Blue Frontier Magazine | No 2 | 2012 | Bangkok

In Bangkok, the GOAL 2012 Conference, headed by George Chamberlain (picture) deals with how aquaculture faces the changing trends to quickly, but responsibly achieve greater production.

BlueFrontier

MAGAZINE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 201 2

Oxygen to grow blue food

Bergen the marine capital

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From the Editor

Blue food solutions.

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ood supply is facing a paradigm shift from being historical predominant agro based, with annual growth in decline, and becoming increasingly substituted through upscale of marine production. This important and needed shift requires a systemic and cross sector approach for the purpose to succeed. At the NASF 2012 Day Zero we sensed the power of this multiplayer approach to advance the marine sector towards its third millennium major challenge and opportunity: Combining knowledge intensive business opportunities with feeding the world.

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n this issue of Blue Frontier Magazine featuring innovative solutions together with several key events around the world confirm that we are on the right track: The BioMarine Business Convention in London October 2425, gathering the biomarine trendsetters together with top science will put most of the listed issues on the agenda followed by the GOAL 2012 conference in Bangkok October 30-November 2 where global aquaculture and its challenges will be addressed. Berlin (October 26) and Singapore (Nov 25) will both focus on how to create values from life science (meetings with science parks on behalf of Oslo Innovation Center and The BioValue Project) in addition to meetings with groups involved with genome sequencing and application to advance aquaculture. NASF Day ZERO (NASF Preconference) 2013 in Bergen March 5 is putting the above scenarios on the agenda in the very best way.

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tate of the art biomarine competencies and science like e.g.: Complete genome based breeding for robustness and productivity, novel vaccines, advanced feed technologies together with systematic search for new resources and ingredients from lower oceanic trophic levels, seaweeds as well as bioreactor based microalgae production, addresses many of the listed challenges.

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ow to tackle the grand challenge of the millennium is depending on our willingness to strengthen borderless concerted actions and to further develop systemic solutions. Systemic challenge needs systemic approach.

Prof. Ă˜ystein Lie,

Executive Manager, Marelife Project Manager, Oslo Innovation Center oystein.lie@marelife.org

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About us

BlueFrontier

MAGAZINE Published by MareLife www.marelife.org Chairman: Carl Seip Hanevold Excecutive Manager: Øystein Lie CONTACT:

Marelife

Gaustadalléen 21 N-0349 OSLO, NORWAY Tel: +47 22 95 85 00 Fax: +47 22 60 44 27 Mobile: +47 91 7 48 240 E-mail: Oystein.Lie@forskningsparken.no http://www.marelife.org

Picture: Oslo Innovation Center's CEO Karl-Christian Agerup (left) with Norwegian minister of trade and industry Trond Giske and Ole Petter Ottersen, head of the University of Oslo. Photo: Gorm K. Gaare.

Oslo Innovation Center

Gaustadalléen 21 N-0349 OSLO, NORWAY Tel: +47 22 95 85 00 Fax: +47 22 60 44 27 Email: post@forskningsparken.no http://www.forskningsparken.no COVER PHOTO:

All in for "BioVerdi" Norwegian bioeconomy is behind the pioneering «BioVerdi» project, based at Oslo Innovation Center.

The project has been very well received in all environments, from universities and industry to venture capital sector. The analytical approach of the project is based on the one used in a recent extensive report prof. Torger Reve, Oslo Business School, «Et kunnskapsbasert Norge» (A knowledge based Norway).

OxySolution's patented technology makes it possible to increase the level of dissolved oxygen in water. The technological platform for super-oxygenation of water can be a very important factor in future fish farming. Photo: OxySolutions

WWW.OSLOBUSINESSMEMO.NO PRINTED IN BANGKOK

by Siam Printing Solutions Co., Ltd.

“BioVerdi” is a cross field and trans boundary initiative to develop a stronger "ecosystem" of innovation.

The project will be established in partnership between leading R&D units, industry representatives from bio production and pharma, capital owners and with support from public policy system and authorities.

