Leiber's commitment to sustainable aquaculture education and research

June 28, 2024 - As part of the annual industry guest speaker series, Dr Holger Kühlwein gave a guest lecture to MSc Sustainable Aquaculture and Fisheries students at the University of Plymouth, focusing on the importance of brewers' yeast in supporting aquatic animal health and nutrition. 

Dr Holger Kühlwein gives his annual lecture on the importance of brewers’ yeast in aquafeeds

The guest lecture is part of a wider collaboration between the University of Plymouth and Leiber GmbH extending back for over a decade. Over this period Leiber GmbH has been a key industry partner for the MSc Sustainable Aquaculture and Fisheries programme through the provision of Scholarships, student prizes, guest lectures and dissertation projects.

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"We work with a number of leading biotechnology and aquafeed companies, including Leiber GmbH, who have been incredibly generous to our students over the years. Engagement with industry is at the core of our Masters programme, providing practical and industrial perspectives on the latest issues affecting the industry" said the Programme Lead, Dr Daniel Merrifield.

This was the inaugural year of the Leiber Sustainable Aquaculture and Fisheries award, with a prize of €1500 which is awarded to the student with the highest grade on the Sustainable Fisheries module. The Award was won by Joana Yi Hui de Sousa Pinto Liew, who said "I am honoured to receive the Leiber award, this prize underscores the importance of collaborative efforts to bridge the gap between academia and industry in advancing sustainability and fostering innovation in the Blue Revolution".

Leiber funded research programmes at the University of Plymouth were first established in 2014, when Dr Kühlwein, a University of Plymouth alumnus joined Leiber as the Key Account Manager for Aqua. Since then, brewers' yeast products including a whole yeast, autolysed yeast, MOS and β-glucans have been tested and validated at the University of Plymouth in rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon, carp and tilapia. Dr Kühlwein stated "Dr Merrifield's group is at the forefront of research on fish nutrition and mucosal health and has been performing excellent, innovative R&D work with industrial relevance. This long-term collaboration proves very valuable for our engagement with the industry's stakeholders."

These research programmes have demonstrated that the supplementation of brewers' yeast products can improve gut health of various species when supplemented to high quality commercially relevant diets. More recently, the research has focussed on using brewer's yeast products to improve resistance to dietary induced dysbiosis and inflammation caused by lower quality diets, through a jointly funded PhD studentship. Promising results have been presented by the PhD candidate, Taofik Momoh, at various international conferences with peer reviewed publications in the pipeline. One of the most interesting finings is data demonstrating that selected yeast products can ameliorate soybean meal induced inflammatory responses in the intestine of Atlantic salmon.

For more information, visit HE

The Aquaculturists

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Aquaculture is building communities

June 28, 2024 - Tasmania's salmon industry becomes the first industry in the state to undergo a comprehensive assessment against the 'Community Benefit Framework', based on emerging global approaches to assess social impact.

Kym Goodes, Principle of 3P Advisory today delivered an update on the research project, commissioned by Salmon Tasmania, and undertaken over the previous 6-months that assesses the benefits of the Tasmanian salmon industry.

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"This method of assessment is a groundbreaking approach as it's not just about donations and sponsorship, it is about a comprehensive understanding of how an industry contributes to building and supporting communities," said Kym Goodes, Principle of 3P Consulting.

"This is about understanding the true contribution to the wellbeing of communities through dimensions of benefit that include Quality of Life, Social Inclusion, Social cohesion and result in tangible benefits in areas such as literacy and healthcare, through to shared infrastructure between the industry and local Tasmanians," said Kym.

Global thinking defining the direct and indirect community benefit from large organisations considers the integration of a range of relevant elements. These elements are derived from globally recognised frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals and other, similarly recognised frameworks.

"At a practical level, common themes emerging from this work have a focus on the benefit contribution of an industry to the communities where they operate, that look beyond the usual measures of productivity benefits, income, employment to understand how there is equal opportunity of access to benefits," said Kym.

Each of the Community Benefits Framework dimensions are interconnected, contributing unique insights that together, paint a complete picture of the social impact of any given initiative, organisation or whole-of-industry.

The report update was presented at Fridays inaugural AquaTAS event, a half day forum showcasing the Tasmanian salmon aquaculture industry's innovations, strategic priorities and value to the Tasmanian community with around 180 stakeholders in attendance.

