The Aquaculturists: April 2017

Sunday, April 30, 2017

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.

According to the team at Phileo Lesaffre "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.

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

01/05/2017: Pancosma appoints new Global Sales Director

Pancosma appoints Marcos Teixidó as Global Sales Director

Marcos Teixido

After 20 years of working with Pancosma as Sales Manager and regional Sales Director, Marcos Teixido is now appointed Global Sales Director.

In his new role, he will manage sales and distribution networks and coordinate them with upstream functions. The Global Sales Director is a member of Pancosma’s Executive Committee.

With a turnover that has almost doubled in recent years, Pancosma is continuously expanding its global presence and industrial footprint.

Marcos’ challenge will be to maintain and develop this momentum by continuously bringing innovation to our customers.

Read more HERE.

01/05/2017: Aquaculture Singapore 2017 conference and exhibition

An annual conference and exhibition organised by the Asia Aquaculture Network (AAN) – AquaSG’17 seeks to persist as an effective networking and education platform for industry professionals and individuals interested in stepping into the aquaculture industry

Conference participants will gain top of the line exposure to an extensive list of renowned speakers, carefully curated workshops and exhibitions on the themes of intensification and disease management.

Following positive response from the two-day conference and workshop first introduced in 2015 to officiate opening of the Centre for Aquaculture and Veterinary Science at Temasek Polytechnic, the organising committee has engaged AAN to present AquaSG annually.

Researchers, investors, farmers, feed manufacturers, nutritionists, environmental agencies, decision makers and stakeholders from the international aquaculture industry can look forward to an exceptional platform for the discussion of ideas on aquaculture science and technology in Singapore this October.

World renowned speakers including Dr Albert Tacon, Dr Shaun M. Moss, John Bostock, Dr Farshad Shishehchian and Dr David Bruce Groman have been invited to share their industry knowledge and valued practices during the workshops and conference.

Alongside the conference program, exhibition opportunities are also made available for suppliers to present their nutrition products, instruments and equipment for farm management, diagnostics and therapeutics, as a complete package to encourage sustainable aquaculture practices within the industry.

AquaSG’17 will also be featuring a brand new Industry Roundtable segment —Aquaculture Industry Development Across Economies.

The Roundtable session will explore the growth and potential of the aquaculture industry in Singapore and across the globe, with expert and practical views from valuable players of the industry.

“Widely known as the global commerce, finance and transportation hub, Singapore will certainly lend its favourable geographical location to the growth of aquaculture innovations and investments within the Asia Pacific region in the near future,” says Dr Farshad Shishehchian, President and Founder of AAN.

Organised by Asian Aquaculture Network (AAN) and in collaboration with Temasek Polytechnic Singapore, AquaSG 2017 is expected to draw over 200 participants from Asia, Australia, USA, Europe and Latin America.

Event information:

Dates: 3 - 7 October 2017
Time: 0900 – 1800 daily
Location: School of Applied Science, Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore.

For regular updates and registration details, click HERE.

01/05/2017: Responsible Aquaculture Foundation adds new water quality courses

Two new courses from the Responsible Aquaculture Foundation reflect additional titles in RAF's popular water quality series

"Water Circulation and Aeration", addresses how these topics influence seafood production in both pond-based and cage systems for fish and shrimp.

Image: Joe Jungmann

The course explains the impacts of water stratification and how aeration can help prevent stratification and provide more dissolved oxygen to animals held in ponds.

At cage sites, good planning and proper management can limit water quality problems in lakes and reservoirs.

"Water Quality in Aquaculture: An Introduction", is a new course that describes how culture water must provide both a suitable living environment for culture species and a system that supports feeding and handling of waste products.

It introduces the chemical properties of alkalinity and hardness, salinity, conductivity and trace elements, as well as how they are measured and managed.

Developed with the assistance of renowned aquaculture expert Dr Claude Boyd, they are currently free to view, but will require a registration fee later this year.

Both courses are now available, HERE.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Extru-Tech Inc company profile

Founded in 1985, Extru-Tech® has installed numerous extrusion systems worldwide designed for the production of human food, pet food, aquatic feed and animal feed products.

Extru-Tech® also maintains the reputation of supplying the extrusion industry with superior quality replacement parts.

Extru-Tech® currently produces and markets one of the industry's most complete lines of extrusion processing systems.

In addition, they offer a full line of ancillary equipment and customised equipment solutions for specialised processes.

Visit the website HERE

28/04/2017: Responsible Aquaculture Foundation launches new seafood safety courses

Three new online courses from the Responsible Aquaculture Foundation provide education and training in seafood safety - a topic of fundamental importance to the aquaculture supply chain

‘Seafood Safety for Aquaculture Products’ introduces the topic by identifying potential food safety problems at aquaculture farms and processing facilities, and the layers of management required to control them.

