The Aquaculturists: January 2016

Friday, January 29, 2016

29/01/2016: Perceptions and misconceptions of aquaculture: a global overview

http://www.fao.org/in-action/globefish/fishery-information/resource-detail/en/c/379676/

Image: JeanneMenjoulet&Cie

The rapid growth of intensive aquaculture production, in some cases not well planned, has caused concern about environmental impact, human health and social issues, says Globefish, the FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture information analysis unit.

The bulk of global aquaculture production is in Asia. Yet opposition to aquaculture development is strongest in the Western world, where modern aquaculture is still a relatively new industry competing with well-established activities. In addition, the increasing dependence of developed countries on farmed seafood imports from developing countries and insecurity regarding product environmental, social and safety credentials have attracted considerable negative media attention. Moreover, scientific uncertainties and conflicting information on seafood consumption have further confused the public.

With a growing world population, annual supply needed from the aquaculture sector must further surpass that from capture fisheries, reaching 62 percent in 2030, to maintain current consumption levels per capita. This presents tremendous challenges to the sector, to policy-makers and to the aquaculture community at large. Improving perceptions of the sector will be instrumental if the goal is to be achieved.

The report 'Perceptions and misconceptions of aquaculture', produced by Globefish, consists of two parts: the first provides a global overview and synthesis of studies on perceptions of aquaculture in both developed and developing countries. Its aim is to better understand the main concerns of the public and diverse stakeholder groups.

This information can serve the industry as the basis for arriving at recommendations for reducing uncertainty about its products and farming practices, enabling more-effective communication strategies. The second part provides specific recommendations for addressing the public concerns identified in the first part, and discusses the roles various key stakeholders can play in this process.

Read the full article HERE.

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the
magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd

For additional daily news from aquaculture around the world: aquaculture-news

29/01/2016: New video showcases growth of marine fish culture in Turkey

Sea bass, sea bream culture thrives with directive to move offshore

The US Soybean Export Council today announced the launch of 'Growing the Business of Growing Fish,' a video showcasing sea bass and sea bream production by Kilic, the largest vertically integrated fish farm operator in Turkey.

The short video, the latest in a series showcasing sustainable aquaculture operations around the world, is funded by the soybean check-off program and can be viewed HERE.

Kilic is one of the largest aquaculture operations in Europe, raising sea bass, sea bream and meagre in marine cages, and freshwater trout in dam lakes. A 2007 directive from the Turkish government to move all marine cages 1.2 kilometres offshore allowed the company to sustainably grow its operations with cutting edge technology, increased efficiency, and minimal environmental impact. A key component to its growth has been replacing quantities of fishmeal with high quality alternative proteins such as US-grown soy protein concentrate, which has increased the sustainability and economic viability of its feed.

“The marine fish sector represents the greatest opportunity for growing the volume of high value farmed fish worldwide,” says Colby Sutter, USSEC Marketing Director for Aquaculture – Customer Focus.

“Feed formulation research has proven that soy protein concentrate offers the best nutritional profile for replacing limited supplies of fishmeal in feed for marine species.”

Sutter adds, “Most importantly, soy production is scalable and can meet increased demand for feed ingredients as the aquaculture industry grows.”

USSEC’s Aquaculture Program has been producing short educational videos for public viewing online that showcase innovative fish farms producing healthful fish and seafood in an environmentally sound manner. In addition to being featured on soyaqua.org, the fish farmer videos are posted on YouTube and Vimeo. The series explores different types of aquaculture methods, technologies, and species, with a focus on how soy industry support is helping to make global aquaculture more sustainable.

Visit the USSEC Soy Aqua site HERE.

