Eurofish Magazine 3 2022

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ISSN 1868-5943

June 3/2022 C 44346

Canary Islands, Spain Exploring the commercial potential of aquaponics

Warming water may bring some benefits to Hungary’s pond farmers Seafood Expo Global opens in Barcelona Insects are a potential protein source for fish feed Published by

, a member of the FISH INFO network

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In this issue

Promising developments in aquaculture on the Canary Islands

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The Canary Islands are one of Spain’s autonomous communities but located off the coast of West Africa.

Their location in the Atlantic ensures favourable climatic conditions for the culture of seabass and seabream, species that are typically grown in the Mediterranean. The archipelago is a significant producer of these species--it ranks second and third among the autonomous communities for the production of seabass and seabream respectively. The aquaculture sector on the islands is likely to be further boosted by the decision to cultivate two new species there, the common octopus and the amberjack. In the Islandap Advanced project researchers from the University of Las Palmas on Grand Canary study seabass and seabream to see how they can be produced more sustainably. Another research direction revolves around aquaponics, the cultivation of fish and plants in a circular system in which each benefits from the other. The Canary Islands also host the Spanish Bank of Algae, part of the university, where algae are being studied for their potential as sources of valuable compounds. Read more about aquaculture on the Canary Islands from page 22.

The threat from marine litter is becoming ever more acute as the volumes entering the oceans increase year on year. Much of the material is plastic, a generally non-biodegradeable substance that is reduced over time into smaller and smaller particles that can be ingested by all kinds of marine life. Plastic waste can be found on the surface, in the water column, on the seabed, and on beaches. Alone, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a garbage-filled area between Hawaii and California, is estimated to be 1.6m sq. km and to hold between 45 and 129 thousand tonnes of litter. Nor is it the only such patch, just the biggest and best known. Fishing and aquaculture gear is one of the main culprits contributing around 60 of the macroplastic in the ocean gyres by weight. Nets from the industry are a hazard in more ways than one. They continue catching marine life even after they are lost, abandoned, or otherwise discarded and as they degrade into smaller and smaller pieces they enter the food chain. The Norwegian Centre against Marine Litter recently hosted an international conference that highlighted the urgency of the situation and the need to find durable solutions. Read more on page 12.

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Aquaculture feed producers are looking for ways to further reduce the fishmeal and fish oil content of the products they manufacture for farmed fish and crustaceans that are fed with protein-rich feeds. If the sector is to reach its production target for 2025 the current rates of inclusion of fish-based ingredients in feeds must fall. Because of this, different sources of protein and fats both animal and vegetal are being studied for their suitability as substitutes for fishmeal and fish oil. The range of alternatives is wide and covers meat, bone, and poultry meal, waste from fish processing operations, plants, algae, fungi, grasses, insects, and even microbial biomass. Bacteria, yeasts, and microalgae show a lot of promise, but the volumes produced are far from allowing them to become a serious alternative to fishmeal and fish oil. Insects have several advantages and meal made from insect larvae has been successfully tested on certain species.

Here too current volumes are relatively small though they are likely to increase in the future. Tests on different plants have revealed some that show a lot of potential and that have the added advantage of being abundant. Microalgae are already used on a regular basis in hatcheries where they are fed to the fish larvae or to the live feed that the larvae prey on. Read Dr Manfred Klinkhardt’s article on page 44.

The deep-water rose shrimp is a commercially important species in the Mediterranean, where it is fished

by Italian, Tunisian, and Maltese vessels in the Strait of Sicily, the strip of water between Sicily and North Africa. Its value, the lack of a strategic management plan combined with holes in the knowledge of the geographical distribution of stocks as well as of the spawning and nursery areas in the Mediterranean suggest a vulnerability to overfishing. The species is particularly sensitive to temperature so warmer water in the Mediterranean could also be a threat. Fishing is mainly with bottom trawls and the species is both a target of dedicated fisheries and is caught as a valuable by catch. It is brought ashore either fresh or frozen on board deep sea trawlers that are out at sea for three and four weeks at a time. Read more on page 52.

EUROFISH Magazine 3 / 2022

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Table of News 6 International News

Events 12 A conference challenges marine litter Our oceans are in jeopardy from plastic pollution

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16 Seafood Expo Global and Seafood Processing reopen in Barcelona Putting the sea into Seafood Expo Global

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Spain 22 Promising new species being considered for commercial production on the Canary Islands Exciting times for aquaculture on the Canaries 24 Aquaculture production on the Canary Islands Seabass and seabream the mainstay of Canary fish farming 26 The Spanish Bank of Algae conserves biodiversity while putting algae to new uses Biotechnological applications for algae

PT ES

29 Algalimento focuses on the sustainable production of microalgae Massive expansion in culture surface 31 Frioluz Coldstore attracts companies with markets on different continents to the Canary Islands Serving customers from all over the world 33 The Islandap project generates knowledge in a huge number of fields Sharing results for better outcomes 36 Nueva Pescanova reaches a turning point with octopus cultivation Commercially farmed octopuses closer to becoming reality

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Hungary 39 Biharugra Fish Farm combines environmental with economic sustainability A model for pond fish farmers everywhere 41 Climate change comes with risks and opportunities for Hungarian pond aquaculture Warmer water is likely to boost fish appetites 42 Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences updates its masters programme in fisheries Education and talent management of the next generation

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Cover photo credits: Main: Dr Lidia Robaina Robaina, Islandap, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Hungary: Aranyponty Insect: Tebrio

Contents Aquaculture

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44 Sustainable, affordable and ethically acceptable New protein sources for aquaculture feed

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48 PIT tagging of fish benefits aquaculture breeding programmes among other applications Tracking and tracing individual specimens

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DK RU

49 Insects hold the key to the expansion of the aquaculture industry A sustainable source of highly nutritious protein

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(CC BY-SA 3.0) Map based on https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Location_European_nation_states.svg

by Hayden120 and NuclearVacuum

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51 FIAP’s profinet ALU, the aluminium fish landing net for commercial and recreational use Simple yet sturdy nets for fish famers and anglers

Species 52 Pink shrimp, or deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) Sought-after crustaceans from the deep waters of the Mediterranean

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FYROM AL EL

Technology 55 Cretel celebrates 50 years Half a century of yield and performance

Guest Pages: Javier Ojeda González-Posada 56 APROMAR’s research division seeks innovative solutions to challenges facing industry Ensuring the competitiveness of Spanish aquaculture

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Service

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Worldwide Fish News

58 Diary Dates 58 Imprint, List of Advertisers

Denmark

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6, 7, 10

Estonia

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EU

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Iceland

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Norway

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Spain

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Sweden

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Turkey

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11 10, 11 8 7, 8, 10

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Spain: Aquaculture organisations join forces The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) are joining forces to improve the aquaculture sector in Europe, which employs about 70 000 people across the continent according to the EU. At the Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona the organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding pledging to work together towards their shared vision of a responsible aquaculture sector providing the solution to growing food demand and to ensure aquaculture is better recognised at a political level. The collaboration comes at a time of growing recognition and importance of sustainable food systems. These issues are being looked at by the EU, and both ASC and FEAP have built up valuable knowledge and experience over many years that can help with these developments. FEAP members will

also benefit from greater access to ASC’s guidance on improving farm practices, which always bring economic as well as environmental benefits.

Aquaculture’s importance to Europe cannot be overstated: homegrown seafood like salmon, shellfish and seabass are vital to economies across the continent and provide food security.

A more effective, and better represented industry is better for all Europeans, Chris Ninnes, ASC CEO, said. From its inception the ASC programme has been about collaboration between diverse stakeholders and knowing how effective this can be at driving change across the industry. FEAP’s President Lara Barazi-Geroulanou pointed out that European aquaculture was a frontrunner on environmental and social sustainability, but is a small player in the market. The

By joining forces the two organisations will improve the aquaculture sector in Europe and ensure better representation at a political level.

European Union’s legal framework needs clear and sound technical screening criteria for sustainable aquaculture, she said.

Our working experience as fish farmers together with the expertise of the ASC on responsible aquaculture standards will assure valuable results, she added.

The collaboration will be driven by a steering group co-chaired by Chris Ninnes and Javier Ojeda (FEAP’s General Secretary), which will identify opportunities and manage projects in line with the organisations’ shared objectives.

New teaching materials in Denmark focus on sustainable proteins from the sea The world’s population is expected to increase to 10 billion by the year 2050 and all these people need food - and not just any food, but good and nutritious food. A shift towards more ‘blue proteins’ in the form of food from the sea, reduces competition for both arable land and fresh water.

Therefore, to solve the food crisis that a growing population will create, it is vital to source more protein from the sea. Danish Pelagic Producer Organization (DFPO) and the Fisheries and Maritime Museum, in collaboration with Marine Ingredients Denmark, Dansk Akvakultur, the WSP consultancy firm and Hedeselskabet, have with support from the EMFF, developed new teaching materials for schools that

focuses on future proteins from the sea and on the marine food industry’s ability to feed a growing population.

When most people consider blue proteins and food from the sea, they usually think of fish.

Fish is a great resource, but we can hardly get much more out of wild fish stocks in the sea, so we have to consider other alternatives. The sea offers many other raw materials like oysters, mussels and seaweed, which are high in protein. And maybe animals not thought about could potentially provide a meal. Denmark is the country in the Nordic region that eats the least seafood. We import almost all the fish we eat, while at the same time exporting

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Teaching materials for to let students know about the need for and potential of blue proteins can be found at madfrahavet.dk.

tonnes of fish and mussels that we fish and farm. So the sea stores lots of protein-rich and climate-friendly foods—we just need to get better at eating them.

Esben Sverdrup-Jensen, CEO of the Danish Pelagic Producer

Organization, said, we want to give children and young people a solid background knowledge so that they have a better understanding of modern fishing and what food potential the sea holds.

[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Sustainable fishing in the Northeast Arctic strengthened by EU and Norway agreement Norway and the EU have reached a political agreement on fisheries in the Northeast Arctic, which includes the waters around the archipelago of Svalbard and the Barents Sea, that ensures sustainable fishing in the region, while also providing certainty for EU fleets fishing there.

Virginijus Sinkeviþius, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, said that the understanding with Norway reflects the joint commitment to sustainable fishing and highlights what can be achieved when addressing matters of common interest.

The fisheries covered include catches of cod, redfish, haddock,

and Greenland halibut. The EU and Norway will in this case engage in consultations regarding such measures, and the measures will be set in a coordinated manner. In addition to strengthening their commitment to sustainable management of marine living resources in the Northeast Arctic, the understanding also allows EU fleets fishing for cod in the waters around the archipelago of Svalbard to continue fishing in line with their historic fishing rights.

The understanding also allowed the EU today to set a definitive total allowable catch (TAC) figure of 19 636 tonnes for Arctic cod in an amendment of the Fishing

In addition to ensuring a sustainable region, the arrangement also secures EU fishing rights for cod around Svalbard.

Opportunities Regulation for 2022, replacing the provisional TAC of 4

500 tonnes, which expired at the end of April.

Denmark: Fishmeal producers deliver valuable ingredients from offcuts and pelagics Fishmeal and fish oil constitute an important feed ingredient for the aquaculture and agriculture sectors. Fishmeal is typically included as a key ingredient for aquaculture farming, but is also used in feed for pig, chicken and pet food production. Fish oil is primarily used as a feed ingredient for fish farming and for human nutrition. Fishmeal and oil are produced primarily from pelagic fish that live in large schools and are not used for direct human consumption. In Europe, it is typically the fish species capelin, sandeel, blue whiting, and sprat as well as offcuts and residues from the processing industry that are used in its production. Fisheries are regulated by quotas based on biological recommendations from ICES and subsequently adopted politically. This is essential for the conservation of marine biological ecosystems. Continuous quality control at factories ensures fresh raw materials and

traceable products that comply with quality requirements and safety standards throughout the distribution chain.

Anne Mette Bæk, director of European Fishmeal and Fish Oil Producers, the European industry’s association explains that fishmeal and oil are valuable feed ingredients due to their high content of essential amino acids, minerals, phosphorus lipids, and omega-3 fatty acids. The longchain omega-3 fatty acids are key components of the cell membrane and play an important role for both animal and humas in ensuring optimal growth, physical health and good reproductive abilities. Despite the many health effects, it is not always easy to be a fishmeal producer. “In addition to the current energy prices— which obviously affect us all—the industry is subject to a web of traceability requirements, various sustainability certifications and a

Offcuts are ideal to use in the production of fishmeal and oil and can provide a good source of omega-3 fatty acids that are vital in feed production.

comprehensive regulatory framework from both the EU and individual countries that do not always harmonise. The challenges are many, but they are common, and that is why it is so important that we as an industry work together on the solutions,” she said.

At the European level, there is an increasing focus on optimizing the utilization of these raw materials, which provides value for consumers by being included

as an ingredient in, for example, salmon feed. There are no omega-3 fatty acids in the salmon if it does not get it through the feed. Not only are omega-3 fatty acids essential for salmon health, they also have a wide range of health effects for humans who, like salmon, can only get omega3s through food. In that way, the fish offcuts and the hard-to-sell industrial fish ends up on the plate anyway and benefits the consumer.

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Turkish fishermen fear mines in the Black Sea In Rumelifeneri, a village set on the rocks of the Bosphorus in northern Istanbul a drifting mine from the Black Sea was discovered. A second and third mine were found subsequently in the Turkish part of the Black Sea, which most likely originate from Ukraine where Russia launched an invasion in February. Many fishermen now fear the worst, as hitting a mine would be life threatening. Turkish authorities

also fear an accident and believe the mines have been set adrift from the Ukrainian coast during storms. As a reaction officials have banned fishing at night where the mines are more difficult to spot. The price of diesel reaching extreme heights has also scared many fishermen who have decided to end the fishing season ahead of time. The future of the fishermen in this region is laced with many uncertainties.

Børge Grønbech has been appointed new CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) and replaces Renate Larsen, who resigned from the position earlier in the year. Børge Grønbech has been employed by NSC since 1998, and has been NSC’s director of global operations since May 2018. His previous positions with the council include marketing director at the head office and fisheries envoy in Boston, U.S.A. The Norwegian Seafood Council works together with the Norwegian fisheries and aquaculture industry to develop

markets for Norwegian seafood.

NSC is a public company owned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries appoints the board of directors for NSC for a two year period.

The Norwegian seafood industry finances the activities of the Council through fees levied on all exports of Norwegian seafood.

The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) aims to increase the value of Norwegian seafood resources through market insights, market development, market risk management and reputational

Iceland: More than an exhibition The thirteenth Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition which will be held from 8-10 June this year is going to be much more than just an exhibition. Although the event usually takes place every third year since its inception in 1984, it has been postponed due to the COVID-19 situation. Luckily things are looking better and people can meet in person again. The wait has allowed the organisers to plan a proper welcome back programme for supplier and buyers with the 4th Fishwaste for Profit conference,

the 8th Icelandic Fisheries Awards, and matchmaking meetings all taking place during the three days.

In addition, the second virtual IcefishConnect will run in tandem with the in-person exhibition increasing the attendees’ reach far beyond the exhibition halls.

The Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition is a leading event for anyone interested in the latest technology, equipment and developments in the fishing, processing, seafood, and byproducts industry. For more information visit icefish.is

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Norwegian Seafood Council

Norwegian Seafood Council appoints new CEO

Børge Grønbech, who has been working in the Norwegian Seafood Council since 1998 has been appointed the new CEO following Renate Larsen’s resignation earlier this year.

risk management in select markets around the world. Norway’s seafood industry exported a record NOK 34 billion (EUR 3.5 billion) worth of fisheries and

aquaculture products to overseas markets in the first quarter of 2022. Compared with Q1 2021, the increase in value was 22 percent or NOK 6.2 billion.

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[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Norway: Are salmon less pink?

The colour of salmon fillets is one of the most important quality criteria and paler salmon are downgraded, resulting in financial losses for fish farmers. A new research project by Nofima is looking to establish whether farmed salmon fillets have become paler during the past ten years.

It is widely believed that the colour of Norwegian salmon fillets has deteriorated over the last decade. However, while levels of the pigment astaxanthin in fillets has dropped, astaxanthin levels in salmon feed have increased during the sea growth phase.

Trine Ytrestøy a senior researcher at Nofima, says that if the main reasons for poor pigmentation in commercially produced salmon can be found, the industry could work on production improvements in a more targeted manner. There is not much documentation available about the extent and prevalence of poor pigmentation—either geographically or temporally.

This is why Nofima is launching the “Knowledge Mapping Pigmentation” project, which will continue until 2024 and is being funded by the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund.

Nofima wants to find out if salmon fillets have become less pink despite a higher level og the astaxathin pigment in salmon feed.

Danish feed producer, BioMar grew its Q1 year-on-year volume sales by 8 and reported a revenue increase of 34. But while sales are growing, challenges with raw material prices, cost of energy, and the decision to suspend trade with Russia affect the bottom line, where earnings were significant impacted and the extra costs have not yet been passed on to the customers.

Following the invasion of Ukraine, BioMar left the Russian market both in terms of sales to Russia and in terms of sourcing of raw materials. “We took a tough decision following

our values when we suspended trading with Russia. Our sale in Russia has for years been a very important part of our business, especially for the BioMar units in Denmark and Norway. At the same time, we have sourced some of our key raw materials in the area now affected by the conflict. However, our customers must be able to rely on us as a business partner with high ethical standards”, stated Carlos Diaz CEO BioMar Group. The decision to suspend trade with Russia has impacted sales of finished goods as well as purchase prices for raw materials, as suppliers needs to be substituted. At the beginning

Biomar

The conflict in Ukraine affects Danish feed supplies and markets

Key ingredients for the feed industry were previously sourced from the areas now affected by the conflict which affect devlivery security and costs.

of the year, EBITDA was expected in the DKK 980 -1,040 million range. The international sanctions have increased the risk pertaining to receivables and other

EU support for the industry to relieve the crisis The European Commission has proposed a legislative amendment to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2014-2020 which would allow for additional crisis measures to support the EU fishery and aquaculture sectors in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It comprises financial

compensation for increased costs, missed income, and storage of products, as well as for the temporary cessation of fishing activities where they are currently unsafe. This is a legislative proposal which needs to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council before it can take effect.

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assets held in Russia. Against this background, BioMar now expects to generate full-year 2022 EBITDA in the DKK 890- 940 million range.

[ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ] Report on the decline of cod in the Baltic Sea and its recovery The Eastern Baltic cod population used to be one of the largest. Now, decades of overexploitation combined with eutrophication and habitat degradation have led to a dramatic decline in Baltic cod stocks. But, according to a new report, The Decline of Cod in the Baltic Sea, published by the Fisheries Secretariat, it is not too late for the species to recover. If decisive action is taken to protect the fish themselves, as well as the ecosystem around them, it may yet thrive again.

The analysis provides a comprehensive review of published literature and reports on cod biology and environmental factors, as well as an overview of fisheries management, and relevant policy. The report gives a detailed overview of the factors influencing the decline of Baltic cod which are driven by setting TAC above scientific advice in combination with different environmental factors. The report also highlights the key gaps in the

implementation of essential policy elements like Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management and preferential access for low impact fisheries. A set of nine recommendation on fisheries management, sustainable improvements to fishing practices, as well as advances in environmental protection are also presented and if implemented with urgency, these actions will place Baltic cod on the road to recovery, allowing populations to increase again and form the basis of stable, sustainable fisheries in the future. The report can be downloaded from fishsec.org

The recent report analyses the reasons for the collaps of the Baltic cod stock and provides recommendations for recovering the stock.

production followed by France, Croatia and Portugal. From 2015 to 2019 EU production of meagre increased over 300  due to strengthened aquaculture production. The new

EUMOFA Case study on Meagre in the EU with a special focus on Greece, Italy and Spain has been published and is available on the eumofa.eu website.

Publication: Meagre in EU Over 55 thousand tonnes of meagre were produced globally in 2019 of which 68 was farmed. Egypt is the top producer with almost 50 of the global production(26 355

tonnes). The EU-27 is the second biggest producer with a production of over 10 thousand tonnes. Spain and Greece are the biggest EU producers accounting for 76 of EU

Estonia opens fishing ports to the public Fishing ports along the sea and at selected freshwater sites in Estonia arranged an open day, where the public was invited to see and participate in the daily life. The ports will host a range of events and attractions to the public.

The open day is the fourth of its kind to be organised in Estonia with support from the Ministry of Rural Affairs and 24 fishing ports along the coast as well as freshwater ports, for instance on lake Peipsi, participated.

Visitors were able to purchase fresh fish and related products, while experts like craftspeople and chefs showed off their talents.

The main event was opened at the popular harbor of Võsu, Lääne-Viru County where Minister of Rural Affairs, Urmas Kruuse, commented that the UN had declared this year the International Year of Artisanal

Fisheries and Aquaculture making it wholly appropriate to pay attention to the daily activities of those people engaged in traditional coastal fishing, through which fresh fish reaches our table. The open day at the fishing ports provides a great opportunity for this, he said. In addition to the minister, a famous chef, Vladislav Koržets, and a legendary rock band, Singer Vinger made an appearance.

The fourth annual open port day in Estonia gave the public a chance to see life in and around their local ports.

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[ EVENTS ] A conference challenges marine litter

Our oceans are in jeopardy from plastic pollution cleanatlantic.eu

Marine litter has become one of the world’s most serious environmental dangers, threatening everything from fish to whales. And marine litter threatens human life as well.

Disposable plastic bottles take about 450 years to fully decompose. The problem of plastic waste will occupy our great grandchildren and their grandchildren.

D

ebris in the oceans—as well as in lakes and rivers— can be ingested by aquatic organisms—many of which may be commercially important species. The debris breaks down into micro- and nanoplastics, spoils recreational and cultural experiences, and strangles and kills aquatic life. For example, according to UNESCO, plastic in the ocean kills more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000 marine mammals, including seals, sea lions, and manatees. Sea turtles

are also affected. Animals often mistake plastic for food and end up starving to death with stomachs full of plastic.

