Fish Farmer VOLUME 39
NUMBER 05
MAY 2016
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Serving worldwide aquaculture since 1977
ALL’S WELL
SHOW MAN
FUTURE FARMING
FAROES FORTUNE
Two new boats launched for Scottish industry
Pioneer David Mack on his last Aviemore
Innovators focus on offshore technology
How aquaculture exports are overtaking fishing
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Contents 4-13 News
What’s happening in aquaculture in the UK and around the world
14-15 Opinion
JENNY HJUL – EDITOR
New vision
A
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Meet the team
Contact us
Editorial Advisory Board: Steve Bracken, Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Migaud, Patrick Smith and Jim Treasurer Editor: Jenny Hjul Designer: Andrew Balahura Advertising Manager: William Dowds wdowds@fishupdate.com Advertising Executive: Dave Edler dedler@fishupdate.com Publisher: Alister Bennett
Tel: +44(0) 131 551 1000 Fax: +44(0) 131 551 7901 email: jhjul@fishupdate.com Head Office: Special Publications, Fettes Park, 496 Ferry Road, Edinburgh, EH5 2DL
Welcome - May.indd 3
50-51 Innovation Exposed
Are we being served?
19-21 Dennis Overton
Delivering bigger impact
22-24 Industry Pioneer David Mack
Re-using oil platforms
64-67 Gael Force More mooring
Celebrating 30 years
25-32 Brussels 2016
77-79 Retail News
34-39 Wellboats
80-82 Faroes
40-41 Wellboats
84-85 Processing News
Solvtrans
Intership
Scotland stars in Asia
In the pink
Solid start to 2016
42-43 Innovation Introduction
87-89 Aqua Source Directory
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52-53 Innovation
64-67 VAKI
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Who was and wasn’t there
Printed in Great Britain for the proprietors Wyvex Media Ltd by Headley Brothers Ltd, Ashford, Kent ISSN 0262-9615
48-49 Innovation
Failing to communicate
distinguished group of figures in the industry has set out its vision to double aquaculture production by 2030. Led by Gael Force’s Stewart Graham and Aquascot’s Dennis Overton, they will produce a report later this year which, they say, will ‘inspire ambition and follow-up from multiple stakeholders’. We applaud them for undertaking this task on the industry’s behalf and will watch and support their efforts. However, the consensus among Scottish salmon farmers, by far the biggest producers in the sector, seems to be that further expansion is dependent on a reform of the regulatory process, which is currently holding them back. Two months ago, an independent consenting review landed on the then minister’s desk. As we went to press, the day after the Scottish election, we were still waiting to hear of new ministerial appointments. It may be a different face in the Rural Affairs department, but whoever it is we wish them well in the job. We also ask that they attend to that consenting review as a matter of urgency and not kick it into the long grass, as has been the habit of politicians in Scotland when confronted with the challenges of this industry. May is going to be a busy month, with Aquaculture UK in Aviemore, and the Shellfish Association of Great Britain conference at Fishmongers’ Hall in London. Janet Brown will cover the latter for Fish Farmer, and the rest of us will be out in force in Aviemore. We will have our own stand at the exhibition and hope to welcome many of you there.
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Contents – Editor’s Welcome
Find all you need for the industry
44-47 Innovation Mike Meeker
90 Opinion
By Nick Joy
3
06/05/2016 16:29:24
United Kingdom News
NEWS...
Marine Harvest plans whisky style visitor centre Last month, a public drop-in session organised by Marine Harvest to discuss the Kyleakin feed facility – which will create 55 jobs attracted more than 100 people, while more than 50 turned up to a session in Kyle. ‘The purpose of the drop-in sessions was to engage with the local Above: The centre will be sited near the Skye Bridge community and get may expand it to enasked James Withers feedback from them,’ compass all the seafood said Bracken. of Scotland Food and of Skye, said Marine Drink for advice on ‘They were asked Harvest business man- to fill in forms and we how to set up a retail ager Steve Bracken. type attraction, and will look at these and incorporate their comments into our plans.’ The mayor of Bjugn, where Marine Harvest’s Norwegian feed plant - SERVICES AND EQUIPMENT FOR THE AQUACULTURAL INDUSTRY is located, and Claes
MARINE Harvest is planning to build a visitor centre near its new feed plant on Skye, to offer an insight into salmon farming in Scotland. Land has been acquired for the centre, just over the Skye Bridge on the approach to the feed factory site in Kyleakin, and it will provide information on the industry, similar to the visitor centres run by Scotland’s whisky distilleries. The company has
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Jonermark, who runs the Bjugn plant, were there to explain how the plant might affect the area. There were two main questions from local people: will the feed factory smell and will it make a noise.The answer to both, said Bracken, was no. He said out of all those who turned up, only five to 10 were unhappy but he thinks their fears were allayed. ‘We tackled the issues of smell and noise and showed them how fish feed is made and there was a photo montage of how the new plant would look.’ Marine Harvest
hopes to hold another drop-in session, possibly in the quarry where the plant will be built. ‘It’s early days and we have to wait for the environmental surveys and so on, but we’d like to get the planning go ahead by February 2017 and then start building in 2018,’ said Bracken. Meanwhile, there has been some opposition to the company’s new £6 million Machrihanish hatchery, mainly from a small group of locals called Friends of the Gauldrons. Bracken said the company would meet the public in another information session. ,
...and offers aqua scholarships Marine Harvest is teaming up with the Scottish Association for Marine Science to fund two scholarships to the Joint Masters Degree in Aquaculture, Environment and Society (ACES) run by SAMS. The two-year sponsorship, open to graduates from EU member states, will fund one student per year and includes participation fees and an opportunity to work with Marine Harvest for a period of six months in order to complete their dissertations. Dr Gareth Butterfield, technical services manager at Marine Harvest, announced the scholarships, saying: ‘For our business to thrive, and the industry to grow overall, we have to bring in young people who increasingly require specialist skills and training. ‘To date, the UK has lagged behind Norway in providing an availability of aquaculture educated personnel, but that balance is
Above: Liz Cook and Gareth Butterfield launch the new scholarships
changing.’ The course awards a Joint Masters Degree through the universities of the Highlands and Islands, Crete and Nantes. Dr Liz Cook, programme leader at SAMS, said: ‘One of the main themes behind this course is global food security, so we are delighted to receive the support of a world leading food producer such as Marine Harvest Scotland.’ Applications must be received by June 5, 2016.
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 16:26:46
All the latest industry news from the UK
Photo: @IOA_Denny, Institute of Aquaculture
SAIC to cofund industry internships
THE Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) is inviting applications from businesses for funding support with BSc, MSc and PhD graduate internships. SAIC will contribute £5,000 towards the cost of up to five 12 to 18-month graduate internships, as well as providing two oneday workshops: one delivering training on CV writing and interview techniques; the other an entrepreneurship and innovation day. Each internship will be as individual as the company applying but all must include full-time work for 12 to 18 months; a defined project that will deliver value for the company and equip graduates with essential business skills; and an assigned mentor or supervisor .
SSF signs Fusion deal A £900,000 order from Scottish Sea Farms (SSF) for Fusion Marine salmon pens will ensure its new Westerbister site in Orkney is equipped with stateof-the-art containment technology. The order for 16 Triton 450 pens and associated equipment reinforces the close working relationship between SSF and Fusion Marine, which stretches back more than 20 years. The new salmon farm at Westerbister has created six new jobs locally and provides a major boost for Argyll based Fusion Marine. Richard Darbyshire, Orkney regional production manager of SSF, said: ‘The Fusion Marine Triton pens are fully proven to withstand the harsh and relentless Orkney storms. ‘We have previously worked with Fusion on our Wyre and Eday projects and we have been impressed with their professionalism and workmanship. ‘As we strive to try and further expand our farming activity in Orkney we will continue to invest with local suppliers. ‘This latest order brings almost £1 million of spend to the Scottish economy, supporting jobs and enhancing local economic benefits during the construction phase.’ The Triton pen system has been specially developed by Fusion Marine to meet the harsh demanding conditions found in exposed, open sea fish farming locations.
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This order brings almost £1 million to the Scottish economy, supporting jobs during the construction phase
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The feed barge is destined for Scottish Sea Farms’ Orkney region and will be located at the new Westerbister site by September 2016. Jim Gallagher, managing director of Scottish
Above: John Offord,Gael Force Group managing director, and Richard Darbyshire, SSF’s Orkney regional production manager
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Made from tough polyethylene, the 100m circumference pens are constructed utilising highly advanced, quality assured jointing techniques. Iain Forbes, director of Fusion Marine, said: ‘We always strive to work closely with salmon producers in developing fish containment systems that meet their requirements, and Triton is a great example of such co-operation. ‘We also take great pride in our after-sales support, where we continually liaise with customers to ensure the most efficient operation of their equipment. ‘This latest order from Scottish Sea Farms helps ensure job security at our manufacturing base and underlines the importance of fish farming in supporting our rural economy.’ The new fish farm system will be delivered to the Westerbister site later this DON’T MISS THE UK’S LARGEST AQUACULTURE year. EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE
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New feed barge for Orkney farms SCOTTISH Sea Farms has agreed a contract, worth almost £1 million, with Inverness based Gael Force Group for a SeaMate 150 tonne feed barge and mooring systems.
Above: Fusion’s Iain Forbes with Richard Darbyshire of Scottish Sea Farms
Sea Farms, said: ‘This contract represents a further major investment by Scottish Sea Farms within the Scottish economy. ‘Wherever possible, we are working with Scottish suppliers as we grow and develop our salmon farming business in Orkney to meet the ever growing demand for our product.’ Stewart Graham, group managing director of Gael Force, said: ‘This order helps sustain 30 jobs in our barge building yard.’
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06/05/2016 16:39:25
United Kingdom News
‘Outstanding’ Shaun scoops award
XXXX Above left: Fish farm worker, Shaun McAlister receives his award from David Sandison, SSPO Shetland general manager SCOTTISH Sea Farms (SSF) worker Shaun McAlister received the NAFC Marine Centre’s ‘Most outstanding SVQ Aquaculture Level 3 Award’ at the annual prize giving on April 22. The new award is sponsored by the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) Shetland, recognising the achievements of Level 3 SVQ students and the importance of aquaculture to Shetland. McAllister is based at SSF’s Vidlin site and has been working in salmon farming for three years. He was selected from more than 40 students for his outstanding written theory results and excellent practical skills. Since 2014, the NAFC has welcomed more than 100 enrolments for SVQ Level 2 and 3. New courses: Page 16
Scottish port builds fish feed facility SCOTLAND’S largest container port, Grangemouth, has opened a multi-million pound, 50,000 sq ft warehouse development for fish feed giant EWOS. The port, owned by Forth Ports, has invested more than £2 million in the development of the bespoke storage warehouse for EWOS. It can accommodate more than 6,000 tonnes of bulk raw materials at any one time. EWOS, based at Westfield, near Bathgate, which is around 20 minutes from the port, started using the warehouse last month as part of a contract with the port to handle a significant amount of its bulk raw material
Above: New warehouse for larger volumes of raw material
requirements. The cargo was previously handled in Perth and, by transferring to the Port of Grangemouth, this allows larger vessels and volumes to be handled.
David Morrice, country director of EWOS-CQN Scotland, said: ‘The opening of this new warehouse at Grangemouth improves the flexibility in our supply chain
and will greatly assist our service levels to our customers. This new investment clearly illustrates our commitment to fish feed production in Scotland.’
Gael Force buys Mohn Aqua
Delighted to Supply New Technology Nets to Scottish Sea Discover Farms New Products
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THE Forres based underwater technology specialist Mohn Aqua has been bought by Gael Force Group. Mohn Aqua has a well established name in the aquaculture industry but the Norwegian owned firm had been facing an uncertain future without further investment. Gael Force plans to invest in product development, production, sales and servicing support of the Mohn Aqua product range, which includes underwater cameras, sensors and acoustic deterrent devices. This will help create a more secure future for the core workforce at the Forres premises and support them in extending the market reach across the UK and overseas,
said Gael Force. Adding underwater technology to its range of consumable and equipment supplies is a move forward in the company becoming a complete end to end supplier. Stewart Graham, Gael Force Group`s managing director, said: ‘The acquisition fits well into the company`s current development strategy and within our aqua-
culture business. ‘We plan to increase our focus on delivering this strategy and take further steps towards putting Scotland on the map as a supplier of technology and equipment to our own market in Scotland but internationally too.’ The company has an ambitious drive to build sales to £50 million in the next four years.
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 16:27:25
All the latest industry news from the UK
SSPO chair brings export expertise THE Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO) has named Anne MacColl as its new chair, taking over from Professor Phil Thomas. MacColl, former chief executive of Scottish Development International (SDI), has
Ball game boosts fish health says farmer
been working with the University of Stirling as associate director within the research and enterprise team, with a focus on international business development, aquaculture, innovation and entrepreneurship. She said: ‘When the opportunity arose to become chair of the SSPO, which has helped farmed salmon become Scotland’s number one food export, I was delighted to become involved. I hope I can bring some of my international trade and investment experience to further the industry’s development.’
SCOTTISH salmon farmer Loch Duart claims to have made a breakthrough in improving fish welfare by introducing distractions such as ball games into hatcheries. Young salmon have been observed nipping the fins of other salmon and, uncontrolled, the damage can have a long-term effect on the health and quality of the fish. The hatchery team in Sutherland, led by David Roadknight, put strips of tarpaulin in the water, giving fish a place to hide from ‘bully fish’, and strings of coloured balls for the salmon to play with. The team said it is already clear
Producers discuss farming in deeper waters REPRESENTATIVES from the Scottish salmon sector met other producers in Brussels in early April to discuss the challenges of moving sites to more exposed locations. At the Marine Strategy Framework Directive event, hosted by the EC, delegates investigated new ways to grow production ca-
pacity, including operating in deeper waters. Jamie Smith, technical executive for the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, attended the meeting as the Scottish representative of FEAP (Federation of European Aquaculture Producers), along with other FEAP members from Spain, Denmark and Ireland.
He said: ‘Achieving consent is recognised as one of the biggest non-technical barriers to development in the marine environment. ‘As the industry looks at new, innovative ways to increase capacity in order to keep pace with demand, moving operations further out to sea is certainly a consideration.’
Above: Loch Duart’s Hugh Ross holds
up the devices that the balls have changed the swim patterns in tanks and dorsal fin quality seems to be improved.
Manager moves at Marine Harvest GIDEON Pringle has left his role as farming director of trout farmer Dawnfresh to return to Marine Harvest. Pringle took up his role as operations director of farming for Marine Harvest Scotland at the beginning of April. It is a newly formed position. He previously worked for the company from 2004 to 2010, leaving for Dawnfresh for five years. At Marine Harvest’s processing division in Rosyth, managing director Andy Stapely is being replaced by long-serving company executive Bertil Buysse. The facility has suffered ongoing losses, despite winning a contract last year to supply Sainsbury’s, previously held by Young’s Seafood.
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06/05/2016 16:27:43
European News
NEWS... Norwegian exports continue relentless drive
Irish shellfish sector demands sea-change FARMERS of oysters, mussels and other shellfish will converge at an IFA (Irish Farmers’ Association) conference in Athlone on May 19. They will discuss issues affecting this rapidly developing export driven food industry, with a growing domestic market that employs hundreds of coastal inhabitants and generates economic development in peripheral areas. Chairman Jerry Gallagher said the new government in Ireland has a lot to do to implement the national strategic plan for the industry. In particular, it must address current licensing, which is a barrier to growth and investment. ‘The incoming minister must ensure that...the Department of Agriculture speeds up reform of the licence sector and reviews its service to industry on the most important aspects of security of tenure, options for working in the environment and the provision of clean coastal waters,’ said Gallagher. Conference speakers will include representatives of the European Commission, the CEO of BIM, Tara McCarthy, the Department’s Licensing Division, and Sea Fisheries Protection Authority.
NORWEGIAN seafood exports have totalled NOK 28.8 billion for the first four months of this year, an increase of 26 per cent or NOK 5.9 billion. Once again, farmed salmon and whitefish such as cod are driving this performance. Sales of salmon alone during April soared by 40 per cent while farmed trout exports shot up by more than 100 per cent. Geir Håvard Hanssen, communications director with the Norwegian Seafood Council, said: ‘Norwegian seafood exports are booming. By volume, exports are
slightly down during the first four months of this year, but by value we see a gain of NOK 5.9 billion compared with the same period last year. ‘This is due to strong demand and high
prices for Norwegian seafood, combined with a continuing favourable currency situation. ‘Salmon and trout have been the main contributors to strong export growth. Salmon has seen average prices
of NOK 56.81 per kilo so far this year, compared with an average price of NOK 41.89 per kilo in the same period last year. We have seen strong numbers for April, an increase of 35 per cent year-on-year.’
North and south outline common priorities THE results of an EU study comparing the problems facing aquaculture growth in north and south Europe were presented at the sixth Offshore Mariculture Conference in Barcelona in April. The COFASP (Cooperation in Fisheries, Aquaculture and Seafood Processing) Aquaculture Case Study brought
together industry leaders from companies representing 30 to 35 per cent of the total production of the Mediterranean sea bass and sea bream sector, and almost 60 per cent of the total Norwegian salmon sector. CoFASP, which included 27 partners from 17 countries, conducted workshops – in
Rome in Italy and Froya in Norway - between fish farmers in north and south Europe to identify key priorities for further research in their sectors. Giovanna Marino, of the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), said the study would now be used to inform decisions into further research.
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All the latest industry news from Europe
Innovation AquaGen buys Brazilian genetics firm award at AquaVision
Above: AquaVision 2014
Above: Ricardo Neukirchner (left), owner and CEO of Aquabel, and Odd Magne Rødseth, chairman of
sector’s requirements for farmed tilapia. With its head office in Londrina, Aquabel has production facilities in six different states in Brazil, close to its
PHARMACEUTICAL companies Neptune Pharma and Europharma have been cleared by a Norwegian court to continue to supply their sea lice treatment for Atlantic salmon.
The companies, along with Adrian Endacott, Victor Endacott and VAE Consultants, had been involved in a dispute with the Fish Vet Group and Benchmark Animal Health Group.
As a result of the judgment, in Oslo District Court, Neptune will continue to supply its azamethiphos-based sea lice treatment,
Azasure Vet, to the salmon farming industry. The court found that the companies had ‘not exploited Fish Vet Group’s trade secrets.
The claimants had sought for Neptune to be prohibited from marketing and selling Azasure Vet in Norway for a limited period.
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THE European Union has issued food safety alerts to four Vietnamese seafood exporters, whose shipments to several European countries have been found to contain banned substances. The companies, it is claimed, have all failed to pass food safety checks to enter the EU, according to the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). Vietnam is a major exporter of mainly farmed seafood to the UK, Europe and the United States. Created by the EU in 1979, RASFF offers a round-the-clock service to provide notification of
European News.indd 9
genetics.’ Ricardo Neukirchner, CEO of Aquabel, said: ‘To be a part of a team with the world leading salmon breeding company will make important genetic knowledge and research resources available to Aquabel. ‘Our new relationship with AquaGen will contribute to further genetic progress in our breeding programme, and strengthen Aquabel’s position as a trusted and independent supplier to the aquaculture industry.’Đ Making a marker: P56
Neptune wins lice remedy case
EU in Vietnam seafood alert
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customers in a rapidly growing industry. ‘Our partnership with Aquabel represents an important milestone, which extends our priority areas into the
expanding aquaculture industry,’ said Odd Magne Rodseth, chairman of AquaGen. ‘A big potential exists for Aquabel and AquaGen to work together in securing synergies through the exchange of experience and technologies. ‘This will ensure the tilapia industry access to more than 40 years of research and experience based knowledge related to applied industrial breeding that has made AquaGen into the world’s leading company in salmon
at K s eU 1 tu r si ltu o Vi cu D N ua N Aq STA
A SPECIAL award honouring transformative innovation within the aquaculture industry will be presented at this year’s AquaVision conference in Stavanger in June. The winner of the DSM Innovation Award will be announced on day two of AquaVision (June 15) and the recipient will also receive a prize of EUR 10,000. Applications are invited and eligible innovations should be in the area of aquaculture and break with convention, going beyond marginal improvements in existing products and services. Applications should be submitted by May 27 and will be reviewed by a jury of specialists.
