The Aquaculturists: April 2018

Monday, April 30, 2018

01/05/2018: AKVA Group and Egersund - complete integrated farming solution

Collaboration between AKVA group and Egersund has reached a new level with the news that AKVA group will now represent all Egersund Net products in its export markets outside of Norway.

The addition of Egersund products, including nets, moorings, cleaner fish and sea lice prevention units, significantly expands the existing AKVA group portfolio. Strengthening the company’s strategy to offer a completely integrated farming solution from the seabed to the farm gate, providing excellence in its customer service and the continual supply of innovative, high-quality products.

Tom Asbjørn Hatleskog
Image credit: Egersund

Key to this alliance is the addition of Egersund Export Sales Manager, Tom Asbjørn Hatleskog and Jonny Invaer, Sales Manager Egersund Trading to the AKVA group team. Tom is a well-known face to Scottish Farmers and noted for his enthusiasm and net expertise. Jonny brings over 20 years’ experience farming in Norway including the design, construction and assembly of moorings.

“Jonny and I are excited at the prospect of working together with the AKVA group team in Scotland to help provide the customers with a total farming solution from one partner,” added Tom.

David Thorburn
Image credit: AKVA Group

Egersund’s operating philosophy is similar to AKVA group; focussing on fine tuning operations to increase profitability, while sharing the technical load with a reliable partner with the right people, the right technology and the right knowledge to achieve excellence. Creating partnerships grounded on strong values is a core element in both companies.

David Thorburn, AKVA group Head of Export said, “This insightful collaboration opens the door for more exciting joint ventures, knowledge sharing, and will bring increased business and job opportunities to Scotland.”

Visit the AKVA Group website, HERE.

Visit the Egersund 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

01/05/2018: AquaFarm 2018 - more than just aquaculture in Italy

by Roger Gilbert, International Aquafeed

The International conference and exhibition AquaFarm 2018, held its second annual edition dedicated to the technologies, products and best practices of sustainable production of fish at the Pordenone Exhibition Centre near Venice, Italy from February 15-16, 2018.

This B2B event is dedicated to aquaculture, algae and sustainable fishing, including Mediterranean aquaculture and sustainable fisheries, algae cultivation and vertical farming vegetable crops that rely on hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponic techniques.

The goal of joining together these seemingly diverse themes in one single event is to allow companies to develop new businesses, be up to date on research and create networks and synergies, say the organisers.

“Aquaponics is just one of the examples of how aquaculture and vertical farming are inter-connected,” they say.

The objective
With only two editions held, Aquafarm has become Italy’s premiere aquaculture event and a reference point in South-Eastern Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin regarding the fish farming and fishing industries,” say the organisers.

“The event is now a must also for all operators of vertical farms and off-ground crops sectors, as well as the industrial and environmental algae applications.”

Pordenone is situated near Venice, in a strategic position in a highly-connected basin that includes Italian, Austrian, Slovenian and Croatian regions in the Northern Adriatic Sea and Eastern Alps. It also attracted visitors from as far afield as Albania, the Balkan to Malta, Turkey, Spain and Portugal.

Organised by the Pordenone Fiere with the support of four national and local institutions, it attracted a professional audience of over 1000 visitors this year. Over the two days it addressed issues in Mediterranean aquaculture and sustainable fisheries, algae cultivation and vegetable crops that rely on hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponic techniques, known as indoor and vertical farming systems.

A central theme was the ‘instruments’ that the Europe Union offers in order to ensure food and active ingredients for the health and well-being of the population in an environmentally friendly manner even in the face of higher living standards.

The conferences
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry responsible for fisheries and aquaculture in Italy, Giuseppe Castiglione, was called upon to open the exhibition along with Paolo Panontin the Fisheries Council Member and the Venezia Autonomous Region and Fishery District Co-ordinator.

Paolo Ceccon the Director of the Agrifood, Environmental and Animal Sciences Department of the University of Saudi di Udine along with Maurizio Fermeglia, the President of the University of Trieste, also presented during the opening session.

Read the full show report, HERE.

Visit the Aquafarm 2018 website, HERE.

Geelen Counterflow company profile

Since 1980, Geelen Counterflow exclusively designs, builds and installs counterflow dryers and coolers for feed and food products.

Inventor of the Counterflow Cooler & Counterflow Dryer. Worldwide market leader, references in more than 100 countries. Aiming for highest food safety standards, best energy efficiency and lowest Total Cost of Ownership. Striving to eliminate negative environmental impacts from their operations and from their customer's drying and cooling processes. All R&D and manufacturing in Haelen, the Netherlands. Sales & service offices in Europe, North- and Latin America and Asia.