In essence the Norwegian bioeconomy sector is behind the project since top excecutives of the leading players of all four major branches: Marine, agri, health and process industry together with R&D organisations have endorsed its ideas and goals.

Prof. Torger Reve.

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A MAGAZINE PRODUCED BY

“BioVerdi” will be a continuation of the "Bioeconomy 2020", a project in Oslo Innovation Center that focuses on measures for innovation for bio industries and which, among other, puts biomarine innovation on the agenda. In Vision 2020, bio-based industries are supposed to be a major source of value creation and business growth in the Oslo region and Norway, a development to which the project “Bio Verdi” will give an important contribution.

The partners commitment and ownership to the project are based on a planning document written by Øystein Lie. Proposed ownership structure, steering committee and working groups will be available shortly.The project aims to have drawn up an action plan for implementation before year end. “Bio Verdi” seeks to establish an International Advisory Board, represented by the Nordics, UK, USA and Singapore.“BioVerdi” intends to try to connect to “The Norwegian Industrial Biotechnology Network”, as a possible pilot or demonstration project.

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Two examples in this report shows how new solutions can increase output from the marine sector: A new oxygen technology that can make aquaculture more healthy and efficient - and research on how salmon genes can increase out of sougth-after fatty omega-3 acids.

Marine innovation with superoxygen.

INCREASES OXYGEN: The Norwegian

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duction is by far the largest source of food company Oxysolution AS has developed a supply, but the annual increase rate is on patented method that increases the oxydecline due to increased restrictions on land gen content in water. A full scale test of and water resources, and vulnerability to Oxysolution technology will take place in weather and climate change. At the same a fish farming project with the Norwegian time, by 2025 the world needs 30 percent Food Research Institute (Nofima), starting extra foods. early next year.

By 2050, the world`s food production Oxysolution's patented technology must feed a total of 9 billion people. Almakes it possible to increase the level of though global fish production and consumpdissolved oxygen in water. Tests have indiction has tripled the last four decades ated stable levels in excess of 90 mg/l, or (approx. 50 mill tons by 1973 and 150 tons approximately 10-12 times higher than precurrently, half of which is attributable to the viously thought possible. This technological platform for super-oxygenation of water is the Picture: Super-oxygenated water. Photo: OxySolutions. point of origin for all future products from OxySolution. It’s also a very important factor in future fish farming.

Oxysolution is one of many companies developing new technologies that can be used to innovate and streamline marine food production.

Agricultural food pro-

fastest growing marine part: aqua and mare culture), the scale of marine supplies is still modest compared to the agroindustry, accounting for 7,5 bill tons (of which at least 20 % is edible and 6,5 and 1 billion tonnes, respectively is derived from cereals and livestock products, respectively). “The blue sector has to increase manifold if it is going to become the main substitute to the declining growth rate of livestock products when facing population growth of 1,5 % annually and corresponding increase in annual meat consumption of 7%,” says Øystein Lie, Prof. PhD and executive manager at MareLife.

In addition to the pure need of more protein, food scares (e.g. BSE etc) and life style health issues have been fueling increased consumption of seafood products, being both whole fish as well as refines products like omega 3 or other PUFA, antioxidants etc.

Although current aquaculture displays a comparable low carbon

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Picture: Testing the origins of salmon and herring. Photo: SINTEF.

foot print, the future manifold sized aquaculture has to adapt to future considerably increased demands for cost efficacy, competitiveness and lowest possible carbon foot print.

“This is crucially dependent on how smart we are able to run and develop aquaand mare culture throughout the entire value chain,” says Lie. According to Lie fisheries can be upscaled if the mangement regimes are optimized and exploit more trophic levels (krill, calanus etc) than just bony fish (ocean annual net biomass production is at least 100 bill tonnes) and aquaculture can be escalated manifold if we solve feed resource bottle necks and manage to control diseases in an adequate way.

tion is about to test its technology in fish farming, with the aim of commercial application. But it is probably the use of the super-oxygenated water in life science that is closest to a commercial breakthrough. It includes, among other things, research on cells, cultivation of bacteria and the development of vaccines.