LEADING Norwegian salmon genetics company AquaGen has acquired a majority of shares in Brazilian based tilapia breeding and distribution company Aquabel. Aquabel has become the leading supplier of genetic material to the Brazilian tilapia farming industry, the fastest growing aquaculture sector in the Americas. The company develops, produces and sells genetic material distributed as fingerlings and juveniles, tailored to the aquaculture
food safety risks before they reach European consumers.
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06/05/2016 16:25:19
World News
NEWS...
BC sets new record for exports BRITISH Columbia set a new record for exports of farmed salmon in 2015 and is on track to set new records in 2016 as well, said the BC Salmon Farmers’ Association (BCSFA). The most encouraging numbers in the final data released by Statistics Canada are those that show an emerging appetite for farmed salmon in China, with exports from British Columbia more than doubling over the previous high in 2012. Some 1,250 tonnes valued at CAD 9.2 million were exported to China, an increase in volume of 140 per cent since the previous high in 2012. China is now BC’s
second most important market next to the United States, which has historically been the sector’s primary export market, and remains so today. Trade with Asia overall is up 38 per cent over the previ-
ous record in 2013, with BC exporting fresh farm raised salmon for the first time to South Korea, a market that shows great potential as Canada and South Korea implement the Canada-Korea Free
Trade Agreement. ‘Demand for salmon raised in BC has never been higher,’ said Jeremy Dunn, BCSFA executive director. ‘The United States remains our most important trading partner, and will be so for some time. However, we are encouraged at the market diversification and the prospects for growing demand in the future – particularly in Asia.’ Overall, BC exported a record 54.4M kg of farmed salmon to 11 countries. Salmon farming has a total economic impact of CAD 1.1 billion in British Columbia and accounts for more than 5,000 total jobs
Biggest concrete barge yet for BC farmer MARINE Harvest Canada has taken delivery of a $2 million concrete feed barge, which will be put to work at its farm in the Port Hardy area of British Columbia, the Campbell River Mirror reported. Built by Pacific Marine Construction of Campbell River, the barge boasts state-of the-art technology as well as eight bedrooms to ensure comfortable accommodation. Marine projects manager for Marine Harvest Dave Pedersen said the barge has an entire computer operated feeding system built into it, which can feed six pens of fish at once, minimising waste. ‘Before, when we’d be able to feed, we could only do two cages at a time. We now, for the first time, can feed six cages at once when we feed,’ he said. ‘The success of getting the feed to the fish is just that much greater, now, and that’s a great thing.’
New aquafeed proves carbon credentials A NEW fish feed ingredient has been heralded for its sustainability credentials after a report found it reduced the need for both water and agricultural land, both scarce resources. US based Calysta’s FeedKind protein also offers significant advantages over current fish feed ingredients as it does not rely on wild caught fish, reducing pressure on global fish stocks, the Carbon Trust concluded in its assessment, published last month. FeedKind protein, currently approved for sale in the European Union, is a natural, safe, non-GMO sustainable fish feed ingredient, said the UK based Trust. The report provides a detailed analysis of FeedKind protein, which is produced from naturally occurring microbes found in soil. FeedKind was shown to use 77-98 per cent less water than alternative ingredients including soy and wheat proteins. It also requires almost no agricultural land to produce, freeing that land for
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other food crops. In fact, one commercial scale FeedKind protein plant, if used to replace soy products for fish feed, would free up enough land to feed as many as 250,000 people. As FeedKind production moves toward greater use of renewable biogas and electric power, the report said it will have ‘a carbon footprint comparable to or better than many other feed sources’. ‘FeedKind protein provides a new path to sustainability for the aquaculture industry,’ said Alan Shaw,
Calysta president and CEO. In January, Calysta announced it will open an R&D and market introduction facility in north east England for further development of the commercial production process for FeedKind protein. The facility is expected to open in early 2017. And in February, the company announced $30 million in Series C funding with Cargill. In addition to the funding, Calysta and Cargill will collaborate in the North American manufacturing and global marketing of FeedKind protein.
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 16:22:20
All the latest industry news from around the world
Canadian firms can hire more foreign staff
Job cuts in Chile salmon farms NORWEGIAN owned Marine Harvest is cutting up to 500 jobs in a restructuring process at its Chilean outlet. The move follows a toxic algae crisis that wiped out millions of fish. The company said last month that it expected to lose 2.7 million salmon at four of its sites in the southern region of Chile, after high sea temperatures caused a devastating algal bloom. All the fish were covered by insurance. ‘Marine Harvest will revert with a complete restructuring plan of Marine Harvest Chile in connection with the first quarter results release on May 11,’ said the company. The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA) national director José Miguel Burgos said the emergency caused by algae bloom resulted in the death of some 25
Above: Southern region of Chile
million fish in total, the equivalent to 39,942 tonnes of dead biomass. Some 45 farms were affected in the region of Los Lagos.
AquaChile boss stands down THE CEO of AquaChile, Torben Petersen, is to leave the group after less than two years in the role, it was announced last month. He will be replaced by Agustin Ugalde.
Petersen previously worked with Marine Harvest, Pesquera Iquique, Fjord Seafood Chile and Camanchaca. AquaChile lost $43 million from the algal
bloom crises earlier this year, and apparently the company was not insured for the loss. It also reportedEiffel Tower poor results for 2015, 324 m with losses of $99 million. Above: Torben Petersen
THE Canadian federal government has opened the way for the country’s seafood companies to hire more foreign workers by removing a number of restrictions on temporary seasonal workers from overseas. The move has been greeted with relief and is thought to follow strong representation from Canada’s seafood processing sector. The current cap, set by the previous government, is 20 per Burj of Khalifa cent an employer’s 828 m dropworkforce, ping to 10 per cent on July 1, 2016.But
last month the new Liberal government provided an exemption to the cap for all seasonal industries which employ workers for a maximum of 180 days. Those employers still have to undergo a labour market assessment for each position to confirm the job cannot be filled locally, delivered but forAll 2016 there is Steinsvik stacked no limit toBarges the num1800 m ber of foreign workers they can bring in under the programme.
Every 3rd farmed salmon in the world is documented in Mercatus
Did you know Mercatus is in use daily on 600 sites around the world? Half of these sites are in Norway, the rest is spread over 5 continents and 9 different countries. 65 different companies use the software, and these vary from some of the biggest to some of the smallest salmon producers. Mercatus started as a separate company 15 years ago, and has been run by Ocea, and now Steinsvik. Our experience in both fish farming and software development makes us the natural choice for fish farmers around the world.
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06/05/2016 16:22:37
World News
Students win prize for sustainable aquaculture idea TWO environmental science students at America’s Brown University have won an international prize for their idea to make Kenyan fish farming more sustainable. Their project, called Kulisha, which means ‘to feed’ in Swahili, produces fish feed made from black soldier fly larvae as an alternative to feed made from wild caught fish. The team, including Maya Faulstich-Hon and Kenya native Viraj Sikand, proposes to build a business of raising the larvae — which eat organic waste — and processing them into a fish feed that can then be sold to fish farmers.
Above: Soldier fly
Raising flies that are native to the country, eat waste, and don’t spread disease is sustainable, Sikand said. The idea was con-
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vincing to the judges at the Thought for Food Challenge, which started with nearly 500 teams and came down to 10 finalists. This summer, the
Personal Demos at Aquaculture UK - Stand 84 -
team will return to Kenya with the award, worth $10,000, and other grants they have received to focus on implementation. ‘The TFF prize money,
along with the other grant money, will be used to build a production facility, start a colony, and begin testing prototypes,’ Faulstich-Hon said.
‘In addition, we’ve partnered with a major tilapia farm, and by the end of the summer we’ll start trialling our product with them.’
Salmon initiative ‘enhances performance’
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THE Global Salmon Initiative published its annual sustainability report during Seafood Expo Global in Brussels. The 12 GSI members are committed to having 100 per cent of their salmon farms certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Standard by 2020; as a measure of overall sustainability, the group are using the standard as a reference point for their progress. The GSI report showcases that there are now more than 70 GSI salmon farms certified by the ASC, and over 35 farms currently under assessment, a significant
increase since the nine certified in 2015 – and a strong signal of the group’s commitment to greater industry sustainability. ‘The publication of the GSI’s annual Sustainability Report means we are routinely benchmarking our performance both as individual companies, and as an industry sector,’ said Per Grieg, GSI co-chair and chairman of the board of Grieg Seafood. ‘The report both acts as a reference point for our success but also continuously encourages us to look for new approaches to enhance our sustainability performance.’
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 16:23:05
All the latest industry news from around the world
Nutriad expands global team THE multi-national feed additives manufacturer Nutriad has expanded its regional aqua teams with the appointments of Tkangairulappan Gnanamani in Chennai, India, and Bruno Urach in Pernambuco, Brazil. ‘Regional aquaculture specialists are an integral part of our strategy to increase our footprint in the key aquaculture markets around the world,’ said Dr Peter Coutteau,
business unit director of aquaculture for Nutriad. ‘India has dramatically increased its aquaculture production in the past years, particularly of white shrimp. ‘Brazil continues to be an important aqua country in South America, with interesting growth potential in freshwater fish such as tilapia and local species. ‘At the
Above: Bruno Urach
same time, the sustainability of the industry is challenged in both India as well as Brazil by disease outbreaks and scarcity of marine ingredients for aqua feeds, two areas where Nutriad offers specialised solutions and services.’ Urach, sales manager in north east Brazil, has 13 years’ experience in the industry in Brazil, where he has worked in various positions with producers of fish and shrimp. ‘Bruno’s deep knowledge of the aquaculture market throughout the north eastern region, as well as the main production centres of south east and south of Brazil, complements our livestock sales team in Brazil,’ said Marcelo
Nunes, Nutriad’s regional director South America. Gnanamani, who will be aquaculture manager of South Asia, said: ‘Having worked over 20 years in fish and shrimp aquaculture in India, supporting feed mills and farms, I see a great potential in the specialty programmes offered by Nutriad to improve feed cost efficiency and prevent disease using natural products. ‘My position with Nutriad will allow me to apply my knowledge and experience towards solutions that help farmers and feed millers deal with day to day performance and health challenges in aquaculture.’ Allen Wu, regional manager of aquacul-
Above: Peter Coutteau
ture in Asia Pacific said: ‘Besides shrimp, important volumes of freshwater fish are farmed in India and Bangladesh, which places the area among the main aquaculture regions worldwide.
‘The local expertise of Mr Gnanamani in fish and shrimp aquaculture in India, and his extensive knowledge of the local farming conditions, perfectly complements the Nutriad aqua team in Asia Pacific.’
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06/05/2016 16:23:23
Opinion
BY IAN BRICKNELL
I’m an evil aquaculture scientist We are still not getting our message across about farmed fish
I
’m an evil aquaculture scientist: it must be true because I was once called it at a public meeting. Why? I was simply presenting some research on sea lice that didn’t fit the theoretical models that all sea lice come from farmed fish and infect wild fish. In fact, the data was pretty clear cut and showed that farmed smolts going from freshwater, where sea lice cannot live, into the ocean, where sea lice are common, catch sea lice from wild fish. These pioneering sea lice come from the resident wild salmonids in the area. Thus wild fish actually infect farmed fish. The problem was that the person who heckled me during my presentation was not well informed on the subject, believing a commonly held public perception that was being proposed in grey literature and anti-aquaculture websites that the sea lice problem always comes from farmed fish. Sadly, it is much more complicated than that. It is inconceivable that there is not a farmed-wild fish interaction going on. However, the research that supports the farmed to wild fish hypothesis is not comprehensive. It often relies on mathematical models that make huge assumptions about
the biology of sea lice, often treating them as inert particles that drift passively in the ocean. They are not inert particles, but living animals that want to find a host, age, become senile, die, get eaten and so on. The problem is that it is difficult to get the biological data from the ocean to validate the mathematical models. Sea lice are tiny, hard to catch and identify and this research is challenging to do. Yet mathematic modelling is relatively cheap; a computer, a scientist and some software and the research can start. The biologist needs boats, some way of catching sea lice, then accurately identifying them usually by expensive molecular tests and it takes at least a year to check for seasonal variations. So we have a dilemma: unverified computer models can effectively put in any set of variables
Left: Figure 1 Antibiotic use in Norway from 1970-1990s
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06/05/2016 16:19:56
I’m an evil aquaculture scientist
to produce a distribution model while the biological data to validate such models is expensive and very challenging to do. So why do scientists have issues presenting their data to the public? Well the answer is not simple. Scientists are often brilliant communicators between their peers because they all talk the same language. Who has read a food ingredient list and wondered what on earth α-tocopherol was? It is actually vitamin E, playing an important role as an antioxidant. However, most members of the public are not scientists and technical language like this is off putting, often leading to the common mantra that we even see in advertising ‘that if you cannot pronounce it you shouldn’t eat it’. Given the way that scientists are trained, very few are natural born communicators that the public find accessible. It is not uncommon for me to hear phrases like, ‘I don’t eat farmed fish because of the antibiotics used in its production’ or ‘I never eat farmed seafood’. The antibiotic use in aquaculture is very interesting (Figure 1). The graph shows the decline in antibiotic use in Norway after the introduction of effective vaccines against most bacterial diseases. Since the turn of the century antibiotic use in the northern hemisphere is negligible and used to treat rare outbreaks of bacterial diseases. Globally, the use of antibiotics in salmon aquaculture is much less than terrestrial aquaculture where chicken and pig agriculture, unlike aquaculture, regularly use antibiotics as growth promoters. The ‘I never eat farmed seafood’ argument is also spurious. If you take the time to review the menus of oyster bars you often see their oysters described using phrases such as ‘the fresh taste of the ocean, grown on the clean clear waters of…’ even though the vast majority of oysters consumed are farmed. Yet this seafood does not attract the same vitriol that we see directed at farmed salmon, for example. This may be because the consumers are as equally uneducated about oysters as they are about salmon. Many consumers do not realise that many oysters are farmed. Restaurants typically do not advertise oysters as farmed and this lower profile species is not known as a farmed product. It is even more ironic that the same consumers are equally unaware of aquaculture products in their day to day lives. The role of aquacultured seaweeds as gelling or thickening agents in medications, foods like ice cream or, more obviously, as Nori in sushi is also lost to the consumer. They may not be the first items one thinks of when you consider aquacultured products but they nonetheless play an important role in everyday life. Aquacultured products make up so much of the USA’s trade deficit, constituently being in second
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“
Why is aquacultured seafood not welcomed with open arms by consumers
or third place with more than 90 per cent of our seafood being imported and around 55 per cent of that ($10 billion worth) coming from aquacultured sources. So why is aquacultured food not welcomed with open arms by consumers? The science behind aquacultured foods is excellent and the products are of high quality. In other parts of the world aquacultured seafood can attract a premium because it is considered to be of much higher quality than wild caught from the point of freshness, quality and not being full of parasites such as Anisakis spp. The blame is certainly due, at least to some extent, to us and by ‘us’ I mean educators and scientists. As I said earlier, scientists are usually terrible at talking to the general public and this has been reflected in the issue we have in getting our message out there that seafood is safe, sustainable. How can we improve this situation? Well, I would like to make a case for scientists in general in this sceptical world. Universities should consider training scientists in communication. I would like to suggest that universities that considerer themselves to be strong in science education appoint a Professor for the Public Understanding of Science with a role to develop research and training for undergraduates in scientific communication. I’d go even further and suggest that the aquaculture industry and its associated professional bodies consider endowing a chair at a leading aquaculture research institution to begin training the next generation of aquaculture scientists to present their research in an accessible way. Naturally, I would be delighted if my institution was chosen, but I think this role is essential if aquaculture is going to be as widely accepted in the West as it is elsewhere. Ian Bricknell is Professor of Aquaculture Biology at the Aquaculture Research Institute & School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine. FF
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Above: Scientists struggle to get their message across
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06/05/2016 16:20:15
Training – NAFC
Contain yourselves!
Rush for places as new course is launched in Shetland
T
HE NAFC Marine Centre in Shetland is busier than at any time since it opened 22 years ago, with demand for a wide range of courses at record levels. There has been a rush for places on several new aquaculture courses, including the fish farm containment course, which has seen 93 students certificated since it was launched in March. Other courses rolled out this year include fish health (41 students certificated), water quality awareness (40 certificated and 40 more enrolled), advanced fish health (to begin in June) and biosecurity (beginning this month). NAFC head of short courses Mark Fullerton said: ‘We are the busiest we have ever been, not only in terms of numbers of students but in the range of courses that we are doing.’ The Introductory Fish Farm Containment oneday course was developed directly in response to the industry requiring staff trained in containment to prevent fish escapes, in alignment with new Scottish government legislation. Aimed at entry level marine and freshwater husbandry and maintenance staff, it covers legislative requirements; causes of fish escapes; cage and net types, designs, weighting, securing; predator netting; inspections; mooring systems and maintenance; statutory record keeping; dealing with losses; and health and safety considerations. There is a short written assessment at the end of the course. The course material is designed to address the Scottish Technical Standards 2015, said NAFC aquaculture section leader Stuart Fitzsimmons. It was developed after a meeting with a local company that required specific training needs, but has also been delivered to other companies in Scotland. ‘The course material was developed by Kenny Gifford – he has over 30 years’ aquaculture experience, including as a salmon farm owner and manager, diver, through to MA assessor and trainer. ‘His practical knowledge on containment is immense and that is reflected in the excellent feedback from the students, who range from
“
We are bursting at the seams, in the nicest possible way
”
Top: Record numbers of students. Above: Stuart Fitzsimmons. Left: The NAFC in Scalloway.