Commitment
Long term success in the relationship with their customers leads to long term success for their company and its stakeholders. They strongly prefer slow solid growth over fast opportunities.

Efficiency
Geelen Counterflow minimise the waste of time, materials and energy, both in their own processes and for customers. They minimise the environmental footprint of their operations and those of their customers.

Responsibility
Geelen Counterflow take their responsibilities seriously and they expect their suppliers and employees to take theirs serious as well. They are fully responsible for the effects of their activities on the community and the environment.

Independence
Geelen Counterflow are a healthy family business with no involvement of external shareholders, banks or financial institutions. To guarantee continued independence they spread their activities over multiple applications, continents and customers.

Specialisation
Focusing on counterflow drying and cooling for feed and food leads to superior know-how, quality and service. Their market leadership is the result of their in-house research & development, listening carefully to their customers, continuous improvement and worldwide sales and service network. Their specialisation allows us to work with facts, measurements and calculations, rather than assumptions.

Visit the Geelen Counterflow website, HERE.

Sunday, April 29, 2018

30/04/2018: Method of food production is central to both environmental and human health, UK

Patrick Holden has welcomed a far-sighted presentation from the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Gove, at a conference on The Future of UK Farming organised by the Sustainable Food Trust.

The Environment Secretary was careful not to pre-empt the conclusions of Defra"s consultation on the future of UK agricultural policy, which ends on 8 May, but set out his vision for the UK and became the first Defra Minister to accept the critical link between sustainable food systems and healthy diets.

He said, "How we produce our food is also about the health of the environment – our universal life support system," which must be protected and enhanced, "Or else we hack at the roots of the tree of life."

Hinting at Defra"s direction of travel, the Minister continued, "There is a growing public interest in where our food comes from. How it"s grown, how animals are kept, what the impact of particular methods of cultivation might be…. And there is a growing public interest in the impact of our current diet on our health. We are moving from a world where the major killers were communicable diseases... to one where the principal causes of mortality are non-communicable diseases, such as heart and lung disease, cancer and diabetes."

The Sustainable Food Trust has long argued for recognition that in the UK, where two thirds of farmland is under grass for sound environmental reasons, that grazing animals and red meat are critically important to sustainable food production and healthy diets. Michael Gove appeared to support this position stating, "A balanced diet, rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, beans, pulses and cereals, fresh dairy produce and protein sources such as fresh fish, offal and properly sourced meat is critical to human health and flourishing."

Patrick Holden, Chief Executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, said, "It was heartening to hear Michael Gove recognise that livestock will play a central role in sustainable farming systems in the future. The atmosphere of this conference and the reception to the new thinking about the need to rebuild soil fertility and biodiversity through a mainstream switch to sustainable food systems suggests we are nearing a tipping point. Farmers and land managers representing many hundreds of thousands of acres gathered here at Fir Farm to learn more about the opportunity and challenges of switching to sustainable food production. Reception to the presentations confirms my impression that we are nearing a tipping point where a major scale transition to mixed farming, reintegrating food production with nature conservation and rebuilding soil fertility will be possible."

For more information visit the Sustainable Food Trust website, HERE.

30/04/2018: Australia to fund Great Barrier Reef restoration and protection

According to an article recently published by the BBC, Australia has pledged AUS $500 million (£275m; $379m) to protect the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.

Over the recent years the reef has lost 30 percent of its coral due to bleaching due to rising sea temperatures and damage from crown-of-thorns starfish.

The Great Barrier Reef
Image credit: Kyle Taylor on Flickr
(CC BY 2.0)

The funding will be used to reduce the runoff of agricultural pesticides and improve water quality. Some of the money will be used to help farmers near the reef modify their practices.

Threats to the reef include "large amounts of sediment, nitrogen and pesticide run-off" as well as the crown-of-thorns starfish species, Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said.

The reef can be seen from space and was listed as a world heritage site in 1981 by the United Nations cultural body Unesco.

Read the full original article on the BBC website, HERE.

30/04/2018: Innovative solutions for sustainable shrimp farming at Asian-Pacific Aquaculture 2018

At the latest Asian-Pacific Aquaculture 2018 conference (APA 18) in Taipei, Taiwan, Lallemand Animal Nutrition, shared the results of new studies conducted in partnership with ShrimpVet Laboratory at Nong Lam University.

These studies encompass the development and evaluation of functional feed ingredients to help address important shrimp health issues such as Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) challenge, or white faeces syndrome (WFS), as well as the development of integrated bioremediation strategies for pond water management. They suggest different approaches to answer important issues of shrimp health, nutrition and management in a sustainable way.

