17/02/14: New! IAF column: Requirement and digestibility modelling to ensure safe phosphorus intake, by Dominique P. Bureau

Dominique P. Bureau, member of the
International Aquafeed editorial panel

This column appeared in the January/February 2014 edition of International Aquafeed magazine, available now in English, Spanish and Chinese.

 One of the major environmental concerns for freshwater fish farming operations is the release of phosphorous waste. This element is the most limiting factor for algae growth in freshwater ecosystems, and even a modest increase can, under certain conditions, set off a chain of undesirable events in the water body including accelerated plant growth and algae blooms. The potential for deleterious effects on aquatic ecosystems is high. 

On the other hand, phosphorous is an essential nutrient for ll animals. There is a need therefore to maintain the supply of the nutrient (in digestible form) to meet the requirements of the farmed organisms while warding off dietary excess, which results in increased waste output and the potentially deleterious environmental impacts. In addition to this, phosphorous is a relatively expensive nutrient. On top of environmental concerns, formulating feeds to higher-than-required phosphorous levels can in some cases reduce their cost-effectiveness.

Read the full column in the Jan/Feb 2014 edition of International Aquafeed here.
 

17/02/14: Aquaculture America Abstract: Developing and validating protocols for waterless shipping of live shrimp

Shrimp (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

During this year's Aquaculture America event - which took place back in January in Seattle, USA - David Kuhn, research assistant professor at the Department of Food Science and Technology, Virginia Tech, USA presented a talk on Developing and validating protocols for waterless shipping of live shrimp as part of the Seafood Processing and Transport sessions. Below is an extract form the session.
Shrimp is the number one consumed seafood product in the US., with an average annual per capita consumption of four pounds. Over 90% of the shrimp consumed in the US. is imported, and the majority of imported shrimp is from farmed, not wild-caught sources. The US has significant interest in developing an aquacultured shrimp industry.
Both pond and RAS production of shrimp (marine shrimp and freshwater prawns) have been shown to be technically feasible and commercial enterprises using both systems exist. However, production costs for US growers exceed those of foreign competitors, such as Asia and Central America. The US market value of commodity shrimp is depressed due to the high volume of foreign product available. To support the continued growth of a shrimp aquaculture industry in the U.S., a niche market that commands a significant premium over imported shrimp prices must be leveraged. The live market represents a very promising niche for US-grown shrimp. It is difficult and costly for importers to ship live shrimp to the US; hence the live market represents an opportunity for US producers that will experience little-to-no competition from foreign imports.
If shrimp can be shipped live without water weight, significant savings would be realized.
Read the full text here.

17/02/14: Delousing medicine effects on cod; Fish to 2030 report; acquisition of aquaculture vaccine assets

A recent study by the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway has determined that the delousing agent diflubenzuron is not damaging to Cod. 

“We are aware that the use of diflubenzuron has increased, and that this substance can be distributed in the environment, so we wanted to study its effects on fish species that we know feed near sea-cages; in this case, Cod,” says Bjørn Tore Lunestad, a NIFES scientist.

Full news available here.

Fish farms will provide nearly two thirds of the global food fish supply by 2030.

This was among a report by the World Bank Group, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) called “Fish to 2030: Prospects for Fisheries and Aquaculture,” released recently.

View a PDF version of the report here. 

UK based biotechnology firm Benchmark Holdings PLC has acquired the aquaculture vaccine and development assets of American animal health company Zoetis Inc in a deal worth US$3m in cash.

As part of the deal, Benchmark have also acquired a worldwide license to utilise Zoetis' research and knowledge in order to drive the development of the aquaculture vaccines.

Full news available here. 

Portrait of cod (Photo credit: Wikipedia)