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completely new fish farmers to site managers. ‘The next step currently in development is online delivery of short courses, such as the fish containment [available by the end of this year], to reach a wider audience.’ Farm staff are released for one-day or two-day courses dependent on their workloads, said Fitzsimmons. ‘The students have a very diverse background of nationalities, experience and geographical locations, which makes our assessment and training very challenging and interesting. ‘We have to be flexible in our dates and also go to their sites to deliver courses if required. We deliver courses to remote islands so it is a cheaper and easier option for us to travel to them.’ Fitzsimmons took over from Gifford when he retired last July. Gifford had been the SVQ assessor/trainer for the SVQ Aquaculture and NPA for nine years. ‘Kenny oversaw the development of the Modern Apprentice Aquaculture into its current form in 2014,’ said Fitzsimmons. These are more than 150 students, from those starting out on their careers to those returning for further training, currently attending the NAFC centre, based in Scalloway. This includes some 51 secondary school pupils from around the islands who regularly attend for engineering and maritime skills courses as part of their studies. ‘We are bursting at the seams, in the nicest possible way,’ said NAFC head of training and skills Andy Glen. ‘The place is buzzing with students and staff. Some days, frankly, it is difficult to get a space in the car park. ‘Apart from the ongoing issue of funding, the biggest problem we have at the moment is meeting the demand for places and everyone is hard at work trying to do just that.’ The centre, which opened in 1994 and is now part of the University of the Highlands and Islands network, provides a huge range of services to the maritime industries, including research and development and consultancy and advisory support, as well as education and training. It employs more than 40 people.’ FF
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 16:19:06
Animal welfare
Rest Assured
RSPCA officers engage with industry
G
ood fish welfare equals good quality so there has always been a commercial reason for salmon farmers to look after their stock, says the RSPCA’s Ian Michie. ‘Survival and growth meant welfare, it was the same thing. But over time that has changed…welfare is an additional part in terms of the wellbeing of the animal, not just part of the production process but a moral obligation.’ Michie is a new farm livestock officer for the RSPCA but he was a fish farm manager for Marine Harvest for many years so knows the industry inside out. He will be carrying out assessments on salmon and trout farms approved under the charity’s farm assurance scheme – RSPCA Assured, and was one of two officers appointed last November. The second, Eoina Rodgers, has joined the RSPCA’s farm animals department as a scientific officer specialising in aquaculture. Both are based in Scotland where the majority of the RSPCA Assured salmon and trout producers are based. Michie, who lives in Ardanmurchan, was in Orkney when Fish Farmer caught up with him. His role involves monitoring farms to give additional assurance that standards are being maintained to the RSPCA Assured, previously called Freedom Food, ethical food label. His visits, which take place between annual inspections and are unannounced, provide a twoway line of communication. ‘Unlike an inspector, who has to objectively assess against the written standard, I can engage in discussion about what the standard is and why it’s there.’ He has been to a lot of farms since November and seen quite a few people he worked with in the industry. They aren’t surprised to see him in his new role, he says, because welfare and farming go hand in hand. When the Farm Animal Welfare Council produced their recommendations for Left: Eoina Rodgers. aquaAbove: Ian Michie culture
not “justIt’spart
of the production process but a moral obligation
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in 1996 the industry took up the recommendations with enthusiasm, said Michie. ‘There were so many detractors at the time and farmers wanted to show that they actually did care about their stock and they saw that [the recommendations] as a way of doing it.’ But they didn’t need to be taught about welfare. Since the 1990s, the RSPCA has been developing and producing welfare standards for farm animals, with Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout the most recent. A significant majority of salmon farmed in the UK is reared to the RSPCA’s strict welfare standards. Michie said the salmon standards, started in about 2002, focused not just on the prevention of cruelty but the promotion of welfare – ‘health and welfare is so much the foundation of any livestock farming’. He worked Marine Harvest for 18 years, joining the technical department in 1997, and sat on its technical committee. ‘I was the interface between key customers and production and that was partly why I got involved in the RSPCA. Marine Harvest wanted to develop their credentials in welfare and I was involved from the early days.’ Then he moved to Young’s Seafood, where he was aquaculture manager for 11 years, and maintained an interest in the development of the welfare standards, serving on the Global Gap technical committee too. He agrees there can be confusion surrounding the various different standards and says when he turns up at farms he is there to visit, not audit. ‘A lot of the staff find that difficult because they’re so used to being audited! I’m trying to get them to recognise that monitoring visits are a two-way thing.’ Eoina Rodgers also joined the RSPCA in November. Originally from the Outer Hebrides, she studied marine science at SAMS and previously worked for Scottish Natural Heritage as a marine policy and advice officer. Part of her role is to feed into the welfare standards, not just for salmon and trout, but eventually for wrasse and lumpfish too. ‘That’s taking up a lot of my time at the moment, doing research, to develop a standard for them,’ she said. ‘I’m trying to visit as many people as possible who have hatcheries for cleaner fish and gather as much information as possible...asking the producers for advice and trying to ascertain what welfare concerns they have that we might not have picked up on yet.’ She said the RSPCA relies on communication with farmers for its standards – ‘they’re our eyes on the ground’ – and hears about emerging issues ‘first hand from the industry’. One of these was fungus in freshwater and last month she was organising an industry workshop to address the problem. ‘This will be a fact-finding workshop, with representatives from the industry, to identify what we know about fungus in freshwater, such as the causative factors, and hopefully conducting risk assessments and identifying research priorities.’
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06/05/2016 16:18:03
Trade Associations – SSPO Trade Associations – SSPO
BY PROFESSOR PHIL THOMAS
Are we being Underpinning best served? provenance If only industry’s wish for a stable Do we think enough about gives the business environment waswhat granted industry its edge in key markets?
AI
fter the high drama of the 2014 Scottish independence camt may not be politireferendum, cally correctthe to say so at paignbut for the MayAtlanti 5 Scotti parliament present farmed c sh salmon would was a Scotland’s very tame leading affair. Opinion notelecti haveons become food pollsexport (where would the we be without them!) without Crown Estate’s positive predicted that with Nicola Sturgeon’s development SNP would get engagement aquaculture re-elected with a landslide, and Kezia Dugdaback in the 1980s. le’sNow, Scottiaquaculture sh Labour Party and Ruth is a signifi cantDavidson’s part of the Scotti sh Conservati ve Partyportf would for agency’s marine leasing oliocompete and is regusecond place. larly celebrated by the Crown Estate’s Scottish No one Aquaculture else really matt ered, event. although theyear’s LibMarine Awards This eral Democrats were on tipped to lose few the seats event in Edinburgh the 11 Juneawas and thehighly Greensuccessful Party to gain a few. for Scottish usual showcase Such is the ‘presidenti nature of modern aquaculture and a rareal’opportunity for indusScotti politi cs, the electi on was presented as try toshjoin together to mark its success. a struggle between strong women, one of The Crown Estatethree is presently at the centre whom has already the heartsbetween of aboutthe of further devolutigained on discussions 50 cent of Scotti shScotti voters. UKper government and sh government. The What of the next of fivekey years ofsh SNP governlong-term future Scotti functi ons rement? some cal faces will change mainsWell, unclear andpoliti professional experti se could but party manifesto feels a bit of the be the squandered in the process of ‘more organisati onal same’. change. The SNP be struggling to break Both theappears Crown to Estate’s core experti se and away from being a party ofAwards protest.are Despite the Marine Aquaculture impormassive new powers the coming sh tant in maintaining distito nctithe ve Scotti coherence government, manifestoand stillitemphasises of Scotland’stheir aquaculture would be a their inability to develop cohesive industrial tragedy if they became acasualti es of political strategy change.without devolution of even further politi calyear’s powers. This Awards event was hosted by Strikingly, the electi on campaign was devoid actress, writer and comedian Jo Caulfi eld, an ofinspired any serious debate about the economy, dechoice by whoever made the booking. spite evidence worrying downturns and She clear was very funnyofand entertaining and kept jobs in somegoing business the losses proceedings withsectors. a swing. Only once Realisti SNP’s positi on‘provewill did she cally, stray,the when shemanifesto wondered what not command confidence of Scottish innance actuallythe meant’. In a room full of folk whose livelihoods
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SSPO - May.indd 18
should “beWeorgan-
ising our training Theand educati on genies of provisions consti tutional much change can er to be bett difficult put back into the bottle
“
” ”
depend on the provenance of their products she quickly sensed an audience response and moved to safer comedic material: there are some dustries andjust businesses, parti cularly when linked with clearly articulated things you don’t joke about! policies for higher labourleft costs increased However, her remark meand asking myselfbusiness whethertaxes. we think enough However, long as the UK Labour Party remains a car and the UK about the as underpinning of the provenance of Scotti sh crash farmed fish – and Conservati ve Party is riven by disputes about EU membership, the highly for me that’s farmed salmon. disciplined anddoubt superbly managed SNP willismaintain its ascendency. There is no thatwell Scotti sh provenance important to our indusSo,–toit the EUusreferendum June. Here, the UK opinion polls try gives the edge inonallthe our23key markets. show a neck and neck racened withinclose to 50 perbut centmost of voters onwill each Provenance can be defi various ways people agree side, those who know or don’t care. qualities of the final that ignoring it goes beyond the don’t appearance and sensory This positi on maytexture, shift as visual the economic impacts exit become more product: flavour, presentati on andofproduct consistency evident, butkey immigrati dominating the debate in some regions and are always factorsoninisconsumer appeal but provenance is about the finalmore. outcome is by no means certain. much InIt Scotland, vote to remain in the EU isquality firmer;assurance, opinion polls show reflects athe wider concept of consumer including: 60-65 per cent in favour 35-40 per against.the Thisprofessional has prompted the place where the fishand is grown and cent processed; speculati whether UK vote to leavemethods; and a Scotti vote to integrityon ofabout the producti onaand processing andshthe quality, remain might prompt another shinvolved independence referendum. skills, commitment and care of the Scotti people – the professional However, the event, wise SNP probablythemselves. rule against that experti se, in passion and dedicati onheads of thewill producers because of its unpredictable outcome. polls have In Scotland our ‘place of producti on’Post-2014, gives us aopinion huge natural advanconti to show a signifi majority of Scots would vote if there tagenued because we grow fishcant in the pristine coastal waters of ‘No’ some of was referendum. the another most beauti ful and wild scenic areas of the world, and our brand is Moreover,by that might increase if hard headed citizens are protected its majority PGI status. forced to consider economic and jobs sh realiti es of Good being isolated Likewise, adoptithe on of the Scotti sh Finfi Code Practice from our main UKthe markets. allied with industry’s deep commitment to a range of independent Industry constantly wishes for a stableincluding and predictable external busifarm quality assurance programmes, the RSPCA fish welfare ness environment. theunderlying present politi cally created uncertainty, it is scheme, builds onInthe strength of our statutory regulatory questi onable if the interests of industry – or of ordinary working people systems to assure our producti on systems. – are beingthe best served by our political and processes. Finally, skills, experti se, passion dedication of our farmers On be that, judgement must wait until aft erin June can demonstrated in abundance day and23. dayBut outexperience – and theyinwere Scotland hasby shown that the geniesevent. of constitutional change can be diffishowcased the recent awards cult to put back intowholly the bott le. ve and forward looking, it is this third However, being objecti area of provenance where the Scottish industry has greatest scope for Professor Thomas is a former theour Scotti sh Salmon ProsystematiPhil c development. That is chairman not to sayof that industry’s skills ducers’ Organisatiexperti on. FF se are not of the highest calibre, but it is to and professional recognise that our vocational educational and training structures, and
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com www.fishfarmer-magazine.com 06/05/2016 16:17:17
Growth strategy
2030 vision
Scottish aquaculture could double says new industry body
S
COTTISH aquaculture production could double by 2030 according to a group of leading figures in the industry. Stewart Graham, managing director of Gael Force Group, and Dennis Overton, chair of Aquascot, are co-chairing the group, which also includes members representing the whole supply chain in aquaculture. They plan to set out a strategy for growth, and believe there is potential to double aquaculture’s current contribution of £1.8 billion a year. Their vision, called the Scottish Aquaculture 2030 Vision for Growth, will be published later this year. The document will back an ambitious vision for
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Dennis Overton.indd 19
sustainable growth with practical recommendations, which the group intends to be time-bound for implementation. The strategy will cover the entire supply chain, including farming, equipment supply, infrastructure, processing, research and innovation, the role of the public sector, and marketing. The report will feed into Scotland Food and Drink’s overall industry strategy for 2017-2030 Stewart Graham said: ‘There’s an opportunity for Scotland’s aquaculture sector to generate up to double its existing annual contribution to the Scottish economy. ‘And it can do so in a way that continues to be sustainable socially, economically and environmentally. ‘With industry and public sector leadership on this, the gains can be significant, long term and wide reaching – benefiting all of the wider stakeholder groups including local communities and young people, as well as Scotland plc.’ Over the coming months, the group will gather evidence and recommendations from a wide range of stakeholders in Scottish aquaculture. Dennis Overton said: ‘We intend this report to inspire ambition and follow-up from multiple stakeholders in Scottish aquaculture – among them, SMEs, multi-nationals, industry organisations, government, public bodies and investors. ‘All these stakeholders have a part to play in gen-
erating substantial growth to 2030, and the report will provide them with the vision, the map and the tools to do so.’ The Scottish Aquaculture 2030 Vision for Growth group comprises: • Stuart Black, Highland Council • Gilpin Bradley, Wester Ross Salmon – from the independent finfish production sector • Alasdair Ferguson, Ferguson Transport & Shipping – from the logistics and infrastructure sector • Stewart Graham, Gael Force Group - from the equipment supply sector • Heather Jones, Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) – representing innovation and research • Anne MacColl, Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) – representing finfish interests • Dennis Overton, Aquascot - from the value addition sector • Michael Tait, Shetland Mussels and Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group - from the shellfish sector • James Withers, Scotland Food and Drink
Left: Stewart Graham. Above: Graham with a former Scottish fisheries minister, Paul Wheelhouse.
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06/05/2016 16:14:55
Growth strategy
BY DENNIS OVERTON
Food for thought
Fish farming part of sector delivering significant economic impact
L
ast summer the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment, Richard Lochhead, challenged the board of the industry leadership body, Scotland Food and Drink, with the question: ‘What more needs to happen to make Scotland the best country in the world within which to run a farming, fishing, food or drink company?’ I was asked to chair an expert group to address the question. Our recommendations were welcomed by the Cabinet Secretary and published on the Scottish government website in March. We decided to tackle the question through the prism of collaboration, based on the evidence of the last 10 years since Scotland Food and Drink was set up. Over that time something extraordinary has happened: fishing, farming, food and drink have become recognised as a sector capable of making significant national economic impact.
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In 2007, Scotland Food and Drink set out 10year targets for exports, total sales and productivity improvements. They seemed ambitious targets at the time; however, they were not stretching enough and have had to be upgraded twice. A step change began to take place in 2007 in the way that both private and public sector actors operated. For the first time, Scotland had an industry devised, industry led strategy for the development of fishing, farming, food and drink in Scotland. The public sector bodies were closely involved in the process: it was a true partnership. The strategy was action oriented and results focused. However, to make it work, a lot more collaborative working was needed; historically, for a small country, we had been rather good at building silos.
Today, silos are fewer, communications are faster, levels of trust are higher so pace increases and transaction costs fall. Clever partnerships deliver smart innovations, new entrepreneurs are attracted into the sector, and technological developments are adopted faster. These factors all translate into more sales, delivered more productively. Working smarter. Despite some good progress, there remains much headroom for further improvement. If imitation is indeed the highest form of flattery we should feel flattered by what is happening in Canada, Ireland, Wales and New Zealand, but we would be foolish to be complacent. So, with restless impatience, the expert group looked at how the sector could do collaboration better in several key areas, four of the most important being innovation, skills, supply chains and the organisational landscape. Developing our people and preparing the next generation for careers in our sector remains somewhat piecemeal. We found a big opportunity for industry to step up to the mark and be more strategic in leadership of what is known as the skills agenda. Government funded Skills Development Scotland is a terrific resource industry has failed to harness effectively. Linking Scotland’s universities and research centres to the needs of ambitious companies has proven to be a long-term challenge. Some progress has been made; in the aquaculture world the arrival of the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre augurs well. We thought we could not do better than fully endorse the 2015 Single Innovation Approach plan; a must read for those serious about taking innovation to the next level in Scotland’s farming, fishing, food and drink businesses. We confirmed what many businesses know: the landscape of both public and private sector bodies remains too clut-
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Growth strategy
tered and confusing for companies to navigate. Duplication can happen, pace is slowed and resources are used inefficiently. We recommended taking a leaf out of the book of the big tech companies. Despite being at the forefront of digital communications Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple all retain a central physical campus to allow the best forms of innovation, ideas exchange and project management to happen. We challenged the private and public sector leadership bodies in farming, fishing, food and drink in Scotland to commit to co-location on a campus model. Seeing this ambition appear in party manifestos in the run up to the Scottish elections suggests politicians are taking the challenge seriously. Increasing collaboration within supply chains was one further area ripe with potential which we prioritised. We recommended that each major supply chain build its own long term strategy. So it has been good to see the aquaculture sector in Scotland set out on a project to develop a 2030 Strategy for Growth. The aquaculture sector in Scotland has never had a long-term (15 years plus), ambitious strategic framework. The strategy, now under construction, will cover farming (finfish, shellfish, seaweeds/algae), the equipment supply sector, infrastructure, processing/value addition, research and innovation,
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Opposite page: Scottish seafood. Above: Creels.