29/01/2016: Pangasius diet trials show promise of DDGS

In the quest to find suitable, cost effective, alternative ingredients to use in aquaculture feeds, results from a recent study conducted by the US Grains Council have shown that corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is an economical and excellent source of energy and digestible nutrients in pangasius diets, the Global Aquaculture Advocate reports.

http://advocate.gaalliance.org/pangasius-diet-trials-show-promise-of-ddgs/

Image: Vince Smith

The aquaculture industry in Vietnam is growing rapidly and the production of Pangasius hypophthalmus, also known as swai or tra — the predominant species of fresh water fish produced in the Mekong River — accounts for more than 1 million metric tons (MMT) produced annually. Vietnam is the third-largest fish exporter in the world, and most of the pangasius produced is exported to many different countries. However, high quality, nutrient dense, economical feed ingredients are needed to reduce cost and enable this rapidly growing industry to remain globally competitive.

Corn and corn co-products are economical and excellent dietary energy sources for various aquaculture species, but naturally contain xanthophylls (yellow pigment), which often causes concerns about adding these ingredients at relatively high dietary inclusion rates to diets for some fish species because of the potential “yellowing” of fillets. Achieving a desirable “white” fillet color is essential for meeting consumer preferences and to maintain these important export markets.

DDGS, co-product of ethanol
Corn DDGS is a co-product of ethanol production in the US, is produced in large quantities (> 35 MMT), and is used as an economical source of energy, digestible protein and amino acids, and digestible phosphorus in feeds for cattle, swine, poultry, and some aquaculture diets around the world. In 2015, about 12 MMT of DDGS were exported for use in various animal feeds. While the use of DDGS in aquaculture diets has been limited, its use has been increasing rapidly but it is still an unfamiliar feed ingredient for much of the global aquaculture industry. One of the major reasons for the limited use of DDGS until now is that a limited number of research studies have been published to evaluate DDGS use in various aquaculture diets.

Read the full article HERE.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

28/01/2016: First Abalone farm in South Africa achieves ASC certification

The strange beauty of an abalone shell (Image: featherlite)

The Irvin & Johnson Ltd Danger Point Abalone farm has become the first abalone farm in South Africa to achieve certification against the ASC Abalone Standard for responsible aquaculture.

The farm was awarded ASC certification after satisfying stringent social and environmental criteria assessed by independent third-party certifier SCS Global Services. A final report which details how the farm met these standards is available HERE.

Traceability at farm level
Irvine & Johnson Danger Point Abalone farm has an annual production of 300 tons and all harvested abalone are produced at the farm site. Production capacity is determined yearly by type and volume while the farm produces product batches of abalone monthly. Depending on the size and growth, selections are made weekly, then graded and harvested on a daily basis. The production system includes monitoring, control and robust traceability systems featuring an electronic information system to track and record information relevant to production, harvest and processing.

More ASC certified abalone in the market
Irvine & Johnson continues to supply fresh frozen, canned and dried abalone products to South Africa. It also exports to Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Japan, where appetite for abalone is high.

Visit the ASC site HERE.

Andritz company profile

ANDRITZ is a globally leading supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, the metalworking and steel industries, and for solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial sectors. The publicly listed technology Group is headquartered in Graz, Austria, and has a staff of almost 25,000 employees. ANDRITZ operates over 250 sites worldwide.

Read more HERE.

Tyson company profile

Tyson Animal Nutrition Group is a leading producer of 100 percent chicken-based protein meals, chicken fats and wet pet ingredients. Our experience, knowledge, commitment to quality and strong customer relationships have made us one of the most respected names in animal nutrition.

Tyson's vertically-integrated structure gives us control over all stages of the life cycle of our chickens, from hatching-egg production to distributing the finished product. And because all of our raw materials come from USDA-inspected processing plants, our ingredients are consistent, traceable and to your specifications.

Our sales and support Team Members welcome the opportunity to partner with you and meet your needs for high-quality ingredients. Learn more about our products or speak to one of our sales managers today.

Visit the website HERE.

28/01/2016: Veterinary controls and border detentions in fish trade

http://www.fao.org/in-action/globefish/news-events/details-news/en/c/380235/

Image: Alexandre Dulaunoy

Fish remains one of the most traded food commodities worldwide, says Globefish, the FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture information analysis unit.

In 2012, roughly 200 countries reported exports of fish and fishery products. This trade is especially important for developing nations, where in some cases, fish and fishery products account for more than half of their total value of traded commodities. Fish trade has rapidly expanded and will continue to increase in order to meet the ever-increasing demand.

