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Cryo-preservation: The future of feed by Rebecca Sherratt, Production editor, Fish Farming Technology & International Aquafeed
nnovative live feed distributors Planktonic revealed at the 2018 Aquaculture Innovation Europe conference in London, UK, their secret source of live feed for larval shrimp and finfish. The hatchery feed production sector has been left wondering what exactly is Norway-based Planktonic’s secret behind their marine feeds, and Planktonic CEO, Rune Husby, finally confirmed it to be barnacle nauplii. This miraculous innovation has proven especially popular in Norway, Planktonic already having 30 percent of the starter feed market for cleaner fish produced in Norway alone. Husby went on to state that barnacle nauplii is an excellent alternative to artemia and rotifiers, with an “optimal nutritional profile, unparalleled biosecurity and an unparalleled stability in product quality.” Planktonic’s commercial success, CryoPlankton, uses liquid
nitrogen to cryo-preserve the barnacle nauplii, to allow hatchery managers to “revive them again” when needed.
What does this mean for hatcheries?
Several years ago the fish sector in Norway were given some samples of the new barnacle nauplii feed, and results had only been positive. Lumpfish and wrasse, Husby notes, displayed “improved growth and higher stress tolerance” compared to those fed on artemia and rotifiers. Trials were also successful in Greece, Portugal, where the fish fed this specific live feed had improved rates of survival, growth and a lower presence of vibrio, which commonly causes foodborne infections in humans upon exposure. Ecuador fish farms also noted similarly successful effects from the innovative feed when given to shrimps. These endless successes only further accelerated the growth of CryoPlankton, into its now hugely successful commercial
26 | January 2019 - International Aquafeed