The Aquaculturists: March 2017

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Romer Labs company profile

Founded in Washington, MO, in 1982, over the years Romer Labs became a leading provider of diagnostic solutions for the agricultural, food and feed industry.

Today, Romer Labs offers a broad range of innovative diagnostic solutions covering mycotoxins, food pathogens, food allergens, gluten, GMO, veterinary drug residues, and other food contaminants.

Their portfolio includes:

ELISA test kits - AgraQuant®
Lateral flow devices - AgraStrip® and RapidChek®
Fluorometric tests - FluoroQuant®
Enzymatic tests - EnzymeFast®
Reference materials - Biopure™
Cleanup Columns - MycoSep®, MultiSep®, MycoSpin®, StarLine™
Sampling mills

Furthermore, they operate four accredited, full-service laboratories in Austria, UK, US and Singapore.

Using cutting-edge technology in the fields of chromatography and immunological analysis, their labs offer services for the analysis of mycotoxins, food allergens, meat speciation, VDR and GMO.

Romer Labs is at the forefront of diagnostic technology and they are constantly expanding their product and service portfolio to meet your continuously evolving demands.

The key objective at Romer Labs is to provide scientifically sound, high-quality products and an exceptional service, in line with their mission – Making the World’s Food Safer®.

Would you like to join them in making a mark for a better world?

Visit the website 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

31/03/2017: Aquaculture America 2017

Exploring new frontiers in aquaculture

Texas and Mexico go together like beans on toast. Totally apposing cuisines and cultures but ones that work wonderfully together.

While Texas might be a frontier state it is certainly not a border state. It’s a land – which is certainly larger than many European countries – which changed hands in the 1830s and where today two cultures come together to appreciate what each has to offer.

www.was.org

A wall on its southern border?

No matter how high, it won’t diminish the beneficial relationship that both Texan’s and Mexicans enjoy in the state of Texas today.

Arriving in this southern city of San Antonio, just ahead of a sweeping tornado that skirted the city in the middle of a very warm winter, Aquaculture America 2017 attracted the best in aspiring agriculturists and supporting industries to its downtown convention centre.

Not only was the convention centre right in the heart of this city, which offers an unbelievable ‘River Walk’, but it’s right-alongside ‘The Alamo’ – an historic a church mission-turned-fortress where some 180 men plus civilians tried to defend local settlements against a Mexican army of over 6000 men and began the Texas Revolution.

Mexican and US citizens visit this state shrine, which was re-built in the early 20th century, in equal number along with foreign visitors.

Many of the attendees at AA2017 took the opportunity to visit in the free-time afforded between the 57-plus sessions which ran from Monday through to Wednesday in mid-February.

This was an event of immense proportion in terms of the knowledge being presented and shared.

For agriculturists this was the ultimate venue for networking with several social events to ensure there were those opportunities to meet old colleagues and make new friends unexpectedly.

Read the full event review HERE.

31/03/2017: ACI's 7th European Algae Industry Summit now only four weeks away

Taking place 26th & 27th April 2017 in Le Meridien Nice, this 7th annual two day summit will bring together key players within the algae industry including leaders from cosmetics, food, feed, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals across the globe to join our forum discussions and gain a deeper understanding of recent industry developments and, most importantly, economically viable applications

Don't miss your chance to join and network with confirmed senior representatives from:

Givaudan * OMA Olivier MicroAlgues * Biotechmarine * ADM WILD Europe GmbH * BDI - BioEnergy International AG * GoGreen Capital * E.I.D Parry (India) Ltd, Nutraceutical Division * AstaReal AB * Reliance Industries Limited* Algaetech Group of Companies * Ecoduna Produktions-GmbH * AlgoSource Technologies * Valoya Oy * Fundacion Atlantida * Cimentos Maceira e Pataias, S.A (CMP) * MicroBio Engineering, Inc. * CSIRO * SCHOTT AG * IFFCO LTD * FCC Aqualia * ON Power * Kalundborg Municipality * Arborea * Roquette Klötze * Omega Green * Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) * Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) * Archimede Ricerche Srl * AGRU Kunststofftechnik GmbH * Intertek Scientific & Regulatory Consultancy * Sofinnova Partners * University of Glasgow * Waskönig+Walter Kabel-Werk GmbH * MIAL * EcoPhos S.a. * Universität Zu Köln * KdG-IWT Internationaal * Buggypower * Alltechnology Ireland Ltd * Georg Fischer DEKA GmbH * Andritz Gouda BV * Bord Lascaigh Mhara * Algenol Biofuels Germany * Biotechmarine * UAE Environment Protection and Development Authority (EPDA) * Alfa Laval Capacites * Thalgo Cosmetic * AlgaEnergy * William Grant & Sons Distillers Ltd * Servizi Industriali Srl * BDI/Adhex * Green Biofactory * Unigra S.r.l. * Skretting ARC * Supreme Health New Zealand Limited * Adhex Technologies/BDI * Green Biofactory * Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University * Unigra S.r.l. * Promote Iceland * TOTAL RC Biofuels Division * Confidentia As and many more.