To combat this problem, the world must focus on the prevention, monitoring, and reduction of marine litter, as well as gathering and sharing knowledge. But most important, perhaps, is that the increasing awareness and changing attitudes of all stakeholders must eventually lead to a serious reconsideration of the

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production of plastic and who is responsible for its entire life cycle.

The Lighthouse Lofoten conference

guiding light to those who want to prevent sea-based marine litter and to create a solution-focused community working towards a plastic-free ocean.

The international conference Lighthouse Lofoten was held in Svolvær, Lofoten, 5–6 April, to increase awareness and knowledge of the problem, across the world as well as in the Nordic countries. Hosted by the Norwegian Centre against Marine Litter, the conference aimed to be a

Marine litter is any manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment, and most of it is plastic—as much as 80, according to various estimates. It turns up on beaches, on the seabed, in sediments, in the water column,

[ EVENTS ] Manfred Klinkhardt

and floating on the sea surface. It includes bottles, bags, food packaging, lids, straws, cigarette filters, agricultural plastics, industrial pellets, cosmetic microbeads, and especially fishing and aquaculture gear, which is the most prevalent form of marine litter.

Millions and millions of tonnes annually According to some estimates, 8 to 14 million tonnes of plastic are thrown into our oceans every year.

Fifty-one billion pieces of plastic are floating in our oceans—500 times the number of stars in our galaxy. By 2050, there may be more pieces of plastic in the sea than fish. Estimating the amount of marine litter, however, is mostly guesswork based on findings from existing databases, stakeholder consultations, beach-litter assessments, and the experience of such organisations as OSPAR, Marine LitterWatch, and HELCOM. The amount observed floating in the open ocean represents only a fraction of the total. More than two-thirds of plastic litter ends up on the seabed. Half of the remainder washes up on beaches, and the other half is floating on or under the surface, so counting only floating plastic debris seriously underestimates the amount of plastic in the oceans.

The persistence of plastic Plastic pollution in the ocean is not going away by itself. Plastics of all kinds degrade primarily through solar UV-radiation-induced photo-oxidation reactions, and as plastic sinks out of the reach of the sun, degradation slows considerably. Crucially though, even as larger plastic items degrade, they break down into micro- and nanoplastics

Lost or carelessly left behind: Plastic waste pollutes our beaches worldwide, leads to high cleaning costs and is a huge environmental problem.

that find their way into our food chain, drinking water, and even the air. It’s impossible to say how long different types of plastic persist in the ocean, but the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that it takes 450 years for plastic to decompose in the ocean.

Fisheries and aquaculture must bear the greatest responsibility for the tonnes of plastic in the ocean. Recent studies suggest that fishing and aquacultural gear can make up 46 to 70 of the macro plastic in the ocean gyres by weight. The Nordic region has more plastic from fisheries and aquaculture than anywhere else in the world.

Ghost gear—fishing for 450 years Ghost gear is the common name for lost or discarded fishing gear. Because it is purposely designed to capture aquatic life, ghost gear is the most harmful

form of marine debris because it “continues to fish”. According to one source, more than 640,000 tonnes of nets, lines, pots, and traps used in commercial fishing are dumped and discarded in the sea every year. In addition to the harm it does to aquatic life, it can also damage fishing vessels and equipment such as propellers.

Plastic can block water intake systems, and it can end up in other fishers’ gear.

In his conference presentation, Joel Baziuk, associate director of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI), listed some causes of ghost gear: intentional discard, which is often linked with illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; adverse weather conditions or strong currents; marine traffic unintentionally running over deployed gear; spatial pressures leading to gear conflict; tracking system malfunction; snagging on submerged features; improper gear design; neglected upkeep; and improper fishing methods.

According to Baziuk, between 5 and 30 of global harvestable fish stocks (depending on the fishery and geography) are killed by ghost gear annually, which is a major threat to global food security and the livelihoods of fishers and coastal communities.

Aquaculture is a culprit too Although aquaculture currently supplies more than half of the world’s seafood, the scale of plastic pollution from aquaculture facilities does not yet equal that from other sectors. Identifying litter caused by aquaculture is difficult because it is often misidentified and under-quantified in beach-litter analyses owing to difficulties in identifying its source and a lack of detailed categorisation in official monitoring systems.

Traditionally, marine litter from aquaculture and capture fisheries has been considered together,

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[ EVENTS ] cleanatlantic.eu/CETMAR

but because the causes are different, it is better to consider the two sources separately. Joel Baziuk explained that pathways for litter from aquaculture include: loss through routine farming operations; extreme weather; deliberate discharge; inadequate recycling; farm decommissioning; lack of awareness and training; and site mismanagement including inadequate waste management, poor siting, improper installation, and deficient maintenance.

All shapes and sizes Joel Baziuk noted three kinds of debris. Large debris includes sections of aquaculture equipment, such as cage collars, rafts, boats, tanks, piping, buoys, nets, and ropes. Smaller litter includes feed sacks, discarded gloves and clothing, food and drink containers, plastic bags, feeding trays, containers, and fish boxes. Finally, there is miscellaneous material originating from wear and tear on equipment.

There are few figures on the amount of plastic contributed by aquaculture. The only detailed calculation of plastic use and decommissioning rates comes from Norway. A consultation between manufacturers and waste management companies in 2011 estimated that approximately 13,300 tonnes of plastic waste were generated by Norwegian aquaculture, of which 21 was recycled, mainly the nets. MOWI, one of Europe’s largest salmon farmers, recycled 303 tonnes of nets in 2018.

Another source of plastic pollution, which is most often missed in the recording, is cuttings from nets. Fishers trim and repair their nets both on board and in port, and the cuttings often end up in the ocean. According to Ryan

Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) in marine areas. In the sea such gear is a severe threat to marine life as it continues to trap and kill.

d’Arcy Metcalfe, national coordinator and international liaison for KIMO Denmark, many people are working on fishery-related waste, but very few concentrate on net cuttings. He said that it is necessary to change attitudes of both individual crew members and port managers. But of special importance is the need for harbours to include net cuttings in their waste management systems, which most harbours neglect to do now.

Circular economy—The Big Idea Frode Syversen, managing director of Mepex, is convinced that a circular economy is the most promising strategy to prevent marine littering, globally and in Norway. He says that, to avoid marine littering, we must organise and finance new value chains for plastic. We must shift from a linear economy, which is based on the principle of “take–make– dispose”, to a circular economy, which embraces closed loops that value all resources used. We must abandon our disposable culture. Circular economy keeps

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products, packaging, and thereby, resources in circulation for as long as possible.

First, a circular economy designs out economic activities that negatively affect our planet, including the release of greenhouse gases, all types of pollution, and traffic congestion. Second, it designs products for durability, reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling to keep materials circulating for as long as possible. Third, a circular economy avoids the use of fossil fuels and non-renewable energy.

Products are designed and handled to regenerate ecosystems instead of destroying them.

Frode Syversen feels something is missing from the national Norwegian strategy. “In the past 30 years, we have developed policies for waste reduction, reuse, and material recycling. But we have not been able to break the connection between consumption and the generation of waste.

We still have a long way to go to reach the targets set by the Zero Pollution Action Plan that aims to reduce plastic litter 50 and microplastics 30 by 2030”.

According to Syversen, the potential for circularity is decided mostly in the design phase. It entails choosing construction materials that lend themselves to reuse, designing for maximum future functionality, and anticipating what can be repaired, used as spare parts, and recycled.

To eliminate littering by fisheries and aquaculture facilities, he advocates product regulation and extended producer responsibility (EPR) that will assign the obligation for the life cycle of their products to the producers. Port reception facilities should focus on take-back systems and collection facilities that separate materials.

He advises that strong economic incentives are necessary. Product design should prevent littering and microplastic emission, which will require new kinds of cooperation in the value chain.

Behavioural interventions for reducing marine litter Sohvi Nuojua, who teaches psychology at the University of Oulu, Finland, and is a researcher in

Manfred Klinkhardt

[ EVENTS ]

In some countries environmental awareness is not very developed. Waste is simply disposed of in the countryside and carried away with the next flood.

Environmental Psychology at the University of Plymouth, reviewed behavioural interventions aimed at reducing marine litter and plastic pollution. Fishers are certainly aware of marine litter. After all, they are the ones losing costly gear. Many are aware of the serious consequences to the environment, but also of the public’s possibly negative perception of fishing based on fishers’ role in contributing to plastic pollution.

Awareness-raising and spreading information only work if the context allows. Studies show that desirable values and practices are hampered by the lack of infrastructure, institutional support, and appropriate practical arrangements in harbours.

because it just disappeared. It was ‘out of sight, out of mind’.” Now, even as a younger generation of fishers becomes more aware, they say that sorting waste on board and in the harbour is problematic.

Limited space on board is one issue; however, the main reason that fishers forego sorting is the inadequate facilities in harbours and at fish landings to receive sorted waste. For example, many harbours do not offer services for collecting discharged fishing gear. Fishers claim that the cost of adequately disposing of marine litter, in addition to the time and effort it takes to collect it, disincentivises them from collecting or retrieving it (as in Fishing for Litter schemes).

Bjørn Vidar Vangelsten of the Nordland Marine Institute agreed with Sohvi Nuojua that, as one fisher explained it, “Ten years ago, [dumping refuse] was common,

Knowledge is power to combat litter Knowledge is the key to understanding the many ways that

plastics end up in the ocean, and what we can do to prevent it. Naturally, knowledge must pass through all participants in the seafood value chains (fisheries and aquaculture), including equipment designers and manufacturers; fishery, aquaculture, environmental protection, and waste management agencies; harbour and port operators; environmental researchers; nongovernmental organisations; producer associations; sector managers and regulators; and ecolabel and certification programmes.

Databases that store and share information about all aspects of marine litter are essential to the implementation of effective and targeted measures against litter.

Many of the organisations represented at the conference have developed complex and growing databases that cover different aspects of marine litter. They include Nordic Coastal Cleanup,

Norwegian Centre against Marine Litter (Rent Hav), Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI), KIMO Denmark, and the CleanAtlantic Project.

Beyond just picking up trash More focused scientific research is needed, but even without it, it is clear that marine litter is a problem that can’t be ignored. Plastic production and consumption will continue to increase. Achieving even already-established objectives for reducing marine litter remains a huge challenge, which is unlikely to be met without a fundamental reconsideration of the ways we consume plastic.

Action is needed by all stakeholders to end the waves of plastics and toxic chemicals that are surging into the marine environment.

—William Anthony

EUROFISH .BHB[JOF

[ EVENTS ] Seafood Expo Global and Seafood Processing Global reopen in Barcelona

Putting the sea into Seafood Expo Global Seafood Expo Global, the world’s biggest and most international seafood show, opened its doors in April for the first time in two years. surging. Of course, sky high prices for raw materials and energy had an impact on sentiments, but it seemed to be somewhat muffled.

Diversified Communications, the event organiser, estimates that more than 26,630 seafood buyers and suppliers from all around the globe attended the event. Companies exhibiting hailed from 76 countries and numbered well over 1,500—despite the absence of the Chinese and Russian pavilions—pushing the event to within a hairbreadth of the largest edition ever. Seafood firms apparently spent the last couple of years focused on innovation developing products that reflected concerns about health, sustainability, and climate change as well as ease of preparation and taste. An ambitious conference programme complemented the show with presentations analysing the threats facing the seafood

Diversified Communications

T

he pandemic that had completely disrupted the staging of events since 2020 was in retreat and the fair was inaugurating its arrival in Barcelona after over a couple of decades of being organised in Brussels. As usual the show brought together both parts of the industry with Seafood Expo Global focused on seafood products and Seafood Processing Global on processing and other machinery used by the industry. The end of a two-year-long embargo on in-person contact in a sector that thrives on personal relationships and physical meetings created a buoyant atmosphere in Barcelona. Bright sun and warm weather contributed in no small measure too. Although companies have been rocked by the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine, many of them reported that demand for their products was high and that prices were

Seafood Expo Global’s inaugural show in Barcelona signalled a return to normality after two years of corona-enforced isolation.

industry as well as interventions on sustainability, climate change, the maritime ecosystem and aquaculture. Unfortunately, entry was free to only selected talks.

All in all, the event was well organised with good communication from the organiser about practical arrangements. The

venue is conveniently located, well designed, and with effective ventilation, and Barcelona is an attractive city on the sea that is the life spring of this industry.

Next year’s edition of Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global will take place in Barcelona, Spain, 25 – 27 April 2023 at Fira Barcelona Gran Via.

Agromey, Turkey

Pandemic boosted demand for healthful products

T

he aquaculture industry in Turkey specialises in the marine species seabass, seabream, and meagre, and, more recently, Black Sea salmon. Among the major producers of seabass and seabream is Agromey, a vertically company with its own hatchery, grow-out cages, fish feed production,

fish processing, and packaging. The companies facilities are certified to all the standards needed for it to export to EU and the US including IFS, BRC, FDA, Global G.A.P., and ASC. At Seafood Expo Global, Agromey was part of the large Turkish pavilion, where companies were delighted to be able again to meet face to face

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Tolga Uruk, Marketing and Sales Coordinator, Agromey

[ EVENTS ] with their customers. Tolga Uruk, the marketing and sales coordinator at Agromey, says the pandemic had been good for sales of seabass and seabream. While in 2018 and 2019 business had been a bit slower (though stable), it picked up again in 2020 especially in terms of exports.

Within Turkey fish consumption is low on average so the domestic market is not very interesting, he says, but in Europe, the US and the Middle East the company saw strong sales in 2020. This demand has continued, he says, to the point where we cannot

supply all the fish that our customers want as we do not have the capacity.

Agromey’s production has remained stable at 24,000 tonnes the last four years but is forecast to increase to 27,000 next year and to exceed 30,000 the year after, says Mr Uruk.

Demand is pushing prices to higher levels than they were two or three years ago. He associates the spike in demand with a desire among consumers to eat healthful foods such as fish at a time when the pandemic was raging through countries. Fish

prices have also been influenced by price hikes for important inputs such as feed and energy. Agromey has had to respond to these trends by increasing its own prices. Demand does not seem to have been affected, however; at the seafood show, Mr Uruk experienced buyers asking for fish without even mentioning the price.

Although demand for fresh fish is usually higher, the pandemic boosted demand for frozen fish too. International developments have had their impact on the company both positive and negative. Brexit, for example, has

led to product being shipped directly to the UK rather than via Europe, so that customs clearance is performed in the UK. Exports to Russia and Ukraine have taken a hit with the outbreak of hostilities. Exports to Ukraine stopped altogether while those to Russian fell by four fifths.

But we are very happy to be back meeting in person at Seafood Expo Global, say Mr Uruk. No doubt the demand for Agromey’s fish that he experienced at the fair has also added to the pleasure of returning to the event.

Aquafacts, Faroe Islands

Collecting and arranging public information

H

anus Samró is the cofounder of Aquafacts, a company that collects and systematises fisheries information. Founded by Mr Samró’s father, Óli Samró, the company has essentially digitalised all the information Mr Samró senior has acquired over a 30-year career. Subscribers to the service can, for example, get an overview of the location of all the pelagic fishing vessels in the North Atlantic in real time. A subscriber can also see the weather conditions where a particular vessel is fishing, the seabed, what species it is targeting, as well as details about the owner, technical details about the vessel, for example, the

kind of engines it has, as well as information about the company, its board of directors, what vessels it owns, and even financial data about the company. The database allows a user to filter first, for example, by country and then further by, say, pelagic vessel.

Information about the vessel includes its owner, quotas, the volumes caught, and the species. The information is available with a few clicks on a computer, but there is also an app which provides the same data on a telephone. Real time information of the kind provided by Aquafacts is very useful for fishers. Knowing whether other vessels are present at the fishing ground, what the weather is like,

what the catch volume is can help a skipper determine whether, when, and where he should go fishing. Vessel owners can use this information to keep track of their competitors to see what they are doing, and how much they are catching. Other information, such as information about fish prices can be added if there is demand for it, says Mr Samró, but so far none of the users have asked for price information. Today the system already tracks close to 800 big commercial fishing vessels in 25 countries in Europe, South America, North America, and Africa. Northern European data on catches and quotas is better than in some other parts of the world, but

Hanus Samró, Co-founder and Sales Director, Aquafacts

the ability to see vessels position is the same regardless of where the vessel’s home port is. This is because vessels are obliged to transmit their location and this information is what Aquafacts feeds into its database.

Envases, Denmark

Metal packaging for the food industry

A

luminium may require a lot of energy to produce, but it lasts forever because it can be reused multiple times, says Pernille Moulvad, Head of Marketing Europe, at Envases, a company that specialises in metal packaging.

Aluminium does not deteriorate as it is reused—it becomes a virgin material each time it is recycled.

The company makes the packaging material using the raw material from its suppliers. Whether the supplier uses recycled aluminium or not is its decision, the only criteria is that the raw material meets Envases’ specifications. In general, some 85% of aluminium is reused thanks to the lack of deterioration. Steel is another commonly-used material used by the

canning industry. Steel is heavier, but canning is a conservative business, says Ms Moulvad, and in some cultures manufacturers of canned products prefer steel cans. Steel is also more robust than aluminium, so in countries where cans may be subject to rough handling or roads are bad it would make sense to use a more solid can. On the other hand, although the

Pernille Moulvad, Head of Marketing Europe, Envases

EUROFISH .BHB[JOF

[ EVENTS ] steel is coated to prevent rusting, any damage or dents that the can suffers may pierce the coating leaving the steel exposed and more vulnerable to rust. Aluminium does not rust, so manufacturers have to weigh the pros and cons of both metals before taking a decision. Whatever the metal used

for the can, there is no denying that metal packaging is one of the safest ways to securely store food for long periods. Food waste, Ms Moulvad points out, is non-existent when it is packaged in metal. Within the food industry Envases produces cans for fish and seafood, of course, but

also for meat products, fats and oils, cookies and biscuits, infant formula, and vegetables. The general increase in prices has affected the company which has had to cope with more expensive steel and aluminium, but for the fish product manufacturers who fill the cans the situation is

perhaps even worse as they use several raw materials and the price of everything has increased. On the other hand, demand has risen as well, and Ms Moulvad also experiences this with demand for metal packaging.

We have no underutilised capacity at the moment, she says.

SmartFarm, Norway

Mussel cultivation system for industrial production

S

martFarm has developed a complete system for farming mussels. A net is suspended vertically in the water column between a buoyant floating tube to which it is attached and weights at the bottom of the net. The type of net, its diameter and mesh size depend on the species being grown.

Mussel spat settles naturally on the net and can be grown either to market size or only up to the nursery stage. The system is moored in place

and can be deployed in sites of different kinds: sheltered or exposed, in water that freezes in winter or where waves of up to 7 m are common. It can even withstand currents of up to 4 knots, says Bjørn Aspøy, the founder of the company. The system is built to stay in the sea around the year and has an estimated life span of 25 years. In addition to the floating unit and the mooring equipment is the harvesting machine which takes care of all the harvesting work under

water. It cleans the nets of predators such as starfish, it can thin out the growth if the density is too high, it can remove the fouling from the net and it can also harvest the mussels.

The main benefits of the system are that the nets can be laid offshore on exposed sites and that the harvesting capacity is very big, up to 30 tonnes an hour, says Mr Aspøy, with one person working the machine.

So, running costs are low, but the initial investment is high, because

the farmer needs a proper boat to handle the machine and all the mussels that it harvests, and then there is the price of the machine and the other components. This means the farmer should be producing at least 500 tonnes of mussels a year, before it becomes worthwhile to make the investment. The system has been on the market for 20 years and has been installed in 16 different countries most of them in Europe, but a few also in Asia and Africa.

Luckyfish, Turkey

Growth continues despite the events of the last two years

T

he war in Ukraine is making things very difficult for us, says Ismail Aksoy, Group CEO of the Luckyfish Mediterranean Seafood Company, a firm that specialises in seabass and seabream products for wholesale, retail, and the food service sector. Transport and raw materials have been getting dearer since 2019 and now the war in Ukraine is adding to the complication of raw material supply. They are among the biggest suppliers of the cereals and oilseeds that we need for our production. Luckyfish is a vertically integrated company that manufactures its own feed for the fish (seabass and seabream) that it grows. The feed is manufactured for the company’s own needs and

is not sold on the market. Despite the increase in costs, improvements in efficiency in the company have helped to offset the some of the increase in prices, for example, the production cycle has been made shorter, says Mr Aksoy, and we are improving our FCR. Production at the company is about 7,000 tonnes of seabass and seabream combined, and the production is destined for retail sales. Part of the production goes into added value products, such as ready-to-cook items, but the bulk is seabass and seabream. Nine tenths of the production is frozen for markets in the EU, UK, and the US. Small volumes of frozen and fresh products are also exported to Russia for distribution through the retail

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chains. Russia is still consuming fish, but exports to Ukraine have been interrupted since the start of the war.

Brexit made transport a little more complex with the introduction of health check points around the UK and the need to get familiar with the system. That meant a couple of tough months after which things settled into a routine. Despite the series of cataclysmic events, Brexit, the pandemic, and now the war, business has been good. People are eating more seafood aware perhaps of the beneficial effects and that has been good for the business. The company is exploring the Chinese market, but the two governments, Turkey’s and China’s, have not yet finalised their discussions. Once an agreement is in

Ismail Aksoy, Group CEO, Luckyfish Mediterranean Seafood Company

place Luckyfish will be quick to move as it has already established contacts with the Chinese retail sector.

