki, Canadian environmental activist  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Asia Pacific Aquaculture expands conference line-up

Asia Pacific Aquaculture 2013 is increasing its total conference space following a torrent of abstracts and high interest in its industry-led sessions from sponsor companies such as Biomin and Evonik.

The World Aquaculture Society has upped its number of conference rooms from six to nine to ensure that visitors to the event in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam have the best possible programme of research and industrial developments.

Potential visitors to Asia Pacific Aquaculture (held on 10-13 December 2013) can still register for the event, which includes the option of participating in official farm tours and a workshop (held on 9 December) on Biofloc technology in shrimp farming.

Vietnamese participants can take advantage of reduced rates if they book their place by 15 November.

There is still time for exhibitors to book space at the show, joining Novus, Alltech and Tyson Animal Nutrition in promoting their latest products and initiatives to all comers. Over 120 have already signed up, representing more than 20 different countries. 

More information
International participants: register online
Vietnamese participants : register online or contact the organizers
Exhibitors: contact Mario Stael

www.was.org
www.marevent.com

Muyang

Based in Yangzhou, China, Muyang specializes in the design, fabrication and installation of machinery for various industries, including feed manufacturing, grain milling and food processing. The Group now provides its products and services to more than 85 countries, accounting for half of all Chinese feed machinery exports.

16/10/13: Whole Foods interview, new Arapaima, microalgae research

In an interview with sustainability magazine GreenBiz, Whole Foods seafood quality control coordinator Carrie Brownstein explains how the its award-winning seafood sourcing came to be, and how the company is proving how aquaculture can make money while keeping its environmental impact to a minimum.
Read more … 

A giant Amazonian fish discovered in 2001 has been determined to be the first known example of a new species, Arapaima leptosome. Originally thought to be part of the well-known A. gigas species, the new grouping is expected to help conservationists understand the region’s complex ecosystem.
Read more …
 
Norwegian biotech institute Uni Research is embarking on a programme of study to investigate potential microalgae products and develop techniques for farming the one-celled eukaryotes. The Fish Site reports on how the EU-funded MIRACLES project is bringing together 26 research partners to work on algaeculture, thought by some to hold the key for replacing fish oil as the source of vital fatty acids for aquaculture feeds.
Read more …

Arapaima (Arapaima gigas) (Photo credit: cliff1066™)

Liptosa

Liptosa manufactures efficient, organic feed additives designed to maintain animal health without the use of medication. Founded in 1996, it has expanded worldwide to service 53 countries on all five continents.

Northern Australian fisherman comes ashore to fight for his industry

Environmentalists and conservationists working together in Australia to create the world's largest marine reserve zones that exclude fishing, has prompted an unexpected response from the country's fishermen.

 From the north of the country one fisherman in particular has taken exception to his government's support for the need for more marine reserves which ban fishing and threatens the livelihoods of independent fishermen around the country. Bruce Davey has taken several months off work to produce a film on fishing in Australia in an effort to tell consumers the real story behind the Australian fishing industry - and at his own cost.

As a fisherman who goes to sea on a daily basis, Mr Davey knows more precisely than any other in or around the industry the state of fish stocks in his area and the need or otherwise for marine reserves. 

In the trailer to his film 'Drawing the Line', which is expected to be released in mid-November 2013, other fishermen and women support his call for greater transparency and understanding - and the inclusion of fishing industry representation in any decision-making of this nature. He labels the process to create the marine reserves and the government's actions that excluded the fishing industry from making representation as "corrupt."

In addition, industry supporters in his film's trailer point out that while Australian fisheries are already among the most regulated and sustainable in the world, Australian consumers' growing demand for fish products is resulting in imports being accepted from countries where industries are unregulated and fisheries are being dangerously over-exploited. A situation Mr Davey's supporters claim as immoral.

Dr Davey adds that without taking action and engaging with the public he wouldn't expect the Australian fishing industry to survive more than 50 years. However, he is confident that if consumers learn how the country's fishermen and women are working responsibly to sustain their industry then it should survive at least another 50 generations!

View the trailer here. 

English: Australian flag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

15/10/13: More salmon, more hydropower; South-East Africa's fish industry; alligators as an aquaculture species?

The CEDREN Research Centre, Norway recently announced it has added the finishing touches to a new guide that describes the plausability of producing salmon and electricity at the same time.

Atle Harby, senior scientist leads the CEDREN research centre – which is manned by scientists from SINTEF Energy, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA). 