Key Topics Include:
• Global Updates on Algae Trade
• LCA and Techno-Economic Analysis
• Market Establishment with High Value Applications Cultivation
• Efforts towards Economically Efficient Technologies
• Microalgae in Chemicals, Commodity & Speciality Feeds
• Waste Water Treatment
• Algae: The Future of Food?
• Advantages of Algae in Nutraceuticals & Cosmetics
• Industry Case Studies: What Can We Learn from Both Successes & Failures?

How to Register?
The delegate rate is £1,595(ex.Vat) which includes attendance of the two day conference, all speakers' presentations, lunches and networking opportunities as well as documentation from the event and the site visit attendance, provided spaces are still available.

Also, if you are based outside of the UK and provide your organisation’s VAT/IRS or registration number, VAT will not be applied to the transaction.

View the latest agenda HERE.

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.

Visit the website HERE.

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

30/03/2017: Mort collector project for offshore fish farms

In addition to innovative large-scale fish farm concepts, the trend toward offshore fish farming also requires the development of related systems, such as a fish farm cleaning system

On behalf of its client De Maas SMC, Dutch subsea technology company Seatools, has completed a feasibility and conceptual design study on a Remotely Operated Mort Collector (ROMC).

www.seatools.com

The study resulted in a highly automated mort collection system capable of effectively collecting dead fish in large-scale offshore fish farms as currently developed by De Maas SMC.

This system facilitates efficient and reliable fish-farming operations in hostile and remote offshore environments.

By taking a highly structural design approach, Seatools designed and evaluated multiple potential solutions for the various functionalities required by a large-scale offshore mort collection system.

A key requirement – a 100 percent coverage of the fish pen surface within a 24-hour time span – was of critical importance during the design process.

By extensively drawing on in-house knowledge of subsea equipment design and subsea navigation and positioning, a well-considered mechanical design resulted.

The design is backed by a self-positioning control algorithm to ensure the entire pen is covered within the given time limit.

In addition to the pen coverage design criterion, several other key criteria had to be met.

Niels Haakman, project manager, comments, “Next to a 100 percent coverage of the fish pen surface, the concept had to have a minimal impact on the operations and design of the offshore fish farm. This meant the system had to come with a minimum footprint, weight, and required installed power. By relying on simple and effective principles as well as an advanced control system, we were able to keep the design compact and lightweight. Furthermore, the design’s burden on the farm’s primary operations and setup are kept at a minimum, which is expressed by, among others, the fact that the collector can run without requiring any operator attention for up to 12 hours on end.”

Read the full article HERE.

30/03/2017: Aller Aqua strengthens the organisation for growth

Based on the significant growth Aller Aqua has experienced throughout recent years, the company now establishes a dedicated group management team

The team will be based in Christiansfeld, focussing on the company’s global growth.

The management in the individual factories will continue to focus on growth on the local markets.

Thenew management team; left to right: Hanno Slawski (Group R&D Director),Henrik Halken (Group CPO/CCO), Hans Erik Bylling (Group CEO), Carsten Jørgensen(Group CFO), and Lars Rahbæk, CEO Aller Aqua A/S © Aller Aqua Group

”Aller Aqua has experienced expansive growth in recent years, and 2017 will be no exception”, Hans Erik Bylling (Group CEO) explains.

“Currently we have four factories, but at the end of the year we will have two additional, one in China and one in Zambia. Besides we have a row of new sales companies in new markets, not least Africa.”