[ EVENTS ] Orahovica, Croatia

Value-added carp products from fish reared in a nature reserve

O

ne of the most important producers of freshwater fish in the region, Orahovica is also one of the only processors of this kind of fish in Croatia. We take care of the entire value chain from the pond to the table, says Jakov Beslic Gadzo, the sales manager, offering fish that has been bred in ponds that are part of a nature reserve. This ensures not only that that the surroundings are unaffected by agriculture or industry, but also that the ponds are a magnet for wild flora and fauna and thereby contribute to the biodiversity of the area. The fish is processed into a variety of forms in the processing factory located close to the farm that was inaugurated six years ago in response to the increasing demand for value-added products.

These include fresh or frozen fillets, steaks, and whole fish, but also a range of smoked, battered, and breaded products. With these products the company’s brand, Panona

Mare, is present in different parts of the supermarket from the frozen counters to the fresh chilled section to the ambient product shelves helping to create an impression on the consumer. The company sells its products within the EU to Bulgaria and Romania among other countries and also to Serbia. Requirements are different from the different markets; Serbia and Romania have a preference for big fish while in Slovakia, they like small specimens, says Mr Gadzo. The season also has an influence on the kind of fish that is sought by each market. Fish has been farmed in the Orahovica ponds since the end of the 19th century, it was privatisation some 20 years ago that ushered in a new era of modern and automated fish farming.

The fishponds are linked digitally to a management system that monitors all the farming processes and automatically controls the feed supply to the ponds. As in most carp farms, common carp is Orahovica’s

Jakov Beslic Gadzo, Sales Manager, Orahovica

dominant species, but it is grown in polyculture with grass, bighead, and silver carps, catfish, pike, and pikeperch. These species are traditional

to the region and despite the availability of other species of fish, the culture of consuming freshwater fish has not been diluted.

National Association of Aquaculture and Fish Product Producers, Lithuania

Facing stiff headwinds

T

he pandemic followed by the war in Ukraine have affected many sectors of the Lithuanian economy, most of them negatively. The aquaculture industry is no exception, it has become very difficult for our farms, says Rolandas Morkunas, the director of the National Association of Aquaculture and Fish Products Producers since the end of 2019. His has been a baptism by fire what with the pandemic, Brexit, and now the war in Ukraine.

Price rises, and the difficulty of sourcing important raw materials like sunflower seeds, soya, wheat, and corn are affecting the members

of Mr Morkunas’ association. The price of fish feed in Lithuania has increased between 1.5 and 1.8 times, he says, electricity prices have also risen significantly making certain fish processing operations very expensive. One of the companies in the association saw its monthly electricity bill increase four times.

These increases cannot be passed onto consumers, because consumers cannot afford it and will not accept them. Staples like bread are 20% more expensive, fish is 50% higher.

On the brighter side, chicken, pork, and other meats have also climbed in price, and fish in comparison is

no longer so expensive, which is a positive development, Mr Morkunas feels.

Another unforesee n occurrence is that a hatchery that was selectively breeding carp for desirable traits has been closed, a development that may come to affect the Lithuanian carp farming sector in the future. Selection is critical to producing fish that are disease resistant, rapid growers, and are better at withstanding the effects of climate change, says Mr Morkunas, so the closure of the hatchery has dismayed the sector, and

Rolandas Morkunas, Director, National Association of Aquaculture and Fish Products Producers, Lithuania

EUROFISH .BHB[JOF

[ EVENTS ] me personally because I worked there for two years. The hatchery used to supply broodstock to the industry, so its closure will be felt

throughout the sector. Importing broodstock from other countries is not feasible because the Lithuanian winter is longer and colder and

there is the risk of disease slipping in as well. Mr Morkunas wants to enter into a dialogue with those responsible for the decision to try

and persuade them to reverse it, otherwise the carp farming sector will have yet another issue to address.

Islauzo Zuvis, Lithuania

Carp products seldom taste as good

D

arius Svirskis, the owner of Islauzo Zuvis, was a pioneer in the production of processed freshwater fish in Lithuania, an activity that started 10 years ago. The farm has a relatively modest 500 ha of pond surface, but the yields, he says, are the highest in the country at 2-2.5 tonnes per ha. While common carp is the main fish produced accounting for 65% of the production, it is bred in polyculture with other species.

One of these is European catfish, of which there are about 40 tonnes in the ponds. Each individual weighs between 10 and 18 kg. However, the market is not very familiar with catfish and they are typically

processed into fillets or portions and smoked. The fish feed only on the natural flora and fauna that is present in the pond. In the case of catfish, being a predator, it feeds on other fish. Another fish that grows in the ponds is bighead carp, which accounts for 20% of the production.

Bighead car between five and 20 kg have very good meat, says Mr Zvirskis, but it takes between 4 and ten years to reach this size range. Every year between 200 and 300 tonnes of bighead carp are harvested. The impact of the pandemic on sales was significant, but it also made the company more resilient and forced Mr Svirskis to develop and adopt a new strategy. The angling activity

that the company also offered was discontinued and the staff involved were moved to the processing facility. Today, however, the biggest challenge Mr Zvirskis is facing is the lack of well-trained people to work on the farm, despite offering high salaries. Quality is a vital parameter for the production and with poorly qualified or motivated people the quality starts to suffer.

As a fish biologist by training, Mr Zvirskis could organise the fish production, but fish processing is also an important part of the activities and Mr Zverskis does not have the time to devote to that as well. How this issue can be resolved remains to be seen.

Darius Svirskis, Founder, Islauzo Zuvis

Păstrăvul din Tara Ta, Romania

Vast expansion of trout production planned

P

ăstrăvul din Tara Ta is an association that processes rainbow trout farmed in raceways by its member companies in the mountains of Romania.

While part of the production is regular trout, the other part is of fish called “salmon” because of the pink colour of the flesh. This is thanks to the presence of certain natural pigments in the feed. The association comprises six of the biggest famers

in Romania, who in 2021 had a total output of 800 tonnes. The fish is processed at a processing plant owned by the association, where whole fish and fillets are smoked hot or cold, the fish is marinated, or made into fish pastes of different kinds. Another product is fresh fish which is sold to Romanian retailer chains. All the products are marketed under the brand of the association. Most of the farms

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Bogdan Mihalache, Sales Manager, Păstrăvul din Tara Ta

[ EVENTS ] are located in the mountains where the fish can be grown in water that is fresh, cold, and well oxygenated. The association doubles as a producer organisation (PO) which is responsible for the processing, marketing, and sales of the fish.

The member companies also have their own brands, says Bogdan Mihalache, the sales manager of the PO, because they have mostly

existed for several years while the producer organisation started only a couple of years ago. As a PO, however, it is easier to develop and to access EU funds towards, for example, improvements or upgrades to the factory. The association has a target production of 3,000 tonnes in two years. This is to be achieved by finding new members, but also with the help of a project to add

new farms that will produce solely for the association. The current members of the association have mainly old farms—one of them is 25 years old—and they cannot increase their production. The new farms will be established with the help of European funds which will also be used to build a new production facility that can handle the increased volumes of fish. Among

the projects that the members of the association are working is one to take trout from the mountains when they reach a size of about 300 g and raise them in the Black Sea. There the fish grow at an astounding rate reaching 3-4 kg in the space of six months. In Turkey where several companies are producing rainbow trout in this way the fish is called Black Sea salmon.

Fish & Fish, Lithuania

Eel products that cater to the Dutch market

F

ish & Fish is the only farm producing eel in Lithuania and is the largest in the three Baltic States. The fish are produced in a recirculation aquaculture system and while most of the production is intended for consumption, some of it go towards restocking the fish in the wild. The farm’s capacity is 200-240 tonnes a year, and Martynas Greviskis, the business development manager expects production to reach that volume very shortly. Farming eel depends on the availability of glass eels which are fished from the wild to supply eel farmers. Until Brexit the company was sourcing glass eels from the UK, but now as it is no longer part of the EU, companies in the EU may not import glass eels because of the eel’s status as an endangered species. The company has found a supplier in France who consolidates the catches of glass eels from a number of small fishermen and then sells the catch to eel farmers. Being live animals glass eel batches are never identical, varying with the season and where they are caught. These differences persist even in the farming environment.

Every individual is different, says

Mr Greviskis, some grow fast initially but then slow down, in others this pattern is reversed, with the result that after a year, fish from the same batch could be 250-300 g but also 2-3 g. The variation in growth rates mean the eels need to be graded regularly to group them by size. This prevents cannibalism and also means small fish do not have to compete with large ones for feed.

Eels are fairly complex to grow not only because of the mystery of their life cycle but also because of how differently individuals or groups can react to growing conditions. This makes it very important to have a good traceability system in place, which is also not easy as the eels have to be graded about once a month. The eels are usually kept on the farm for about two years and grow to about 250 g. This size is desired in the Netherlands but is too small for example in Eastern Europe where the preference is for larger fish of 1 kg and more. However, the company has successfully introduced small eels on to the Lithuanian market, so even longstanding traditions can adapt to new products.

Martynas Greviskis, Business Development Manager, Fish & Fish

EUROFISH .BHB[JOF

SPAIN

Promising new species being considered for commercial production on the Canary Islands

Exciting times for aquaculture on the Canaries The Canary Islands have an aquaculture sector dominated by the production of seabream and seabass. Production has showed a slight downward trend over the years but there are a number of interesting developments on the horizon. These include the production of new fish species, algae, and even of octopus. The latter would be the first time ever that octopus is farmed and would represent a feather in the cap of the aquaculture sector on the islands. Alicia Vanoostende Simili, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands describes here of some of the initiatives taken by the government to promote the sector.

The Spanish national aquaculture strategy 2021-27 is due to be published shortly. What are your government’s priorities with regard to the aquaculture sector on the Canary Islands?

Policy in the European Union has for many years considered aquaculture a strategic sector and one of the fundamental pillars of the Blue Growth strategy. During this period, the Canary Islands will continue working for the development of sustainable aquaculture, generating wealth and encouraging innovation. We are one of the few Autonomous Communities that has an activity management plan and has experienced stable productions for years, which we hope will grow both in quantity and in added value.

The aquaculture industry has identified several obstacles including the bureaucracy involved in getting permits, the multiple authorities that have a say in the governance of the sector, and the issue of allocation zones for aquaculture. What measures have been implemented by the government of the Canary Islands to reduce or remove these constraints?

We speak of marine aquaculture and therefore of concessions in

the maritime-terrestrial public domain, where the procedures are long and multiple agents intervene, which adds complexity. The Canary Islands have had a Regional Aquaculture Management Plan (PROAC) since 2018.

This framework clearly defines the areas, species and farming methods. Since last year, the first public tenders have been held to obtain new concessions, and this ministry has made all the necessary efforts to resolve them. In addition, an important coordination effort between the national and regional administrations continues to be developed to streamline the administrative processes necessary to obtain aquaculture concessions and authorisations.

Close cooperation between research and industry is necessary for a thriving aquaculture sector. How does the government foster this collaboration, and are there examples of commercially successful applications that have resulted from the government’s efforts?

In the Canary Islands we have European reference centres in the field of research and innovation in marine sciences and aquaculture.

Current aquaculture production in the Canary Islands focuses on the production of sea bream, sea

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Alicia Vanoostende Simili, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands

bass and some species of algae.

The Canary Islands Regional Management Plan for Aquaculture (PROAC) includes other species on which development is proceeding with a view ultimately to transfer the productive to commercial actors. The new concessions in progress already include other species of significant commercial interest as productive species, such as the amberjack (Seriola dumerili) and the red porgy (Pagrus pagrus). The government of the Canary Islands will

continue working on the transfer to the industry of native and commercially viable species.

The impacts of climate change are also being felt by the aquaculture sector as water temperatures rise and extreme natural phenomena (heat waves, storms, drought, etc.) become more common. How is the government encouraging the sector to become more resilient?

The Canary Islands have their own disadvantages due to their

SPAIN

archipelagic nature and remoteness, but they also have differentiating elements that have allowed them certain competitive advantages. Aquaculture production from the Canary Islands offers unbeatable quality, the quality of our waters as well as the good work of our companies have led to farmed seafood from the Canary Islands being positioned on premium markets.

It is worth praising the important effort made by the private sector for this, and it is an example to be followed by other seafood producers from the archipelago. The new species we understand will allow a greater adaptation and resistance to the new climatic situations that we can expect.

Farmed fish production on the Canary Islands has largely stagnated with some fluctuations up and down in the last few years. To what do you attribute this lack of consistent growth in the aquaculture sector? Can the government play a role in changing this?

The situation of stagnation in production occurred after the crisis in the sector in 2008, a crisis that also affected the Canary Islands.

In addition to this, our Autonomous Community began at that time the preliminary work for the drafting of the Regional Management Plan for Aquaculture. Until the approval in July 2018 of the management plan, the creation of new facilities was impossible which explains the stagnation of production on the islands.

Recently five tenders to obtain new concessions were launched following the identification of areas of interest for aquaculture in the Canary Islands. In the coming years there will be a progressive increase in production that will allow the Canary Islands to once again become one of the main regions in

the development of aquaculture.

There are also land-based projects of interest, such as the cultivation of octopus, which will add to the Canary Islands’ international reputation for farmed fish and seafood.

What is the perception of farmed fish among consumers on the Canary Islands? Are efforts being made to increase the consumption of farmed seafood, for example by promotion campaigns? Does the government itself encourage the consumption of farmed seafood given that health benefits that are associated with it?

Aquaculture fish has gradually and slowly entered the shopping baskets of European consumers. The Canary Islands have not been an exception to this trend.

The aquaculture production of the Canary Islands is exported for the most part, but in the last decade it presence has increased on the shelves of supermarkets and fishmongers, as well as at restaurants. We have an important floating population of tourists (15m in 2019) that values our gastronomy and fresh produce, and farmed fish is among the seafood on offer.

The new species will surely contribute to increasing consumption and will promote aquaculture as a source of safe, high-quality products available all the year around.

At the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries we have recently launched a campaign for the promotion of farmed seafood from our islands that highlights the benefits of these products, many of which have been endorsed by well-known national and international chefs.

The Spanish Bank of Algae bank and the Institute of Technology of the Canary Islands have facilities for research into and production

of algae. With these two institutions as well as private companies located on the Canary Islands what is the government’s strategy for this potentially exciting field which is also being encouraged by the EU? New species of algae have recently been introduced in the Regional Plan for the Management of Aquaculture in the Canary Islands at the suggestion and proposal of the Spanish Bank of Algae and the Institute of Technology of the Canary Islands. From the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries we can only support and promote the search for and study of new species with high food and/or pharmacological value.

The government‘s strategy in this area is therefore to take advantage of the conditions on the Canary Islands and support, as far as possible, private and public initiatives for their development.

The main farmed species produced on the Canary Islands are seabass and seabream. In time, octopus and seriola may also be produced there. Is diversification of species an aim of the government and how is this encouraged?

Diversification in terms of farmed species is found at the very core of the Canary Islands Regional Management Plan for Aquaculture and includes mechanisms for their introduction on our coasts. The management plan also envisages the introduction of other species not contemplated at the time of its approval. The introduction of new species that allows greater adaptation to international markets and improves the economies of companies in the archipelago is an aspect that is promoted by the different administrations on the islands, but it is the Canarian companies that are the real drivers of

these changes. In the recent tender for concessions, the cultivation of amberjack and red porgy is being considered, and the great interest in the cultivation of octopus in Canary waters is also known.

In the coming years there will be a quantitative and qualitative leap in aquaculture on the Canary Islands that will be the result of the public-private work that has been carried out in the last five years.

One of the constraints facing the aquaculture sector in Europe in general is the conflicts that arise between different users of the coast. What is the situation on the Canary Islands with regard to the identification and declaration of allocation zones for aquaculture?

The compatibility of different activities in the marine environment is one of the great challenges facing administrations in Europe. The management of marine waters and extracting the maximum possible returns without affecting the natural environment as envisaged in the Blue Economy is one of the sustainability goals of the Canary Islands.

I have already mentioned that a long-term effort was made to zone aquaculture activity that ended in July 2018 with the publication in the Official Bulletin of the Regional Plan for the Management of Aquaculture in the Canary Islands. This plan categorises the maritimeterrestrial public domain into zones denoted as: prohibited, suitable, and of aquaculture interest. In addition, it included the location of aquaculture farms existing at that time, the names of prohibited species, and those of aquaculture interest. The types of aquaculture establishments and their technical characteristics were also set out in the plan, among other issues.

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the introduction of new species as well as other modifications using an already approved procedure. The compatibility of aquaculture with other uses of the area is a path that we have begun to explore also in the archipelago with the combination of tourism with fisheries and aquaculture activities.

The Government of the Canary Islands is convinced that artisanal fishing and aquaculture can and should be an added tourist attraction of the Islands.

How do you anticipate different EU strategies, such as farm to fork, green deal … affecting the aquaculture sector on the Canary Islands? Do you see them leading to better conditions and more investment in the sector?

By 2023 the Canary Islands will finish the projects receiving the support from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) assigned to our islands because of the boost that aquaculture

is enjoying at the moment on the archipelago. Thanks to this record, our Autonomous Community has managed to maintain its allocation of support in the European Maritime, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Fund, which is the new fund to support the implementation of the EU‘s maritime, fisheries and aquaculture policies for the period 2021-2027.

The sustainable and responsible aquaculture carried out on our coasts is compatible with the other strategies promoted by the

European Union, which is why projects promoted by the Canary Islands receive support from EU funds. We have an important job ahead of us in terms of making use of the support available to producers of certain fisheries and aquaculture products on the Canary Islands under a government programme called POSEICAN Pesca. We are the only outermost region of the Union that has successfully developed this activity and the coming years will be decisive.

Aquaculture production on the Canary Islands

Seabass and seabream the mainstay of Canary fish farming While seabass and seabream have long been produced on the Canary Islands thanks to favourable climatic conditions, other species such as sole and shrimp have also been cultivated. If all goes to plan, two new species, octopus and seriola, will be farmed on the island in the future.

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pain is the biggest producer of farmed seafood in the EU in terms of volume (by value though that honour goes to France). Spanish aquaculture production is spread between the sea, in brackish water, and on land and includes finfish, bivalves, crustaceans, and aquatic plants. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAPA) show that over the decade to 2020, total production has fluctuated around 285,000 tonnes with a peak of 320,000 tonnes in 2018 and a low of 226,000 tonnes in 2013. Between 2016 and 2019 production increased steadily but then fell back in 2020 due to the pandemic. The unit value of production has increased fairly steadily over the period from EUR1.63/kg to EUR2.06/kg an

increase of 27. Mussels, seabass, trout, and seabream dominate the production accounting for 92 of the total of which mussels contribute 76.

A history of farming different species Fish and seafood farming is distributed in several of the Spanish autonomous communities both along the coast and inland (where rainbow trout is grown in freshwater). Valencia has the highest output followed by Galicia, while third place falls to the Canary Islands, an archipelago in the Atlantic off the west coast of Africa. Thanks to their location, production conditions around the Canaries are particularly favourable for the growing of seabass

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as well as other species. Grand Canary, for example, has been selected as the site for the production of two new species, amberjack (Seriola dumerili) and the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris). Other species, such as Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis), common sole (Solea solea), jinga shrimp (Metapenaeus affinis) and whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) were also cultivated, but data from MAPA show that production of the soles stopped in 2015 and of the shrimps in 2018. The last four or five years have also seen a small production of different species of microalgae, spirulina (Arthrospira platensis), Tetraselmis spp. and Dunaliella salina.

In a 2022 report on the blue economy of the Canary Islands

authored by the Technological Centre for Marine Sciences (CETECIMA), data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands show that of the eight islands in the archipelago four have fish farming production and/or marketing activities.

These are La Palma, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote (the other islands are Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Graciosa). Tenerife, the biggest island has eight companies producing or marketing farmed fish while Grand Canary has six, La Palma has a couple and Lanzarote, one.

There has been a degree of consolidation in the industry over the last years with the number of production companies declining on Tenerife in particular where

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Production by species and year on the Canary Islands Species

Year

Kilos

Seabream

2013

2,131,304.00

7,652,809.15

2014

2,622,780.52

8,986,071.16

2015

1,922,750.00

6,483,792.49

2016

1,701,967.00

8,663,395.42

2017

2,206,294.00

10,326,723.23

2018

1,597,200.00

8,545,872.00

2019

2,033,792.01

10,363,232.99

2020

1,605,462.00

8,598,857.21

2013

3,898,275.91

24,780,063.55

2014

4,776,234.82

26,514,094.47

2015

5,572,389.30

33,381,236.88

2016

5,262,837.00

34,286,158.68

2017

5,804,852.04

39,682,631.18

2018

5,899,829.65

40,464,876.70

2019

5,776,243.10

41,135,805.74

2020

5,127,194.00

34,856,668.78

2016

318.66

17,666.66

2017

698.00

17,450.00

2018

574.44

12,330.30

2019

219.00

6,694.00

2020

56.20

2,023.20

2016

318.66

17,666.66

2017

245.00

18,375.00

2018

689.50

34,746.18

Seabass or snook

Microalga (Dunaliella salina)

Microalga (Tetraselmis)

Value (EUR)

2019

143.00

7,141.64

Microalga (Tetraselmis spp)

2020

463.20

23,787.09

Microalga Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis)

2018

48.00

1,461.60

2019

125.00

25,000.00

2020

200.00

28,916.00

Source: Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food Produced by the Statistics Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands

the number of companies shrank from 9 to 5. The remaining producers are associated with five marketing companies through which they sell their fish. Floating cages in the sea also reduced in number from 16 in 2015 to 10 in 2020, while raceways which reached 4 in 2016 were reduced to 1 in 2020. On the other hand, a recirculation system

was established in the province of Las Palmas in 2019.

Canary farmed fish is mostly sold on mainland Spain Fish sales to retail customers are primarily through supermarkets and department stores with

some product also going through fishmongers. Households account for 80-85 of the consumption on the islands with hotels, restaurants, and catering facilities responsible for the remainder.