Microbial-based functional ingredients for aquafeed: new perspectives
EHP is an intracellular parasite that targets the shrimp hepatopancreas and gut epithelial lining, causing stunted growth. It generates severe losses across Asia, either directly or in association with other pathogens. The trial results were presented by Eric Leclercq, Ph.D., Aquaculture R&D and Technical Support Manager with Lallemand Animal Nutrition.

The trial was conducted at ShrimpVet Laboratory in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on EHP-challenged juvenile whiteleg shrimp. It evaluated a multi-strain yeast-based additive developed by Lallemand Animal Nutrition — YANG — with enhanced immune-modulating properties and binding activities against undesirable bacteria. YANG was fed for 14-days prior to the disease challenge and during the challenge period.

“With YANG, the pathogen load in the hepatopancreas, measured by qPCR, was reduced at all time points and by up to 64 percent at the peak of infection. As a result, the body weight of challenged shrimp was 7.9 percent higher thanks to, interestingly, a much reduced prevalence of severely compromised animals” Dr Leclercq explained.

“YANG, applied preventively and over an EHP challenge period, can thus help contribute to reducing the severity of the EHP outbreak and related loss of growth. Importantly, ‘runt’ shrimp typically act as disease reservoir, so reducing their prevalence can help safeguard the crop to harvest,” he concluded1.

As with EHP, White Faeces Syndrome (WFS) is a pathology that strongly affects shrimp growth and FCR, but also survival. The infectious nature of the disease, and development of a challenge model, were only recently described by Professor Loc Tran from ShrimpVet Laboratory. The trial presented at APA 20182 aimed at assessing the potential of YANG to help mitigate the severity and impact of the syndrome, using the recently available WFS challenge model.

Results indicated a lower prevalence of gross syndromes at the peak of infection, a lower loss of body-weight and a clear trend towards a higher survival. This highlights for the first time, thanks to YANG unique properties, the potential of a microbial-based solution as part of an integrated management program to support good health and performance under these conditions.

Bioremediation approach
Bioremediation is defined as, “The treatment of pollutants or waste by the use of microorganisms (such as bacteria) that breakdown undesirable substances.” The concept has been applied to aquaculture for decades with the goal of facilitating the management of organic matter accumulation and nitrogen compounds in ponds. Bioremediation can be powerful but is also a complex technology requiring informed management attuned to local conditions and targets.

Based on in vitro, pilot-scale and field trials, Dr Leclercq discussed some key factors of success in the selection and deployment of an effective bioremediation strategy for shrimp farming3. Distinct microbial solutions are available, each addressing specific aspects of the pond system. When properly applied and combined, bioremediation solutions can become powerful tools to secure and increase the capacity of the pond to carry a healthy crop to harvest.

References
1. Effect of a multi-strain yeast-based functional additive on EHP-challenged juvenile white shrimp. Eric Leclercq, Stéphane Ralite, Phuc Hoang, Loc Tran, and Mathieu Castex. Presented at Asian-Pacific Aquaculture 2018 conference, April 22-26 2018, Teipei, Taiwan.

2. Effect of selected functional health feed on white shrimp litopenaeus vannamei challenged with a novel infection model for white feces syndrome. Eric Leclercq, Stéphane Ralite, Diên Nguyễn, Loc Tran, and Mathieu Castex. Presented at Asian-Pacific Aquaculture 2018 conference, April 22-26 2018, Teipei, Taiwan.

3. Some critical steps to the successful development and deployment of an integrated bioremediation strategy in pond aquaculture. Eric Leclercq, Stéphane Ralite, and Mathieu Castex. Presented at Asian-Pacific Aquaculture 2018 conference, April 22-26 2018, Teipei, Taiwan.

For more information visit the Lallemand website, HERE.

Visit the Asian-Pacific Aquaculture 2018 website, HERE.

30/04/2018: Using ‘handhelds’ in measuring electrochemical and physical values in fish farms

by GRYF, Manufacturer of Electronic Measuring Instruments, Czech Republic

Reliable sensors and systems are necessary with either land-based aquaculture or in ponds and offshore.

XB4-S
Image credit: GRYF

Farming on land requires accurate and stable measurements of oxygen, temperature and CO2 levels. With accurate information from the necessary technology, including; environmental information, stress, disease and overfeeding, the fish mortality rates can be at least lessened if not avoided completely.

Oxygen levels below fish welfare and limit of tolerance will yield poor production results due to lower appetite and feeding utilisation. Temperature is also an important physiological parameter for the fish-stock as it has been noted that they have the best appetitie when the temperature conditions are optimal – good current conditions will ensure a supply of fresh, oxygen-rich seawater.

GRYF – providing solutions for water monitoring and optimal farming
Company GRYF HB has over 25 years of history, having been founded in 1990 by the company CEO and owner Mr Vaclav Navratil. As of now, company GRYF is family run business apart from the company owner employing another family member in managerial positions.