- The fishing industry is concerned with dissolved oxygen level. For Atlantic salmon, it is generally agreed that the optimum level is around 110-120 percent. This corresponds to approximately 9.5 -10 milligrams of oxygen per liter, whereas the levels in normal water is about 6-7 milligrams. Our solution can provide this level, stable over time and more cost-effectively, says Økern.

OxySolution point out that their technology will result in lower costs for the fish farmers, through reduced energy consumption and reduced use of oxygen.

- We also believe that our solution will provide less stress on the fish, and thus increased welfare, less disease, lower mortality and better growth, says Økern. This will result in increased revenue.

Low oxygen levels can lead to reduced feeding. With evenly distributed and high oxygen levels, we believe we can increase the feeding effectiveness significantly, says Økern.

OxySolution has presented its technology for the major players in the aquaculture industry and received good feedback.

During the first quarter of next year OxySolution starts a project with Nofima at Sunndalsøra, where full-scale testing of

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CLOSE TO BREAKTHROUGH: Oxysolu-

- We have completed the research in this area and we are in discussions with suppliers of cell media, says CEO Jan Økern in Oxysolution. Besides fish farming, Økern points to functional beverage and cosmetics as two other important areas for the use of Oxysolution`s super-oxygenated water.In the fish farming industry, the oxygenation of water is a very important feature. In closed recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), such as hatcheries, fry production and well boats, which wash and transport fish, the oxygenation is done by bubbling oxygen into the water.

This has several disadvantages. Much of the oxygen disappears out of the water again, the fish utilize very little of what is actually delivered and it is also difficult to maintain a constant oxygen concentration in the facility. The oxygenation process requires much energy, and the bubbles can stress the fish.

Oxysolution’s solution is to mix its super-oxygenated water with the water, which circulates in RAS facilities, and thus create a stable, optimized oxygen level in the water. By mixing liquid in liquid, a steady oxygen concentration is created, which is very important.

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Salmon Photo: Nofima

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OxySolution’s technology will be implemented in a smolt production facility.

- We've done these tests on a smaller scale, and it has worked very well. Now, the full scale, and it is of course exciting. The project will last three years with several milestones, but we assume that we after six months already will have several important answers, says Økern.

Yngve Attramadal is a senior engineer at SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture and is familiar with OxySolution technology.“I have discussed the possibility with OxySolution on how we can work on this in the future. It is an exciting product for the marine sector,” says Attramadal.

Attramadal work a lot with demersal fish, which pose major challenges for farming.

-” The fish are close to the bottom, where the oxygen levels are lower and it is difficult to distribute oxygen evenly. I believe that use OxySolutions technology can be

very interesting in this context,” he says.

“We believe our technology can enable farming of other species such as demersal fish on great commercial basis. Price of Turbot is now seven times higher than salmon,” says Økern.

verting short fatty acids from plants to the long, marine omega-3 fatty acids .

“It is the salmon’s genes that determine how well it can convert the fatty acids, and we can use this knowledge to breed salmon that can produce more omega-3,” says Nofima Senior Scientist Gerd Marit Berge.

She is currently managing a Research Council of Norway project that is studying SALMON CONVERTING OMEGA-3: Anoth- how genetic background and different feed er Nofima-project shows how salmon can influence the salmon’s ability to convert play a key role in increasing the amount of short to long omega-3 fatty acids. This is an the healthy omega-3 fatty acids by coninterdisciplinary project involving several scientists in both breeding and nutrition.

“The fact that we can see differences in genes of salmon that are good and By 2050 the biomarine industry in Norless good at converting way alone will represent a trunover of NOK 550 billion. This according to a refatty acids is a good indicaport made by researchers from SINTEF tion that the ability to pro(picture: Karl Almaas, SINTEF) and NTNU, duce long omega-3 is on behalf of the two science academies hereditary,” says Berge. of Norwa (DNKVS and NTVA). The Some salmon are much workgroup concludes that globaal better at producing this trends as encreased need for food prohealthy fat than others beductions in genral, encreased demand cause their genes are more for seafood i particular, will force a steep active and produce enicrease in value creation in thre marine zymes that convert the sector i Norway and globally.

