The Aquaculturists: 2015

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Sending all of our readers... Seasons Greetings
and best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year

Monday, December 21, 2015

21/12/2015: IBioIC and SAIC offer funding for PhD projects in sustainable feeds for finfish

The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) and Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) invite funding applications for PhD projects which consider biotechnology solutions to the supply of sustainable feed ingredients for the benefit of both the industrial biotechnology (IB) and aquaculture industries in Scotland.

SAIC supports the growth and profitability of the Scottish aquaculture industry, including focusing on the introduction of more sustainable practices. A SAIC Priority Innovation Area is alternative sustainable feeds for finfish. IBioIC focuses on accelerating and de-risking the development of commercially viable, sustainable IB solutions. IBioIC is committed to guiding a concept or idea, through to industry adoption. Considering both organisations’ focus, the PhD is designed to answer a commercial question in aquaculture, using IB to offer a solution.

Image: Pictures of Money

A key activity of IBioIC and SAIC is the support of industrially relevant PhD projects that bring projects closer to industrialisation. The areas of research for a PhD project to be considered by IBioIC and SAIC could include:

Identification and production of high quality protein sources (such as specific amino acids);
Identification and production of novel sources of lipids (such as EPA and DHA);
Identification and production of functional feed ingredients;
Identification and production of novel sources of micro ingredients (including pigments)

Up to two thirds cash funding is available from IBioIC and SAIC for projects up to three years in length, with the remaining funding to come from the academic or industrial partner as relevant. Applications will be assessed by way of competition and must demonstrate industrial relevance by the innovative use or application of IB that is of direct commercial benefit to the aquaculture industry in Scotland.

Various technical merits will be judged to ensure the most innovative and commercially viable project is selected including: technical feasibility and ambition; degree of novel invention; industrial relevance and commercial applicability.

Jude Huggan, Business Development Manager, IBioIC said, “We are pleased to collaborate with SAIC in encouraging IB processes into cross-disciplinary areas. This PhD will widen the remit of IB in Scotland by providing applications from one important sector to the questions in another.”

Corinne Critchlow-Watton, Research and Knowledge Exchange Manager, SAIC said, “This PhD directly tackles an industry issue by introducing more sustainable practices and preparing the aquaculture industry for the future. The topic is one at the heart of our strategic focus.”

In fostering industry-relevant collaboration, SAIC and IBioIC will also impact positively on the Scottish economy by boosting cross-sector innovation. The project will be led by a Scottish Higher Education Institute and supported by a relevant industry member depending on the topic of investigation. The call closes at 12pm on 8th February.

For information on how to enter click HERE.

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the
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For additional daily news from aquaculture around the world: aquaculture-news

Friday, December 18, 2015

18/12/2015: New report suggest world fish stocks are decreasing

image source

A new global analysis of fish stocks has found that populations are decreasing, with climate change being the main cause.

According to an article recently published by Weather.com, the study that featured in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, specifically notes that the global distribution of certain species has changed. In the future, their ability to reproduce efficiently might be hampered as well, the study found.

"We think it is a lack of food availability for these small fish," lead author Gregory L. Britten, a doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine, told NPR. "When fish are young, their primary food is phytoplankton and microscopic animals. If they don't find food in a matter of days, they can die."

In total in this study, 127 species were examined through a global meta-analysis. Across the regions and species studied, the average recruitment (or ability to produce viable offspring) was projected to drop 3 percent. But while the global average saw a decline in fish recruitment, some species might increase in population due to climate change, the paper noted.

“There's a lot of variability around that 3 percent,” Jon Hare, supervisory research oceanographer at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, a division of NOAA Fisheries, who did not work on the study, told weather.com. “Some stocks are going to experience even greater decline, and some stocks are going to experience lower declines and also, potentially, increases.”

Hare said in the Northeastern United States the Atlantic croaker, for example, might do well in warmer conditions.

“One of the regulation mechanisms for Atlantic croaker is overwinter survival, so in a very cold winter, fewer young fish survive,” he said. “As winters have warmed, that's meant that more and more young fish are surviving.”