Its first focus was to manufacture small handhelds for aquarists measuring electrochemical and physical values such as pH, oxygen, conductivity, ORP. Over the following years the GRYF extended its product range for industrial measuring systems. These systems have been installed in hundreds of different type of application such as process controls, chemical dosing, oxygen dosing and many others. Due to the high standard and reliability these systems are preferred amongst our customers.

The motto of the organisation is “Innovation, tradition and reliability”. Proof of the success of this can be seen with the supply of products to the University of Defence, NBC Defence Institute, which protect and measure lethal substances permeation.

From standard industrial measuring and control systems the very robust system XBase has been developed. The XBase system is manufactured as portable units, laboratory system or industrial system. Thanks to its many features the system can be used with no further changes to control complete applications such as fish farms, industrial application (brewery, swimming pools, galvanic applications, laboratory fermenters and many others).

Optical oxygen sensors
The sensor (XB4-S) is capable of operating in both salt and fresh water conditions, and is designed to be partnered with industrial, laboratory and portable quality measuring and control systems. It can be retro fitted to most existing systems with no further modifications needed, saving time and money when checking water quality in fish farms.

Read the full article, HERE.

Visit the GRYF website, HERE.

Leiber company profile

Now with more than 140 employees, with each one a specialist in his or her domain, Leiber has a well-proven team in a company following a clear strategy for more than 50 years: working with values.

“What makes us unique? We focus on what we know best. Yeast. Production on the highest level of quality. Latest technology. New findings from science and research. The performance of a team of specialists.

This is what defines Leiber´s strategic orientation. This is what makes us truly entrepreneurial”, as explained on the Leiber website.

“The markets´ requirements are changing - we are able to follow. This is how we became one of the leading manufacturers of specialised yeast products”.

Visit the website HERE.

Friday, April 27, 2018

27/04/2018: Another stunning success for Ace Aquatec

Aqua-electronics supplier Ace Aquatec is shocking the industry with a continuing string of successes. At Aquaculture UK 2016, the company won the inaugural Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) award.

In 2017, the Dundee, Scotland-based company won the Innovation Award at Aqua Nor in Trondheim for its technology which humanely stuns fish before slaughter.

Now Ace Aquatec is in the news again, this time for being granted the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the innovation category for their seal deterrent system.

The award is specifically for growth and innovation in seal deterrent systems, recognising significant investment in R+D and benefits to the aquaculture industry from those developments. In particular it recognises the importance of innovation for growth in the economy and reduction in conflicts with farms as a result of our cutting edge technology. Ace Aquatec are the first Queens Award winner from the city since a University of Dundee research team in 2004.

Ace Aquatec's Head of Sales and Marketing, Mike Forbes
with Managing Director, Nathan Pyne-Carter
image credit: Ace Aquatec

Our CageGuard seal deterrent systems use innovative sound wave patterns to increase long-term effectiveness against predators while also protecting the hearing of those predators.

“It’s a great honour to receive the Queen’s Award, said CEO Nathan Pryce-Carter. “We were recognised for the technology innovation of our seal deterrents, and also for the role our research and development has played in the growth of the Scottish economy. Animal welfare is an incredibly important issue, and we’re proud to be playing a part in helping our aquaculture customers excel in this area with a more humane approach to predator deterrence.”

This latest honour allows the Scottish firm to display the Queen’s Award flag at its main office, and use the emblem on all marketing materials. The awards are valid for five years. Award winners are invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace to be held later this year.

For more information visit the Ace Aquatec website, HERE.

27/04/2018: Changing the perspective: Underwater robotics enhancing aquaculture practices

By Deep Trekker, Canada

As the global population steadily increases, the human world continues to face its greatest challenge: how to deal with world hunger.

The United Nations recognises that aquaculture may be the sustainable protein source required to help accomplish such a feat. As promising as the industry may be, there remains an abundance of challenges around aquaculture as a solution to this complex issue.

Due to the fact that 90 per cent of aquaculture operations are underwater, the industry has turned to new and innovative technologies to overcome its unique challenges to ensure sustainable and high-quality food source. The most widely accepted system is remotely operated vehicles (ROV), otherwise known as underwater drones. These robotic cameras offer immediate access to observe aquaculture operations from underwater – providing numerous benefits for site managers, enforcement officers and researchers around the globe.

Image credit: Deep Trekker

Operation uses of ROVs for aquaculture farms
Aquaculture farms are using ROVs every day to perform a variety of tasks to assist site mangers and better understand fish and health behaviour, and as a result produce a better product. ROVs have not always been widely accessible to aquaculture farms, and site managers would previously hire professional commercial divers to complete inspections or use limiting static cameras to inspect submerged infrastructure.