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"Now, the full scale, and it is of course exciting."

Jan Økern, CEO, OxySolutions

In order to find out how good the genes are at starting production of the enzymes that are necessary to convert the short omega-3 to the long omega-3 fatty acids, Nofima’s scientists have tested hundreds of salmon families from the breeding company SalmoBreed. A salmon family comprises the siblings which are the offspring of a specific male salmon and female salmon.

The scientists found large differences between the best and worst salmon families. Finding such differences forms the basis for commencing a breeding programme. In breeding, scientists systematically select the families which are best for the characteristic they wish to improve.

“We have now come so far in the project that both the salmon that were worst at converting omega-3 and those that were best have got offspring. We will now test the siblings further to see if their ability to produce more omega-3 is passed down to the next generation,” says Nofima Senior Scientist Anna Sonesson.

EAGER TO TEST: SalmoBreed’s Manager of Genetics and R&D, Håvard Bakke, believes it is still too early to determine

whether the ability to convert omega-3 shall be a breeding goal for their salmon breeding programme. He is uncertain whether it will make any difference in practice if breeding companies include the omega-3 syntheses as a goal in the salmon breeding programmes.

“We are now eager to test the offspring of the fish we have tested. When we know their ability to produce omega-3, we will know how much we can achieve through breeding. If we can achieve something of significance through breeding we will do it because marine oils are a bottleneck,” says Bakke.

If the breeding companies find that it is appropriate and start to breed for this characteristic in salmon in a determined manner, the salmon feed can contain less omega-3 without the content in the salmon fillet being reduced, precisely because this bred salmon has the best conversion capacity. Such an optimisation of the resources in the feed will be more sustainable and have economic benefits.

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short omega-3 fatty acids found in plant oils to long omega-3 that we can otherwise only get from marine organisms.

There is limited access to fish oil that may be used in feed so increasingly more plant oil is being used in salmon feed. Fish oil is by far the best source of omega-3. Less fish oil in the feed means that the salmon fillet contains less omega-3 than previously.

“Concentrating on salmon that are good at converting short omega-3 fatty acids to long ones will make the fish healthier and contribute to better utilization of the limited omega-3 resources,” says one of the other scientists in the project, Nofima Senior Scientist Bente Ruyter.

The reason the salmon has an inherent ability to produce long omega-3 is not to give us healthy food. In all likelihood it is a characteristic the salmon has because it lives in fresh water for the first stage of its life, and in fresh water the salmon has to produce its own as it does not have access to long omega-3 fatty acids. The fatty acids are mostly found in marine organisms. In the marine environment the salmon has rich access to these fatty acids and as such does not need to do as much of this conversion itself.

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Key marine players in Bergen are rallying to establish the Norwegian west-coast capital as the World Marine Capital.

Shaping the world's marine capital.

Pictures: Opposite page: Tanja Hoel, CEO, Fiskeriforum Vest.

Below: Petter Dragesund, Pareto, and Jørgen J. Lund, NASF.

THE WORLD MARINE CAPITAL: Bergen is

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the capital of the world's largest seafood companies, and has a strong cluster with fisheries, aquaculture and finance.

Altogether there are more than 1 100 seafood companies working within the entire seafood value-chain; breeding, juvenile fish, farming, harvest production, equipment, foodstuff, technology, processing, sales, marketing as well as logistics and finance.

Tanja Hoel, head of the regional cluster organization for the seafood business in Western Norway, Fiskeriforum Vest, confirms the joint efforts among the key marine players in the Bergen region together with local government, research and science institutions to lift Bergen as the World Marine Capital.

NEW NASF VENUE: A strong move in this direction is the moving of the annual international seafood conference NASF (NorthAtlantic Seafood Forum) including the special seminar Day Zero focusing on marine solutions for the future.

These events are significant profiling Bergen as the seafood capital. Tanja Hoel signals that future plans will be to develop an even bigger combined event, a Bergen Seafood Week, attracting more international marine business and entrepreneurs to the region. Inspiration for this project is Oslo Innovation Week, annually attracting 40005000 entrepreneurs and innovators during a week-long series of seminars and workshops.