Although Hare said the new study adds an important element to the global discussion, individual species analysis is key to fishery management. That's one reason NOAA recently completed a vulnerability assessment for fish stocks in the Northeastern U.S., examining 82 species individually and making projections about the effect of future climate change. There's also a new online database tracking population movements to help fisheries respond.

At this point, all estimates of future fish populations are just that: estimates. Currently, we have a good idea of how climate change will impact fish 20, 30, even 50 years into the future, and we know we need to respond, Hare said. But beyond that, it's difficult.

“When you get beyond 50 years, that's when it really becomes dependent on the choices we make now in terms of CO2 emissions,” he noted.

Britten told NPR that the study's findings on fish reproduction should aid future fish management to lessen climate change's impact.

"It's no longer just pull back on fishing and watch the stock rebound," he said. "It's also a question of monitoring and understanding the ability of stocks to rebound, and that's what we demonstrated in this study."

Read more HERE.

18/12/2015: EU fishing regulations relaxed around UK shores in light

A recent vote by European Union ministers has seen fishing regulations relaxed around the shoreline of the British Isles. In light of recent estimations that fish stocks in the region have replenished to a satisfactory standard, the negotiations will see less stringent quotas introduced next year.

Cod on Sale at a Scottish fish market. source

From 2016, fishermen will be allowed to catch twice as many plaice in the English Channel, 15% more cod and 47% more haddock in the North Sea;15% more sole in the western Channel and 20% more Celtic Sea hake, according to an article recently published by theGuardian.com.

Restrictions on plaice were relaxed after the fish showed a dramatic recovery of around 300% in a decade, attributed to the success of previous quotas. But conservationists warned that lifting limits now could impact negatively on many fragile fish populations still recovering from years of overfishing.

“Some quotas continue to allow severe overfishing, threatening the sustainability of the stock and the industry that relies on it,” said Liane Veitch, a scientist for the green legal group ClientEarth.Reaction from the thinktank the Pew Trusts was more guarded, pending disclosure of the scientific evidence on which the decisions were based.

“The good news is that ministers adopted many fishing limits in line with the scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES),” said Andrew Clayton, the trust’s fisheries’ project director. “For other stocks, however, ministers exceeded the ICES advice. This makes implementing the CFP [common fisheries policy] more difficult, so it is important that ministers make public the justification for these decisions.”

However,quotas for fish species such as herring, anchovies and langoustines were tightened by ministers though, in line with the EU’s reformed CFP, which requires all species to be sustainably fished by 2020 at the latest. The news was welcomed by the fishing industry. Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “These quota rises for some of our most important stocks is good news for the industry and underlines the sustainable fishing practices of the Scottish fleet.

“Haddock is particularly important for the Scottish industry and this quota increase, along with those for North Sea cod and a number of other species, provides a welcome boost for our fishermen.”

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs credited the substantial quota increases to “tough UK-driven decisions” which it said would improve fish stocks and industry profitability. “By fighting for the fishing industry, and making a clear case for the need for more sustainable fishing, we have got a good deal and shown we can get what we need in Europe,” said George Eustice, the fisheries minister. “That’s just what we’re also doing in this European renegotiation [over EU membership], fighting hard for the UK.”

An EU proposal for a six-month ban on the fishing of severely depleted sea bass populations was whittled down to a two-month ban in the negotiations, with monthly limits for commercial fishing, and a one-a-day rule for recreational anglers.The phasing-in of an embargo on fish discards will also be extended to some species of haddock, whiting and sole from January.

The EU’s environment commissioner, Karmenu Vella , insisted that the new decision showed the EU was on track to meet its CFP goals. “We cannot jeopardise longer term sustainability for shorter term considerations,” he said. “I am happy to announce that we have made good progress.”

Read more HERE.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

17/12/2015: WOC and Maersk Line Partner With University of Hawaii to Advance Sea Based Tsunami Detection

Maersk Line vessels operating across the North Pacific are hosting instruments that create a network of low-cost tsunami sensors to augment existing detection systems.

Maersk's involvement in the project was organized by the World Ocean Council (WOC) “Smart Ocean-Smart Industries” Program, which works as a broker between the science community and the ocean business community in order to advance the use of ocean industry vessels and platforms for data collection.

