Another stunning success for Ace Aquatec
Antonio Garza de Yta Fish in the Desert - Optimising towards the future
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ebanon, a country of contrasts, of incomparable beauty, a place where 17 religions and a greater number of ideologies merge. In this country where you can ski in the morning and bathe on one of its beaches in the afternoon the Phoenician culture was born, and today it is home to one of the clearest and most progressive visions of aquaculture worldwide.
Within the American University in Beirut, an institution founded in 1866, and the most important university in eastern Italy, Dr Imad Saoud works. Dr Saoud is not only one of the visionaries and experts (perhaps the most important) of Aquaculture in Arid Zones, but also a fervent believer (like many of us) that the blue revolution can not be postponed. The world needs the aquaculture of that great step to increase food production by 70 percent by 2050, in a world where there is no more fresh water or more land and the pressure for resources is increasing. Taking advantage of this visit I made to sign a collaboration agreement between the American University in Beirut and the Technological University of the Sea of Tamaulipas (UTMarT) for exchange and training, both for technical and administrative staff and for students, I would like to share with you a very brief review of what happens in this part of the world. First of all, I think it is important to emphasise that everything that I will describe later is done with very few resources, but with a very clear vision; In Mexico we have a lot to learn. Not only Dr Saoud and his team of collaborators have actively worked on the concept of Integrated Aquaculture and Agriculture and have cooperated with the trout producers of the region, but have also promoted the concept of “More Crop for your Drop. That is the maximisation of the harvest with the minimum of resources. It is not only about the reuse of water, but to minimise the environmental footprint, that is the great challenge - to avoid the degradation of increasingly limited resources. Of the jobs with the greatest potential for application at a productive level, they are undoubtedly those made with the waste from restaurant meals. Here we have sought to make an alternative diet that, in addition to eliminating organic waste and reusing it once processed, seeks to reduce the costs to small producers who carry out this activity in a complementary manner. The use of these foods as a sole source of nutrients or intercalated with commercial diets is analysed. One of the projects that we will probably start in Mexico in the future will be the reuse of the most efficient waste of the Mexican diet, tortillas, in alternative diets for species such as tilapia or catfish. Finally, I would like to comment on another of the studies that caught my attention and this was the use of bacteria to transform omega 6 fatty acids into omega 3 fatty acids. This would undoubtedly be one of the greatest discoveries for aquaculture, since it would allow us to increase the content of the latter (mainly DHA and EPA) in the diets of freshwater fish and would give them a competitive advantage that they do not have today, besides that it could compensate the disadvantage of feeding marine fish with proteins and oils of terrestrial origin. We will be very aware of the results of these studies. As you can see, it does not take a big budget to achieve significant things; to have impact. The future of aquaculture can not only be conceived in large universities worldwide. I am convinced that institutions like UTMarT can be the engine of change. It’s about having vision, and as always... passion and perseverance.
Antonio Garza de Yta, Ph.D in Aquaculture from Auburn University, President of Aquaculture Global Consulting, Director World Aquaculture Society and creator of the Certification for Aquaculture Professional (CAP) Program. He is currently Rector, Universidad Tecnológica del Mar de Tamaulipas Bicentenario. 4 | May 2018 - International Aquafeed
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qua-electronics supplier Ace Aquatec is shocking the industry with a continuing string of successes. At Aquaculture UK 2016, the company won the inaugural Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) award. In 2017, the Dundee, Scotland-based company won the Innovation Award at Aqua Nor in Trondheim for its technology which humanely stuns fish before slaughter. Now Ace Aquatec is in the news again, this time for being granted the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the innovation category for their seal deterrent system. The award is specifically for growth and innovation in seal deterrent systems, recognising significant investment in R+D and benefits to the aquaculture industry from those developments. In particular it recognises the importance of innovation for growth in the economy and reduction in conflicts with farms as a result of our cutting edge technology. Ace Aquatec are the first Queens Award winner from the city since a University of Dundee research team in 2004. The CageGuard seal deterrent systems use innovative sound wave patterns to increase long-term effectiveness against predators while also protecting the hearing of those predators. “It’s a great honour to receive the Queen’s Award", said CEO Nathan Pryce-Carter. “We were recognised for the technology innovation of our seal deterrents, and also for the role our research and development has played in the growth of the Scottish economy. Animal welfare is an incredibly important issue, and we’re proud to be playing a part in helping our aquaculture customers excel in this area with a more humane approach to predator deterrence.” This latest honour allows the Scottish firm to display the Queen’s Award flag at its main office and use the emblem on all marketing materials. The awards are valid for five years. Award winners are invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace to be held later this year. You can visit Ace Aquatec at Aquaculture UK in Aviemore, Scotland on stand 155.