Image: llee_wu

‘Good Manufacturing Practices at Aquaculture Processing Plants’ describes a range of practices that comprise the foundation of a sound food safety program, including health and hygiene for workers, regular cleaning and sanitising, and pest control.

Employee training and routine monitoring should be elements of everyday operations, too.

‘Aquaculture Compliance With US Food Safety Modernisation Act’ explains the changes FSMA is driving in food safety regulations and implications for buyers. These include more inspections and prevention of persistent food safety problems at farms and processing plants.

Some FSMA rules affecting aquaculture became effective in 2015, with others scheduled through the next five years.

"Seafood is one of the most internationally traded proteins, and aquaculture production chains can be complex and fragmented," RAF President George Chamberlain said.

"It is the responsibility of each link in the chain to stay well-informed and vigilant about seafood safety. These courses - and the ones to follow - help identify potential problem areas and recommend how to deal with them."

Seafood safety issues can develop during both the farming and processing of seafood as a result of microbial, chemical or physical contamination of seafood products.

Effective seafood safety controls focus on the prevention of problems and are arranged in layers that reflect increasing specificity.

Monitoring at receiving is a key point that links controls between farming and processing. RAF's seafood safety courses are being developed under the direction of Dr Steve Otwell, professor emeritus from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Florida.

Otwell's work involved applied research and extension services in addressing seafood product quality and safety from production through processing to retail and food services. Links to the new courses are grouped under the heading of "Seafood Safety." Additional courses in this study area will be available soon.

To take the free courses, log in HERE.

Read more HERE.

28/04/2017: Vietnam shrimp value chain, customer conference program

The Vietnam fisheries industry has contributed more than three percent to the country's GDP annually, of which seafood export turnover in 2014 reached impressively USD $7.92 billion, exported to 164 countries

Shrimp is the one of the main exporting products of Vietnamese seafood (accounting for 44.39 percent by 2015), creating jobs and income for about 700,000 households, it has average annual growth rate at 6.82 percent.

Although Vietnam shrimp industry is considered to have good growth and exporting to many markets. However, the market movements were strongly fluctuated recently.

The increasing requirements for traceability, production management under the value chain and the application of chain certification systems and the requirements of the TPP, FTA and international buyers, also request the closer value chain control.

As reviewed by ICAFIS, The most of value chain researches in recent 10 years show that the value chain linkages are weak and not effective, not equity and not information transparent, it negatively effects the quality, traceability and decreases the competiveness of Vietnam shrimp in the international market.

In addition, the limited finance access is a barrier for small and medium shrimp processing companies to scale up and comply with international standards as the market requests.

Funded by the European Union via SWITCH-Asian program, Oxfam Vietnam collaborates with International Collaborating Centre for Aquaculture and Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS) to implement the project “Sustainable and Equitable Shrimp Production and Value Chain Development in Vietnam” (SusV), The project duration is four years (2016-2020).

After one year of implementation. with the close collaboration of Directorate of Fisheries (D-FIS), Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau province, WWF Vietnam, GRAISEA project, MCD, SRD, the project has facilitated over 50 value chain linking contracts, the result initially affirms that:

- Value chain development is a right way for Vietnam shrimp to reach international level.
- Affirming the value and belief of Vietnam shrimp through advanced shrimp production process and the close value chain management (from inputs to outputs.
- Support the smallholder shrimp producers to integrate through applying the international programs and standards.
- Promote the participation and cooperation of domestic and international seafood enterprises in the sustainable shrimp value chain in Viet Nam, in accordance with the Private Public Partnership model.

In order to support enterprises and shrimp producers, help Vietnam shrimp industry move forward, the SusV project management board, ICAFIS, Oxfam Vietnam cooperate with WWF Vietnam to organise “Vietnam Shrimp Value Chain – Customer Conference”

Conference program information:

Organiser
International Collaborating Centre for Aquaculture and Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS), WWF Vietnam, Oxfam Vietnam

Collobarting and supporting partner
Bureau Veritas, ASIC

DateMay 19, 2017

Location
Van Phat hotel, Con Khuong, Can Tho city

Participants
200 participants

Conference program schedule:

8.00-8.30 - organiser
Welcome participants

8.30-8.40 - D-FISH, VINAFIS representatives
Opening speech and introduction (the objectives and participants)

8.40-8.50 - The SusV project management board’s representative – Mr Dinh Xuan lap, ICAFIS Vice Director
Report on the one year implementation of SusV project