”Growth of this magnitude places large demands on both management and employees”, Hans Erik Bylling underlines, “and there is no doubt that we have all been under pressure in recent years. Therefore, the owners and management has decided to establish a dedicated group management team as well as strong local management teams in the individual factories.”

The group management team will be dedicated to continue the development, globalisation and growth in Aller Aqua.

Transverse functions such as Purchase, Finance/IT, R&D and Supply Chain will be integrated in the group management. Consisting of Hans Erik Bylling (Group CEO), Carsten Jørgensen (Group CFO), Henrik Halken (Group CPO/CCO) and Dr Hanno Slawski (Group R&D Director).

Additionally, the company will initiate the search for a Group Supply Chain Director.

On the individual factories, we have strong management teams in place.

In Denmark, Lars Rahbæk will step up as CEO, whilst the other local management teams will stay in place and continue to work dedicated on expanding and strengthening the home markets.

The new management structure will be effective from the 1st April 2017.

The group management team will focus 100 percent on strengthening Aller Aqua globally, and implementing the company values of local presence, customer focus, quality, flexibility and knowledge sharing.

Read more 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, optimise 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 optimising 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.

29/03/2017: The eye below the water: 360 degree camera systems prevent feed waste

Steinsvik is a global company specialised in delivering products and solutions to the aquaculture industry, as a market leader in camera systems for monitoring fish behaviour

The feeding cameras have been the core of our business since 1985. The success has laid the foundation for our expansion into feeding systems, barges, software and various other products used by fish farmers around the globe every day.

www.steinsvik.no

The beginning
The first camera was built in 1985, but the well-known underwater-eye design didn’t see the light of day until 1990. Salmon farming was still in its infancy, with smaller cages, fewer fish and an overall more simplistic approach to feeding.

Most farmers relied on manual observation of surface activity to gauge the fish appetite; few saw the emerging need for a sub-surface eye to observe. The struggle to gain market was twofold and the farmers needed convincing while the product needed improving.

Gaining momentum
In 1992 the well-known look emerged. The idea behind it was an eye below water. The camera was able to rotate 360 degrees vertically and horizontally, giving the farmer the possibility to monitor feeding behavior in a large area.

Feedback from the customer showed a substantial potential for optimising the amount of feed to be fed for every meal. More often than not, the farmers were underfeeding their fish, by following the set-feeding schedule.

This could manifest itself in a high feed conversion rate. Whilst this was in itself a good indicator of the pellets being consumed, it hid the fact that there was potential for quicker growth and larger fish at harvest.

Today
So far Steinsvik have delivered more than 12,000 cameras. There are cameras currently in use that were delivered back in 1998. That is 18 years for electronic equipment submerges in seawater. A clear image and user-friendly controls are not enough.

The key to Steinsvik’s success is that the product has to work, day in and day out, year after year, in ever changing conditions. The salmon farmers rely on the images to be able to feed the exact amount to ensure maximum growth and avoid any feed spill.

Read the full article HERE.

Monday, March 27, 2017

Romer Labs company profile

Would you like to join them in making a mark for a better world?

Visit the website HERE.

28/03/2017: Grouper farming: current bottleneck and new technology

by Huey-Lang Yang, Research Professor, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Groupers are fish of several genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae

They are wild and spread globally in many warm water oceans, and can be quite large, such as the giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus), which can commonly weigh up to 400kg.

Unlike other commonly farmed fish, grouper is a demersal fish that usually does not swim continuously, thus, it is an efficient and suitable fish for culture.

At least elven species of grouper have been farmed and the fertilised eggs of the following ten species are commercially available in Taiwan, such as giant grouper:

(E. lanceolatus), longtooth grouper (E. bruneus), coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus), red spotted grouper (E. akaara), orange spotted grouper (E. coioides), brown marbled grouper or tiger grouper (E. fuscoguttatus), Malabar grouper (E. malabaricus), camouflage grouper (E. polyphekadion), greasy grouper (E. tauvina), and polka dot grouper (Cromileptes altivelis).

Two species, such as E. coioides and E.malabadicus, have been successfully induced spawning, but other species are still unstable, such as E. bruneus, E. lanceolatus and P. leopardus.

The cultured fingerling has replaced the wild catch fingerling for most of the grouper farming. Grouper as a bottom fish is generally cultured in earthed ponds and shallow floating net cages in Southeast Asia.