One of the greatest difficulties fish exporters face is dealing with the different requirements of health and quality standards in various markets. Requirements involve a range of import regulations and control procedures, beginning with border controls at which seafood products can be rejected or detained while awaiting further tests or even their destruction. The term "border case" is commonly used to denote any situation where a product is detained, rejected, destroyed, returned to the sender or otherwise removed, if only temporarily, from the trade flow.

Veterinary checks are one group of controls that play a vital role in safeguarding public health while ensuring the quality of imported products. Veterinary checks generally raise the quality standards of imported products by means of control and sampling, which restrict the movement of contaminated products that might be hazardous to consumer health. Thus, veterinary checks have ultimately resulted in significant savings in health care costs in countries that apply these rules effectively. At the same time, however, veterinary checks can also have negative effects that prevent the distribution of products and thus limit the flow of goods in the market. The unfavourable elements created by veterinary barriers include: higher costs, slow marketing, limits on foreign trade and exports, loss of time, additional work involved in transactions, and the risk of incentivising practices of food adulteration (using forbidden additives and dyes, etc) in order to circumvent health checks.

Read the full article HERE.

28/01/2016: Offshore Mariculture Conference: Full programme confirmed, book now to save!

The 6th Offshore Mariculture Conference will be held on 6-7 April 2016 in Barcelona, Spain.

Fish farmers, European Commission, NOAA, NGOs, supply chain innovators, feed companies, research organisations, technology providers, insurance experts and architects will all feature on the programme - make sure you book your place to learn the latest about high energy and open ocean aquaculture.

http://www.offshoremariculture.com/europe/home

With the ongoing need for growth in aquaculture to feed the human population, the 6th Offshore Mariculture Conference will help fish farmers and producers to grow their business, whether it be through moving from coastal to offshore/high energy sites or simply by adding value through intelligent processing and responsible, sustainable aquaculture. Knowledge sharing between regions, unexplained mortality, supply chain innovations and alternative business opportunities that can operate alongside farming, together with a round-up of some of the current research projects that will assist fish farmers to expand and improve their businesses, will all feature.

Programme highlights include:

Ernesto Penas Lado, Director: Directorate A — Policy development and coordination: DG MARE — Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Michael Rubino, Director, Office of Aquaculture, NOAA Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Donna Lanzetta, CEO, Manna Fish Farms: Offshore mariculture – where and why?
José Aguilar-Manjarrez, Aquaculture Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Marine Investment for the Blue Economy (MARIBE)
Frank Neumann, Kaia Kjolbø Rød, Diogo Raposo and Jon Funderud; Seaweed Energy Solutions (SES): Large-scale offshore seaweed farming: a missing link in the food & feed chain?
Dr Constantinos Mylonas, Coordinator, Diversify Project, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research: “DIVERSIFY”: An EU project exploring the biological and socio-economic potential of new/emerging candidate species for the expansion of the European aquaculture industry
David Campbell, Commercial Director, Albatern: Blue energy for offshore fish farm sites
Lukas Manomaitis, Technical Consultant, U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), USSEC Aquaculture Program: Southeast Asia – preparing for investment in offshore cage production
Neil Anthony Sims, Co-Founder & CEO, Kampachi Farms: Over-the-Horizon AquacultureTM – ecological footprint, synergies and remote command-and-control technologies in deep water offshore fish pens
Javier F Ponce, Architect and Founder, Smart Floating Farms: Smart Floating Farms may bring sustainable food to our cities
Langley Gace, President, InnovaSea Systems: Emerging technologies in open ocean mariculture farming platforms
Jalil Zorriehzahra (D.V.M) & Ph.D, Head of Aquatic Animal Health & Diseases Dept., Iranian Fisheries Research Organisation: Emerging fish viral diseases as a new potential threat in cage culture projects
Noralf Rønningen, Project and Development Manager, Aqualine: Submersible cages for fish farming – for better fish welfare
Cedric Audor, Broker Aquaculture Stocks, Guian: Aquaculture livestock Insurance
Victor Prieto Duval, Marine Biologist, MSC Aquaculture, aquaManager Consultant, Integrated Information Systems: Aquaculture production optimisation through enhanced data analytics
Dr Atilla Ozdemir, R&D and Overseas Investments Manager, Kilic Seafood: Mediterranean mariculture: Larger farms, big companies

View the full programme HERE!