8:50-9:05 - Mr Corey Peer
The Southeast Asian Shrimp Aquaculture Improvement Protocol – SEASAIP

9:05–9:15 - ASIC representatives
The SEASAIP audit mechanism and participation in Shrimp value chain

9:15–10:15 - Facilitator: Dr Le Thanh luu – ICAFIS Director
Dialogue: Market opportunities for applying shrimp value chain according to SEASAIP
1) US buyers’ representative - Ms Megan
2) ASIC presentative - Mr Corey Peet
3) VINAFIS representative - Dr Le Thanh Luu
4) Companies’ representatives

10:15-10:30 - Tea break

10:30–10:40 - Mr Huynh Quoc Tinh – WWF Vietnam
Facilitating ASC application for smallholder farms in Vietnam

10:40–10:50 - Representatives Bureau Veritas
Value of ASC application in value chain, experience from practical assessment/audit

10:50–11:45 - Facilitator: Mr Huynh Quoc Tinh - WWF Vietnam
Dialogue: Customers for small-scale shrimp value chain applying ASC
1) European Buyers’ representatives
2) WWF Vietnam - Mr Huynh Quoc Tinh
3) Global aquaculture program manager - Mr Henk
4) Vietnam Companies’ representatives

11:45–12:00 - D-FISH representative
Conference summarising and closing speech

12.00-13.00 – Lunch

More information and registration
Contact: Dinh Xuan Lap, Deputy director, ICAFIS
Mobile: 0985 024 307
Email: lap.dinhxuan@icafis.vn

Read more HERE.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

27/04/2017: VIV Asia 2017 – The biggest intensive livestock show under one roof

by Alex Whitebrook and Roger Gilbert, CEO International Aquafeed

VIV Asia 2017, held from March 15-17, will be recorded as the world’s most important and comprehensive trade exhibitions ever for the feed-to-food industry hosted in Asia

This year the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Thailand, opened its new halls to the VIV Asia 2017 trade expo, which now combines several of its halls into one massive single air-conditioned event space.

Measuring more than 800m long and almost 220m wide, this was an enormous event by anyone’s estimation. Booth space was limited to accommodate the 1000 or more trade exhibitors who wanted to exhibit; the corridors were almost too narrow although wide enough to accommodate the full influx of attendees.

Massive screens at key points throughout the floor space kept everyone connected via social media. This was the most comprehensive of exhibitions, covering all sectors of livestock and aquatic production from breeding and hatching, farm production, animal health through to feed processing and handling and feed ingredients and additives as well as well as co-located exhibitions for Agri-Technica Asia 2017 and Horti Asia 2017 on the same site.

The three days proved to be valuable networking opportunities for those working within the animal feed industry. The first day of VIV went without a hitch, as Perendale, publisher of both the Milling and Grain and International Aqua Feed magazines, welcomed new and old customers to its stand.

Roger Gilbert, CEO, Perendale Publishers LTD explains, “We spent the first day networking with company representatives we have long had positive relationships with, whilst simultaneously using one of the world's largest food and feed industry exhibitions to reach out to potential new customers and build new relationships.”

The Milling and Grain and International Aquafeed team spent the day moving from stand-to-stand, introducing themselves to people from all sides of food and feed production.

Together with Ms Tuti Tan, Roger successfully reconnected with industry leaders - though Perendale is often present at international trade shows around the globe, so it hadn't been long between greetings!

This personal and respectful approach to publishing is characteristic of Perendale's first-class stance in the milling and aquaculture industry.

Read the full event review, HERE.

Bühler company profile

There are plenty of good reasons for Bühler’s success: Personal commitment, clever entrepreneurial decision-making, a high level of sensitivity to the changing needs of the market, and a core business that has become a byword for quality and consistency, founded on the distinct power to innovate.

Tackling the challenges of the period and of the market have always played a role in shaping the direction of the company. This is simply something that Buhler has always done, and when it comes to generating benefits and added value for our customers, we have always been a step ahead.

Bühler is a specialist and technology partner for plant and equipment and related services for processing basic foods and manufacturing high-grade materials. The Group is a global market leader in the supply of flour production plants, pasta and chocolate production lines, fish and animal feed manufacturing installations, and aluminium die casting systems.

The core technologies of the Group are in the field of mechanical and thermal process engineering. With its expertise and over 150 years of experience, Bühler time and again rolls out unique and innovative solutions for its customers, helping them achieve success in the marketplace.

Over the decades Bühler has come to be acknowledged as a reliable partner thanks to its distinct commitment to quality and its global presence.

Bühler Group operates in over 140 countries, has a global payroll of 7860, and generated sales revenues of CHF1907 million in fiscal 2010.