With the option of using an ROV, site managers can now navigate extensive infrastructure and attach tools such as benthic samplers, mort retrieval systems and net repair patches.

Monitoring feeding times
Traditionally, fish behaviour is monitored from the surface – an employee will disperse an allocated amount of feed into each cage. In cases where an automatic feeder is used, a static camera is mounted within the cage below the feeder. Both tactics are great examples of how ROVs can be used and gives a complete picture of what happens during feeding time. Employees are able to manoeuvre the ROVs throughout the subsea environment to monitor fish behaviour and ensure the fish population is being fed evenly and no excess food is being dispersed.

Monitoring school behaviour
The salmon species is known to jump when they are happy; a characteristic that aquaculture professionals look for as a sign that things are running smoothly below the waterline. When oxygen levels are low, fish begin to school deeper into enclosures where it is cooler and oxygen-rich. ROVs are a quick way to see if the schooling behaviour is changing. The Deep Trekker robotic system is completely battery operated, meaning a single person can carry it between pens for a quick look at any time during the day, without the hassle of setting up a large system or finding a nearby power supply or generator. Monitoring fish behaviour throughout the day also provides the education needed to help spot potential threats such as low oxygen or algae blooms.

Read the full article, HERE.

Visit the Deep Trekker website, HERE.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Aller Aqua company profile

Aller Aqua produce fish feed for freshwater and saltwater aquaculture. That is the brief presentation, but it doesn’t even come close to covering the entire story.

Aller Aqua is a family owned company with roots tracing back more than a thousand years. They have produced fish feed for more than 50 years, and this makes them one of the worlds most experienced fish feed producers, delivering some of the best products on the market, to their customers.

Today Aller Aqua has factories in Denmark, Poland, Germany and Egypt, they export products to more than 70 countries worldwide. They have a broad and professional product range, consisting of feed for 30 species of fish.

According to their website, “We know the importance the right feed plays in our customers production, and therefore our own professional development- and research centre in Germany, Aller Aqua Research, consistently works on optimising, developing and documenting the effect of our products. This ensures that our customers receive top-quality professional products, at competitive prices – delivered on time. As a company we are big enough to meet your needs, and small enough to be flexible”.

“This ensures that we can react quickly to our customer’s needs, which is essential when you strive not only to deliver fish feed, but also to spar with and contribute to optimising our customers businesses. Our experience and history is our guarantee to our customers that we know what we are talking about, that we keep our promises, and that we are right here – and that will still be the case in many years to come”.

Visit the website HERE.

26/04/2018: MOU signing challenges least-cost formulations for shrimp in Asia

Blue Aqua International Group of Singapore and a major shrimp producer in Indonesia, PT Maju Tambak Sumur, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at APA Taiwan 2018 in Taipei this week that paves the way for higher shrimp feed prices based on formulations that include quality products that the farmer wants, particularly with regard to sustainability.

Too often fish farmers are subjected to using feeds costing the least to produce that compromise fish performance, says Dr Farshad Shishehchian, President and CEO of Blue Aqua International Group.

International Aquafeed magazine was on hand to witness the MOU signing ceremony and interview both Dr Shishehchian and the CEO and owner of PT Maju Tambak Sumur, Frans Antony. Mr Antony's farm produces over 5000 tonnes of shrimp per year. He says his shrimp production systems require specific feed ingredients that achieve certain outcomes that least-cost formulations do not address.

Frans Antony, CEO & Owner, PT Maju Tambak Sumur of Indonesia and Dr Farshad Shishehchian, President & CEO of Blue Aqua International Group with the signed MOU

See the video signing and interview HERE.

26/04/2018: China’s largest retailer commits to BAP for more responsible seafood

As leaders of promoting responsible seafood sourcing policies in the Chinese market, JD.com announced a commitment to Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) during Seafood Expo Global in Brussels on April 25th. E-commerce platforms in China, like JD.com, are among the leaders in the marketplace for setting responsible seafood sourcing policies.

Image credit: Moules Marinieres on Flickr
(CC BY 2.0)

In 2017, JD.com and the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) signed an MOU at the Seafood Expo North America in Boston to begin cooperation by offering BAP products to JD’s online customers via its fresh food platform, JD Fresh.

As a way of firmly establishing themselves as a globally recognised platform concerned about minimising the impacts of its aquaculture sourcing policies, JD.com has now agreed to further its commitment by announcing that 50 percent of the farmed supply by volume on JD Fresh will be at least two-star BAP certified by 2020. The company has also committed to more than 80 percent of its private label farmed seafood offerings to be at least two-star BAP certified by 2020.

Read the full article on the Global Aquaculture Alliance website, HERE.