Early bird delegate rate currently available - book now and save 20 percent HERE.

For further information, contact the Events team on +44 1329 825335 or email conferences@offshoremariculture.com

Visit the Conference site HERE.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

27/01/2016: A fish of many names

http://issuu.com/international_aquafeed/docs/iaf1506_w1/44

First published in International Aquafeed, November-December 2015

Colossoma macropomum may not exactly roll off the tongue, but it certainly eradicates the confusion caused by the variety of alternative colloquial names this fish goes under: tambaqui, cachama, gamitana and even pacu - a term usually employed for other species.

Every dentist should own a tambaqui. Shaped somewhat like a piranha, this South American species has a set of teeth more like those of a human. It is an omnivore, feeding preferentially on planktonic microcrustaceans and fruit fallen from the branches of the flooded forests where the fish also spawns. Algae, larvae, adult insects and some plant material are also consumed.

In some countries, for example Panama, tambaqui are raised in polyculture with tilapia. Densities vary from one fish per 10m2 when employing organic fertilisers to one fish per 5 m2 when supplementary feeds or agricultural by-products are used.

Read the full article in International Aquafeed HERE.

27/01/2016: Be part of GSSI in 2016

Join GSSI in its work to build confidence in certified seafood in 2016 and beyond.

In 2015 GSSI launched its Global Benchmark Tool, which provides clarity on seafood certification, thanks to the strong support of partner companies, NGOs, experts, governmental organisations and the FAO. GSSI partners have committed to including the outcomes of the Tool in daily operations. Find out more and get in touch at secretariat@ourgssi.org

Find out firsthand from GSSI partners what’s coming up for GSSI and how you can get involved at their public updates at both the Boston and Brussels Seafood Expo.

Apply to become a Benchmark Committee member
GSSI is looking for qualified individuals to be Benchmark Committee Members and form part of the independent, impartial Benchmark Process.

Find out more, apply and join a training session until 11 March 2016: secretariat@ourgssi.org

Join GSSI at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit in Malta
Hear from GSSI's partners on the next steps for GSSI and the Global Benchmark Tool and how it works in practice as seafood certification schemes sign up to be benchmarked. RSVP HERE.

Moderator:
Peter Hajipieris, Director for Corporate Social Responsibility, Iglo Group

Speakers:
George Clement, CEO, DeepWater Group New Zealand
Tania Taranovski, Director of Sustainable Seafood Programs, New England Aquarium
Tom Pickerell, Technical Director, Seafish
Herman Wisse, GSSI Program Manager

Please join GSSI at these Events:

SeaWeb Seafood Summit, Malta
10.45-12.00, 3 February 2016

Seafood Expo North America, Boston

10.30-12.00, 8 March 2016

Brussels Seafood Expo

12.30-14.30, 26 April 2016

RSVP HERE.

Visit the GSSI site HERE.

27/01/2016: FAU’s Harbour Branch, Aquaculture without Frontiers partner to alleviate poverty and malnutrition

The 'Farmer-to-Farmer' program at work in a small town in Kenya, Africa, teaches small groups how to increase economic development and food security using aquaculture to farm fish

The old proverbial saying, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” aptly describes the newly-formed partnership between Florida Atlantic University’s Harbour Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) and Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF), a global nonprofit organisation. HBOI and AwF will work jointly to support and promote responsible and sustainable aquaculture farming to help enhance food security and alleviate poverty and malnutrition in developing and impoverished countries.