The current culture system is fragmented and separated into at least four stages: brood stock farm supplies the fertilised eggs; hatchery supplies hatched larvae, nursery provides various size fingerlings to grow out farm.

All the stages have their own knowhow-based farmer’s experiences.

Current key bottleneck and disease
The stable supply of fingerling has facilitated the grouper farming in the past twenty years and about 100,000 tonnes of grouper was produced in Taiwan, China and south Asia at 2013.

However, high-density farming and repeated use of farming sites with non-responsible farming management has created drastic problems which has caused the industry to suffer many unsolvable problems in the past several years.

One of the major constraints is the disease, many diseases have already occurred such as VNN (Viral Nervous Necrosis, disease caused by NNV) which infects the brain and nervous system at the larvae and post-larval stage and has resulted total morality of larvae of all culture grouper species.

At the grow-out stage, NNV and Irido viruses and bacterial pathogens, such as Vibrio spp, Photobacterium, Aeromonads and Streptococcus as well as parasites are the main pathogens, especially, when fish are under stress.

Disease is not only causing mortality, it is also related to escalated production cost, unstable harvest, inferior fish quality, and damage to the farming environment.

Antibiotics and chemical drugs are currently used to treat disease, but unfortunately, this practice also causes the outgrowth of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Many countries around the world have tightened regulation on the use of antibiotics in aquaculture, but this rule is just palliatives and difficult to abide, as farmer needs solution.
About the Author:

Dr H-L Yang obtained his Ph.D. at UC Davis in Bacteriology and post-doctoral traning at Columbia University in USA.

Dr Yang was the CEO of Merit Ocean Biotech. Inc. that was established in 2011 after receiving his virus free indoor hatchery system.

Prior to this, he has worked as director of Institute of Bitoechnology and director of University Centre for Bioscience and Biotechnology at National Cheng Kung Univ, senior research fellow at Academia Sinica and director of Molecualr Biology at Development Centre of Biotechnology.

Fifteen years ago, Dr Yang shifted his research interest from bio-medicine of mammals to bio-medicine of fish and founded the R&D team of grouper with the intention of ameliorating the disease-related mortality of warm water aquaculture.

Dr Yang’s significant accomplishments were recognised by the Taiwanese government, and have obtained several domestic and international awards including the Distinguished Contribution in Science and Technology by Executive Yuan (cabinet), award of successful example of investment in R&D on Biotechnology and the Innovation award (Ministry of Agriculture).

International awards include the TWAS (The Academy of Sciences of Developing Country, a UN support organisation of the Academy of 68 developing countries) prize in Agricultural Sciences (2009), and he was elected as VIP in aquaculture of 2011, by China “Advance in Aquaculture” magazine.

Read the full article HERE.

28/03/2017: Nutriad showcases additive solutions for responsible antibiotics use at VIV Asia

The pressure on the use of AGP’s in Asia has gained momentum since the Korean ban in 2011

At the recent VIV Asia in Bangkok (Thailand), multinational feed additives producer Nutriad, presented solutions for reduction of antibiotics usage in livestock production.

Dr Tim Goossens

This year’s VIV that saw a record attendance, served as an excellent platform for sharing insights on how feed additives can help the reduction of non-therapeutic use of antibiotics.

Nutriad attended industry experts from across the world at its booth and participated in several conferences and seminars during the week.

At the technical conference ‘Immunosuppression 2017’ which took place before the opening day of VIV Asia, Dr Radka Borutova, Business Development Manager at Nutriad, presented on Mycotoxins: A gateway to infectious diseases.

Consumption of some mycotoxins, at levels that do not cause overt clinical mycotoxicosis, suppresses immune functions and may decrease resistance to infectious disease.

Dr Radka Borutova

“As Asia Pacific countries are still importing most of their raw feed ingredients, and since the mycotoxin situation in Europe and USA seem to be quite serious, APAC poultry, swine, ruminants and aquaculture producers are exposed to an increased mycotoxin risk in 2017”, said Dr Radka Borutova.

On the final day of VIV Asia, Dr Tim Goossens, Business Development Manager at Nutriad, presented a talk on the challenges that producers of gut health promoting additives are facing.

“By now, it is clear that many active ingredients can be linked to gut health. But to develop a product that is just as robust as AGPs, their potential needs to be maximised”, said Dr Goossens.

Erik Visser

He talked about butyrate as an example.

