2 minute read
All About Catfish conference, 19-20 October 2022, Heeze Netherlands
by Eurofish
Farmers from across Europe learn and network
Alltech Coppens hosted the All About Catfish conference, where experts from around the world shared their views on the fast-growing catfish farming industry.
CEO of Alltech Coppens, Ronald Faber, opened the conference with a vibrant introductory speech, leading the way for an exciting line-up of speakers who addressed the importance of today’s aquaculture catfish industry. They were warmly welcomed by John Sweetman, International Project Manager for Alltech Aqua, and the chairman of the conference.
The conference featured the following external speakers and presentations: • Bert-Jan Roosendaal, Managing Director of Aquacultuur ID — Aquaculture Technology &
Equipment • Esther Luiten, Commercial
Director of Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) —
Importance of Certified Fish • Frank Foolen, General Manager of Topaal – Claresse Visverwerking — Insights of the Market • Dr. Dénes GÄL, Co-founder, head of Geofish — African
Catfish Story in Hungary • Marten Opperman, Managing Director of Euro Fine
Fish — Value Chain of
Catfish
Some representatives from Alltech Coppens also spoke on specialist topics: • Gijs Rutjes, Technical Sales
Support Manager — Optimize
Your Farm Performance • Guido Crolla, Manager Procurement — Raw Material
Trends • Ben Lamberigts, Manager
Quality, Research and Nutrition — Future Innovation of
Sustainable Fish Feed • Danieke Ewalts, Head of Marketing & Communications —
Why Product Image Matters
As well as participating in talks, attendees were able to tour the facilities of the Alltech Coppens Aqua Centre (ACAC). This ACAC is the research and development building in which feed trials are conducted to investigate different ingredients to formulate the right combinations to efficiently meet nutritional requirements. The day ended with a networking event and BBQ dinner at the ACAC. More than 40 people attended the conference, representing 80 of the catfish RAS farmers in Europe. This event focused strongly on sharing ideas and making connections among peers.
This event was also the platform for the announcement of a new book, Inside/Out, a 150-page essential guide to understanding the function and structure of the skin, gills and guts of fish. Authored by John Sweetman and Gijs Rutjes, it is available to order at https://go.alltech.com/ aqua-inside-out. The conference was held in a sustainable hotel in beautiful Heeze, the Netherlands. The hotel is known for its Golden Green Key quality mark, the international certificate for sustainable companies in recreation, leisure, and business markets.
Overall, this networking conference was an enlightening experience for the catfish sector, encouraging representatives to find ways to work together in this sustainable aquaculture niche.
More on Alltech Coppens: https://www.alltechcoppens. com/ or catfish feed: https:// www. alltechcoppens.com/en/ industrial/catfish