Accurate and rapid detection and assessment of tsunamis in the open ocean is critical for predicting how they will impact distant coastlines, enabling appropriate mitigation efforts. Scientists from the University of Hawai‘i – Mānoa (UHM) School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), with funding from US NOAA, are partnering with Maersk Line and Matson Navigation to equip 10 ships with real-time geodetic GPS systems and satellite communications. The pilot network of GPS-equipped ships enables each vessel to act as an open-ocean tide gauge. Data from these new tsunami sensors are streamed, via satellite, to a land-based data center where they are processed and analyzed for tsunami signals.

“The 2011 Japan earthquake highlighted weaknesses in our understanding of earthquake and tsunami hazards, and emphasized the need for more densely-spaced observing capabilities,” said James Foster, SOEST associate researcher and lead investigator for the project. “Commercial vessels are the only realistic option for providing observation platforms at the scale necessary. The WOC Smart Ocean-Smart Industries program was exactly the mechanism we needed to identify and engage a shipping company that might respond to our needs for instrument hosting and ocean data collection,” he added.

During the Illapel tsunami in 2015, several of the pilot project ships were in open ocean, enabling actual testing of the sensors. First results were positive, confirming predicted performance of the sensors. With the network installed, the scientists are at the beginning of further testing system performance and refining methods for filtering time series to improve resolution of tsunami events.

Image source

Signe Bruun Jensen, Head of Sustainability at Maersk Line, highlighted that “The Smart Ocean-Smart Industries program was one of the main reasons we joined the World Ocean Council. The WOC enables new models for cooperation between the scientific/ocean observing community and ocean industries to address our shared challenges. The tsunami detection project is a perfect example of the potential of these collaborations. Through our fleet of more than 600 vessels, deeper knowledge of the oceans can be gained, resulting ultimately in higher safety of exposed coastal areas.”

Paul Holthus, WOC’s CEO, added, “The WOC Smart Ocean-Smart Industries program is expanding the use of commercial vessels and platforms for data collection by fostering and coordinating interaction between ocean industries and the science and technology communities. We are working to increase ocean information through pilot efforts that would address: Priority data needs, such as ocean acidification, bathymetry; Data deficient areas, such as the Arctic, waters around Africa, the Southern Ocean; and Partnering with existing programs and technology, such as the Global Drifter Program and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO).”

The WOC is catalyzing ocean industry leadership and collaboration to improve ocean understanding in support of sustainable development. The Smart Ocean-Smart Industries program is developing a structure and process to support ongoing interaction between industries and the science/technology communities to identify needs, priorities and opportunities for partnerships in data collection. Scaling up data collection efforts can also spur innovation, stimulate business and create investment opportunities, e.g. by growing the market for the ocean observation technology and services.

Read more HERE.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

16/12/2015: Poor sea lice management poses "massive threat" to wild fish

A Scottish Salmon Farm. source

The failure of fish farms to manage sea lice poses a "massive threat" to wild salmon and sea trout, claims a marine conservation body.

Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland (S&TCS) is calling for the Scottish Government to urgently strengthen regulations to prevent further damage to already depleted wild fish populations.

The organisation has published a report into the control of sea lice on fish farms in Scotland over the last two years, which it claims prove that current regulations to manage sea lice are ineffective and that the situation is a "disaster" for wild salmon and trout.

Research shows that the lice pose a risk of further harm at an individual and at a population level to the wild fish.

The report shows that between 2013 and 2015, the number of fish farming regions failing to keep adult female sea lice numbers below the industry's voluntary Code of Good Practice threshold is on an upward trend.

Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of S&TCS, said: "The Scottish Government is aware that wild salmonids in the aquaculture zone on the west coast are already in deep trouble.

"The shocking findings of the S&TCS report mean that the current business as usual approach of Scottish Government towards salmon farming is no longer sustainable.

"Quite apart from the obligation the Scottish Government should feel to protect wild salmon and sea trout, as iconic wild species, Scotland has international responsibilities to comply with European law and to meet its commitments that it has made to other North Atlantic nations to protect Atlantic salmon.