“Butyrate has the potential to trigger several physiological responses that are beneficial for gut health and performance. That potential will only be met, if you invest in a coating that is able to deliver butyrate throughout the entire digestive tract, like Nutriad does with ADIMIX®Precision.”

Erik Visser, CEO Nutriad, concluded, “Pressure from government regulation and consumers will shape the demands on livestock and aquaculture producers in Asia as far as antibiotics usage is concerned, just as we are seeing and have seen in other parts of the world. With a proven track record of additive solutions across the world, NUTRIAD is well positioned to work alongside producers to define answers for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. Feedback from industry at the recent VIV once more showed how our collaborative approach to the market is appreciated and valued.”

Read more HERE.

28/03/2017: Roundtable on Responsible Soy reveals full conference line-up, early bird passes available

The Roundtable on Responsible Soy Association, the internationally recognised organisation promoting responsible production, processing and trading of soy, announces its final line-up of speakers for the RT12 / Zero Deforestation: Transparency and Scale conference taking place in Lille, France, 31st May – 1st June 2017

www.responsiblesoy.org

Speakers include representatives from Nestle, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Proterra, European Commission, Imperial College London and many other key industry partners and academics.

This year’s event, which will attract 250 stakeholders from the global supply chain, will explore practical solutions to achieving continuous improvement in sustainable soy through dialogue with thought leaders within the sector.

The two-day event will focus on deforestation (monitoring strategies and tools; risk analysis; solutions for bridging the gap between legal compliance and zero deforestation), supply chain transparency (challenges and solutions for sustainable physical supply chains; transparency tools; stories from the field) and issues around the scaling up of production (jurisdictional approaches; finance and government; synergies between soy standards). Early bird tickets still are available at a discounted price.

The full line-up of speakers has been confirmed as:

- Sandra de Bruin - GMP+ International (Project Coordinator) – The Netherlands

- Olaf Brugman - Rabobank Markets (Head of Sustainability) – The Netherlands

- Stephen Donofrio - Change|Forest Trends (Senior Advisor at Supply) - USA

- Madeleine Eilert - Nestlé – (Responsible Sourcing Manager| Cereals, Sugar and Soya) - Switzerland

- Rachael Garrett - Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University (Assistant Professor) - USA

- Gisela Introvini – Fapcem (Superintendent) - Brazil

- Emma Keller - WWF UK (Agricultural Commodities Manager) - UK

- Juliana de Lavor Lopes - AMAGGI (Sustainability Director) - Brazil

- Lisa Rausch - University of Wisconsin (Research Associate in the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment) - USA

- Inke van der Sluijs - Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – The Netherlands

- Kristell Guizouarn - Avril Group (Sustainability Chief Officer) - France

- Alejandro Brown – Proyungas (Presidente Fundación ProYungas) - Argentina

- Augusto Freire – ProTerra (President) - Brazil

- Ryan Sarsfield - WRI: Global Forest Watch (Latin America Commodities Manager) - USA

- Daniel Nepstad- Earth Innovation Institute (Executive Director) – USA

- Stefan Heinke –Bayer (Global Sustainability Manager) - Germany

- Erin Logan – Proforest (Deputy Director Responsible Sourcing) - UK

RTRS’s latest enhancement of its Soy Production Standard (version 3.0) has created the world’s first Zero Deforestation multi-stakeholder certification standard.

It is the only multi-stakeholder certification scheme that guarantees zero deforestation in responsible soy production.

To find out more information or to register, click HERE.

Read more HERE.

Liptosa company profile

Visit the website HERE.

27/03/2017: Gene selection of ornamental shrimps in Taiwan

by Huang, Chang-Wen, National Taiwan Ocean University, Department of Aquaculture

New era of Ornamental Aquarium

In modern times, as people lead a busy and fast-tempo life and face heavy pressure, they are eager to have a high quality of life and relax by interacting with the natural world; hence, the demand for recreation and healing products is growing

As estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the total value driven by global ornamental aquatic animals, ancillary water quality equipment, and other such industries is projected to reach 15 billion USD.

In addition, the retail market of ornamental fish, aquatic invertebrates, aquatic plants, and other ornamental aquatic organisms is estimated at about 6 billion USD each year.

The production and trade flow of such ornamental aquatic organisms are closely associated with the development direction of the industry, and have become products with development potential and competitive advantage.

