Jan/Feb 2013 - International Aquafeed

I N C O R P O R AT I N G f i s h far m ing t e c h no l og y

Chicken viscera for fish feed formulation Profitable aquafeed moisture control Spray-dried plasma – from porcine blood in diets for Atlantic salmon parrs

The shrimp feed industry in China – an overview

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CONTENTS

An international magazine for the aquaculture feed industry

Volume 16 / Issue 1 / January-February 2013 / © Copyright Perendale Publishers Ltd 2012 / All rights reserved

Aqua News 3 3 3 4 4 5 7 8 8

Sea-grown barramundi – the future white ‘salmon’ of the tropics?

DSc for International Aquafeed’s Prof Rana EU project into Flavobacteria International matchmaking accelerates genetic advances AgriMarine and Akvatech join forces with purchase and licensing agreement BigDNA gets share of six million Euro European project to develop new fish vaccines Offshore mariculture industry looks to high seas opportunities Aqua Portugal New video highlights sustainable aquaculture hatch-to-harvest

Features 10 Chicken viscera for fish feed formulation 14 Profitable aquafeed moisture control 18 Spray-dried plasma from porcine blood in diets for Atlantic salmon parrs 22 An overview of shrimp feed industry in China 28 BioMarine Business Convention - report 44 Novel additives to reduce the economic impact of disease on shrimp production

Regular items THE AQUACULTURISTS PHOTOSHOOT EXPERT TOPIC - ARCTIC CHAR INDUSTRY EVENTS Aquaculture at EuroTier comes of age

Aquaculture 2013 ISRMAX India 59 CLASSIFIED ADVERTS 62 THE AQUAFEED INTERVIEW 64 INDUSTRY FACES

5 26 50 54

Cover image courtesy of ©Oddmund Goete

International Aquafeed is published six times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom.

All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published. ©Copyright 2013 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1464-0058

www.perendale.co.uk

Editor Professor Simon Davies Email: simond@aquafeed.co.uk Associate Editors Professor Krishen Rana Email: krishenr@aquafeed.co.uk Alice Neal Email: alicen@perendale.co.uk Editorial Advisory Panel • Abdel-Fattah M. El-Sayed (Egypt) • Professor António Gouveia (Portugal) • Professor Charles Bai (Korea) • Colin Mair (UK) • Dr Daniel Merrifield (UK) • Dr Dominique Bureau (Canada) • Dr Elizabeth Sweetman (Greece) • Dr Kim Jauncey (UK) • Eric De Muylder (Belgium) • Dr Pedro Encarnação (Singapore) • Dr Mohammad R Hasan (Italy) Circulation & Events Manager Tuti Tan Email: tutit@aquafeed.co.uk Design & Page Layout James Taylor Email: jamest@aquafeed.co.uk International Marketing Team (UK Office) Darren Parris Email: darrenp@aquafeed.co.uk Lee Bastin Email: leeb@aquafeed.co.uk Latin American Office Ivàn Marquetti Email: ivanm@perendale.com Pablo Porcel de Peralta Email: pablop@perendale.co.uk India Office Raj Kapoor Email: rajk@perendale.com China Office Nancy Yung Email: talenta1@netvigator.com

CROESO a Blwthyn Newydd Dda

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appy New year to all our readers! This first edition of 2013 promises a great start to the year with our regular news feature and articles addressing the aquafeed and nutrition sector. This is the start of my fifth year as editor and we have seen an evolution within the industry and much innovation and developments over this period. The meetings and international symposia that I was fortunate to attend have given me much inspiration and also allowed me to directly meet with the readership as well as providing me with a whole new generation of friends and associates from a wide spectrum of backgrounds.

Last year my visits to Las Vegas, Kentucky, Beijing and Singapore enabled me to appreciate the rapid increase in aquaculture research globally and the growing commercial business environment. The successful meeting in October of BioMarine 2012 brought a number of parties together in London at Professor Simon Davies the prestigious setting of Fishmongers’ Hall and The Houses of Parliament to address the topics of governance in aquaculture including complex issues of legislation, promotion of ethical standards and fish welfare and environment in aquaculture. We mainly addressed the need for sustainable solutions in the production of fish feeds and their administration based on the various aquaculture production systems around the world with emphasis from farm to consumer.

This is going to be a continuous process and will require more robust data and evidence of the claims being made for products destined for the food chain with transparency at the core of the issues. IAF will endeavour as always to provide a platform for debate and to present material that will be of interest to all stake-holders with vested concerns for producing excellent products for the consumer based on safe, effective nutrition for fish and shrimp throughout their production cycle.

In our opening issue of 2013, there is a particularly interesting feature on the use of poultry viscera in aquafeed formulations from work undertaken in Nigeria. Indeed animal by- products are invaluable sources of protein and these are being re-evaluated for use in Europe although quite practical and standard in many parts of the world. A more speciality product; Spray Dried Plasma for use in salmon is reported too with some interesting conclusions as a novel feed component.

Turning our attention to shrimp we have two excellent articles, the first reviewing the status of the shrimp feed industry in China and the second, more technical report on feed additive enhancers for health with a focus on digestive functionality and modulation of the gut microbiota. Novel technologies based on bacterial communication disruption (Quorum Sensing, QS) could offer exciting prospects for disease control and reducing pathogenicity in shrimp.

The Arctic char is our species focus this month and as you would expect we include examples of production strategies from the more frigid zones of our planet. This most beautiful fish has great potential and is certainly one of my favourites.The Vikings certainly missed an opportunity with that one.

On the engineering front, we report on effective drying technologies for feed production with cost and efficiency always in mind.

Finally, I end with a rather sad announcement to those who may not have known. On October 24, 2012, my great friend and academic colleague, Dr John E. Halver (Emeritus Professor at The University of Washington) passed away peacefully in Seattle at the wonderful age of 90. I had known him for many years and as the ‘Father of Fish Nutrition’ we all owe him so much for initiating and advancing this science. There will be a tribute to him in the next issue of IAF and I will dedicate that edition to his memory.

Take care, good prospects for the New Year and enjoy the reading!

More information: International Aquafeed 7 St George's Terrace, St James' Square Cheltenham, GL50 3PT United Kingdom Tel: +44 1242 267706 Website: www.aquafeed.co.uk

Now incorporating fish farming technology International Aquafeed is changing. From 2013 we are adding extra pages and the strap line, ‘incorporating fish farming technology’.

The change is to reflect the growing number of technologies which involve feed or some aspect of fish farm management. So, with the consent of our editor Professor Davies, we will continue to publish article about feed ingredients, species and feed technologies but also compliment other technologies that contribute to fish farming efficiencies.

Roger Gilbert, Publisher

Aqua News

Sea-grown barramundi – the future white ‘salmon’ of the tropics?

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n 2010, global production of farmed food fish was ~60 million tonnes. The production from aquaculture is almost entirely destined for human consumption.

The total farm gate value of food fish production from aquaculture is estimated at US$119.4 billion for 2010.

Aquaculture represents the fastest growing protein-producing system in the last three decades and also in the foreseeable future.

It is expected that aquaculture production will surpass 80 million tonnes by 2020, becoming the third-largest protein industry behind poultry and pork, but well ahead of beef.

Salmon farming represents a significant par t of the high quality fish market at a forecast ~1.8M tonnes pa in 2012, and rapidly growing. Salmon farming has a number of industry giants with many now investing in other aquaculture sectors.

The primar y motivation for salmon farmers to invest in other aquaculture ventures is to leverage their knowl-

edge of fish husbandr y and achieve synergy in feed procurement, in marketing and distribution activities and to achieve species diversification in order to mitigate the effects of the salmon price fluctuation cycle.

We get our terrestrially grown meat products primarily from four sources; chicken, beef, pork, and lamb. The same will likely be true from farmed fish. With salmon as the clear number one, it is unclear what will be number two.

Barramundi is a good candidate having many of the key drivers that made salmon successful: lends itself well to domestication, good growth, sur vival, density, FCR, omega 3 fatty acid levels, eating qualities, etc. Barramundi also performs well on diets with high levels of fishmeal and fish oil substitution. Combine these attributes with an ideal geography in Australasia (protection from severe storms) and a growing middle class market throughout Asia…a potential recipe for the ‘next salmon’?

EU project into Flavobacteria

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n EU-funded project into the control of diseases caused by Flavobacteria has been announced.

The research, entitled ‘Control of Flavobacteriaceae infections in European fish farms’, will involve cooperation between par tners in France, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy and Norway.

The aim of the project is to identify the variation found in Flavobacteria and characterisation of the various types. At present infections are normally treated with antibiotics but it hoped that the project will help develop alternative treatments.

"Knowledge generated in this project will provide the basis for selection of vaccine candidates and development of diagnostic assays and vaccines. This will make detection and control possible e.g. through investigation of environmental samples and identification of apparently healthy ‘carrier’ fish," says Hanne Nilsen, researcher at the Norwegian Veter inar y Institute.

Strains of Flavobacteria affect both fresh and saltwater species and cause numerable losses on fish farms worldwide.

Although salmon can be

infected, in recent years it is rainbow trout which has suffered most from Flavobacteria related illnesses. In 2008, Flavobacterium psychrophilum was responsible for large losses on Norwegian rainbow trout farms. F. psychrophilum is ver y infectious and causes a systemic infection in rainbow trout with high associated mor talities. For tunately, the disease has only reappeared sporadically in recent tears but it still constitutes a real threat to Norwegian rainbow trout farming.

Numerous countries using the same testing methods to characterise the bacteria will allow greater comparison of data.

"This is a huge advantage. We now have a database with over 1000 strains of F. psychrophilum from all over the world. Each individual strain of bacteria has been profiled using so-called MLST (multi-locus sequence typing) a technique which reveals differences in the genetic code. In this way we can form a global ‘picture’ of the disease caused by each bacterial variant.

We can then identify which sequence types are most pathogenic, which have the greatest ability to spread, and which strains are currently ‘emerging’," says Nilsen.

DSc for International Aquafeed’s Prof Rana

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rof Rana, associate editor of International Aquafeed, has been awarded a Doctor of Science (DSc) in Aquaculture in recognition for his contribution to aquaculture research and development.

Prof Rana was recently awarded the highest university accolade from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa for his contribution to aquaculture research and development following a peer review submission of his research by two eminent UK scientists making him one of only two known academics in the world to hold a DSc for work

Professor Krishen Rana, Associate editor of International Aquafeed

in aquaculture. He has presented several key note lectures and chaired international conferences and engaged with FAO in over a dozen Expert Consultations as specialist resource person in international forums Prof Rana who was at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling for 25 years, was the only academic staff at the university to hold a DSc degree in Aquaculture.

He was also awarded the Stirling Provosts award in “recognition for his outstanding achievement in the field of academic research” in 2006 and was elected fellow of the Linnaean Society, London for his contribution to conservation.

Prof Rana’s needs-driven

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 3

research focus, resulting in over 150 publications and presentations, has earned him international recognition in his fields of study, translating science into: policies, strategic frameworks, master plans and environmental assessments for national governments; design, technical audits and evaluation for government and private operations for hatcheries and on-growing aquaculture programmes and facilities; as well as contributing globally to the training of over 500 post graduates in aquaculture.

Prof Rana, can be contacted through our office and at krishenrana@yahoo.co.uk and also at Kr42@st-andrews.ac.uk, kjr3@ sun.ac.za

Aqua News

International matchmaking accelerates genetic advances

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using advanced genetic models and decide which are the best males and the best females.”

Landcatch is part of the global Hendrix Genetics multi-

quaculture company Landcatch is stepping up its search for the perfect fish by linking pedigree breeding programmes in Scotland and Chile.

Information on hundreds of thousands of salmon in both countries is now being fed into a state-of-the-art database which can make quicker and more exact decisions on pairing individual fish.

The process is accelerating genetic advances by producing more robust offspring that grow faster and are less susceptible to disease.

Dr Alan Tinch, director of genetics at Landcatch, UK says, “We now have the ability to use information in all three programmes to make more accurate decisions on the selection of fish.

That’s something unique.”

Dr Tinch says the database effectively acts as a large and complex ‘dating agency’. He says, “We are collecting information about the salmon we have on our farms around the world and using it to match the best female with the best male.

“In this way the next generation of fish is better in a number of respects than before – faster growing, more disease resistant, with improved fat content and better eating quality.

“We cannot move the individual fish, but we can work out which do well in Scotland and Chile and then breed from the best in each

country to meet the needs of each customer.”

There are presently over 800,000 salmon recorded in the database with more than 100,000 records added every year. Each has its own identification number which allows experts to trace its family history from parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.

Every fish can have over 100 traits recorded, such as its fat content or resistance to certain disease, meaning scientists can look at millions of pieces of information in matching individuals.

“The family histories, combined with all the genetic information we have on the database, allows us to make predictions about which of the fish are going to give us a good performance”, said Dr Tinch.

“The system gives us an even greater level of accuracy in decisions we make as the information at our disposal is more robust, more accurate and there is more of it collected over different environments.

“It allows us to quickly and easily access all the information we have on individual animals and their families and when we crunch the numbers we know which is the best male for the industry in Scotland, or the best female for Chile. We can also customise matches for individual companies.

“It’s no longer about crossing together the big, good looking fish.

We look at all the information

species food production organisation whose mission is to help the world meet its food needs through innovative and sustainable genetic techniques.

Using new genomic tools offers the potential for the company to accelerate the rate of improvement within their breeding programmes and allows selection for important characteristics, such as resistance to disease.

The database to analyse genetic and genomic information was originally established by Landcatch in 2006 in a collaborative project w i t h E G E N E S ( E d i n bu r g h Genetic Evaluation Ser vices), part of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).

Over the past five years the database has been developed by specialists in Landcatch, Dr Derrick Guy and Andrew Robertson, in collaboration with database experts at EGENES. As well as providing conventional genetic

AgriMarine and Akvatech join forces with purchase and licensing agreement

The agreement includes a secured loan from Akvatech to the company’s subsidiary AgriMarine Industries Inc. for CAD $2.5 million and the purchase of AgriMarine’s intellectual property rights and know-how within certain northern European countries, including Norway for CAD $1.5 million.

The deal also encompasses the sale of two 24 m tanks for a demonstration project in Norway and the development and patent protection of a 30 m tank design with capacity of 5,500 cubic meters.

This is the first sale AgriMarine’s

technology and establishes the company as a supplier of closed containment technology.

The demonstration project is expected to be jointly financed by a consor tium of industr y players and salmon farmers, as well as Innovation Norway, the Norwegian Government’s innovation and development arm.

“This agreement with Akvatech not only validates our IP and signals the immediate sale of two AgriMarine tanks for use in Norway, and it also sets the stage for future tank sales and expansion

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griMarine Holdings Inc. and Akvatech AS have brokered a deal to advance the adoption of AgriMarine’s closed containment fish rearing technology in Norway and in other countries.

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analysis the new database is designed to implement new genomic methods such as marker–assisted selection for Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis virus (IPN) resistance.

Landcatch identified markers for IPN resistance in collaboration with Roslin Institute and Stirling Institute of Aquaculture. Further work by this group, including University of Glasgow, is extending this work to sea lice resistance using a cutting-edge genomic selection tool – the SNP Chip – a glass slide used to analyse variations in DNA sequences, or Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), which act as biological markers and help scientists locate a range of genes associated with disease.

The database will mean improved quality products and an acceleration of genetic techniques in farmed fish which the industry and commentators, including the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, believe is necessary to address world food shortages caused by climate change.

More Information: www.landcatch.co.uk

throughout Europe”, says Sean Wilton, President and CEO of AgriMarine.

“We are confident that the transaction will also bolster further support and interest from salmon producing companies in other territories such as Southeast Asia and Australia”.

Wilton adds, “We believe that we have the answer to sustainable salmon farming with substantial operational advantages in terms of reduced mor talities, improved feed conversion, and mitigation of sea lice infestations.”

Aqua News

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TheAquaculturist

BigDNA gets share of six million Euro European project to develop new fish vaccines

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A regular look inside the aquaculture industry

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his month we take a closer look at cash injections and grants awarded to aquaculture project worldwide. You can find out more about these stories, and others, by visiting the blog

Scotland Scottish fish producer, Loch Duart is to receive a £4 million cash injection from Scottish Investment Bank and Capicorn Investment Group. The company will upgrade equipment and infrastructure with the hope of increasing export sales. http://bit.ly/10Opn8l

USA Research at California State University, Fresno into the biology of tilapia, will get a $349,000 boost thanks to a U.S. Depar tment of Agriculture grant. Larry Riley, assistant professor of biology, is researching the hormonal control of appetite and growth during stress in tilapia. http://bit.ly/TiJe9T

Pakistan A three-year project examining the prospect of introducing the catfish (Pangasius pangasius) into Pakistan has received a Rs3.954 million research grant from the Higher Education Commission. The research will be lead by Dr Noor Khan, The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Assistant Professor Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Pakistan. Under the project artificial feed will be formulated and prepared for various age groups and evaluated for its effect on the growth, nutrient profile and breeding potential of this species. http://bit.ly/UTmOh6

New Zealand Research to domesticate the New Zealand Greenshell mussel is now marketable thanks to a new NZ $26 million agreement. The Ministry for Primary Industries and SPATnz have signed a seven year

innovation contract to selectively breed mussel spat at the Cawthron Aquaculture Park north of Nelson, using research established by Cawthron’s MBIE-funded Cultured Shellfish Programme. “It’s fantastic that research into product enhancement for Greenshell mussels will now be able to be used to benefit the New Zealand mussel industry and help it take off internationally,” Cawthron Chief Executive Professor Charles Eason says. “It’s possibly the most exciting thing to happen in the mussel industry for decades – it will propel it forward.” http://bit. ly/UTpsU5

Canada Can you grow Atlantic halibut to market size onshore? Paul Merlin, president of Canaqua Seafoods, Canada, certainly thinks it's possible.

Merlin has secured a $496,584 loan from the Atlantic Canada Oppor tunities for his project. The money comes on top of Merlin's initial $2.9 million investment and a $1.2-million federal grant in 2010.

The site has eight, 15-metre recirculation tanks and is expected to open in March. http://bit.ly/UZu7li

Jamaica Jamaican fisheries are set to benefit from grant funding and technical suppor t totaling $36 million Jamaican dollars. The money is part of a four year $302 million project, which will suppor t the operations of fish sanctuaries in Jamaica, Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Caribbean Climate Change Centre will spearhead the project’s implementation across the region. http:// bit.ly/VaYpre

www.theaquaculturists.blogspot.com

cottish life sciences firm Big DNA, located at the Roslin BioCentre, Edinburgh, is part of a European–wide consortium that has been awarded European Union funding under the €6 million ‘Targetfish’ project. This major project is aimed at developing new aquaculture vaccines, of which BigDNA’s proprietar y phage M13 based chimeric vaccine technology, will be part.

The Framework 7 Targetfish Project, which lasts for five years, includes 30 collaborators, both industrial and academic, across 10 EU countries, and aims to develop affordable and effective vaccines against a range of economically important fish diseases, including those affecting salmon, trout and sea bass, amongst others.

Scotland is particularly well represented in the project which involves four Scottishbased commercial companies and research institutes.

Dr John March, CEO of Big DNA commented, “We are delighted to be part of this significant European initiative, which recognises the potential of our chimeric M13 phage-based vaccine technology for use in applications such as aquaculture. This further expands the utility of our platform technology in addition to our core interest in developing human healthcare products.”

Rhona Alison, senior director of life sciences, Scottish Enterprise, says, "This news is very exciting for both Scottish Life Sciences and Big DNA.The level of Scottish participation as a whole in this European programme underlines the strength of the aquaculture sector here and builds on Scotland's increasing reputation as a leading international hub of life sciences expertise."

Big DNA has developed fish vaccines which are able to be administered through immersing the fish in tanks of water containing the vaccines, thus eliminating the need for use of needles which can damage the fish.

More Information: Website: www.bigdna.co.uk

FEATURES Every issue of International Aquafeed is available to view online in our Archive section. Both full online editions and individual features can be viewed, and it is completely free.

www.aquafeed.co.uk/archive.php

AQUACULTURE

view

by Dominique P Bureau, member of the IAF Editorial Panel

Increasing the emphasis on quality assurance for raw materials used in aquaculture feed production The high price and relative volatility in the supply of some feedstuffs are forcing aquaculture feed manufacturers to play with an increasingly diverse portfolio of ‘economical’ raw materials.

Larger manufacturers often need to source the required high volumes of certain raw materials from multiple suppliers. Small manufacturers due to their lesser needs may be able to source from single suppliers but, at the same time, may be even more at the mercy of capriciousness of the markets. To maintain their competitiveness, formulators must formulate feeds to lower or narrower essential nutrient specifications to minimize costs but they must ensure that the feeds can sustain high growth, feed efficiency, health, and product quality of the animals at the farm. The production of highly nutritious and cost effective feeds with an increasingly wide array of feed ingredients obtained from different suppliers is clearly not an easy task. This is certainly keeping some feed formulators awake at night.

Sourcing of raw materials from different countries,

manufacturers or brokers arguably results in greater probability for significant variations in the quality of the raw materials purchased. The high price of certain feedstuffs (for example fishmeal) may also incite (unscrupulous) suppliers to adopt deceptive practices, such as product adulteration (for example blending less expensive raw materials with more expensive raw materials). Some recent experiences I had in the field and as well as recent discussion with experts indicated that variability in the nutritive quality and adulteration of feedstuffs are not a thing of the past. In this very complex context, quality assurance (QA) plays an extremely important role.

QA usually involves the definitions of specifications for the purchasing of the raw materials and for the inspection and analysis of these raw materials as they are received at the feed mill. Most, if not all, aquaculture feed manufacturers have adopted some sort of QA process and invest very significant financial and staff resources in this. The main emphasis of QA systems in place is on chemical composition, mainly on proximate analysis (crude protein, crude lipids, crude fibre, etc.), of the raw materials. Relatively little emphasis is placed on direct measurements of individual nutrient or contaminant levels due to the often prohibitive cost of this type of analysis.

Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) is widely used by most aquaculture feed manufacturers around the world to obtain rapid and generally accurate estimation of the proximate and individual nutrient levels of batches of raw materials.

Relatively little emphasis is placed on assessment of the nutritive value of different batches of raw materials. There is some experimental evidence that significant variability exists in the digestibility and bioavailability of the individual nutrients of different batches common aquaculture feed ingredients. Fishmeals, feather meals, meat and bone meals and DDGS often come to mind as ingredients that can vary quite significantly in terms

of digestibility and nutritional quality. However, variability in digestibility and nutritive value is not only limited to these ingredients.

I find it unfortunate that so few research efforts are invested by aquaculture nutrition researchers on these issues that are so important to the aquaculture feed industry.

Better research and more data would really help guide QA efforts of aquaculture feed manufacturers. For example, NIRS is highly dependent on the availability of high quality raw data on the composition and nutritive value (for example amino acid digestibility) of different raw materials so that reliable calibration of the instruments can be done. This is one area where academic research groups could play a very important role and yet are virtually absent.

Other rapid but more direct ways of assessing the nutritive value of different batches of raw materials are also required.

Pepsin digestibility is probably one of the most widely used tests to estimate digestibility of protein. However, there is some controversy as to the proper concentration of pepsin to be used and the applicability of this type of tests to different aquatic animal species and different raw materials. There is very limited published experimental (animal) studies examining the reliability of pepsin digestibility assays and defining their limitations.

Other in vitro tests, such as pH-stat protein digestion assays have been developed but they also suffer from a lack of standardisation and lack of validation. Right now, efforts are really disparate and different groups are proposing very different approaches.

There should be systematic and concerted efforts on this topic.

Turning away raw material shipments is not always feasible in the current climate. It is perhaps more important for feed manufacturers to learn how to better identify and determine the consequence of variability in composition and learn how to safely and appropriately use raw materials that differ from the established specifications. This is another important role in which

academic research laboratories could play a role.

I am sometime feeling that too much reliance on ‘laboratory tests’ to assess quality of raw materials may result in a certain ‘lost of touch’ with reality. It is my experience that frontline QA personnel and general feed production staffs are not always highly aware of how different raw materials should look, smell and feel like.

These are primary indicators that something may not be ‘right’ with the quality of raw material received. Clearly, more training of front line staff is needed.

Finally, how unfortunate is the fact that the techniques commonly used by feed manufacturers for QA are not currently taught in most academic institutions? I wonder how many aquaculture nutritionists have been properly trained in the use of NIRS equipment or have received basic training in feed microscopy? How can we expect to progress as an industry if the new blood does not have the proper academic background and training?

Am I so far in left field? Any feedback? Let me know by email: dbureau@uoguelph.ca

AQUACULTURE UPDATES The final report from the BioMarine Business Convention is now available online. The repor t includes the proceedings from the five think tanks. Invaluable to those who were there, interesting for those who weren't. Download the report and view photos from the convention at www. biomarine.org.

Brazil’s Industrial Technology Core Foundation of Ceará has launched a system to convert fish waste into oil for biodiesel feedstock. The Biopeixe Machine converts 50 percent of fish viscera into fats which will be changed into biodiesel.

The equipment will be used to dispose of waste made by Nile tilapia grown in tanks in the reservoirs of the State of Ceará.

Aqua News

Offshore mariculture industry looks to high seas opportunities

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he offshore aquaculture industr y has requested that United Nations’ FAO conduct an assessment of the access and operational frameworks for open ocean mariculture in the High Seas, and make recommendations as to how to better encourage work towards mariculture in waters beyond any one nation’s EEZs. A statement to this effect was drafted at The Offshore Mariculture Conference, held in Izmir, Turkey, over three days from October 17-19, 2012 and the Turkish government offered to formally convey the request to FAO. The statement adopted at the conclusion of the conference drew from a number of preceding declarations – including the 2010 Global Conference on Aquaculture, the Phuket Consensus of 2010, and the Colombo Declaration of 2011, all of which have emphasised the critical role for aquaculture in feeding the world, stimulating economic development, providing employment and reducing existing negative impacts on the marine environment.

Most recently, the Bremerhaven Declaration of 2012 spoke specifically of the need for increased research, development, investment and policy frameworks for open ocean aquaculture.

Deeper, and further offshore “There is growing interest from the private sector in exploring the potential for aquaculture in waters that are increasingly deeper, and further offshore” says conference chairman, Neil Anthony Sims, of Kampachi Farms, LLC. “Given that many nations – such as those in the Mediterranean – still only exert national authority as far as 12 miles offshore, then there is a looming question about what happens in the ‘Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction’ (ABNJ). We need to start to address this in anticipation of, and in order

to encourage these developments.”

The conference heard keynote presentations from Alessandro Lovatelli, FAO Aquaculture Officer; Paul Holthus of World Ocean Council; and Harald Rosenthal who had Chaired the Bremerhaven Conference. Each spoke of the opportunity and the imperative for aquaculture’s rights and responsibilities to be better defined in ABNJ. Mr Holthus described how many international conventions and agreements regarding ABNJ are either already established, or are under discussion, without any real consideration of the potential for aquaculture, and with minimal consultation with industry.

The conference was officially opened by Dr Durali Kocak, the Director-General of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, who described how the Turkish government had prioritised aquaculture development. The industry in Turkey is expanding at a phenomenal rate, as it indeed must, to meet the growing demand, but care is being taken to ensure that such growth is within the sea’s ecological limits, he said.

Other presentations explored a range of planning and management tools that are being set up around the world to better integrate aquaculture into coastal planning initiatives. New species development, provision of seed (fish fingerlings or bivalve spat) and feed developments for offshore mariculture were also reviewed.

Michael Ebeling, of the Wegner Institute in Germany, and Dr Amir Neori of the Israeli Oceanographic Institute (together with Gamze Turan of Ege University) spoke on the potential to co-locate aquac-

ulture and offshore energy projects such as wind farms, and the prospects and need for macroalgae culture in offshore locations.

On the second day of the conference, a number of presentations highlighted engineering improvements to offshore net pen systems, including dramatic video footage of sharks trying in vain to break through Dyneema’s Pred-X, and AKVA’s Econet / Kikkonet, along with data demonstrating the antifouling properties of brass alloy meshes The day also included reviews of new developments in single-point mooring systems for self-submerging surface pens and for shrimp culture in Aquapods, tension leg cages and testing of more robust surface pens and unanchored ‘drifter cages’. New

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 7

advances in net pens and service vessels for exposed Norwegian salmon farm sites were presented

by Finn Willumsen of AquaCulture Engineering AS, and Mats Heide of SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture, respectively.

On the final day, conference attendees were give a first-hand look at the booming Turkish aquaculture industry, as they were hosted on a tour of fish processing facilities; a boat trip out to exposed farm sites for seabass, seabream and tuna; and a walk-through of marine fish hatchery facilities in the Izmir area.

The dates and venue for the 2014 Offshore Mariculture Conference will be released shortly.

More Information: www.offshoremariculture.com

Aqua News

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Aqua Portugal

F

ollowing the adoption of the UN’s Law-ofthe-Sea with its exclusive economic fishing zones, today Por tugal catches less half it did prior to the adoption of the law – down from 500,000 tonnes per year to 200,000250,000 tonnes/year - in its own waters.

Fish, and codfish in particular, are traditional in the Portuguese diet, says Manuel Pinto de Abreu, Secretary of State of the Sea, Portugal, who was in London recently for the BioMarine Business Convention 2012.

With more than 60 kg of fish being consumed per head of population per year, Portugal is the third largest consumer of fish globally and yet is struggling to

New video highlights sustainable aquaculture hatchto-harvest

A

new video produced by the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) takes an in-depth look at Pacifico Aquaculture’s operation at Isla Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico,

which raises native white bass and hybrid striped bass, among other species. The video can be viewed at: www.soyaqua.org/ video The mini-documentary follows the partnership involved in the entire hatch-to-harvest process, including a fingerling transfer from the hatchery at Hubbs Sea World Research Institute, stocking at the Pacifico site for grow-out, harvesting, processing at Santa Monica Seafoods, and end con-

AQUACULTURE UPDATES Shrimp farms threaten mangroves according to a UN report.

Mangrove forests offer natural protection to coastlines, provide habitats of sealife and help slow climate change. However, since the 1980s, a fifth of mangroves have been destroyed due, in part, to the spread of shrimp and fish farms A $16 million organic shrimp farm promises to bring 'green' jobs to Fellsmere, Florida. It's hoped that the jumbo shrimp can help rejuvenate and diversify a citrus-based economy often plagued by canker, citrus 'greening' and weather extremes.

If grants come through and the methods Florida Organic Aquaculture tests prove effective, shrimp could be on the market by the middle of next year. Company executives say the farm will create an estimated 60 jobs on the farm and an additional 512 jobs from associated economic activity.

An aquaculture zone in Vietnam is to be turned into a port.

The People's Committee of central southern Phu Yen Province plans to turn a 1,460-ha zone in the Vung Ro area of Dong Hoa District into a sea port.About 460 households and businessmen currently raise lobsters and other fish in the area.

supply it’s own needs from its fishing activities.

What can we do about this? Is not a rhetorical question but one Mr Pinto de Abreu is keen to answer.

“My Ministry is planning a new legal framework to encourage investment in fish farming developments in Portugal; to set up a new research institute with others to move on research and innovation forward and

to develop fish farming techniques for species natural to our waters, such as the Covena.”

He is also reducing the time period projects take to receive approval and is simplifying the licensing process: instead of multiple licences farmers will need just one in future.

“We need to work to attract investors to Portugal and I’m confident they will come if we do these things correctly. But we need to move as fast as possible and in keeping with EU regulations. I hope we will have everything in place for this summer.”

Portugal may no longer be the ocean fishing and maritime nation of Europe it use to be, however it is keen to claim the title of aquaculture country of Europe, Mr Pinto de Abreu adds.

sumption at the Sushi School of Los Angeles.

USSEC has funded feed research at Hubbs and Pacifico Aquaculture to reduce reliance on fishmeal and fish oil. Soybased feeds have proven successful at increasing the sustainability and affordability of aquafeeds.

“We believe this video will give people a close-up look at the fish farmers, hatchery biologists, and other supply stream partic-

ipants who are committed to making aquaculture a sustainable resource,” said Michael Cremer, International Program Director of USSEC. “With global aquaculture projected to supply 60 percent of all seafood consumed by 2020,” Cremer says, “we need to educate the public by showcasing more operations like Pacifico that are producing high quality seafood in an environmentally sound manner.”

Number Crunching

Norway

1969 The year brothers Ove and

30 million

Sivert Grøntvedt opened the world’s first salmon farm in Hitra

1.200 Fish farms were licensed

to farm salmon and trout in Norway in 1995

22,700 Number of jobs supported by Norwegian aquaculture in 2009

343,000 tonnes

Norway salmon exports in 2000

41 Strains of Norwegian salmon produced today 40 Of these strains are Norwegian. One is Swedish.

8 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

NOK The total of the Norwegian Seafood Federation’s environmental fund dedicated to removing escaped fish from watercourses

90,000

square kilometres Sea within Norway’s sea baseline; the same size as the total agricultural area of Italy

250%

The increase in Norwegian seafood exports between 1986 and 1991

40%

Decrease in aquaculture sites between 2000 and 2010 Source: Norwegian Seafood Federation, Norwegian Seafood Council

g n i m o c p U 13 0 2 r o f s t n e v World Aquaculture E The international triennial conference & exposition of World Aquaculture Society

February 21 - 25, 2013 Nashville, Tennessee USA

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Aquaculture Europe August 9 - 12, 2013 Trondheim, Norway Organised by European Aquaculture Society

Making Sense of Science

For all info contact us on www.easonline.org

Asia Pacific Aquaculture December 10-13th, 2013 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam For all info contact us on www.was.com worldaqua@aol.com

FEATURE

Chicken viscera for fish feed formulation

by M.G Imam, Bau Chi State University, Nigeria

F

ish as a source of animal protein has played an important role in the nutritional budgeting of many nations. Fish production is becoming a very important source of valuable protein food. Fishmeal is the major protein source in aquaculture feeds.

However, the supply of fishmeal is not growing worldwide and the price is often high, so the replacement of fishmeal with cheaper protein sources is needed. Chicken viscera are among such protein sources replacing fishmeal. Viscera are the large organs inside the body: such as the heart, lungs and stomach.

Research findings has revealed that certain chicken visceral organs such as heart contain over 80 percent protein of excellent quality while traditional fishmeal normally contain 60 – 80 percent high quality protein.

Fishmeal Fishmeal is the most important component in fish feed formulation. It is a commercial product made from fish and the bones and offal from processed fish. It is a brown powder or cake obtained by drying the fish or fish trimmings, often after cooking, and then grinding it. If it is a fatty fish it is also pressed to extract most of the fish oil.

Fishmeal is a nutrient-rich and high protein supplement feed ingredient that stores well, and is used primarily in diets for domestic animals and sometimes as a high-quality organic fertilizer. Fishmeal and fish oil replacement has been the focus of very significant research efforts and hundreds of scientific papers in recent years.

Despite years of research, fishmeal and fish oil remain very important, quasi essential, components of successful commercial

feeds for most fish and crustacean species.

This generally has an impact on the feed and production costs for many aquaculture products.

Over the past five decades, dozens of different protein and lipid sources have been evaluated in hundreds of ‘practical’ feeding trials. Many of these trials focused on replacing fishmeal, fish oil or other high quality protein and lipid sources by putatively more cost-effective protein and lipid sources. What is often overlooked in many trials is that fishmeal and fish oil are complex ingredients that are known to vary greatly in chemical composition.

The raw material sources and types, seasons, and processing equipment and conditions used in the manufacturing of these ingredients all have great impacts on the chemical composition and nutritive value of these ingredients. Incorporating ‘20 percent fish meal in the diet’ or ‘replacing 50 percent of the fish meal or fish oil of the diet’ may mean very different things depending on the type and chemical composition of the fish meal and fish oil used in the study and the fish meal and fish oil levels in the control diet for such a reason, the composition of the ingredients to be used for replacing fish meal must be determined.

Protein and amino acids utilisation Protein is the principal constituent of the tissues and organs of fish body and therefore an essential nutrient for both maintenance and growth in fish. The requirement for proteins in fish is therefore very obvious since protein constitutes more than 45 -47 percent of the tissues dry matter. A continual supply of protein is needed throughout life for maintenance

10 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

and growth. Catfish, like other animals, actually do not have a protein requirement, but they require a source of non-specific nitrogen and indispensable amino acids.

Usually, the most economical source of these elements is a mixture of proteins in feedstuffs. Ingested proteins are hydrolyzed to release amino acids that may be used for synthesis of tissue protein or if in excess, used for energy. Use of protein for energy is expensive, thus catfish feed should be balanced to assure that adequate levels of non-specific nitrogen, amino acids and non-protein energy are supplied in proper proportion.

It is more precise to formulate fish Table 1: Amino Acids Requirements of Catfish

Amino acids

Requirement (% of dietary protien)

Arginine

4.3

Histidine

1.5

Isoleucine

2.6

Lysine

5.1

Leucine

3.5

Methionine+cystine

2.3

Phenylalanine+tyrosine

5.0

Threonine

2.0

Tryptophan

0.5

Valine

3.0

feed based on amino acid requirements.

Nutritionally, amino acids may be classified as either indispensable (essential) or dispensable (non-essentials). An indispensable amino acid is one that the animal cannot synthesize in quantities. Sufficient for body needs, thus they must be supplied in the

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Fishmeal is the most important component in fish feed making. Fishmeal contains 60-80 percent protein of excellent quality, which is highly palatable to fish. Since fishmeal is a good source of essential amino acids, it is often used to supplement feeds containing plant proteins. Fishmeal is also

A chief and readily available source of high quality animal protein is chicken viscera which are considered as a waste in the poultry industry. In the poultry processing industry, viscera accounts for nearly 30 percent of the byproducts.

Fishmeal is a major protein source in aquafeed especially for carnivorous species.

Increasing demand, unstable supplies and high prices of fishmeal with the expansion of aquaculture have made it necessary to search for alternative protein sources.

Moreover, price of fishmeal is often high.

It is necessary to replace fishmeal with cheaper protein sources.

Plant protein sources such as defatted

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Justification for chicken viscera as a replacement for fishmeal

rich in energy, minerals and essential fatty acids. It is used at levels up to 50 percent in catfish fry feeds, up to 12 percent in catfish fingerling feeds and from 0-8 percent in grow-out fish feeds.

Fishmeal remains the major dietary protein source in fish feed but escalating cost, uncertainty unavailability and lesser quantity has necessitated the use of other protein sources to reduce feed cost without compromising growth. Therefore, efforts have long been directed to find alternate protein sources of good quality which are less expensive and readily available as substitutes for fishmeal component in practical diets.

Prov id

diet. A dispensable amino acid is one that can be synthesized by the animal in quantities sufficient for maximal growth. Most simple - stomach animals, including catfish require the same 10 indispensable amino acids.

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January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 11

14.12.12 14:31

FEATURE soybean meal and corn gluten meal are good candidates as fishmeal substitutes.

However, those ingredients contain antinutritive substances such as phytic acid and also lack essential nutrients such as taurine. For such reasons, that is why the use of animal protein sources is necessary and the cheapest and most reliable animal protein source that is readily available in most countries of the world is chicken viscera.

Conclusion One of the greatest challenges in contemporary aquaculture especially in relation to fish nutrition is finding a desirable replacement for fishmeal. Researchers from all over the world have been conducting researches in order to find replacement for fish meal from both animal and plant sources.

However, there are certain disadvantages that are associated with the replacements from plant sources ranging from low nutritious value to lack of essential amino acids. On the other hand, an animal source gives better results. Research on chicken viscera has revealed fascinating results and scientists from all over the world are doing more work. My current research focuses on proximate analysis of chicken viscera as a potential replacement for fishmeal in pangasius culture. It is hoped that the ending results will reveal more clues that will justify chicken viscera as a potential replacement for fishmeal.

References Thanh Hung Le. Subagja J, Slembrouck J. & Legendre M. (1998) Study on mass mortality of Pangasius hypophthalmus during larval rearing and its control and prevention. Abstract 27, National Workshop on Aquaculture, September 29±30, 1998, Bac Ninh, Vietnam.

Subagja J., Slembrouck J., Hung L.T. & Legendre M. (1999) Larval rearing of an Asian Pangasius hypophthalmus (Siluroidei Pangasiidae): analysis of precocious mortality and proposition of appropriate treatments. Aquatic Living Resources 12, 37±44.

FergusonH.W. (1989) Systemic Pathology of Fish.

A Text and Atlas of Comparative Tissue Responses in Diseases of Teleosts. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, USA. Babatope A. F. (2009). Applied nutrition technology in fish and livestock series (2) Published by B. A. Falayi (Ph.D). National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research (N.I.F.F.R) P.M.B. 6006, New Bussa, Niger State Nigeria 63-1 08pp.

Babatope A. F. (2009). Feed Formulation Manufacture and Quality Appraisal for Fish and Livestock Series (4). National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research (N.I.F.F.R). PMB 6006 New Bussa, Niger State Nigeria. 1-6Ipp. Babatope A. F. (2009). Tropical feedstuff composition tables and some biological catalogues in fish and livestock production series (3).

Published by -B. A. Falayi (Ph.D). National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research (N.I.F.F.R). PMB 6006 New Bussa, Niger State, Nigeria. 5-16pp.

Shiba Shankar Giri, Sangram Ketan Sahoo and Satyendra Nath Mohanty (2010) Replacement of By-Catch Fishmeal with Dried Chicken Viscera Meal in Extruded Feeds: Effect On Growth, Nutrient Utilisation and Carcass Composition of Catfish Clarias Batrachus (Linn.) fingerlings. Aquaculture International Volume 18, Number 4 (2010), 539-544, DOI: 10.1007/S10499-009-9265-3.

Preeda Phumee, Roshada Hashim, Mohammed Aliyu Paiko & Alexander Chong Shu-Chien (2009) Effects of dietary protein and lipid content on growth performance and biological indices of iridescent Shark (Pangasius hypophthalmus, Sauvage 1878) fry. Aquaculture research 2009. 40, 456-463.

Balogun, A. M., Adebayo, O. T., Madu, C. T., and Eyo, A. A., Falayi, B. A., (2003). Leaching of feed nutrients, economic losses to fish farming. Journal of Aquatic Science, 18(2): 119-123.

S.N. Jamdar, M.H. Kishore And P. Harikumar (2005) Influence Of Ionizing Radiation On Protein Degradation By Endogenous Proteases In Poultry Viscera. NAARRI Annual Conference (NAC 2005), Held At Mumbai, Issue No. 273 October 2006.

Crumlish, M. & Dung, T.T. 2006. Strategies to reduce risk and livelihood impact associated with outbreaks of Bacillary Necrosis of Pangasius spp.

(BNP) farmed in the Mekong Delta,Viet Nam. DFID Aquaculture and Fish Genetics Research Programme, Final Technical Report (R8093). DFID, London, England. 186 pages.

Abbas, I.I.and Ukoje, 1.A. (2009). Rural water utilization factors affecting aquaculture in Owo local government area of Ondo State, Nigeria, Journal of Geography and Regional Planning 2(8) 190-197.

Pauly, Daniel and Watson, Reg (2009) "Spatial Dynamics of Marine Fisheries" In: Simon A. Levin (ed.) The Princeton Guide to Ecology. Pages 501–509.

Goodwin A.E., Roy J.S., Grizzte J.M. & Goldsby M.T. (1994) Bacillus Mycoides- a bacterial pathogen of channel catfish. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 18, 173±179.

Dominique P. Bureau (2012) Deconstructing the Fish Meal and Fish Oil Replacement Story in Aquaculture: Focusing on Nutrient Requirements, Characterization of Feed Ingredients and Pragmatic Approaches, the Alltech 28th International Symposium May 20-23, 2012, Lexington, Kentucky.