Visit the website HERE.

27/04/2017: Kemin subsidiary opens state-of-the-art facility as part of five-year, global expansion

Kemin Industries, a global nutritional ingredient company that uses science to create solutions and products to touch half of the world’s population, announced today the opening of its Russia manufacturing and laboratory facilities in Lipetsk

The new facility for the Kemin subsidiary, Kemin Industries (Lipetsk) LLC, is located in the Special Economic Zone of Lipetsk.

Image: Dmitry Dzhus

The new location has the capacity to serve the growing demand for specialised nutritional ingredients to address the needs of the rapidly growing Russian animal protein industry.

“Russia is one of the largest animal feed markets in Europe producing more than 30 million tons of feed. Localising manufacturing reduces process time and allows us to best serve our Kemin customers in the region,” said Dr Chris Nelson, President and CEO of Kemin Industries.

“On a global scale, Kemin is always aggressively pursuing expansions to meet our customers where they are to provide high-quality products and solutions. The Lipetsk facility is an example of how Kemin thinks globally and acts locally to best serve our customers and the 3.4 billion people we touch every day with our products.”

With regional headquarters in Europe, Kemin has been serving Russia since 1995. In 2014, the company opened a fully equipped customer service laboratory in Moscow to better serve the feed industry and its growing customer base.

The Lipetsk location is part of the five-year, global expansion plan for Kemin. The new state-of-the-art facility is one of the most sophisticated plants in the global Kemin portfolio, and features a manufacturing plant, quality labs and warehouses.

“For more than 20 years, Kemin has established a strong footprint in Russian feed production. As the demand for meat production increases in Russia, the need for our value-added products is growing tremendously,” said KP Philip, President of Kemin Animal Nutrition and Health.

“Now, we can serve one of the largest animal feed markets in Europe with local availability of high-quality feed ingredients, condensed delivery time and reduction of risk with supply chain transportation; all which enables us to grow and better serve the Russian market while increasing the collaboration between our scientists and the direct customers we serve in Russia.”

Head of the Administration of the Lipetsk Region O.P. Korolev commented, "We in the region are constantly working to create a favorable business climate and value the confidence of investors. I am very glad that now another production has opened in the SEZ "Lipetsk" and workplaces will be created, which means that the quality of life in Lipetsk region will continue to increase. We thank the investors for the joint fruitful work.”

27/04/2017: Silverside™, sustainably sourced premium pacific salmon from leading Chilean salmon farmer Ventisqueros

BioMar´s Silverside™ Premium Coho Salmon Feed including AlgaPrime™ DHA aims to achieve unprecedented sustainability benefits

Chilean salmon farmer Ventisqueros – a boutique salmon producer in north Patagonia – in collaboration with Danish feed producer BioMar Group announced today it will begin using salmon feed containing AlgaPrime™ DHA to produce a Premium Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch or Coho) with unprecedented sustainability benefits.

www.ventisqueros.cl

BioMar´s Omega Technology incorporates a sustainable source of omega-3s, AlgaPrime™ DHA, which is responsible for the product’s industry low FFDR (Forage Fish Dependency Ratio) of 0.5 kilograms in Ventisqueros’ Silverside™ Premium Pacific Salmon. FFDR is a metric used to evaluate how many kilograms of wild fish are needed to produce one kilo of farmed fish.

The current industry average FFDR is about 1.3 kg. “By achieving this figure, we have become the first “net fish producers” in the salmon farming industry,” said José Luis Vial, CEO of Ventisqueros,

"S.A. AlgaPrime™ DHA is an important ingredient in this innovative feed formulated by BioMar creating an entirely new product offering and value proposition that we’re excited to provide to our customers.”

“We are very excited see this type of development in the Chilean industry aiming to cover the new trends in sustainable products in the market, all the more when we are acting as a catalyst of it”, said Eduardo Hagedorn Managing Director BioMar Chile.

AlgaPrime™ DHA is currently being made by TerraVia and Bunge at their SB Renewable Oils joint venture facility in Brazil. Representing a step change to current industry solutions, the algae is grown in closed fermentation tanks in just days and offers consistent supply and quality to customers.

Based on sugarcane feedstock, AlgaPrime™ DHA has a lower carbon and water footprint and higher yield per hectare than DHA produced from most other non-marine sources.

“Microalgae is the original source of omega-3 fatty acids in the food chain and can now be produced in an effective and highly sustainable way,” said Manuel Cabezas, Feed & Feeding Director of Ventisqueros, S.A. AlgaPrime™ DHA goes straight to the original source, offering a fully traceable and consistent source omega-3s.