At present, more than 100 countries have developed similar related industries, which have become star industries. The related value chains of the ornamental aquarium industry include, from upstream to downstream, breeding farms, interface equipment, sales channels, and cultural media, which focus on breeding animals and plants.

The various ornamental aquatic organisms are ever changing and have amazing appearance and characteristics, as well as glorious colours. In recent years, raising ornamental aquatic organisms has become one of the activities for people to relieve anxiety and life stress.

People are especially enamoured with ornamental shrimps, which can create wonderful life in a small space.

In spite of the sluggish ornamental aquarium market, the sales of ornamental shrimps can increase, and gradually stimulate the Otaku Economy, which will facilitate alleviating physical and mental pressure and Lohas aesthetics.

From rags to riches
It is appropriate to use the phrase "rags to riches" to describe the presence and evolution of ornamental shrimps in the past two decades.

The shrimps are collected from the wild, look ordinary, are priced at tael, and used as feed.

However, after long-term continuous innovation and improvement, the original species of bee shrimps and Neocaridina Denticulate have acquired a new look and show a wide array of colours.

They are dreamlike high-end products, and considered as works of art. Coupled with their subtle colours and special lines, their worth can double, thus, they can create a staggering output value.

In addition to increasing the beauty of aquarium landscaping, shrimps can also command residual fees, remove algae from the water, and contribute to the ecological stability of an aquarium; therefore, they meet the global trend of small aquariums, and have been welcomed by aquarium enthusiasts in developed countries. To date, they remain the key targets of popular aquarium pets, which are highly sought-after in the aquarium industry both at home and abroad.

Read the full article HERE.

27/03/2017: SAIC champions importance of regional growth sectors to UK industrial strategy

The Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) has given evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee as one of a panel of expert witnesses consulted on the recently published Green Paper, Building our Industrial Strategy

The Green Paper sets out the UK Government’s ambition to improve living standards and economic growth by increasing productivity throughout the UK, along with how it proposes to achieve it.

Image: Martin de Lusenet

It is by no means a finished framework however, with input being sought from innovators, investors, employers, employees and the general public alike across every corner of the UK.

Providing oral evidence to the Select Committee on behalf of the Scottish aquaculture industry was SAIC CEO Heather Jones, “It was an honour to represent the industry – and, at the same time, Scotland’s wider Innovation Centre programme itself – and help lay the foundations for more balanced growth across the UK.”

“Aquaculture is a sector that is standing on its own two feet. It is globally profitable and is already harnessing innovation in robotics and other technologies. The industry is investing tens of millions of capex in the UK economy, and is driving up productivity through management leadership and training”.

“Yet within the proposed Industrial Strategy there is little mention of niche sectors or sectors with particular regional importance. That is why I welcomed the aspiration for balanced growth across all four home countries, but also urged the Select Committee to reflect the contribution of industries vital to rural and coastal communities within the advice it gives to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and the Industrial Strategy.”

Helping shape the evidence provided, Heather Jones consulted with a cross-section of Scottish stakeholders prior to attending the Select Committee meeting.

These included leading farmed fish and shellfish producers and suppliers; key bodies such as the Scottish Funding Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and Universities Scotland; and Scotland’s other seven Innovation Centres.

Speaking on behalf of the Scottish Innovation Centres after her appearance, Heather Jones said, “Many of our own sector strategies in Scotland directly mirror the ideas in the Green Paper. They are formed by Industry Leadership Groups and tackle key barriers to growth: ensuring a strong skills-base; boosting business investment in research and development; and directly supporting deeper industry-academic collaboration.”

“The real measure of whether the Industrial Strategy is successful or not will be whether it manages to close the productivity gap between the UK's best performing companies and places, and between its urban powerhouses and rural peripheries.”
To view the 'Building our Industrial Strategy Green Paper', click HERE.

Read more HERE.

27/03/2017: Vortex announces management changes

Vortex announces the appointment of Laurence Millington as Managing Director of the company’s operations in Darlington, United Kingdom

Mr Millington will take over the role from Travis Young, who has overseen Vortex’s international operations since 2008.

Travis Young

After nine years of managing the company’s business development in the EMEA and Asian markets, Mr Young has accepted the position of Executive Vice President of Marketing and Global Strategy at Vortex’s corporate headquarters in Kansas, USA.