«We are delighted that the NorthAtlantic Seafood Forum comes to Bergen,» says Tanja Hoel. Fiskeriforum Vest main objective is to increase the seafood sector’s value creation. Fiskeriforum Vest gathers,

strengthens and promotes the region’s seafood business and reseach sector and works in close cooperation with policymakers for the seafood sector in Norway.

After 8 years in Oslo and Lillestrøm, next years North-Atlantic Seafood Forum – starting with Day Zero, will take place i Bergen in March 5-7 2013.

«We at NASF are proud to be invited home to Bergen. There is no doubt that the seafood capital Bergen and the west coast region of Norway will anchor NASF as the world's largest top-executive meeting and conference,» comments Jørgen J. Lund, CEO at NASF, known as a leading meeting place for global seafood topexecutives, attracting more than 560 delegates from 350 companies and 30 countries every year.

FOOD SECURITY: The main

theme for the 2013 conference is food security, and follow-up on the Rio+20 conference in june 2012. The Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development this past summer put a global

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preconference BioMarine seminar, organized by the MareLife Association.

As the largest special session, the preconference Day Zero this year attracted around 170 delegates.

The key players from the solutions provider and the biomarine sector are setting the agenda for marine innovation, says prof. Øystein Lie, chairman of the board at NASF and CEO at Marelife, part-owner of NASF. The main topic for Day Zero in Bergen, March 5, will be “Global Aquaculture Solutions”, with keynotes on sustainable upscaling of aquaculture production in cold, temperate and tropical waters.

Further topics will be: Enhance brood stock through state of the art breeding and genomics, Contemporary disease control, Solving Feed bottle necks, Access to farming space (seawater areas, land, water, regulatory, permits etc), Sustainability standards, regulatory and management regimes needs, Preventing and controlling escapees, Engineering, equipment/gears and ICT solutions.

DAY ZERO: The NASF 2013 starts March

seafood industry in the Bergen Region is of global proportions and size: Bergen

5th with the well known Day Zero

GLOBAL PROPORTIONS: The marine

Region seafood cluster has an annual turnover of around US$ 6.0 billion and value generation of US$ 1.0 billion, equivalent to approximately 30 % of Norway's marine and seafood wealth creation. The region has 1,100 seafood companies, employing 4,500 people and is the headquarter for several of the world's largest seafood companies including Marine Harvest, Austevoll Seafood, Leroy Seafood, Grieg Seafood, EWOS, Norway Sales Organization for Pelagic Fish, as well as being home to Norway` s largest purse seining fleet.

Bergen is today a leading international media center for the seafood industry globally. The city is also a financial seafood center, and home to FishPool - the world`s only salmon products exchange. Bergen has world leading research and government fisheries management institutions including the Institute of Marine Research, Bergen University (UiB), NIFES, Nofima, Christian Michelsen Institute (CMR), Uni Research, the Nansen Center and Norway Directorate for Fisheries Management.

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spotlight on the need for collective action on building the Future We Want in a sustainable way.

- NASF is the global inter-phase between seafood trade, commercialization, policy, innovation and finance – giving key insights into the future, says Lund.

Key 2013 seminars at the conference in Bergen is: Global Industry Summits in Salmon, White Fish and Pelagic sectors, 3rd European Retail Seminar, Global Aquaculture Solutions, Sustainability, EU Fisheries Policy Reform, Pareto Finance and Investor Seminar, and much more with 100 speakers addressing these vital themes.

Petter Dragesund, head of corporate finance at Pareto Securties, says Pareto as a majority-owner of the NASF conference will work to attract even more international seafood companies to the meeting in the years to come. The special session "Pareto Seafood Finance and Investor Seminar" presented 17 companies at the previuos conference.

- For our customers this is a good opportunity to meet the companies and talk to the managment face-to-face.