Mt Graham S-Stewart also added that ST & C believed that "the Scottish Government has no choice now but to act to increase the protection of wild salmonid species of international significance and take a lead among fish-farming nations." adding that hope it can raise its game to do just that."

The study also found that regions which produce the most farmed salmon are the worst offenders, in terms of meeting the Code of Good Practice lice threshold of 0.5 adult female lice per fish.The readings were taken in May 2015, which is the peak wild smolt migration run and when wild fish are at their most vulnerable.

Mr Graham-Stewart continued: "What is concerning is that the data shows that in much of the production of farmed salmon in Scotland and the Western Isles, adult female sea lice counts per farmed fish have risen often to levels well above industry thresholds, where they often remain for many months, adding that potentially "this is a disaster for wild salmon and sea trout."

"Nor does the use of wrasse as cleaner fish on some of the fish farms appear to be the panacea it is often held up to be."

The S&TCS is calling for the Scottish Government to order the immediate publication of sea lice data, toughen regulations and make fish farm inspections more thorough, introduce an upper threshold for sea lice, above which a cull would be required by law, and review the current voluntary Code of Good Practice.

Read more HERE.

Monday, December 14, 2015

14/12/2015: AIM-listed biotech firm Benchmark to buy shrimp food manufacturer Inve Aquaculture for $342m

Benchmark has bought INVE. source

Benchmark Holdings, which operates numerous sustainable biotechnology and agriculture companies, will tomorrow announce its takeover of fish food business Inve Aquaculture from Royal Bank of Scotland and Rabobank.

AIM-listed Benchmark paid $342m (£225m) – $300m in cash and the rest in shares – for Inve, which manufactures nutrition and health products for shrimp nurseries in 70 countries.

The acquisition, which has been three years in the pipeline, was funded by a £185.7m shares placing to new and existing institutional investors, including Neil Woodford, Invesco and Allianz.

The 215m shares were issued for 86p each, a discount of 7.53 per cent, to the 93p share price when trading was suspended before the announcement of the deal. The purchase price represents 14.1 times Inve’s adjusted post tax profits for 2014.

Malcolm Pye, Benchmark CEO.

Malcolm Pye, chief executive of Benchmark, recently said to CityAM.com that "the acquisition of Inve makes Benchmark a global leader in the aquaculture technology market overnight. Aquaculture is not only a multi-billion dollar sector but one of the fastest growing in the food industry. Both companies have a drive to address one of the most pressing issues of our time in developing a healthy, sustainable food chain."

Benchmark has said it intends to build a diversified and balanced food sustainability group by growing its existing businesses and expanding into new business sectors with targeted M&A.

Despite the fact that Benchmark is AIM-listed, the deal is technically a reverse takeover (when a private company takes over a larger public one and effectively becomes publicly traded) and so is subject to shareholder approval. It is expected to complete on 30 December.

Inve's management team will remain with the combined company, and will retain its interest in the company.

Read more HERE.

Friday, December 11, 2015

11/12/2015: Global salmon farming giant announces raft of new expansion plans

Salmon farming superpower Marine Harvest, have announced that as a result of "ongoing innovation and sustainable development" it is now neccesary to expand their operation in order to meet demand.

Marine Harvest are now the world’s largest supplier of farmed Atlantic Salmon - satisfying one fifth of global demand.

Marine Harvest to build a new greenfield feed factory in Scotland

Marine Harvest expanded into fish feed with their first factory opening at Bjugn during 2014. The main reason was that feed is a significant part of the cost of producing salmon. The factory at Bjugn has over the past 18 months proven to be a success. Operational excellence and effective transportation and logistics have been key contributors to the good results. Today the factory covers approximately 80% of their Norwegian feed requirements.

However, Marine Harvest see that third party European feed purchases remain significant, within Scotland, Ireland and the Faroe Islands as salmon farming centers where we today are 100% supplied by external feed companies. A second feed factory is therefore in line with the strategy of being a fully integrated protein company.