However, most of the farmed fish produced on the Canary Islands is sent to mainland Spain, where it is consumed on the domestic market or exported to neighbouring EU countries such as France, Italy, and Portugal. In 2019 only 15 of the production was sold on the Canary market.

fully utilised in production. In the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife which includes the islands Tenerife, La Palma, El Hierro, and La Gomera, cage capacity also declined 10 to 160,000 cubic m.

Since 2018 there are no raceways in this province. Utilisation of the capacity at 73 was markedly lower than in Las Palmas. The recirculation aquaculture system in Las Palmas has an area of 17.5 sq. m.

Regional plan for aquaculture management should Economic activity in the aquaculture sector comprises the produc- remove some constraints tion and marketing of seafood, but a number of ancillary industries are also supported by the presence of this sector including logistics and transport, packaging, and equipment. Both seabass and seabream are cultivated on the islands, but only from the grow out stage. Juveniles typically weighing 5-15 g are obtained either from the Spanish mainland or imported from other countries and introduced into cages in the sea where they grow to market size. The output of seabass amounted to just under three quarters of the combined total of these two species in 2020. Production capacity on the four islands has remained stable since 2014 at about 11,000 tonnes. Until then it had shown an upward trend, but between 2013 and 2014, three of the islands, La Palma, Tenerife and Grand Canary, experienced a decline in capacity. In 2020 total capacity which includes both sea cages and raceways reached its lowest level in the province of Las Palmas, which includes the islands Grand Canary, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote. Compared to 2019 raceway volume declined 67 to 1,800 cubic m, while for sea cages the fall was a more modest 10 to 1,040m cubic m. However, according to the data, this capacity was

In terms of tonnage per island since 2014 there has been an increase of 330 tons of production capacity in La Palma, decreases of approximately 2,800 tons in Grand Canary and 800 tons in Tenerife, and no change in capacity in Lanzarote. Capacity in 2020 stands at 1330, 1,660, 5,905, and 1,856 tonnes on La Palma, Tenerife, Grand Canary, and Lanzarote respectively and the number of installations is 1, 5, 6, and 1 respectively.

Since 2017 production has been stable on La Palma and Lanzarote, while declining in Tenerife and increasing by the same amount on Grand Canary. The Canary Islands were the second largest producer of seabass with 5,127 tonnes in 2020 and the third largest producer of seabream with 1,605 tonnes among Spain’s autonomous communities. This commendable performance could be further improved if some of the structural constraints the sector faces, including a lack of financing, administrative barriers, and competition from countries where production costs are lower, were resolved. Some of these issues are addressed in the Regional Plan for the Management of Aquaculture in the Canary Islands that was &VSPl TI .BHB[JOF

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released in 2018 and offers a blueprint of how aquaculture should develop on the Canary Islands.

The plan envisages the integrated management of activities that have an impact on the marine environment. Within this overall objective the plan details several specific measures including the identification of zone suitable for aquaculture (as well as those where aquaculture is prohibited),

the designation of species that may be farmed and of those may not, the promotion of the sustainable growth of the activity and the prevention of conflicts with other users, and the establishment of a balance between social and economic development through the rational use of marine resources and the protection of these resources and the conservation of biodiversity.

Unit prices for seabass and seabream have increased steadily The total value of farmed fish production on the Canary Islands declined between 2019 and 2020 due to the decline in the produced volume, but the unit price of seabream increased 5 continuing a trend that

started in 2013. In the case of seabass, the unit price dropped 4.5, but from 2014 to 2019 the price has gone up each year, altogether an increase of 28.

If this trend continues and the fall in the volume of production seen over the last couple of years can be reversed, it would be a welcome change after two years of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

The Spanish Bank of Algae conserves biodiversity while putting algae to new uses

Biotechnological applications for algae The Spanish Bank of Algae plays several roles in relation to algae. It identifies and characterises specimens gathered from the Macaonesian region before storing them, it cultivates them for its own purposes as well as for its customers who buy the cultures, and it participates in a number of projects that work to discover novel and innovative applications for algae.

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lgae are among the most exciting naturally occurring organisms in the world today thanks to an increasing range of applications. They are not only a source of nutrients, pigments, and other valuable components, but can also contribute to mitigating conditions in marine environments including eutrophication, acidification, and nutrient accumulation. They are used as feed, food, fertiliser, and biofuel, and as ingredients in the bioplastic, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetic industries.

Europe is a minnow in global algae production The roughly 11,000 species of green, brown and red algae are widely distributed across the globe in both tropical and temperate zones and are broadly categorised into micro and macro

algae. The former are unicellular organisms ranging in size from a few micrometres (millionths of a metre) to a few hundred micrometres, while the latter can be several tens of meters in length.

Algae are a longstanding part of the human diet in some corners of Europe, but it is consumption in some Asian countries that is most conspicuous. Algae’s potential is increasingly recognised in Europe, where a fledgling industry seeks to exploit some of the promise that these organisms offer. Policy makers acknowledge the role algae can play in realising European goals such as those envisaged in the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy and at the European level an EU algae initiative is in the pipeline that aims to increase sustainable production of algae and algae-based products. And with good reason. According to the FAO, aquatic plant production in

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Dr Juan Luis Gómez Pinchetti, scientific director of the Spanish Algae Bank in Telde on Gran Canaria.

the EU in 2020 was a puny 87,000 tonnes, less than a quarter percent of the global production of 36 million tonnes. The biggest EU producers are France, Ireland and Spain. In Spain, the Spanish Bank of Algae, part of the University of Las Palmas on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, is dedicated

to isolating, characterising, and conserving algae biodiversity.

Researchers are also studying and improving cultivation techniques and finding innovative applications for algae, cultures of which are provided to the scientific community, private industry or other organisations.

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Isolates taken from the collected samples are maintained in the bank and are used to monitor the genetic integrity of the cultures which may have mutated during the growth process.

Practical applications are an important part of the bank’s research The Canary Islands are highly biodiverse, says Juan Luis Gómez Pinchetti, the scientific director at the Spanish Algae Bank, and this is reflected in the more than 2,000 strains of microalgae and cyanobacteria that are stored at the bank. We feel these represent a vast potential for biotechnological projects that could be very interesting commercially, he adds. The cultures represent the Canary Islands but also the Salvajes, Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde Islands, which, taken together, form the Macaonesian region. The work to isolate and characterise the different species of algae in the region is leading to the discovery of new strains, says Dr Pinchetti, and identifying the genetic potential of this material is very exciting work.

The Spanish Bank of Algae functions not only as a depository for algae but researchers also study the cultures’ potential for practical applications. They work closely with the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands (ITC), an organisation owned by the government of the Canary Islands, that seeks to sustainably

develop and deploy technologies in different fields, of which algae is one. Over the last five years the Algae Bank has worked with ITC and the local government (Society for Economical Promotion of GC - SPEGC, Cabildo of Gran Canaria) to develop the algal biotechnology sector on the Canary Islands by attracting companies interested in this discipline to set up shop. The carrot offered to companies is that they can draw on the knowledge and experience of the Algae Bank and on the infrastructure that ITC provides to reduce some of their risk. The overall strategy is to try and diversify the economy on the Canary Islands so that it is less dependent on tourism (the largest contributor to the blue economy on the Canaries after ports and port services). And activities encompassed by the blue economy and the circular economy are seen to offer a lot of potential.

Greater interest in and funding for algae have benefited the bank The project that became the Algae Bank started several years ago and over time the bank has been restructured into the collection activity and the biotechnology

Laboratory scale cultivation of microalgae indicates how the organisms respond to growing conditions that are somewhat different from those in the natural environment.

unit which applies for funding to different bodies to study the new strains that are brought into the collection. The bank now has a laboratory scale production of algae as well as a bigger pilot plant to study how the algae grow under conditions that resemble those in a commercial environment. In the laboratory scale the output is small, perhaps only a few milligrams of biomass. The main purpose of laboratory scale production is to see whether the microalgae can be cultivated at all, how they grow, and whether growth is rapid or slow. There are samples in the collection that have not previously been described for the Canary Islands and in some instances are new even to science. The pilot plant, however, is used to produce much larger volumes of biomass. Up to a kilo can be produced making it more convenient to test for the components being sought. Support for projects involving algae has become more generous over the last few years as decision makers realise that algae (or seaweed) have the potential to contribute to many of the EU policies that seek to make the European economy more sustainable, a key aim of the European Commission. The Algae Bank has benefited from

this interest, says Dr Pinchetti, with several projects in which it is involved now being supported through European funds. Among them is one that involves bioprospecting around the island (Gran Canaria) for marine strains, for freshwater varieties that are found in the centre of the island, as well as for those found in the salt marshes along the east coast of the island. Samples were also collected from an underwater volcano where viable cells were found in the water column in an environment of very low pH and very high carbon dioxide concentrations. All these samples are brought back to the laboratory where they are kept alive as other methods of maintaining them such as cryopreservation are not possible with microalgae.

Sale of cultures to clients within and outside Spain At the Algae Bank technicians must sometimes start a culture with just a single cell. Before entering the collection, the algae are identified using classical taxonomy, but also modern molecular biology tools.

This information is stored with the sample in the collection. In the next stage the sample is grown &VSPl TI .BHB[JOF

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at the laboratory scale to check growth patterns under laboratory conditions. Finally, at the pilot plant stage the possible bioactive components and the composition of the algae are identified. From the bank’s website the cells are offered for sale to laboratories at research institutions or companies. Visitors to the website can choose the cells desired from which the bank will then create a culture to be sent to the customer with all the required protocols and documents that ensure the legality of the transaction. The bank will also provide extracts from a selection of cells if requested by the client. The bank has three growing chambers with different taxonomical groups in each chamber under different conditions. The microalgae are not allowed to grow too rapidly and isolates from the original genetic material are stored separately so that researchers have a fallback in case the growth process results in mutations in the cells in response to the artificial environment in which they live.

Attempts are made to reproduce the microalgae’s natural conditions (temperature, light, carbon dioxide, etc.) in the laboratory, but this is not always possible, Dr Pinchetti points out. It is difficult to maintain one set of conditions for one strain and a different set for another strain, but we do our best.

International cooperation to boost biotechnology sector The bank complies with the Nagoya protocol, an international agreement that ensures the equitable sharing of benefits accruing from the exploitation of genetic resources, and is also involved in the development of a European standard for algae and algae products. The bank is denominated by the Spanish government and recognised by the World Intellectual

Property Organization as an international depositary authority for algae, one of only three in Europe.

The others are in the UK and in Switzerland. This status means that a company anywhere in the world that wishes to patent a strain of microalgae that it has improved by genetic modification and selection can deposit a sample of the strain with the Spanish Bank of Algae.

The bank also works with researchers on Madeira, the Azores, Cape Verde, and Mauritania to create a network of collections from these places to foster the biotechnology sector in the region.

Project partners come from many different disciplines The bank maintains a comprehensive database of the information derived from the collection and uses this intellectual property in various projects that look at the selection of strains for different applications. In Sabana, a project led by the University of Almeria in which the bank is also a partner, researchers study bioremediation with microalgae and their possible application in biofertilisers and biopesticides. The role of the bank is to select potentially interesting strains, culture them at laboratory scale to check how they grow, and then subject them to chemical analyses to identify components that could be used in these applications. In the laboratory, all the conditions, light, temperature, nutrients, carbon dioxide, salinity, pH etc. can be monitored and adjusted allowing for carefully calibrated experiments. In another part of the project diluted sewage was treated with certain strains of algae grown at pilot plant scale to study if the organic nutrients in the sewage could be used to create algal biomass. This would lessen the load on the environment and generate

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Experiments are conducted with macroalgae, which also show great potential for use in different applications.

biomass which could potentially be used as a biostimulant to grow crops. Projects are also conducted with the textile and cosmetics sector to identify pigments and bioactive compounds in seaweed that may be useful for these industries. Another project involves the use of microalgae for aquafeeds for which again the bank selects certain promising species. The bank adopts a cross disciplinary approach, working with scientists from the engineering as well as from the veterinary faculties, in addition to others. In a recent paper in the journal Algal Research, Dr Pinchetti and his international co-authors tested a biodegradable film made from

the microalga Graesiella sp. The film was used to package beef and over nine days of refrigerated storage showed several advantages over conventional PVC packaging including less drip loss, lower lipid oxidation, as well as higher stability of colour and pH. As plastics are persistent pollutants with harmful effects on the environment and are widely used in packaging, efforts to replace them with more natural alternatives could have major positive implications for the planet. If research at the Spanish Bank of Algae identifies microalgae as a potential source of bioplastics, it would contribute to solving one of biggest challenges of our times.

Spanish Bank of Algae University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Muelle de Taliarte, s/n 35214 Telde (Gran Canaria) Spain Tel.: +34 928 133 290 Fax: +34 928 132 830 info@marinebiotechnology.org https://marinebiotechnology.org/ en/

Scientific director: Dr Juan Luis Gómez Pinchetti

Culture collection director: Dr Antera Martel Quintana Activity: Collection, identification, characterisation, and storage of algae; growth of algae cultures at laboratory and pilot scales; testing of samples for potentially useful compounds; sale of algae cultures to research and commercial laboratories Designation: International Depositary Authority for Algae Collection: >2,000 samples of algae and cyanobacteria

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Algalimento focuses on the sustainable production of microalgae

Massive expansion in culture surface Microalgae, unicellular organisms ranging in size from a few micrometres to a few hundreds of micrometres, grow in saline, brackish, and freshwater. They have a wide range of applications and are usually produced in bioreactors on land. The company Algalimento near Las Palmas on the Canary Islands is exploiting the nutritional properties of microalgae, which include proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements, for use in fish feed and products for human consumption.

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he company collaborates with the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands (ITC) and is hosted on the institute’s campus. Owned by the government of the Canary Islands, ITC is a research organisation that carries out research, development, and innovation in several fields with an overall focus on sustainability and the addition of value to the islands’ coastlines and their strategic location in the Atlantic Ocean.

Companies benefit from ITC infrastructure

Algalimento started in 2012 as the brainchild of three companies with interests in widely different commercial areas. The three were invited to participate in a technology project to diversify their activities which they did with the Algalimento

The cultivation of algae fits well into this overall strategy and ITC supplies Algalimento with the algae which the company uses as a starter culture for its production. ITC is also planning a biomarine hub on its campus for which it will invite companies involved in this area to set up offices. At ITC’s campus Algalimento maintains a facility with 5,000 sq. m of culture surface

for the production of microalgae. Ana Marcos de los Ríos, an industrial engineer, leads the production and research at the company. She says that a new site is currently under preparation which, when completed, will be 50,000 sq. m or 10 times the size of the old facility. The current site (as well as the new one) is supplied with marine, brackish, and fresh water enabling Algalimento to produce algae that grow in all these media. The focus is on certain species of algae that are native to the area as it is forbidden from introducing exotic species for commercial purposes.

These restrictions are laid down in the law and are intended to protect the environment from the introduction of alien species.

help of a grant from the central government in Madrid. The aim of the project was to commercialise technology developed at ITC. Initially Algalimento had 1,000 sq. m of culture surface but then when it turned out that there was a market for its products, it increased the size of the culture surface by a factor of five with the help of a grant. The early experience demonstrated the importance of scaling up production to reduce the operating costs per unit of output and also suggested that demand for the products was far more than could be produced with the existing culture surface. The company produces the green microalgae Tetraselmis striata, which is used for aquaculture feeds. The overwhelming majority of production is sold outside Spain to aquafeed manufacturers. Another species, Tetraselmis chui, can be used for human consumption but is not native to the Canary Islands and so may not be produced.

For Ms Marcos this precaution is understandable, but Algalimento has shown that its production is secure and there is no danger of the cultivated algae escaping into the environment as the wastewater does not contain any living microalgal cells.

Only species native to the Canary Islands may be produced commercially Raceways used to produce the microalgae. Experiments are also conducted to find the optimal raceway design.

Another species that the company plans to cultivate is

Ana Marcos de los Ríos leads Algalimento, a company producing microalgae for a range of applications.

Dunaliella salina, a microalga that produces the pigment betacarotene, a product sought after by the nutraceutical industry. This species should be produced in the months of April to October/ November as this is when the pigment content is highest. The pigment content increases when the microalga experiences stress, so at Algalimento the nutrients, carbon dioxide levels, and the light are adjusted to create the conditions necessary for the production of betacarotene. However, &VSPl TI .BHB[JOF

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says Ms Marcos, when the microalga produces betacarotene it does not grow, so it is important to strike a balance. Current authorised production amounts to 1 tonne a year, while at the new site Ms Marcos expects production to reach approximately 170 tonnes a year, depending on the species, as the water column is going to be doubled. Volumes of Nannochloropsis gaditana, a new species to be produced, for example, would be about 170 tonnes, while Dunaliella salina would be lower. In total only four species are native to the Canary Islands and have been approved for commercial production. In addition to the three already mentioned are Isochrysis spp.

The new facility is expected to require an investment of EUR7.5m for the raceways and a processing plant and the company hopes to obtain support from the European Maritime, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Fund. Ms Marcos is well aware that support from EU funds comes with many terms and conditions and a lot of paperwork is required, which for a small company is not easy to manage.

We will have to hire an extra staff member just to deal with this, she says, if our experience of the last time we got a grant is anything to go by.

High carbon dioxide prices force a search for alternative sources One of the inputs for the production of algae is carbon dioxide which, counter-intuitively, is currently one of the most expensive inputs for the company. The high price is a result of the general increase in energy costs and the company is therefore looking for cheaper sources of the gas.

Some algae production facilities

are established in the vicinity of industrial plants, for example, cement factories that generate carbon dioxide during their production processes. The company is also looking at trading carbon credits, but this initiative is still in its infancy. Finally, ITC plans to obtain the carbon dioxide generated by an energy producer some two kilometres away to supply to companies like Algalimento that require carbon dioxide for their operations. At the national level Algalimento is working on being classified as a carbon dioxide sink, since it removes the gas from the atmosphere when it cultivates algae. Irrespective of the source of the carbon dioxide, Algalimento’s customers, mainly aquafeed producers, are highly focused on quality and so the gas must be purified to the same level as required for carbonated drinks for human consumption.

A HACCP plan has therefore been implemented to ensure these and other quality requirements are met.

Cultivating algae for commercial purposes is quite different from growing the organisms in the laboratory. In the latter conditions can be carefully controlled, while outside, in a raceway, conditions vary over the course of the year. The critical parameter is the water and to know how to manage it, emphasises Ms Marcos, to have the volume and quality of the water you need in time for the cultivation.

For example, water stored outside evaporates increasing the salinity, so this must be taken into account when putting the water to use. The company’s saltwater requirement is taken from the sea, while freshwater is obtained from the neighbouring desalination plant. In addition, wastewater from the

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A microalgae culture being introduced into a raceway. As the density increases the biomass is moved to larger raceways.

desalination plant is used to cultivate Dunaliella salina creating something of a circular economy where the waste from one process forms the raw material for another.

Ongoing efforts to green the production Both ITC and Algalimento are interested in renewable energy to reduce costs and for the benefits to the environment. Both entities have erected windmills on the campus and solar panels

have also been installed for this purpose. However, power is needed 24/7 and so Algalimento is not completely cut off from the grid. Switching to renewable energy is one of several initiatives to make the company more sustainable. We are also trying to reduce our consumption of nutrients, focus on making our economy circular, and we are seeking recognition as a carbon sink, says Ms Marcos. If the company succeeds in these efforts, it may even be able to charge a premium for its products.

Algalimento Playa de Pozo Izquierdo s/n 35119 Santa Lucía de Tirajana (Gran Canaria) Spain

Tel.: +34 928 932 280 info@algalimento.com www.algalimento.com Director: Ana Marcos de los Ríos Employees: 3 Culture surface: 5,000 sq. m (expanding to 50,000 sq. m)

Activity: Microalgae production Volume: 1 tonne/year (increasing to 170 tonnes/year) Species produced: Tetraselmis striata, Dunaliella salina, Isochrysis spp, Nannochloropsis gaditana Product form: Powder Applications: Aquaculture feeds, nutraceuticals, food colouring, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics

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Frioluz Coldstore attracts companies with markets on different continents to the Canary Islands

Serving customers from all over the world A cold store in the port of Las Palmas on the Canary Islands has converted to renewable energy to reduce its carbon footprint and its electricity bills.

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ocated about 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula and a mere 250 km off the coast of Africa the Canary Islands are a part of Spain strategically located in the Atlantic Ocean. Strategic, because their proximity to Africa while being part of the EU offers advantages for fishing vessels with cargos destined for both Africa and Europe, as well as for Latin America.

Created from the fusion of two cold store companies Among the companies capitalising on this location is Frioluz, a cold store dealing primarily with the seafood industry. Cold stores are storage areas for products that are already frozen, either on board a vessel or at a land-based facility from where they arrive in a container. Frioluz was formed by the merger in 2019 of two companies, Frigoluz and Spanish Pelagic, to create the largest cold store on the Canary Islands with a capacity of 6,000 sq. m of storage space. Frigoluz was established in 1998, while Spanish Pelagic was founded six years later in 2004.

The merged company took over the Spanish Pelagic cold store which is located in Port de la Luz in Las Palmas, the largest port on the Canary Islands.

Since the merger Frioluz has renovated the cold store painting the external walls and investing in

solar energy. The latter has been a particularly shrewd decision given the increase in energy prices over the last months. The total amount that went into the renovation was more than EUR4m and it has taken the last two years to accomplish.