Discussions between HBOI and AwF are under way for the first joint project, which is expected to commence mid-year and will involve a number of countries in Africa. It is expected that the partnership will concentrate efforts on Africa and Latin America in the early stages. Working together, the organisations will advance aquaculture in these developing countries to provide much-needed protein sources as well as economic stimulus through diversification of livelihoods and sustainability of coral reefs that are vital to maintaining healthy ecosystems. The farming of aquatic organisms includes fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants.

“Facilitating self-sufficiency and sustainability is critical in helping to alleviate hunger and malnutrition worldwide, and we are very excited to join forces with Aquaculture without Frontiers to address this important need,” said Megan Davis, PhD, HBOI interim executive director and a leading aquaculture researcher.

“Aquaculture is perhaps our best hope to feed our ever-growing global population. As a good source of protein, fish are much more efficient to raise than other leading sources of protein, which require huge amounts of grain and water to grow big enough to eat.”

HBOI has well-established multi-species aquaculture production, nutrition research, and aquatic animal health laboratory infrastructures, and is a world leader in aquaculture research, development, training and education.

“Aquaculture without Frontiers believes that by collaborating and working with like-minded organisations such as Florida Atlantic University, we will be able to make major contributions to the core of our main objectives,” said Roy Palmer, executive director of AwF.

“We are very excited about the arrangement and discussions we are having about the future with FAU.”

AwF is a member of the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA), which is a global network of experienced volunteers who are committed to be a catalyst for change as a means to improve the nutrition and health of people and to foster social and economic development through supporting responsible and sustainable aquaculture. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) founded VEGA in 2004 to be a procurement partner. More than 10 years later, VEGA stands on its own as a respected non-governmental organisation with alliances with other member institutions. AwF believes that aquaculture is critical to underpin the future health of all humans by providing the essential nutrients and vitamins currently missing from many diets, and at an affordable price.

Megan Davis, PhD (pictured on the left) and Marty Riche, PhD, overseeing production, nutrition research, and aquatic animal health laboratory infrastructures in HBOI’s well-established multi-species aquaculture facility

“In addition to the health benefits of fish, aquaculture can contribute to poverty alleviation, food security, and social well-being,” said Marty Riche, PhD, HBOI research professor in fish nutrition.

“By teaching and training farmers to grow native fish species, to incorporate locally available feed ingredients, to develop and follow bio-security protocols and to reuse fish effluents to irrigate row crops, vegetables, and tree crops, fish farmers can develop truly sustainable farming methods.”

Mr Riche and Paul Wills, PhD, HBOI research professor and associate director for research, will be presenting at the AwF Session at Aquaculture America in Las Vegas on Friday, February 26 when further discussions will be held.

According to the Hunger Project, 795 million people, or one in nine people worldwide, do not have enough to eat, and 98 percent of the world’s undernourished people live in developing countries. Seventy-five percent of the world’s poorest people, 1.4 billion women, children and men, live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihood. The World Food Programme states that hunger is the No 1 cause of death in the world, killing more than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

Visit the AwF site HERE and the HBOI site HERE.

BIOMIN company profile

BIOMIN are dedicated to finding innovative, trend-setting solutions that empower their customers to master existing and future challenges in animal nutrition– the natural way. The application of their scientific know-how and expertise, based on an in-depth understanding of their customer’s needs and concerns, enables them to deliver solutions that support animal health, optimize performance and production efficiency.

Research and development is one of the cornerstones of BIOMIN. Their strong in-house research and development, and global cooperation with leading institutions and organisations form the basis by which innovative solutions are developed for their customers. Through joint projects with renowned universities and research institutes, BIOMIN is constantly in touch with the latest scientific know-how, from which novel feed additives are developed and produced. Their global network of collaborating institutions has grown to over 100.

One of the cornerstones of BIOMIN’s success is the ongoing improvement of their inhouse quality standards. In 1997, BIOMIN introduced the international ISO 9001 standard. The HACCP system, introduced subsequently at BIOMIN’s production sites, provides the quality assurance our customers seek from them. In addition, the feed quality standards QS and GMP+ guarantee the utmost degree of control and quality for their products – from raw material inputs right through to the final product.