Shuichi Satoh (2012) Replacing fishmeal – An imperative that aquaculture must successfully address, the Alltech 28th International Symposium May 20-23, 2012, Lexington, Kentucky.

M.G Imam and B.S Audu (2012) Proximate analysis of chicken viscera waste as a potential replacement for fish meal in fish feed formulation. (Unpublished).

Henken A M., Lucas H, Tijseen P A T and Michiels M A M 1986 A comparison between methods used to determine the energy content of feed, fish and faecal samples. Aquaculture 58: 195-201 A Kumar, A Bhatnagar and S K Garg (2009) Growth performance, carcass composition and digestive enzyme activity of pearlspot, Etroplus suratensis (Bloch) reared in inland saline groundwater ponds providing substrate or feed. Livestock Research for Rural Development 21 (10) 2009.

This article was originally published on

Li, M.H. and E.H. Robinson, (1996). Phosphorus availability (digestibility) of common feedstuffs to channel catfish as measured by weight gain and bone mineralization, Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 27:297-302.

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FEATURE

Profitable aquafeed

moisture control

by John Robinson, President, Drying Technology Inc, USA

A

quafeed producers are losing about $4 to $10 per ton of product produced in terms of lost production, higher energy consumption and lowered product quality.

These losses can be recovered by substituting a more effective moisture (MC) sensing and control technology for currently used traditional MC sensing and control.

such that the mean MC can be maximized without exceeding the upper specification limit (USL). Fortunately, a solution for poor MC sensing and control was supplied by the derivation of a MC sensing and control model from first principles. The Delta T model: MC = K1(ΔT)p – K2/Sq relates the product MC exiting a dryer to the temperature drop (ΔT) of hot air after contact with the wet product and the production rate or evaporative load (S). The model solved the two main problems with MC sensing and control by producing. Firstly, a rugged, reliable ‘inside-the-dryer’ moisture sensor; and secondly, a new and powerful control algorithm that precisely adjusts the set point for evaporative load changes.

Figure 1: Typical MC distribution curve produced by poor MC sensing and control

A new type of MC sensor Figure 2 describes how the Delta T MC sensor continuously measures the MC of

aquafeed inside the harsh environment of a dryer while it is being dried with a belt dryer.

As illustrated by Figure 2, patented Delta T technology invented a new type MC sensor that can be installed ‘inside-the-dryer’ which reduces the dead time (time to detect a disturbance entering with the feed) by at least 30 percent.

Since dead time is directly proportional to the product standard deviation, use of this ‘insidethe-dryer’ sensor reduces the standard deviation at least 30 percent below that achieved by use of currently used MC sensing methods. It should be noted that use of raw Delta T data will not work—it must be processed by the model before use. Figure 3 illustrates the advantage of reducing dead time for aquafeed drying.

Three possible locations are shown for installing the MC sensor. Dead time for each installation point is the time it takes for the individual MC method to detect a change in evaporative load entering with the feed. The lowest dead time is 14 minutes for the Delta T sensor inside the dryer; the next lowest dead time is 20 minutes for a MC meter located at the dryer exit; the longest

The control problem Two main problems prevent traditional MC sensing and control technology from being effective. Firstly, the lack of timely and accurate MC data upon which to base control action (poor MC sensing). Secondly, the inability to correctly adjust for evaporative load changes entering with the feed.

Figure 1 shows a typical normal MC distribution curve produced by traditional MC sensing and control technology. The curve is relatively wide as a result of the effect of high MC standard deviation. It is obvious that the wider the MC variation the lower the target mean MC must be to prevent production of wet product. Consequently, use of currently available control technology forces manufacturers to over dry their products which causes significant costs in terms of lower production, higher energy usage, and poorer quality. Figure 1 illustrates the effect of poor MC sensing and control on MC variation.

Figure 2: Delta T ‘inside-the-dryer’ MC sensor

The control solution Losses caused by poor MC sensing and control may be recovered if the MC variation (standard deviation) is reduced

Figure 3: Delta T reduces dead time on belt dryer

14 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

FEATURE

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January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 15

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FEATURE

Delta T

BREAKTHROUGH

Current

MC

in Aquafeed Technology Many leading aquafeed manufacturers in the industry count on Extru-Tech to engineer the perfect aquafeed production solution. industry leading equipment and engineered production advantages will give you the upper hand over the competition. could you use a cost effective improvement in performance and finished product quality? contact one of the Aquafeed consultants at Extru-Tech today at 785-284-2153.

Figure 4: Delta T MC control allows mean MC to be maximized without exceeding USL

Figure 5: Outside view of Delta T MC system

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ET-233A.indd 1

dead time is 30 minutes for MC samples taken downstream of the dryer and analyzed by a laboratory instrument.

For the above conditions, the Delta T accomplishes dead time reductions of 30 percent and 53 percent below that for the moisture meter method and the laboratory MC sample method respectively. The standard deviation reductions would also be reduced 30 percent and 53 percent respectively.

16 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013 12/27/12 10:51 AM

MC in spite of frequent changes in evaporative load entering the dryer with the feed.

Proprietary methods are used in adapting the model to the dryer and product.

Application of Delta T to aquafeed manufacture The above-mentioned reduction in standard deviation enables the target MC to be increased by 0.5 percent to as much as 1.25 percent without fear of producing wet product which might mold in transit or storage. Figure 4 shows schematically how reducing the standard deviation enables the mean MC to be increased by shifting the Delta T curve rightward until the upper + 3 standard deviation points (USL) of both curves coincide. The difference in mean MCs represents the economic gain from using Delta T technology.

Results and conclusions From 10 to 25 lbs of additional water can be safely sold with the product per ton of product produced without exceeding the upper specification limit using this new technology. The return to the aquafeed manufacturer is $4 to $10 per ton of product for a wholesale product price of $800 per ton. In addition, energy savings of approximately four to seven percent possible. The Delta T has been successfully applied in the US for MC sensing and control of many products, including aquafeed using a Beltomatic conveyor dryer.

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FEATURE

Spray-dried plasma from porcine blood in diets for Atlantic salmon parrs

by Enric Gisbert PhD, Research Scientist, IRTA-San Carlos de la RĂĄpita, Spain and Javier Polo PhD, APC Europe SA, Granollers, Spain

S

ince the late 1970s, Atlantic salmon aquaculture has grown into a global industry that annually produces over 1.4 million tonnes of salmon with an estimated value of US$7,812 million according to 2012 FAO statistics. The growth of salmon aquaculture has been accompanied by a continuous improvement in feed formulation and technology to maximize growth and survival of salmon at different stages of development. The search for new and alternative feed ingredients and formulations continues in order to ensure sustainability of this industry.

A major challenge for the aquaculture feed production industry is to identify and validate stable, predictable and high quality sources of alternative proteins for the manufacture of aqua feeds. In this context, any satisfactory alternative feed ingredient must be able to supply comparable nutritional value at a competitive cost. Global recognition that terrestrial animal by-product meals, especially non-ruminant blood meals and blood products, represent the largest and largely untapped safe source of animal protein available within the international aquafeed industry.

Despite the fact that blood meal and blood products have been shown to be costeffective nutrient sources for farmed fish and shrimp, it was estimated that less than five percent of total global manufactured aqua feeds (21 million tonnes in 2005) contained blood meal (2–5% average dietary inclusion level).

Blood meal is mainly used as a cost-effective source of highly digestible animal protein, as a

fishmeal replacer, and as a pellet colouring agent.

On a nutritional basis, blood meals with the highest digestibility are generally those which have been spray dried. Spray-dried proteins are subjected to less heat damage and denaturing of the protein during the drying process compared to traditional rendered or ring-dried proteins.

Aquaculture feed manufacturers that use blood meal and blood products in their feeds are mainly concentrated in Asia and North and South America, whereas European feed producers are using nonruminant blood products mainly in marine fish feed because it is now legally accepted by EU regulation (Tacon, 2005).

Spray dried-plasma as a feed ingredient Spray-dried blood, red blood cells (haemoglobin) and plasma proteins have long been recognized as high quality feed ingredients for swine, cattle and poultry.

Spray-dried plasma (SDP) is a feed ingredient composed

Figure 1: Final size distribution in body weight (BW) of Atlantic salmon fed diets containing graded levels of spray dried plasma (SDD)

18 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

FEATURE of a diverse mixture of functional proteins and other biologically important components. SDP has an excellent amino acid profile with high (99%) digestibility of amino acids (Bureau et al., 1999) and it has been noted in multiple publications that it improves animal growth, feed intake and feed efficiency. In addition, SDP has been recommended for inclusion in animal diets as a source of immunological support due to their high levels of globulin proteins (Campbell et al., 2010). Although blood products have many good qualities, there is scarce literature on the effects of dietary SDP inclusion in fish feeds (Johnson and Summerfelt, 2000).

Effects of SDP on Atlantic salmon smolts In a recent study, we evaluated the inclusion of SDP derived from porcine blood (AP820P; APC Europe, SA) as a feed ingredient in commercial feeds for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr and its effect on growth performance, feed utilization, organisation and functionality of the digestive system and haematological parameters. SDP was incorporated into diets at increasing levels (0, 3, 6 and 9%) and was prepared by dispersing it in olive oil and then spraying it on commercial salmon feed (Skretting T2 Select, Skretting).

Diets were named SDP0, SDP3, SDP6 or SDP9 considering the inclusion levels of SDP in experimental feeds.

The quantity of oil needed to dissolve the highest level (9%) of SDP was also used for incorporating lower levels of SDP in all the experimental feeds. This strategy assured that diets were isolipidic (31%), although they did not have similar levels of dietary proteins (ranged from 43.3% in SDP0 diet to 50.1% in SDP9 diet). This variation in protein content of diets did not invalidate the possible results of this study, since the dietary protein levels tested were higher than those generally recommended for this species at this developmental stage (Bendiksen et al., 2003).

Different studies have reported that dietary protein levels higher than 39-40 percent do not affect growth performance in this species at the tested dietary lipid level.

Evaluating SDP effect Diets were tested in triplicate in Atlantic salmon parr (45.4 ± 5.76 g) for a period of 86 days (0 g salinity /l, 12.5ºC, 12 h L:12 h D), then fish were smoltified and kept in marine water (35 g salinity/l, 16ºC, 18 h L:6 h D) for two weeks in a IRTAMAR® recirculation unit.

Fish were fed four times per day (0830, 1200, 1600 and 2000 h) with automatic feeders set at the feed ratio of 0.9% of stocked biomass.

The feed ratio was periodically adjusted by means of intermediate samplings for weight and growth performance.

The effect of SDP in salmon was evalu-

ated by biological, histological and biochemical parameters, such as growth, survival, feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), organisation of the intestinal mucosa, proximate body composition, haematocrit, serum protein profile and blood cell count. In addition, smoltification success was assessed by evaluating fish survival, as well as, the histological organisation of gill filaments and plasma osmolality and electrolyte composition.

Weight and size At the end of the trial, the mean weight of salmon fed different diets was similar (92.8-98.5 g) regardless of the SDP level incorporated on the feed. However, the size distribution of individual body weight was significantly affected by the diet. Size heterogeneity is a common feature in salmonid farming that affects the overall performance of the rearing process.

The results of the hierarchical size effect are the establishment of a group of dominant fish that do not allow smaller (subordinate) ones to feed normally. Therefore, under conditions promoting hierarchy formation, the largest fish at the beginning are expected to get the largest share of the feed, grow the fastest and have the highest weight at the end of the production process.

Under the present experimental conditions, salmon fed SDP6 had the most homo-

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native, especially for carnivorous fish species.

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• Blood meal and Hemoglobin Powder high protein content and good digestibility, for better feed conversion.

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FEATURE geneous distribution in body weight among the tested diets. Thus, fish fed SDP6 had a higher proportion of fish within the mode of the population (81-120 g), and a lower proportion of fish belonging to smaller (40-80 g) or larger (121-170 g) size classes in comparison to the control group. The same trend was observed when data were expressed in standard length or using the Fulton’s condition factor. These findings are of practical importance since the improved size distribution might reduce the tasks of size selection during processing, and also diminish hierarchical dominance situations that ultimately maximize the harvested biomass and reduce the cost associated with growing fish to harvest size.

the intestinal mucosa of fish fed the SDP9 diet may be linked to the ability of SDP to support the immune-competence of the fish. This hypothesis needs further research in order to be validated, although previous studies on other fish species seem to support this idea.

The nutrition provides by SDP has been reported to improve immune competence in shrimp (Russell and Campbell, 2008), eel (Jensen and Nielsen, 2003) and in trout challenged by Yersinia ruckeri, that in addition of the consistent results in terrestrial animals, indicate the improve performance of these animals under stressed farming conditions.

Survival and FCR

Conclusions

All fish from different experimental groups were able to successfully osmoregulate and keep their hydromineral equilibrium of their body fluids after smoltification, as data on plasma osmolality and electrolyte content indicated. Although there were no differences in survival among salmon fed different diets, parr fed diets containing SDP showed a slight, but not significant, higher survival after smoltification in comparison to the control group (SDP0), which may be due to the higher proportion of small-sized parr in the SDP0 group.

The enhanced nutrition supplied by SDP in diets also improved FCR and PER; salmonoids fed SDP3 and SDP6 diets had the lowest FCR and highest PER values, respectively. These results indicated that the nitrogen content from these diets was much more efficiently used by fish. Growth performance and proximate biochemical composition of fish were similar among dietary groups, although fish fed SDP3 and SDP6 consumed less feed in comparison to the control diet. The reduction in feed consumption and high PER coupled with the high digestibility of SDP may also result in less nitrogen waste in the effluents of aquaculture facilities, which is considered a key element for the long-term sustainability of the aquaculture industry.

SDP is an excellent ingredient for Atlantic salmon parr and smolt diets since it is a highly digestible protein source that improved feed and protein efficiency ratios and promoted a more homogeneous distribution of body weight in the tested population. The SDP9 diet resulted in an increase in goblet cell number in the intestinal mucosa, which supports the idea that SDP may provide support to the innate host defense mechanism of the gut. Based upon the FCR and PER results of this study, the optimal dietary inclusion level of SDP in diets for Atlantic salmon parr was calculated to be 4.1 percent. Research is being currently conducted on the use of SDP in diets for marine fish species, in particular for gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), and the preliminary results are really encouraging and within the same line to those obtained in Atlantic salmon.

Digestion and intestinal mucosa Functionality of the digestive system was not affected by diets, as fish had similar activity levels of pancreatic and intestinal digestive enzymes. However, fish fed SDP9 had increased number of goblet cells in the intestinal mucosa, but height of intestinal villi was not modified in this group. The major function of intestinal goblet cells and their main secretory products, mucins, is the formation of mucus layers which serve as the ‘front line’ for the innate host defense mechanism. These mucus layers play key roles in the establishment of the commensal intestinal microbiota and protection from colonisation and invasion by the pathogenic microbiota. Thus, the reported higher abundance of goblet cells in

References APC Inc (2003). Evaluation of BIOFEND® (spray-dried plasma) on growth and sur vival of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) challenged with Yersinia ruckeri.

Discoveries Tech Briefs, Volume 6, 2 pages. Februar y 2003, APC Inc., Iowa, IA 50010, USA (www.americanprotein.com/ products/biofend/images/Discoveries621803. pdf).

Figure 2: Broken analysis of food conversion (FCR) and protein efficiency rates (PER) from Atlantic salmon fed different diets containing graded levels of spray-dried plasma (SDP). The value within the inner rectangle indicates the estimated level of SDP inclusion in diets considering the results of the used methodology.

Bendiksen, E.A., O.K. Berg, M. Jobling, A.M Arnesen and K. Masoval. 2003. Digestibility, growth and nutrient utilisation of Atlantic salmon parr (Salmo salar L.) in relation to temperature, feed fat content and oil source. Aquaculture 224: 283-299.

Jensen, S. and M. Nielsen. (2003). Effect of APC plasma additives on eels being introduced to red head disease. Poster paper presented at Aquaculture Europe 2003, 8-12 August 2003, Trondheim.

Johnson, J.A. and R.C. Summerfelt. 2000. Spraydried blood cells as a par tial replacement for fishmeal in diets for rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. J. World Aquac. Soc. 31: 96-104.

Bureau, D.P., A.M. Harris, and C.Y. Cho. 1999.

Apparent digestibility of rendered animal protein ingredients for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquaculture 180: 345-358.

Russell, L. and J.M. Campbell. (2000). Trials show promise for spray-dried plasma protein in shrimp feeds. The Global Aquaculture Advocate, 3(6):4243.

Campbell, J.M., J. Polo, L.E. Russell and J.D. Crenshaw.

2010. Review of spray-dried plasma's impact on intestinal barrier function. Livestock Science 133: 239-241.

Tacon, A.G.J. 2005. The Current and Potential use of Blood products and Blood meal in Aquafeeds.

Report Prepared For European Animal Protein Association, 53.

20 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

FEATURE

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FEATURE

An overview of shrimp feed industry in China

by Dong Qiufen, Peng Zhidong, Zhang Song and Yang Yong, China

W

ith more than 50 years of culture history in China, shrimp is important seafood the country. Nowadays, the Chinese shrimp industry has caught the world’s eyes, for its largest production and export, as well as the potential Chinese domestic market with a population of more than 1.34 billion.

The main species cultured in China are Penaeus vannamei, P. chinensis, P. monodon, P. japonicus, P. merguinsis and P. penicillatus, of which more than 70 percent comprised the white leg shrimp, P. vannamei.

The modern shrimp farming industry in China has a history of only about three decades but it has gone through an extraordinary experience which can be roughly divided into four stages: beginning (1978-1984), rapid increase (1985-1992), recession (1993-1997) and recovery and development (1998-present) There were only 1,300 ha of shrimp ponds in China in 1978, however the area of ponds reached 300,000 ha in 2011. Total shrimp output increased by more than 6,900 times, from 450 MT in 1978 to 3,110,000 MT in 2011, and the average yield increased from 350 kg/ ha to 7,000 kg/ha. The development of shrimp farming also promotes related businesses, such as broodstock, breeding, feed nutrition, animal health, processing, transportation and marketing.

The shrimp feed industry has been developing with the shrimp farming and boosts the development of the total Chinese shrimp industry conversely.

Ingredients and shrimp feed The primary feed nutrition companies made Chinese shrimp feed with a high nutrition level.

In order to produce feed with more than 40 percent protein, a lot of good animal ingredients have to be used. There are many raw ingredients can be used in fish feed, such as carp and tilapia, but usually only fishmeal, soybean meal, peanut meal, wheat flour, shrimp shell powder, squid paste, some other raw materials and additives are popular in the shrimp feed. Although

the ratio of fishmeal is decreasing yearly as its increasing price, it still holds more than 30 percent. China is the world's largest user of soybean meal and fishmeal and relies heavily imports; the high prices of these two ingredients in 2012 eat into Chinese feed manufacturers’ profit.

Almost every feed producer has its quality control lab, no matter how big or small, to check and control the ingredients and feed quality, as the ingredients are expensive the producer need to buy them with reasonable price according to the quality level. Besides the government quality standards, some big feed producers have stricter standards to ensure every batch of raw materials can be checked before entrancing into the factory warehouse. Fishmeal takes up nearly 50 percent of the total cost of feed formulation and nobody wants to buy bad quality fishmeal which is supplied by illegal businessman. Feed producers control the fishmeal quality with more than 15 items. With the microscope and amino acid analysis, the quality can be estimated more directly.

The steep demand of the end-users also needs a quality control lab in the feed factory to test the feed product regularly. Besides the nutrition items, crude protein, crude fat, fiber, ash, moisture, Ca, P and salinity, physical appearance items are more important to the farmers. As the shrimp feed has been over-supplied these years, when the famers choose the shrimp feed they can put different kinds of shrimp feed together, feel the smell and dust with their noses and hands, compare the length and size together, test the water stability and water colour with different cups. The feed factories need to check the feed physical carefully during the production course.

Production technology The Chinese feed production technology has developed speedily over the past years.

The primary feed production machines were mostly imported from Germany and America and then from Taiwan. Today Chinese machine producers make practical and economic feed production lines. The local machine suppliers

22 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

adjust their products continually according to the market demand, make the machines with high efficiency, high cost performance and lower energy consumption.

Chinese feed production lines have been exported to more than 100 countries since 1990s. Some larger feed makers optimise their machinery and equipment yearly with good production performance and feed physical appearance.

With the increased prices and the high ratio of fishmeal, fewer and fewer raw ingredients with starch can be used in the shrimp feed. 15 years ago in feed production formulation, more than 30 percent wheat flour with 32 percent wet flour gluten was used to give feeds at least two hours water stability (some producers had to use about 0.2% binder.) Nowadays, it is easy to produce shrimp feed with the same water stability, but with about 20 percent wheat flour with about 30 percent wet flour gluten, and no binder. This is due to the improvements in production technology.

Feed management and food safety Before 2007, most of the Chinese farmed shrimp were exported and the Chinese shrimp industry had to be in line with the international remands and standards. So far most shrimp feed makers are certified with ISO management system, some ones are with HACCP, Global GAP and some other certifications. The Chinese government legal regulations are continuous improving to keep path with the development of the shrimp industry. The new Administrative Regulations on Feed and Feed Additive was carried out in May 2012 with more specific and stricter restrictions. Some feed producers who can’t meet the standards in this new law will be closed.

To ensure the food safety of shrimp industry, besides the laws for the domestic feed producers, there are also specific regulations for the import feed raw ingredients. From January 1, 2011, without the import registered license, all the listed animal source ingredients could not longer be imported as before.

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Correlative industry Some related industries are developing with the shrimp feed industry. In order to keep the shrimp feed market share, some feed producers are also involved in broodstock, breeding, animal health, shrimp farming and processing businesses.

If a producer can supply good quality post larval (PL), animal health products and culture service, his feed with good quality just can be sold successfully.

Among the five Chinese largest PL suppliers, four are feed makers. Now the SPF/SPR broodstock in China are almost imported from USA, but domestic broodstock and breeding research is under doing. About 90 percent of the 500 billion PL in China are domestic PL, the feed and PL suppliers need to improve the PL quality then to get better shrimp feed performance.