26/04/2018: BioMar Chile moves forward in research as R&D at ATC Patagonia is off to an exciting start

The work in research and development of BioMar Chile carried out in the ATC Patagonia began on the right foot in its second year of operations. Both with the number and quality of trials carried out at the centre and with the high calibre of researchers who visited the country.

The R&D team in BioMar Group began its second year of operations at ATC Patagonia after the announcement by the company in February 2017, of the increased investment in local Research and Development. An agreement that resulted in this new entity that has become part of the BioMar network of innovation excellence around the world. Research capacity reached 75 percent during 2017 with a total of 12 projects in 3 species (Atlantic Salmon, Rainbow Trout and Coho Salmon) at different life stages and in some cases reaching harvest size.

ATC Patagonia feed trials
Image credit: BioMar

From Chile to the world
As part of the network of research in BioMar, the ATC Patagonia facility is used by researchers from our R&D base in Trondheim, Norway. The research undertaken is in accordance to the technical requirements and protocols defined in each project, independently of the target market for the research. This flexibility of the centre enabled us in 2017 to unify under the same roof, research related to feed performance, fillet quality, development and control of raw materials, as well as research in the health area where the SRS and use of probiotics took up most of the activities.

Around 50 percent of the trials were associated with improving performance while 20 percent was dedicated to fillet quality and the last 30 percent was distributed among the health and raw materials areas. From a financing point of view, through the Law No. 20,241 of Tax Incentive for investment in Research and Development (R&D), in 2017 Corfo (Development Corporation) certified projects for a total of 740 million pesos.

From the World to Chile
The contribution of the ATC Patagonia was not only in research itself but also to the 'dialogue and scientific discussion' among different stakeholders linked to aquaculture production in Chile. Our Science On program saw 13 scientists participate and share knowledge within the salmon industry on aquaculture research topics in health, nutrition and other fields over the last year in Puerto Montt.

Researchers belonging to global BioMar R&D presented, in four workshops their latest results and applications in diets for salmon and trout at various life stages in freshwater and seawater, as well as in the health area, creating an environment of open dialogue. "One of the positive externalities that we hoped to achieve by increasing investment in research in Chile was to bring our researchers closer to our customers, and this expectation was achieved with success", said Michael Adler, Technical Director of BioMar in Chile.

At the end of last year BioMar Chile began construction on our own offices and general facilities in the same location that ATC Patagonia operates. "Part of the agreement confirming our investment in our own research facilities in Chile was the creation of own spaces for BioMar Chile activities. That stage of the project has already started and we hope to see results soon", said Michael Adler.

Challenges for 2018
"As for the industry in general, 2017 was a good year but not without its challenges. This first year of operations at ATC Patagonia was also similar. It was challenging to complete the agenda for the first twelve months of work, in addition to the workshops and meetings around R&D. However there was an effort made from the Technical and Commercial areas that resulted in concrete actions and advances. We are proud after a positive and great year of work", expressed the general manager of BioMar Chile, Eduardo Hagedorn.

BioMar has initiated its second year of operations in research and development from ATC Patagonia in Chile, with a full years plan with trials schedule for the rest of 2018. The facilities and resources available are already allocated, but not only with R&D activities, also with work from the Technical Area of BioMar Chile that will see activities in product validation, from the point of view of performance and digestibility.

For more information visit the BioMar website, HERE.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

26/04/2018: Nutreco launches its Sustainability Report

Nutreco’s 2017 Sustainability Report, launched 25^th April, shows the company is on track with its 2020 targets. These targets, focused around the four pillars of ingredients, operations, nutritional solutions and commitment, are a key part of the company’s sustainability programme Nuterra.

Sustainability is at the core of Nutreco’s mission ‘Feeding the Future’; the company’s ambition to contribute to producing enough nutritious and high-quality food for a growing population in a sustainable way.

Nutreco CEO Knut Nesse says, “Our focus on sustainable nutrition innovation is clearly demonstrated in our 2017 Sustainability Report. The Report shows that we are making substantial and measurable progress to achieving our targets and to playing our part in resolving current and future global food challenges.”

This year’s Sustainability Report highlights four of the company’s community development projects around the world supported by its global divisions Trouw Nutrition (animal nutrition) and Skretting (aquafeed). Corporate Sustainability Director Jose Villalon explains, “We are immensely proud of these projects as they help small, subsistence-level farmers raise their yield and livelihood through efficient and sustainable food production, thereby addressing economic poverty.” Nutreco aims to have 10 such community development projects in operation across the world by 2020.

The 2017 Sustainability Report was drafted according to GRI Guidelines and illustrates Nutreco’s continued commitment to the Global Compact and UN Sustainability Development Goals.

Read the full sustainability report on the Nutreco website, HERE.