The solar panels are placed on the roof of the cold store and form the second largest private solar power installation on the Canary Islands, says Segundo Barber, managing director of Frioluz, and the largest one in the port. The investments made by Frioluz were part of an agreement made with the port authorities under which the company’s lease on the cold store was extended by the port to 2036 on the understanding that investments would be made in the facilities. The solar panels are intended to meet the entire energy requirements of the cold store, but the installation is still being fine-tuned, and the technicians are working out its precise capabilities. Although the sun

Nina Ström, the commercial manager, and Segundo Barber, the managing director, of Frioluz Coldstore.

shines brightly and regularly on the Canary Islands (as evidenced by all the fruits and vegetables produced there) generating electricity from the sun also depends on the time of the year, the intensity of the light, the ambient temperature, and other factors. Mr Barber expects the system to have paid for itself within three to four years and possibly even sooner given the high energy prices prevailing at the moment, which have had a

considerable impact on the company. A new contract is due to be signed with the electricity supplier and Mr Barber anticipates a steep hike in prices. He expects however that the solar panels will defray some of the expected increase in energy costs and once the system is completely up and running any excess energy generated can be sent back to the grid, so high electricity prices could benefit the company too.

The Frioluz cold store is located in the port of Las Palmas, the largest port on the Canary Islands, and close to the west coast of Africa.

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When a consignment arrives, it is rapidly processed and deposited in storage ensuring the integrity of the cold chain is not compromised.

Fish, the main product for storage Frioluz works primarily with the storage of fish and seafood. Its predecessor, Spanish Pelagic, was created to work with Dutch clients fishing for small pelagics under a fisheries partnership agreement between the EU and Morocco. The storage of large volumes of frozen small pelagics is different from the storage of other species of fish, explains Mr Barber. The former can be simply placed in a cold store chamber in pallets while the latter, the volumes of which are smaller, are stored in boxes and arranged on shelves within the cold store. This difference in storage arrangements reflects not only the type and volumes of fish but also different markets and customers.

The non-pelagic species are often intended for the local market on the Canary Islands and will be distributed in small quantities to the local fish shops and supermarkets, while the small pelagic fish is often stored prior to being shipped to a different destination altogether, for example, to countries in Africa or Latin America. To cater to these different requirements the cold store area in the Frioluz facility is a mix of chambers for large volume lower value species and for high value fish in small volumes. There are

The cold store has a capacity of 20,000 tonnes, corresponding to over 7,000 pallets, spread over eight large storage chambers.

thus eight large chambers some of which are equipped with shelving to store pallets, while the rest are not.

want of space yet at the same time the space is used optimally with the least vacant area at any point in time.

Storage for frozen and chilled products

Investments have focused on sustainability

Several nations’ fleets are active in the area and bring their fish to Las Palmas to store. These include Japanese, Chinese, and Dutch fishing vessels, often freezer trawlers that freeze the fish on board and unload the vessels directly into the cold store. The other clients are those shipping containers filled with frozen fish intended for the market on the Canary Islands. This product is sold to the hotels, restaurants, and catering sectors, supermarkets and fishmongers.

Fish is the main product that Frioluz deals with, but some space is also used for meat, poultry, and seafood. The cold store is also equipped to accommodate chilled products at 5 degrees C which is mainly used for the storage of fruit. The need to manage the flow of goods through the cold store is critical. The Dutch vessels when they arrive can require storage for 4,000 tonnes of product at a time corresponding to a fifth of the cold store’s capacity. Proper planning is vital to run a smooth operation where clients are not turned away for

Modern coldstores are often highly automated with much of the work being carried out by automated systems that are controlled by a central computer and are capable of depositing boxes and collecting them without human interference. At the Frioluz facility, several upgrades have made the cold store more sustainable. Apart from the solar panels all the lighting has been switched to LED, the refrigeration machinery has also been modernised, but complete automation is not foreseen, because the company does not receive homogenous products which

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can be conveyed directly into the storage chambers. Often when the product arrives it first needs to be classified or go through a registration process which calls for human intervention before it can be stored. Frioluz provides a number of services to its clients such as labelling, grouping, wrapping in protective film, or preparing the products in accordance with client requirements. The company will also offer space to the client if the product has to be processed in some way, for example cut into smaller pieces and repackaged.

Whatever the service provided the company provides a record of the conditions under which the product is maintained. Traceability is a legal requirement as the company must be able to document to both its clients and the authorities that the product has been maintained at the

Shelving within the storage areas can be either fixed or mobile allowing greater flexibility when depositing or removing goods.

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correct temperature throughout its stay in the cold store.

Proximity to other continents is a factor to exploit The company is now focusing on its commercial operations to make the most of its strategic location close to different markets while being part of the European Union and governed by EU rules and regulations says Nina Ström, Commercial Manager. A drive to acquire new business will focus on these facts and inform potential clients of the advantages of this location and what it could mean

for their logistics and supply chains to be close to markets on other continents. The primary target of these efforts is companies that fish in the waters close to the Canary Islands, but also companies that could use Frioluz as a base from where they can quickly reach out to their customers. As Mr Barber says, a base in the Canary Islands could reduce the risk that a consignment from northern Europe to Africa gets stuck in a container thereby increasing the time that the product is in transit. And, in addition to benefiting from the services offered by Frioluz, using its facilities will now contribute to the customer’s green credentials.

Frioluz Coldstore Muelle Grande, s/n Edificio Frioluz Coldstore, Portal B-10 35008 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Spain Tel.: +34 928 327 200 info@frioluz.es www.frioluz.es Managing director: Segundo Barber Commercial manager: Nina Ström

Cold store area: 6,000 sq. m, 11 m high Capacity: 20,000 tonnes or >7,000 pallets Temperature: -25 degrees C Shelving: Fixed and mobile Quay: Seven docking points for vessels up to 120 m Access doors: 12, allowing vessels to unload directly into the cold store Forecourt: >2,000 sq. m for containers Annual electricity generation from solar panels: 1,600 MWh

The Islandap project generates knowledge in a huge number of fields

Sharing results for better outcomes The Islandap project sought to enhance research, development and innovation within the field of aquaponics as practiced in the EU outermost regions of the Canary Islands, Madeira, and on Cape Verde. In addition, the project aimed to create a multidisciplinary network to promote primary sustainable production, bioresource revaluation, biotechnology, circular economy, and education.

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quaponics, the cultivation of fish and plants in conjunction, is an example of a circular economic activity, where pollutants from the fish are removed and used by the plants leaving behind water that can be returned to the fish.

The circular economy is considered a solution to the widespread depletion of resources and to the generation of vast quantities of waste and pollution. It is a way of rethinking growth to minimise negative impacts and to enhance sustainability. Islandap, which concluded in December 2020, aimed to foster research between institutions on Cape Verde, the two outermost regions, and the mainlands (Spain, Portugal) that would benefit the food production sector on the islands making

it more innovative and productive. There was an emphasis on improving aquaponic production to increase efficiency. The project also forged closer links between universities and research bodies at the regional level by exchanging staff and providing training to increase participation in European projects by institutions and their staff on the islands. Another objective was to create a regional network for research and innovation within the fields of sustainable development, aquaponics, and the circular economy.

Dr Lidia Esther Robaina Robaina, principal researcher in the Islandap Advanced project that is investigating circular economy systems and in particular aquaponics.

Increasing the efficiency Islandap Advanced, a further iter- participated in Islandap. The new of aquaponics systems ation of the original project that project, which runs from 2021, The research, technological development, and innovation achieved by Islandap led to

has new objectives on food safety, waste reduction and efficient use of resources on Cape Verde and the two outermost regions that

should contribute to the sustainable development of the islands thereby helping to maintain biodiversity and create green jobs. &VSPl TI .BHB[JOF

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Broodstock of several species of fish, both new species and old, are grown in these tanks to study their biology and spawning behaviour.

A biofilter where wastewater from the fish tanks is detoxified using plants.

It is divided into three phases of which the first will deal with the production of fish and vegetables in aquaponics systems using fresh water and salt water. In this phase, sustainable diets for the fish will be formulated and tested, the area of expertise of the principal researcher, Dr Lidia Robaina.

In addition, experiments to integrate the production of worms and polychaetes into the system will also be conducted and the potential of alternative plants, and microalgae will be tested.

In the second phase the system will be improved through automation, the use of information technology, and water and energy saving measures. Finally, in the third phase efforts will be dedicated to finetuning the operations and analysing the data generated by the waste management to understand its applicability in other sectors such as water purification and even tourism.

a time of stiff competition from seabass and seabream producers around the Mediterranean.

Amberjack (Seriola dumerili) is a new species, the commercial farming of which is expected to increase soon in warm waters and also on the Canary Islands. EcoAqua has been involved in several projects concerning this species.

Amberjack is a high trophic level fish with rapid growth and of high quality, and the researchers have been looking at how to better manage the fish, its culture conditions and diet specificity to increase feed conversion along the whole life cycle and reduce the environmental impact of its cultivation.

A building that reflects the visions of its occupants The project is based at the Marine Scientific Technological Park at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the coordinator of the project. There are different groups working on topics related to marine science that are

based in the park, of which four of them together form EcoAqua, a university institute that is dedicated to postgraduate teaching and research within sustainable aquaculture practices and conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources.

Among the groups is the Aquaculture Research Group, where Dr Robaina is involved, and which started some 30 years ago.

The building housing the groups itself reflects the EcoAqua vision.

The construction is environmentally friendly, and the building is well insulated and with facilities to treat the water that leaves the laboratories and the fish tanks.

EcoAqua essentially studies the sustainable growth of aquaculture, for example by moving it offshore or inland with the support of new and soft technologies, so that production volumes can increase but with less or little impact on the environment. In marine waters fin fish production in Spain is largely split between seabass and seabream and within EcoAqua one of the lines of research is to gain an even better understanding of these species to see how they can be produced more sustainably. Another area of study is the identification of new species for cultivation which will open up new opportunities for the Spanish aquaculture sector at

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Interest in low trophic level fish species The focus on aquaponics has led to the breeding of tilapia which is one of the species most suited to this kind of cultivation. The researchers are looking at moving to low trophic level production which is another way of increasing sustainability, says Dr Robaina. In terms of low trophic level species, Dr Robaina and her group have been working with mullet. We want to move to low trophic level fish, and to promote the connection between saltwater and freshwater, she

says. With good water management salt water used to grow the fish can be used for growing halophytic (salt-tolerant) marine plants before being desalinated and used to irrigate the plants in a fresh water aquaponics system.

The facility is located on the coast so obtaining saltwater is easy.

The water is supplied to fishcontaining tanks and is increasingly recirculated with little addition of fresh water. During the recirculation process impurities are removed by the biofilters and when it finally leaves the system it is monitored at the outlet to ensure that the quality approaches that of the inlet water. The idea behind recirculating salt water is to reduce the energy consumed by pumping the water from the sea and to ensure that the water does not contain pathogens or other undesirables which could more easily enter the facility if the water was not recirculated. So, the correct degree of recirculation means a safer and more sustainable system which is used mostly for broodstocks and small larvae. The species being grown in the facility include broodstock of meagre, two species of mullet (thicklip grey mullet and golden grey mullet), seabream, seabass, and some species of Seriola.

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Larvae and juvenile fish are grown in tanks and monitored for traits like disease resistance and growth rate.

They are taken from the wild when small and placed in tanks and allowed to grow, mature and, hopefully, spawn. The aim is to reproduce the conditions in nature as closely as possible and allow the fish to spawn naturally, says Dr Robaina, though spawning can be induced if necessary.

The golden grey mullet, for example, was introduced to the facility four years ago, has spawned once last year already and is expected to do so again in 2022. The mullets are particularly interesting because they used to be eaten in the past, but now tend to be ignored in favour of carnivorous species like seabass and seabream. Dr Robaina and her team would like to learn more about the biology of the mullets to breed them, but also to promote them to consumers as species that can be produced sustainably because of their omnivorous diets and suitability to growth under different conditions.

Creating products as well as markets Thus, another aspect of the work being done at the facility relates to creating a market for new species with the help of chefs, market research, quality control of production both of the fish and

the plants, and targeted communication. Much of the work in the Islandap Advanced project is being done on unexplored territory, what species of fish to select, which plants to grow them with etc., and this offers a lot of scope for innovation in different areas, says Dr Robaina.

In the project one of the aims is to identify which halophytes on the different islands (Canaries, Madeira, and Cape Verde) will be most interesting for consumers and worth pursuing as potential plants to produce in an aquaponics system. Salicornia is a popular example of a halophyte that can be used for culinary purposes, but there are many more such plants that could potentially be used for human consumption.

new species, the scientists are studying many different aspects so as to gain a better understanding of the fish, its habits and preferences, the optimal feeds and living conditions. Fish are also being selected for desirable traits such as rapid growth and disease resistance. Experiments with production systems are also being performed, for example, to find the optimal ratio between this novel cultured fish and plants and whether these systems can be made to work at scale inside buildings. This would enable them to be built within cities close to the consumer. Lighting is also being tested to see whether it has any impact on plant growth rates. Plants that are grown in the aquaponics system are also subjects of research, not only to find out how well they grow in conjunction with the fish, but to understand their physiology and the role they play in the natural environment.

Sharing knowledge widely is also a component of the circular economy The project is also investigating how to reduce energy consumption using smart installations that will automatically turn off

energy-consuming appliances when their services are not needed. And renewable energy sources are being studied to establish whether the system can be powered exclusively by windmills and solar panels. Another link is being established with the tourist industry, where some of the waste generated by tourists, for example, coffee grounds, is being researched for its potential to have value added to it. In the case of coffee grounds, some researchers are working on their potential in fish diets, as well as on the energy requirements of the logistics of collecting them from hotel kitchens and bringing them to the laboratory, while others are assessing their potential for use in spa treatments. Whatever the result, the knowledge generated is made available, so if it cannot be used

by Islandap there may be some other field where researchers can put it to good use. For Dr Robaina the circular economy means more than the waste from one process being used as the raw material for another. It is also the generation of knowledge that is shared by researchers in different disciplines. This way, the results, even if they do not directly benefit the creator, can be used in some other context.

Islandap Advanced

Dr Robaina’s research area is sustainable ingredients for aquafeeds. The waste from the fish and the effect it has on the plants is directly related to the feed. Other researchers in the project have other specialisations (engineers, ecologists, economist, agriculture, composting, microalgae, etc.). But the knowledge generated is shared between the scientists creating a common pool from which everyone can draw and be inspired. Concerning the

Instituto EcoAqua Marine Science Park Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Carretera de Taliarte 35200 Telde, Gran Canaria Spain Tel.: +34 609 060 378 islandapadvanced@ulpgc.es https://islandapadvanced.ulpgc. es/en/

Principal researcher: Dr Lidia Esther Robaina Robaina Objective: Research, development and innovation in aquaponics and circular economy Beneficiaries: Cape Verde, Canaries, Madeira Start date: 12 June 2022 End date: 31 October 2022 Support: European Regional Development Fund

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Nueva Pescanova reaches a turning point with octopus cultivation

Commercially farmed octopuses closer to becoming reality Nueva Pescanova, a Spain-based multinational in the seafood business, is involved in every link in the value chain—fishing, farming, processing, sales and distribution. It markets more than 70 species of fish and seafood in 80 countries around the world. It recently opened the Pescanova Biomarine Centre, where scientists have closed the life cycle of the common octopus. The company expects to start commercial production of the species in summer 2022.

The inauguration ceremony for the Pescanova Biomarine Centre in November 2021 was attended by members of the Nueva Pescanova board and political dignitaries from he regional and central governments. Together with other research institutes, the centre has pioneered Spanish efforts to commercially cultivate the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris).

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ulpo gallega, a simple yet sublime dish that stands out even among the array of superb tasting preparations that characterise Spanish or more specifically Galician cuisine.

However, the chances that the Pulpo gallega is prepared from an

octopus freshly caught off the Galician coast are slim. In Spain, 80 of the octopus consumed comes from imports and only 20 is native. Nonetheless, sliced boiled potatoes, diced octopus, salt and pepper, olive oil, paprika, and lemon combine into an amazing

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blend of flavours and textures that make this one of the most popular items on any menu in coastal Galicia. The data bears this out; In 2020 consumption of octopus in Galicia accounted for a quarter of all the octopus consumed in Spain in terms of both volume and value.

New centre for fish and seafood research prioritises octopus health and welfare It is therefore not surprising that a company based in Galicia, Nueva Pescanova, has been

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Researchers at the Pescanova Biomarine Centre have produced five generations from octopus broodstock, a feat that is unique to Spain.

at the forefront of efforts to cultivate octopus. The company’s 4,000 sq. m research centre in Pontevedra, the Pescanova Biomarine Centre, was inaugurated in November 2021. Established with an investment of EUR7.5m, the centre hosts 40 researchers dedicated to research, development, and innovation in aquaculture with a focus on sustainability, animal welfare, health, nutrition and on the cultivation of new species. As the company pointed out in a press release late last year, of the 250,000 marine species that exist, less than 600 are currently being farmed. Among the new species being studied at the centre is the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris.

After a decade of investigations, the researchers have managed to close the life cycle of this species, one that has long frustrated scientists interested in breeding it in captivity because of the high mortality rates of the paralarvae. This challenge has now

been solved and the company announced that it had successfully bred five generations from an octopus that itself was bred in captivity, the first time this has ever been done anywhere in the world. At the Pescanova Biomarine Centre researchers are working to optimise octopus production based on nutrition, genetics, animal health and welfare, says Ricardo Tur, technical director of the centre, in the centre’s newsletter. The idea is to reproduce as closely as possible the conditions the animal experiences in the wild including the parameters of the water and light levels, a concept the company terms, EcoBiological Production System. The animal responds by reducing its movement by propulsion which is associated with fight or flee instincts and correspondingly high stress levels as well as an increased risk of collision damage in a confined space. Instead, it moves with the help of its arms, a more natural way of conveying itself from one place to another. Scientists from

the centre are collaborating with colleagues in eight institutes in three countries (Spain, Mexico, and Portugal) on a project to optimise the welfare of the common octopus under culture conditions. At the Spanish Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC), one of the partners in the project, scientists are working to identify biochemical markers such as corticosteroids and amines that could indicate a stress response. Monitoring such indicators would show the stress level of the animal and allow the implementation of measures to reduce it.

Identifying nutritional requirements at each growth stage Genetic mapping is also being undertaken to reveal which genes are being continuously expressed and researchers are trying to understand what this can say about the welfare of the animal and to find how this challenge can be addressed.

Tests are also being carried out to determine the nutritional requirements of the octopus at different stages of development and to adapt its diet to its needs, says Pablo Garcia, a researcher at the centre. At the same time work is progressing on a feed that is based on fish waste materials for a more sustainable solution. This line of research is based on a diet developed by another partner, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, for the Yucatan red octopus (Octopus maya). Another promising area is the substitution of animal ingredients in the feed with those of plant origin. At the Pescanova Biomarine Centre experiments are being conducted that replace the animal content with spirulina, a microalga that has a protein content of 70.

In the right conditions, the animal grows rapidly converting 30-60 of their intake into biomass and gaining up to 5 of its body weight a day. But for these growth rates the quality of the food is as important as the way it is absorbed. However, scaling the production from laboratory conditions to industrial levels without any detrimental effect on the welfare of the animal is critical for a successful commercial operation. The facilities at the Pescanova Biomarine Centre enable the study of different production systems and breeding stages (larval, pre-grow out, and grow out) and this knowledge will be translated into the commercial production of the octopus. The next phase, after farming protocols have been developed and standardised, will be to start genetic selection programmes to identify the best broodstock for traits such as high growth rates and resistance to &VSPl TI .BHB[JOF

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consumers. Nueva Pescanova plans to enter the market in summer 2022 with octopus produced at the Biomarine Centre.

But the company also plans an octopus farm in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria, the biggest of the Canary Islands. The building will be equipped with advanced technologies for air conditioning, and to reduce energy and water consumption. Sea water recirculation systems will be installed and different types of pools will offer the conditions the octopuses need at each stage of their life cycle. The facility will incorporate the knowledge accrued at the Biomarine Centre and its construction is expected to create 150 direct jobs and the same number of indirect jobs. It will act as a magnet for research talent and contribute to the technological development of the islands, according to the company.

Javier Aguilera, global VP of aquaculture at the Nueva Pescanova Group, does not expect the farmed product to be any different from the wild one in

terms of taste or texture. As far as possible we intend to reproduce the octopus’ natural marine environment on the farms, including the living conditions (minus the predators) and the feed, he says. The final product, its weight, preparation, presentation etc. will depend on what the consumer demands.

In terms of the market, the farmed product is anticipated to be a small niche that complements the wild catch rather than changes market share. For Mr Aguilera, the important thing is that every step along the production and value chain is controlled so that the entire history of each product including the feed it has been given and the broodstock it has been raised from can be traced. At the same time the advantage of farming is that it makes planning much easier as the process is far more predictable than wild catches.

Knowing that they can expect regular consignments of a certain volume of a certain sized product is a major advantage for a retail chain. And this is what aquaculture offers.

Nueva Pescanova Demand for octopus in Spain grew by 20% in 2021 in the hotel and catering sector alone. Imports, mainly from Morocco and Mauritania, meet 80% of the Spanish requirement for this cephalopod.

disease, says David Chavarrías, the chief officer of the centre.

Octopus farm will mean the technological development of the Canary Islands Octopus makes good eating if prepared properly. Not only is

the meat tasty with a pleasant texture but from a nutritional point of view it is healthful containing high levels of protein, some omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. In Europe the main markets for octopus are in the southern part of the continent—Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy and France are both the main producers and the main

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Rúa José Fernández López, s/n 36320 Chapela, Redondela (Pontevedra) Spain Tel.: +34 986 818 100 nuevapescanova.com Communications director: Tesa Diaz Faes comunicacion@nuevapescanova. com Activities: Fishing, farming, processing, marketing

Products: Fish and seafood Markets: 80 countries around the world Vessels: 60 (Africa and South America) Aquaculture water surface: 7,000 ha (Spain, Central and South America) Processing plants: 17 (10 countries in Europe, Africa, Central and South America, Asia) Turnover: EUR905m (2020)

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Biharugra Fish Farm combines environmental with economic sustainability

A model for pond fish farmers everywhere The Biharugra Fish Farm has a long and complex history. Today, however, it not only produces fish for the market but also contributes significantly to the biodiversity of the area thanks to the management methods that are used to run the farm.