At the early stage of Chinese shrimp development, some medicines were over-used during the shrimp culture course. But after the cases of Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV), White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) and other diseases, farmers have found that medicines can’t treat all the diseases no matter how much they cost. Only improving the culture technology and management can help them to prevent the diseases.

With the strict government supervision, more and more medicines are listed in prohibited drugs list. Aquatic medicines and chemical producers develop new medicines with new technology.

Microecologics and medicinal herb are popular in China now. Probiotics, prebiotics and biofloc are hot key words in Chinese aquaculture. Some feed makers are also conducted related research to promote the sales of their shrimp feed.

Fierce competition Chinese shrimp farms are distributed along almost 18,000 km of coastline from Hainan Province in the tropics to Liaoning Province in the temperate zone. The shrimp feed factories are also located along the coastline, more than 70 percent factories are in South China as the large shrimp farming area is there.

In China, the shrimp feed market is about feed in China now; feedmills also need to be 1,250,000 MT, but there are more than 100 involved in hatchery, water quality treatment shrimp feedmills with a total production capacity product and farming technology service. With at 2,500,000 MT and four shrimp feed magnates the service to the farmers, most of them can get hold nearly 70 percent of the market share. The greater profits from shrimp culture than before Chinese shrimp feed market competition is very and feedmills can sell feed with more cash than debt. fierce and it makes this industry move faster.

With the strong competition, the price is much lower than before with a net profit no The future of the Chinese more than 100 USD/MT for P. vannamei feed shrimp feed industry now. To get the marketing tickets, the feed With the upswing of Chinese feed industry, makers need to produce good feed with a nice some issues have been concerned publicly. The appearance and ensure the farmers compare the Chinese vannamei shrimp feed protein is generalphysical and culture performance with the feed ly between 39-41 percent, the monodon shrimp from some other competitors. Homogeneous feed even with higher protein and some farmers competition makes some small feed companies are feeding their vannamei with monodon feed. supply the shrimp feed on credit; the farmers The shrimp feed protein in other countries can pay for the feed in a certain times, such as is mostly between 30-35 percent, and some a month or three months. But it is a dangerous research papers have reported that decreasing market operation and almost every shrimp feed the protein level by increasing reasonable energy maker knows it. Some feed suppliers try to and balanced nutrients can maintain the similar increase their market share by offering a higher growth performance. discount to the distributors and farmers, but that Furthermore, lots of research about the subkind of market share can’t last long as a healthy stitution of fishmeal is carried out every year and enterprise needs profit. many available methods can relieve the pressure But increasing feed sales with cash is a hard which is caused by fishmeal. However, fishmeal job; the Chinese feed salesmen are always under still accounts for greater than 30 percent of feed high pressure. Since 2006, some big feed produc- and the Chinese feed makers are now finding ers have promoted service marketing, that is fishmeal expensive. With the ever-increasing selling the feed to the farmers with good service price, the ratio of fishmeal in Chinese shrimp feed and help them to create values. Guangdong Haid will be decreased one day. We forecast that the Group is a good service-marketing example environmentally friendly and healthy shrimp feed with a strong technical service team with more will be popular in China. than 2,000 members who are highly educated.

Another issue is that although the Chinese Haid has a strong training system to make every shrimp feed industry is already over-supplied, service-marketing member hold the necessary total production capacity is increasing more than knowledge, an efficient management system, 100,000 MT yearly. The cut-throat competition available good quality PL and animal health will manage this industry, but it still needs the products can keep the service-marketing program government guidance. With strong capital, techgoes well. nology, human resources and market share of the The service members are distributed into large feed groups, the suitable acquisition is good different areas, but most of their work is going to the industrial restructuring and can make the to the farming ponds to communicate with the shrimp feed industry move healthily. farmer, do the technical training, deliver the new The development in China and a domestic culture information, help them to prepare the market of more than 1.34 billion spells great ponds and treat the diseases and some other potential for shrimp consumption. About 70 services work. There are more than eight differ- percent of the total Chinese farmed shrimp are ent shrimp farming modes in China, Haid has its sold locally at present and this number will go members to study and promote the successful on increasing. However, with limited land and modes in different farmed areas. With this pow- increasing farming cost, it seems Chinese shrimp erful service-marketing system, Haid has held the production won’t increase as quickly as in the biggest shrimp feed market share with more than past and the shrimp feed industry will develop 300,000 MT last year. more regularly.

For the market, more feed companies are folReferences available on request lowing Haid although every boss knows it is so difficult to build an effective service team.

Anyway, it Authors is not easy From left to right: Yang Yong, Zhang Song, Peng Zhidong, Dong Qiufen to produce

24 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

PHOTOSHOOT

International Aquafeed in 2013

I am excited about the more diverse range of editorial topics we’ll be covering in 2013 – we’ll be looking at some more exotic species, as well as technologies and systems that aid the natural environment. The feature I’m most looking forward to is a piece on ‘integrated multitrophic aquaculture systems’ in the SeptemberOctober edition. I’m greatly intrigued by such systems as they represent not only greater output and lower cost, but also economic stability, and more acceptable management practices.

Lee Bastin, international marketing manager We’ve got a huge range of articles coming up this year but I have enjoyed researching two features in particular. The reintroduction of PAPs in European aquafeeds in 2013 is big news for the European feed industry and it will be interesting to learn what effect the new regulation will have on the fishmeal debate.

I am interested in algae and its growing importance in aquaculture so I will be reading the series of algae features we have coming up in 2013.

The expert topic on crustaceans is fascinating shrimp is a species which provides much discussion and I am also looking forward to featuring lobsters in the magazine.

Tuti Tan, company co-ordinator

Alice Neal, associate editor

Hearing about bright new ideas, emerging technologies and products of the future is always great, however, what I am most looking forward to is trustworthy information and practical solutions that may help deal with the numerous day-to-day challenges at the feed plant or on the farm.

Dominique P Bureau, Professor of Animal Nutrition and Aquaculture and International Aquafeed editorial panel member

I'm looking forward to the Chinese language editions, bringing this magazine to the advancing market of China and speakers of Chinese in 2013. This hopefully will also bring a development in the accessibility of important media. We are aware that our Chinese-based advertisers such as Muyang are a major player in equipment manufacturing in this country so this new foray will hopefully bring cohesion to the aquaculture industry in China. Editorially, I am looking forward to the issue focus on lobster and shrimp as they have to be my favourite seafood meals.

Tom Blacker, marketing and sales executive

26 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

I love eating fish, particularly sashimi.

But I’ve heard that huge trawlers are catching so many remaining fish and there won't be any left in 20 years.

Japan is even starting to farm blue fin tuna in massive pens with enough room for the fish to swim at 50 miles an hour.

I want to learn how aquafeed can help to produce more fish for us, and how to promote the ethical side of fish nets.

Sophia Pang, accounts manager

I am looking forward to the crocodile feature. I'm really excited about dealing with some new species and covering areas of the industry we may not have focused on before.

James Taylor, design manager

Looking forward to 2013 I see the most interesting aspects for IAF readers are the magazine's expansion into its third language - Chinese and the expansion of it's editorial content to include 'fish-farming technology'. Growing fish is more than just getting the feed right. Maximising the return from feed means looking closely at all aspects of fish farming. Through language we engage people and through content we inform. The Chinese language and fish-farming technology are exciting development in store for readers of IAF in 2013!

To view our full editorial line-up for 2013 - please visit: www.aquafeed.co.uk

Roger Gilbert, publisher

I’m interested in the role of amino acids in feed formulation so I’ll be reading the NovemberDecember issue with interest.

Iain Gaynor, special projects manager

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 27

Conference Report including reviews of Think Tanks from the event

24 -25 October 2012 Fishmongers' Hall, London United Kingdom www.biomarine.org

B

ioMarine is an international platform dedicated to the safe, environmentally-friendly development of products from marine bioresources including all those to do with aquaculture.

Because of its importance in the development of a more professionally-run and consumer-aware aquaculture industry, International Aquafeed co-hosted the 2012 BioMarine Business Convention, held in London from October 24-25 last year. It attracted some 150 delegates and participants and was supported by the following companies: Novus, Olmix, Pronova Biopharma, Sofiproteol and Marine Genomics 4 Users.

IAF is proud to carry a full report from the event’s unique Think Tanks that dealt with issues confronting the various sectors under the BioMarine umbrella in this issue. They covered six in total including: Algae in Aquafeeds; Marine Biotech for Health; Nutraceuticals; Aquaculture; Marine Biotech for the Environment and Marine Micro-algae and Nutrition. Each forum gave participants, mostly senior personnel and industry leaders, the opportunity to express their opinions and suggestions on how the biomarine sector might identify and overcome obstacles that that confronted its development in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner.

More from this event will be published as we go through the year in the form of interviews, news reports and followup action. Many of the issues raised will be picked up by the 4th BioMarine Business Convention – which is expected to attract over 800 participants – when it is held in North America from September 9-12, 2013 (at the Halifax World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada).

The Venue Professor Simon Davies, Editor of the International Aquafeed magazine, secured the venue for the BioMarine 2012 event at Fishmongers’ Hall in the heart of London – a historical site in terms of what was discussed and highlighted – from which many of the industries attending had first evolved.

The Hall, sitting alongside the River Thames, dates back to Neolithic times with the British Museum having a decorated bowl (3300–2700 BC), found in the river.

The river has supported human activity from its source to its mouth for thousands of years providing habitation, waterpower, food and drink and acted as a major highway

for international trade. The river has been recorded with more than 100 fish species in the estuary over the past 30 years, many of these are within the stretch of water through London.

Fishmongers’ Hall sits at 1 London Bridge, where the river stretches to a width of 265 meters, it is the home of The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London. Being a guild of the sellers of fish and seafood in the city, the company ranks fourth in the order of precedence of Livery Companies, making it one of the Great 12 City Livery Companies.

Originally built in 1310, the Hall has had a checkered past.

A new hall, on the present site, was bequeathed to the company in 1434. Together with 43 other company halls, this one was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and a replacement hall designed by the architect Edward Jerman opened in 1671. Jerman's Hall was taken down when the new London Bridge was constructed in 1827.

The next hall, opened in 1834, was designed by Henry Roberts although his assistant Gilbert Scott made the drawings for the new building and built by William Cubitt & Company. After severe bomb damage during the Blitz, Fishmongers' Hall was restored by Austen Hall and reopened in 1951.

The Hall contains many treasures, including: the dagger with which Lord Mayor Walworth killed Wat Tyler in 1381; Pietro Annigoni's first portrait of Her Majesty The Queen; a collection of 17th- and 18th-century silver; an embroidered 15th-century funeral pall; two portraits by George Romney and river scenes by Samuel Scott.

A memorable and appropriate venue from which to host such a forward thinking meeting, representing a number of key industries from a wide variety of sectors, all which have an interest in safeguarding the future of our biomarine resources.

99 99 99 99

FEATURE

Think Tank 1 on: Algae and aquafeed macro algae valorization – from the sea to aquaculture markets Think Tank 1 on algae and aquafeed set about establishing four critical action points that will assist in the ongoing exploitation of algae products for use in aquaculture diets. The report covers all the key points raised in the discussion.

Moderators

Sponsor

Roy Palmer, Seafood Experience Australia Ltd (SEA), Australia

Olmix, France

Professor Simon Davies, IAF and Plymouth University, UK

Note Taking

T

he incorporation of algae into aquafeed has come in and out of fashion over the past few decades so the aim of the session was to discuss all aspects of this growing and not well-understood industry and to agree on four critical areas which will enhance improvement into the future.

It became clear during the discussions of the vast differences on this subject between EU/West where majority is wild harvest and used as hydrocolloids whereas in Asia the majority is farmed and used for food/feed.

The need to concentrate in this ThinkTank on macro as against micro was also established however there was a complete understanding that both were immensely important and commonalities can be found

Dan Leeming, PhD student, Plymouth University, UK

the proportion of these can even be affected by the growing conditions.

Algae (both macro and micro) are excellent sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Folic Acid, Antioxidants and Carotenoids.

Extracts from seaweed, in a similar fashion to terrestrial plant extracts, have been shown to have a wide range of biological activities. The two major classes of molecules in seaweeds that have the most potential as functional food ingredients are polysaccharides and polyphenolics. Polyphenolics have proven antioxidant activity, and have been successfully incorporated into drinks and other food consumables. Seaweed polysaccharides are unique, abundant, and cost effectively isolated but need to be partially hydrolyzed for inclusion in various foods due to their gelling properties. Seaweed polysaccharides have been shown to have heparin-like anticoagulation activity, antiviral, immune-enhancing and anti-cancer activities, cholesterol lowering activity, lipid lowering effects, and blood pressure-lowering benefits amongst many other things.

Objectives and discussion points between the two. Compared to other types of aquaculture, the production of seaweed (macro algae) is only surpassed by freshwater fishes and represents over 30 per cent of the world wide industry.

Unicellular algae is a heterogeneous product; a mix of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. In unicellular algae there is much variation in composition between species/strains and

The big question asked was “Can macro algae replace fishmeal and fish oil in aqua-feeds?”

Other issues were centered on global issues of regulations, space availability, industry activities, sharing of knowledge, wastage, etc.

Where do we position algae in the feed industry? Is it a fishmeal replacement? Is it a fish oil replacement? Is it a

30 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

functional feed additive? The solutions to this depends on: • Large-scale production; required if used for both lipid and protein • Nutritional space in the diet; low protein/ lipid content may result in insufficient space in the feed formulation • Cost; if its more expensive that other feed additives it needs to differentiate itself from other products Comments made by participants in the various breakout groups included: • In the EU “the biggest market for macro algae is hydrocolloids“. Whilst that industry produces many co-products that have the potential for aquafeed inclusion it does not do that. Whereas “in Asia algae is not a new product, they are ahead of the West in utilising algae”. Algae is used, and advertised widely, in everything from foods and beverages to body lotions and face packs • Currently production seems untargeted.

More information on digestible protein levels and lipid/Omega-3 data needs to be promoted • It was suggested to select optimal strains and then refine processes for them Questions of functionality were raised: • Adding flavour; a lot of work needs doing to make sure the end product is the right flavour • Functionality will be different for each fish species; therefore, which are the main species to target?

• Many products could provide functionality in the diet of salmonids. There is still space in the market for functional ingredients in tropical species • “We need industry to lead and tell academics what they need from the products” and this should include the price of the product and how it relates to the price of other commodities"

FEATURE Other comments • How will the development and possible future acceptance of GMO terrestrial products affect need for macro algal products?

• It was agreed that a big issue was to work out how to process the base product to be left with something usable • We need to use low molecular weight molecules. If too high molecular weight molecules are used the product is unpalatable • Nutrition is the best market for antioxidants • The issue with production was raised: with the exception of Ascophyllum spp. (which can be harvested) only the gathering of ‘wash ups’ is allowed.

The possibility of land-based tank production was raised, but only viable for certain species. Offshore production requires overcoming engineering challenges. In Norway there has been work carried out for the past 60 years in collaboration with the authorities that allows harvesting of other species • A goal of the EU dossier technology innovation platform, was to investigate multi-trophic aquaculture, i.e. planting algal beds around seafarm sites. Issues raised with this were that the dispersion of nutrients in the water column was very rapid (within a few metres) and that it is also very site specific, not all sites would be suitable

• Lack of global algae federation or regulating body • Protect technology – patents/IP • New products need to be proposed as ‘sea vegetable extracts’ or the legislation involved in developing a new food source would be a major hindrance.

• Environmental legislation issues with open water culturing and harvesting.

knowledge and “promote the sea, which is the greatest field on the planet.” (Olmix) 1. Currently an un-holistic approach in western processing 2. Driver for the future 3. Asian approach 100 percent food with production almost all farmed 4. Outside Asia 90 percent for hydrocolloids with production centered on wild harvest creating 35-50 percent waste 5. Plan for integrated processing cycle

Companies attending the Think Tank included:

3. Marketing strategy

Outcomes and recommendations 1. Functional feed properties Construct a benefit:cost analysis (and possibly environmental analysis) that highlights the benefits of macro algae and compare with competitive ingredients to promote the importance of the industry. Build a template on the uses and benefits of macro algae to ensure it is seen and understood. Bring the industry closer together to ensure they share and build cooperation. Areas of concern included: • Revised definition – Bioactive characteristics/supra-nutritional • Protein hydrolyzates • Essential fatty acids • High value molecules – Antioxidants – Pigments • Prebiotics • Trace elements • End product quality

2. Capacity Create case studies that highlight benefits of holistic approach to build capacity and minimise wastage in industry, which will show the way forward in terms of best practice. Promote new technologies in processing and connect harvesters with end users to ensure maximisation of chain.

Build education platforms based on increased

Assembling market knowledge and information on a global website to promote and assist the industry internationally to foster best practices and build capabilities in this area.

Training and education actions needed to improve internal and external knowledge and understanding and development.

• Understand the product and define, document and validate all claims be they in science, private research, regulations, certification (standards - food safety, environmental, sustainable, welfare, etc) • Understand the market and define clients, market and competition • Survey, explain WIFM and other benefits and get feedback • Marketing plan should include brand, logo, product statements, communication/PR strategy and team organisation • Define and educate your marketing team and beyond • Continuous improvement process of review essential

4. Legislation/ Regulation Structure the industry around an international organisation that could foster the emergence of best practices, improve international regulatory aspect, help IP protection and work globally on environmental conflicts to assist development and possible certification.

This organisation will also foster innovative approaches and help the funding, prioritising research, communication and nurturing of new techniques.

ADM - Alltech - Algae Link - Algopack A-Spark Good Ventures - BioMar - Cargill - CyberColloids - European Aquaculture Society - EWOS Innovation - Fermentalg - Financonsult - FMC BioPolymer - INVE aquaculture - Invivo-NSA - Marelife Novozymes A/S - Novus International Olmix Group -Plymouth Marine Laboratory - Plymouth University - Polytechnic Institute of Leiria - Prince Edward Island BioAlliance - Scripps Institution of Oceanography UCSD - Setubio - Seventure Partners Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre - Skretting ARC - Sofiproteol - SPF-Diana Aquativ - Tanergy Ltd. - Technopole Maritime du Québec - Thalocea - Varicon Aqua Solutions and Xanthella

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Special themes

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 31

Opening the gates to the Russian Feed to Meat trade.

FEATURE

Think Tank 2 Marine biotechnology and health Think Tank 2 focused on Marine biotechnology and health. It was led by Meredith Lloyd-Evans, an independent bioscience innovation consultant who is currently manager of the CSA MarineBiotech, an EU-funded project preparing the way for an ERA-NET in Marine Biotechnology and a partner for communication and IP matters in PharmaSea, an EU FP7 project focused on streamlining delivery of new marine natural products to end-user companies. The co-moderator was Dr Johanna Wesnigk of EMPA. Moderator

Note taker:

Meredith Lloyd-Evans, Managing Director Biobridge Ltd, UK

Mark Rawling, PhD student at Plymouth University, UK

Sponsor Marine Genomics 4 Users

B

io-discovery from marine microbes, invertebrates, microalgae and macroalgae is not a simple matter.

The BioMarine ‘Think Tank for health’ emphasised the importance of joining up the value chain, by creating clusters and public-private partnerships, improving and streamlining knowledge and technology transfer and integrating smaller players much better into the commercial and investment communities they are targeting.

The global market for products from marine biotechnology is forecast to reach over US$4 billion by 2015. But a successful pharmaceutical product can cost US$5 billion for discovery, development and market(taking into account the cost of all the failed leads.

Marine bio-resources have a lot to offer to health and wellbeing, but they feed into many other sectors, making marine bio-business quite complex.

In addition to heavy investment in USA on algal biofuels, the OECD has a new initiative in marine biotechnology and the EU’s new Horizon 2020 strategy and support programme specifically mentions blue biotech and marine biomass as contributors to the economy of the future.

Investors also need more information and education about marine bio-resources and how they feed into commercial opportunities.

This is not new, but the challenges of marine biotechnology come from the origins of the opportunities and the costs and resources needed to exploit them. This immediately indicates the importance of public funding, for example, through public-private partnerships, to make biotech for health a reality in the future.

In the discussion, key topics emerged included: • Lack of thinking at the research stage about downstream issues for exploitation • How to validate the many molecules for the downstream intended uses and therapeutic opportunities • How to build pipelines so companies are not ‘single-product’

Three attendees offered their experiences and views on what were bottlenecks and challenges for the future on biotechnology for health:

Russell Kerr Russell Kerr , Nautilus Biosciences Canada,focuses on cosmeceutical and nutraceutical uses of marine bioproducts because these are easier to get to market. When the company has sufficient resources, attention may turn to pharmaceuticals.

He pointed out that even though maybe 20,000 new MNPs had been discovered over the past 40 years, only four had made it into clinical use as pharmaceuticals. He challenged attendees to explain why success rates were so low and what, if anything, could be done.

One factor impeding progress is that each company in this area had its own culture collection and its own screens. The implication is that collaboration might help move the whole sector forward, though IP issues can pose problems. However, one benefit has been that the high cost of initial screening has stimulated development of better-targeted receptor screens.

Patricia Calado Patricia Calado, BioAlvo Portugal works on products from marine microorganisms from Portugal’s continental shelf, including extremophiles.

Key issues for the company include the legal aspects of access and benefit-sharing, IP issues, how to ensure sustainable supply, scale-up and better integration of infrastructures for collection, screening and validation and increasing the basic knowledge of microbial physiology and taxonomy. Integrated Government policies are also needed.

Tage Skotvold Tage Skotvold , ScandiDerma Norway represents a newer company, established in 2010. The challenges are access to soft funding - not just risk capital, using marine byproducts as well as marine life, building in-house research capability, establishing appropriate processing techniques that are scaleable, managing regulations and determining how to get productive interactions with established industry for example, through clusters, which are very useful.

Acceptance by the consumer is very important for by-product use as well.