Marine Harvest supply one fifth of the world's salmon. source

After careful consideration, Scotland is viewed as the best alternative due to its ability to fully serve our internal feed requirements in a cost effective manner. The factory will be positioned to deliver feed to our operations in Scotland, Ireland and the Faroe Islands, but this may change or develop over time. In addition the range of feed types will be broadened to include starter feed for freshwater and organic feed for our Irish operations.

Accordingly, the Board of Directors of Marine Harvest ASA has approved the development of a new feed factory in Scotland. The specific location is yet to be decided. The investment is estimated to approximately GBP 80 million and will be phased over the years 2016-2018, with approximately 95% of the capital expenditure falling within 2017-2018. The investment size reflects that the product range will be broadened. The investment is expected to yield good results, with a capital return target in the range of 15%.

The factory is expected to have a total capacity of around 170 thousand tonnes of feed, with the potential for further expansion. The investment is subject to acquiring land, obtaining relevant permissions and consents. The construction phase is planned to commence in 2017 and expected completion of the feed plant during the first half of 2018. All existing external feed supply contracts in Scotland, Ireland and the Faroe Island expire during the first half of 2018.

Existing management within Marine Harvest Fish Feed will provide support to the build-up of the new operational management.

Marine Harvest to consider expanding business activity into service vessels
There are a substantial number of vessels operating in connection with Marine Harvest today. These vessels are for example work boats, well boats and feed boats. The biological situation in Norway and our other Farming Regions, makes well boats an integrated part of the value chain. Vessel use in salmon farming systems is increasing in significance due to increased smolt transportation, sea lice, grading of fish, freshwater treatments and harvesting; as a consequence we see significant scope for integration in this area of our operations.

Marine Harvest sees this as an opportunity to streamline production and cut costs associated with the area. The profitability in the segment and the expected return is good, and the timing is favorable for such a new business activity. The Board of Directors has therefore requested the administration to evaluate the business area "Marine Harvest Shipping". The business area will be supported by existing corporate group functions and will be developed gradually through organic growth. Marine Harvest will now explore in detail the options within this business segment and we will hire a COO within "Marine Harvest Shipping" in 2016.

About Marine Harvest Group
Marine Harvest Group is the world's leading seafood company and largest producer of farmed salmon, with presence in 24 countries and a total of 11 700 employees worldwide.
The company is headquartered in Bergen, Norway, and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Please see marineharvest.com for further information.

Read more HERE.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

FAMSUN company profile

Muyang Co, Ltd recently announced changing its brand name from Muyang to FAMSUN starting May 2014. This move is prompted by the idea of better illustrating the company’s business and the farm-to-table industry chain it serves. It is consistent with Muyang’s global strategy and its aim of becoming an integrated solution provider in the agro-industry.

FAMSUN originates from “famous, farm, family, sun and union”; it implies Muyang Co, Ltd’s development concept and vision, which is to build a green and healthy supply chain from farm to table together with its customers and to convert traditional agriculture into a modern, profitable and sustainable business with its integrated solutions in feed manufacturing, grain milling, grain handling and storage, food processing, as well as industrial automation.

The creative design of the FAMSUN logo features a beveled letter “F”, a curvy letter “A”, a stretching letter “S” and a friendly letter “U”. It will be the only signage representing Muyang’s business, products, service and solutions. Meanwhile, the company will continue to operate in its current structure, provide follow-up service based on relevant agreement, and its business contacts will remain unchanged.

Visit the website HERE.

Phileo - Lesaffre company profile

Nothing is more precious than life, and that’s the philosophy that drives Phileo.

As global population continues to increase, the world faces a growing demand for food and greater sustainability challenges.

Working at the crossroads of nutrition and health, we are committed to delivering future evidence-based solutions that enhance animal health and performance.

In each and every country, our team’s progress is led by the most advanced scientific outcomes as well as the field input of experienced farmers.

Visit the website HERE.

10/12/2015: Bühler Aeroglide appoints new Sales Manager for North America

Bühler Aeroglide, a global leader in thermal process engineering and technology for food, feed, and industrial materials, has appointed Joe Tordella Area Sales Manager for North America.