“Silverside™ Premium Pacific Salmon is both BAP 4 Star and ASC certified – so it’s critical that all feed ingredients included BioMar are made sustainably and responsibly.”

26/04/2017: Raising the bar: the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) releases third annual sustainability report

Driving industry-wide improvements in sustainability through greater transparency and cooperation, the GSI members continue to raise the bar in industry performance by publishing the third annual sustainability report, which highlights that one-quarter of all GSI farms are now ASC certified

The 2016 Sustainability Report published today by the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) features four years’ worth of data from all 12 GSI salmon farming member companies.

Using the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Salmon Standard as a framework, the report documents the GSI members’ environmental and social performance across 14 key sustainability indicators, and highlights improvements in responsible business practices.

Continuing to raise the bar in industry transparency, this year’s report is also the first from the GSI leadership group to include data verified by independent auditors, providing additional credibility and reassurance for stakeholders.

Highlights from the 2016 Sustainability Report include:

- Nearly one-quarter of all GSI farms now ASC certified – a 60 percent increase from 2015

- Overall preferential environmental performance of farmed salmon when compared to other livestock sectors on indicators such as carbon footprint, energy retention and protein retention

- Continuing improvements in the responsible use of feed ingredients, with the average feed conversion ratio for farmed salmon now at 1.3:1

- GSI members employ almost 20,000 people across small and rural communities globally

- Focus on ongoing positive social impact through meaningful interactions with local communities

- Move towards greater use of innovative and holistic approaches to disease management

Piers Hart, Global Head of Aquaculture at WWF commented, “We have closely followed the work of the GSI for a number of years now, and are pleased to see further significant progress towards the initiative´s goal of achieving 100 percent ASC certified farmed salmon by 2020. Setting ambitious sustainability goals remains a crucial factor for every individual company. However, sector-wide transformation can only happen through collective sustainability initiatives such as the GSI, which represents almost 50 percent of the global salmon industry. That´s why we call upon all farmed salmon producers to become ASC certified, either individually or through GSI membership. We also hope it will be an incentive for retailers worldwide to continue to offer their consumers ASC certified salmon”.

The GSI Sustainability Report also demonstrates the preferable environmental performance of farmed salmon when compared to other protein sectors – such as chicken, beef and pork – including its low, and decreasing, feed conversion ratio (the lower this ratio, the more efficient an animal is at retaining the protein and energy from feed and converting it into food for humans), and low carbon footprint.

“We want to use our combined knowledge and global reach to raise the bar when it comes to environmental and social performance not only in the farmed sector, but across the food industry as a whole”, said Per Grieg, GSI Co-Chair and Chairman of the Board, Grieg Seafood ASA.

“We want to lead by example, and demonstrate to other companies, and other sectors, that improving sustainability is a pre-competitive issue. What the GSI Sustainability Report demonstrates is that, through greater transparency and greater cooperation, it is possible to achieve change at scale which is good for the environment, and good for business”.

To view the GSI Sustainability Report, click HERE.

Read more HERE.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

26/04/2017: Nutriad appoints technical manager in China

Multinational feed additive producer Nutriad announced the appointment of Dr Wei Wang as Technical Manager for China

Dr Wei Wang

As part of an ongoing strategy to increase its presence in this dynamic market, Nutriad continues to invest in building technical and commercial support teams in China, allowing them to further improve their constant engagement and support to customers.

BK Chew, APAC Director Nutriad, commented ‘China is the main growth engine within APAC and the appointment of Dr Wang will enable increased technical support for our applications in mycotoxin management and gut health.”

Dr Wei completed a total of 10 years of studies in animal nutrition, obtaining a BSc in Animal Science at Southwest University of Science & Technology, a MSc in Swine Nutrition at Sichuan Agriculture University and PhD in Applied Biological Science, Swine Nutrition at Ghent University.

Dr Wang said, “I have always been fascinated by converting scientific knowledge on animal nutrition and health into practical solutions. As such I have admired Nutriad from the outside for many years and am excited to now become part of the Chinese team and support the company on its next steps in China.”

Read more HERE.

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.

26/04/2017: Vónin case study - tough environment calls for tough cages

If they work in the Faroes, then they’ll stand up to practically anything

That’s the thinking behind Vónin’s aquaculture cages. The Faroe Islands are a fantastic place to rear salmon, with perfect water temperatures and fast-flowing currents of crystal-clear water – but it’s still one of the toughest environments in the world to anchor cages and the advantages come as part of the north Atlantic weather that brings a string of storms that batter the islands every winter.

www.vonin.com/en/aquaculture

In fact, producing its own cages is a relatively new venture for Vónin. Adding its own cages to its product range means that Vónin is now able to supply complete salmon cage packages.