“The appointment of Laurence was a straightforward decision. He understands how our business works, the markets we serve, and the core values Vortex upholds”, commented Mr Young.

“Under his leadership Vortex will continue to create winning relationships with our clients and distribution channels for many years to come.”

Mr Millington has been employed with the company since 2009 and was promoted to his most recent role of Sales Director, EMEA and Asia, in 2015.

Laurence Millington

Mr Young has been with the company since 2004.

Founded in 1977, Vortex designs and manufactures valves and dustless loading equipment for handling dry bulk material in the food, chemical, and mineral industries.

Read more HERE.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Jefo company profile

Jefo is a world leader in the field of non-medicated performance feed additives for the poultry, swine, ruminant and aquaculture sectors. Founded in Canada in 1982, today Jefo has offices on 5 continents, and specialises in the design, manufacturing, warehousing and JIT-distribution of an array of animal nutrition specialty products.

Jefo is a pioneer in the green revolution taking place in animal nutrition.

According to their website: "Our commitment is to providing effective alternatives for optimal performances in animal nutrition".

The Europe / Africa division of Jefo was created in 1998 and is headquartered in Nantes, France. We market a line of original products including vitamins, enzymes, organic acids and essential oils.

Visit the website HERE.

24/03/2017: Joined forces for a sustainable European aquaculture of the future

AQUAEXCEL2020 is a €9.7 million European Union-funded Horizon 2020 research infrastructure project aimed at supporting the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector in Europe

It comprises a large group of leading European aquaculture research facilities that work towards bringing aquaculture research in Europe to a new level by 2020.

It will do so by integration of the European aquaculture community, and providing it with crucial tools, facilities, and novel services to conduct advanced fish research.

Aquaculture currently provides about half of the fish for human consumption worldwide. The demand for fish is rising, but fisheries are not expected to grow due to fully or over-exploited fish stocks.

Aquaculture production seeks to meet this increasing demand for fish, but while the aquaculture sector is growing in the rest of the world, it has stagnated in Europe in recent years.

The European aquaculture industry has ambitions to grow sustainably with continuing efficient and environmentally responsible production of high-value fish products. This will be possible if it ensures excellent scientific research and translates results into innovation and industrial growth.

European researchers need effective and convenient access to the best aquaculture research infrastructures to conduct research for the advancement of knowledge and technology in the aquaculture sector.

AQUAEXCEL2020 aims to bring together, integrate, and open up diverse key national and regional aquaculture research infrastructures in Europe to all European researchers, from both academia and industry, ensuring their optimal use and joint development.

These research infrastructures are made available through the AQUAEXCEL2020 Transnational Access (TNA) program.

Building on the success of its predecessor AQUAEXCEL (2011-2015), the AQUAEXCEL2020 project unites a group of major aquaculture experimental facilities that have the capacity to undertake experimental trials on a selection of commercially important aquaculture fish species and system types.

Almost half of the project’s budget will go into the provision of this transnational access to aquaculture research facilities and harmonised services for both academic users as well as private sector users, especially SMEs.

Academic and industry researchers will then be able to perform their research projects with “free of charge” access to 39 top EU aquaculture research infrastructures that are not available in their country of origin.

Over 100 researchers have previously used this opportunity to extend their investigations including on different systems, species, and facility and water types, as part of AQUAEXCEL and AQUAEXCEL2020.

Read the full article HERE.

24/03/2017: Canada to showcase its strong fish and seafood industry at Seafood Expo North America 2017

Canada's fish and seafood industry continues to thrive and benefit the livelihood of the many Canadian communities that depend on it

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, and the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, are proudly leading the Government of Canada's delegation at Seafood Expo North America, March 19-21, 2017, in Boston, Massachusetts.

"Canada's fish and seafood industry is a vital part of our economy and our communities. I am immensely proud to be showcasing Canada's fish and seafood to important export markets, and to be highlighting our government's commitment to sustainably managing our fisheries and aquaculture operations to ensure they remain healthy for future generations”, said The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., Q.C., M.P., Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

"I am honoured to be here working with this world-class sector to encourage strong fish and seafood sales worldwide, helping create jobs in our coastal towns and cities and helping more people join the middle class. Global demand is growing, and Canada's variety, quality, value and sustainability will help meet that demand", said The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Image: davebloggs007

With thousands of seafood buyers and sellers from around the world, Seafood Expo North America is the largest trade exposition of its kind in North America.