workforce planning, the role of the public sector (regulation and economic development support), global marketing and industry reputation. The dairy sector undertook a similar project in 2014-15; that strategy is now driving the dairy agenda in Scotland, bringing with it some major inward investment in processing. The aquaculture strategy will be visionary: this is what good looks like in 2030; it will be practical and it will help both private and public sectors make investment decisions over the coming years. It aims to be inspiring to wider Scotland, presenting young people with a shop-window of great career options. It will demonstrate that Scotland has the potential to have a much larger, world class, economically, socially and environmentally sustainable aquaculture sector, capable of contributing even more significantly to national economic growth. Importantly, the report will contain recommendations with responsible persons and an anticipated timeframe for delivery. The aquaculture strategy will form part of the overall new Scotland Food and Drink strategy, 2017-2030, due to be published by the end of this year. Will this strategy have the ambition within it to avoid the need for upgrading of targets between now and 2030? Deeper Collaboration Report, March, 2016: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0049/00498082.pdf FF
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We challenged the private and public sector leadership bodies in farming, fishing, food and drink to commit to colocation on a campus model
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Industry pioneer – David Mack
The show goes on UK’s biggest aquaculture exhibition set for record year as founder bows out
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avid Mack thought he had retired from the industry in 2000, with a quiet life ahead, but then he decided to take on what would become his most important role yet – setting up and running Britain’s biggest aquaculture show. Now, he really is standing down, having just sold his biennial Aquaculture UK exhibition and conference that he has developed into an unmissable event in the fish farming calendar. Although he has an advisory role in this year’s show, to be held in Aviemore from May 25 to 26, he is ready to move on, satisfied that he is leaving his business in excellent health. A record number of exhibitors, more than 130 at the last count, and visitors are expected in 2016, a reflection not just of the sector’s confidence but of Mack’s success in reinventing the trade gathering and bringing it back to its Highlands roots. He plays down the challenges involved, saying it was ‘horribly simple and risk free’, but admits he didn’t know that when he plunged in 10 years ago. Back then, the established fish farming exhibition was in decline, partly because of its move to the NEC in Glasgow, not the natural home of the industry. ‘As one guy from AKVA said to me, we were lost in Glasgow,’ said Mack. ‘Once the show stopped at five o’clock everyone scattered. They’d been in Oban and Aviemore and Inverness in the past, all in one little group of hotels close to each other. ‘The industry had taken a dive in the early 1990s when the price collapsed and it gradu-
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When I “suggested
Aviemore everyone said they’d go there like a shot
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ally started to build up. But there was massive consolidation from about 200 companies to about 15 companies in the 1990s so there were fewer actual buyers and every year, from 1998, the fish farming exhibition in Glasgow started to shrink.’ In 2004, there were only about 55 or 60 exhibitors and the feed companies told the organisers to do something, but by 2006 it had shrunk even more, said Mack, who was then working as a consultant for United Fish Products, the Aberdeen fishmeal company. ‘I was wandering around with a couple of other old hands in the business and we were dismayed. Over a few pints later they said, you’ve got sod all to do, why don’t you run it, and I thought why not. ‘So I did a quick round robin to all the exhibitors and they said we don’t like it here, we don’t like Glasgow, and we think this thing is dying.’ He suggested going back to Aviemore, recently transformed with new hotels and a conference centre. ‘When it was first in Aviemore it was in the ice rink and they didn’t switch it off. They just put chipboard on top, it was terrible. We all froze and had to keep going outside to get warm. Everyone was going around with numb feet.’ But it now had potential as a venue and ‘everyone said they’d go there like a shot’ when he canvassed opinions. The next week Mack sent a letter to all those who’d been to Glasgow saying ‘book now for the show in Aviemore’. ‘Whether they knew it was me or thought it was the existing show just moving, they accepted 100 per cent.’ Mack’s contacts in the industry were no doubt instrumental in winning over exhibitors’ trust and getting his first show, in 2008, off to a good start, with 80 companies in the first year. ‘I wasn’t sure what was involved but I went to Skretting because I knew them very well and I knew Ewos and Biomar, and I said, look, I’m thinking of starting up in opposition but I need £1,000 from each of you to fund my initial expenses.’ They all gave him the money, though he said he didn’t need it in the end. ‘The model for exhibitions is that you an-
Above: David Mack talks to Fish Farmer’s William Dowds at the 2014 show
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The show goes on
nounce it, you book the hall but don’t pay the money at that point, you get deposits from the exhibitors and then you pay the hall and the cash flow is entirely positive the whole time.’ After that he didn’t have to chase exhibitors – ‘we got great write-ups in the press and it had its own momentum’. ‘The reason it worked is because not only did I know all the feed people, having had a reasonably high position in a feed company, but I knew most of the other exhibitors.’ Mack had worked in fish processing, for Christian Salvesen, since the 1970s, after training in aircraft engineering in Farnborough and then obtaining an MBA at the London Business School. His early career took him to Aberdeen, where he ran Salvesen’s fish canning division, eventually organising a management buy-out. The venture thrived for about 10 years but ‘came unstuck’ thanks in part to a faulty machine from Spain that blew up his sardines. He sold up ‘for a pittance’ and worked for the new owners for a year but hated having a boss again. That was in 1987, around the time that salm-
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on farming in Scotland was just getting above the 5,000 tonne mark, and he transferred his skills into the burgeoning industry. He was headhunted by Skretting to work in its UK equipment subsidiary, Aquatess, which they’d started in Norway. When they decided not to stay in the equipment business they asked Mack to run their feed factory in Ivergordon. From there he was then moved to Skretting’s head office, and became an international buyer, travelling around the world. He got to know a lot of fish farmers, abroad and at home. ‘From my Aquatess days I’d been going to all the fish farms selling equipment. I’ve been on virtually every fish farm in the British Isles in my 10 or 12 years with Skretting and Aquatess. So I knew a lot of farmers, most of the sites and most of the supply companies in the industry.’ That is something he says he will miss when he leaves his ‘lovely retirement job’ at Aquaculture UK. ‘There’s a great sense of camaraderie, especially among the cohort who started in the 1980s and 90s, many of whom are still there or
just about to go.’ Much has changed, of course, since those days, when people had to make things up as they went along and ‘invent their own kit’. ‘Quite a lot of it was homemade until someone came along and thought of something better. There were ‘really buccaneering attitudes from some people, though I suppose it wouldn’t have happened without them.’ Perhaps pioneering rather than buccaneering. Did he sense they were on the cusp of such a fast growing industry? ‘It got a great press, there was no green lobby then. I got a real shock when I went to Ireland quite early on in my career to find protesters outside the hotel where we were having an exhibition. The growth of the environmental movement has changed things. ‘And there’s also been external pressure from legislators… and these other factors. The feeding habits have changed, the medicine habits, even the clothing habits. ‘I went to install some feeders on a fish cage in Loch Awe way back in 1991 and they took me out in a boat and left me on my own on the cages, for seven hours. I thought I’m going to
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Industry pioneer – David Mack
die here. The sun went down, the cages were in shadow and I’d finished the job hours before hand. They’d said they’d come back at five o’clock and they did, but by that time I nearly had exposure. ‘That just wouldn’t be allowed to happen now; there are systems, and procedures and equipment that cover all that.’ But he still finds it an exciting
Above: The gala dinner; Below: Tam Cowan and David Mack in 2014
field to be in, with all the technical advances, many of them quite recent, and thinks aquaculture growth lies in offshore expansion. ‘I’m surprised by how the industry has changed in the last 10 years, with things like health and safety, medication, alarms, boats, feed barges, all this novelty; it’s still a young industry. ‘It’s almost like a second cycle of innovation. It’s become competitive and companies have to find things to give them an edge.’ He sold his company - to 5m Publishing, part of the Benchmark Group - because the time was right; ‘my wife retired this year and said the show was turning my hair grey’. Based in Tain with a ‘staggering view’ stretching 45km over the Dornoch Firth, he plans to carry on travelling, adding German to his impressive repertoire of European languages. But he won’t be going to future exhibitions. ‘There’s nothing worse than turning up at your old school year after year, basking in past glories. I’ll miss it but you must move on in life.’. FF
The reason it worked “ was because not only did I know the feed people but I knew most of the other exhibitors
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06/05/2016 16:13:31
Brussels – Seafood Expo Global 2016
Taking a stand More than 1,660 exhibitors – not bad for the show that nearly didn’t happen at all
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Right: Pride of Scotland Neil Greig, Henry Angus and Victor West of Associated Seafoods.
he most incredible fact about the world’s biggest seafood show this year is that it happened at all. For regulars, Seafood Expo Global 2016 in Brussels may have seemed a less crowded affair than usual, but considering it took place just one month after terrorists shut down the city, its survival, more or less intact, was something of a triumph. Airlines only started flying into the bombed Zaventem airport again on April 8, less than three weeks before the show’s kick-off, and train services to and from the airport only resumed on April 22. How close the organisers came to calling the whole thing off was revealed at a press conference four hours into the first day of the show. Mary Larkin, executive vice president of Diversified Communications, said: ‘We took it on a day by day, case by case basis. When we felt people needed to know what was happening we made the decision to go ahead.’ Some 1,664 companies from 80 countries also decided to go ahead and on the opening day the drop-out rate was around five per cent, said Liz Plizga, the show’s boss, who preferred to emphasise the positive (35,682 square metres of sold exhibiting space, a huge new national pavilion from Russia, first time stands from Barbados,
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Uganda, Seychelles and Tanzania). ‘Life goes on and we moved on,’ said Larkin. Instead of talking about the five per cent who cancelled, the organisers concentrated on the 95 per cent who had not. ‘There were heads down on tables this morning writing orders, it’s busy, there’s some excitement around, people are connecting.’ By the time ‘the champagne starts flowing around 3 o’clock’, it will have the same feeling around it as other years, where companies are working hard promoting their products and looking after their business, she predicted. Before the events of March 22, the expo was heading for a record breaking turn-out so ‘the fact that we did have a five per cent cancellation didn’t seem to hurt the event too much. We’re pretty much the same size as last year’, said Plizga. With beefed up security arrangements and shuttle buses from the
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Brussels – Seafood Expo Global 2016
airport to the centre of town, and to and from the expo, those who did attend – estimated by showgoers to be 20 to 30 per cent fewer than last year – were made to feel as safe as they would in any major European hub. Many exhibitors said they gave their staff the option to stay away if they were anxious about travelling, and some contingents were smaller as a result. Willie Liston of Cooke Aquaculture’s Shetland operation said a couple of his younger sales people had chosen not to come. ‘It’s only old buggers like me who are expendable,’ he joked. But perhaps hard-headed business concerns were as much responsible for some notable absences, among them the big Norwegian salmon farmers Cermaq, Salmar and Leroy. The new Norwegian fisheries minister Per Sandberg, touring the exhibition on the second day, said he was pleased with the representation of his country’s companies despite the high profile drop-outs. He said they pulled out for ‘different reasons’ but he shrugged off their absence and focused instead on basics: ‘It is very important to produce seafood; we need more food.’ He was able to meet later with executives from his country’s – and the world’s - leading salmon producer, Marine Harvest, which had turned up. They reportedly discussed alleged salmon price manipulation. The company maintained a dominant presence in Hall 5 with a total of 120 staff over the three days, although this was 40 per cent down on last year and the lavish annual reception was abandoned when, according to the company, ‘a considerable number of our customers and contacts decided to change their travel plans’. Steve Bracken, Marine Harvest Scotland’s business manager, noted that it was quieter than usual on the opening day, but there certainly seemed to be brisk demand for hospitality on the stand, especially around lunchtime. The Scottish pavilion, run by Scottish Development International (SDI), even had waiting lists for those who wanted to sit down to the best of
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Taking a stand
It’s also “giving help to the people of Belgium – not one person in my team refused to come
Scotland’s seafood, though the hordes of last year did not materialise and the first night party was relatively subdued. Among those there was seafood journalist and mussel farmer Nicki Holmyard. She said Offshore Shellfish, which she has established with her husband John in south Devon, has taken off and is in the process of obtaining ASC certification. After successful trials last year, the venture is being developed into what will be Europe’s largest offshore rope-grown mussel farm, producing up to 10,000 tonnes of native blue mussels a year. All but one of the sixteen companies with space booked in the Scottish pavilion turned up, ready ‘to forge new relationships with buyers around the globe’, according to SDI. But fears there would be a lack of buyers Opposite page: The Scottish may have been behind Scottish Sea Farms’ decision not to come. pavilion. Above: Baader Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ had a big presence Organisation, and the SSPO’s new chair Anne MacColl (a former head, incidentally, of SDI) also opted to stay away, partly because there were no Scottish politicians attending and therefore no chance to discuss planning
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and policy as in past years. ‘We mainly go for political reasons and to meet with our international colleagues, and their numbers are depleted in a big way,’ said Landsburgh. He put the withdrawal of SSF, whose parent company is Leroy, down to the anticipated shortfall of customers, mainly from the Far East. SSF boss Jim Gallagher sees the expo as an opportunity to meet customers in the one place and network with them and bring them up to date with what he’s doing, said Landsburgh ahead of the event. ‘He believes there won’t be many of his customers going and on the strength of that intelligence he was adamant it wasn’t going to be worthwhile.’ The SSPO’s man in Paris, Pierre Maurage, was the sole representative on the Scottish Quality Salmon stand, and he said he’d been ‘as busy as ever’ by Tuesday afternoon, with enquiries from Russia and the Baltic states. The Russians would be interested in buying Scottish salmon if their government lifts the trade embargo, he thinks. SSF’s large, well positioned stand was put to good use by Cooke Aquaculture Scotland but Willie Liston wasn’t impressed by the almost
Ministers with a mission The then Scottish rural affairs minister Richard Lochhead did not come to Brussels this year and sent no politicians in his place. The reason given by his civil servants was the May 5 Scottish election. According to the show’s organisers there were 70 political delegations in total, including visits from the Norwegian fisheries minister Per Sandberg, and the Indonesian fisheries minister Nilanto Perbowo, who cut the ribbon on his country’s new, larger pavilion on the opening morning. Indonesia would ‘definitely like to increase our seafood exports to Europe to meet the demands of the European market,’ said Perbowo. The Minister of Industry for Belgium was also at the show, and Canada’s Hunter Tootoo, Minister of Fisheries, came to Brussels to meet Canadian exporters and European importers, as well as representatives from other governments and the diplomatic community. His spokesman said he held a series of ‘successful meetings’ while he was there. And at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), responsible for US federal fisheries policy, representatives said the US ambassador to the EU, Anthony Gardner, dropped in on the US pavilion with the deputy chief of the US Mission to the EU, Adam Shub, to sample American seafood. The European Commissioner for Fisheries
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Above: Ambassador Gardner, centre Inset: Per Sandberg.
and Maritime Affairs, Karmenu Vella, appeared on the EU stand on April 28, the final day of the expo, and held ministerial talks with the governments of 19 other European countries. All delegations praised the importance of the event, which allowed interested countries across the Mediterranean to exchange views on the future of fisheries
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Brussels – Seafood Expo Global 2016
empty aisles on the first day. ‘It’s terrible, desperate,’ he said. ‘I thought it was quiet because people were stuck at security but there’s been hardly any footfall this morning.’ They had appointments booked but he said it was the ‘fresh footfall of customers’ that makes the show worth coming to and ‘we’re not going to get that this year’. On a nearby stand, Cooke’s Canadian team agreed it had been a slow start. Nell Halse and Andrew Young, based in New Brunswick, said they had brought a smaller team over but they had meetings planned with customers from China, the Middle East and the US. Diversified’s Mary Larkin suggested the show could actually benefit from a lighter footfall, as exhibitors might see people they wouldn’t
normally see. There had been ‘significant registrations in the last seven weeks’ leading up to April 26, from key buyers from more than 100 countries around the world, people who were there to purchase large volumes of seafood. In the end, the relationship between the show and the city, going back 24 years, played a crucial role in the expo’s viability –
INNOVATIVE USES FOR VACANT STANDS
There were some imaginative uses of stand space left bare by companies dropping out of the expo at the eleventh hour. In Hall 6, a large expanse opposite SI2A - the Marseille based shrimp importer which has been coming to the show for 20 years - could have been a gaping hole after Lithuanian surimi group Viciunai pulled out. But it was thoughtfully transformed into a Belgian beer bar. And despite the fact that the beer was being given away, there were still tables to be had at lunchtime, Fish Farmer discovered. Other empty stands were turned into seating areas, a Visit Brussels tourist booth, and even a mini massage parlour. In Hall 5, the acreage that would have housed Norwegian salmon giants Cermaq, Leroy and Salmar lent itself to an extra meeting space, against a backdrop of scenic fishing and seafood images. In the Scottish pavilion, Cooke Aquaculture Scotland took over the bigger Scottish Sea Farms’ stand when SSF decided not to attend.
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We were all looking “forward to coming and
don’t mind if it’s quieter; it’s quality not quantity that counts
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‘we’ve got really strong connections’, said Larkin. That sense of loyalty to Brussels was echoed by Scottish Salmon Company managing director Craig Anderson, who was critical of people pulling out of the show this year. The Brussels exhibition, like its sister event in Boston, had helped companies to grow and now that it needed support, those companies should have been there. ‘It’s also giving help to the people of Belgium – not one person in my team refused to come,’ he said The company’s Native Hebridean Salmon was a finalist in the Seafood Excellence Global Awards, announced on the first evening, and Anderson said before the results that ‘even if we don’t win it’s an honour to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award’. He said the product was unique, developed over many years from broodstock originally sourced in the Outer Hebrides, and as close to wild salmon as you can get. While at the recent Boston food show, he conducted what he called a myth busting tour, explaining the provenance of his company’s ‘native strain’ of salmon. SSC has a ‘big export drive’, not just in the US but in Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam, where they are already selling their salmon. On the SSC stand was Dutch chef Robbie Zaal, searing salmon with a blow torch as he pre-
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Taking a stand
Left: Show organisers Liz Plizga and Mary Larkin at the press conference
pared ‘bronzed sushi’ for a reception to launch Native Hebridean Salmon. The stand, almost double last year’s size, incorporated Loch Fyne and Associated Seafoods, which both buy SSC salmon and share a close business partnership, said Anderson. Over in Hall 4, where the equipment people congregate, the Danish Tech Group, showcasing 63 suppliers and advisers, was in upbeat mood. Martin Winkel from the Danish Export Association, who has already taken the group to AquaMe in Dubai this year, said they didn’t even
consider pulling out, although expectations have been lowered. ‘We were all looking forward to coming and don’t mind if it’s quieter – it’s quality not quantity that counts,’ he said. ‘The companies in the group are dependent on exports and this is a global meeting place.’ This year represented the largest Danish pavilion yet, with 24 companies represented. No one cancelled, said Winkel, ‘we’re all here’. In Hall 6, the National Chamber of Aquaculture of Ecuador welcomed visitors to the stands of its exhibiting shrimp farmers. Negocios Industriales Real (Nirsa), which has been farming shrimp for 25 years, has been developing its exports markets in Europe, the US and particularly in Asia, now its main market. It has recently expanded its processing facilities to meet demand and expand its exports further.
Sustainability a growing business THE number of farms certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has increased 56 per cent, from 158 to 247, since April 2015, and some 800,000 tonnes of certified seafood has become available since the organisation was set up in 2012. In the past year there has been a ‘rapid increase’ in ASC labelled products, said ASC marketing manager Esther Luiten at a forum at the Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, twice as many as announced at the show last year. She said there was a growth in new farms coming into the programme, not only in north west Europe, and the ASC was working with small producers to get them on board. The commitment of large retailers such as Lidl and Ikea had contributed to the rise in certification, and the ASC is bringing ‘real change at the farm level’, said Luiten during a joint session with the MSC that focused on efforts to build consumer recognition for sustainable seafood. The Seafood Futures Forum featured panellists from Ikea, Hilton Worldwide and Carrefour, as well as ASC chief executive Chris Ninnes, MSC chief executive Rupert Howes and the co-founder of environmental organisation Futura, Ed Gillespie. Nicolas Guichoux, MSC’s global commercial director, revealed the findings of a survey, the largest ever conducted by the MSC, into consumer perceptions. The GlobeScan survey, which questioned 16,000 seafood consumers in 21 countries, found that two thirds (67 per cent) understand the word ‘sustainable’ when seen on a product, and 62 per cent said eco-labels raise their confidence and trust in a brand. Some 72 per cent believe that we have to consume seafood only from sustainable sources in order to save the oceans. Meanwhile, NGOs and scientists are perceived as contributing the most to protecting the oceans. The ASC said there was growing interest from leading companies to engage consumers and grow their understanding about certified seafood. But Futura’s Gillespie challenged the use of the term ‘consumer’ and said ‘we need to kill the word’ because it encourages people to behave individualistically. If customers are referred to as stakeholders instead, they become more interested in their responsibilities than their rights, he said. ‘People want to do the right thing and it’s our job to help them do that.’ He also said sustainability was a ‘billion dollar business opportunity’ and listed some of the ‘green giants’ in the corporate world. There was some consensus among the panellists that consumers would have to pay a bit more for sustainability, although as Jacqui Macalister, head of health and sustainability at Ikea, said, ‘we mustn’t load the cost on to the consumer – we don’t want to make these luxury items’. The forum followed the launch of an ASC marketing toolkit on Marine Harvest’s stand on the opening day of the expo, designed to
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help promote the value of certification, said Chris Ninnes. The toolkit is now available to all ASC partners and will be regularly updated and revised. ‘We are delighted to be the first ASC partner to utilise elements from the new ASC marketing toolkit at our booth,’ said Ola Brattvoll, COO of sales and marketing of Marine Harvest. ‘This once more underlines our vision of leading the ‘blue revolution’ and our commitment to responsible aquaculture. With over 40 of our salmon farms already ASC certified, and some 15 more under assessment, we are well underway to fulfil our commitment to be 100 per cent ASC certified by 2020.’ Ninnes said: ‘Marine Harvest is a market leader and a true partner in a shared mission to improve the performance of the industry. ‘Collaborations with them and other indusBelow: Ola Brattvoll and try partners in the use of the marketing toolkit Chris Ninnes at the are important to the overall work of the ASC, Marine Harvest stand as it increases our collective capacity to reach key audiences. ‘The new toolkit is one of many ways we provide support to our partners, and we will continue to expand our offerings in line with future demands.’
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Brussels – Seafood Expo Global 2016
The show is good for keeping in contact with our customers, said Emilio Vargas, the third generation of his family in the seafood business. Julio Moscoso Valenzuela, who was at the expo for the 22nd time, said the show is a ‘nice way to say hello to existing customers; it’s more social than business’. They had seen visitors from China, Japan, Korea – ‘there are more and more Chinese every year, we didn’t see them five years ago’. He said there may be fewer people about but the ones they were seeing were professional buyers, not just people handing out their business cards. ‘After the show we will do business.’ Nirsa is also a major tuna exporter and has been selling fish oil solely to the Netherlands for the past 18 years. A newer player in the seafood sector is Iceland’s Blamar, which was displaying its skinpacked Icelandic salmon and white fish. This may have been their first show, perched on the corner of a bigger stand, but Valdis Fjolnisdottir, who has a background in investment, said they were encouraged by the interest in their products and would be taking their own stand next year. She said they had recently secured deals with Hong Kong and a UK supermarket, capitalising on the quality of Icelandic farmed salmon. Fjolnisdottir and her partner, who worked in tourism, saw an opportunity because ‘all Icelandic fish is exported in big boxes and the supermarkets get the margin when they repackage it’. ‘So we thought we’d sell straight to the retailer, so they can be sure it is Icelandic fish, packed in Iceland.’