Concerns over climate change and the role of greenhouse gases continue to rise. In September 2011, BIOMIN was internationally recognised through the award of ISO 14040 ‘Life Cycle Assessment’ certification. By optimizing feed use and improving animal performance, it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock operations.

Through innovative production technologies and advanced, scientific know-how, BIOMIN has pioneered several trend-setting solutions for a range of animal nutrition products, all of which utilise fully natural processes and ingredients. An in-depth understanding of what the customer’s needs and concerns are has enabled BIOMIN to create and deliver solutions in-line with performance and efficiency goals.

Read more HERE.

27/01/2016: Video: How The Responsible Fish Scheme is changing the fishing industry

The Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS), developed by Seafish, aims to raise standards in the fishing industry and is the only global standard that audits compliance on board fishing vessels, including ethical and welfare criteria. It enables those within the seafood supply chain to demonstrate their commitment to the responsible sourcing of seafood.

Seafish initially launched the scheme in 2006; however, following recent slavery issues that have been reported internationally, they have newly revised the scheme to include health and safety of crew on board.

Certification to the RFS requires an independent, audited assessment of the application of good practice by an individual vessel and its skipper and crew. The assessment considers these five aspects of the fishing vessel operation:

Safety, health and welfare
Care of the catch, including storage, handling, hygiene and quality management
Training and professional development of the skipper and crew
Care of the environment: use of selective fishing technology, reduction of discards, management of waste and discharges
The vessel and its mission: ensuring it complies with all regulation regarding fishing gear, where it fishes, what it catches

Learn more about the Responsible Fishing Scheme HERE.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Liptosa company profile

LípidosToledo SA began in 1996 as a family business and under the guidance of a group of professionals with extensive experience in the Animal Nutrition field.

From the outset, the company's mission has been to provide its clients with personalised service and efficient, natural products that are able to meet the demands of the sector.

In 2000 Lípidos Toledo SA moved its facilities, building a modern manufacturing plant in Talavera de la Reina (Toledo, Spain). In 2012 it acquired a new industrial warehouse in the vicinity of the main facilities where the manufacturing of the powder additives takes place and a third storage warehouse.

With these new facilities Lípidos Toledo SA is able to have separate manufacturing lines for the different products they manufacture, avoiding the risk of cross contamination.

Furthermore, the new facilities enable the company to manufacture products with fishmeal derivatives, allowing the company further expansion, mainly in the aquaculture range.

The facilities allow the manufacture of nutritional products, liquid and powder based phytobiotic additives, nutraceutical products and nutritional and specialty products without any risk of the products becoming cross contaminated.

In 2010, Lípidos Toledo SA acquired a large office space at C/ San Romualdo 12-14 in Madrid, Spain where all logistics work is carried out. This enables Lípidos Toledo SA to fulfil its objective of manufacturing products of the highest quality and providing its clients the best service.

Read more HERE.

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.

26/01/2016: Microencapsulated organic acids aid shrimp culture: Novel blends enhance productivity and Vibrio resistance

http://advocate.gaalliance.org/microencapsulated-organic-acids-aid-shrimp-culture/

Image: James Halliday

Disease outbreaks in the shrimp farming industry have caused substantial economic losses around the world and, in particular, the recent “early mortality syndrome” (EMS) due to plasmids in Vibrio bacteria is a growing threat, Nicholas Romano writes in The Global Aquaculture Advocate.

In addition to decreasing immunity, EMS causes substantial hepatopancreatic damage to shrimp, which gradually induces mass mortalities. Moreover, with a greater restriction or altogether ban on antibiotic use, this can leave shrimp farmers with fewer options to protect their animals against bacterial diseases.

Organic acids in shrimp feeds
In response, researchers have investigated environmentally-friendly dietary alternatives as potential prophylactics. One potential alternative are organic acids, which are “Generally Regarded as Safe,” or GRAS, and that have been used for decades with success as growth promoters and antimicrobials in the terrestrial livestock feed industry. However, not much is known about their efficacy to shrimp farming productivity.