The plastic brackets
The brackets that hold the tubes of the cage rings together presented a few challenges and Vónin used computer-aided design to identify weak points and achieve the optimum strength in the HDPE100 injection moulded brackets.

“These had to be as strong as possible, with no compromises,” Vónin’s Bogi Nón commented. “The neck of the bracket tends to be the weak point where failures can occur, so it was important to get these right.”

Bakkafrost orders cages with distance bars
The first of the new Vónin cages, which were supplied to Faroese salmon producer Bakkafrost have had a full year in the firing line of those winter storms and passed that particular test with flying colours after a process of making some minor adjustments to ensure optimum performance.

Bakkafrost ordered eight cages, but also specified a design using steel distance bars between the brackets, allowing the cage tube itself to move freely inside the brackets – making the cages effectively self-cleaning, but with the downside of a more complex construction and requiring the distance bars to be extremely strong.

“There were some problems to overcome and Bakkafrost got its cages in two deliveries. There were a few challenges to start with to get the details right, but these were all dealt with and there were no problems at all with the second part of the delivery,” he said.

“Now they have been using the distance bars for more than a year with no problems other than a few teething troubles while we were getting things right at the outset.” “Those cages have now been out for a whole year, with a full Faroese winter’s use behind them in a demanding location.”

Read the full article HERE.

25/04/2017: Wholehearted focus on salmon fed with microalgae

by Lerøy

Lerøy will from next month produce salmon products rich in healthy fatty acids – with a reduced usage of scarce marine raw materials

www.leroyseafood.com

A close cooperation between Lerøy and BioMar is going to ensure that salmon farmed by Lerøy will benefit from a sustainable high level of Omega 3-DHA in the feed partly deriving from the microalgae ingredient, AlgaPrime DHA.

Lerøy states that this cooperation is an important step taking responsibility for building an even more sustainable aquaculture. Lerøy is now entering a new area of sustainability.

Salmon, above 1 kg, will from next month be farmed by the use of feed formulated with microalgae, a sustainable, Omega-3-rich whole algae ingredient developed by TerraVia in partnership with Bunge. Using the new ingredient Lerøy unreserved embarks a journey of reducing dependency of marine ingredients.

“For the end-consumer this change means that we will be able to keep the high level of healthy Omega 3 in the ‘Lerøy Salmon’. We know there will be a lack of fish oil in the future and that we have to find alternatives to fish oil, as a feed ingredient, if we want to keep the high level of healthy Omega 3 that we have in the salmon today. With the use of feed formulated with microalgae we are certain to maintain the high level for many years to come”, states Henning Beltestad, CEO in Lerøy Seafood Group.

The feed supplier BioMar has developed a range of feed solutions for Lerøy, where a part of the high level of healthy Omega 3 is obtained through use of microalgae. “We farm salmon for the end-consumer.

www.leroyseafood.com

We know that the consumers all over the world care about the sustainability of our activities and the nutritional quality of our salmon. Through this efficient cooperation we have been able to take the volume of salmon being fed in a more sustainable way to a significant level within a short time frame.

BioMar has been at the forefront looking out for new opportunities within sustainable ingredients, and we need new raw materials to be able to follow the demand for healthy seafood. To us it is extremely important that the entire value chain takes responsibility in developing an even more sustainable aquaculture”, explains Henning Beltestad, CEO in Lerøy Seafood Group and continues,

“The consumers must be able to choose from a healthy salmon product range with a solid sustainable profile every time they select the ‘Lerøy Salmon’. We would like to take this step wholehearted as we believe that it is important for the industry to engage in implementing new feed solutions that balances high health value and sustainability”.

BioMar has been taking lead in developing and testing feed with microalgae, bringing new feeds incorporating the ingredient to the market at a commercial scale in 2016. Since September 2016 more than 40.000 tonnes of feed has been brought to market – mainly consumed by Lerøy.

“We are very pleased that we have been able to contribute to developing healthy and sustainable salmon products together with Lerøy. It is vital to BioMar working in a close partnership with our customers and suppliers. To us it is evident that we need cooperation to develop the industry”, states Jan Sverre Røsstad, Vice President for the Salmon Division in BioMar Group.