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nce there used to be a marshy area in the place of the current fish ponds of Biharugra Fish Farm. But, as in many other regions, the large-scale regulation of rivers and draining of wetlands, which started in the mid-1800s, significantly changed the landscape. After the draining of the Kis-Sárrét marshes, the better-quality soils were farmed, while huge grasslands and pastures appeared in the rest of the area. As a result of the erratic location of wetland areas around Biharugra, a mosaic of bare sodic patches (areas with a high concentration of sodium) and saltland pastures developed on most lands.

The first ponds date back to the early nineteenth century The construction of fish ponds near Biharugra was started by the Chorhus brothers in 1910 and lasted until 1944. The farm was nationalised in 1946. Construction of new ponds started in 1951, which increased the pond area to more than 1,000 ha by the end of the 1950s. On the territory of the other pond unit of Biharugra Fish Farm, there used to be a village called Begécs. This medieval settlement was destroyed by the Nagyvárad campaign of the Turks. After the destruction, wetlands occupied the place where the village had been until river regulations transformed the landscape into a large

Over the years ponds have been added to the Biharugra Fish Farm so that it now extends to almost 2,000 ha.

grassland. From 1950, it was used as a reservoir of the oxbow lake of the canalised dead arm of River Körös, with the main purpose of receiving excess waters from Romania.

Between 1962 and 1967, the Begécs fishpond system was built in this area, increasing the pond area of the farm to 1920 ha.

A part of the aquatic and surrounding terrestrial areas were declared a nature reserve on 1 August 1949 and were managed as such until 31 January 1955, when the protection was lifted.

The idea of establishing a landscape protection area emerged

once more in the 1970s, mostly because of the area’s ornithological value, but it was only on 31 March 1990 that it really obtained protected status. Since 1997, the territory has been a part of the core area of KörösMaros National Park. A part of the fish ponds is a strictly protected area, which has also been included into the list of wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar convention since April 1997. Since 1989, it has been an Important Bird Area and as part of the Natura 2000 network, it is also a Special Protection Area for birds.

Livestock and crop farming activities stop leaving only fish cultivation The fishpond areas were managed in a unified way until the fall of the communist regime in Hungary in 1989 and the subsequent privatisation. Until then, the fish farm was operated as an agricultural company with activities including cultivation of arable crops, aquatic poultry, and sheep farming in addition to aquaculture production.

The fish farm was clearly the economic, cultural, and social

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centre of the region at that time.

However, during and after privatisation, the farm lost all its agricultural and livestock activities, and the fishpond areas were also divided creating considerably more difficult conditions for a unified operation. Following the nature conservation ideas of the time, pond aquaculture—and, practically, any management— was given up in about half of the pond area. As a result, the fish ponds deteriorated with a loss of jobs and the collapse of the nature conservation functions of the wetland. This important lesson would inform decisions about fishpond operations in the future.

The other half of the area was used for pond aquaculture production, but the farm nearly went bankrupt in late 2010 because of poor management.

However, this operation at least preserved a major part of the fishpond area, creating an opportunity to implement better ways of exploiting this valuable resource. The all-encompassing reorganization of the company started in 2011 with a new professional management. The core elements of reorganization were the development of the farm along with the introduction of unique, complex, and sciencebased pond fish production technology with a special focus on nature conservation. These developments—along with the associated technological innovation—not only created the conditions for a safe and effective aquaculture production, but also helped to significantly improve the conformity with conservation objectives and the environmental efficiency of aquaculture production and water management, with special regard to the reduction of carbon emissions.

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Valuable support from European funds to clean up the environment In relation to these developments, investments were also made to improve the fishpond landscape in agreement with the area’s nature conservation status (orderly removal of construction, metal, and other wastes, tree planting, revegetation etc.). The importance of support provided under the European Fisheries Fund operational programme in the financing of this development should be highlighted.

Today, Biharugra Fish Farm Ltd. operates as a full-cycle pond fish farm, i.e. it produces all the three age groups in polyculture, with special attention to indigenous species. An important element of the applied production technology is the maximisation of the natural yield, i.e. the plankton biomass growing in the ponds.

This biomass is the source of proteins (as well as other microand macro nutrients, vitamins and enzymes) required for the growth of the fish. As a result, grain-based feeds (with an FCR below 1.5) are the only external feed source used. Protein feeds (formulated feeds, soybean etc.) and performance enhancers (e.g. hormones) are not used in fish production, which ensures that the final product is both highquality and 100% GMO-free. This technology is not only desirable in terms of economy and healthy human nutrition, but it also has a special importance from a conservational point of view, as planktonic organisms form the base of the food pyramid of the fishpond ecosystem.

As a result, the species diversity and abundance of the wildlife of these ponds—many protected reptiles, amphibians, birds, and

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The farm produces one, two, and three-summer-old common carp in polyculture with other species.

mammals—are much higher than those in natural waters.

Producing fish and benefiting nature are not mutually incompatible To sum up, this technology simultaneously ensures the long-term sustainability of the fish ponds and, as a result, full compliance with economic and nature conservation requirements. The need to increase social acceptance and acknowledgement of the role of pond aquaculture management in the maintenance of nature connected to wetland habitats should also be highlighted here.

The evidence justifies support for this type of management practices.

Sustainability and sustainable management have recently become extremely fashionable terms. At the same time, very little is spoken about how such sustainable management and its parameters can and should be defined in different sectors and industries. The very fact of using the term “sustainability”

in general language and context creates the need to examine the sustainability of a given form of management from several aspects. And, when studying sustainability from different aspects, it is important also to highlight the interrelations between these aspects. The evaluation of management forms using sustainability as the point of departure should be done, as a general principle, from both an economic and an ecological perspective. During the study of Biharugra Fish Farm, it became clear that these two main aspects cannot be separated, and sustainability can only be interpreted taking into account their interaction.

As a young person worried about my future, it fills me with hope that, in the tide of media news and information about environmental hazards, there is a farm and a form of farming that, from the point of view of the complex definition of sustainability, can serve as an example for our generation.

XYZ, Debrecen University

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Climate change comes with risks and opportunities for Hungarian pond aquaculture

Warmer water is likely to boost fish appetites Farming in shallow water bodies comes with a limited buffer in relation to air temperature changes, therefore Hungarian carp aquaculture is highly vulnerable to changes in climate. Furthermore, barrage dam pond farms, accounting for one-third of total carp production, are extremely sensitive to meteorological conditions since their water supply varies with seasonal precipitation over a relatively small catchment area.

S

ince records of temperature began in Hungary, 2019, 2018, 2014, 2015, and 2020 were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 8th hottest years, respectively, so farmers already have firsthand experiences with the growth response of fish and the whole aquatic community to warmer waters. Water scarcity and low stream-flow rates in supplying watercourses in the late winter and early spring periods of 2020 and 2022 hindered barrage pond farmers in reaching operational water levels in ponds, while evaporation losses could not be covered during the extraordinary summer drought of 2021.

More research required to properly understand impacts of climate change The impacts were reduced production space, concentrated nutrient levels, and low dissolved oxygen levels. From retrospective analysis, quantifying the impact of the meteorological situation is challenging, since it is hard to decouple the effects of climate drivers from that of managerial interventions taken as an adaptive response. However, a slight positive correlation between carp yields and temperature is observed if looking at the industrial data of the past two decades.

Pond fish farming will be affected by climate change but the increase in water temperature is unlikely to exceed the optimal range for common carp.

To understand the multifaceted effects of climate change on pond aquaculture, including impacts on the pond food web and water quality, metabolic responses of farmed species, the emergence of new pathogens, and changes in disease transmission patterns, methodologically sound research actions must be taken.

Recently EU funded two Horizon projects (www.climefish.eu, www.ceresproject.eu) focusing on adapting the European aquaculture sector to changing climate.

Both projects scoped the Central European carp farming sector,

investigating the impacts in different countries, in different time horizons, and with different simulation modelling tools. Nevertheless, the most important finding is that water temperatures in carp farming regions of Europe will unlikely exceed the thermal optimum of common carp, therefore temperature increase will positively influence metabolic activity (growth potential, appetite) of the main farmed species. Analysis of model simulations for different management scenarios shows for Hungary that the maximal benefit of warmer temperatures is reaped with stocking rates lower and feeding rates

higher than current practice.

Reduced stocking rates and lower predation pressure on zooplankton biomass will help to exploit the advantages of increasing dynamics in the pond food web.

Multiple negative effects are likely with warming weather Management risks and frequency of undesirable events will also increase, including water quality problems and the occurrence of diseases. It is forecast that the frequency of intensive rainfalls will increase with changing climate,

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which will increase the concentration of nutrients and toxic products in surface waters (due to land erosion and agricultural run-off waters). This will be exacerbated by more intense evaporation of water bodies, which will further increase the concentration of all substances. Water shortage is as well a common concern driven by climate. In Hungary, there is evidence of the adverse impact of climate change on discharges at watercourses,

which may create a supply shortage, especially for barrage ponds.

For round dam ponds, increased evaporation and hydrologic deficit of ponds during summer can be aggravated by decreased summer runoff from the Danube and its tributaries owing to earlier snowmelt in upper watersheds as forecast by hydrologic climate models. Increasing use of supplementary water will increase production costs if the cost of water increases. Based on model

simulations it is also forecast that altering thermal conditions will favour the proliferation of Cyprinid herpesvirus and carp edema virus.

Recommended adaptation strategies consist of developing information systems for monitoring and mapping disease incidents and their patterns of distribution; using real time/in situ diagnostics to monitor water quality and fish health; applying stocking rate and

biomass management resilient to hot summer weather; and the use of aerators and other oxygen manipulation techniques.

Research Institute for Fisheries and Aquaculture (HAKI) Anna-liget utca 35 5540 Szarvas Hungary +36 66 515 300 info.haki@haki.naik.hu www.haki.naik.hu

Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences updates its masters programme in fisheries

Education and talent management of the next generation The number of applicants for higher education has been gradually declining over the past few years in Hungary. This is also true in the field of agricultural education; therefore, youth education and talent management are becoming more important in educational institutions, which could seriously influence the decision of high school students when choosing higher education institutions.

T

he Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences (MATE) was established on 1 February 2021 establishing the largest agriculture-oriented higher education institution in the country. In parallel, the Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety was established with 5 sites.

Demand for well-qualified students increases The economic growth of the fisheries and the aquaculture sector, the generational change required in the sector, as well as the ever-increasing number of hobby anglers and the associated increase in professional and administrative tasks, has created demand for young people with a BSc or MSc degree.

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Since 1990, 366 students have written their BSc or MSc theses at the institute and its predecessor institutions. These students (Hungarian and foreign as well) were given a lab- or field-oriented research topic to work on independently with the help of their supervisors. Students can take part in the final exam only if they prepared a BSc or MSc thesis that meets the requirements in terms of form and content. More than 93.4% of our graduates can find a job. This ratio has been 100% for the last 5 years—all of our students found a job in the agricultural sector and there were still unfilled vacancies for professionals.

Specialisation offers both professional and personal development For students who want to specialise in aquaculture, fishery

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Students visiting a fish processing factory

or angling at the university, the advanced studies in aquaculture coordinated by the institute is a good option. It is attended by students who require i) additional knowledge compared to the university curriculum to widen their horizons and to organize their knowledge in a complex way; ii) professional information and

practical experience in addition to (or gap-filling) curriculum education; iii) the building of a close community, which helps the student’s professional development, public-social activity, and leadership. These students take part in study trips and can expand their expertise through various lectures.

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In the field of fisheries and aquaculture, motivated students can carry out their research work during their training period. This is usually an independent experimental activity, where the student is involved in specific research and developmental activity in the host unit, performs a subtask under the supervision of a mentor-researcher, prepares an experimental plan, evaluates the outcome and draws conclusions.

As a result, the dissertation is the yield of the research work, which is presented at a conference of the University Students Scientific Association. The winners can present their dissertations in the national final. To date, our Institute has had 259 students who participated in research in the field of fishery, aquaculture, and angling. The Students Scientific Association has a 70-year history in Hungary, and a significant proportion of students who took part in this competition continued with a PhD.

Stringent requirements for entering the doctorate programme In Hungary, universities have been entitled to doctoral (PhD) training since 1993. The best students, whose academic progress is outstanding, whose professional vocation is exemplary and who have proved their worth at a scientific student conference, are admitted to the doctoral programme. Initially, it is necessary to collect the required credits for 3 years (currently 4 years) and to prepare several scientific publications required for obtaining the degree. To date, 35 colleagues have obtained PhD degrees at our institute and the predecessor institutions.

They have been employed in the

national administration, higher education, and the private sector.

Aquaculture and fisheries are taught in various BSc and MSc courses in the form of 4-5 compulsory and 4-5 optional subjects.

However, the quantity and quality of this current training form are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the sector. The institute is therefore developing the founding and start-up documents for the master’s degree in fisheries, which contains all current knowledge.

This activity is in line with the development of an MSc course in the framework of the iFishIENCi (Intelligent Fish feeding through Integration of Enabling Technologies and Circular Principle) H2020 R&I project, where the institute participates as a consortium partner. The training in Hungarian and English will be announced in the spring of 2024.

New programmes will ensure the continued relevance of the education The growth of the fishing community has sharpened demand for professionals in the fishing sector who have the complex knowledge required to manage a given body of water, which includes management, financial, and administrative skills in addition to biological knowledge. The institute, in cooperation with the University of Debrecen, intends to launch a training programme in Hungarian for fishing guides in the winter of 2023, which will be part of the adult education system.

For the time being, the above two training programmes will solve the shortage of specialists in the sector, but we realize that additional special training (intensive/precision

Number of students that prepared BSc and MSc theses between 1990-2021

Number of students in Students Scientific Association competitions between 1990-2021

The number of PhD graduates in the field of fisheries and aquaculture between 1996 and 2022

aquaculture, fish processing and marketing, etc.) should also be organized and launched in time.

Urbányi, B.; Z. Bokor; and J. Kobolák

Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety; Páter K. u. 1., GödöllĘ, H-2100, Hungary

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[ AQUACULTURE ] Sustainable, affordable and ethically acceptable

New protein sources for aquaculture feed Algalimento

About 70 percent of fish and crustaceans produced in aquaculture are fed with protein-rich feed. If the aquaculture sector is to reach its growth targets by 2025, annual feed production must increase by approximately 38 million tonnes. This is not possible with today’s protein sources. The search for alternatives has become the central question in feed research on which the further development of aquaculture depends.

With their high protein and lipid content some microalgae species can potentially be used to replace plant and animal ingredients in fish feed. But production levels are tiny and the price correspondingly high. Shown, dried and powdered Tetraselmis produced by Algalimento, a company on the Canary Islands.

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lobal production of fishmeal is currently fluctuating around 4.5 million tonnes per year, of which 69 is used for fish feed. For fish oil, there is even less room for manoeuvre, as aquaculture already uses 75 of the annual production of around 0.9 million tonnes. Both resources are

therefore scarce and correspondingly expensive. In order to meet the rising demand for protein sources for fish and shrimp feed, economical alternatives must be found that fulfil several criteria. By far the most important of these are nutritional properties, as the feed must reasonably meet the nutritional requirements of

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the animals and should be easily digestible and promote the growth of the fish. The fish must like the taste too, in order for them to willingly consume it, and it cannot negatively affect their physiology and health status. Protein alternatives should be available in large quantities, physically stable and easy to handle, so that they can be

stored, processed and transported without problems. Using them for feed cannot have significant negative effects on the environment and must be ethically acceptable.

This means that new raw materials and ingredients must not compete with food for humans or contribute to overgrazing, water scarcity and loss of natural biodiversity.

[ AQUACULTURE ] And because the feed influences the sensory and qualitative features of the fish and shrimp produced, the ingredients finally must give the products those health and taste advantages that consumers have rightly come to expect.

This small number of examples alone show how challenging and difficult the search is. Modern aquaculture feed is already an artificially balanced blend of the most varied ingredients, which only together optimally meet the nutritional requirements of the respective aquaculture species. Both plant-based protein components such as soy meal, corn gluten meal or rapeseed meal, as well as animal byproducts (e.g. meat, bone or poultry meal) are used as alternatives to

fish meal in aquaculture feed.

Thanks to new technologies, fungal and algal proteins, insect protein, olive pomace and even a variety of grasses are also being considered. The overarching goal of these efforts remains to reduce the demand for fishmeal and therefore the proportional demand for the wild catching of industrial fish for aquaculture feed. But using plant-based components in feed does not necessarily mean greater sustainability. The cultivation of soya beans, for example, has led to deforestation in some regions, which significantly harms biodiversity and the climate.

It has already been demonstrated in feed experiments that the cultivation of carnivorous fish species

such as salmon, trout or saltwater fish with feed that does not contain fishmeal is possible in principle. However, across-the-board use of this scientifically blended feed in practice is not possible at the moment, because the cost is still too high and would make cultivation of the fish unprofitable.

However, aquaculture feed is not just of interest to researchers and the reason for the foundation of numerous startups, it is also the business of many companies. In 2016, the feed specialist BioMar brought to market the first commercial feed that included products made from microalgae, such as AlgaPrime DHA. By 2021, the quantity for salmon feed alone had risen to 1 million tonnes.

Regardless of such isolated successes, the research costs and

expenses for alternative sources of raw material for fishmeal and fish oil remain extraordinarily high, however, particularly as plantbased raw materials often contain harmful ingredients called “antinutritional factors” (ANF) which are difficult or impossible for fish to digest and therefore harm their well-being and health. They must be eliminated and deactivated by means of appropriate processes before use.

Microbial biomass and insect meal An interesting approach to solving the protein problem is the use of microbial biomasses, such as those concentrated in microbial flakes (biofloc). These proteinrich resources can be exploited as

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wet or dry meal (freeze-dried or oven-dried) and are consumed by many herbivorous and omnivorous fish species. Tests with tilapia hybrids show that with bioflocs, up to 50 percent of the protein in the feed can be provided without seriously restricting the growth of the fish. However the quantities available are still far too small to be of practical relevance for the time being. Irrespective of this, significant potential is attributed to microbial proteins or single cell proteins made up of bacteria, yeasts and microalgae for aquaculture feeds. These organisms have a high protein content of 45 to 65 and an amino acid profile that is comparable to fishmeal. The nutritional profile of yeasts and bacteria can also be controlled through the composition of the culture medium. The suitability and usability of these protein sources, must, however, be separately assessed at species level, because the absorption rates, digestibility and bioavailability of nutrients in the microbial biomasses can vary.

This also applies to insect meals, which would also be a promising protein alternative due to their nutritional profile. Insects do not compete with human food sources, have short life cycles and can grow on a variety of substrates. They are therefore receiving increasing attention in many countries. The European Union approved processed animal protein from insects (i.e. insect meal) for use in fish feed from July 2017 in Regulation (EU) 2017/893.

International research is currently concentrating on multiple insect species that are of interest for feed.

The main focus, apart from the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), the common housefly (Musca domestica), tropical house cricket

(Gryllodes sigillatus) and Turkestan cockroach (Blatta lateralis) as well as the domestic silk moth (Bombyx mori), is mainly on the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), the larvae of which come relatively close to the raw protein content of fishmeal. However, the biochemical composition, amino acid and fatty acid profile of the larvae vary significantly depending on the stage of development and feed substrate, making their exploitation in feed difficult and costly. If the larvae grow on food waste, for example, which would be very advantageous from a hygiene perspective, they put on a lot of fat, which however contains hardly any omega-3 and more omega-6 fatty acids instead.

Since lipids are prone to oxidative decomposition, larvae meal such as this usually needs to have the fat removed, which means additional costs. Generally, the lipid quality of the insect larvae can be manipulated through the substrate used. In order to increase the EPA and DHA content, for example, the larvae can be fed on fish waste, but this can also be used directly as raw material for fishmeal, which is more costeffective. The nutritional value and composition of the larvae also depend very significantly on their stage of development. The closer they are to pupation, the greater their chitin content, which influences the proportion of fibre and thus digestibility.

Do insect meals improve the immune system?

Properly prepared, dried and defatted, and appropriately dosed, larvae meal of the black soldier fly can replace a portion of the protein in fish feed. For cultivation of young sea trout, a test was done with feed that contained 20 percent insect larvae meal, and no difference in growth was detected

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AlgaPrime from Corbion

[ AQUACULTURE ]

Feed specialist BioMar brought to market the first commercial feed that included products made from microalgae, such as AlgaPrime DHA (pictured).

compared to the standard feed containing fishmeal. This is not surprising, since flying insects are also part of the food spectrum of numerous wild salmonids in natural waters. It is more unusual that larvae meal is also suitable for the cultivation of shrimp. For experiments with Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), 20 of the fishmeal was replaced with de-fatted insect meal without the growth of the crustaceans being negatively affected.

The researchers suspect that the insect larvae meal improves the immune system and intestinal microbiome of the shrimp. They detected an increased resistance to AHPND (acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease). This only works if the proportion of larvae meal in the shrimp feed is not too high, however, as replacing 30 or more of the fishmeal results in degenerative effects. Some of the intestinal cells died due to programmed cell death (apoptosis), which triggered further damage.

Insect larvae meals would be suitable in principle, but their use at a large scale is currently not very feasible. For one, the production quantities are nowhere near large enough to consistently supply the

aquaculture industry. According to cautious estimates, barely more than 30,000 tonnes is currently being produced globally on an annual basis. This may change soon however, as significant sums are being invested in insect cultivation in some countries. The Israeli startup Entoprotech alone is investing around 30 million US dollars in its soldier fly project “Waste2Protein”. This means there is a real chance that the second obstacle to widespread use, the relatively high price for insect meal, may be overcome, since although this alternative protein source is not exactly cheap, if the promised increase in production actually occurs, insect meal could potentially compete with fishmeal on price within a few years.