Mr Tordella will manage sales for North American food segments, including the snack and ready-to-eat cereal markets. He’ll also oversee the company’s feed segment, serving customers in the pet food and aqua feed markets. Most recently, Mr Tordella managed Bühler Aeroglide’s field engineering capabilities where he led training and process evaluation services designed to improve operations and increase production.

“Joe has achieved a high level of success in field engineering, serving a portfolio of customers with both Bühler and competitor technology,” said Paul McKeithan, Vice President of Sales.

“He has an in-depth understanding of the manufacturing supply chain and the requirements of each component. His experience will be valuable in this new sales role, enabling us to sustain growth and new customer acquisition.”

Mr Tordella joined Bühler Aeroglide as a field engineer in 2010. He was then appointed manager of field engineering and developed a team of engineers, providing front-line evaluations of processing operations. Recently, this service was merged with the company’s international lab services, data tracking tools and technical training in a realignment that will improve overall support for food, feed and industrial processing operations. Mr Tordella holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware.

“Bühler is the first choice for a processing customer because of its large network of support and service capabilities,” said Mr Tordella.

“I’m eager to introduce this service expertise through sales channels. We offer a number of highly valuable tools and services that are unique to the equipment machinery we provide to the industry.”

Bühler Aeroglide manufactures dryers, ovens, roasters, toasters, and hot air expansion systems for the food, feed and industrial product markets. Since 1940, the company has been providing innovations for a better world in the form of high-quality thermal processing equipment. As a business unit of Bühler, Aeroglide is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, and provides sales and service for its industry-leading equipment in more than 140 countries around the world.

Learn more about Bühler Aeroglide HERE.

10/12/2015: Bidvest partners with Best Aquaculture Practices

Image: Nick Saltmarsh

The Global Aquaculture Alliance announced in early December that Bidvest Australia and Bidvest Fresh/Direct Seafoods UK have been added to the growing list of wholesale, retail and foodservice companies worldwide partnering with the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program.

As part of their company-wide sustainability approach, Bidvest Australia and Bidvest Fresh/Direct Seafoods UK will work with their suppliers and the BAP market development team to grow the amount of farmed seafood originating from a BAP-certified facility, as they strive toward sourcing four-star BAP product. Four-star status denotes that the product comes from a BAP-certified processing plant, farm, hatchery and feed mill; it’s the highest achievement in the BAP program.

“GAA welcomes and applauds the leadership position that is being formed by Bidvest,” said Peter Redmond, BAP vice president of market development. “It is always difficult to launch a sustainability platform. To do it across continents is very difficult, and we recognize the effort and drive that Bidvest has put in to becoming a true leader in this sector. Four-star BAP certification is truly the most comprehensive and rigorous approach to aquaculture certification, and we commend Bidvest’s efforts.”

“Direct Seafoods is committed to sourcing their farmed seafood from robust third party certified schemes,” said Laky Zervudachi, director of sustainability and epicurean for Direct Seafoods.

“We believe that four-star BAP products help us give our clients the security they need to know that their seafood has been responsibly sourced from end to end. With BAP, GAA has created a truly credible third-party certification scheme that enhances our sustainability values and helps give credence to our whole ethos.”

“As an industry leader in the Australian foodservice market, Bidvest customers rely on us to ensure our products are sourced from quality suppliers with the highest standards,” added Brett Patience, national seafood development manager for Bidvest Australia.

“BAP certification provides credible, independent, third-party verification, which the entire aquaculture supply chain adheres to, thereby giving our customers security knowing that the products they source have been sustainably and ethically produced. As part of our quality and sustainability program, we are committed to sourcing our farmed seafood from BAP-certified facilities.”

Bidvest Australia and Bidvest Fresh/Direct Seafoods UK are part of Bidvest Group Limited, an international investment holding company with investments across the foodservice, broad services, trading and distribution industries. The company was founded in 1988 and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa in 1990. It employs more than 141,000 people worldwide.

Learn more about Bidvest HERE.

Visit the BAP site HERE.

10/12/2015: BAP mollusc farm standards available for public comment

The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) mollusc farm standards have been released for a 60-day public comment period, the Global Aquaculture Alliance announced on December 7.