• How to link basic and applied research more effectively • How to take care of the product regulatory needs from the earliest point in the value chain • How to join up the supply chain efficiently • Business models and how to manage the cost explosion in pharma development • If a company begins with one type of product eg cosmetic ingredients, how to manage business conversion to eg pharmaceuticals • Communication of messages about marine biotechnology prospects to investors and the public, specifically sustainability, ‘naturalness’

32 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

Workgroups therefore addressed three topics: • Clusters, networks, public-private partnerships ('joining up the chain') • Science, technology and infrastructures • The commercial context and investment, regulation & IP Outcomes and recommendations Joining up the value chain: • There is a need for better analysis of each sector’s value-chains and the prospects within the sectors, to identify the real low-hanging opportunities • Case studies show that clusters work • For more complex topics with longer value chains, Public-Private Partnerships

FEATURE • Discourage the use of non-sustainable sources of MBt libraries Commercial context – investment, regulation, IP • The need for long-term stability means that VC and short-term investment strategies are not appropriate either at set-up or for longer survival of new businesses; encouraging business angel groups and raising awareness and knowledge-levels amongst these would be fruitful • Smaller players in innovation should consider more collaborations between them, and selling skills and knowledge, rather than pushing molecules at big pharma or trying to go too far down the value-chain; it is usually too difficult for small companies to handle the cost and stresses of regulatory processes

could be effective ways of providing the ‘research arm’ for partnering with ‘large pharma’ • Technology Centers for marine biotechnology, with specialised infrastructure might provide ‘one-stop shops’ for chain connection Science, technology and infrastructures: • Marine biotech is not being wellserved by lack of knowledge amongst technology-transfer offices • More fora for meeting of scientists and industrial players would generate better understanding and sharing of needs and possibilities • A global source of ‘soft’ funding would promote the transition from proof of concept to demonstration and commercial-scale for innovations • Specific incubator programmes could be recommended

• Nevertheless, the existence of small companies willing to take part in biodiscovery de-risks this activity for big companies and justifies the perceived need for entrepreneurial companies to supply into bigger pharma (and equivalent ‘big’ companies – food/nutraceutical, cosmetics/ cosmeceutical) • Better and more efficient recognition, development and transfer of academic IP in this area is needed • The attributes and benefits of MBt could be better communicated. In terms of giving MBt a different image, the higher hit rate could be a starting point Some of the points raised above were discussed further in Think Tank 5 in the context of Marine Biotechnology and the Environment.

Companies attending this Think Tank:

Aqua Bio Technology ASA - A-Spark Good Ventures - Algal Bioenergy Special Interest Group - Bioalvo - BioNova - BioTech North Bretagne Developpement Innovation - CCMar - EMPA - European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC) - Government of Portugal - Grette Law - innoVactiv - Innovation Norway - JPI Oceans - The Research Council of Norway - Kiel Center for marine natural products - Marealis - Marine Biotechnology Programme of Ireland - Max Planck Institute - National Research Council of Canada - Nautilus Biosciences Canada - Novagraaf Technologies - Novus International - Soliance - Marine Bio-Technologies Center of Innovation - National University of Ireland, Galway - OceanGate, Inc. - Oceanomics project, Roscoff - Polaris - Polytechnic Institute of Leiria - PwC - Roscoff Marine Biological Station - Saint Malo Agglomeration - ScandiDerma AS - Univeristy College Cork - University of Aveiro

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FEATURE

Think Tank 3 Nutraceuticals – ‘Omega-3s efficacy and purity’ The objective of Think Tank 3 was aimed to provide answers and guidelines for the determination of good quality oils from poorer oils and ways to ensure the efficacy and purity of Omega-3 products globally.

Moderator

Note taker:

Dr Maria Hayes, Natural Products Chemist, Teagasc Food Research Centre,Ashton, Ireland

Benedict Standen, PhD student at Plymouth University, UK

Sponsor Pronova Pharma

T

o address key challenges facing international marine ingredients companies, this session aimed at examining bioactive, functional and nutritional ingredients for use in food, supplements and as nutraceutical ingredients.

Marketing of ingredients was also discussed along with steps required to ensure the purity and efficacy of the product.

The Think Tank agreed that there are concerns and unanswered questions regarding adverse effects associated with consumption of n-3 LCPUFA in terms of safe intake levels, which, may be related to regulation regarding the presence of pollutants.

Furthermore, there is a need to inform and educate consumers about differences in the quality of marine oils that are produced and safe technologies that successfully remove pollutants from these products.

production of Omega-3s in South America.

The negative media attention for this activity resulted in a 30 percent decrease in Omega-3 product sales in Norway.

In terms of Omega-3 product purity there is a perception that “natural” (non- processed) products are better for the consumer than chemically processed Omega-3 products.

This is often not the case. In fact, processing is often required to ensure the safety and purity of Omega-3 products. The group concluded that there is a need to educate the consumer regarding processing technologies used for the purification of Omega-3 products.

With respect to this, several members of the group mentioned GOED (Global Association of EPA and DHA) effort around information and education on Omega 3. They aim to educate consumers about the health benefits of EPA and DHA by working with

specifically medical doctors and pharmacists with information concerning the positive health effects and preventative healthcare role that Omega-3s can play in the diet of the consumer. The group recommended that Governments should be enticed to financially support “drives” to educate consumers and the medical profession in particular. This, it was felt by the group, could play a major role concerning consumer uptake of Omega-3 supplement products, in particular.

government groups, the healthcare community and the industry, while setting high standards for the Omega-3 business sector.

The latter is done by having a voluntary monograph with very strict limits for pollutants far surpassing the requirements in European and US official monographas.

GOED is committed to personal integrity, ethical corporate behavior, sustainability of the raw materials, public safety and quality assurance. GOED support a petition to establish clear intake recommendations in North America and advance recognition of the role these important nutrients play in nutrition.

The group also concluded that there is a need to educate the medical community,

to control the claims that are made and their scientific foundation is therefore a very good initiative. At the moment it is has some start up difficulties and undesired effects, but for the future stringent control of and high scientific standards to claims being made on any supplements both protects the consumer as well as disciplines the industry.

Genetics can play a role in the effect of Omega-3 on individuals.

However, the group felt going down the route of personalised nutrition for Omega-3s was way out of scope, while the use of genetics is more relevant in clinical applications, where personalised medicine is a growing segment.

Efficacy In terms of the efficacy of Omega-3s and scientific studies, the group felt that there is a need to define the user group in scientific studies concerning the impact of Omega-3 products on consumers. Mainly it is dependent on professionally designed trials with relevant patient or user groups. EFSAs efforts

Positive growth Details regarding the numerous good studies that exist proving the efficacy of Omega-3s were discussed.

There is a positive growth for Omega 3 products globally due mainly to consumer willingness to purchase Omega-3 products.

Furthermore, there is an expanding public awareness of Omega-3s and their health benefits.

A limiting factor in the continued success of Omega-3 products is the media perception which is sometimes oriented to sensationalise neutral studies regarding the efficacy and purity of Omega-3 products.

These meta analysis are often done on poor scientific grounds, comparing incomparable groups, and that the neutral outcome is due to this and not lack of efficacy of the Omega-3.

Despite this the media attention can often be perceived by consumers and can impact on market sales significantly.

In Norway there was a case involving a two-part documentary that looked at the

34 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

FEATURE Members of the group felt that a good way to ensure that consumers got their daily recommended dose of Omega-3s was to educate medical doctors regarding the preventative healthcare function Omega-3s could play (as mentioned earlier) and to implement an Omega-3 index as a diagnostic tool could be very useful, this tool is now available, see footnote.

This would provide a patient and a potential consumer of Omega-3s would be aware if they were high/low in Omega-3s and they would hear this from somebody they trust i.e., a medical doctor. Consumers and doctors should also be educated regarding the efficacy of Omega-3s (what levels are active and what dose is required) and this would ensure the consumer obtained the correct information to ensure a positive health effect.

The Proposition 65 case in California highlighted the need for standardised, effective labelling regarding the level of contaminants, in particular, heavy metals, Doxines, and PCBs present in Omega-3 products. The

entire group concluded that a similar standard should be implemented in Europe and RoW to be sure that the purity and quality of Omega 3 products is ensured. This would also go a long way toward negative media publicity. The audience members stated that GOED Omega 3 was moving towards implementing a purity standardised label globally. GOED was viewed by the attendants at the think tank as a transparency tool that would enable consumers to determine if an Omega-3 product was good or bad. Purity is a big issue for GOED but the attendants at this think tank felt that GOED should include label claims.

The participants felt also that the whole area of stability regarding Omega 3 products and in particular EPA/DHA in supplement products was a future area of research that needs financial input.

Stability effects taste and sensory aspects of the final product so improved, consumer friendly formulations are required.

It is also necessary to educate the consumer regarding oxidized products or at

least, to have information available to the consumer.

Fair trade was discussed briefly and again MSC labelling for sustainable resource management should be in place and will go towards ensuring fair trade.

Outcomes and recommendations • Education of consumers, medical doctors and pharmacists regarding the preventative healthcare potential of Omega-3 products • Standard similar to Proposition 65 worldwide, declaration of pollutants if over recommended level • Implementation of GOED certification on Omega-3 products • Financial input by companies and governments regarding research that deals with the stabilisation and generation of consumer friendly Omega-3 (EPA/ DHA) formulas/products • Documentation of scientific claims so that consumers trust in products are strengthened (EFSA)

Companies attending this Think Tank: Ascenta Health - Biosciences KTN - B. Braun Melsungen - Chitin Marine Products Ltd - Concordia Capital LLC - Delhi Nutraceuticals - DSM Nutritional Products - Eurofins - Grette Law - Innovation PEI - Maastricht University - Matahari Technology Consulting - National Research Council of Canada - Norwegian Seafood Research Fund - Polytechnic Institute of Leiria - Pronova BioPharma - Roquette Group - SPF-Diana Aquativ - University of Aveiro - Varicon Aqua Solutions

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 35

FEATURE

Think Tank 4 Aquaculture – 2030 The Aquaculture platform - facilitating significant growth in global aquaculture Think Tank 4 says aquaculture is an important source of income and livelihood for millions of people worldwide as well as a crucial production sector for high-protein food. Indeed, aquaculture continues to be the fastest growing food production sector with an average annual growth rate of 6.6 percent between 1970 and 2008.

Moderator

Sponsor

Roy Palmer, CEO, Sea Food Experience (SEA), Australia

Pronova Pharma

Yves Harache, 2010-2012 Past -President European Aquaculture Society

Note taker:

A

lthough aquaculture growth is slowing in some areas of the world, the activity is going to play a pivotal role in facilitating global consumer requirements of biosecurity and sustainable seafood.

By far the greatest world growth of aquaculture is currently dependent on freshwater species, such as carp and tilapia. Marine aquaculture is more recent and still in its early development. Both activities should not be opposed under ‘simplistic’ debates, such as the opposition of herbivorous and carnivorous species, but appreciated globally as positive activities.

Space to grow and utilisation of water resources are crucial issues which need to be planned with some certainty.

Maximising potential This Think Tank was designed to come up with practical recommendations that could be implemented within a three-year plan.

Francisco Gomes, Executive Manager, Novus Aquaculture Business Unit, USA, introduced the debate by talking of aquaculture as a dynamic industry and outlining the main issues which the discussions should be based around: addressing and improving public acceptance: financial capital: human resources and regulations and legislation.

Francisco’s introduction ended with a simple question, “How do we achieve this?”

The attendees then broke out into four groups to discuss these issues.

After each group had their discussions they were specifically asked to address one of these issues and present it back to the floor

Public acceptance It was accepted early on that current the public perceptions of aquaculture activities are generally negative yet as consumable products generally well accepted. This could be due to the media seizing upon negative stories whilst disregarding the mainly positive stories aquaculture has to offer. This may be particularly true for some activists and NGOs who misinform the public with incorrect facts and figures preventing growth of the industry. The groups noted that the NGO businesses, whilst

Benedict Standen, PhD student at Plymouth University, UK

at times can be helpful, have their own agendas and funding to support. This is the case in USA, Australia and Europe where aquaculture is still seen as ‘not normal’ and that the oceans should be kept ‘natural’ and not ‘tamed’. Yet in countries where seafood consumption is high, it was felt that such activities were accepted as normal.

This could be solved through effective and efficient communication between all levels of society: from policy makers to the general public. This communication should be proactive as opposed to reactive, educational and informative providing the public with reliable and accurate facts /data which focus on the positive attributes of the aquaculture industry. These messages should be targeted at all generations, but particularly younger children who are arguably more mouldable and who may grow up with a better understanding of the activity.

There should be a pro-active agenda to promote positive aspects and tell the 'good stories' on a regular basis.

Currently the consumer is receiving mixed information from a range of sources so the industry should be better organized to provide a clear simple message without conflicting messages which result in confusion and negative thinking. To implement this there is a clear need for an international group to provide these clear messages and give the industry a ‘brand’. But who is that group?

A popular choice amongst the majority of attendees was the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA). However, it was noted that currently this body is predominantly centred on its goals of aquaculture certification so may not be the vehicle required as could be a perceived conflict of interest.

Perhaps this is BioMarine?

The average time a consumer looks at a product is less than four seconds. Consumers are likely then to greatly benefit from a hallmark which is instantly identifiable as a reliable and sustainable source. The Aquaculture Stewardship Council programme through its strong WWF connections and dialogues aims to transform the world's seafood markets and promote farming practices that minimise their impact on the environment and communities. Others certification groups such as GAA and Global GAP, etc. do similar. The standards they all have (which vary from group to

36 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

group) seek to increase the availability of certified responsible seafood by providing a credible consumer logo which assures compliance and industry responsibility. In some groups this label comes at a cost. Does the cost and proliferation of labels enhance or confuse the consumer?

A ‘two-a-week’ campaign which could monopolise on the success of the ‘five-a-day’ fruit and vegetable scheme was suggested as an idea. This could be endorsed and supported by celebrity chefs, etc. increasing awareness and promoting the industry and incorporated in a worldwide video.

A positive conclusion was reached that is possible to turn public opinion through pressure, education, lobbying and the correct marketing if the industry worked globally and in unison. There was general agreement that public acceptance is the driver of all themes.

Financial Capital One of the groups opened up this discussion by looking at the UK. There is a future aquaculture plan for England but currently there is a lack of investment with few initiatives available. It appears that England is not alone, for example North American investment companies see aquaculture as a ‘hot topic’, however when it comes to the crunch little is done.

• Investment is becoming more widely available but banks/investors must go through a learning phase. Some argued that the risk was different for a potential investor due to money, disease, survival, etc.; however others disputed this stating that to investors this made no difference since there is risk in most investments. The important action is transparency which creates confidence • There are three types of capital; investment, financial and insurance. The question proposed is how do we increase all three?

Generally banks do not like fluctuations, especially in profits. This identifies a clear need for the industry to manage variables which cause this variation making consistency a key factor for future investment • Yet aquaculture faces a Catch 22 scenario; to attract investment and grow the industry needs to be healthy but to be healthy capital

FEATURE is urgently required. Perhaps the industry needs to observe the economic aspects educating the financial sector with reliable information which investors can then use as a tool • The industry needs to be self-sustaining.

This could be done through consolidation achieving a larger scale and also limit the risk by investing in different markets across geographical regions and different species.

An interesting idea was the formation of an ‘Aquaculture Bank’ which could then provide micro-financing for global projects and initiatives

Human resources The first priority when discussing this topic was to identify the human resources needed as the industry requires a diverse range of specific skills sets. This gives rise to job area bottlenecks.

For example there are numerous researchers in fish nutrition, however in areas such as fish health and genetics this is not the case. This kind of job logjam emphasises the need for strong communication and possibly bottleneck funding and investment in order to maximise these capabilities.

We need to ensure the development of high quality aquaculture at all levels, and this can only be achieved through education. This could be accomplished through vocational courses and industry sponsored internships, scholarships or projects which should be adequately advertised through directories.

The industry should also work with governments on the replacement opportunity from people employed in fisheries to engagement in aquaculture as there are several wins in this. People are used to the products and the value chain system; they have a seafood culture and encourage both industries to work closer together as well as solving labour issues.

Regulation and legislation While some see regulations and legislation as the main limit of innovation, others see it as an opportunity to get out of the cyclic nature that aquaculture presents by evening out production making the industry a lot more attractive for investment.

Perhaps one of the main limitations is access to sites and issues with space, especially on the marine coastline where aquaculture must share space which is also used for coastal fisheries, maritime transport, tourism, renewable energy, etc.

Another important issue is bringing products

to market whilst maintaining food safety and traceability at the global level.

The EU and Canada have extremely strict rules and regulations for new products making it difficult to market innovative products. Asia takes a more relaxed approach so who is right, Europe and Canada or Asia?

One of the benefits of a strict approach is it encourages responsible sourcing and processing, reduction in environmental impact and enables a general baseline amongst member states.

But those in Europe, for example, reclaim a level playing field, where imported product from third countries should match the high safety and environmental standards that European producers are constrained to comply with? In fact it was queried that EU Standards are not reached by many countries in EU creating unfair situation in their own jurisdiction.

Future plans could include the development of aquaculture parks associated with renewable energy projects and offshore, or zoning for aquaculture purposes either within the EEZ or on the high seas. This kind of regulation must have enforcement though. Done successfully this would enable certification schemes that aim to achieve maximum environmental responsibility to aid the consumer in a practical, positive manner.

A question was raised relating to aquaculture v soccer! Soccer is the world’s game and is controlled by FIFA and no matter in the world where the game is played it is played consistently by the same rules and regulations. Why cannot that system be the goal for aquaculture? The world needs aquaculture as much, if not more, than soccer yet we play on uneven playing fields, to different rules and regulations and then suffer further with trade barrier issues. Surely we can do better than this?

Recommendations 1. Public acceptance Structure the industry around an international that could foster the promotion of best practices and build a global education platform covering internal and external activities ensuring consistent messages are locked in right through from farm to fork.

• Formulation of global group with the ability to promote and speak on industry issues • Be proactive, positive and promote all aspects of aquaculture in consistent fashion • Invest in early education for children, both internal and external training/education and industry workforce development • Support accreditation and best practice

2. Financial capital Build the industry by encouraging consolidation and cooperation through all sectors to increase scale and minimise risk. Encourage and assist BioMarine to be a catalyst for engagement between investment and industry with the aim to foster innovative approaches and help the funding and nurturing of new concepts and technology.

• Consolidate industry to achieve scale and limit risk • Bring industry and investment together in order to educate and engage the financial sectors and investors • Promote specific innovation in funding • Build on the current limitation of financing at all levels

3. Human resources Create the industry around a professional approach that encourages the best people available to be determined to enter and engage. Work globally on skills shortages ensuring that gaps are identified and communicated.

Build a framework of human resources that enables the industry to have solid foundation for the future.

• Identify and promote the shortages in skill sets; e.g. vets, genetics reproduction, processing, production, etc • Create a directory of education resources and industry internships • Consider promotion of people moving from fishing to aquaculture.

• Development of education at all levels

4. Regulation and legislation Through BioMarine continue to invite people and organisations to ‘stretch the envelope’ on regulation and legislation building on successes and highlighting failures in order to build a truly global industry that delivers excellence for the global population. Continue to improve international regulatory aspects, adopting innovative approaches and ensuring sufficient space is made available for sustainable aquaculture growth.

• Build on strong image through food safety – a consistent safe product • Space is important – engage in marine planning and maximise innovation in usage of space • Use environmental modelling to support decisions • Promote examples of good legislation • Be aware of access and benefit sharing – relates to Nagoya Protocol

Companies attending this Think Tank: ADM - Alltech - Aqua Bio Technology ASA - A-Spark Good Ventures - BioMar - Cargill - CCMar - CyberColloids - DSM Nutritional Products - Eurofins - European Commission - Government of Portugal - Grette Law - Imperial College, London - INVE aquaculture Innovation PEI - Invivo-NSA - JPI Oceans - The Research Council of Norway - Marelife - Mitsui & Co. - Novus International - Olmix Group - Plymouth University - Polytechnic Institute of Leiria - Prince Edward Island BioAlliance - PwC - Roquette Group - Roscoff Marine Station France - Scripps Institution of Oceanography UCSD - Seventure Partners - Skretting ARC - SPF-Diana Aquativ - UK Parliament - Univeristy College Cork - University of Aveiro January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 37

FEATURE

The Big Aquaculture Debate

by David Peggs, Research Masters Student, Plymouth University, UK

Moderator - Dr Tiago de Pitta e Cunha, Advisor to the Portuguese President on Maritime Affairs

Mike Velings, Founder A-Spark Good Ventures, The Netherlands

Francisco Gomes, Executive Manager of Novus Aquaculture Business Unit, USA

Bernhard Friess, Director ‘Atlantic, Outermost Regions and Arctic’ in DG Mare, European Commission

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: What are the strategic guidelines for aquaculture and how do they relate to funding?

Bernard Friess: Generally there is a growth in job opportunities.

However, this may be stagnating and the EU is highly segregated and regional differences are large. The EU has good animal health and food standards generally and has many promising assets for industries to become successful.

This is shown through the large EU funding for research.

The administration and regulations are proportionate to businesses. Admin policies operating today are fair and we strive to work closely with businesses to finely balance the growth and success of businesses on one hand, whilst making sure the health and safety/regulations/ environmentally friendly products etc on the other hand are in place to keep the EU’s high standards.

Furthermore, innovation is an important part of growth and success thus acting as a catalyst for businesses to prosper.

Tiago: Aquaculture is growing and is predicted to supply 65 percent of protein by 2030, what needs to be done to ensure sustainability, overcoming barriers, regulations etc?

Francisco Gomes: First, governments must reach out to businesses and really discuss the possibility of removing some of the red tape hindering progress.

There is no clear regulatory framework in the US in my experience. To set up projects it takes an average of perhaps three years. I could set one up in just a few months in Vietnam, for example. There are obvious problems relating to policies and regulations for start-up projects at the moment.

The industry - consolidation is a key aspect.

We need more flexibility in funding from funding bodies. Asia could provide a lot of answers and potential ways forward regarding policies, funding etc. Innovation, as an industry we must innovate faster and more efficiently.