As a supplier of microalgae Omega-3s to the aquaculture industry, TerraVia’s joint venture with Bunge has experienced the close cooperation with BioMar and Lerøy as a very valuable way to innovate aquaculture, “Lerøy and BioMar have collaborated closely with us throughout the commercialisation of AlgaPrime DHA to ensure that we are delivering sustainable, cost effective, and relevant products at the right scale to meet the challenges of the salmon industry. By leveraging our respective core competencies, we’re now able to create meaningful results for consumer health, and to broaden the available pool of Omega-3 oils for aquaculture, enhancing the sustainability of the industry. TerraVia’s joint venture with Bunge in Brazil has successfully scaled its AlgaPrime DHA Omega-3 manufacturing capability, and is now delivering consistently as a critical ingredient of BioMar’s feed formulation for Lerøy” explained Graham Ellis, Senior Vice President of Business Development at TerraVia.

Read more HERE.

Monday, April 24, 2017

25/04/2017: International Aquafeed’s aquaculture digital photography competition

Photographers everywhere are invited to submit digital photographic work on the theme of ‘Create, Nurture and Grow Aquaculture’

Submissions are being accepted from April 1, 2017 – June 1, 2017.

International Aquafeed is holding it’s second ‘Aquaculture digital photography competition’ to promote and support the charity Aquaculture without Frontiers CIO UK.

Roger Gilbert, publisher of International Aquafeed explains, “Aquaculture is becoming an increasingly important food source for our rapidly growing world population.”

He continues, “Our magazine aims to reflect the best image of our industry and what better way to do that than through photography. Funds raised through the 2017 competition will go to the charity we support, Aquaculture without Frontiers CIO UK, to support small-scale aquaculture production in communities in developing countries.”

Terms and Conditions
Entry: Free of charge
Eligibility: Open to all photographers, amateur to professionals worldwide
Submissions: Your entries must be sent by email to: photocomp@aquafeed.co.uk

Submission specifications, format and reproduction
• All entries must be submitted online to the email address: photocomp@aquafeed.co.uk by midnight on June 1, 2017 UK time.
• Each artist may submit a maximum of two photos
• Work may be in colour or black & white, in portrait or landscape format
• Your photos should be of a 2 x 3 ratio, 300dpi RGB JPG or JPEG file (Note: Photos outside these specifications will be accepted, but may be cropped and adjusted to comply with these specifications) Works will be enlarged and reproduced to the scale of approximately 20” x 30”.

Therefore, the submitted work must be of sufficiently high quality (eg. sharp, clear, good contrast, well-exposed) for reproduction and printing process.

Acceptance notice: Everyone who submits an entry will receive an email notification of receipt.

Following the judging process a second email will be sent notifying you of the outcome.

Judging and selection process
An industry panel will carry out an initial judging. The final 20 works will be viewed by a ‘Judges Panel’ comprised of three judges who will be looking for images that illustrate the aquaculture theme in interesting ways that engage the viewer; originality and creativity, image quality and overall artistic merit.

If your entry is judged in the top three by the Selection and Judges Panel you will be awarded one of three prizes.

Prizes
1st Prize – iPad Pro 12.9-inch (128GB)
2nd Prize – US$500
3rd Prize – US$300

Winning photographs will be printed as posters and showcased at the EuropeanAquaculture Society’s Dubrovnik 2017 Conference to be held in Croatia on October 17-19, 2017.

Use rights
Please note: Each artist retains all copyright to their own images BUT it is a condition of entry that the contestants grant Perendale Publishers Limited the full rights to use their images for the purpose of promoting aquaculture in published articles and in social media and web sites. With any use of images Perendale Publishers Limited will acknowledge the artists, however this will be without further contact or compensation. Winning photographs will be on display at the EAS17 Conference venue in Croatia.

Read more HERE.

NOBA company profile

Noba Vital Lipids is a leading Dutch manufacturer and supplier of high energy fatproducts for the animal feed industries, servicing greater Europe. Our strengths are rooted in more than 60 years of experience alongside our high standards of quality, which are fulfilled at every step of the production process.

NOBA is deeply committed to ensuring meticulous care and product safety during raw-material selection and processing, as well as in the final product. The result is the unbeatable quality found in each and every NOBA product.

Visit the website HERE.

25/04/2017: The influence of an automatic feeding device for frozen zooplankton

by Martin Hochleithner, AquaTech, Austria

AquaTech (Aquaculture Technology) is the name of an Austrian company that produces and supplies innovative and efficient technology for use in aquaculture

Products developed initially in Austria are well known and used worldwide, like the older clockwork-belt feeder or the newer solar-feeders.

www.aquaculture-com.net

At the vanguard of aquaculture development, Austria has a long tradition in the successful use of live zooplankton caught from natural waters as starter feed for various fish larvae raised in tanks (Einsele, 1949).

Less known are the recent Austrian developments for harvesting and grading of zooplankton, for example a multi-sieve plankton-net (Steiner & Hochleithner, 2016).