The new standards will cover all major farmed mollusc species, including mussels, scallops, oysters, clams and abalone, and will replace the existing BAP mussel farm standards.

The standards were prepared by the BAP mollusc technical committee, which is chaired by Brian Kingzett. Committee members, who represent the global scope of mollusc farming both in terms of geography and species, met on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, in October and in St Louis, Missouri, USA, in July.

The BAP Standards Oversight Committee — whose members represent a balance of stakeholders from industry, NGOs and academia — recommended refinements to the standards before approving them for release.

All comments received during the public comment period are carefully considered for inclusion in the final documents. All properly submitted comments are acknowledged.

“All stakeholders are encouraged to participate in this public comment exercise so that the finished standards can benefit from the most broad-based input possible,” said BAP Standards Coordinator Dan Lee.

You can submit a comment HERE.

Read more about BAP HERE.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Reed Mariculture Inc company profile

Reed Mariculture is the world's largest producer of marine microalgae concentrates for larval fish, bivalves, crustaceans and other filter feeders. Their Instant Algae® larviculture feeds are used by over 500 hatcheries, universities, and marine ornamental operations in more than 80 countries around the world. They also produce and distribute pathogen and ciliate free rotifers, Parvocalanus copepods, and Otohime and TDO weaning feeds.

Reed Mariculture's Instant Algae products are closer to nature than any other feed on the market. They produce whole-cell, whole-food microalgae feeds and enrichments from marine algae using proprietary processes. Their products provide fish, bivalve and shrimp hatcheries with clean, convenient, long shelf-life feeds that are superior choices to replace or supplement live microalgae. Their feeds ensure stable and rapidly-reproducing rotifer populations with superior rich nutritional value.

Visit the website HERE.

Aller Aqua company profile

Aller Aqua produce fish feed for freshwater and saltwater aquaculture. That is the brief presentation, but it doesn’t even come close to covering the entire story. Aller Aqua is a family owned company with roots tracing back more than a thousand years. We have produced fish feed for more than 50 years, and this makes us one of the world's most experienced fish feed producers, delivering some of the best products on the market to our customers.

Today Aller Aqua has factories in Denmark, Poland, Germany and Egypt, and we export our products to more than 50 countries worldwide. We have a broad and professional product range, consisting of feed for more than 25 species of fish. We know the importance the right feed plays in our customers' production, and therefore our own professional Research & Development centre in Germany, Aller Aqua Research, consistently works on optimising, developing and documenting the effects of our products. This ensures that our customers receive top-quality professional products, at competitive prices, delivered on time.

As a company we are big enough to meet your needs, and small enough to be flexible. This ensures that we can react quickly to our customers' needs - which is essential when striving not only to deliver fish feed, but also to contribute to optimising our customers' businesses. Our experience and history are our guarantees to our customers that we know what we are talking about, that we keep our promises, and that we are right here – and that will still be the case for many years to come.

Read more HERE.

08/12/2015: Relaunch of Retsch website and new general catalogue

Retsch, world leading supplier of lab equipment for sample preparation and characterization of solids, has given its website a new, fresh look.

The design is characterised by large graphic elements and a very clear structure. Thanks to the improved menu navigation visitors easily find the information they are looking for with only a few mouse clicks.

The website will shortly be available in responsive design optimised for mobile devices. In addition to product information, news and events the Retsch website also features an application data base with a huge selection of test reports as well as articles and white papers on a variety of applications for download.

Retsch has also published a 100-page general catalogue on the complete range of milling, sieving and assisting equipment. The catalogue contains a selection of application examples from the most important industries and offers a wealth of background information on milling and sieving technology.

To receive the catalogue, please email: info@retsch.com

Visit the new website HERE.

08/12/2015: Tubular cable conveyor test lab completed at Flexicon

FLEXI-DISC™ tubular cable conveyors can be readily configured with full size upstream and downstream equipment to simulate customer processes, and tested using customer-supplied materials to verify performance.

Flexicon has completed construction of an all-new test laboratory for
FLEXI-DISC™ tubular cable conveyors and integrated bulk handling equipment, it was announced by David Gill, president.