Feed proteins made from leaf and grass biomass Plant-based biomasses harvested from leaves and grasses are raw materials that are available on a huge scale and attractively priced, but are technically demanding to process. The few studies carried out to date on Leucaena and cassava leaf meal as well as with leaf protein concentrate from rye grass and alfalfa

[ AQUACULTURE ] have shown that plant leaves can be used as dietetic protein sources in fish feed. The results of the tested diets are still contradictory in parts, however this can be explained by differences in the protein content and amino acid profiles, their digestibility, their taste or the ANF mentioned above. Recent experiments with protein from the drumstick tree (Moringa oleifera), a fastgrowing, drought-resistant plant from the Indian subcontinent, have achieved promising results with tilapia, grass carp, rainbow trout, shrimp and other species.

Moringa meal has a high nutritional value, is rich in fibres, proteins, vitamins, minerals and lipids and also has remarkable pharmacological qualities. It is claimed that these plants, among other characteristics, have antiinflammatory and anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic, antioxidative, antimycotic and antibacterial properties. However, further studies are necessary before they can be used in aquaculture in order to determine the appropriate dosing.

Dry meals made from Kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus) have already been successfully tested as a protein replacement in diets for tilapia rendalli. Kikuyu grass has a relatively high protein content and a good amino acid profile. It comes from the east African highlands but has spread worldwide, is easy to cultivate, still largely unexploited and is correspondingly cheap. An initial feed test with 20 Kikuyu grass meal shows that it is highly usable. However, for high admixtures around 30, the growth of the fish decreased, which the researchers attributed to the increased fibre content as well as the lack of important amino acids, above all methionine and lysine. This deficit could however be slightly

alleviated by adding methionine as provided by the company Evonik. The Danish aquafeed manufacturer Aller Aqua, which is testing the usability of 7,000 tonnes of an organic protein concentrate made from grass from BioRefine in trout feed, demonstrates that feeding fish with grass protein is not just a fad among eccentric researchers. According to Aller Aqua, the protein concentrate has a similar nutritional profile to soya bean meal and it can also be produced regionally and in a climate and environmentefficient way.

Olive pomace and micro and macroalgae Due to their high concentration of valuable lipids, water-soluble carbohydrates and polyphenols, for which antimicrobial, antioxidative and antimycotic properties are claimed, the byproducts of olive oil manufacturing are also being considered as potential raw materials for fish feed. Byproducts such as olive pomace occur in considerable quantities when pressing olive oil and can, for example, be used as an alternative to wheat bran. This raw material has already been successfully tested in feed tests on the African Clarias catfish and tilapia.

However, the greatest hopes of the feed industry are currently resting on the production of micro and macroalgae, especially as they contribute not just to the solution of the nutrition problems in aquaculture, but also to the improvement of marine health and climate protection (algae bind carbon dioxide and reduce the quantities of phosphorus and nitrogen in the seas.) Macroalgae forests also act as a nursery and hiding place for many marine animals, thereby promoting biodiversity underwater. The European

Commission, along with the European Climate, Environment and Infrastructure Executive Agency (CINEA) and a consortium of several interest groups in the area of algae cultures, founded the European platform “EU4Algae”, which aims to advance development in this area.

Microalgae have the potential to replace fishmeal and fish oil in aquaculture feeds. With raw protein contents of up to 65 and lipid contents of up to 40, their nutritional profile is very comparable to terrestrial plant and animal sources. However, the current global production of microalgae (autotrophs and heteretrophs), at an estimated 50,000 tonnes per year, only covers 0.7 of the actual protein demand of the feed industry, which is much too little to substitute for fishmeal protein in fish feed. In addition, with prices between 10 and 30 US dollars per kg, microalgae cost significantly more than soya meal, which is currently at around 0.60 USD per kg. It can therefore hardly be expected that microalgae will become a viable alternative protein source for fish feed. However interest from the industry is significant and even growing, since it was recently discovered that the photoautotrophic marine diatom Phaeocystis pouchetii not only contains high concentrations of the omega-3 essential fatty acids EPA and DHA and vitamins, but can also deter sea lice when added to salmon feed.

The results of feed experiments show that the number of lice parasites on salmon that were fed with feed containing diatoms was significantly lower. The scientists suspect that this effect was caused by oxylipin, a fatty acid-based compound containing oxygen. However, microalgae are also increasing in importance for aquaculture as a source

of minerals. For example, the microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica is rich in selenium, which is indispensable for the healthy development of the fish and the functioning of their immune system. Selenium deficiencies can inhibit growth, increase mortality and hinder immune response.

Algae selenium also has high bioavailability, i.e. it is present in a form that can easily be absorbed by fish intestine. Because there are still many open questions regarding the potential of microalgae, the EU Horizon 2020 fund is supporting the corresponding GAIN project research.

Although the potential of macroalgae is often overestimated (the proportion of raw protein is very variable and ranges from less than 1 to 48 of the dry weight of the biomass), it could also play a certain role in fish nutrition in aquaculture, because its proteins have just as many or more essential amino acids as agricultural crops and fishmeal. If the high content of complex polysaccharides (fibre), which negatively affects the digestibility of the algal protein and the nutritional value, can eventually successfully be reduced, macroalgae could also be considered for aquaculture feed. All the more so since they contain bioactive compounds that are linked to higher stress resistance and improved immune function for fish. It appears that macroalgae in feed stimulate the appetite and thereby indirectly contribute to better growth of fish and crustaceans. Finally, however, none of the alternative protein sources can currently completely replace fishmeal. A high degree of flexibility is being demanded of the feed industry regarding the composition of its aquaculture feed, especially since raw material prices are volatile and are likely to rise further. mk

EUROFISH .BHB[JOF

[ AQUACULTURE ] PIT tagging of fish benefits aquaculture breeding programmes among other applications

Tracking and tracing individual specimens Monitoring fish by tagging them was initially used by fisheries managers of capture fisheries to gather information about the stocks they were managing. Today the same techniques can be used by the aquaculture sector to follow broodstock, monitor feed trials, prevent inbreeding and generate data on growth rates and fish welfare.

M

arking fish with PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tags is a very common practice in conservation projects, especially for migratory species including salmon, trout, sturgeon, and barbel. This monitoring practice, named PIT tag telemetry, received a huge boost during the 1990’s in the northwest of the United States. PIT tag telemetry played an important and essential role in the recovery of the salmon population along the Columbia River basin and its major tributaries.

Information from tags makes for better stock management Fixed monitoring stations (or antenna systems) combined with mass fish tagging allowed improvements in dam passage, smolt downstream migration, and greatly reduced mortality due to anthropogenic impacts. The ability to recognize each individual PIT tagged salmon improved knowledge about fish population dynamics and allowed fisheries managers to take real time decisions about the best instance to open or close the fishing season.

Roughly 30 million fish have been tagged through the last 30 years and they have generated a huge amount of information that is used to optimize wildlife management.

Large PIT tag telemetry antenna installed in the riverbed for fish migration monitoring.

Recently, the same approach has been used in the aquaculture sector. Breeding programs, feed trials, parental selection, inbreeding: all require the easy identification of individuals. Identifying fish individually by scanning internal RFID PIT tags can be interesting for multiple purposes. Broodstock fish with a well-known genetic background, that will be used to breed for many years, are the most used application in aquaculture. Besides that, experiments where fish need to be identified individually can generate useful information on growth and fish health. PIT tagging is a very fast way to mark fish that would otherwise be indistinguishable from each other. The most common size of PIT tags, used in aquaculture, is 12 x 2 mm or 8 x 1.4 mm. An

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international organization, ICAR (International Centre for Animal Recording), provides unique codes to tag manufacturers and sets standards for the global market. More than 130 members from 55 countries around the globe actively participate in this standardization process.

Contributing to the international traceability of food In 1995, two ISO standards were created to regulate tag production to make this technology compatible around the world. This was a fundamental step in animal identification and more importantly in the international traceability of food and in sustainable food chains. When PIT tagging fish in

aquaculture operation (as in the conservation sector), it is of fundamental importance to properly implant the PIT tag so as not to alter behaviour and performance of the tagged individuals. The final goal of a tagging session is not to have “zero mortality” but to make sure that marked fish behave like untagged ones. The EU Regulation 63/2010 introduced the “need for proper training” of personnel when working with individuals for “scientific purpose”. This training is well understood and partly adopted within the conservation sector but is still a grey zone for aquaculture operations. However, fish tagging training is highly recommended as the best fish from a genetic perspective can be obscured by improper tag position, affecting

[ AQUACULTURE ] vital organs abilities.

or

swimming

Fish can be tagged at different places, depending on the size and the species. Dorsal sinus, intraperitoneal cavity, pelvic girdle, and cheek are the most common implant locations. Regardless of the implant location, a correct implant technique determines the welfare of the fish. The difference in fish anatomy of salmonids, carps, or percid species leads to small, but important differences during PIT tagging operations.

Training sessions to impart correct tagging techniques Over the last few years, Biomark has run dedicated 1-day workshops on proper PIT tagging techniques, where fish anatomy is the starting point. Correct planning and set up of the holding tank, anaesthetic bath, and recovery tank together with reduction of

fish stress and handling time are some of the other topics at these workshop (please contact Biomark for further information). In November 2021, the EU Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries published a report on the topic of the blue economy “Toward a sustainable blue economy in the EU: the role of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors”. One aspect of sustainability is animal welfare, which is also a subject at the Biomark workshops. At a second level, the use of special PIT tag antennas enables the collection of real time data from the net pens, tanks, or RAS systems.

After harvest, the slaughtering facility can be equipped with an antenna system to automatically separate tagged (or test) fish to collect additional data (such as fat content, flesh pigmentation, disease resistance), which are essential to plan and improve the next farming season. At a simpler level, PIT tags, thanks to the

PIT tagging of large broodstock fish for breeding program and selection

unique code encrypted in the internal microchip, can be used for fish traceability. For instance, in caviar production, it is possible to track down and link together all the information (age, maturation, diet, etc.) from the tagged female to each single caviar lot. Traceability is a very important issue to which PIT tag technology can make a significant contribution

for the benefit of the growing global aquaculture sector.

Biomark Inc. is part of the Global Aqua Group of MSD Animal Health and strives to develop tagging techniques that increase fish welfare. For further information on PIT tags, readers and tagging training, please contact: biomarkservice@merck.com

Insects hold the key to the expansion of the aquaculture industry

A sustainable source of highly nutritious protein The biotech company Tebrio has developed a protein ingredient rich in amino acids that enhances the development of fish fry and juveniles at a critical time in their growth. The product, :oProtein, is manufactured from the larvae of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, is 100% natural and safe, and can be used in feeds for both freshwater and marine species. Among the advantages it offers is a substantial reduction in the need for fishmeal, making it a sustainable alternative that helps to preserve stocks of industrial fish species.

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he aquaculture industry has long been looking for new sources of feed to reduce dependence on processed fishmeal. Among the alternatives being considered, insects are emerging as one of the most sustainable and beneficial options available.

For the time being, insects do not compete with human food sources in Europe. But given their animal origin, they are perfectly adapted to the physiological and nutritional needs of fish. They are high in protein, rich in amino acids, and their fatty acid profiles, which

differ depending on the insect species, are adjusted to the different stages of growth of fry and juveniles. They are also highly digestible. And before being introduced to the market, they were already part of the natural diet of hundreds of species in the wild.

The overfishing dilemma Traditionally, the aquaculture industry has relied on fishmeal as the main source of protein for its feed. However, due to the overexploitation of the marine environment, this alternative alone will soon become unsustainable. In

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[ AQUACULTURE ] recent years, the United Nations has launched a call to classify 30 of the oceans as protected areas in which fishing would be banned or limited. Reversing the current trend, coupled with the consequences of climate change, requires a radical shift. To give us an idea, the aquaculture industry needs to catch up to four kilos of anchovies to feed a fry that will finally weigh one kilo. And with these figures, the accounts do not add up.

In 2010, the UN calculated how much fish would be needed in 2050 to continue feeding a global population that by that date will almost double the current number of individuals on the planet. And they estimated that an additional 70 to 80 million metric tonnes of fish would be required to balance the equation, which represents a 50 increase in catches compared to what we extract from the oceans today.

In 2016, they reviewed these projections, combining them with agricultural trends to assess how climate change may affect food security.

And they concluded that 100 to 120 million metric tonnes of additional fish would have to be harvested to feed the world. Experts say this is not only technically unsustainable, but also impossible, so aquaculture will have to continue gaining ground in the fishing industry to supply the market.

All this means that the real challenge is not only to protect the 30 of marine stocks that are being overfished, but to find alternative food sources to avoid a regression in the oceans similar to the one we experienced in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mealworms as a source of protein The other existing option for aquaculture feed until now was vegetable

meals, which are much cheaper and more abundant than fishmeal.

But these latter have a much lower amino acid profile than the protein offered by animal meals, including protein meal from processed insects.

Today, several types of insects are used to manufacture animal feed for the aquaculture industry, but the most popular, due to their nature and characteristics, are the black soldier fly and the mealworm, which Tebrio markets through its protein ingredient :oProtein.

Both make it possible to supplement part of the fishmeal used to make animal feed. But their composition is different, and the final product obtained from each of them is not the same. While the black soldier fly is used for fattening adult fish, the Tenebrio molitor can also be used for breeding fry and juveniles at a critical stage of their development. This is due to the fact that the mealworm, once transformed, has a crude protein concentration of more than 72.

And their ratio between digestible protein and crude protein by pepsic digestion is higher than 90. The results obtained in Tebrio’s industrial facilities also show that :oProtein has less than 7 fat and less than 5 ash.

Effects on the immune system According to several scientific investigations carried out in recent years, the protein of the Tenebrio molitor larvae is not only highly nutritious, it also has beneficial effects on both the fish’s immune system and its metabolic activity. These studies have been carried out among species as different as rainbow trout, seabream, seabass, Pacific white shrimp, and catfish. And among the conclusions, scientists have confirmed a greater resistance of the animals to external pathogens and stress, anti-inflammatory effects,

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At Tebrio, the production is controlled from the broodstock to the final product and is completely sustainable with no emissions or residues.

and an improvement in the assimilation of amino acids that notably reinforces the digestive system.

The market situation The insect industry is extremely young and is going through a period of expansion, with a group of companies, such as Tebrio, capable of guaranteeing the supply of protein and lipids for the manufacture of aquaculture feed.

Tebrio began developing its products seven years ago and started marketing them months after the health authorities approved the use of Tenebrio molitor for animal consumption. The company is building the world’s largest insect processing factory. This 80,000-squaremeter facility will produce 100,000 tonnes of product by 2024. And all at a price that will be able to compete with the other alternatives to fishmeal that exist today.

The production process The production process that Tebrio carries out with its insect population is centralized in its facilities in Salamanca (Spain), where it has its own state-of-the-art technology patented in more than 150 countries.

Its activities are incorporated into a circular economy model and generate zero emissions and zero residue.

The company breeds its insects from the larval stage to beetle development. Part of the population is used to manufacture premium products

and the other part is used as broodstock. The mating specimens are separated by a random genetic selection program. This avoids inbreeding and at the same time makes the company self-sufficient.

First quality protein and unsaturated fat with properties similar to those of olive oil are obtained from the larvae, which are then used in the manufacture of feed. Chitin is extracted from the exoskeleton of the beetle, which has bioindustrial applications in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or the production of biodegradable plastics. In addition, the excrement of the insect is transformed into a 100 natural biofertilizer suitable for organic farming, which is why Tebrio ultimately generates a negative carbon footprint. And that means that it is better for the environment that Tebrio exists than that it does not exist.

Releasing land for crops for human consumption Mealworms are not only an alternative for aquaculture feed production. Tenebrio molitor protein is also used for feeding pets, poultry and pigs, as they all naturally eat insects in the wild. At the same time this production represents an opportunity to ensure the planet’s food security and slows down climate change. Because an insect farm needs much less land and much less water than a farm for

[ AQUACULTURE ] animal feed production, it frees up thousands of hectares of agricultural land to grow crops for human consumption. At the same time, the mealworm feeds on by-products of cereals, such as wheat, barley, or oats, obtained from other industrial processes and which generally cannot be reused in any other way.

the market. That document specified that Tenebrio molitor protein was safe. And that insects intended for use in aquaculture should be fed with plant-based products, with certain exceptions such as hydrolysed proteins, collagen and gelatine from non-ruminants, or some products derived from eggs.

Officially approved for animal and human consuption

Authorization for human consumption came in 2021. The mealworm was the first insect that the European Commission approved for commercialization. It can now be consumed dehydrated or processed as an ingredient in other food products, such as pasta, cookies, shakes or ultra-protein gels for athletes.

In addition, a recommendation made by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), underlines the potential of insects as an alternative food source, because of their high

Regarding current legislation, the mealworm was one of the first insects to receive the approval of the health authorities for animal and human consumption. Its use in feed was approved almost four years ago, in the summer of 2017. The European regulations came into force in December and Tebrio was one of the first companies to enter

nutritional content, rich in unsaturated fats, protein, vitamins, fibre, and minerals

Certification in place to guarantee quality Finally, Tebrio is certified to the ISO-9001 standard which guarantees the quality, safety and stability of its products. The company obtained this certificate in 2021 and was the first insect processing firm

to achieve it in Spain. The company has implemented a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan, a demanding preventive process that guarantees the safety of its products. This applies to the food industry as well as to the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and to all those manufacturers of materials that come into contact with food.

Adriana Casillas, CEO, Tebrio

Tebrio Main product: Insect protein Volumes: Currently scaling up to reach 100,000 tonnes by 2024 Brand: :oProtein Sectors: Aquafeeds, pet food, poultry and pig feeds Markets: European Union

Ctra. N-620 Km. 244 37120 Doñinos de Salamanca Salamanca, Spain contact@tebrio.com Tel.: +34 923 048 049 CEO: Adriana Casillas

FIAP’s profinet ALU, the aluminium fish landing net for commercial and recreational use

Simple yet sturdy nets for fish famers and anglers Simplicity can be deceptive. Attempts to reproduce fish landing nets have failed to match the quality of the original.

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IAP, a German supplier of equipment to the international fish farming industry, has developed a range of landing nets for farmers and recreational fishermen. The nets, called the Profinet series, are simple yet very sturdy and are available in a range of sizes. The depth of the net, mesh dimensions, and length of the handle can be varied so that the product can be adapted to all requirements.

The net comprises a wooden handle and a frame supporting the mesh.

The frame is made of aluminium so that it is light but strong, and is reinforced to make it even sturdier.

The mesh is pulled into a guide rail

in the frame and flexibly secured by plastic beads. The handle fits into the frame with a tough holding clamp. Over the years, the components, such as the frame, holding clamp, and handle retaining clips, have been improved to make the net even more robust. In addition to strength the net is also flexible— mesh sizes of 5, 10, 15, or 20 mm can be attached to the frame. Replacing one mesh with another is quickly and easily carried out, so farming operations are barely interrupted.

The right net for any task The depth of the mesh corresponds to the dimensions of the frame, so

that a mesh with a depth of 300 mm is attached to a frame of 300 mm. Frame dimensions and mesh depths are from 300 to 600 mm in 100 mm intervals. Spare parts for the nets are also available. These include meshes of different dimensions, the beads used to attach the mesh to the frame, and the clamps to secure the frame to the handle.

The handle itself is available in two lengths, 110 cm and 180 cm.

The system’s simplicity has led to attempts at counterfeiting, but the fake products have been unable to match the quality and durability of the original. The FIAP profinet aluminium fish

The different sizes of Profinets allow them to cater to professional and recreational users.

landing net has been serving the fish farming and angling communities for decades and will not be easily replaced.

For more information, visit fiap.com

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[ SPECIES ] Pink shrimp, or deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris)

Sought-after crustaceans from the deep waters of the Mediterranean The deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris), also known as pink shrimp or crevette rose, is one of the most economically important crustacean species for the fishing industry, particularly in the Mediterranean region. Because this species mainly occurs in relatively deep waters, comparatively little is known about the biology and way of life of these shrimp. This means there is an increased risk of overfishing, since market interest continues to be significant.

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hrimp and prawns have become an established and highly valued part of everyday diets in many countries around the world. Demand is growing and is largely being met by increasing aquaculture production. While landing quantities for crustacean fishing, which in addition to shrimp also includes lobster, crayfish, crab and swimming crab, is fairly stable at 6 million tonnes per year worldwide, the global aquaculture industry is currently producing around 10 million tonnes per year, including approximately 7 million tonnes of shrimp alone. However, the fishing industry very clearly differs from the aquaculture industry in the wider range of species caught.

Shrimp production in aquaculture is quite clearly dominated by white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), which is the most important shrimp at 5 million tonnes per year. The fishing industry, on the other hand, catches a much wider variety of shrimp species, ranging from the northern prawn (Pandalus borealis) to the Argentine red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri). The deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) can also be classified as belonging to this varied assortment of species.

Landings of these crustaceans in just the Mediterranean of approximately 20,000 tonnes per year

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may not be large, but they are still of economic significance. The actual catches may be significantly higher, because this species is not accurately recorded everywhere across its area of distribution. Depending on size (count) and season, these wild shrimp can fetch prices between 4.05 and 7.66 USD/kg on the Spanish market.

In the Strait of Sicily, the passage in the Mediterranean between Sicily and the North African coast, Parapenaeus longirostris is the main target species for trawl net fishing, with an estimated annual market value of about 80 million euro. The economic, environmental and social interest in the sustainable management of this resource, which is shared by Italian, Tunisian and Maltese bottom trawlers, is correspondingly large.

Current stock estimates demonstrate a high fishing mortality rate as well as decreasing shrimp size in catches, which indicates possible overfishing. However, important requirements for developing a strategic plan for the sustainable management of this resource are still lacking. Despite its economic significance, our knowledge of the stock structures, the geographical distribution of stocks as well as the spawning and nursery areas in the Mediterranean is rather sparse.

