Event: The Aquarama jigsaw takes shape

Image of a Banggai cardinalfish. Pterapogon kauderni. Taken at Lembeh Straits, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As the pace towards Aquarama 2013 steadily quickens, the various pieces of the complex jigsaw are beginning to fall into place. Two key components of what promises to be a fascinating and all-embracing programme are the:

• Trade Seminars
• International Fish Competition
The 2013 Trade Seminars will have as their overall theme: CURRENT AQUATICS – FUTURE PERSPECTIVES, consisting of three separate sessions:

Session 1: Industry-related Conservation – some of the topics currently lined up feature hot issues like the ongoing studies on the plight of the much-in-demand Banggai cardinalfish and the in-situ work being done in Indonesia to conserve the species, the Amazonian ornamental fishery, conservation and management strategies for Indian ornamental fish, and CITES and CBD issues surrounding the dragon fish.

Session 2: Health and Biosecurity in the Ornamental Aquatic Industry – topics include biosecurity issues in Australia (including potential import consequences for ornamental fish), fish health management in commercial premises, barcoding of ornamental fish…and others.

Session 3: Husbandry and Legislation – topics to include governmental perspectives on the ornamental aquatic industry, the live rock trade, wild-caught and captive-bred seahorses, nano aquaria, Brazilian legislation and the next CITES Conference of the Parties.

The line-up of speakers for these presentations is now almost complete and includes, as always, international industry leaders and experts (so far, from Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium, Mexico, India, the US, Norway and, of course, Singapore). As in previous editions of Aquarama, the seminars - which are absolutely free to all trade visitors - promise to provide a wealth of topical and essential information regarding the industry, and are certainly not to be missed.

Turning to the International Fish Competition, it will, as ever, include competitive elements other than fish. Prominent among these are the Freshwater Planted Tank Competition, the Marine Tank Competition, the 2011-launched Freshwater Nano Tank Competition and the brand-new Marine Nano Tank Competition. Also new will be the inclusion of several commercial classes and categories in the fish competition section.

These have been included to provide trade visitors with competitive displays of the types and quality of fish that they can order for their customers from Singapore suppliers. Also – and in keeping with Aquarama’s commitment to keeping up with the latest trends, its famous and prestigious dragon fish competition will include a class dedicated to the ‘new generation’ Gold Head Crossbacks which made their first appearance in 2011 within the long-established Crossback Golden class.

The Registration Forms for all the categories and classes are being finalised and will shortly be published. Interested parties are urged to check the Aquarama website regularly for the latest updates.
More information... 

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28/11/12: Stories about the Philippines; feed and sustainable aquaculture; IMTA

Hello, 

• An aquaculture park in the Philippines is reportedly benefitting local cage culture. The newly established aquaculture park along the Magat reservoir in Gen. Aguinaldo village in Isabela’s Ramon town is seen to revive the one-flourishing fish cage industry in the area. Jovita Ayson, regional director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Cagayan Valley, told the Business Mirror that the park has industrial estates wherein aquaculture plots are leased or awarded to investors, with the government providing infrastructure , utilities and technical services. Read more...

• This article examines the role of feed in sustainable aquaculture. It looks in detail at the past decade of research undertaken at the Aquaculture Protein Centre in Norway. Read more...

• Could waste from Norwegian salmon production find a use in IMTA? Researchers at the 'Integrated open seawater aquaculture, technology for sustainable culture of high productive areas (INTEGRATE)' project think so. At present, respiratory products, faeces and uneaten feed worth NOK 6 billion are discharged into Norwegian coastal waters. The researchers have studied whether this waste can be put to use as nutrients for cultivating kelp and/or mussels. Read more...

  

  Provinces and regions of the Philippines (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

  
  

The Aquaculture Protein Centre (APC) was among the initial 13 Norwegian Centres of Excellence (SFF) established. After ten years, its activities as an SFF centre are now drawing to a close. The centre was established to generate the knowledge needed to be able to replace fishmeal in aquaculture feeds. After ten years, the proportion of fish-based ingredients has been reduced to roughly ten per cent, while fish farmers have doubled their production. Fish going vegetarian APC Director Margareth Øverland believes that climate change and the increasing global need for food have given new urgency to the need to find feed ingredients that cannot be used directly as human food. The APC has shown that fish production is possible without the use of fishmeal. "In trials with rainbow trout, we've recently achieved normal growth rates with feed that contains no fishmeal," says Dr Øverland. "The fish showed no signs of disease either." Nevertheless she believes that fish feed of the future will still contain some marine ingredients, both to make the feed taste better to the fish and to ensure that the fish contain healthy omega fatty acids. "Salmon, our main production species, is not adapted to a vegetarian diet by nature. So it is critical that we find out how vegetable proteins affect fish growth, digestion and the immune system. One challenge is that plants contain anti-nutrients, which are substances that protect the plants from pests and disease, but which also inhibit fish growth and can trigger gut inflammation." Important discoveries

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-11-fish-sustainable-aquaculture.html#jCp