The skin-pack protects the fish from outside chemicals, keeps it fresh longer and gives the fish a classy look, says Blamar – ‘you can basically touch it with your fingers to see how fresh it is’. French company Le Marin Vendeen was handing out cocktail salmon sausages on sticks. Just launched at the show, there is also a white fish version and the company said there had been a lot of interest in the product. The pale pink sausages, ideal for barbecues said the company, tasted bland to Fish Farmer’s sampler, with a slightly watery texture which might
PRIDE IN SCOTTISH PROVENANCE
Above: One of the busier stands was Grieg Seafood Below: Marine Harvest CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog
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Associated Seafood Ltd (ASL) reported a positive response to the launch of its rebranded Pride of Scotland smoked salmon range, which now carries a ‘Scottish Salmon, Smoked in Scotland’ logo. Neil Greig, commercial director for the Buckie based company, said: ‘We wanted to give a real sense of what our business is all about and that’s being authentically Scottish. ‘I think Scottish smoked salmon has enjoyed a position as premium smoked salmon but sadly it’s not always delivered in the same way. So people across the world will see the name ‘Scotland’ or ‘Scottish’ put on as a tag, but in reality the product doesn’t actually deliver that. ‘We wanted to recapture that brand…and we wanted do it in a strong way through the communication on the packaging.’ ASL, which exports to 30 countries, will roll out the rebranded products to all its customers - ‘from as far afield as Hong Kong and Mexico’- over the next three to four months. Greig said the show was ‘an ideal opportunity for people who may be new to us to come along’. When Fish Farmer spoke to him on the second day of the show he had seen potential new customers from Romania and Bulgaria, as well as Lebanon. ‘This is a global show and people from the four corners of the world are here. I’ve just had a meeting with a guy from China, and before that I saw a distributor from Thailand. They were interested in the brand, they all looked at it and all felt it delivered something. ‘Importantly for them, as in every market, they are looking for a
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06/05/2016 16:06:48
Taking a stand appeal to children’s less sophisticated palates. But they had apparently gone down well with visitors to the stand from China and India. Brussels might have been a no go zone for some Europeans this year but further flung seafood professionals were clearly not so easily deterred. Apart from the Far Eastern and South American participants, newcomers from the Caribbean and veterans from North America, there were, among many others, also South Africans, with Irvin and Johnson, the fishing, processing and abalone farming company, taking a stand. Two Australians who happened to be wearing I&J badges chatted to Fish Farmer at the Marine Harvest reception. Having arrived from Melbourne via London, the well travelled pair didn’t see any big deal in being in the Belgian capital. ‘South Africa is probably more dangerous than Brussels,’ they said. FF
point of difference, something that will set them aside, and the position we’ve taken, smoked in Scotland, absolutely 100 per cent guaranteed, gives them a genuine sense that they can take that to their customers with something that really is a premium product.’ The company, which gets nearly all its fish from the Scottish Salmon Company, supplies to retailers, either directly or through agents, and to high end customers in food service. As for further expansion, Greig said the Far East market and the Indian market are ‘the markets we are all looking at as the potential future’. ‘It will be a long road but you have to start somewhere and this is the best place to start.’
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IN THE ROYALE CIRCLE Royale Marine, one of India’s leading fully integrated shrimp farmers, had seen plenty of international visitors on its stand by the afternoon of day two, said director M. Sudhakaran. In 2014, the firm added a processing facility to its hatchery and farm operations in Andhra Pradesh, after 20 years of running shrimp farms. The facility can process more than 10,000 tonnes, with 50 per cent of raw material coming from the company’s own farms, and the rest from associated farms which have procured post larvae from Royale Marine’s hatcheries. Some 1,500 workers are employed in the plant. The company is export focused, with 50 per cent of its market in the US, 25 per cent in Europe and the rest distributed mainly between China, Japan and the Middle East. Sudhakaran said the processing arm ‘completed the circle’ and
the ability to supply fish from ‘pond to plate’ was a major issue. ‘Traceability can be better established with integrated production,’ he said, adding that Royale Marine is now in the process of obtaining ASC certification, which it hopes to finalise this September. Fewer than one per cent of shrimp farmers in India have achieved the standard, said Sudhakaran. Attending the show for the second time, he said he had met both existing clients and met new contacts, predominantly from China; these were what he called serious buyers and made the show worth coming to.
Above: WIllie Liston of Cooke with Craig Anderson, SSC managing director. Right: SSC chef Robbie Zaal, right, and Nathan Fong
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06/05/2016 16:07:52
Brussels – Seafood Expo Global 2016
Stingray targets Scottish market Aviemore date for deal on Norwegian sea lice zapper
Huge leap in farm certification
A massive increase in aquaculture certification brought plenty of business to the stand of ME Certification (MEC), said director Max Goulden. The company, part of MacAlister Elliott & Partners (MEP), spent more time in meetings than usual, with clients from India, Vietnam and South America. ‘There was a lot of interest in ASC this year, particularly in shrimp farming,’ said Goulden. ‘We’ve seen a massive rise in aquaculture based certification in the past year, with a lot more people asking about this than in previous years. I’d say we had 70 per cent more enquiries than we’ve had in any other year, on ASC and Global GAP and BAP (the GAA one, which is very popular). ‘But we had more on ASC than usual, probably because we promoted it a bit more, in terms of having a banner saying ‘we do ASC’.’ Although it is a more expensive process generally, ASC is the most robust standard in Goulden’s opinion and ‘it’s definitely growing in momentum’. He said a lot of people who already have MSC certification are keen to get ASC too – ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they become the same organisation one day in the not too distant future. It would make sense’. The company has only got into aquaculture recently so it’s a small proportion of the business, but in terms of client interest it’s growing ‘massively’, said Goulden. Partly for that reason, MEP and MEC signed a new partnership agreement with Dutch based global certification services provider Control Union during the show. The agreement will see all three companies working together to offer global services in fisheries and aquaculture. Goulden said it would strengthen their aquaculture services because Control Union can provide local expertise. ‘Local context is important in fisheries but it’s so much more important in aquaculture.’
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Over on the Stingray stand in Hall 4 managing director John Arne Breivik is visited by politicians from the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise. They went to a Norwegian farm last summer to see the sea lice zapping Stingray in action and are now following up on its progress. Breivik only has good news to give them. Since the device’s launch in October 2014, more than 50 units have been sold in Norway and feedback from farmers is positive. The engineering is the easy bit, says Breivik of the little machine, which is enclosed in a watertight pod with a camera that identifies the parasites as fish swim by. The system then aims the laser towards the lice and destroys them in milliseconds. ‘We have control of the technology so the development of that part is something we can manage,’ said Breivik. ‘But the change in mindset is really the hurdle. That’s what will take time because the farmers are going from fire fighting to actually trying to prevent an outbreak.’ He said when farmers using the lasers have kept down lice numbers over time, people will understand this is a good thing, prevention rather than a cure, ‘like taking your fish oil and orange juice in the morning instead of having your heart transplant!’
The stingray costs 325,000 NOK per year per unit (more than £1 million over four years). Farmers must commit to a four-year minimum agreement, during which they receive software and hardware upgrades and servicing. Although this outlay may seem daunting, Breivik said it can quickly pay for itself – ‘when we save a farmer from one alternative treatment, they have paid for the laser. From then it costs you money not to have lasers’. With several lasers in action now on farm sites, Stingray can build up an impressive database. ‘You can call it a library of sea lice, and the more thousands of sea lice we get into the library the more accurate and the more precise we can be. ‘We can also be faster recognising the sea lice so we can be much faster treating it. ‘We have a lot of data from inside the pen, the fish behaviour – which depth the fish is swimming in, which speed the fish is swimming, data that they
can use to produce bigger and better and faster fish.’ It has taken time since the introduction of the first units to build up results and Breivik thinks other farmers have been waiting to see how it works. ‘Normally, you have a mandatory spring treatment and that is very costly, you have to treat your whole location at the same time and make sure the level is below 0.1 lice. ‘We had one of these farms [fitted with lasers] below that level – it didn’t need spring treatment.’ The company has spent the last six months ramping up production at its Oslo facility. ‘So from having a production capacity of 30 to 50 a year we now have 100 to 150 and during the summer we will build up a new floor with a whole assembly line and then we will be up to 300 to 400 a year.’ Some of these lasers are hopefully destined for Scottish farms, after tests completed here. Loch Duart did the trials, said Breivik, but
they operate on a relatively small scale with smaller pens so now he is in discussions with the bigger companies. ‘If you have 90-100m pens or more, as many farmers do, then you can put the laser in and have that at the same cost as you would for other treatments. If you have 20 or 30m pens and need to have one laser in each it will be too expensive,’ he said. Stingray is planning to make its entry into the Scottish market at the end of May and will distribute directly from Oslo. ‘It’s a very complex product but the good thing is for the farmer it’s a very simple thing. They just put it out there, give it some electricity and clean it from time to time. ‘It takes time to adapt to the idea that it’s taking place when you’re sleeping. ‘We are in negotiation with people regarding six or more units and in Aviemore we have meetings set up to discuss this product. We expect and hope that we can take this into the Scottish market.’
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06/05/2016 16:10:56
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05/05/2016 15:55:06
Solvtrans – Ronja Challenger
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Pushing the boat out
Pushing
the boat out Ronja Challenger marks Norwegian firm’s 30 years in the industry
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Solvtrans – Ronja Challenger
S
OLVTRANS celebrated its 30th anniversary with the launch of its latest wellboat, the 70m Ronja Challenger, in Sandsoya in Norway, at the end of April. The global leader in its field, Solvtrans supplies wellboats to major fish farmers in Norway, Scotland, Canada, Chile and Australia. The Ronja Challenger has now arrived on the west coast of Scotland, under a fiveyear agreement with Marine Harvest. The boat’s naming ceremony - with Anita Halsebakk, the wife of
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Solvtrans founder and CEO Roger Halsebakk, as ‘godmother’ - marked the start of a weekend of celebrations for the company. Ronja Challenger is the 19th wellboat for the Alesund based company. Many of the boats are still in service around the world, and all are named ‘Ronja’, after Halsebakk’s son and daughter, Robin and Anja. The latest vessel has 1,800 m3 capacity with a sliding bulkhead and UV purification system and Solvtrans’ transverse circulation system. With freshwater re-use and filters that remove lice, installed on new Solvtrans boats since 2014, the Ronja Challenger will play a crucial role in combating AGD and sea lice. It is equipped for smolt transfer, grading, and harvesting, with a pressure loading and unloading pump. Solvtrans, which began by supplying wellboats to the Scottish market in 1996, pioneered closed valve technology in 1998, after the onslaught of ISA in Scotland. Roger Halsebakk has always enjoyed working with Scottish farmers, said his close collaborator over the years, Ian Armstrong, an experienced salmon farmer and processor. Solvtrans had already sent over the Ronja
Left: Roger Halsebakk (left), Bjorn Magne Aas of shipyard Aas Mek, and Anita Halsebakk (right). Above: Joining the Solvtrans fleet
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06/05/2016 15:52:19
Pushing the boat out identified, most with the benefit of hindsight. If tools are not used properly then it is essential that we learn from our errors, develop new methodology, and move on rather than live in the past.’ Halsebakk used the setback to pioneer a new type of wellboat, one that transformed the market and his company’s fortunes. Successful entrepreneurs take significant financial risks to back their own judgment and this was one of them: he signed the contract for three new vessels without first having the necessary funding in place. ‘Roger came to me with his new and ambitious proposal for closing the valves so that we could chill the fish and then harvest directly from the boat on to the shore, thereby overcoming the biosecurity concern of holding fish at the harvest station, whilst also preparing them for optimal processing,’ said Armstrong. ‘He is the technical brain behind this - he did the wellboat stuff and I promised him I would deliver the first shore based operation, by building a harvest station at South Shian. We needed direct access to wellboat fish to justify our processing plant’s rural location.’ Solvtrans’ three wellboats – the Ronja Skye, Ronja Settler, both 630 m3 and destined for Scottish Sea Farms, and then the 900 m3 Ronja Commander for Marine Harvest – arrived in three consecutive years from 2001-2003, all with closed valves and moving bulkheads, plus shallow drafts to accommodate the Scottish lochs. All these boats are still at work in Scottish waters today. Ronja Settler was recently sold to Gibby Clark in Shetland and renamed Settler, but still works for SSF, said Armstrong, who had initiated and helped build the Mallaig Harvest Station for Marine Harvest Scotland in 2003. ‘What his later vessels have done is build on that technology, first developed in 2001, by using it for freshwater lice treatments as well as further refining welfare friendly fish handling processes. ‘Once you’ve got the ability to close the valves and run it like an aquarium you can develop new and innovative solutions for your customers. The moving bulkhead allows you to maintain the aquarium whilst the vessel is being emptied of salmon, but you need sophisticated life sup-
Fisk and the Ronja Christopher – both for Hydro Seafood GSP, now Scottish Sea Farms - when the wellboat industry was in its infancy in the 1990s. ‘These boats brought live fish into the harvest station outside South Shian, which I was responsible for,’ said Armstrong, then working for Hydro Seafood GSP as processing manager. ‘They also inadvertently brought ISA fish from Loch Nevis and live fish movements were understandably stopped by the Scottish Office whilst this outbreak was dealt with. ‘Once these restrictions came in we had to declare force majeure on Roger’s contracts and he had to take his boats back to Norway to find work. We couldn’t get the permits to move the fish because of the ISA situation. It was more important to focus on eliminating the disease and that is what we did.’ Armstrong said wellboats became the scapegoat for the crisis so there was an anti-wellboat feeling in the industry for a while, unfairly in his opinion – ‘there were a number of sub-optimal practices which were
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Solvtrans – Ronja Challenger
port and monitoring systems to keep the fish in optimal welfare conditions - and highly skilled crews to look after them.’ A second boat for Marine Harvest, the 1,000 m3 Ronja Pioneer, quickly came next, equipped with a slightly different water treatment system from the Ronja Commander. The Ronja Viking, also 1,000 m3, followed for the Scottish Salmon Company, each vessel improving on the one before. At its peak, some 95 per cent of all the fish grown on mainland Scotland and the Western Isles was coming through harvest stations on Solvtrans vessels, said Armstrong. These wellboats are all still operating on Scottish fish farms, and Solvtrans has now expanded into the industry internationally. It entered the Norwegian market with the Ronja Superior and Ronja Nordic, followed by the larger Ronja Harvester and Ronja Atlantic, both 1,800 m3 and initially contracted by Marine Harvest. Solvtrans has long operated in Chile and late last month its market presence was considerably strengthened when the Ronja Atlantic obtained its Chilean flag and is now working for the Mitsubishi owned company, Salmones Humboldt. In 2009, Armstrong helped his new company, Aqua Pharma, arrange a collaboration with Solvtrans in a partnership which included Marine Harvest and Solvay to devise the first bulk hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) dosing system, which was installed on Solvtrans’ newest boat, the Ronja Atlantic. ‘I knew the Solvtrans boats had very good water circulation and life support systems so it made it a perfect wellboat partner for Aqua Pharma to introduce hydrogen peroxide into a sceptical industry,’ said Armstrong ‘with the further advantage that their experienced skippers were experts in closed valve transports and we had shared a hard learning curve together only a few years before.’ The system proved very effective in lice treatments. There had been a general nervousness in the industry about hydrogen peroxide, said Armstrong, because a whole generation of farmers, including himself, had been negatively influenced by the difficulties of the early 1990s. ‘That treatment I helped with in September 2009 was the first treatment in about 12 years in Norway. We ended that year by dosing 616 tonnes of Paramove (308 tonnes, 100 per cent basis) in the Ronja Atlantic; in the whole of Norway last year 41,930 tonnes of hydrogen peroxide (100 per cent basis) were used between wellboats and tarpaulins, so you can see how rapidly it’s grown in six years.’ A wellboat can give a much more controlled treatment environment than tarpaulins, said Armstrong, because you can optimise the parameters. But wellboats, of course, are limited in supply and in constant demand, either for harvesting, or grading, or transporting smolts, and farmers decide what they are best used for. ‘The bigger you are as a farmer, the more specialised your boats can become,’ said Armstrong. The Ronja Challenger, which was built in Spain, will be deployed at all Marine Harvest Scotland’s sites, said Roger Halsebakk. It is one of four Solvtrans wellboats with the latest technology for freshwater treatment, and four more boats, due later this year and in 2017, will also incorporate this innovative system. Halsebakk said that Solvtrans has ‘always been in the forefront of developing better equipment for the industry’, and believes the vessels help to lower mortality rates. He also points out that increased costs are offset by building bigger boats: ‘Because of the large capacity increase in m3, it is important to understand that a wellboat today costs about the same as 25 years ago, measured in kilograms of harvested fish.’ Solvtrans employs more than 200 people, 18 in administration, the rest as crew, which it trains itself. Attracting calibre recruits for crew was quite a challenge a few years ago, but now experienced oil industry people are flocking to wellboats for work. ‘Young people in mainland Scotland, Shetland, and Norway who might have gone to oil and gas now want jobs in salmon. That is very good news Armstrong said although there will be an increasing amount of competfor our future,’ said Armstrong. itors – Marine Harvest, for instance, recently announced it is considering Halsebakk said he sees the greatest opportunities for growth in the building a shipping division – Halsebakk is a ‘one-off ’. future in Europe and South America, and will do his ‘utmost’ to maintain ‘They’ve got operations in Scotland, Norway, Canada, Chile and Tasmania the company’s superiority as new players spot the potential in wellboats. so Solvtrans have this international expertise and scale, plus the focus,
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06/05/2016 15:54:28
Pushing the boat out
Above: Ronja Challenger’s launch in Sandsoya
history and experience of an established player. ‘With the Ronja Huon operating in Tasmania they are gaining treatment experience which is going back into the new boat design. It’s a huge opportunity for learning if you operate interna-
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tionally. It sharpens you up in your other countries of operation. ‘As the industry grows, the wellboat industry will continue to expand with it, particularly as the industry moves offshore into more exposed waters. It’s a rapidly evolving market and one which will benefit from increased competition in the years to come,’ said Armstrong. FF
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06/05/2016 15:54:48
Wellboats – Interfish
First for Scotland New wellboat offers natural solution to sea lice problem
M
ARINE Harvest Scotland took delivery of a new wellboat last month that will use state of the art engineering to combat sea lice and a range of fish diseases. The 70m vessel, with a 2,000 m3 capacity, was launched at Corpach pier, near the company’s headquarters in Fort William, after making a two-month journey from the Turkish yard where it was built. The wellboat, named Inter Caledonia, is a first for Scotland in that it will use reverse osmosis technology to eradicate sea lice and prevent the development of Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD). She has the capacity to carry up to 300 tonnes of live fish at any one time and will be able to treat 24/7 as a result of the desalination system, which will continuously exchange water at the rate of 200 m3 every hour. She will be able to completely fill her wells every 10 hours, allowing the fish to be bathed in freshwater.
“
Ben Hadfield, managing director of Marine Harvest Scotland, said: ‘This is a major step forward for Marine Harvest and part of our drive to deliver an efficient and sustainable industry. ‘The industry has used wellboats before for this purpose but they have always had to pump the freshwater on to the boat; this is the first that combines the entire operation within the vessel.