Global barriers - important market protection. Trade of products must progress faster.

Accelerate and differentiate between industries. There are many different species used and they are all different, shrimp are different from salmon, etc. What can we learn from

other established industries such as salmon to push through faster new species?

To summarise, the three main areas for action are regulation, consolidation, innovation.

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: Aquaculture often faces criticism about sustainability. Is this the case?

Torben Svejgaard: People are always talking about fish in – fish out ratio. It is important to continually show research regarding aquacultures sustainability promise and create close dialog between researchers, industries and stakeholders alike. Make sure we communicate to the wider public what actually aquaculture and aquaculture research does.

The aquaculture industry must not hide from the issues such as problems with sustainability.

For example, we use soya as a major component of many aqua feeds, but is using soya sustainable? If research suggests otherwise, then let’s look at the other options. We need to continuously evolve as an industry and try to always improve the way in which we carry out processing, research and marketing etc.

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: More investment is need for aquaculture, how can this occur?

Mike Velings: There are only a few private vinvestors globally. Public and investors do not know enough about the aquaculture industry.

For investors this can mean risks and therefore they are reluctant to put money into aquaculture innovations.

Communication is getting better but needs to progress quicker in order to make future investors and the general public more knowledgeable about aquaculture. Long-term goals

38 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

Torben Svejgaard, CEO, BioMar Group, Denmark

for sustainability are a must for future private investors and the aqua industry must make it easier for both investors and the public to access these goals.

Torben Svejgaard: Going back to the criticism that aquaculture is unsustainable, we here are all talking about long-term goals. If this is not sustainability, then what is?

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: How can aquaculture grow through governmental policy? How do we sort out the bottlenecks?

Bernard Friess: It is well known that wild fisheries have been exploited and the need for aquaculture to alleviate these stocks is essential.

More aquaculture equals less pressure on the oceans and of course this is a good thing.

We must go back and look into the obstacles which hinder the growth of aquaculture and review them more closely.

Also we need to identify the levers for innovation and find out how they work in order to support them which will in turn help the

FEATURE

From audience Manuel Pinto de Abreu, Secretary of State of the Sea, Portugal stated: Investment, innovation and regulations need to be looked at in more detail.

A new legal framework is needed so that applicants need only apply once speeding up the process. Regions need to focus on relevant species and explore new opportunities in innovation.

In Portugal we import 600,000 tonnes of fish and a lot of which we could farm ourselves.

Within one year the regulations and red tape will be reformed to make this possible.

In terms of disease, we have only large vaccine companies for the aquaculture industry.

We need more specialised veterinary people for aquaculture. We need more herbivorous species. What can we learn from Asia of alternative species. In terms of IMTA more research is needed into the dynamics involved and whether or not the profits can be high enough.

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: Fish feeds, where are we now?

growth of the aquaculture industry. It is also very important to set up regional advisories.

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: How do we support innovation in aquaculture. What is the future for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), renewable energy and off-shore aquaculture?

Francisco Gomes: There is definitely a lack of funding for innovation. We must look at fundamental research through universities and then apply this research appropriately.

And we must look more closely at the mechanisms of how a product works not just sitting back on the knowledge that it works. But we must ask how does it work and how can we therefore improve it in the future.

Off-shore and recirculation inland systems have potential but it’s all about efficiency. This needs to grow in order to make these areas profitable.

We must look at other species of fish especially herbivorous species. In nutrition and alternative proteins, we need to ask the question about the sources we use now, are these the right/only alternatives and what are the other options.

Torben Svejgaard: The last 10-15 years we’ve seen a large decrease in the use of fishmeal in feeds by replacing them with plant based alternatives such as soybean meal. The fishmeal content could perhaps go down to zero percent in the near future, for some species at least.

However, fish oil is more of an issue and needs to be addressed. Approval of new products in the EU takes much more time than it should and this is hindering the process of creating new alternative feed ingredients. We need more innovation with regards to functionality of products.

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: Red tape, what comes next? Do regulations need to change before investors invest or do investors need to invest in change?

Mike Velings: As investors we look at the global perspective, we are not going to invest where there are too many regulations, in the EU for example, when we can get much more for our money and faster returns in places with less stringent regulations.

The EU needs to change their regulations in order to grow and keep up with other markets in aquaculture.

Torben Svejgaard: We as an industry cannot sit back and hope that the regulations change, we need to be innovative in research and keep moving forward as an industry.

Bernard Friess: We must make investments and create innovation and work to change the public perception that farmed fish are bad and wild fish good.

Comment from audience: • “We need to consider the possibility of taking advantage of species from lower trophic levels as the effects of such would be negligible.”

• “The industry needs novel innovation in order to create faster moving research.”

In response: Francisco Gomes: Farmers are the basis for the aquaculture industry. Most are conservative and are of the mind-set that if methods work then why change them. Think bigger and perhaps focus on the next generation as well as the current generation. There is a general lack of trust due to past mismanagement of fisheries, so we need to look after the resources and it is paramount that we prove that the business of aquaculture is sustainable.

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: Closing thoughts - It seems the aquaculture industry has a long way to go in terms of changing policies and changing public perceptions. But what is clear is that we need to have long term plans for sustainability and at least three of the main areas are as Francisco mentioned earlier consolidation, innovation and regulation and the aspects to which are encompassed.

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 39

FEATURE

Think Tank 5 Marine Ingredients – Marine micro algae and nutrition The objective of this Think Tank was to discuss the use of microalgae and macroalgae in nutrition and as nutraceuticals.

Moderator

Note taker:

Dr Maria Hayes, Natural Products Chemist, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashton, Ireland

Mark Rawling, PhD student at Plymouth University, UK

Sponsor Sofiproteol

W

ith the world’s population continuing to grow by about 60 million people per year, demand for sustainable, efficient food production continues to grow. Ever increasing strain is being placed on agricultural systems’ capacity to deliver affordable food and nutritional products. Not surprisingly, the World Health Organisation has identified diminishing food security as a major threat to mankind over coming decades.

The oceans may provide a solution. That was the premise that this task force set out its discussion on micro algae and its nutritional opportunities.

Seaweed farms alone have the capacity to grow massive amounts of nutrient-rich food.

And while seaweeds are not a major source of food at present, they are one of the fastest growing plants in the world. Seaweed can grow 9-12 feet in three months. This Think Tank discussed a number of topics including: • Environmental and economic opportunities • Algal biomass suited to production of animal feed and high value human foods and additives • Both micro algae and macro algae are well established sources of such nutrition • Increasing algae food and feed production, by expanding upon existing markets and by creating new ones, to be significant • Use of proteins from micro and macroalgae and associated drawbacks regarding their use which include harvesting.

The group decided that aquaculture could provide a solution • Transfer of seaweed proteins/oils to

human consumers through dietary intervention in animal products. For example, feeding a pig/chicken/cow/hen seaweed/ seaweed ingredients to increase the level of fatty acids (EPA/DHA) or bioactive protein in meat/milk/egg products that are more acceptable to the consumer, particularly in countries such as France where nutraceuticals are not fully accepted

The group discussed the importance of discovering novel and unique uses for micro and macroalgal products and resources to justify the economic costs associated with harvesting and processing marine derived ingredients.

micro-algal producers is the area of animal nutrition. Protein resources are in demand globally and marine algae may provide a new, novel and alternative protein source to the currently available dairy and terrestrial plant protein resources.

However, the group concluded that future research into the use of marine macro-algal/ micro-algal protein sources is required as macro-algae in particular, can contain antinutritional factors and plant lectins.

An advantage for micro-algal derived protein is that they may not have anti-nutritional factors such as phlorotannins and plant lectins associated with them and, therefore, would be suitable for use in animal feed and animal nutrition.

This will be necessary if industry players want to compete with other sources/companies producing nutraceuticals and functional foods from non marine resources such as dairy companies.

Think Tank participants agreed that a future area of growth for macro-algal and

The group decided however that in some instances macro-algal protein is suitable for animal nutrition. For example, sheep in the Orkney Islands of Scotland are known to graze on seaweed and in fact, seaweed is the primary source of nutrition for these animals. Furthermore, there are

Discussion

40 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

FEATURE

reports in Tasmania where farmers have reduced their farm veterinary bills through feeding seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) to cattle and farmers have not observed any negative side effects.

Health benefits for livestock The group also discussed how feeding microalgae/macroalgae to farm animals in order to provide the health benefit of microalgae in human food is a good approach as using the animal as a nutraceutical/functional food vehicle is more acceptable to the consumer.

However, if this approach is used, further scientific evidence must be provided to ensure that the health benefit and correct dose of the nutraceutical is being delivered to the human consumer.

The group also discussed the importance of ensuring that the sensory and functional quality of the animal product, be it an egg, steak, milk product is not negatively affected by the animal consuming the seaweed/microalgal bioactives or the seaweed/microalgal raw material.

The group also discussed how Omega-3s

in eggs in the USA was a good example of how this approach was very successful.

The group also discussed how production costs are a bottleneck towards developing the use of microalgae/seaweeds as functional food ingredients. The group discussed how production costs could be driven down by integrating technology with good resource management and total resource utilisation.

Further research is required to ensure that amino acids/bioactive peptides/lipids from macro/microalgae are bioavailable and contain an amino acid content that is favorable to the consumer. This is necessary to justify a price premium if marine nutraceuticals from algal sources are to compete with other nutraceuticals of terrestrial origin. The digestibility of marine derived proteins/lipids is also of great importance and could provide the resource with an advantage over its dairy competitors.

The group also discussed how strict regulations regarding the contamination of seaweed resources with heavy metals are required and should be implemented. GOED agreement is moving towards delivering this in the future (2013).

Recommendations • Further research into the delivery of nutraceutical/functional food benefits is required where seaweed extracts or micro-algal extracts are fed to the animal. The dose response should be reported • Further research is required regarding the effects on sensory attributes of seaweed functional foods on final food products • Further funding and research is required regarding aquaculture to overcome the problems associated with raw material supply. This relates in particular to the seaweed resource for use in molecular gastronomy and as a food product in itself. Individual governments must be made aware of this issue and how we can produce food products from seaweeds that can compete with Asia • The safety and quality of the seaweed/micro-algal product must be ensured and GOED regulations implemented

Companies attending this Think Tank: AlgaeLink - Ascenta Health - B. Braun Melsungen - Bioalvo - Biosciences KTN - Chitin Marine Products Ltd - Delhi Nutraceuticals EWOS Innovation - Fermentalg - innoVactiv - Innovation Norway - Maastricht University - Marealis - Matahari Technology Consulting - National Research Council of Canada - National University of Ireland, Galway - Norwegian Seafood Research Fund - Oceanomics project, Roscoff - Polaris - Polytechnic Institute of Leiria - Pronova BioPharma - Roquette Group - Roscoff Marine Biological Station - Saint Malo Agglomeration - ScandiDerma AS- Setubio - Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre - Sofiproteol - Soliance - Tanergy Ltd. - University of Aveiro - Varicon Aqua Solutions - Xanthella

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 41

FEATURE

Think Tank 6 Marine biotech for the environment To complement research perspectives, two contributions were made in Think Tank 6, one by J. Rauo from Marealis AS and the other by H. Bisgaard-Frantzen from Novozymes, to identify bottlenecks from a small SME and large end-user industry perspective in how to get more new marine biotech products to market.

Moderator

Note taker:

Dr Johanna Wesnigk, Managing Director, EMPA, Germany

Dan Leeming, PhD student at Plymouth University, UK

by Dr Johanna B. Wesnigk, Mg4U and Micro B3 project

T

his Think Tank followed in the footsteps of Think Tank 2 which focused on health issues. Many participants were identical enabling more in-depth discussions and to promising recommendations.

Dr J. Wesnigk and Prof F.O. GlĂśckner representing the MG4U and the Micro B3 EU projects - set the scene what state-of-the-art marine research and dissemination can provide. A plethora of techniques, methodologies and knowledge outputs are available to industry, especially in the field of genomics, bioinformatics and proteomics, or ‘omics as these interrelated disciplines are increasingly called. Two industry interventions were made, to identify bottlenecks from a small SME and large end-user industry perspective.

To promote new marine biotech products the market push needs to be strengthened.

Larger industry should define their general areas of interest for academia and SMEs, who then target the enabling research and develop specific applications of new marine biotech products and services. It was emphasised that technology scouts should know what they are looking for, but be prepared to find something else. This attitude will facilitate bridging the gap between the research potential and marine biotech applications, by informing and inspiring decisions by end-user representatives on which approaches are worth developing.

Bringing about and facilitating dialogue between end-users and academia as well as SMEs is one of the core tasks of cluster representatives, to overcome bottlenecks in communication and kick-start collaborations.

The internet, social media and emerging new infrastructures will help but facilitation of contacts and safeguarding IPR are still needed.

Clusters can help with successful up-scaling of lab-scale production and providing market intelligence. A public-private partnership was recommended as a supra-national tool to advance marine biotechnology within Europe.

Further recommendations focused on several issues of which three will be further illustrated.

1) How to better understand and make use of beneficial microbes There is a lack of understanding of microbial marine diversity and their habitats, in short: Who is out there, where are they, how many and what are they doing?

We need more academia-industry knowledge exchange on the optimum conditions for sampling, processing and cultivation, based on the diverse marine habitats of microbes including many extreme environments. Then genomics can be utilised to speed-up the application process and avoid over harvesting. Sequencing can assess potential, help with in silico activity prediction and selection. Promising case studies

42 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

were recently published, (MAMBA project, lead University. Bangor) in which several large industry partners have identified new biocatalytical activities. Compound screening still needs a high throughput approach, which is only funded if very close to industry. A case study from Geomar, Kiel, in which marine compounds were fed into existing downstream processing pipelines, showed high hit rates.

2) Human resources and infrastructures needed for SMEs and large industry to benefit from marine data Large gap(s) still exist between proofof-principle, i.e. an enzyme is identified and expressed, and proof of concept, i.e. an enzyme can be produced cost effectively and in large quantity. The perceived gaps can be addressed first through a review and analysis of what is working for an improved knowledge flow between industry and academia.

Examples/case studies for best practice and knowledge transfer can be used. The need for new expertise can then be addressed through intelligently combined teams, with more biochemical know how, able to handle sub-sets of genomics data for targeted predictions and to target market-driven applications.

These teams will work best in conjunction with provision of infrastructure, like mid-scale fermenter-, or proteomics facilities and dedi-

FEATURE cated service-oriented staff, if possible with partial government funding.

Scientists are not aware of market interests and pressures; they need to be informed and trained. We need to mould the thinking of a next generation of scientists in a more entrepreneurial way. In the medium-term training and education should encompass businessrelevant skills. The experiences from EU funded PhD networks with two mandatory industry stages are positive. Local contests for student-written business plans for marine biotech business could help, for example funding implementation of the winning business plan.

Efficient up-scaling of production is necessary, but who is responsible for different up-scaling stages, how to get it funded?

Here expectations of academia, industry and funders diverge strongly: if production condi-

tions are not economically viable SMEs will not be able to offer a new product to business end-users or consumers. The next steps in the value chain for new concepts, e.g. an algal biorefinery, can still be partially funded as demonstration/pilot projects, via EU support. Thereafter proof-of-concept and further product development has to be driven by end-users.

3) Reaching policy makers Visibility is key!

Urgently an excellent analysis is needed to develop a roadmap with consistent, harmonised and easy to understand message(s) on promising marine and environmental biotech options. Groupings of interests can help to present cases for policy changes and for gap-based funding.

Companies attending this Think Tank: A-Spark Good Ventures - Algopack - Bioalvo - BioBridge - BioNova - BioTech North - Bretagne Developpement Innovation - Concordia Capital LLC - European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC) - Financonsult - FMC BioPolymer - Grette Law - Kiel Center for marine natural products - Marine Biotechnology Programme of Ireland - Marine Bio-Technologies Center of Innovation - Max Planck Institute - Novagraaf Technologies - Nautilus Biosciences Canada - Novozymes A/S - OceanGate, Inc. - Plymouth Marine Laboratory - Polytechnic Institute of Leiria - Pronova BioPharma - Roscoff Marine Station France - Technopole Maritime du Québec - Thalocea - University of Aveiro - Varicon Aqua Solutions

The application areas of marine-origin products include markets like environmental monitoring, diagnostics or biocatalysis, and specialty chemicals. Consumer-facing standards and certification to create a positive image and motivation for increased demand for products ‘from the sea’ could be introduced.

Different ways of reaching and motivating the decision-makers for policy and investment need to be developed as part of the roadmap implementation plan. This includes using media, associations, clusters and public opinion, inter alia through targeted events to promote strategic messages or road map elements garnished with success stories.

At BioMarine 2013 the unique features and benefits of using marine diversity for environmental biotechnology applications will be further explored. In the meantime industry-academia workshops focusing on single issues will be offered by the Micro B3 and MG4U projects to company experts /representatives to discuss and develop themes identified further and fine-tune joint strategies to promote marine and environmental applications.

More

information:

http://www.microb3.eu/news/biomarine-think-tanksembrace-omics-input

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January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 43

FEATURE

Novel additives to reduce the economic impact of disease on shrimp production

by Peter Coutteau PhD, Business Unit Manager Aquaculture, and Tim Goossens PhD, R&D Engineer Gut Support, Nutriad International NV, Belgium

P

enaeid shrimp production is under continuous threat from bacterial and particularly viral infections which have caused disastrous collapses of the industry in all major shrimp producing countries. Disease problems in shrimp production are complex and often still poorly understood. Regulations, consumer demands and sustainable management strategies restrict the number of drugs available to treat pathogens. Vaccines are likely to be ineffective in crustaceans, which lack a specific immune system similar to that of vertebrates. Therefore, shrimp producers must consider the seed stock quality, husbandry procedures and healthy nutrition as the major tools to control disease. The current article reports on recent progress in the development of feed additives capable of reducing the impact of diseases on productivity and profitability in shrimp farming.

an average annual growth rate of 18 percent diseases consists of increasing the level of key over the period 1970-2008, which by far nutrients affecting the health and immunology exceeds growth for all other aquaculture spe- of shrimp, including vitamin C and E, phoscies (FAO, 2010). World shrimp aquaculture pholipids, essential fatty acids, trace minerals is producing now well over four million mt of and carotenoids. These ‘booster feeds’ are shrimp (Valderrama, 2011). This rapid increase often supplemented with immunostimulants, in crustacean production largely reflects the dramatic increase in white leg shrimp culture in China, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia since 2000.

Despite this apparent success story in terms of production expansion, shrimp production in many regions continues to suffer important economic losses due to the impact of a wide variety of diseases. Recent events illustrate the impact of disease Figure 2: The hepatopancreas is the main organ of the shrimp’s digestive system outbreaks on shrimp production in responsible for digestion, absorption major producing countries. and storage of nutrients. Esophagus (E), The white spot syndrome virus gastric mill (GM), hepatopancreas (HP), (WSSV), one of the main causes mid gut (MG), hind gut (HG), and anus of stagnation in the shrimp indus(A). try in the nineties, is significantly affecting shrimp production in recent Diseases are number one threat The production of crustaceans has shown years in Mexico and Brazil. Early Mortality mostly derived from the cell envelope of Syndrome (Acute micro-organisms, such as polysaccharides, Hepatopancreatic lipoproteins, and lipopolysaccharides.

Figure 1 - Table: Effect of booster feed on production parameters in a farm in NE Necrosis Syndrome, The continuous use of immunostimuBrazil during episode of increased disease incidence due to a combination of intensive rains and increased incidence of infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) AHPNS), for which the lants is generally discouraged due to the and necrotising hepatopancreatitis (NHP). Booster feed based on enhanced causative agent has not risks for over-stimulation of the immune nutritional specifications and supplementation of an immunomodulator (AQUASTIM S, Nutriad) versus standard feed. been identified so far defense system. Alternating on/off regimes (Flegel, 2012), is affect- for feed additives is often impractical in farm Control feed Boosted feed % change ing shrimp production operations. Encouraging results to improve in China, Vietnam, disease resistance have been obtained by the Malaysia, and to a continuous use of health enhancing booster Total pond area (ha) 25 25 lesser extent, Thailand. feeds based on the selection of the appropriCulture period (days) 107 111 ate immunostimulants in combination with a Survival (%) 77.1 80.7 +5% balanced nutritional supply of key nutrients Traditional Final weight (g) 12.77 14.01 +10% to support the enhancement of the immune approaches to Harvest yield (kg/ha) 1771 2034 +15% system (Table 1). boost shrimp However, the efficacy of various commerhealth through FCR 1.86 1.85 -1% cially available immunostimulants to improve the feed Avg weekly growth (g) 0.84 0.88 +6% A traditional stress and/or disease resistance of fish and Relative production cost 100% 100% approach to reduce shrimp strongly depends on the type of the Relative crop value 100% 119% +19% the impact of shrimp product and on the supply of adjuvant nutri44 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

FEATURE ents that are essential to support the buildup of the immune system.

Novel approaches (1): boosting the nutritional status and lipid reserves of the hepatopancreas Shrimps do not tolerate high levels of dietary fat very well. A number of studies show reduced growth at levels above 10 percent of dietary lipid. Nevertheless, quality and quantity of dietary lipids play a primordial role in growth and health of shrimp. Shrimp have no or very limited capacity to biosynthesize a number of lipid molecules which are essential for normal growth, including cholesterol, highly unsaturated fatty acids and phospholipids.

Fishmeal and fish oil are often the most important sources of cholesterol and HUFA in the diet. Increasing cost of these marine ingredients has forced formulators to reduce dietary specifications for these essential lipids.

Although these nutrient levels may not show significant differences on growth performance in feeding trials under controlled conditions, they may become critical for maintaining health and immune defenses under disease challenges and fluctuating ambient conditions encountered in production.

Furthermore, the energy status of shrimp is largely determined by its lipid reserves deposited in the hepatopancreas which functions

both as a digestive gland as well as a storage depot for energy. Therefore, farmers routinely look at squash preparates to evaluate the nutritional status of the hepatopancreas, with ample lipid reserves being an indicator of better resistance to stress and disease challenges.