Recently, our laboratory research group conducted a controlled study where Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) were fed with different dietary levels of a prototype microencapsulated organic acids blend (OAB) at 0 (control), 1, 2 or 4 percent and evaluated their growth performance, phenoloxidase (PO) activity and hepatopancreatic histopathology after 50 days. Dry matter and phosphorus utilisation efficiency were also determined. At the end of the feeding trial, shrimp were challenged with pathogenic Vibrio harveyi and their survival monitored along with the associated changes to immunity and hepatopancreatic histopathology.

Read the full article in The Global Aquaculture Advocate HERE.

26/01/2016: North And Shipowners’ P&I Clubs warn of potentially lethal refrigeration gas risks on fishing vessels

The 175 million GT, ‘A’ rated North P&I Club has joined forces with the Shipowners’ Club to publish a technical loss prevention briefing on how to minimise potentially lethal gas risks arising from poor operation and maintenance of refrigeration systems on fishing vessels.

Both North, particularly since its merger with Sunderland Marine in February 2014, and Shipowners’ are leading liability insurers to the global fishing industry.

http://www.nepia.com/publications/loss-prevention-publications/loss-prevention-briefings

According to Craig McBurnie, underwriting manager at Sunderland Marine, "Refrigeration systems are installed and used on a large number of fishing vessels worldwide. The sizes of these plants vary depending on purpose and application, but they can be on an almost industrial scale, particularly on vessels which freeze or process their catch on board."

"Unfortunately there have been numerous incidents involving these refrigeration systems in the past decade, mostly relating to uncontrolled escape of potentially toxic refrigerant gases. Many of these incidents have resulted in serious injuries, some fatal, to fishing vessel crew members and shore-based workers."

North’s loss prevention executive Alvin Forster says, "With our shared commitment to improving fishing vessel safety, North, Sunderland Marine and Shipowners’ have shared and reviewed their respective claims experience and identified a number of common causal factors. Our new loss prevention briefing provides recommendations to fishing vessel owners and operators on how to help avoid future incidents."

Causal factors identified by the insurers include fishing crews being unaware of the hazards of fluorocarbon and ammonia gas refrigerants; poor condition of the refrigeration plant and its components; poor standards of operation and maintenance of the refrigeration plant; and the positioning of unprotected refrigeration plant and equipment on the back deck or in busy working areas, with insufficient warning signage and impact protection.

http://www.sunderlandmarine.com/company/loss-prevention/loss-prevention-publications/

In addition North says there have been failures to identify high-risk tasks relating to the plant operation and maintenance; insufficient or inadequate levels of formal training in refrigeration engineering and plant-specific operation; and defective or missing gas-leak detection alarms.

"In the event of a leak, rescue operations were sometimes carried out without using breathing apparatus or without following a safe procedure," says Mr McBurnie.

"There was also evidence of poor emergency and evacuation procedures; a lack of crew familiarity in what to do in such an event; and improperly inspected and tested safety equipment."

Recommendations in the loss prevention briefing include the importance of crew members knowing and understanding the hazards of refrigeration systems; the need for safe systems of operation; the importance of regular and properly recorded maintenance; the need for safe design and positioning of retrofitted systems; and the importance of effective response management.

See the briefing, 'Refrigeration on Fishing Vessels'...

...on the North P&I site HERE.

...on the Sunderland Marine site HERE.

Visit the Shipowners' Club site HERE.

26/01/2016: What is phytase superdosing? AB Vista’s Dr Mike Bedford explains the science

In a recently released technical video, Mike Bedford, Research Director at AB Vista, highlights new research that more precisely identifies how phytases work in the animal. This helps explain where the performance benefits of phytase superdosing are really coming from and why important differences can be seen between commercial phytases.

Many end-users have now adopted the practice of superdosing, using higher phytase doses in feed to reduce the anti-nutritional effects of phytate (IP6) in pigs and poultry. This has proven to give additional animal performance benefits beyond standard phytases doses.