It presents a tremendous opportunity for Canada to promote our world class fisheries management regime and our high-quality, sustainably-sourced fish and seafood products.

Canada's 2016 fish and seafood export values show that trade in this sector continues to grow. Canada exported a record $6.6 billion worth of fish and seafood products in 2016, up 10 percent from 2015.

The United States remains our largest export market, accounting for 65 percent of our exports worth $4.3 billion. Canada is the largest supplier of fish and seafood to the United States, emphasising the importance of this trading partnership.

"Seafood Expo North America is a fantastic way to showcase the quality and sustainability of the fish and seafood available from Canada. The US is a key market for our seafood producers, so many of our members look forward to taking part year after year to meet with buyers and suppliers. The participation of both Minister LeBlanc and Minister MacAulay underscores the government's commitment to working with industry in promoting Canada's world-class fish and seafood”, Michelle Boudreau, President, Fisheries Council of Canada.

"Demand for Canadian aquaculture products continues to grow in markets as diverse as the USA, China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore; yet we have much still to accomplish. We are encouraged by the leadership of Minister LeBlanc and his commitment to science, innovation and new federal aquaculture legislation. Our ultimate goal remains continued responsible growth and sustainable, healthy and nutritious seafood that is in high-demand around the world”, said Ruth Salmon, Executive Director, Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance.

Minister LeBlanc will take advantage of the presence of many fisheries associations and environmental non-government organisations to hold a roundtable discussion on Canada's plan to achieve its marine conservation targets by protecting five percent of marine and coastal areas by 2017 and 10 percent by 2020.

Marine protected areas support increased size, abundance and diversity of marine species, protect spawning stocks and protect habitat critical to lifecycle stages which can help replenish fish stocks-all of which can benefit Canada's fish and shellfish sector.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada will continue to meet with provinces and territories, Indigenous groups, the fishing industry, and other interested parties to discuss their important role in conserving marine biodiversity and safeguarding the health of our oceans for future generations.

Additionally, Ministers LeBlanc and MacAulay will meet with provincial Ministers responsible for fisheries, aquaculture, and agriculture, who are also attending Seafood Expo North America, to advance sector specific objectives.

Read more HERE.

23/03/2017: BioMar Group to establish feed factory in Australia

During the last years BioMar Group has delivered an increasing volume of feed to the Australian market from factories in Chile and Scotland

Now the company is ready to establish a green field feed factory in Australia with a yearly capacity of 110.000 tons.

The market is evaluated to have a high potential for growth within a broad range of species.

Carlos Diaz

Underlining the expansion strategy of the company, BioMar Group announces yet another growth initiative: The construction of a feed factory in Australia.

BioMar Group is already cooperating with local state government building the required foundation for approval.

The aim is to be able to serve the customers, being locally agile with a solid foundation of global product development and technical experience within species such as salmon, trout and yellow tail king fish.

“In 2016 we opened a factory in Turkey and this year we will be ready with our second factory in China as well as with expanded capacity in Norway. In 2019 we aim to open a feed factory in Australia supported by our established factories, technical experts and global R&D department. We are as a group dedicated to fulfil the growth ambitions in our strategy being an independent premium feed supplier with a high degree of global cooperation”, explains Carlos Diaz CEO, BioMar Group.

Through the presence in the market BioMar Group has obtained a hands-on understanding of the local farming conditions and challenges.

It is the expectation that being locally present with commercial staff, technical expertise and production facilities will lead to an even more competitive advantage in the market.

The ambition is to support the customers by developing high performance products tailored to local farming conditions with a strong profile in regards to sustainability, feed safety and food quality.

“I am confident that our approach of balancing local agility and global excellence will give us a solid position in Australasia. We have already established very successful cooperation with key customers and we are looking forward to working with a broader base of customers developing the aquaculture industry in Australia and New Zealand. The world around us is changing and there is an increasing need for combining sustainability and efficiency. We clearly see that end-consumers are changing buying patterns towards high quality products with a responsible profile. We firmly believe that working closely together with the value chain can prepare the industry to take a lead in the global food sustainability agenda”, states Carlos Diaz.

Read more HERE.

Pages

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Monday, March 27, 2017

Thursday, March 23, 2017