We can live with the operating cost because we’ll avoid the high spend on medicines
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”
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06/05/2016 15:50:36
First for Scotland ‘Many of the challenges we face as salmon farmers are naturally occurring, such as sea lice or amoebic gill disease.This will provide a natural solution for these problems, as freshwater prevents the development of AGD and also allows us to remove and then destroy sea lice. ‘It’s a great new tool for us and we’re sure it will reap rewards for us by helping us maintain our fish in peak condition.’ He added that the company ‘could live with the high operating costs’ of the wellboat because they will avoid the high spend on medicines for sea lice and AGD, as well as hopefully reducing mortality. The Inter Caledonia will be able to visit all Marine Harvest Scotland’s salmon farms across the west coast of the Highlands and Western Isles, and is now undergoing trials in Scottish waters. In June she will go to Norway to have her patented desalination system fitted by Intership, the owner of the wellboat, which is leased by Marine Harvest on a five-year contract. Ole Peter Brandal, CEO of Intership, said: ‘This is a design our fleet manager, Kjetil Opshaug, has worked on for some time.We see this as a breakthrough in the battle against AGD and sea lice and have great expectations for the system.’ Opshaug said the boat was designed for six hydrogen peroxide tanks but now has just two to make room for the freshwater plant - ‘we hope to do a lot of treatments without chemicals.The original plan was for this to be a harvesting ship but now it is going to be mostly for treatments.’ It will have a crew of 16 who will rotate so there are eight on board at any one time.They are mostly Norwegians and highly skilled. There is a building spree now in Norway, with six or seven wellboats currently on order for Norwegian companies. ‘Shipyards are coming on board, looking at diversifying into wellboats as never before,’ said Opshaug. Havard Grontvedt, chairman of Intership, said: ‘We expect to set a new standard within the wellboat industry with Inter Caledonia, especially when it comes to fish density, gentle fish handling and hygiene. ‘With the freshwater production, the vessel will be a very efficient and environmentally friendly tool for the treatment of sea lice and AGD.’ Inter Caledonia was officially named on April 9 by Eli Toraasen, who is now designated the ship’s ‘godmother’, in a ceremony watched by representatives from the local community, suppliers and staff. FF
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Clockwise from above: The wheelhouse; Inter Caledonia at Corpach pier; the VAKI grader; launching ceremony with (l to r) Fiona Fotheringham of Marine Havest, Havard Grontvedt and Eli Toraasen. All pictures by Arthur Campbell
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Innovation – Introduction
The innovation
game
Finding new places and novel ways to farm inspires intrepid breed of inventors
T
he expansion of aquaculture into more exposed offshore sites has spawned a new wave of innovation, with Norway’s salmon farmers and a handful of intrepid North Americans currently leading the way. At the sixth Offshore Mariculture Conference in Barcelona, Spain, last month, several pioneers in this field shared with colleagues from around the world their technical inventiveness, the results of their experiments and their experience with regulatory bodies. Neil Anthony Sims, one of the first to explore offshore technology, outlined his plans to expand his kampachi farming project off the coast of Hawaii. His Delta is larger than his Velella and Gamma cages, a submersible pod attached to a single mooring point off Hawaii (though still close enough to be within wireless range, allowing remote feeding and monitoring). Sims hopes the 40 foot wide Delta, stocked with 15,000 fish, can go to sea this year but he is waiting for permits from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Mike Meeker, a Canadian trout farmer, has devised his own solution to the problem of ice and storms (see page 44), while off America’s east coast, Donna Lanzetta is negotiating the legal minefield that stands in the way of her offshore finfish farm (page 48). Although the US took a groundbreaking decision in January to open up federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico to fish farms, there have not been any new applications to farm viable species, said Michael Rubino, aquaculture director at NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). While the US is ranked first in the world in offshore potential, given environmental and economic factors, it has fallen well behind when compared with the likes of Norway, he said. No other country is moving as fast as Norway
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Above and opposite page: Growing the industry demands ever more imaginative solutions
in the field of aquaculture innovation, with a series of recent developments that will help the industry grow while combating the problems of disease and escapes. Last month the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Fisheries approved the country’s first development concession, enabling Ocean Farming to build an automated, exposed aquaculture facility. Ocean Farming, a subsidiary of salmon farmer Salmar, in association with Morenot (and supported by Kongsberg Maritime) is investing NOK 690 million (about £59 million) in its project, to be sited outside Trondheim, and has secured eight licences. The new facility- combining the best of existing technology from the Norwegian fish farming industry and the oil and gas sector- is to be submerged in deeper waters, further from the coast. It will be anchored and suitable for depths of 100 to 300 metres. Net supplier Morenot is working on the research and development of the offshore site, which will contain the equivalent of eight normal farming sites and should be in the water by next spring. Norway Royal Salmon and Aker have also submitted a joint application for development licences for the offshore farming of salmon. Together, the companies have developed a new concept that facilitates sustainable growth, a semi-submersible offshore farm designed for harsh environments. The project involves the development and testing of a new type of aquaculture farm with technology the companies say can be sold and used globally. Other innovators include Leroy Seafood Group, which has applied for licences to build nine closed containment systems known as ‘pipe farms’. If successful, the development licence applications, made on April 18, will allow them to grow 7,020 tonnes as a trial. Stig Nilsen of Leroy said the project, which will need investment of NOK 650-700 million (£55 to £60 million), is a sustainable means of production that will also help support the country’s ship building industry.
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The innovation game
The latest Norwegian to enter the innovation game is aquaculture veteran Bjorn Myrseth, reportedly part of the group Stadion Laks that has applied for development concessions from the Norwegian government. Stadion Laks applied for 15 concessions (11,700 tonnes) for the concept of a ‘closed pool’ salmon farm, reported Intrafish last month. ‘If we want the [salmon] industry to grow, we have to find new places to farm,’ said Klaus Hattlebrekke, marketing director of Norway Royal Salmon, one of the Norwegian salmon companies that has applied for offshore licences. There is as yet unexploited potential for innovation in South America, where there is virtually no offshore aquaculture, Alonso Echevarría Ubilla, owner and director of consultancy AEX Group, told the Barcelona conference, and in Asia, where space is limited. For now, all eyes are on Norway. FF
With this concept, we really want to “develop the way we produce salmon ” The innovation, he said, will ‘become a particularly important factor when it comes to creating a more space efficient aquaculture industry’. And Marine Harvest has applied for eight development licences to test and develop a new type of closed containment cage called the Marine Donut, created by OPD. The escape proof construction will be used to grow fish from 3kg to slaughter, the time when they are most susceptible to lice. ‘This is brand new and very exciting technology,’ said Alf-Helge Aarskog, CEO of Marine Harvest. ‘With this concept, we really want to develop the way we produce salmon. ‘Our goal is to make healthy and tasty food in a more sustainable and healthy manner.’ The company hopes to begin construction of the cage in the autumn and plans to stock fish in autumn 2017. The director of Marine Harvest Northern Region, Roberta L Solheim, said: ‘We see that it is most difficult to keep big fish free of lice, and are keen to test the closed containment technologies during the last period before slaughter.’ The donut is designed to be used in the fjords but can also be placed at exposed locations. Marine Harvest is also seeking 14 development licences from the Norwegian government to test and develop a new closed farm technology, based on a 44m high and 33m wide ‘egg’. With 90 per cent of the construction submerged under water, each ‘egg’ has the capacity to accommodate 1,000 tonnes of salmon, while combating lice outbreaks and escapes. The technology, which Marine Harvest began developing with Hauge Aqua in 2015, was conceived in response to a poor year for escapes, in which there were 16 reported escape incidents, with more than 94,000 fish lost. The next step will be to conduct trials of the egg in 2016 and 2017 with salmon in pilot and prototype structures. Then, in 2018, Marine Harvest hopes to deploy 10 units to a seawater site.
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Innovation - Intro.indd 43
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06/05/2016 15:49:36
Innovation – StormSafe
NOW you see it Submersible cage sinks in under two minutes to keep fish safe from ice and storms
C
anadian fish farmer Mike Meeker has always found his own solutions to the problems of farming rainbow trout in the Great Lakes. Since he started, off Manitoulin Island on Lake Huron, in 1984, his home-made net pens have continuously evolved from the wooden structures he first knocked together using logs cut in the bush and nets he’d sewn himself. ‘It’s been 30 years of making mistakes and fixing them,’ he said, but contending with the force of nature on the lakes, where 30ft waves and ice floes of more than a square mile are not uncommon, demanded something more than ever stronger cages. When he had to stand by helplessly and watch, for the second time, his investment destroyed by ice he vowed to come up with a system that would eliminate the risks. The result was his first submersible cage, designed by Meeker about 15 years ago and used by ‘just about everybody’. Now he has come up with a new version - the StormSafe Submersible that is better suited to cultivating fish in more exposed locations. ‘This was designed for myself and for the industry here in Ontario and there was no thought of going elsewhere until a whole bunch of people heard about it and saw it,’ Meeker told Fish Farmer after returning from the sixth Offshore Mariculture conference in Barcelona, where he gave a presentation. He seems to have stirred up considerable international interest in his invention, which can be completely submerged in under two minutes. He encountered none of the usual scepticism and said he had ‘very serious enquiries’ from South Africa, Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, the US and the Gulf of Mexico. The StormSafe is a hexagon with vertical spars that are far more wave resistant than standard floating horizontal tubes. ‘No matter how strong the horizontal floats are they are always buckling and moving and twisting and big waves put an enormous amount of pressure on the hinges,’ said Meeker. ‘But the big problem here is moving ice. In the spring we can get 40 inches of solid ice on the lake. As it melts, you get massive ice floes and if they hit those cages it’s all over.’ Above: Assembling the The advantage of StormSafe, said Meeker, is that it can be submerged StormSafe Submersible quickly – in one minute and 43 seconds to be precise – by opening one valve. ‘It’s lowered and raised by air, with a five or 10 horse gas powered air compressor hooked to a manifold that controls the air flow to each of the vertical spars; you can lift the cage very simply.’
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The pen can rest on the surface, be raised above the surface for easy cleaning, and then be submerged, to five feet below the surface, 100 feet down, or sit on the bottom. It takes about five minutes to bring it back to the surface and the procedure is so straightforward that Meeker’s three-year-old grandson has operated it. ‘You can do it remotely from anywhere, and you can also tie it in with a buoy that measures wave height and if it gets over 2m that buoy would open that valve and it would automatically sink.’ Has his new design been tested commercially? ‘Yes, though it doesn’t need to be tested for growing fish, I’ve been doing that for 30 years. What needed to be tested was to see how it performed in 100km winds, and it was tested last year in some of the worst weather we’ve had in the fall (splash ice and frazil ice and frozen ice).
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06/05/2016 15:46:21
Now you see it
is on the surface, farmers can do “Whenallthis the things they normally do ”
‘We get a couple of storms every fall now. Things have changed. We’re also getting changed ice conditions in the fall which makes it advantageous to be able to sink the cage quickly. ‘I wanted it to be easy and then failsafe. I have good people working for me but most of the bad things that happen in aquaculture are because of operators making mistakes. ‘It doesn’t matter if you have good people, someone just has to be distracted or have a bad day. With this cage, you open the valve and you cannot screw up, it’s not a matter of adjusting and fine-tuning and having to pay attention to a sequence of actions. You open the valve and walk away and it sinks in a minute and 30-40 seconds; it’s safe.’ Meeker also insists his system is production friendly, a key consideration Above: Mike Meeker for him and his company Meeker Management Services. ‘There are some damn good cages out there that submerse and have been used in the open ocean but they weren’t designed to be production
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friendly. They are not easy to work on in the day to day things that a farmer like myself does. ‘I love the aquapods, I actually have one, but they are a son of a gun to work on. Neil [Anthony Sims, aquapod creator] was enormously impressed with StormSafe, and said it was production friendly. ‘When this is on the surface, farmers can do all the things they normally do, feed the fish, send divers in, everything they do now they can do with this, it’s the same. ‘It has a stable walking surface and stable and strong hand rails, everything that they are used to doing, this cage operates the same. ‘If they use a barge and a crane to harvest they still can, if they use a fish pump, they can use one with this. If they hand dip you can do that too.’ There are biological benefits in moving further offshore, said Meeker, and he believes his pen can help promote fish health and fish growth.
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Innovation – StormSafe
It has a system of tarpaulins which can be pulled down between the spars to isolate the fish from algal blooms or other outside contaminants. Meeker has an engineering background and worked on his designs with the National
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Above: Calm before the storm. Below: The vertical spars are wave resistant.
Research Council in Canada. An Ontario company, Kropf, builds the cages for him. A larger, octagonal shaped cage can be built too, doubling capacity. And cages with shorter spars are available for shallower locations. But it’s not just technical solutions that Meeker is concerned with, and it’s not just natural obstacles farmers are up against. Although the definition of what is offshore is debatable, and was debated at the Barcelona conference, Meeker believes that the situation farmers face in Ontario is mirrored all over the world. ‘I said in my talk that we’ve proved with 30 years of data that we’re not having negative impacts on the sites we have. Despite that fact, we’re not making a lot of headway with new sites so in my opinion we need to move offshore.’ He has been president of the Ontario Aquaculture Association ‘forever’ – ‘I’ve been dealing with the top level bureaucrats in the province, for example, the Minister of Natural Resources is in charge of our licences in the province of Ontario and I’ve met with the last nine personally.’ Farmers do not just want to expand their current operations but they should also be looking into cultivating indigenous species, such as perch and pickerel, which have seen their stocks decline drastically. ‘Obviously, it makes sense for us to grow those,’ said Meeker, ‘but we’re having trouble getting the go ahead from the government, the regulatory agencies, to do that. ‘If there’s a perceived problem, whether there is or not, it’s still a problem. So moving offshore is where I’m going to move my company
We’ve proved with 30 years of “ data that we’re not having negative impacts on the sites ”
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06/05/2016 15:47:02
Now you see it
and I think others will as well by necessity.’ Meeker has one hexagonal pen in the water, which he has been testing for the past year, and two more about to arrive. The pen is around 10,000 m3 and as Canada’s only certified organic grower of rainbow trout he is limited to a 10 kilo per m3 density. But he rears more trout in his other, non-organic operation, and produces about 14,000-15,000 tonnes a year. His novel pens may have made him well known in the area and beyond but he is not giving up the day job. ‘I am a farmer and I will remain a farmer. You are the one with waves crashing over your head, you are watching everything go bang crash bang and you’re watching hinges pop, and you say this is not acceptable and I have to do better. If better is not out there, you have to invent it yourself. And that’s what I’ve done. ‘Aquaculture is a really small worldwide family and people talk to who they know - it’s amazing how word spreads. I built the StormSafe Submersible for here but feel it’s probably the best answer all around the world. ‘I’m going to promote it by saying, ‘do you want to go to bed at night, whether you are a farmer, an owner or an investor, knowing your cage is exposed or knowing it’s 20ft down and not moving at all?’ He jokes that he’d like to come up with an even more fitting name, such as ‘Sleepeasy’, saying he has gone to bed ‘many times over the last 30 years knowing my cages were getting hammered’.
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Mike Meeker.indd 47
Clockwise from top left: Mike Meeker and his team put the StormSafe in the water; the pen is around 10,000m3
‘I live on site so I could hear them going bang crash and it’s hard to sleep. When my cage was submerged under the ice I slept at night. ‘I’m standing on my deck right now watching a massive sheet of ice moving down the lake and my cage is safely submerged and I don’t have to think about it. I don’t even have an ulcer anymore!’ Watch the StormSafe Submersible in action: www.youtube.com/watch?v=msO0iKqK9Zw. FF
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06/05/2016 15:47:21
Innovation
Out on the edge
How one woman plans to extend the boundaries of US aquaculture
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Above: Aquapod. Inset: Donna Lanzetta. Opposite page: Donna on an automatic feeder buoy.
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he United States has not taken advantage of its aquaculture potential, said NOAA’s Michael Rubino at the recent Offshore Mariculture Conference in Barcelona, but one woman is attempting to change that. Donna Lanzetta hopes her Manna Fish Farms will be the first finfish farm in US federal waters, after she has secured the necessary permits, a long drawn out process in the States. Lanzetta was also in Barcelona, where she compared notes with other offshore pioneers. Manna Fish Farms will produce striped bass in submersible pods 14 nautical miles off the coast of Long Island, and Lanzetta was encouraged by the decision in January to allow farming in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. ‘It was certainly long overdue, it took 10 years to get that decision, but it is indicative of the future. I think everyone understands that the need to farm in the ocean is real, it’s clear and it’s
imperative that we get out there.That’s the place to do it in a sustainable fashion.’ She said while the Gulf ruling has no direct bearing on her location, it is ‘certainly a great guideline for us’. ‘At least we have something to go on with water guidelines and so on, and we can follow some of the protocol that’s in place with the Gulf plan.’ She said there are approximately 37 different agencies she needs to ‘touch base with’ to obtain permits, with the Army Corps of Engineers the lead agency (for reasons even she doesn’t understand!). She is currently dealing with a legal challenge concerning the federal fisheries management law that is in conflict with aquaculture. ‘Right now, it’s a crime under federal law to possess striped bass in federal waters so that was obviously written for wild fish management and we need to clarify it and get a letter of exemption or change the law,’ said Lanzetta, an attorney by profession, which she admits has come in handy. ‘We hope we’ll have our permits by next spring.We are launching our water monitoring equipment now and we need to get a full year’s worth of data before we put our equipment into the water.To be 100 per cent certain that this is a viable site we will monitor for the next year, everything about the site.’
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06/05/2016 15:44:31
Out on the edge They are going to be further offshore than originally planned – ‘we had to move around a few times to accommodate interested stakeholders’ - but she is gracious about the obstacles put in her path. ‘We get to use the common ground out there, it’s not our land and not our water, so of course we’d be accommodating to get the opportunity to be in federal water. ‘The water belongs to the people of the country. It’s similar to the Wild West, when they would give out stakes, then you got 160 acres and you went off on your horse and carriage and started to farm the land. ‘Similar to that, we’re waiting for our stake, and if we can get out there we can show how it could be done.’ And like the Wild West, will it take a few dogged, swashbuckling characters to make offshore farming happen? ‘You have to be a little on the edge I think to get out there. It’s hard to bring investors in even on a start-up plan, there’s no guarantee, it’s not a proven concept and we can only project what we think it’s going to be and of course there’s always things that come up that we haven’t anticipated,’ said Lanzetta, who has drawn on her personal funds and secured two private shareholders. Her problems now are not technical, but regulatory.With the water monitoring underway and the hatchery where she sources her fingerlings already cultivating her fish, to be ready in 14 months, she believes she is on course to meet
her targets. ‘We have a four-phase development plan and we’re starting with one aquapod, which will be a proof of concept research pod. Once we prove that we’re not harming the ocean in any way and are in fact able to do this sustainably, then we expand to phase two which will be four pods. Phase three would be 12 pods and phase four would be 24 pods.’ The spherical cages will be anchored into position, some 60 feet below the surface, where strong currents will flush effluent from the farm. Each pod could produce 140,000 pounds of fish a year. An automated feeding buoy will dispense feed to the pods. She also hopes to develop
integrated multitrophic aquaculture, growing scallops, mussels and kelp. She is confident of her market, ‘based on the people who are lining up now begging me for an opportunity to purchase the fish because this is going to be such a wonderful healthy product’. Manna Fish Farms was formed in 2013 but Lanzetta has been planning her project for longer than that. She caught the aquaculture bug farming red drum with her brother in South Carolina. ‘It’s not easy and somehow I feel I’m the person to bring it all together. ‘I’ve brought in all the partners with the necessary skills, whether it be the education institutions that have come in to work with me or the scientist I’ve hired,’ she said. ‘Right now in the US, 91 per cent of our seafood is imported; I think that’s a travesty and it needs to change and I want to be the one to make that change. ‘Barcelona was invigorating, there was one night I couldn’t even sleep I was so excited. Sometimes when I’m at home I think, Jeez I’m crazy, nobody gets it and I’m always explaining.Then to go the conference, where everybody gets it, and to be with them all was very energising.’ FF
The water belongs to the people of the “ country, it’s similar to the Wild West, when they would give out stakes ”
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06/05/2016 15:44:57
Innovation – Norway
Plans exposed Industry unites with researchers to find solutions to technical problems
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orway has a research institute dedicated to offshore innovation, Exposed Aquaculture Operations, an offshoot of the Research Council of Norway, that is financed in part by the salmon companies Salmar, Cermaq and Marine Harvest. As well as major producers, it brings together key service and technology providers, SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture and other research groups, which contribute 25 per cent of the funding. Hans Bjelland, research director of Exposed, said his group is focusing on challenges such as waves and ice and withstanding strong storms. Technological innovations, such as more autonomous systems, offshore structures and vessels, are needed to sustain farm production under all conditions and enable more robust, safe, controlled and continuous operations. Since the centre was set up last year it has sparked significant industrial as well as political interest, he said, driven by several factors: • An ambition to increase salmon production, given that key environmental challenges are addressed; • Increasing salmon prices; • Low oil prices and suppliers to the oil and gas sector looking for other industries; • Industrial and political will to adapt competence and capacity from other industries in to seafood; • A new opportunity for farmers to apply for development concessions, driving innovation towards technological concepts for more exposed farming. Also, the topic of exposed farming raises much interest internationally and the research areas of the centre have been presented in various national and international forums. The Norwegian industry’s objectives include enabling safe and profitable operations at exposed fish farming sites to increase sustainable seafood production; and developing new technologies to underpin the country’s global leading position in aquaculture and maritime competence and technology. Its research objectives include conducting fundamental and applied research into key knowledge gaps related to exposed aquaculture operations, by combining research fields from the aquaculture, maritime and offshore sectors; and building knowledge and competence capacity through educating at least 11 PhD candidates, four post-doctorates and 30 MSc candidates. Exposed is organising annual one- and two-day events, every spring and Top: Structures must autumn, to serve as a meeting place for innovation, presentation of results, be reliable. Above: Hans and exchange of ideas as well as creating new projects. Bjelland. These will be in addition to PhD/post-doctorate workshops and more targeted project related meetings. The Exposed centre has access to extensive research infrastructure through its various partners: • A full-scale aquaculture engineering test site (ACE) at Salmar locations in mid-Norway and exposed Marine Harvest and Cermaq locations in west and north Norway for both technological and biological studies.
