FEATURE
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by David Erlandsson, Co-founder of Aliga Microalgae, Denmark
LET ALGAE FEED YOUR GROWTH
or hatcheries, rearing robust, stable and high performing cultures with low mortality rates requires expertise. Any issues that occur early in the process can easily amplify in the latter stages of growth. It is therefore important that larvae and juveniles are fed nutritiously during their first weeks to maximise the production yield of the fully-grown species. As microalgae are essential initial diets for many marine species, successful and reliable microalgae cultivation demand skills and expertise too. Particularly when it comes to producing consistent nutritional and bio-secured quality at greater volumes. Most hatcheries are today cultivating their own microalgae, to a greater or lesser extent. On-site cultivation is often labour and resource intensive with imminent risks of culture crashes. As a complement to hatcheries’ on-site cultivated microalgae, Aliga has developed the Aquapaste product range. A pre-packaged and easy to handle off-the-shelf-concentrated paste line with nutritive profiles and high cell concentrations that provide the protein, vitamins and essential fatty acid enrichments needed to support the growth and wellbeing of live prey and larvae. At our indoor production facility in northern Denmark, our closed and fully automated photobioreactors operate under a continuous 24/7 regime to produce a high and stable yield. To eliminate any risk of waterborne pathogens and contaminants
being brought into our cultures via collected seawater, we formulate and use only our own artificial seawater throughout the production process. The flexibility in our bioreactor’s control and lighting systems also enables the setting of the optimal growth parameters for each individual strain, this so the desired nutritional profile of the strains can be formed. These cultivation procedures in combination with gentle harvesting, dewatering and packaging processes guarantees nutritious and bio-secure concentrated paste products with very high cell survivability and almost purely intact cells. Our R&D team are continuously improving our existing cultivars and develop new ones based on the needs and demands of our hatchery customers. We cooperate with some of the leading universities, research institutes and industrial partners in Europe who assist in developing, testing and quality-assuring our products. This to make sure that every Aquapaste bag produced, packed and shipped from our facility passes our rigid controls.
Aquapaste
The Aquapaste product line has been developed to meet the needs from marine fish-, shrimp-, and filtering molluscs hatcheries since microalgae are essential for their operations. Main objectives in the development of the Aquapaste has been to bring out a product line that is easy to use, behaves like fresh microalgae in the water column, provides the desired nutritional values as well as offering value-for-money to the hatcheries.
18 | July 2018 - International Aquafeed