"Increased hydropower generation and larger salmon stocks are not necessarily a contradiction in terms," says Harby.

Read more...

In an effort to promote the development of the Nigerian aquaculture industry, create jobs and increase food production, the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) is partnering with Teemartins Aquaculture to establish the South-East Innovation Platform for the aquaculture value chain in Nigeria.

Ndubuisi Menakaya, chief commissioner for agriculture, Anambra State, Nigeria stated that if the government provides an enabling environment for the private sector, the Aquaculture industry would thrive in the country.

Read more...

Dave Smith, owner of Freshwater Farms, Ohio, USA has asked the state farm bureau for help to reclassify farm-raised alligators as an aquaculture species rather than the dangerous, wild animals they are currently classed as.

Smith currently houses a 4-foot long Alligator on his farm, the state’s largest indoor fish hatchery. He also runs a retail fish market at the hatchery, which includes attractions such as a trout-feeding area and an interactive sturgeon pool.

The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation's specialty crops advisory team passed a resolution asking the bureau to support a change to reclassify the species. In December 2013, the bureau’s voting delegation will decide whether to support the proposed change.

Read more...

Two American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis),  USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Leiber

Leiber's workforce of over 140 applies cutting-edge science and production techniques to pure German brewers' yeast. The company has been providing animal nutrition solutions for more than 50 years.

14/10/13: Cyclone Phailin, oyster trouble, salmon in Korea

India’s Cyclone Phailin, which led to massive evacuations in the east of the country, has done limited damage to shrimp farms in the region. Undercurrent News reports that 200 acres of farms have been destroyed, in a blow for India’s billion-dollar shrimp industry.

Read more …

Norway’s Marine Harvest is expanding its reach into South Korea with a new filleting and packaging plant opened last week in Incheon. The factory, which deals exclusively with salmon, follows recent developments in Korean-Norwegian trade which saw fresh salmon imports overtake frozen for the first time.
Read more …

A major British oyster spot has banned harvesting of the mollusc for this season after a
‘population collapse’. Marine biologists are currently uncertain about what’s caused the
drop in numbers in the Solent, a stretch of water on the south coast of England between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Read more …

 Cyclone Phailin, pictured over the east of India (Photo credit: sjrankin)

Aquaculture without Frontiers ties up with malnutrition initiative

Hot off the press from our friends at Aquaculture without Frontiers...

 
As we approach World Food Day on 16 October, Aquaculture without Frontiers is excited to announce that they have joined the Alliance Against Hunger & Malnutrition.

AAHM co-ordinator Marie-Christine Laporte said “The Alliance Against Hunger and Malnutrition is a forward-thinking global initiative that links like-minded organizations and institutions that are involved in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

“The Alliance Against Hunger and Malnutrition provides a unique middle ground – a multi-stakeholder platform and forum where those who run top-down and bottom-up development initiatives can meet in a neutral and open environment, share ideas, learn from each other’s successes and lessons, and establish networks for supportive communication within countries, across national borders or with countries in distant parts of the world.

“We are very pleased to have a dedicated non-governmental aquaculture organization to assist our partners and through them a devoted and effective aquaculture hub.” 

The collaboration with AAHM was discussed with the Aquaculture without Frontiers Executive Director and International Aquafeed magazine contributor Roy Palmer, during a visit to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) offices in Rome, Italy.

Palmer said “The Alliance Against Hunger and Malnutrition currently supports National Alliances in 60 countries on four continents with combined populations of more than a billion people.

“We believe that the skills, knowledge and experience of our aquaculture specialists and volunteers can have a great impact in adding another dimension to the food equation for the various partners.

“We are keen to build working relationships and, through that unity, increase the chances of success in the aim to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. We are believers that aquaculture can make a difference.”

He added “842 million people in 2011–13, or around one in eight people in the world, were estimated to be suffering from chronic hunger, regularly not getting enough food to conduct an active life. Almost all the hungry people, 852 million, live in developing countries, representing 15 percent of the population of developing counties.

“According to the FAO there are 16 million people undernourished in developed countries. In Africa the number of hungry grew to 239 million, with nearly 20 million added in the last few years – meaning that nearly one in four are hungry.