Lipid digestion in shrimp occurs for a big proportion intracellular in the hepatopancreas epithelium from where it is transported to the target organs via the Figure 3. Effect of the supplementation of a haemolymphe under the digestibility-enhancing additive (AquagestŽS, Nutriad) on the degree of lipid vacuolization in form of lipoproteins (Fig. 2). the hepatopancreas of shrimp fed the different The formation and absorpfeeds during 30 days (van de Braak et al., 2012). tion of lipid micelles from the lumen of the hepatopancreas tubuli is therefore a limiting step to use fats as essential components and as in the lipid digestive process. Digestibility source of energy for growth and surviving enhancers based on natural emulsifying episodes of stress or disease pressure. The agents, selected for their compatibility with enhancement of the lipid reserves in the the shrimp’s digestive system, have shown to hepatopancreas of white shrimp Penaeus be capable of complementing the process of indicus as a result of the supplementation of emulsification and absorption of dietary fats in a digestibility-enhancing additive was demonthe hepatopancreas (Coutteau et al., 2012). strated recently by van de Braak et al. (2012).

This in turn improves the efficiency of shrimp Histological analyses showed a three-fold

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January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 45

FEATURE proteases, invasion factors or other virulence factors (Defoirdt, et al., 2011).

In recent years, research focusing on ways to disturb QS signaling (also called quorum quenching) is therefore gaining particular interest (Figure 5).

Feeding manually from a boat and harvesting shrimp at the CAMACO farm, Panama (with courtesy of Jorge This is especially true in Cuéllar-Anjel) the field of human medicine, where QS-inhibitors increase of the percentage of shrimp with are investigated as potential alternatives to a high degree of lipid vacuolization in the antibiotics in tackling pathogenic bacterial hepatopancreas after supplementing the feed infections (Sintim et al., 2010). Interestingly, additive during one month (Figures 3, 4). The chances that bacteria build up resistance results of a parallel pond study indicated two against QS disruptors are predicted to be low, percent higher average body weight (ABW), giving that the selective pressure against these four percent higher survival, and six percent in se non-lethal molecules is limited. This higher biomass for the treatment ponds. stands in stark contrast with what is seen with

Figure 4: Histological determination of the degree of lipid vacuolization of the hepatopancreas in shrimp Penaeus indicus, showing a high (left picture) and low (right picture) level of lipid vacuolization (100x magnification; van de Braak et al., 2012)

However, removal of outliers for survival from control and treatment set showed eight percent higher ABW, 12 percent higher survival, and 23 percent higher biomass.

Novel approaches (2): Quorum Sensing technology Quorum Sensing (QS) is a form of bacterial communication. Over the last decade, many bacterial species have been documented to be able to produce and secrete small signaling molecules, such as acyl homoserine lactones or certain oligopeptides, which can be detected by adjacent bacteria of the same or of distinct species. When population density rises, these molecules will accumulate in the extracellular environment, thereby providing a means for bacteria to quantitatively monitor the presence of other bacteria. These signaling molecules will, upon reaching a certain threshold concentration, initiate intrabacterial signaling that culminates in the activation of specific genes. QS communication is therefore used by bacteria to synchronize gene expression alterations and coordinate biochemical responses within the entire population.

In most pathogenic bacteria from which the QS system has been studied, QS has been associated with pathogenicity, such as biofilm formation and the production of

cific bacterial biosensors and model organisms. Synergistic blends of different natural compounds resulted to be extremely efficient in QS quenching activity against signaling by Vibrio harveyi, an pathogen causing vibriosis in penaeid shrimp (Figure 6).

Putting QS inhibition into practice: effect of optimising gut health on productivity and economics of semiintensive shrimp farming Shrimp are actively ‘grazing’ on the substrate present in the pond bottom and water column, and therefore highly exposed to exchanges of microflora between the environment and the digestive system. This increases the risk for the proliferation of an unfavorable gut microflora or frequent destabilization of the microflora, which can affect the optimal functioning of the digestive system. Furthermore, the digestive system of shrimp is the main entry port for bacterial and viral infections, which remain a major risk for the profitability of shrimp production.

Sustainable approaches to modulate the gut microflora in farmed animals include the use of selected bacteria to inoculate the gut (probiotics), specific nutrients promoting the development of selected bacterial strains (prebiotics), and specific natural compounds (mostly derived from yeast and herbal extracts called ‘phytobiotics’) capable of modulating the microflora towards a favorable composition, favoring the development of beneficial bacteria and inhibiting potentially pathogenic micro-organisms. The latter strategies have the advantage of being easily applicable at the feedmill on large volumes of feed and avoiding major adaptations of the production protocols at the farm.

A synergistic blend of botanical extracts (Sanacore® GM, Nutriad) was originally selected for its bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties against pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria in vitro using the disk diffusion method.

conventional antibiotics (Defoirdt et al., 2010).

Initial studies of quorum sensing in aquaculture organisms are very limited but point out exciting results. Halogenated furanones isolated from red marine algae, for example, have been demonstrated to reduce QS-regulated gene expression in Vibrio and to protect fish and shrimp from vibriosis (Rasch et al., 2004; Defoirdt et al., 2006). At the Nutriad Technology Center, QS technology is being applied in a novel generation of natural feed additives capable of modulating gut micro flora. Compounds are tested for their capacity to inhibit QS-signaling using an array of genetically modified bacterial biosensors and QS-dependent infection protocols in simple model organisms. Using these sensitive assays, potent QS modulators, able to shut down QS signaling at concentrations far below the minimum inhibitory concentration, are being identified. Different QS quenching activities are selected for agriculture and Figure 5: Quorum Sensing (QS), an innovative mechanism to tackle pathogenicity aquaculture species based on screening work using spe-

46 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

FEATURE Furthermore, this synergistic blend has proven to be a powerful interrupter of bacterial QS signaling at concentrations well below minimal inhibitory concentrations, allowing it to effectively modulate the gut flora towards a more favorable composition. The supplementation of Sanacore GM promoted growth significantly in healthy shrimp growing under controlled lab conditions; showing a remarkable 20 percent increase of weekly weight gain and four percent improvement on food conversion (Coutteau et al., 2010). The effect of this botanical product showing combined activities in QS inhibition and bactericidal action against a wide range of pathogenic bacteria was verified in a semiintensive shrimp farm in Panama.The second production season in Panama, stocked between August-September, is characterised by unstable

Figure 6: Dose – response of a synergistic blend of botanical compounds (SANACORE GM, Nutriad) on Quorum Sensing signaling activity of Vibrio harveyi. Graphs show signaling activity in QS biosensor system Vibrio harveyi BB170, relative to control, exposed to for different dilutions of the product extract (Nutriad Technology Center, in-house results).

Table 2: Production results for P. vannamei in Panama during the second production cycle for control ponds and treatment ponds receiving a phytobiotic supplement after 141 days of culture (average and standard deviation of eight replicate ponds of three ha per treatment).

Average coefficient of variation for parameters listed (CV%)

Survival

Shrimp size

Crop Yield (kg/ha)

Feed (kg/pond 3ha)

FCR

Weekly Growth(g/wk)

Sanacore® GM

55.5 ± 7.1 a

16.6 ± 1.5 a

735 ± 78 a

4,170 ± 338 a

1.91 ± 0.23 a

0.825 ± 0.075 a

10%

Control

Treatment

44.6 ± 10.6 b

15.7± 2.9 a

543 ± 90 b

3,464 ± 396 b

2.17 ± 0.39 a

0.776 ± 0.137 a

18%

% change Sanacore vs Control

+24.4%

+5.8%

+35.2%

+20.4%

-12.1%

+6.3%

-41%

P Value

0.0304

0.4395

0.0004

0.0018

0.7130

0.3876

---

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FEATURE

About the authors

was confirmed by immuno-chromatography and nested-PCR tests. The presence of a synergistic blend of phytobiotics provided an array of antimicrobial activities, including quorum sensing inhibition capabilities, in the shrimp’s digestive system. This offers additional protection against co-infections with opporFigure 7: Survival percentage at harvest for tunistic bacteria such as control ponds and treatment ponds receiving the vibriosis, often the major phytobiotic supplement in two production cycles cause of mortality in in semi-intensive production of white shrimp L. WSSV-infected shrimp vannamei (average and standard deviation of eight and five replicate ponds of three ha per (Phuoc et al., 2009). treatment, respectively; data from Vaca et al., The evaluation in 2010, 2011). the second cycle on eight replicates per climatological conditions, resulting in strong tem- treatment allowed a good evaluation of perature fluctuations which in turn affect shrimp variability among ponds for the different growth and increase the impact of outbreaks of production parameters. The addition of white spot virus (WSSV). The first production the phytobiotic reduced drastically the cycle, seeded between January-April, provides variability of production results among more suitable growth conditions and generally ponds fed the same feed (average coefficient of variation between ponds for results in better survival and productivity.

Two treatments were compared which the six production parameters: control only differed with regard to the supplementa- 18 percent versus Sanacore group 10 tion or not of the phytobiotic growth pro- percent; Table 2). This further indicated moter (Sanacore® GM) to the standard feed the importance of increased control of used at the farm. The supplementation of the gut microflora on the reproducibility of botanical feed additive drastically improved production in semi-intensive pond envisurvival, amounting to a relative increase with ronments.

References available on request 24 percent and 18 percent compared to the control group for the second and first cycle, respectively (Figure 7).

More Information: Natural White Spot Disease outbreaks were Email: p.coutteau@nutriad.com observed during shrimp farming in both treatments Website: www.nutriad.com under similar frequency and severity; WSSV virus

Tim Goossens got a Masters degree in Biotechnology at Ghent University, and subsequently worked as an academic researcher in the Laboratory of Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Antwerp. After working for four years on the characterisation of a gene family involved in bone development, he moved to the KU Leuven, where he took up a doctoral project on neurodevelopment in the Laboratory of Developmental Genetics.

After obtaining his PhD. in Biomedical Sciences, he joined Nutriad to work as an R&D Engineer, focusing on the development and technical support of the Gut Support range of feed additives.

Peter Coutteau, currently Business Unit Manager Aquaculture for Nutriad, obtained in 1992 a PhD. in Biological Sciences at the Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center, University of Gent on the filter feeding biology of Artemia and bivalves. He continued academic research at postdoc level till 1997 on lipid nutrition of bivalves, fish and shrimp, publishing over 40 refereed papers in scientific journals. In 1997, joined the INVE group, as head of research and product development in the aquaculture division. During 2002-2008, he was responsible for global product development and customer service for feed concentrates and additives as product manager farm nutrition for INVE’s Business Unit Aquaculture. Following restructuration of the INVE group in January 2009, the support team, research activities and product lines for aquaculture additives were reorganised under Nutriad’s Business Unit Aquaculture.

48 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

EXPERT T●PIC

EXPERT TOPIC

Image courtesy of ©Oddmund Goete

ARCTIC CHAR Welcome to Expert Topic. Each issue will take an in-depth look at a particular species and how its feed is managed.

50 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

EXPERT T●PIC

1 3

2

1

Iceland

A

rctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) is the most common and widespread salmonid fish in Iceland.

Aquaculture of the species began in the early 1900s with attempts to fertilise and hatch eggs. However, the first endeavor to feed Arctic char did not come until 1961 with the development of small-scale growing facilities. In the 1980s, researchers discovered that low optimum temperature requirements, made Arctic char a suitable candidate for farming in Iceland’s cold waters.

of the Arctic char produced in Iceland is exported to Europe and North America.

Today, Iceland is the world’s largest producer of Arctic char with more than 50 percent of the total population.

There are around 15 land-based Arctic char farms in Iceland and one sea cage farm in the lagoon Lon in Kelduhverfi on the northeast coast.

Production is mainly in land-based farms using ground water, with smaller farms using geothermal water to reach

optimal growth temperature. Larger operations use high-quality brackish water pumped directly from onsite drill holes. This method has the advantage of natural filtering the water through layers of lava.

More information: http://lf.is/english.htm

The number of farms increased in the 1990s thanks, in part, to a government backed breeding programme initiated in 1992.

However, the operation was not profitable and several of the country’s 40 farms went out of business.

The country produced 500 tonnes of Arctic char in 1995 which had risen to 3,000 tonnes in 2009. Production decreased between 2004-2006 due to bacterial kidney disease and the prohibition of distribution of eggs and juveniles from some hatcheries.

In 2008, the country exported 700 tonnes of whole fresh Arctic char, 20 tonnes of frozen char, approx. 600 tonnes of fresh fillets and about 500 tonnes of frozen fillets. The export value amounted to ISK 1,200 million in 2008. The export value of the species amounted to ISL 1,100 million in 2008. Most

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 51

Images courtesy of ©Oddmund Goete

EXPERT T●PIC

Norway, Sweden & Iceland

3 2

Canada

A

rctic char are raised on a commercial scale in the Yukon Territory, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Research into the suitability of Arctic char as a farmed species began in Canada in the late 1970 with the Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Freshwater Institute and the Huntsman Marine Science Laboratory, leading the way. In addition to their low optimum temperature requirements, it was expected that Arctic char could be an alternate species to Rainbow Trout.

Farming of Arctic char in Canada has emerged beyond the development stage but production remains small. Farmers have difficulty selecting char that consistently perform well because of its complex genetic makeup.

Arctic char are fed nutrient-dense, dry pellets with fishmeal and fish oil making up the majority of the feed. Carotenoids are also added to feeds to help achieve the distinctive red-pink flesh.

The fish are raised in land-based systems. Eggs are hatched within specialised hatchery facilities, where the fish remain until they reach approximately 100 grams. Although they take almost a year to reach 100 grams, Arctic char grow quickly during the grow-out phase, reaching market weight of 1-2.5 kg in the next year.

More information: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture http://aquaculture.ca

52 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

T

he cold waters of the rural Northern periphery are well suited to Arctic char aquaculture.

Although annual production is small, at around 5,000 tonnes, interest in the species is increasing.

Prof Eva Brännäs, professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden, explains why, “it is a very popular species for restaurants and consumers with a higher value than salmon and rainbow trout. It has a more ‘arctic and clean’ touch”.

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund within the Northern Periphery Programme, Sustainable Aquaculture of Arctic char (Northcharr) is a collaboration between partners in Norway, Sweden and Iceland. Started in 2007, the

EXPERT T●PIC

project aimed to explore the development of Arctic char aquaculture in the northern periphery of Europe.

Prof Brännäs says, “the programme focused on collecting general information about Arctic char in all of Europe - both wild and farmed char. Northcharr focused on possibilities and limitations of the growing Arctic char farming.”

Participants in the project were mainly researchers and stakeholders in established Arctic char projects and have taken part in a pan-European network on Arctic char.

Northcharr took a holistic approach to provide stakeholders in the Northern periphery with tools to improve the development of Arctic char production. There was an emphasis on using sustainable feed ingredients and developing welfare criteria for farming and slaughter.

The project had three key aims: to identify production potential and bottlenecks; develop solutions to potential problems and to provide the structure to enable growth and development.

The production potential stage involved gathering annual information on production, production technology, fish stocks, health status, legislation, production strategies and staff qualifications. Bottlenecks were classified

"The cold waters of the rural Northern periphery are well suited to Arctic char aquaculture. Although annual production is small, at around 5,000 tonnes, interest in the species is increasing"

according to country and technology. This information will be used to coordinate R&D efforts and form the basis for establishing ‘best practice’ protocols for the species.

Researchers highlighted five main production issues: egg survival and broodstock, feed composition, feed delivery, environmental impact and water treatment. Each problem was addressed individually and solutions were drawn from previous research into broodstock handling, feeding practice, optimised temperature regimes, slaughtering and environmental impact. For example, to tackle feed composition, a test-feeding schedule for typical farming conditions was performed using different diets.

The researchers tested a ‘Baltic loop’.

Nutrients were collected from the eutrophic Baltic Sea through mussels, sprat and yeasts or other microorganisms, made into feed and fed to Arctic char farmed in the nutrient depleted water reservoirs in northern Sweden. This

product is an example of the ‘Robin Hood’ model where nutrients are taken from a ‘rich’ area, in this case the Baltic Sea, and used in a ‘poor’ area, in this case Swedish lakes. Results from these small-scale tests found that this feeding methods works as well as control diets.

Prof Brännäs points out that the study backs up the idea that the use and reuse of protein sources and nutrients has a positive impact on ecological footprint, restores balance in aquatic ecosystem and flow of nutrients that can compete with present commercial diets in growth performance and price.

In terms of future development, organisers will create a network of investors, representatives of local communities and aquaculture experts. It is hoped this pool of shared knowledge will contribute to the establishment of new companies.

More information: www.northcharr.eu

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 53

INDUSTRY Events 21st - 25th February 13

•*

Aquaculture 2013, Nashville Tennessee, USA Contact: Mario Stael, Begijnengracht 40, 9000 Gent, Belgium Tel: +32 92 334912 Email: mario@marevent.com Web: www.was.org

25th - 26th February 13

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Algae World MENA, Radisson BLU Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek, UAE Contact: Ms Fu Huiyan, Centre for Management Technology, 80 Marine Parade Road #13-02, Parkway Parade, Singapore 449269 Tel: +65 6346 9113 Fax: +65 63469147 Email: huiyan@cmtsp.com.sg Web: www.cmtevents.com/main. aspx?ev=130210&pu=21881

13th - 15th March 13

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Aquatic Asia 2013, BITEC, Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre, Bangkok, Thailand Contact: Guus van Ham, P.O. Box 8800, 3503 RV Utrecht,The Netherlands Tel: +31 302 952302 Fax: +31 302 952809 Email: aquatic.asia@vnuexhibitions. com Web: www.aquatic-asia.net

13th - 15th March 13

*

INDUSTRY Events

VIV Asia 2013, BITEC, Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre, 88 Bangna-trad Road, Bangna, Prakanong, Bangkok 10260, Thailand Contact: Anneke van Rooijen, P.O. Box 8800, 3503 RV Utrecht, The Netherlands Tel: +31 302 952772 Fax: +31 302 952809 Email: viv.asia@vnuexhibitions.com Web: www.viv.net

26th - 28th March 13

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22nd - 24th May 13

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VIV Russia 2013, International Crocus Exhibition Center, Moscow, Russia Contact: Guus van Ham, P.O. Box 8800, 3503 RV Utrecht, The Netherlands Tel: +31 302 952302 Fax: +31 302 952809 Email: viv.russia@vnuexhibitions.com Web: www.viv.net

30th May 13 - 2nd June 13 Aquarama 2013, Hall 401-403, Suntec Singapore, International Convention & Exhibition Centre, 1 Raffles Boulevard, Suntec City, Singapore 039593 Contact: Ms. Jennifer Lee, 3 Pickering Street, #02-48 China Square Central, Singapore 048660

*

Events Key: * = See our magazine at this show • = More information available

*

Contact: Prof. Gideon HULATA, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, PO Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel

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Tel: +62 21 864 4756 ext: 118 Fax: +62 21 865 0963 Email: info@indolivestock.com Web: www.indolivestock.com

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Aquaculture Europe 2013, NTNU – Trondheim - Norway Contact: Conference manager, Slijkensesteenweg 4, 8400 Ostend, Belgium Tel: +32 59 32 38 59 Email: ae2013@aquaculture.cc Web: www.easonline.org

AGRA Middle East, Dubai International Exhibition Centre, Dubai, UAE Contact: Rizwan Mustafa, PO Box 28943, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Tel: +971 44 072424 Fax: +971 44 072485 Email: agramiddleeast@informa.com Web: www.agramiddleeast.com

Tel: +1 979 845 2774 Fax: +1 979 845 2744 Email: mnriaz@tamu.edu Web: www.tamu.edu/extrusion

Tenth International Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture (ISTA-10), Ramada Hotel Jerusalem, ISRAEL

INDO LIVESTOCK 2013 EXPO & FORUM, Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, Bali, Indonesia Contact: Didit Siswodwiatmoko / Devi Ardiatne, Jl. Kelapa Sawit XIV Blok M1 No. 10, Kompleks Billy & Moon, Pondok Kelapa Jakarta 13450, Indonesia

9th - 12th August 13

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20th Annual Practical Short Course on Aquaculture Feed Extrusion , Nutrition and Feed Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA Contact: Mian n. Riaz, Food Protein R&D Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

6th - 10th October 13

Tel: +65 6592 0891 Fax: +65 6438 6090 Email: Jennifer.lee@ubm.com Web: http://aquarama.com.sg/

5th - 7th June 13

22nd - 27th September 13

Tel: +972 3 9683020 Fax: +972 3 9605667 Email: vlaqua@volcani.agri.gov.il or kevfitz@ag.arizona.edu Web: http://ag.arizona.edu/azaqua/ ista/ISTA10/ISTA10.htm

7th - 9th November 13

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EXPO PESCA & ACUIPERU, Centro de Exposiciones Jockey, Hipodromo de Monterrico, Lima 33 – Peru Contact: Guillermo Thais, Thais Corporation S.A.C, Av. Jatosisa Mz-A, Lt-12, Urb. San Fernando – Pachacamac, Lima 19, Peru Tel: +511 201-7820 (202) Fax: +511 201-7820 (209) Email: thais@amauta.rcp.net.pe Web: www.thaiscorp.com

7th - 11th June 14

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World Aquaculture 2014, Adelaide Convention Centre, SA, Australia Contact: Australia - Sarah-Jane Day, International – John Cooksey, Marevent, Begijnengracht 40, Ghent, 9000 Belgium Tel: +32 9 233 49 12 Email: sarah-jane.day

@aquaculture.org.au Web: www.aquaculture.org.au

International Aquafeed events go mobile!

Review all of our industry's key events for 2012/13 on our new Events section on the Perendale Publishers App.

Aquaculture at EuroTier comes of age with EuroTier 2012 being bigger and better than ever

by Professor Krishen Rana

S

ome of our aquaculture readers may be unfamiliar with EuroTier, the biennial agricultural event held in Hanover, Germany, since 2002. EuroTier has expanded greatly since its inception and EuroTier 2012 was a resounding success attended by some 160,000 visitors from over 100 countries this November.