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• Ocean basin (80 x 50 x 10m), ship towing tank (260 x 10.5m), marine cybernetics laboratory (40 x 6.45 x 1.5m) and marine structures laboratory at MARINTEK/NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology); • Flume tank (21 x 8m) at SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture; • Applied underwater robotics laboratory (ROVs and AUV), RV Gunnerus and unmanned aerial vehicles laboratory at NTNU; • IMR experimental farms at Solheim and Austevoll and at IMR’s land-based facilities in Matre to conduct scaled down biological trials; • Extensive hydrodynamic and structural testing laboratories through the international partners. Bjelland said eight initial projects had been defined for 2015/2016 and onwards. These projects combine research areas, partners and methods. In 2015, an initial project documented the knowledge base and innovation opportunities. Other projects have focused on developing methodology, establishing research infrastructure, carried out preliminary studies and initiated PhD
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06/05/2016 15:43:04
Plans exposed
The centre has sparked significant “ industrial as well as political interest ”
candidates. Full project activities commenced this year. Progress so far Cermaq Norway initiated the ‘Safety assessment on board service vessels’ trial (project 4) to increase employees’ safety and well-being at work. This project devoted special attention to the service vessel crews and how to make their work environment as safe as possible. During recent years, the trend has been that specialised service vessels conduct the heaviest and most risky operations at fish farms - anchoring and mooring line work, for example. They also assist in delousing operations. The crews on board gradually become specialists and are thus highly competent in doing these operations. However, it is of high importance that the safety management systems on board are up to date and well-functioning. Researchers went on board the service vessels in Cermaq, including one hired from an external service provider, and conducted an evaluation
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of the overall safety work on board. Another of the eight projects – project 7 – focused on reliable structures. Cages, mooring systems and feed barges used by the industry today are capable of operating at the sites in present use, but how will they perform when waves and current increase? In this project, the performance of today’s aquaculture structures at tomorrow’s locations will be analysed using numerical models and physical experiments. The main objective of the project is to develop knowledge based design criteria for the main components of aquaculture structures for exposed locations. This will be achieved by first establishing objective descriptions of different levels of exposure based on measurements on selected sites, and statistics of waves and current on all Norwegian sites. Secondly, cages, mooring systems and feed barges will be simulated at high waves and current exposure using physical and numerical models. The results from these simulations
will then be analysed to identify problem areas related to increased exposure. In project 8 (e-Infrastructure and instrumentation), established in March 2016, the three aquaculture companies participating in Exposed have all chosen a site where the conditions are among the most difficult with respect to wave and currents. This will ensure that new technical solutions can be tested in realistic conditions. During the project period, new and even more exposed sites can be used for experiments. Technical solutions for e-Infrastructure will be established at all these sites. In addition to instrument cabinets with standardised interfaces for digital and analogue sensors, local PCs for data logging and battery back-up will reduce the risk of loss of data. All data is transferred to database servers at SINTEF SeaLab.In addition to e-Infrastructure for field experiments, longterm data series will be established as a basis for designing new technical solutions for exposed sites: From Exposed’s annual report for 2015. FF
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06/05/2016 15:43:19
Innovation – Research
BY DR ELENI PAPATHANASOPOULOU
Remote possibility Decommissioned offshore oil and gas platforms could serve the aquaculture sector
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lans to increase UK aquaculture production have been set for finfish and shellfish production in Scotland (28 per cent increase in finfish production equating to an additional 45,620 tonnes and 100 per cent increase in shellfish production equating to 6,475 tonnes), and
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Wales (163 per cent increase in finfish production equating to an additional 1,239 tonnes and 115 per cent increase in shellfish production equating to an additional 9,624 tonnes); no published targets are yet available for England or Northern Ireland .
Increases in the number and size of farms to reach these targets will intensify competition for space in sheltered inshore waters which are already the preferred location for aquaculture and other coastal aquatic activities. Additionally, issues of water quality for food pro-
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06/05/2016 15:42:00
Remote possibility
duction and the public perception of fish farms are often barriers to the sector’s natural expansion. An opportunity therefore exists to explore the development of offshore aquaculture, which is aquaculture that takes ‘place in the open sea with significant exposure to wind and wave action…..’ New and innovative technologies, such as submersible cages and the use of decommissioned oil and gas platforms repurposed to support aquaculture, are being developed and explored globally to capitalise on offshore waters.
Opposite page: Integrated earth observation, GIS and socio-economic data (composite of information from: NEODAAS, Scottish government, Marine Scotland, DECC)
Conceptual studies Repurposing decommissioned oil and gas platforms has been of interest to aquaculture developers in the US, Mexico and Malaysia for decades and some preliminary conceptual studies have recently been conducted in the UK. There are more than 302 oil and gas installations in the UK’s North Sea waters used for drilling, extracting and processing oil and natural gas, with over half of these installations offering facilities for onsite living and the majority due to be decommissioned by 2050 . It is unclear if offshore oil and gas platforms, further complicated by their remoteness, offer a viable start-up platform for a growing UK offshore aquaculture sector; however, a systematic exploration of the associated environmental, economic and social impacts that could inform this discussion is lacking. To take stock of the data, research and knowledge that already exists within the UK and internationally on this topic, the Satellite Applications Catapultand the Natural Environment Research Council have funded a one year knowledge exchange fellowship. The fellowship has three main aims. The first is to collate a range of data layers to aid discussion on where to site offshore aquaculture farms. The data layers are to include: satellite data, particularly earth observation, of chlorophyll concentrations, sea surface temperature and wave height; GIS data such as oil and gas installation, ports, roads; and socio-economic data characterising the economies and communities potentially impacted from offshore aquaculture development. The second aim is to present these data layers in a web-based, interactive tool that will allow end users to interrogate the data independently and in groups. An example of the type of map to be produced using the tool is shown in Figure 1. The third aim is to engage with a range of stakeholders including local governments, marine spatial planners, businesses and local communities. This is to ensure that the presentation of the data and the analyses are useful in supporting planning and operational decisions and to broach
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the question of the use of repurposed decommissioned oil and gas installations. Engagement with stakeholders will be conducted through one-to-one interviews and group workshops. Two workshops will be organised during the knowledge exchange fellowship, one taking place in Scotland this September, and one in England in October. Topics to be discussed will include the use of already available marine infrastructure such as repurposing decommissioned oil and gas rigs and co-location with offshore renewables; and the socio-economic impact of aquaculture on local communities. The fellowship will end in February 2017 with deliverables to include the web-based interactive tool and a final report identifying the opportunities and challenges of growing the UK’s offshore aquaculture sector. Regular updates of the fellowship’s progress will be posted on the Satellite Applications Catapult’s blog spot (https://sa.catapult.org.uk/). If you would like more detailed information of the fellowship or would be interested in participating in one of the upcoming workshops, contact Dr Eleni Papathanasopoulou (elpa@pml.ac.uk) who is undertaking the fellowship. Dr Eleni Papathanasopoulou is an economist based at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, with expertise in assessing the socio-economic impacts of changes in the use of the marine environment. She gave a presentation on this subject at the recent Offshore Mariculture Conference in Barcelona. FF
“
An exploration of the environmental, economic and social impacts is lacking
”
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06/05/2016 15:42:14
Innovation – Ace Aquatec – Advertorial
Picture this
All data is processed on the cage by a fixed IP68 mounted computer which records and processes the data received by the camera.
New 3d biomass camera system to be unveiled at Aquaculture UK 2016
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Biomass readings then communicated wifi to a handheld rugged orpluscan be 2D temperature,tablet, tilt and depth, a standard fter years are in development, and with investment fromby Scottish stream. innovationafunding, Ace Aquatecprotected is unveiling its latest productportal, accessiblevideo accessed through password online from any computer on the All data is processed on the cage by a fixed offering: a 3D underwater camera system for accurately IP68 mounted computer which records and measuring of fish. barge or shore thattheisbiomass connected to the internet. Working on the same principles as the technology inside terrestrial time of flight cameras, such as Xbox’s Kinnect, Ace Aquatec has created a unique system for underwater 3D imaging. Until now, acoustic or frame systems have been used to create biomass averages of fish size, with significant limitations in accuracy. Unlike these, Ace Aquatec’s 3D biomass camera benefits from a wide angle view that allows all passing fish to be measured, both as an outline and in depth. With this technology, individuals can be separated from the shoal and precise biomass readings can be recorded for each individual. The system has been keenly anticipated by farms looking for more accurate biomass systems than are currently available. Standard 3D time of flight systems use infrared to create a 3D image of objects, but infrared does not travel well through water, so alternative green light sensors had to be developed that could detect the returning green light from fish. The design uses a slim IP68 body that fish quickly habituate to, and incorporates underwater sensors, providing oxygen readings, water
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Above and right: A unique system for underwater 3D imaging.
processes the data received by the camera. Biomass readings are then communicated by wifi to a handheld rugged tablet, or can be accessed through a password protected online portal, accessible from any computer on the barge or shore that is connected to the internet. Ace Aquatec is proud to bring this innovative technology to farms in 2016. This revolutionary product will inform managers about feeding regimes, provide early indicators of disease or lice outbreak, as well as charting growth rates for harvest. The firm would like to thank Loch Duart for their assistance in the development of this new technology. Ace Aquatec is a Scottish company dedicated to providing innovate technology to help solve some of the biggest challenges in aquaculture. FF
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06/05/2016 15:40:24
Ace A revol of dis
Picture this
We would like to thank Loch Duart “ for their assistance in the development of this technology �
55 www.fishfarmer-magazine.com Ace Aqu atec is proud to bring this innovative technology to farms in 2016. This revolutionary product will inform managers about feeding regimes, provide early indicators of dise Ace Aquatec - PEDt.indd 55 06/05/2016 15:40:48 ase or lice outbreak, as well as charting grow
AquaGen – Advertorial
Making a marker Effective lice control through breeding and genetics
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he battle against salmon lice can only be won by using a combination of preventative and treatment methods. Breeding and genetics is one of the few methods that increase the resistance of fish to lice throughout the whole production cycle. Reduced risk of lice infection, robust fish that tolerate handling, and a short production time in the sea are important contributors, the potential of which can be opened up with the use of new breeding technology. AquaGen has developed the world’s most powerful search tools that give the ability to identify broodfish with the genes that make them suitable to meet the biological challenges the salmon industry faces. This so called SNP chip can analyse up to 930,000 genetic markers per fish that directly correlate with desirable and undesirable attributes. The size and quality of SNP chips is crucial to what can be achieved by using QTLs (quantitative trait loci), and genomic selection is now at full speed in the most professional breeding programmes. Three strategies for reducing the lice problem AquaGen has focused on three key traits that are important contributors individually, but which in combination will result in a very considerable impact in the battle against salmon lice. The implications are that infection by lice will be reduced by up to 30 to 40 per cent, resistance to CMS and AGD will contribute to high tolerance to handling and increased growth potential will deliver the opportunity to reduce production time in the sea by one to two months. QTL for lice susceptibility Based on the genetic testing of more than 4,000 lice challenged fish in controlled trials, a genetic marker has been found for lice susceptibility. This marker is over represented in fish with high lice numbers, those we could call ‘lice magnets’ (Figure 1). If we remove these lice susceptible fish from breeding and egg production, the result will be a reduction in the proportion of very susceptible fish in the cages. Removing these fish that act as a ‘gateway’ for lice infection in the population, increases population resistance, which in turn gives a reduced
infection pressure on the overall population and susceptible wild fish in the area. Significance of the QTL for lice susceptibility Based on field material comprising 625 fish from 11 different locations in central and western Norway, it was documented that fish with the unfavourable gene marker did in fact have a higher lice number under field conditions. Fish with one copy of the unfavourable marker had 11 per cent more lice than fish without the marker, but fish with two copies of the marker had 28 per cent more lice than those without it. The impact of lice susceptible fish varies greatly and can be up to 40 per cent in some populations. These populations will be predisposed to serious Opposite page: Double helix lice problems, and it will be extremely important DNA, key to genetics to control the frequency of the unfavourable marker. Below left: Challenge trial An example that we can use is a location where with lice in tanks where fish with the marker had 1.9 lice on average, fish with one copy of whereas for fish without the marker the average the lice susceptibility QTL have more lice than was just 1.0 lice. The proportion with the marker was 33 per cent of the fish. the average for all fish Calculations show that had these fish been in the population. substituted by fish without the marker, the total Below: Average number number of lice on the site would be reduced by of lice per fish after one approximately 20 per cent. day with a lice challenge (acute infection) for fish groups selected for respectively high and low genomic resistance against lice in two separate trials
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30 40 Number of lice
Average of fish with one copy of the licesusceptibility-QTL
50
60
70
Number of lice per fish
Number of fish
70
Genomic selection for lice resistance Genomic selection is a method that utilises advanced technology and statistics; using it increases the reliability and accuracy of selection of animals used in breeding work. By studying almost all of the genetic information of an individual salmon, it is possible with a high degree of security to pick out the top candidates
Genomic high resistance Genomic low resistance
35 49%
30 25 20
54%
15 10 5 0
Lice test 1
Lice test 2
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 15:36:45
Making a marker
AQUAGEN FACTS DNA: heritable material (genome) of an individual. It consists of different bases, and the order of these will create different genes. Genes dictate which traits will be expressed. Genetic variation: variation among individuals in a population due to differences in genetic composition.
QTL and QTL selection: a QTL is an area of the genome that is involved in controlling a particular trait. Using genetic markers, it is possible to keep track of the inheritance of this QTL and thus the trait that it controls.
for further use. Based on data from challenge trials, genomic selection is much more effective than classic selection for lice resistance. Since 2013, AquaGen has been using genomic selection to increase lice resistance in breeding work. After only one generation using genomic selection, by using a challenge test it was possible to demonstrate a 20 to 25 per cent difference in lice numbers between fish selected for high or low resistance. The more rounds we go through using genomic selection for a single trait, the stronger will be the effect. Two generations of genomic selection provide a higher resistance against lice than one generation of genomic selection. AquaGen has, in collaboration with the Sea Lice Research Centre (at the University of Bergen) and the University of Life sciences, recently conducted research with fish groups produced using two generations of genomic selection for lice resistance. Two separate lice challenge trials were carried out. In these trials it was recorded that there were 50 per cent less lice the first day following lice challenge for fish groups selected for high resistance (Figure 2). Eighteen days post challenge, the groups that were selected for high resistance had more than 30 per cent less lice compared with lower resistant fish. High handling tolerance The capacities related to heart, blood circulation and respiration are essential for how each animal copes with physical challenges. For salmon, a strong heart combined with effective respiration via its gills provides an improved ability to withstand handling events such as sorting, transport and treatment. For fish as in other species of animals, some diseases are often the cause of reduced organ function and detrimental health effects, and therefore improved resistance against the diseases CMS and AGD are important traits. Resistance against CMS and AGD Breeding for resistance is currently the only available method to use against CMS. Fish with the CMS QTL rid themselves of the virus and reduce heart
selection is much more “effGenomic ective than classic selection for lice resistance ”
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AquaGen PED.indd 57
damage more effectively than fish without the genetic marker. In field outbreaks it was recorded that there was around 20 per cent less mortality for fish that had the CMS QTL. AGD resistance has been shown to be a trait with a high breeding value. A challenge trial carried out with AGD showed large differences for both mortality and gill-score between families. For survival we found a breeding value of 55 to 58 per cent, and for gill score a breeding value of 25 to 28 per cent. In Tasmania, by using traditional breeding, a reduction was achieved in the number of bath treatments for AGD from five to two per year class in the period from 2005 to 2013. The potential for improvement is therefore even greater by using genomic selection. Growth Growth is a relatively simple trait to breed for, and progress in the region of 300-500gm per generation for sea weight has been recorded. Experience from other species also shows a significant improvement in growth when traditional breeding is supplemented with genomic selection. Since 2013, AquaGen has carried out comparative growth studies between fish groups bred with and without genomic selection. Fish bred with genomic selection had approximately 20 per cent higher weight than comparable fish bred without genomic selection, at the same point in time. This extra growth potential opens up the possibility for a one to two month shorter production time from sea transfer to harvest, depending on the time of the year the smolt transfer takes place. Reduced time to harvest contributes to a reduced risk of disease and parasites, and fallowing of the site and management area can start earlier. FF
Genomic selection: fish are selected based on their genome based index that is calculated from the information contained in the fish’s DNA.
Genetic marker (SNP): single base changes in a DNA region where there is variation between individuals in the population. Markers can be used to find the degree of similarity/dissimilarity between individuals. Breeding value: measure of the proportion of the total variation in a trait in a population due to genetics.
SNP chip: a tool to analyse many genetic markers simultaneously. The information is used in genomic selection for specific characteristics of individuals.
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06/05/2016 15:37:01
Gael Force Group – Advertorial
More from
31/03/2016 10:21:18
mooring
Company strengthens aquaculture commitment with new system
T
he Gael Force name is already synonymous with mooring systems and the company has a strong track record in the aquaculture market. It has worked closely with the industry to build up a relationship with fish farm operators throughout Scotland and Ireland. Moving forward, Gael Force has developed a new, bespoke mooring system, conceived and designed to deliver higher security for lower cost. The SeaQureMoor system offers higher performance, longer life and lower system maintenance for a given weight in key components. Handling and logistics costs are reduced, as are deployment costs, due to lower weight to performance and SeaQureMoor’s ability to be pre-assembled and therefore rapidly deployed. The system comprises six components and at its heart is the SeaQureLink - designed for use with rope, slings or chain using SeaQureFast fibre connectors and SeaQureFlex bridles.