26/04/2018: A day at the fish races: A local trout focus

by Vaughn Entwistle, Features Editor, International Aquafeed

Nestled in the Coin Valley in the bucolic vales of the Cotswolds is the village of Bibury. If you have a British passport, you’ll find a reproduction of some of its famous cottages on the inside of the front cover.

Bibury is renowned as “the most beautiful village in England.” It’s also home to Bibury trout farm, one of Britain’s oldest and, arguably, most scenic trout farms. Naturalist Arthur Severn founded the farm and hatchery in 1902 to stock the local rivers and streams with native Brown Trout. Today, the main focus of the trout farm remains the same: 90 percent of the fish they produce go towards restocking rivers and streams, while a mere ten percent is sold for direct consumption.

Company outing
We here at Perendale try to ensure that all our employees are knowledgeable and fully invested in the industries we serve. In keeping with this philosophy, the entire office staff recently visited Bibury’s farm and hatchery facility.

So on a brisk, blue-sky day in early March Hatchery Manager, Martin Smith, toured us around the facility. Martin has been with Bibury for five years, but will soon be moving on and handing the position over to the next manager, Robert Waker. Bibury is an open-air trout farm that is also open to visitors, and like the rest of the public, we entered and exited through the gift shop.

GlobalGAP Certification
After a brief tour of some of the uncovered fishponds, Martin had us dip the soles of our shoes in a disinfectant solution before we entered the hatchery facility. He explained that such basic hygiene practices are required as the site of the hatchery is GlobalGAP certified.

GlobalGAP is a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognised standard that assures buyers that basic food safety and sustainability practices have been upheld. The GlobalGAP (Good Agricultural Practice) certification is necessary as some of the customers of the hatchery supply fish to supermarkets.

The entire farm complex is not GlobalGAP certified due to the difficulty of upholding the standards in areas where the farm functions as a tourist attraction visited by families with children and babies in strollers. The hatchery is also RSPCA assured, and holds QTUK accreditation.

Read the full article, HERE.

Yemmak company profile

Established in 1965, Yemmak is a Turkish feed machinery manufacturer, providing industrial process solutions for the animal waste processing, chemical and biomass industries.

Through its deep industry experience spanning over half a century, Yemmak exports to 35 countries on four continents, and provides services in project consulting and engineering, special-purpose projects, automation, modernisation, steel construction and after-sales support with a 250-strong staff lead specialist engineers at its 50,000m2 area plant in Bandırma, Turkey.

Yemmak is among the few producers in Turkey and Europe that can manage machinery, process and turnkey projects from a single centre.

Yemmak recognises the key role of advanced technology in improving Turkey's prospects and believes R&D investments are crucial in this regard.

As a global brand, Yemmak exports 70 percent of its products to 35 countries including Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Lebanon and the rest of the Middle East; Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and all other Turkish republics; and Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Sweden and Panama. Providing low energy costs, the design, production, and assembly operations of the company are of high quality, selection, reliability, and efficiency.

Yemmak sees each project as a complete system, and identifies for its customers the most optimal solutions. With the mission of transforming factories into manufacturers that turn out products with high marginal utility, Yemmak has set up numerous of the highest capacity factories, producing feed for poultry, cattle and fish. It is currently establishing the largest turkey feed factory in Russia.

Yemmak's primary product groups consist of:
- Raw material intake and cleaning units
- Storage solutions for solid and liquid raw materials
- Grinders Mixer systems
- Blending units
- Pelletising technologies
- Weighing and bagging machinery
- Transport equipment
- Electrical power panels and control panels
- Automation systems

Yemmak reshapes production through environmentally friendly, sustainable and innovative technologies.

Visit the Yemmak website, HERE.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

24/04/2018: Nutriad promoting feed additive solutions in Asia

Nutriad a global leader in feed additives solutions, was an active participant at the recent VICTAM Asia 2018, a trade show focused on feed processing, additives; ingredients and aquafeed in Asia. The event, along with various conferences, took place in Bangkok, allowing industry professionals and academics from across the region to participate and discuss on the latest developments in the dynamic feed market.

BK Chew, APAC Director Nutriad, explained that it was the first time Nutriad participated at VICTAM and highlighted the efficient set up as it allowed to participate in three major conferences Aqua Feed Horizon, FIAAP and GRAPAS at the same time.

Dr. Glenn Alfred Ferriol, Area Manager for the Philippines, Indonesia & Malaysia presented on “Mycotoxin Management in Stored Grains” at GRAPAS, analysing the difference between controlling mold growth and managing the risk of mycotoxin contamination in grains. He emphasized that raw materials such as corn, are already contaminated with mycotoxins right at plantations and upon harvest, as was shown by the annual mycotoxin survey.