For more information, visit HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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Primerdesign launches real-time PCR workflow for onsite detection of norovirus in oysters

June 25, 2024 - Primerdesign (part of the Novacyt Group), a company focussed on the design, manufacture, validation and supply of real-time PCR kits and reagents, today launched the genesig Easy_oys Detection Kit for Norovirus in oysters. The quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay enables rapid and reliable detection of genogroup (G)I and GII Norovirus pathogens in oyster tissue. The user-friendly workflow offers a cost-effective solution that can be used on site to identify the contamination points across the production line, helping to reduce public health risk and minimise shellfish farm closures.

Primerdesign genesig^®Easy_oys Detection Kit for Norovirus in oysters

Norovirus is a major cause of viral gastroenteritis and foodborne transmission is responsible for an estimated 16 percent of cases in the UK. Human sewage discharge around oyster beds results in bio-accumulation of the virus in their digestive glands, with more than 500 genome copies/gram of Norovirus GI/GII presenting a major risk of infection when consumed by humans.

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There is a growing need for methods to detect and quantify viruses in bivalve shellfish to control and risk manage potential outbreaks and spread. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in England and the Marine Institute in the Republic of Ireland, the only ISO 15216-accredited laboratories for PCR quantification of Norovirus in oysters in the British Isles, currently perform a limited number of tests from each grower due to resource constraints. This places food safety in jeopardy and farms at risk of closure if a Norovirus outbreak is linked to their oysters.

Quantitative PCR methods offer a fast and accurate means of screening water and food. The genesig Easy_oys Norovirus kit is a qPCR assay optimised for the quantitative detection of Norovirus GI and GII genomes in the digestive tissue of oysters. The highly sensitive kit demonstrated detection of both GI and GII down to 500 copies/gram, making it a suitable risk management tool to ensure that oysters with high infection risk are detected. The kit includes all the reagents needed to conduct viral testing in line with the ISO 15216 guidelines, without any prior lab experience. The complete testing workflow, including the exisgMag extraction kit, genesig Easy_oys Norovirus kit, and the genesig q16 instrument, delivers results within four hours. It was developed in collaboration with oyster farmers and the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, providing them with an easy-to-use and accessible tool to rapidly assess the food safety risk and give them confidence in the quality of their oysters.

Dr Stephanie Anderson, Product Manager, Primerdesign, said: "Many farmers are under pressure to test for Norovirus in order to prevent an outbreak and risk consequent closure. However, the lack of approved commercially available tests currently available in the UK and limited accredited testing facilities often results in delays, presenting a significant challenge to the industry.

"Working together with farmers and the trade association for the UK shellfish industry to optimise our testing solution, we are proud to offer our new genesig Easy_oys Norovirus kit. The workflow offers a rapid, specific and user-friendly Virus monitoring system that delivers results in just a matter of hours on site, providing the industry a vital tool to safeguard oyster quality from farm to plate."

David Jarrad, CEO, Shellfish Association of Great Britain, said: "After many months of working closely with Shellfish Association of Great Britain members, I am delighted to see the hard work come to fruition with the launch of Primerdesign's Norovirus testing workflow. Due to the pollution of our coastal waters, this is much needed by our industry, as we strive to ensure we market a nutritious, wholesome and, crucially, safe product."

Gary Wordsworth, Founder of Othniel Oysters, said: "Oyster growers have long had a need for a simple field test for Norovirus to ensure that our product is safe, I spent a lot of time working with the Primerdesign team over the winter of 23/24 as they produced a kit that would enable a grower to test their oysters in house and get a result back within four hours. I am delighted that this kit is now available as it enables us to test every batch that we send out and reassure our customers that our product is safe."

Kerrie Ferguson, Head of Technical and Compliance, Loch Fyne Oysters Ltd, said: "The training and technical support provided has been exemplary. It makes the introduction and application of new in-hpuse technologies a viable and successful option. It takes away the requirement to depend solely on external testing services which have seen considerable cuts in recent years in relation to aquaculture-based services. The ability to test for Norovirus in house with real time results enables the business to react and respond to challenges caused by factors out of our control."

For more information, visit HERE.

The Aquaculturists

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