The laboratory is centred around separate 10 and 15 cm diameter Tubular Cable Conveyor circuits with drive systems and tensioners which can be demonstrated as stand-alone systems. Both circuits are also configured with metered and non-metered inlet adapters, and valved and full-flow discharges that allow for rapid connection to a variety of full size upstream and downstream bulk handling equipment also produced by the company.

"The diversity of interchangeable equipment enables Flexicon to simulate customer installations and verify system performance using the customer's actual material which, together with Flexicon's Lifetime Performance Guarantee, takes the risk and guesswork out of ordering these systems," says Mr Gill.

Full size equipment that can be integrated with the conveyors includes inlet hoppers, bag dump stations, bulk bag dischargers, bulk bag fillers, drum/box/container tippers, weigh batching/blending systems, screeners, filling machines and storage vessels manufactured by Flexicon and others.

10 and 15 cm diameter FLEXI-DISC™ tubular cable conveyors shown with Tubular Discharge Valves for selective discharging of material into downstream equipment.

Using customer supplied bulk materials, engineers and laboratory technicians verify system performance prior to final equipment design and fabrication, and demonstrate newly constructed equipment for visiting customers prior to shipment. In addition, Flexicon engineers utilise the laboratory to study the performance of new designs.

The Tubular Cable Conveyor uses high-strength polymer discs affixed to a stainless steel or galvanised cable to slide fragile bulk foods and non-foods within smooth stainless steel tubing routed at any angle, gently, quietly and dust-free, over short or long distances.

Gentle handling offered by the conveyor makes it suitable for food products that are prone to breakage or degradation including: cereals, coffees, teas, dried fruits, frozen vegetables, grains, nuts, peas, pet foods, seeds, snack foods and spices. Typical non-food applications include bulk chemicals, minerals, chopped fibreglass, microspheres, regrind, pellets, tobacco and other friable materials.

The company also maintains comparable test laboratories for its line of Flexible Screw Conveyors and PNEUMATI-CON® pneumatic conveying systems, allowing the relative merits of each to be compared in terms of conveying over short and long distances, moving problematic materials, preventing the separation of blends, and meeting other application-specific requirements.

Visit the Flexicon site HERE.

08/12/2015: Discovery of stress-induced emotional fever in fish

Fish react emotionally to stress, indicating a degree of consciousness, a groundbreaking new study by scientists at the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture has found.

For the first time in fish, the team scientifically demonstrated that exposure to stress resulted in ‘emotional fever’ – where fish temporarily increased their body temperatures by up to four degrees Celsius by moving through a thermal gradient.

Dr Sonia Rey, Research Fellow at the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture said: “Our study reopens the discussion upon sentience in fish, which is fundamental to our knowledge of the species and their welfare. This will have a bearing on the development of future regulations and mitigation measures around fish.

“With fish brains lacking a cerebral cortex, unlike mammals, birds and reptiles, it has been claimed to date that they have no consciousness. This research removes one of the key arguments underpinning that claim.”

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1819/20152266

Image: NICHD

The research, which focused on zebrafish, also involved the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the University of Bristol. It features in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Dr Rey said: “Fish cannot internally regulate their own body temperature. Rather, it equates to the temperature of the environment they are in, and so fish travel between different waters to attain their optimal temperature.

“In our study we allowed the fish to choose their own temperature by providing them with a thermal gradient in which they could freely move between interconnected chambers holding water at varying degrees Celsius.

“Groups of fish that had been gently submerged in a net for a short period chose to travel, when they were released back into the same temperature chamber, to warmer waters, where they then stayed for several hours.

“This ‘emotional fever’ was the effect of their short confinement. Further studies are now needed to explore the underlying mechanisms of this stress-induced hyperthermia, and to test it against different stressors.”

Dr Simon MacKenzie, Reader in Marine Biotechnology at the Institute of Aquaculture, said: “Our study has significant impact upon our understanding of how fish use thermal choice to optimise their response to stress. This game changing observation will have far reaching implications in how we approach research in fish and how we consider their welfare.”

Visit the Institute of Aquaculture site HERE.

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