Depending on how long grains are stored silos, an appropriate anti-mould program needs to be applied to control the mould growth, which in turn will help minimize the increase in the level of storage mycotoxins. The next step is to do a confirmatory testing using a more accurate method (GC/LC-MS/MS) in testing the finished feeds or end products. Nutriad’s app MYCOMAN® allows producers to determine and apply the right mycotoxin deactivators and dosage.

Nutriad offers an effective anti-mould product range (MOLD-NIL®); a complete range of mycotoxin deactivators (UNIKE®, TOXY-NIL PLUS® & TOXY-NIL®); and services like raw material screening to help asses and address the risk of mycotoxin contamination.

Daniel Ramirez, Business Development Manager Digestive Performance, presented on gut health at FIAAP. “Nutriad’s ADIMIX® product range exploit the proven health benefits of butyrate and provides a cost-effective option to improve animal performance. ADIMIX® Precision enhances enteric development and intestinal health as well as nutrient absorption. It furthermore provides support for the control of Salmonella and Campylobacter infections,” stated Mr Ramirez.

Read more on the Nutriad website, HERE.

Monday, April 23, 2018

24/04/2018: Single screw extrusion in aquafeed

by Joe Kearns, Owner, JK Kearns Consulting and Meridian Ingredients

The single screw extruder, the “World Heavy Weight Champion of Extrusion Tonnage Per Year Overall”, which is the topic of concentration in this issue. Perhaps a review of the history and the developments the single screw extruder has undergone is in order and would be beneficial.

The history of extrusion started years ago in an unusual fashion, by design and by accident. A major pet food group, Purina, took plastic extruders and changed them to make simple pet foods. Wenger, a small-localized equipment manufacturer in Kansas, was experimenting in making a high molasses feed for the livestock industry.

Accidents happen, as in not turning on the liquid flows to the machine. The die, on an extrusion like machine, plugged except a few holes where the material came out highly expanded or “puffed up”. Studies were done on this product by Kansas State University confirming the product was cooked. No one cooked livestock feeds 60 to 70 years ago. What happened next changed or contributed greatly to the “World of Extrusion Cooking”.

Purina marketed a product made for pets as noted above and their competition researched the method of its production. Kansas State, when asked, confirmed that they did not know how it was made but a small company (at that time) in Sabetha, Ks., Wenger, made something with similar characteristics. The phone rang in Sabetha and the research began in trying to figure out how to make this unusual occurrence happen again and on demand. The birth of a new commercial industry, extrusion cooking began.

Initially the industry, which was basically just starting, demanded simple pet foods and other products. Actually, one of the first extruders Wenger sold was for Venezuela and for floating fish feed. Some one noticed the feed floated and the vision of fish eating on the surface started in the 1950’s. It is hard to explain but not many know all of the situations that had to be overcome to make this system work. Examples include, raw materials and continuous operation.

In my opinion, these were the major two areas of work initially. How did this system work and what made it work and why were ingredient qualities, grind and the percent in the formula important? What happened to the vitamins, fats oils and other components when extruded? How could the equipment be designed to run 24 hours a day with no issues? The research of both of these aspects, mostly by trial and error, changed over time into a science.

Read the full article in the online version of International Aquafeed magazine, HERE.

Sunday, April 22, 2018

23/04/2018: Petfood Extrusion and Treats Conference speaker profile - Spencer Lawson

21 June 2018, Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, The Netherlands (Part of VIV Europe 2018)

Pet food and treats are growing rapidly all over the world due to the sharp rise in pet humanisation and with increasing disposable income.

Focus on health and wellness is a major driver of pet treats using functional and other ingredients promising benefits, clean label movement, limited ingredients, safety concerns, natural pet food, grain free, high meat and novel protein.

Extrusion of pet food is an art and science which require knowledge about raw material, hardware and processing requirements. There are different options available to pet food companies to use either single or twin screw extruder with very special die design like, multi-color and multi-shape die.

In this half day conference speakers will talk about pet food and treat trends, extrusion of pet food and treats with single and twin screw extruder; advanced single screw extrusion for companion animal food, specialty, treats, and supplements; extruded pet food quality management; relations between technology and extruded pet food quality and pet food quality optimisation and palatability.

Speaker Profile - Spencer Lawson, Wenger

Spencer Lawson
Image credit: Wenger

Spencer Lawson received a Bachelor of Science degree in 2006 from Kansas state University. After having worked in the feed and pelleting industry for 2 years, he has been employed with Wenger since 2008.

For the past four years he has been exclusively involved with the process technology for extrusion in livestock feed systems. Spencer actively speaks at university short courses and industry seminars as well as traveling globally in the extrusion industry.

We hope you can join us on June 21 at Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, The Netherlands

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