Recent publications have shown that it is not just phytate that has antinutritive effects; the breakdown products of phytate - IP5, IP4 and IP3 – can also have an anti-nutritive effect in the animal. These lower phytate esters have been shown to correlate with poor digestion of protein, energy and minerals, indicating that they have an anti-nutritive effect in the animal. The key point is that, with standard phytase dosing, we may be degrading one anti-nutrient and simply replacing with another.

Despite this, confusion still exists in the market as to what superdosing is and how this should be defined. Ongoing research and customer experience has helped AB Vista go a step further in defining superdosing as ‘feeding enough of an effective phytase to prevent the build-up of lower phytate esters such as IP3 and IP4 in the gut of the animal’.

“When we think about phytases, we should think about them as enzymes to effectively breakdown IP5, IP4, and IP3 as well as IP6. We want phytases not only to release the P we need, but to eliminate all inhibitors of digestion, and enable the animal to grow more efficiently. Superdosing phytase does exactly that.”

This also sheds light on why we see differences between commercial phytases, which differ significantly in their ability to break down phytate and the lower esters IP5, IP4, IP3, even when fed at high levels. For animal producers to see a greater return from their phytase programme, they need to select an effective phytase, such as Quantum Blue which, when applied at superdosed levels, can break down IP6 and continue to destroy the antinutritive lower phytate esters, even at low concentrations of phytate, Dr Bedford says.

“Choosing a phytase simply by determining how much phosphorus it releases does not give the full picture. Scientific data now allows us to better understand exactly what effect phytases have in the gut, and thus maximise the performance benefits that can be made through effective superdosing.”

The new video featuring Dr Mike Bedford (‘Superdosing – where are the benefits coming from? Part one: complete phytate destruction’) can be viewed on the AB Vista website. It is the first in a new technical video series from AB Vista, titled “Extraordinary Science Brought to Life”.

Visit the AB Vista site HERE.

Monday, January 25, 2016

25/01/2016: Urban Aquaponics

http://issuu.com/international_aquafeed/docs/iaf1506_w1/36

by Pete Whiting, Grow Bristol

First published in the Fish Farming Technology section of International Aquafeed, November-December 2015

Grow Bristol is a small social enterprise with big plans for farming fish and greens using aquaponics. Set up by myself, with business partner, Dermot O’Reagan, Grow Bristol is transforming a disused space in the centre of the city of Bristol, UK, into a farm for the future. Our aim is to produce great food in the heart of the community where it is eaten, whilst farming in a more sustainable way. We hope to change the way we feed our city, using innovative agricultural methods and by connecting the people of Bristol to their food.

At Grow Bristol, we believe in producing truly local, high quality food, close to the people who eat it. Currently, there is a need to explore further ways to grow more quality food, more sustainably, on less land, with fewer resources. Fisheries and farmland are increasingly coming under pressure. A recent report by the University of Sheffield created widespread speculation that there may be only 100 harvests left in UK soils due to intensive agriculture (we have reached Peak Soil as well as Peak Oil!).

Water scarcity is also becoming a bigger problem globally and the UK is one of the largest importers of virtual water (other nations’ water used during the production of our imports). The food miles and carbon footprint of what we eat is also contributing significantly to climate change. Clearly, farmers need to continue to consider alternative methods of producing and transporting their food. Can one part of the solution be to produce more in the city for growing urban populations?

At Grow Bristol, we initially began farming using a more conventional approach. We started by growing salad leaves in the soil in two large polytunnels, but were disillusioned with the vulnerabilities of the system and lack of suitability to the urban environment. We were producing on average 60kg (or 600 small bags) of mixed leaf salad a week for the local market. However, with a short growing season, a hugely inefficient irrigation system, poor soil and limited effective pest control, we started to consider the need for more resilient solutions. That’s when we turned to commercial urban aquaponics.

Read the full article in International Aquafeed HERE.

Dinnissen company profile

With over 150 permanent employees and an extensive network of agents all over the world, Dinnissen is a global player in the feed, food, pharma and chemical sectors. We are always looking for new and innovative solutions for complete processes, system integrations or standard products – many of which we develop, test and produce in-house!

Visit the website HERE.

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Friday, January 29, 2016

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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Monday, January 25, 2016