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Eight years ago, the Global Shrimp Outlook meeting in Bangkok in 2004 dealt with antidumping measures, record low prices and shifts in market dynamics that saw shrimp becoming a more mainstream meal selection. This time, again in Bangkok, the GOAL 2012 conference deals with how aquaculture faces changing trends to quickly, but responsibly achieve greater production.

Discussing solutions to guide the future.

BANGKOK: The Global Aquaculture Alliance and fellow industry leaders gathers in Asia's seafood trade center for GAA's annual aquaculture seafood meeting. GOAL 2012 welcomes over 300 aquaculture and seafood leaders for reviews of global supply and demand, networking and strategic insights.

This time, again in Bangkok, the conference challenges the state of aquaculture year 2012 and beyond: The aquaculture faces changing trends to quickly, but responsibly achieve greater production.

Delegates at the conference are discussing solutions to issues that can help guide the future of aquaculture.

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GOAL 2012 will provide up-to-date information on the farmed seafood value chain in summarized form and cover the most "In 2012, aquaculture faces an urgent need to expand its output widely traded aquaculture species. Throughout the event, speakof fish and shrimp to meet the rapidly rising global demand. Espeers will share their perspectives on what is really happening in cially in Asia, the growing middle class has a taste for quality seaaquaculture -- both now and into the future. food -- and the means to purchase it," states the alliance in the In targeted sessions, informed and informative industry experts run-up to this years conference - and points to the fact that Asia will deliver: represents a huge emerging market.

•Expert interpretations GOAL's forerunner, the George Chamberlain is the President of global data Global Shrimp Outlook of the Global Aquaculture Alliance.

•Concise reviews of meeting, was held in GAA articulates the importance of leading international marBangkok in 2004. At that aquaculture as a source of food and kets time, shrimp aquaculture employment. It supports technologic•Investment trends for was dealing with antidumpal research and provides this inform2013 and beyond ing measures, record low ation openly to membership and •Insights on seafood isprices and shifts in market research facilities. The alliance also advocates for the industry regionally sues and concerns. dynamics that saw shrimp and globally, and promotes effective, becoming a more maincoordinated government regulatory GLOBAL VIEW: Headed by stream meal selection. and international trade policies. excecutive director Wally

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Picture: Global aquaculture demand and solutions are discussed at Shangri-la Hotel in Bangkok. Photo: Øystein Lie.

INVESTMENT CHALLENGE: The global aquaculture investment will be focused by Philippe de Lapérouse, HighQuest Partners. He has made a comparison between aquaculture and agriculture in terms of investments. He is followed by Jørgen Lund, North Atlantic Seafood Forum, on capital requirements for major seafood growth.

Gorjan Nikolik from Rabobank International talks about how a commercial bank view aquaculture, and Chantal Andriamilamina from International Finance Corp. shares her views on aquaculture investment.

The marketing session of the conference foucuses on sustainabillity and the Australian seafood marketplace growth, as well as certification as a growing trend in the marketplace.

PREPARING WHITEPAPER: Øystein Lie, excecutive manager at

MareLife, is attending the conference in Bangkok. He says time is ripe to act and point at concrete solutions with expected impact. " GOAL is a massive learning and dialogue arena, where I enhance my knowledge and insight to help preparing for concerted actions," says Lie. MareLife’s main partnership-arena for marine innovation is North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF) and the innovation session, “Day Zero". Global Aquaculture Solutions, like for GOAL, will be the main theme on the agenda on "Day Zero" in Bergen next march. It will expose a series of innovative solutions to advance the aquaculture sector.

"We aim at developing a whitepaper with that very same focus and we want to strengthen that product and our arena by linking up with GAA and invite its President, George Chamberlain, to make an opening keynote speech March 5 in Bergen and to participate in the workgroup for the whitepaper," says Øystein Lie.

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Stevens and president George Chamberlain from Global Aquaculture Alliance the conference includes Wimol Jantrarotai from Thailand Department of Fisheries and Chingchai Lohawatanakul from Charoen Pokphand Foods as opening speakers.