“In sub-Saharan Africa, the modest progress achieved in recent years up to 2007 was reversed, with hunger rising 2 percent per year since then.”

http://www.aquaculturewithoutfrontiers.org/
http://www.theaahm.org/home/en/

The Aquaculturists - 13/10/13: Day 1 - Disease the biggest risk to industry

International Aquafeed columnist Roy Palmer attended last week's GOAL, the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s 2013 conference in Paris, France, from 7-10 October, and reports here on Day 1:

The Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership (GOAL) meeting in Paris, France was kicked off by Wally Stevens, Executive Director of GAA and he highlighted that collectively we were falling behind the concept of aquaculture production ‘doubling in a decade’.

This issue was further highlighted by Jim Anderson (World Bank) & Ragnar Tveteras (University of Stavanger) when they gave an overview of facts and figures on aquaculture around the world. The main issue was the problems of disease especially in aquaculture shrimp which still accounts for 54% of all shrimp harvested. With a regular increase of 5% on growth being achieved up until two years ago it effectively means that the current production figures are down some 23% on where we should be.

On fish, however, it was mentioned that production has impressively increased fivefold since 1990, albeit this growth has slowed in the last year. Incredibly the industry had grown Whitefish from 2.3 million tonnes to 9.5 million tonnes in the ten years to 2012. 

The well respected Anderson said “Disease is the biggest risk to the industry. It undermines financing and market development and yet the industry is chronically under invested in disease management.”

The audience, which was notably over 70% industry (producers, buyers and suppliers), heard much about disease with updates on ISA in Salmon (Fred Kibenge, University of Prince Edward Island) and EMS on Shrimp. On the latter Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Co Ltd.’s, Robins McIntosh, was convinced that June 2013 was when the disease bottomed out and he is hopeful that improvement is happening as a result of the science and research which is discovering more about the disease.

Gorjan Nikolik from Rabobank suggested that whenever there are such issues which affect trade there are winners and losers and he suggested the Chinese market is the winner and the losers are the markets of USA and EU. With the industry not being that well promoted Gorjan said that shelf space shifts and consumer behaviors change and that creates marketing problems as the supply improves.
    
Nearly 90 percent of the delegates were doing business in either USA (42%), EU (26%) or Asia/Oceania (20%) got updates about production in Greece (Lara Barazi-Yeroulanos), Turkey (Hayri Deniz) and Myanmar (Willem van der Pijl) – all countries on the rise in aquaculture production.

Keynote speaker, Ole- Erik LeRoy, Chairman of Marine Harvest, said that they were leading the ‘Blue Revolution’ – with his company operating in 21 countries, employing 6290 people who are producing some 6 million meals per day through a total production of around 400,000mt of Salmon. Highlighting the fully integration of the business covering production right through processing to retailing (noting the new concept shop ‘Supreme Salmon’) and with about 90 projects in Research & Development covering all aspects of their business including processing and fish feeds. 

LeRoy said, “We must demand sustainable growth financially, socially and environmentally where above all we must learn to be transparent – learn that there is no place to hide and use this as a tool. Cultivating the ocean is new and it is essential for world growth and to progress we must rely on innovation, smart regulations from Government, research (especially in sea lice, biology, genetics, nutritional values, etc.), collaboratively planning in regions and industry development.”

He added that, “The most important words in aquaculture are ‘risk management’ and that improvement cannot happen without change.”

There were two important ‘GAA Lifetime Achievement Awards’ made during the program to Bjorn Myrseth and Don Lightner.

Professor Lightner, University of Arizona, is strongly in the limelight at the moment as he is the pre-eminent pathologist of cultured shrimp engaged in trying to solve the massive EMS problem. He directs an OIE reference laboratory for shrimp diseases and his team of researchers are engaged in virology, histology, toxicology, electron microscopy and many other tools for disease diagnosis, pathogen characterization and treatment.

Lightner said, “Over the years he had learned that the primary factors that influence disease were transfer of animals; Government Veterinary services; aquaculture management practices; zonal management and collaboration among sectors.”
   
Bjorn Myrseth, pioneered Atlantic Salmon smolt production back in the 1970’s and has been a major innovator in aquaculture in a number of continents ever since. Myrseth gave a short case study relating to the Faroese story and highlighted that is was the model that should be used globally. 

He also said that he was happy to pass on the basics of fish farming highlighting that “You need to look after your employees ensuring that you train them and empower them, tolerating mistakes. He stressed the importance of brood fish, egg quality and juvenile quality and quantity. Quality is still not realized as much as it should be.”

Next year's GOAL will be held in Vietman