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Fisheries scientists are working intensively on filling these gaps in our knowledge. The pressure to achieve reliable results as quickly as possible continues to increase, because the warming trend in Mediterranean waters is being reinforced by climate change and there is a risk that the deep-water rose shrimp, which is particularly sensitive to temperature, could also be affected. Because the Strait of Sicily is seen as an important biodiversity hotspot in the Mediterranean, this marine region was classified as a priority area for conservation as a precautionary measure as early as 2011, and in 2014 it was classified as an ecologically or biologically significant area (EBSA).

The main distribution area is most likely the Mediterranean Deep-water rose shrimp are widely distributed across the North Atlantic. They occur in the East Atlantic from the Iberian peninsula, i.e. Spain and Portugal, to Angola and Namibia. In the West Atlantic, they extend from the USA (Massachusetts) to French Guyana. Although the name deep-water shrimp indicates a life lived at great depths, this species of shrimp prefers to live in areas nearer the coast, particularly

where the shelf zones are not too wide and give way to the continental slope after only a few nautical miles. This pattern can also be seen in the Mediterranean, which is viewed as the centre of the distribution area for this species of crustaceans. These shrimp can be found almost everywhere from the coasts of Asia Minor to Spain, although the frequency of their occurrence varies significantly from region to region. In the Sea of Marmara, in the northern and central Adriatic, in the Gulf of Lion, the Alboran Sea, the Aegean, offshore from the Gaza Strip and off the French coast, this species is rather rare and is therefore only fished in limited quantities. In the Strait of Sicily and the marine areas around Greece, on the other hand, Parapenaeus longirostris is the most commonly occurring shrimp species almost everywhere. The deep-water rose shrimp is a benthopelagic (bottom-dwelling) shrimp species that prefers to live on muddy sand sea floors in the bathyal zone (bathyal, originating from the Greek bathys – deep, refers to the entire light-deprived area of the sea between 200 and 4,000 m depth). There they occur at depths between 20 and 700 m, but most commonly between 70 and 400 m.

The species has a size-dependent bathymetric distribution, which

[ SPECIES ] basically means that the immature animals only live in shallower waters and as the animals get older they move to increasingly deeper areas. This is why mainly smaller specimens are caught on the continental shelf (50–200 m depth), while larger ones are found mainly on the upper continental slope between 500 and 700 m, with some even found at depths of up to 800 m.

The hidden lives of these crustaceans in relatively deep-water areas is the main reason that our knowledge of this species of shrimp is still very patchy. This is shown by the differing information available regarding the question of what the temperature preference of this subtropical (or tropical?) crustacean species is.

Some authors state 8°C–15°C, others believe the preferred water temperature is more like 14 to 16°C. Some sources even refer to 24°C, however this is probably quite unlikely at the animals’ preferred depths of around 700 metres. Important details regarding the biology and way of life of these shrimp are unknown, because studies in their natural habitat would be very expensive and difficult. Much of what we know or suspect consists of assumptions and conclusions drawn from other penaeid shrimp species that are closely related to deep-water rose shrimp, or from specimens that rise to the surface of the sea at specific times of the day and therefore end up in nets at shallower depths. Similarly to some other deep-water species, rose shrimp move vertically between depths during the course of the day, i.e. they migrate to the layers of water close to the surface to feed there. In doing so, the crustaceans follow the swarms of marine plankton organisms, which can be concentrated so densely that they even

reflect the sonar echos of fishing vessels (deep scattering layer).

While the typical pattern for these diurnal migrations is to rise at night and return to the depths at dawn, there seem to be significant deviations from this rule for the rose shrimp in some regions. For example, off the southern Portuguese coast, daytime fishing has been observed to be significantly more productive (measured by catch per unit effort, CPUE) than night-time fishing trips, which indicates reversed vertical migration behaviour.

Feeding opportunist with a broadly diversified range of prey The descriptive facts regarding this species of shrimp are of course uncontroversial and certain. The deep-water rose shrimp is a decapodic (ten-footed) crustacean that reaches a maximum total length of 16 to 18 cm (the females tend to be somewhat larger than the males). This makes the species approximately one third larger than the northern prawn Pandalus borealis, for which a maximum length of 12 cm is given. However, rose shrimp as large as this are really only caught by offshore trawlers in commercial deep-sea fishing. In regular fishing, which takes place near the surface, the landing quantities for the males are normally between 8 and 14 cm and for the females between 12 and 16 cm length. Since the size of crustaceans is rarely given as the total length of their body, but rather as the carapace length, these dimensions correspond to sizes between 16 and 42 mm. The pinkish-orange coloured body armour and red rostrum, which extends to the front from the head and body armour (carapace) as a pointed nose are typical of the species and provide the reason for its name. There is a long groove on

the carapace beginning around the height of the eye stalks and extending back over the entire length of the carapace. At the final tail segment (telson), where the anus of the crustacean exits the carapace, three small, sharp and hard teeth are located.

The facts regarding the maximum age that shrimp can reach are disputed. For crustaceans that moult regularly, reliable age determination is notoriously difficult. Many authors date the normal life cycle at two years, but do not rule out the possibility that particularly large specimens can reach three years of age. New studies give reason to suspect that individual animals could perhaps even reach an age of four years.

It also seems certain that shrimp do not live individually and in isolation from each other as is frequently the case with deepwater species, but instead remain together sociably in larger groups.

Deep-water rose shrimp feed on both benthic organisms such as mussels, bristle worms (Polychaete) and Foraminifera (these are single-celled, usually amoeboid protists with shells) that live on or in the sediment on the sea floor, as well as on zooplankton, primarily small fish and fish larvae, cephalopods and small crustaceans. Accordingly, for food intake a distinction can be made between the “digging phase” in the depths, where the shrimp root out small food particles from the mud on the sea floor, and a hunting phase in the upper layers of water, where the shrimp actively hunt their prey species. The limited stomach content analyses that have been done for this species of shrimp show that the shrimp probably prefer feeding on certain food organisms. Around three quarters of the stomachs studied contained Foraminifera, followed

by Polychaete at almost 60% as well as molluscs at 53%. Other organisms such as radiolaria, sponges and small echinoderms were only represented with average frequencies below 10 percent, which indicates their lesser importance. The wide spectrum of prey animals consumed shows that Parapenaeus longirostris is a typical food opportunist that is not specialised in a particular prey, but will eat almost anything that seems exploitable and can be overpowered.

Early sexual maturity and high fertility Due to the short benthopelagic life cycle of only two to three years, this species of shrimp becomes sexually mature at a relatively young age. In the Mediterranean, both sexes are already reproducing in their first year, once they have reached a carapace length of about 2.5 centimetres. The female ovaries change in colour with increasing maturity from white to dark green. Mating and fertilisation are preceded by a brief mating ritual in which both sexes synchronise with each other by means of olfactory and tactile signals. At the climax, an indirect semen transfer most likely occurs, in which the female independently takes the male’s spermatophores into her sexual opening. The fertilised eggs are simply expelled into open water, where they drift on the currents. Brood caring, as can be seen with other crustaceans that carry eggs under their body, is not usual for Penaeid shrimp.

After hatching, the plankton larvae first go through the phases of development typical for all crustaceans (nauplius, zoea and mysis) before beginning their post-larval life near the sea floor on muddy sand sediment on the continental shelf. As far as is known, the larval phase lasts for about two months.

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[ SPECIES ]

Analyses of the stages of maturity have shown that deep-water rose shrimp do spawn asynchronously, but taken as a whole the stock is spawning continuously almost all year round. This means that not all animals in the population become mature at the same time, but there are always individual animals who are ready to reproduce. This results in a kind of continuum of spawning across the year. In some regions, reproduction has one to two peaks of activity, for example in the Strait of Sicily in January as well as in August and September. Off Tunisia, the high point of spawning activity is reached in June and July.

The most important criterion for individual maturity is the maturity index (MI), which is calculated from the ovary weight in relation to the carapace length (CL).

As for all free-spawning shrimp, fertility is comparatively high for this Penaeid species. Depending on the body size, approximately 20,000 eggs for first-time spawners and significantly more than 100,000 eggs for very old animals have been counted.

Precautionary approach to protecting stocks The economic and socioeconomic importance of the deepwater rose shrimp is great. It is exploited by the fishing industry almost everywhere throughout its area of distribution, both as the object of targeted shrimp 54

Pero Ugarkoviþ (Podvodni.hr)

The young animals initially remain near the sea floor at depths of 100 to 200 m. When mapping nursery areas in the Strait of Sicily, two nurseries with particularly high concentrations of young animals were discovered on the northern side of the strait. With a carapace length between 15 and 18 millimetres, these shrimp reach fishable status (“recruitment”).

The deep-water rose shrimp is among the most commercially important crustaceans in the Mediterranean.

fishing or as a commercially valuable bycatch species. It is caught mainly with bottom trawl nets, with the catch sizes and landing quantities varying significantly depending on the catch area, catch depth and time of year. Deep-water fishing on the outer continental shelf and the upper continental slopes of the southern Mediterranean supplies a variety of fish, mollusc and crustacean species, including, among others, hakes, musky octopus and calamari, monkfish, red mullet, gilthead seabreams, John Dory and rays. Apart from the deep-water rose shrimp, crustaceans are also represented by the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), giant red shrimp (Aristaeomorpha foliacea) and blue and red shrimp (Aristeus antennatus) As regards biomass, the deep-water shrimp is the most important species of crustacean in many fishing areas of the Mediterranean, accounting regionally for approximately one quarter to one third of all crustacean landings according to the FAO (FishStat). The catches are brought to market both fresh and deep-frozen (e.g. under the brand name “Aegean Harvest” for goods

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frozen on board). Deep freezing is particularly common on deepsea trawlers, where fishing trips last 20 to 30 days on average. For coastal fishing, where catches are landed regionally, deep-water shrimp are rarely sorted according to size, although larger sizes command better prices. The demand is so strong, however, that this work is not necessary, because customers will happily accept a smaller product.

Currently there are no formal management objectives for fishing P. longirostris either in the Strait of Sicily or in other regions of the Meditteranean. The management of this resource is based primarily on controlling catch capacities (number of fishing licences), fishing effort (days at sea, number of trawl nets) and some technical specifications (mesh opening in cod-end, area closures and size restrictions). According to the European Common Fisheries Policy, a reduction in fleet capacity has been targeted since 2000.

For Italian trawlers that fish for deep-water shrimp in the Strait of Sicily, there is also a trawl net ban of 45 days per year between January and March. In Tunisia, the

authorities can limit the number of boats in one region and impose fishing bans of up to three months.

The legally prescribed minimum mesh opening for shrimp trawlers in Tunisian waters is 20 mm.

The EU has gone a step further in this regard. EC Regulation 1967 of 21 December 2006 specified a carapace length of 20 mm as the minimum landing size for deepwater rose shrimp for Italian and Maltese trawl net fishing. Square mesh openings in the cod-end of bottom trawl nets must measure at least 40 mm for EU fishing vessels. For diamond-shaped mesh openings, a mesh width of 50 mm is prescribed. To protect stocks, according to Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2015/812 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015, the minimum marketing size was raised to 22 mm CL in some fishing regions outside the Mediterranean. Moreover, fishing technicians are trying to improve the size and species selectivity of trawl net fishing in the Mediterranean. Previous attempts to prevent unwanted bycatch with square mesh sheets positioned laterally in front of the cod-end have not been very effective, however. mk

[ TECHNOLOGY ] Cretel celebrates 50 years

Half a century of yield and performance Cretel by ATS, the Belgian manufacturer of skinning machines and industrial washing and drying installations, celebrates its golden jubilee. What started as the passion of one man has grown into an internationally established brand. Quality, customisation and a focus on design and development have proven to be the recipe for success over the past 50 years as well as the formula for the future.

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retel was founded half a century ago in the Belgian Meetjesland (a historical region in the province of East Flanders). Nobody could have imagined then that the small oneman business would grow into a company with international scope and dealers in more than 20 countries. However, after 50 years, the dream of that East-Flemish entrepreneur has become reality.

From one-man business to international success Jérôme Cretel founded the public limited company Cretel in his parental home in Bassevelde in 1972. The company specialised in skinning machines for the meat and fish industry that were initially manufactured in Sint-Kruis in the Netherlands. But it is only when Jérôme Cretel returned to Eeklo in Belgium that his company became a global success with offices in Singapore and New Jersey. In 2005 Jérôme left his life’s work behind, but this did not mean the end of the brand, on the contrary!

Various collaborations ensured the further professionalisation of the Cretel activities. For example, Eliona Industrial was born in 2007 from a merger with the industrial branch of the Belgian company, Eliona nv. It offered Cretel the opportunity to further expand its division of industrial washing and drying installations. Four years later,

the takeover by ATS Group provided a new impulse. Both the skinning and washing and drying machines now carry the label, Cretel by ATS, and the company now has access to various specialisations within one strong group of companies. And that has its advantages.

Focus on design and development Cretel machines are known for their excellent quality. That and the service we offer are very important to the company. Our goal is to continuously strive for a qualitative, efficient and affordable solution for our clients. We hear very regularly that a customer has been using his machine for over 20 years without any problems, says Guy Persyn, Division Manager Mechatronics at Cretel by ATS. The foundation is a permanent focus on design and development. To gather the necessary input for improvements, we always listen to what the customer really needs. In cooperation with our machinery business unit, we then try to further optimise the Cretel machines. A good example is the new generation of manual fish and meat skinners F360M and M360M. Production of the machines also takes place under our own management, which allows us to closely monitor the quality and continuously optimise the process. This is paying off—we notice that ‘Made in Belgium’ is increasingly regarded as a quality label abroad.

The company headquarters in Ghent, Belgium are carbon neutral in keeping with the company’s philosophy of doing its bit toward the mitigation of climate change.

In addition, the group is also mindful of its wider social responsibility. We notice that sustainability plays an increasingly important role on the market, Mr Persyn continues. Our customers, but also, we as a manufacturer, are keen to contribute to this. In 2019 we therefore moved Cretel and the other mechatronic activities of ATS Group to a new production site in Ghent. The building is CO2-neutral and serves as a model for future production sites of the group.

But, of course, the success of a company does not depend solely on its product and processes.

It’s mainly the people who make the difference, and Cretel is very lucky in that respect. The international environment demands a lot from our colleagues: different standards for the machines, frequent trips abroad, requests coming in around the clock and a

great talent for languages are just some of the challenges they have to deal with on a daily basis. Fortunately, we can count on a solid team of some 40 people who are supported by a worldwide network of dealers. And they all give their best every day. Together with, and especially thanks to, this enthusiastic team, we are looking forward to the next 50 years, he concludes.

For more information please contact: Guy Persyn Division Manager Mechatronics guy.persyn@atsgroep.be +32 9 338 00 11 Cretel by ATS Langerbruggekaai 15 9000 Ghent Belgium www.cretel.com

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GUEST PAGES

APROMAR’s research division seeks innovative solutions to challenges facing industry

Ensuring the competitiveness of Spanish aquaculture The Spanish aquaculture sector is the biggest in the EU in terms of production and employment. The sector comprises some 5,000 companies producing shellfish in the sea, and fish in marine and freshwater. This industry is represented by the association, APROMAR, which works to increase the competitiveness of its members and promote the development of a sustainable aquaculture industry in Spain. A research division in APROMAR implements projects that seek innovative solutions to challenges faced by the industry. Javier Ojeda González-Posada, the managing director of APROMAR speaks here about the aquaculture sector in Spain and the role of the association.

The impacts of climate change (warmer water, invasive species, extreme weather events, algal blooms etc.) affect the marine aquaculture sector. What steps is the Spanish industry taking to adapt to these new conditions. And what measures are being implemented to mitigate the sector’s own contribution to emissions?

When approaching climate change, APROMAR acts on both sides. On mitigation we have just finalised measurement studies of the carbon footprint for three of the main species that we produce: European seabass, rainbow trout and turbot. We will now work on ways to reduce them even if they are already small when compared to other food products, both animal and vegetal. Benchmarking is essential in this exercise. And on the adaptation side to climate change, we are discussing with the Spanish public authorities how to improve spatial planning in the sea to be able to make use of sites more suitable to extreme weather conditions licenses (mainly through larger sites), to face stronger waves and currents. At the same time, we have developed certifiable standards 56

for more resistant sea pens and moorings, as almost all Spanish sea farms are offshore. And for freshwater fish farming in rivers, we work to prioritise the position of fish farming as a user of water during droughts.

While the influence of climate change on fish farming is generally adverse, there is also some positive fallout—a longer growing season, for example, in temperate countries. Can the marine farming sector in Spain report on encouraging developments attributable to warming weather?

Climate change mainly brings negative consequences. Fish farming is already a very complex business and the uncertainties brought by changes in nature drive that complexity even further. This has no positive side; not even the increase in water temperature. However, it is true that fish farming faces this new global challenge from a much better starting point than landbased livestock production. This is due to the biological characteristics of aquatic species. These are much more efficient and require fewer natural resources

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Javier Ojeda González-Posada, Managing Director, APROMAR, the association of the Spanish aquaculture industry

than terrestrial species. Another advantage that Spanish fish farming enjoys is that the sector is comprised of modern and innovative companies capable of adapting rapidly. Enterprises are also collaborating as a sector, through associations like APROMAR. Facing climate change is

better done at industry level than by individual companies.

Among a small but vocal group of consumers in some countries farmed fish has a poor reputation as they associate it with environmental damage and the use of chemicals, and consider

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it an inferior product compared with its wild counterpart. Is this also the case in Spain and if so, how can the industry combat this perception?

The majority of consumer and social surveys carried out in Spain conclude that, when compared to wild caught fish, farmed fish are valued positively on some aspects (like food safety and environmental sustainability) and less on others (like organoleptic values). As aquaculture slowly increases its share of the aquatic food market these differences tend to perpetuate, but from APROMAR we are in the third year of powerful communication campaigns to convince Spaniards that farmed fish is as valuable as wild. However, our aim is to increase the reputation of all fish and increase fish consumption in general, or at least the consumption of Spanish produced farmed and wild fish as opposed to imported fish.

We work together with fishers, and this is the best way to go.

Spain has the second highest rate of fish consumption in the EU, but the figure has declined over the last decade despite an uptick in the last couple of years. To what do you attribute this diminishing interest in fish and shellfish, products that have so much to offer in terms of health benefits? How is the seafood farming industry responding to this development and what efforts are being made to reverse it?

As mentioned in the previous question, consumers are sensitive and react to positive and negative messages. We need to bring closer to reality the image of fish that Spanish consumers have at their disposal. This is the only way to improve, or at least

maintain, the high consumption levels of aquatic products in Spain. Let us keep in mind that fish consumption in Spain is one of the reasons for the longevity and quality of life in this country. It is also tied to a rich gastronomy and cultural traditions.

The Spanish Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is again investing in the promotion of fish and this will also help.

Challenges regarding the allocation of zones for aquaculture are among the barriers to the expansion of the sector in Europe. What is the situation in the marine fish farming sector in Spain? Is the country’s highly federal political and administrative structure a help or a hindrance to obtaining the necessary clearances and permits?

Simplification of the administrative framework is one of the challenges for unlocking the potential of fish farming in Spain, just like in all other Member states of the EU. The European Union has a bipolar approach to aquaculture.

It delivers positive policies and approaches to it, but at the same time it creates multiple barriers that appear irrelevant seen from Brussels, but that become unbearable when implemented at national or regional level. The highly federal political system in Spain makes the situation easier in some regions of Spain and more complicated in others. It is a matter of political will more than the type of political system in place.

Fisheries in Spain has a long tradition of collaboration between industry and applied research allowing innovative ideas to be tested and deployed. What do you consider are some of the most promising developments

within the Spanish marine aquaculture sector and how will they help overcome some of the challenges the sector currently faces?

The fish farming industry in Spain is highly innovative. There is a layer of innovation that happens at company level, but there is another that must be carried out at the sectorial level. And this other side of innovation is already very powerful in Spain.

APROMAR has a department, called REMA, that carries out every year numerous innovation projects on issues ranging from animal welfare to fish health, engineering, IT technologies or workers’ safety. Most of these initiatives are financed through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and other national calls. The involvement of the fish farmers is high and the results encouraging.

The sustainability of the fish farming industry is contingent on finding alternatives to fishmeal and fish oil in fish feed.

Plant protein and residues from fish processing are being used as substitutes for these ingredients but if the sector is to grow other sources need to be developed. Which, in your view, are the most promising ingredients in terms of scalability and sustainability?

On sustainability matters, in APROMAR we are currently working on our second environmental and social sustainability report.

The first one, that we published last year, is available from our website (https://apromar.es). The sourcing of raw materials for fish feeds plays an important role in it. Marine ingredients continue to be important and can be obtained from sustainable sources. New raw materials are insect meal,

yeast, vegetal oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and polychaetes. Production of all of them is being scaled up to reach commercial levels. Combining these into feeds that will deliver the necessary properties to the fish, and at a reasonable price, is the job of feed manufacturers. These are also members in APROMAR so the exchange of experiences and information is fluid. The crisis created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has dramatically complicated the situation of fish feeds with volatility of prices and uncertainty on the availability of some raw materials.

Restrictions introduced to prevent the spread of the coronavirus are gradually being lifted in Europe. What was the impact of the pandemic on the marine aquaculture sector in Spain?

Has the industry now recovered from the disruption to the market? Did companies explore new ways of interacting with customers (over the internet, for example) and are these changes likely to be permanent?

The coronavirus pandemic has changed many things. During its most acute moments the fish farming sector’s main challenge was to cope with the closure of restaurants. The Horeca channel has been always important for fish farmers. But even then, the appetite for aquatic products was not reduced in Spain. Now that tourists are starting to come back to Spain, and eat fish, perhaps the most important permanent change has been the increased importance that consumer in general confer on food production and national production. Food security is not taken for granted any more. And this has become even more apparent with the Ukrainian crisis.

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