The conference' main topic, the challenge of seafood demand the next decade, is introduced by Wally Stevens. Accordingly Jim Anderson from The World Bank presents the shrimp production review, and Ragnar Tveterås from University of Stavanger reviews the fish production the coming years.

Phillip Hsia, DaChan Greatwall Group, looks into the global macroeconomics related to aquaculture industry.

A session on health managment is introduced by George Chamberlain, Global Aquaculture Alliance. Adolfo Alvial, Adolfo Alvial Consultancies presents on the follow-up report on infectious salmon anemia study in Chile. A case ctudy on early mortality syndrome in shrimp, is presented by Donald Lightner, University of Arizona, Rohanna Subasinghe, United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization, Chadag Mohan, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia Pacific, and Tim Flegel, Mahidol University.

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Last but not least:

Certification is only growing!

GROWING: Global Aquaculture Alliance’s sertification program Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) has made good progress the last year, according to updated figures which will be presented at the GOAL 2012 conference in Bangkok, october 30 to november 2 2012.

«Participation in the BAP program is only growing,» writes www.gaa.org, the alliance's webpage.

From Dec. 31, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2012, the BAP program added 33 processing plants and 44 farms, bringing the total to 195 processing plants and 246 farms. At the end of September, BAP certification was pending for 40 processing plants and 59 farms. In addition to the processing plants and farms, there are a total of 25 BAP-certified hatcheries and nine BAP-certified feed mills.

The BAP-program promotes responsible practices across the aquaculture industry, with certification standards for hatcheries, farms, processing facilities and feed mills.

INDUSTRYWIDE BENEFITS: «The BAP program drives continued

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improvements via high standards that deliver significant benefits industrywide. The BAP standards currently cover aquaculture facilities for shrimp, salmon, tilapia, channel catfish and Pangasius. Additional standards are under development,» according to www.gaa.org.

Those 195 BAP-certified processing plants yielded an annual total of 918,000 metric tons of product as of Sept. 30, 2012, up 156,000 metric tons from Dec. 30, 2011. Additionally, there were 162 two-star BAP-certified processing plants yielding a total of 435,000 metric tons of product as of Sept. 30, 2012, up 162,000 metric tons from Dec. 30, 2011.

«It’s also worth recognizing the progress that one species, in particular, has made in 2012,» writes www.gaa.org: Mainstream Canada’s Brent Island salmon farm in British Columbia became the first salmon farm to achieve BAP certification in December 2011. By Sept. 30, 2012, 39 farms and five processing plants were producing

Shrimps photo: Wikimedia Commons.

93,000 metric tons of one-star salmon and 124,000 metric tons of two-star salmon. At the time, BAP certification was pending for 30 salmon farms and 12 processing plants.

The BAP program has also made great strides in the area of training. This year, the BAP program added 14 auditors (nine at a course in Bangkok, Thailand, in February and five at a course in Vancouver, Canada, in September). Though they’ve been trained regarding the BAP standards, not all are ready to officially perform an audit until witnessed and approved by the certification body.

NEW MEMBER: Tops Friendly Markets has announced that it will

be adopting Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification as part of its comprehensive aquaculture procurement policy. Tops Friendly Markets’ goal is to work closely with the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) and its suppliers to ensure that all aquaculture products are BAP certified to the farm level by early 2013, where certification standards are available.

Tops is a leading full-service grocery retailer in upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania, USA. It operates 127 company-owned and five franchised stores under the Tops Markets banner.

“We are extremely pleased by the announcement from Tops.

Their commitment shows that the issue of responsible aquaculture is not just a global or national issue, but a regional and local issue. We applaud the actions taken by Tops and welcome the growing number of retailers sourcing BAP product for their consumers,” says Peter Redmond, BAP’s vice president of global development.

“At Tops, we recognize the importance of having high-quality seafood products available for our consumers and are committed to the efforts of the Global Aquaculture Alliance,” says Jim Lane, Tops’ meat and seafood director. “Our shoppers can be assured that our focus is toward providing the freshest, highest-quality seafood, including farm-raised seafood that is farmed in a responsible and sustainable way.”

Source: http://www.gaalliance.org