EuroTier is regarded as the leading international exhibition for animal husbandry and farming technologies and is the only one in Europe that integrates aquaculture and traditional agriculture through its ‘Aquaculture Forum’ with links to classic animal sectors and innovative areas such as bioenergy. For Europe, and Germany in par ticular, this is relevant with proactive government incentives for technical solutions for bioenergy power generation from on-site animal slurry treatment plants to power aquaculture and other operations to improve fish production efficiency and diversify production.

These synergies have enabled aquaculture to be well firmly anchored in EuroTier providing an interactive and multidisciplinary platform for meeting market leaders in modern fish farming systems and post-harvest technology, manufacturers of fish feeds, water treatment systems, feeding technology and aeration. Such innovations are centred on ‘The Aquaculture Forum’, a technical platform where practically relevant, market-driven topics are raised and discussed by the sector and for the sector.

EuroTier 2012’s ‘Fish in Focus’ was no exception, building on earlier success of with four days of exhibition over 50 experts presenting papers and engaging in panel discussions covering 12 thematic blocks central to current developments in Europe and elsewhere.This year saw papers presented on innovations in fish recirculating systems, develop-

INDUSTRY Events

ments in feed and feeding technologies, challenges in fish health, organic fish production, hatcheries for recreations and food fish, value addition through new species and product diversification.

Additionally, it was refreshing to attend and par taking in the producer sponsored evening discussion panels on potential interfaces and synergies between pond management and recirculating technology and at the international RECIRC Meeting where producers met with traders to debate with the trade and certification organisations and government. This panel discussion was opened by a presentation by FEAP entitled ‘Aquaculture expands worldwide and what about Europe – obstacles and perspectives for European fish farmers’. No surprises here as the numerous regulatory obstacles stifling aquaculture in Europe were reiterated and frustrations expressed.

It was interesting to catch up on recent developments from around Europe and elsewhere. Prof Rana, associate editor of Inter national Aquafeed, presented a invited paper titled ‘Tilapia a global commodity: shifting concepts of production systems to meet wor ld demands’ which highlighted the versatility of tilapia as a farmed candidate spurring diversification and pointing out significant shifts in the market preference from frozen and fresh whole products to frozen fillets and implication for production systems.

Dr Meinelt from Berlin and her colleagues presented the case for an alter native therapeutic disinfection procedures using Peracetic acid (PES), as highly effective active disinfectant ingredient, which is easily biologically degraded to acetic acid, oxygen and water.

As an alternative to chemical disinfection, Dr Jan Schröder from Germany presented an electrochemical oxidation process (EAOP). His initial findings suggest the suitability of this electrochemical procedure for aquaculture recirculation systems to reduce bacterial loading as well reducing phosphates and organic matter.

Several papers were presented on potential aquafeed ingredients and fish diets, including Hanno Slawski of Aller Aqua who promoted bean protein concentrate as a feasible substitute for fishmeal protein showing results of successful replacement of fishmeal with bean protein concentrate while Gijs Rutjes of Coppens International promoted their new high energy, low polluting trout

diet for use in intensive recirculating aquaculture systems.

Algal production in open ponds is a well-established aquaculture practice in many par ts of the world but mass cultivation of microalgae in closed environments or photobioreactors. Dr Claudia Thomsen Phytolutions presented such developments as a spinoff from Jacobs University.

Dr Thomsen how microalgae, rich in oils can generate products for biofuels as source of energy for the automobile and aerospace industry as well as a means of producing a high quality protein product as additives for animal feed and fine chemicals for cosmetics, nutritional supplements to pharmaceuticals while reducing carbon footprint is gaining ground in an industrial context.

Dr Ingrid Lupatsch from Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture Research, Swansea University, UK, on the other hand explored the possibility of micro algae as a substitute for fishmeal in formulated aquaculture diets stating that the average protein level in macro algae is around 8-15 percent (dry matter basis, whereas the average lipid is only one or three percent This compares with a protein content of 30 to 40 percent (dry matter basis) for the micro algae and lipid contents as high as 40 percent, respectively.

The nutritive value of such algae, however, will hinge on challenges that lie ahead to ensure that these nutrients are made available to the fish, since the non-digestible cellulosic cell wall of algae reduces nutrient accessibility and therefore digestibility.

The aquaculture forum also provided a platform for number companies to discuss their innovations in Recirculation Aquaculture Systems. Although no fundamentally new concepts were on offer companies like Inter Aqua Advance, a pioneering Danish company promoted their simple denitrification clearwater moving bed technology to reduce the nitrate content in closed recirculation systems. Of note were a few

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 55

German and Dutch companies who have developed commercial RAS for catfish species.

Recent initiatives and development on new species were also presented. Dr Tomkiewicz, representing 15 European partners, updated the forum on its FP7 funded PRO-EEL project. The team has commenced studies on understanding the hormonal mechanisms for gonadal maturation in eels using molecular biology and physiological studies and limited progress was reported survival of eggs and larvae.

The forum was also briefed on the controlled reproduction and large scale fingerling production of perch and pike perch by Mr Bossuy and Dr Müller-Belecke now made possible through successful photoperiod manipulation of the reproductive cycle to produce all year round fingerlings in countries such as Switzerland, Ireland and Germany.

Presentations from Poland and Czech Republic highlighted the diversity of farming activity across Europe with current issues affecting carp production in extensive ponds and lakes. The production from these systems are either stagnating or declining.

We learnt that even these extensive systems are under pressure from regulators, restricting by law, the feeding and fer tilisation to control eutrophication of these water bodies which are most likely caused by anthropogenic activities.

It seems fish is here to stay and I am sure that the Aquaculture Forum at EuroTier 2014 will be as diverse and informative, and we look forward to perhaps see a greater number of presentations from outside Europe.

More Information: Dr Birgit Schmidt-Puckhaber, project manager aquaculture Tel: +49 69 24788 307 Email: b.schmidt-puckhaber@dlg.org Website: www.eurotier.com/aquaculture

INDUSTRY Events

INDUSTRY Events

February 21-25, 2013 Nashville,USA

A

re you ready for the big one? This Februar y the aquaculture industr y will descend upon Nashville, USA for Aquaculture 2013. The event is the triennial meeting of the World Aquaculture Society, The National Shellfisher ies Association, and the Fish Culture Section of the American Fisheries Association. Many other organisations, societies and industr y members join to make this the lar gest aquaculture meeting globally. International Aquafeed caught up with program co-chair, Sandy Shumway to discuss this unique event.

Sandy’s academic interest lies with the impacts of harmful and toxic algae on shellfish and aquaculture, but she’s also found time to help organise the triennial meetings for over 20 years. “The best part is still seeing it all come together and having 2,500 enthusiastic par ticipants talking about the progress, successes and future

of aquaculture ,” says Sandy.

“Jay Parson, the other co-chair, and I have worked with the program committee (Steve Allen and Jim Bowker) to identify key topics and organisers for special sessions covering timely and current issues of concern to the aquaculture community. It is also our task to organise the 1,200+ abstracts that are submitted into a cohesive programme.”

This year, Aquaculture 2013 has multiple featured sessions, all linked to the conference theme of sustainable aquaculture. The programme provides 15 concurrent technical and producer sessions spread over four days and the largest aquaculture tr ade show in the world. Hot topics include Open Ocean Aquaculture, Integrate Multitrophic Aquaculture, Tuna culture, Sea Lice, GMO Fish and Shellfish and Seafood Cards and Cer tification. Shrimp, Nutrition, Finfish, Shellfish, Health and Disease, Stock Enhancement, Engineering and Education are among the other many topics being covered.

“The greatest strength of the

Triennial Conference is the integration of science and industr y and the free exchange of information,” says Sandy.

“In addition to the professional programmes, par ticipants can meet with their colleagues, make new acquaintances, embark on new collaborations, and enjoy the atmosphere of Music City – Nashville.”

Shrimp features prominently in the programme, Sandy explains why this species gets special focus.

“Shrimp is one of the most successful and productive aquaculture ventures globally and hence has always figured prominently in the Triennial meetings.”

Sandy describes Aquaculture 2013 as an opportunity for ‘onestop shopping’. “Time and funds for travel are limited and meetings such as the Triennial provide an oppor tunity for par ticipants to gain extensive information, professional interaction, and share their knowledge and experience in one venue.

“Aquaculture has been identified as the fastest growing food production sector globally – the major source of protein for a growing wor ld population.

Sustainable aquaculture is the future – come to Aquaculture 2013 and see the advances firsthand!”

Sandy Shumway, Program Co-chair, of Aquaculture 2013

Profile: Aquaculture 2013 plenary speaker Edward Allison might seem like an unlikely candidate as the plenary speaker of Aquaculture 2013. He is a man who, by his own admission, is yet to fully immerse himself in aquaculture, having spent most of his professional career working on the social and development aspects of fishing. But this position on the periphery of the industry gives him a unique perspective and a plenary speech that will get the aquaculture industry thinking.

Allison developed an interest in the sea during his childhood in Tanzania. Seeing children fishing, adults working offshore and even dynamite fishing, gave him first hand experience of the interaction people and the sea. “My interest has always been the use

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of the sea rather than looking at the pretty things in it,” he says. “I was aware from a young age the people using the sea were often poor and hungry.”

After completing an undergr aduate degree in Mar ine Biology and a PhD on scallop fishing at Liverpool University, Allison wor ked in Malawi on small pond aquaculture developments.

Today he sits between research and application. “My main interest is working on how aquaculture and fisheries can contribute to food security. This includes getting aquaculture work reviewed by medical researchers for example the benefits of omega 3 and health systems. I work on social justice issues too such as human rights, access to food and rights to water.”

Allison’s plenary talk will focus on the implications of global and environmental change. “My speech will take a broad stance to try and interest most people who are attending the conference. In agriculture, climate change is a huge topic but in capture fisheries it has only been talked about for the last five years.”

But the speech won’t just be about climate change. “I don’t know what the view of the aquaculture industr y is [on climate change]. What do they believe?” asks Allison.

However, global and environmental change, whatever the cause, affects the aquaculture industry. Allison uses the example of ocean acidification to illustrate

his point. A decrease in ocean pH caused by human CO2 emissions has weakened the shells of shellfish in Puget Sound, Washington, USA. The challenge now is how farmers, the aquaculture industry and the state responds to it.

“I’ll look at the implications of environmental change for the aquaculture industr y. The techniques for adapting to climate change are useful in adapting to change in general. Climate proofing aquaculture will have a benefit for all.”

At Aquaculture 2013 Allison is looking forward to immersing himself in aquaculture for the first time. He highlights the sessions on capture fisheries, small scale aquaculture in developing countries, innovative food production systems and the links between feeds, wild feed difference and climate change as areas of personal interest.

When discussing the biggest issues in aquaculture at the moment, Allison is war y of making broad judgements before the event but pinpoints innovation in feeds as the biggest issue. “There is lots of innovation in the private sector that does not make it into the public sector. I would like to see more par tnership between the public and private sector. There needs to be greater engagement between NGOs and development agencies that is a bit more serious and systematic.”

In the next 30 years Allison predicts tremendous feed advances including “designer feeds that will add the desired nutrients for the people who need them, similar to what is already happening in the poultr y industr y”.

In addition to discussing changes in the aquaculture, the show marks a personal change for Allison who will make a

permanent move to the US to take up a professorship at the Univer sity of Washington in September 2013.

With change , be it per sonal, professional, social, environmental, local or global fir mly on the agenda, this is one plenar y s peaker who is not afr aid to shake things up. www.was.org

October 6-10, 2013 The tenth of the highly successful series of symposia that have brought together tilapia biologists, culturists and other stakeholders who review the latest discoveries in tilapia nutrition, physiology, reproductive biology, genetics, ecology, improvements in production systems, and other fields related to tilapia and their use in aquaculture.

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INDUSTRY Events ISRMAX India Two members of the International Aquafeed team, Alice Neal, associate editor, and Darren Parris, international marketing manager, traveled to Delhi, India, December 13-15, 2012 to attend the IAI Aquaculture.

Held on the site of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, the event is just one part of the ISRMAX India trade show which covered the whole spectrum of food and feed production India.

Over 350 companies were on site exhibiting a host of products.

We caught up with the other aquaculture exhibitors to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the Indian market.

Lallemand Sandip Ahirro, technical sales manager What are the biggest challenges in the feed industry in India?

In terms of business, the problems are volatile prices. In particular, sudden increases in raw materials. For example in the last six months, the price of soya, wheat and fishmeal has suddenly shot up.

Looking ahead to 2013, power scarcity in the coastal provinces will affect all industries, not just aquaculture. Tthe impact on aquaculture will result in reduced stocking densities.

What are the most positive aspects of the Indian market?

There is great growth potential in the domestic market. At the moment 95 percent of shrimp is exported which affects pricing, but the domestic market is much more stable.

In the future there is scope for improving ornamental fish culture.

Ge Pro Ashish Kulshrestha, general manager, Asia Pacific What are the biggest challenges in the feed industry in India?

Buying the land for aquaculture is a big problem.

What are the most positive aspects of the Indian market?

Although per capita of poultry and fish is small, the middle classes are looking for better food and there is an increased demand these foods.

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INDUSTRY Events Sultan Fish Seed Farm Sultan Singh, managing director Founded in 1983 by Sultan Singh, Sultan Fish Seed Farm started as a very small village farm and has since grown into a 27-acre farm, 15-hectare breeding farm and fish processing unit. Singh feeds his carp with a mixture of floating feeds, multiple breeding planktons and fishmeal sourced on site.

Singh describes the most exciting part of the job as the training facility where PhD students can study. At the moment, he has four people doing PhD working on his farm. In the past, the farm has provided training for nine people from Afghanistan.

For Singh the biggest challenge as a farmer is to grow the maximum number of fish in the smallest amount of land. Exciting times lie in wait for the farm which will begin exporting its frozen products to the USA, UK and Canada in 2013.

Lesaffre Feed Additives Saurabh Singh, business development manager What are the biggest challenges in the feed industry in India?

Nutrition, disease and water quality.

What are the most positive aspects of the Indian market?

It’s a growing market and consumption is increasing. Before the majority of shrimp was exported but now farmers are getting better prices in India. It’s not rocket science: an increasing middle class want better protein sources.

Jaeckering Julia Lamskemper, head of sales for Mühlen- und Nährmittelwerke India is a new market for Jaeckering. This event is a good test to find out the demand for our products. A lot of people are very interested.

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 61

The aquafeed interview

The aquafeed interview

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orn in 1955, Torben Svejgaard is chief executive officer of the BioMar Group, headquartered in Denmark. At 57 years he is an economist with close to 30 years’ experience in B2B businesses with the first 25 years in the food ingredient area. From 1985-1991 he was marketing assistant and marketing manager at Aarhus Olie - speciality vegetable oil products and soy protein concentrates.

Then from 1991-2008 he held different upper management positions within Danisco (now Dupont), a world leader in functional food ingredients plus biotech products for feed, biofuel and technical purposes.

From 2004-2008 member of Executive Committee, that is the top management team of the company. Since 2008, he has been Group CEO of BioMar, one the biggest fish feed producers with a turnover in excess of €1 billion in 2012.

Will farming other species of fish follow the salmon example?

In my view, there is no doubt that fish farming will become more and more professionalised over the coming years. And it needs to if demand is to be met in a sustainable way as well as in a cost-efficient way.

You can see this happening for other species not just from a feeding point-of-view but also in farming. But it would be fair to say salmon is where there has been the greatest progress and where professional farming has been taken the furthermost. Let me add that this doesn’t mean that salmon is a superior fish!

Other species will follow but at different speeds and in different ways.

Tilapia in the USA for example, has developed two distinctive markets – a frozen market, primarily supplied by China, and a fresh market supplied mainly from Central plus the northern part of South America. As a result tilapia now has two different market prices and two sets of demands being placed on it.

With a further professionalism of fish framing demands to fish feed suppliers will also increase, and we feel in BioMar that we are well prepared for that.

Torben Svejgaard, chief executive officer, BioMar Group

Carp is a widely consumed fish species in China. Is carp likely to challenge fish species in western/developed countries?

I don’t think so. Based on my experiences from the food ingredient industry, people are conservative about their food products choices and I would be very surprised if carp, which is a quieter species than other, became a more commonly consumed fish in developed countries.

Would that decision have anything to do with a fish species being a herbivore or a carnivore?

Herbivores are by far the largest portion of fish species in the world while carnivores are in the minority. However, the future direction for demand will not be dependent on whether a fish species is herbivore or carnivore but whether the consumer likes the fish in question and to what extent we can develop a cost-effective production system for that species to meet growing demand.

Comparatively, we have many different species of fish being farmed today – when compared to chicken and pigs. There is a clear need to choose those species that can be grown in a cost-efficient way.

Does that mean fish has to be cheaper than chicken in the consumer’s eyes to increase demand?

While in some supermarkets you will find fish cheaper than chicken, the difficulty of the comparison is to understand the cost of protein ratio between the two protein sources.

A relative price might mean something, but this is not a mathematical choice in the eyes of the consumer. The consumer - at least the ones with a certain income level - is not asking, “Should I feed my family on chicken or fish this evening?” and basing that choice on what the price comparison is.

While, chicken is also very efficient in converting feed into protein, fish is generally more efficient. With rising commodity and protein prices in our raw materials the relative cost advantage of fish over chicken will increase.

I think it’s important to understand that consumers do not based their buying decision on price alone despite the cost efficiency achieved in the production process greatly influencing the price of the end product. Most shoppers buy fish because of the virtues of fish in itself, not because it’s cheaper than chicken.

There is much discussion about achieving a production breakthrough one kg of fish protein from one kg of feed. Is this a fair objective or is reducing the use of fishmeal in diets a more critical issue?

Feed conversion is not about achieving 1:1, but about the retention of energy and protein by a fish species that gives it its efficiency. Assessment based on kg in and kg out is a little artificial.

On the question of fishmeal, the salmon industry, for example, is a net fish protein producer – we have reduced protein fishmeal in diets to between 10-15 percent down from 30 percent over time an extended period of time. However, that’s not the goal in itself. If we take responsibility-sourced fishmeal and fish oil then we can make an upgrade from other materials that would not have been sold as food products – otherwise these products would have been wasted. That’s a rational objective for our industry and we should try to demonstrate that to consumers.

There’s much talk about the challenge of feeding nine billion people on the planet by 2050. Will fish play a central role in meeting this challenge?

Fish will play a role in feeding the nine billion people by 2050. And this should be one of the roles of professional fish farming, but we must also realise that this is only possible, if the industry does it in a sustainable way both from a broad environmental point of view and from an economical point of view. If the industry does not make sufficient profit, the needed growth will not happen. But farming can contribute to saving the world. We all know our industry can do that.

62 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

Watch the interview on your smart phone Simply download the Aurasma light app, and then subscribe to our channel at http://auras.ma/s/1shRr Point your phone at the image below and watch it come to life with the full interview

January-February 2013 | International AquaFeed | 63

AQUACULTURE IN 2012

INDUSTRY FACES NOAA appoints its first senior scientist for ecosystem management

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OAA has named Jason Link as its first-ever senior scientist for ecosystem management. In this new role, Dr Link will be the agency’s senior-most authority on ecosystem science, conducting research and coordinating activities of NOAA Fisheries’ science support for effective ecosystem-based management. His priorities will be to lead approaches and models to support development of ecosystem-based management plans throughout the agency. A key element of Dr Link’s work will be the development of the tools and approaches to deal with the impacts of climate change on NOAA’s marine trust species.

“I am excited and honored to be selected as the first NOAA Science Advisor for Ecosystem Management," says Dr Link.

During his 15-year career with NOAA Fisheries, Dr Link has been involved in the scientific underpinnings for ecosystem-based marine resource management. His expertise in food web dynamics and his exemplary work with the Ecosystem Assessment Program at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole has led to his and NOAA’s acknowledgement around the world, resulting in comparable programs in other countries. Recent efforts have focused on essential fish habitat, multi-species models, ecosystem models, and developing resource management tools and systems with a strong ecological basis. www.noaa.gov

European Probiotic Association prize winner announced

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eter de Schryver, from Ghent University, Belgium has won the European Probiotic Association’s Jules Tournut Probiotics Prize 2012. Peter received the prize for his innovative research project on the use of microbial products and microorganisms in animal nutrition, including aquaculture. The prize was awarded in presence of members of the EPA, FEFANA, representative of the EPA Scientific Committee and journalists at EuroTier in Hannover. The prize worth €2,000 is awarded to young scientists from all countries working on probiotics with a PhD or Master Thesis published in 2010/12. http://asso-epa.com

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership appoints first Aquaculture Director

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ustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) has appointment of Mr. Anton Immink as the organisation’s first global Aquaculture Director. The appointment represents a new phase in the expansion of SFP’s aquaculture work and reflects a focus on zonal management initiatives in Asia.

Anton Immink was previously Senior Consultant at Stirling Aquaculture, University of Stirling, and has worked in Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as for the UK Department for International Development and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

SFP believes that while farm-level certification processes provide a focused stepping stone on the road to sustainable aquaculture there needs to be greater emphasis on the bigger picture. SFP plans to engage producers, processors, buyers, suppliers, and regulators to come together to develop effective plans to manage production zones so that environmental quality, production efficiency, and food safety are maintained throughout the production chain.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Immink says, “I’m excited by the potential to help shape the future of sustainable seafood production, but recognise that scaling up solutions from the farm level to a wider aquaculture zonal management approach will require commitment from a range of partners. I look forward to input from across the sector.” www.sustainablefish.org

EWOS COO steps down

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r Kjell Bjordal, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Cermaq’s feed division, EWOS, retire on February 15, 2013. In the 13 years Bjordal has led the company, revenue had increased more than tenfold. Deputy COO, Dr Einar Wathne, will be appointed as acting COO from the same date. A recruitment process for a new COO will now be initiated. www.ewos.com

64 | International AquaFeed | January-February 2013

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