Another such innovative and unique product is an automatic feeder for the professional controlled administration of frozen zooplankton in hatcheries or nurseries. This patented “Planktonfeeder”, developed at the “Institute for Fish Research” in Austria, is available in its third generation.

It has dimensions (L x W x H) of about 79 x 49 x 73 cm and can accommodate in two compartments up to 20kg of frozen zooplankton. The feeding technique is based on an electronic controlled process, which "washes" the plankton layers off larger-sized frozen pieces and distributes the rations evenly via two specially designed, self-cleaning systems of up to 16 outlet valves.

If Y-shaped adapters are used, the unit can even supply up to 32 tanks with plankton. The "washing" and defrosting of the plankton layers achieved by spraying or flooding with water, and the remaining plankton is then re-frozen.

In order to avoid the crushing or damaging of the defrosted fragile plankton organisms, distribution to the nursery tanks is carried out along with water current in flexible tubes.

Wild-caught zooplankton, mainly copepods and phyllopods, which make up over 90 percent of total zooplankton biomass in lakes and seas, is the optimal food for fry and fingerlings up to a size of 3-5cm (Hochleithner, 2001).

It serves as initial feed for the production of sensitive and valuable fish stocks of species such as char, grayling, whitefish, eel, sturgeon, bass, bream, and numerous others (Steiner, 1989).

To read the full article and full referencing click, HERE.

24/04/2017: Gael Force Aquaculture reveals new website

Gael Force Group has unveiled a new aquaculture centred website promoting their strong range of equipment, technology and service capabilities in the aquaculture market

www.gaelforceaquaculture.com

This form of industry focused online presence is seen as a real step forward for the Scottish company as they re-enforce their ambitious drive to build sales to £50 million in the next four years.

With a clean design and easily navigable menus, the website demonstrates Gael Force’s abilities through the use of up-to-date imagery and video content, including the use of CGI animation to give visitors a complete overview of their SeaQureMoor system, time-lapse video showing the construction of a SeaMate 400T Feed Barge from start-to-finish, and a fresh insight into their range of underwater cameras, lights, and seal deterrents.

The website also offers visitors the opportunity to check out Gael Force’s latest development in feed systems, SeaFeed, which is in production and scheduled for official launch at Aqua Nor this August.

Visit the new website, HERE.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

24/04/2017: Catfish feed for Africa

by Dr Hanno Slawski, R&D Manager, Aller Aqua, Denmark

The African catfish is of increasing popularity as fish for aquaculture production

The versatility and robustness of Africa catfish allow the species to thrive in challenging environments.

www.aller-aqua.com

Especially in Africa, catfish farming has been increasing over the last few years and is about to increase further. Some constraints, however, limit the production increase. Among them are feed quality and availability.

Farming and marketing of catfish In Africa, Nigeria is the biggest producer of African catfish. In hatcheries, catfish hypophysation for induced spawning is a common practice. Catfish fry are obtained continuously, thus, stocking material is available all year.

In small on-land tanks, fish are grown to 2-5g, and are afterwards stocked into earthen ponds or tanks. Due to water shortage and energy cost, fresh pond water is a limitation. Most tanks are filled with a certain amount of fresh water in the morning, replacing used water.

That means rapid changes in water quality after the water exchange. Often, the water exchange is followed by the first daily feeding. Multiple feedings or demand feeders are seldom principles. Instead, a meal in the morning hours and one in the late afternoon are common practice.

The typical market size of African catfish in Nigeria is around 1kg. It is said, that the fish should reach this size in approximately four months after stocking fingerlings into ponds or tanks. The preferred fish in the market is relatively short and round.

Catfish farmers therefore aim to produce catfish with a relatively high condition factor, letting the fish grow fast. The last period before selling the fish is called “fattening period”. Fish are fed to obtain the shape desired by the market.

Fish are mostly sold from the farm to small retailers, especially market women. They visit the fish farms before going to the market.

Thus, fish are harvested daily, keeping the supply chain for fresh fish intact. On bigger farms, several size classes of fish are standing stock, so that continuous supply of fish to the market is possible.

Feed quality
Challenges with power supply and water quality can occur, setting high demands on farm management and fish care. If the fish do not grow as fast as expected, feed quality is quickly questioned, since water parameters are difficult to monitor and less seen as a potential variable determining fish growth.

Thus, stable feed quality becomes an important tool to steer farming success. When approaching the Nigerian catfish feed market, Aller Aqua aimed at delivering high performance feeds that were different to available products.

For this, feeds were collected from the market and tested in feeding trials with African catfish in Aller Aqua Research in Germany.

The trial results delivered important information about composition and quality of catfish feeds and potential for improvements included in the newly created catfish feed range.

Read the full article HERE.