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SeaQureLink provides critical ballast for the system with ease of deployment, and in-service management is maintenance free and has an extremely high break load and long life. SeaQureHold is a super high holding power anchor, fast setting and less than half the weight of equivalent, conventional anchors for a given holding power. The mooring buoys, SeaQureBuoys, with pre-tensioned high strength lifting chain, give progressively increasing buoyancy, can house lights or other fittings and have no metal to metal moving parts, reducing maintenance and buoy losses. SeaQureLine eight-strand and three-strand
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 15:35:41
More from mooring
“
It looks like the day it went in and not a sign of any wear or tear
ropes provide a higher strength to weight ratio than conventional synthetic ropes, high Thousand Cycle Load Levels and superior abrasion resistance. SeaQureLine’s breaking strengths allow a smaller size of rope to be used for a given break load, meaning smaller sizing of other mooring components, thereby giving lower system costs. The first grid system using the SeaQureLink mooring node was deployed at Loch Duart’s sea water farm site in Sutherland. The system was pre-rigged and assembled beforehand by Gael Force’s team of experienced riggers in Inverness. Once ready, it was then loaded into a container and shipped to Loch Duart’s site in the north west of Scotland. The 2 x 5 cage system was installed by Colin Bell of Seahorse Aquaculture. Owner and skip-
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Gael Force PED.indd 59
”
per of the MV Nitrox, the vessel used in the installation, Bell has many years’ experience in laying grid systems, and said he was impressed by how quick and easy the deployment was. He said: ‘It was a very straightforward process. As it was delivered in a container beforehand, we lifted the whole system on to the Nitrox. ‘Once on site, the grid was laid out on the deck, connected to the first set of anchors and from then took just 30 minutes to lay the initial system.’ A year on, he carried out a follow-up inspection on the site reporting, ‘it looks like the day it went in and not a sign of any wear or tear’. Gael Force will have the complete range of SeaQureMoor components on display at the Aquaculture UK exhibition in Aviemore later this month. FF
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06/05/2016 15:38:45
Secure
your investment with a Gael Force system Our SeaQureMoor system has been conceived and designed to deliver higher security for lower cost. These benefits come from higher performance, longer life and lower system maintenance for a given weight in key SeaQureMoor components. Handling and logistics costs are reduced as are deployment costs due to lower weight to performance and SeaQureMoor’s ability to be pre-assembled and therefore rapidly deployed. SeaQureHold super high holding power anchors are fast setting and less than half the weight of equivalent, conventional anchors for a given holding power. SeaQureBuoys, with pre-tensioned high strength lifting chain give progressively increasing buoyancy, can house lights or other fittings and have no metal to metal moving parts reducing maintenance and buoy losses. At the heart of the system is SeaQureLink; designed for use with rope, slings or chain using SeaQureFast fibre connectors and SeaQureFlex bridles. SeaQureLink provides critical ballast for the system with ease of deployment and in-service management is maintenance free and has an extremely high break load and long life. SeaQureLine 8-strand and 3-strand ropes, provide a higher strength to weight ratio than conventional synthetic ropes, high Thousand Cycle Load Levels and superior abrasion resistance. SeaQureLine’s breaking strengths allow a smaller size of rope to be used for a given break load meaning smaller sizing of other mooring components thereby giving lower system costs.
…to moor secure, specify SeaQureMoor!
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL +44
ISO 9001 Registered
Quality Management
Untitled-1 60
015
(0)1463 229400 EMAIL moorings@gaelforce.net WEB gaelforcemarine.co.uk/seaquremoor 136 Anderson Street Inverness IV3 8DH
Find us on
05/05/2016 15:56:58
See us at Stand 45
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05/05/2016 15:57:17
MSD – Advertorial
Fish on film
Training videos ensure effective use of health products
M
SD Animal Health, the market leader in aquaculture welfare, has released a series of training videos to ensure simple, effective use of its fish health vaccination products. The series of four videos will be shared with more than 200 industry experts via email before being played at the tenth annual Aquaculture UK conference in Aviemore, from May 25-26. Here, hundreds of delegates are expected to attend to learn about the latest innovations and updates in the industry. Representatives from MSD Animal Health (known as Merck Animal Health in the United States and Canada) will be on hand at the international trade conference to meet industry influencers and customers, while promoting the products and services they offer. Liam Doherty, aqua technician at MSD Animal Health, presents each video, explaining the four stages of the vaccination process; preparation for vaccination, the vaccination process itself, auditing and post vaccination monitoring. The aim of the videos is to show the most effective and efficient vaccination techniques and aftercare to ensure optimum fish health. Liam said: ‘We decided to create a series of videos that would show our customers the most effective methods to use when administering the vaccinations. ‘It’s essential that our products are used in the correct way to ensure the best outcomes for fish health, everyone’s main objective. ‘Therefore, having this short visual aid to hand, is a fantastic tool our customers can use to get the best results from our products. ‘Showing the videos during the Aquaculture UK conference gives us a chance to welcome feedback from customers doing the vaccinations first hand, and help us continue to improve the services and products we offer. ‘It also demonstrates to potential future customers our commitment to the entire process, including aftercare, in order to maintain optimum fish health.’
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Above: Administering vaccines properly. Below: Optimum fish health.
Having this “short visual aid to hand is a fantastic tool for our customers
In addition to showing the videos at a specially designed MSD Animal Health stand, the team will also be holding a fish health seminar during the conference where delegates are invited to hear from key stakeholders in the UK aquaculture industry. These include Ronnie Soutar from Aqualife, Jason Cleaversmith from SAIC, and MSD Animal Health’s Dafydd Morris, Camilla Macdonald and Chris Gould. Topics discussed will include the challenges and solutions of fish health, AQUAVAC Monitor and vaccination best practice, a technical update and the collaborative and innovative projects that are taking place in aquaculture. This will help inform delegates within the aquaculture industry about the products and insight which are offered by the MSD Animal Health team, as well as having direct access to MSD’s experience and knowledge in the industry. FF
”
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 15:34:55
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05/05/2016 15:58:06
Vaki – Advertorial
Thirty years of
innovation
Icelandic firm with worldwide reach has grown alongside the development of aquaculture
I
CELANDIC company Vaki celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Since 1986, when Hermann Kristjansson revolutionised the industry with his automated fish counting system, Vaki has been a leading company in the development and manufacturing of equipment for fish farming and the environmental market. Focusing on fish counting and size estimation, Vaki’s products provide
Right: Facilitating planning
users with accurate information to facilitate planning and decision making, as well as raising the level of automation, which contributes towards increased efficiency in both fish farming and wild fish research. With operations in Iceland, Chile, Scotland and Norway, Vaki’s innovative products make them world leaders in a number of areas, including: biomass measurement; live fish counting systems; and fully integrated pump, grade and count packages. And, with sales and service agents around the world, and support, Vaki is recognised for its success – for the last six years it has been named one of the strongest companies in Iceland by Creditinfo, being among the 1.9 per cent of Icelandic companies that have met the requirements set by the agency. Throughout its 30 years in operation, Vaki has grown steadily in personnel and production, in line with the growth of fish farming worldwide. In this time, daughter companies have been established in Chile and, more recently, in Norway, with Vaki staff offering technical and customer support to new and existing customers. In August last year, the firm began direct operations in Scotland, which as home to many of its first and longest customers, remains an important market and strategic base for product development. The fish farming industry is a growing worldwide business and the future looks bright for Vaki.
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www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 15:30:24
Thirty years of innovation
Daily is the next stage in the development “Biomass of our computerised fish counting systems �
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Vaki - PED .indd 65
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Vaki – advertorial Keeping pace with expansion The setting up of Vaki Scotland is key to the group’s ambitious vision for the future. As Vaki Scotland’s GM, David Jarron, explains, the main driver for the Scottish operation is to provide direct and local support for its powerful new Biomass Daily interface, a comprehensive and sophisticated fish counting and measuring system that will give fish farmers accurate, up-to-the minute information about the size and distribution of growth of their fish. ‘Biomass Daily is the next stage in the development of our computerised fish counting systems, which are now industry standard,’ says Jarron. ‘Our scanner frames have for many years been used in different cages to provide spot samples. The Biomass Daily system remains within the cages permanently, providing information that is updated on a half-hourly basis (Figure 1). ‘The data, accessed online by our customers and confidential to them, can be used to measure how well the fish are growing, based on actual measurements rather than on estimation or projections (Figure 2),’ he adds. ‘Using this method, customers can be more confident about the exact size of their fish and, importantly, their distribution within each cage as well as monitoring real growth.’ Other variables can also be integrated into the system, such as water temperature, oxygen and salinity – as long as this information is provided by the fish farmers. ‘Crucially, feeding systems can also be included into Biomass Daily, which can be used to automatically calculate and present Feed Conversion Ratios (FCRs) in real time, which is hugely beneficial to fish farmers,’ said Jarron (Figure 3). The system also provides customers with the ability to accurately com-
pare fish within individual cages and across all of the company’s sites, anywhere in the world. ‘Currently, more than 1.5 million fish are measured weekly in the system and this is increasing; we are looking at introducing benchmarking, which would allow customers to see how their fish are performing against target fish within our system,’ said Jarron. ‘We firmly believe that aquaculture is vital to providing enough protein
1999 1988
VAKI introduces the Bioscanner fish counter – the first automatic fish counter, which has been a leading tool in the industry for more than two decades.
1986
VAKI Aquaculture Sytems is established by Hermann Kristjansson.
1992
1993
VAKI introduces the first Riverwatcher fish counter for counting wild fish in rivers.
VAKI introduces the first Submersible Biomass Counter for size estimation in sea cages.
VAKI introduces the first fish counter that can confirm counting with computer vision. This quickly becomes the industry standard.
1996
2002
VAKI introduces the Pipeline fish counter.
1994
VAKI receives the ‘Innovation Award’ by the Trade Council of Iceland and the National Research Council.
VAKI opens offi in Puerto Montt
1998
VAKI introduces a new flatfish counter.
2001
VAKI launches a fish grader based on a idea.
1997
VAKI is nominated for the ‘European Design Prize’.
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www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 15:32:00
2
VA He new to
Thirty years of innovation
From far left: Vaki works with fish farmers
to feed the expanding global population, and for the last 30 years our mission has been to provide the technology to make fish farming as efficient and effective as it can be. ‘We believe that our Biomass Daily system is the next step forward and that by working with fish farmers to help them understand how it will benefit their business it will, like many other Vaki products, become an industry standard.’ FF
2013
VAKI launches the new version of the Macro Counter.
2009
Hermann Kristjansson, General Manager of VAKI, is selected as pioneer of the year by the business press of Iceland.
2002
VAKI opens offices in Puerto Montt, Chile.
01
nches a fish ased on a
2003
VAKI introduces the Heathro Fish Pump new to new markets.
2007
VAKI introduces a system for the size estimation of live fish – the Biomass Daily System.
2006
VAKI introduces a feeding system for smaller fish farms.
2007
VAKI adds to the counter portfolio with new Wellboat Counters for smolts.
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Vaki - PED .indd 67
2010
VAKI introduces a larger scanner frame for the Biomass Daily system.
2011
VAKI opens offices in Bergen, Norway.
2012
2009
2015
VAKI reaches turnover of 1 billion ISK for the first time.
VAKI receives the Export award from the President of Iceland.
2011
VAKI introduces the new channel counter for counting large fish in wellboats.
VAKI opens a daughtercompany in Scotland and introduces a new 8“ pump.
2014
New Pipeline Counter presented.
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06/05/2016 15:32:37
Aqualife – Advertorial
Focus on fish care Vaccination expert brings best practices to bigger new business
A
qualife and Salmovac are well known to Scottish fish farmers through the provision of vaccination services, but the recently merged company is keen to point out that they are about a lot more than arranging teams of ‘fish jaggers’. Chief executive Gordon Jeffery said: ‘Aqualife has come a long way since I started out in 1996. Our growth over that time has been based on a commitment to being leaders and pioneers in fish care. That remains central to the company’s vision.’ The last 12 months have certainly been interesting times for the company, with 2015 characterised by challenges met and opportunities seized. Aqualife had built up a strong position as the market leading vaccination company in Norway, with 90 per cent of its business on that side of the North Sea. A good position to be in, but it meant vulnerability to 2015’s big swing in exchange rate between the pound
and kroner. Ronnie Soutar, managing director, explained that this challenge spurred some difficult but much needed changes. ‘Through a process of discussion with our workforce, we realigned Norwegian operations to better fit in with the country’s operating conditions and culture. ‘We’ve carried that forward in 2016 with the establishment of a limited company in Norway, through which all Norwegian business will be conducted in future. ‘I also hope to release some exciting news about further Norwegian developments before the start of the summer vaccination season.’ That all sounds fine - for Norway! What about business closer to the company’s HQ in Stirling? It seems that this is where last September’s merger with Salmovac comes in. Robert Wittman, the company’s operations and customer service manager, said: ‘Aqualife had been accused in the past of sending our best vaccination teams to Norway, neglecting our Scottish customers. ‘I think that’s a bit harsh but it’s fair to say that Salmovac, with a focus on the Scottish and Irish industry, certainly had a very good reputation here. ‘Following the merger, I’ve been trying to bring the best practices of both companies together, so that our Scottish and Irish customers benefit from the best possible service.
Everything we do is “built on maintaining long term trust with our customers
”
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06/05/2016 15:26:57
Focus on fish care
Clockwise from above: Best practices; there will always be a place for hand vaccination but automation is where the future lies.
‘There will be a real commitment to delivering on the trust our customers put in us to look after their fish. ‘Barry Henderson, based in Salmovac’s former office in Avoch, will be in charge of Scottish operations for me and he’ll manage teams dedicated to our key accounts here.’ So, it is all about teams of people hand vaccinating fish after all, then? ‘No, it really isn’t!’ said technical director Phil Brown. ‘I’ve been leading the company’s R&D programme, which is now focused heavily on machine vaccination. Although there will always be a place for hand vaccination, we know automation is where the future lies. ‘For the 2016 season, we will be introducing a new machine based service, which will include options either for a fully serviced machine permanently on site or for a mobile machine service. ‘In both cases, the customer avoids the capital cost of machine purchase. They don’t want a machine sitting on site gradually deteriorating - we look after all aspects of the machine.’ That sounds interesting, given that machines haven’t been totally reliable in the past. What happens if it all goes pear shaped? Phil laughs: ‘I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen, given the back-up systems we have in place. But if it did, we’re well placed to send in a hand vaccination team at short notice to cover any downtime. ‘All in all, I’m confident we have it covered – this is a comprehensive vaccination service that really is fit for the future.’ Kathy Taylor, former head of Salmovac, agrees. ‘I’ve got a joint role in Aqualife now – I’m responsible for business development and also for quality assurance.
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‘I have a very good reason for ensuring that we have the best possible processes and procedures in all aspects of our service, as I’m the one who is making promises to our customers! ‘Everything we do is built on maintaining the long term trust which those customers have in us when they put their precious stock in our care.’ The whole Aqualife team are keen to emphasise this commitment to total care. As Gordon explains, customers appear willing to hand over more responsibility to the company. ‘For a while now, we’ve been supplying staff to oversee the pre-vaccination anaesthesia process. We’re extending this to offer a total package, where our staff will deal with everything from taking fish from their tank to putting them back properly vaccinated, either by hand or by machine. ‘All the farm manager and his core staff have to do is audit the process – and if they are happy, we’re happy!’ If you would like to speak to the Aqualife team about their services, you can visit them on Stand 70 at AquacultureUK, or contact them via their website – www.aqualifeservices.com FF
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06/05/2016 15:27:16
Eurofusion – Advertorial
Piping
up
With a past in the plastics industry, enterprising Norwegian team spotted the potential in aquaculture
A
Norwegian manufacturer of pipe systems is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year with plans to become one of the main suppliers in the industry. Eurofusion AS - EFAS was established in June 2006 by Torkel Erikstad and Knut Erik Walle and lies 20 km south of Oslo in Vinterbro at the main crossing for goods arriving by road to Norway. The inspiration for forming the company came from a contact at one of the major European suppliers of polyethylene pipes, fittings, flanges and electrofusion couplers. The aquaculture industry has always used a
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lot of plastic materials in its process systems, both on land and sea. Erikstad and Walle realised that this market was set to grow strongly, given the signals from the industry itself and based on the national plans from the Norwegian government. With a goal of doubling the production of salmon from one to two million tonnes per year there needed to be a massive rebuild of existing facilities, as well as a series of new builds to create the production infrastructure in the industry. Erikstad and Walle already had 25 years’ experience in the plastic, pipe fittings and flanges industries under their belts working in the Norwegian market. During the 1990s there was an evolution in the way products in Norway were stocked. The philosophy of moving the stock to ‘logistic centres’ in Europe and of supplying orders and deliveries by truck from the continent were the new norms in the industry. The founders of Eurofusion wanted to challenge this philosophy and their business strategy was to stock as complete a range as possible within Norway itself, thus facilitating fast deliveries whenever needed. Today, EFAS offers
around 5,000 products from stock and has access to more than 50,000 different products from all over the world for its customers. All nine of the Eurofusion staff are based in Vinterbro. The warehouse contains all the main high turnover items but also stocks a strategic diversity of products that might not be sold in huge numbers but that when needed are critical items for their clients. The policy of having ‘specials’ in stock has contributed hugely to the success of EFAS, says the company. Orders arrive by telephone, email and from the company’s webshop. Depending on the volume and weight, the proper shipment method for the order is chosen. Shipping by truck is the main transport method but postal shipment and express air freight are also part of everyday life at EFAS. Some 95 per cent of the orders are shipped the same day instructions are received. Larger projects are handled according to the customers’ needs and usually contain the main shipment by full truck loads. Being an entrepreneur led business with few employees and a vast number of products, having the best human capital is crucial to managing the company and staying ahead of the curve. EFAS personnel are all highly motivated and Walle says you will find that ‘their team spirit goes all the way down to their spines. Doing things together both inside and outside of work is the mantra behind our slogan: EFAS - Knowledge and quality that pays off’. The market today lies in the construction and rebuilding of smolt production facilities. EFAS predicts that this market will continue to grow steadily for many years to come.
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 15:24:49
Piping up
The changes in process technology towards recycling systems will also boost this development and expansion will come from organic growth. By nurturing old customers and taking care of new contacts in the same way, EFAS aims to pave the way forward to developing its brand. It covers all the main products needed for building pipe systems in polyethylene. This includes valves in many different versions and dimensions and the company specialises in delivering special solutions as standard. EFAS’s main suppliers are Plasson, for its electrofusion and mechanical coupler products, and Simona for its range of PE fittings. These offerings are supplemented by the Sekisui Gmbh range of plastic valves. Erikstad and Walle aim to be the leading suppliers of products needed to build a pipe sytem at a smolt production facility and, with 10 years of steady growth behind them, who would bet against them racing ahead to achieve their ambitions? For more information Erik Knut Walle can be reached at kew@efas.no. FF
Doing “things
together both inside and outside of work is the mantra behind our slogan quality that pays off
”
Far left: Torkel Erikstad of Eurofusion: quality pays off
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06/05/2016 15:25:16
DON’T MISS THE UK’S LARGEST AQUACULTURE EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE 25 & 26 MAY 2016 AVIEMORE, SCOTLAND
FishMagazine Farmer An international event where you can: Meet
in
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To register for the event please visit www.aquacultureuk.com or email info@aquacultureuk.com
VISIT OUR STAND No. 123 AT AQUACULTURE UK Wellboats– Introduction
Fish FarmerFish Farmer VOLUME 38
VOLUME 38
om www.fishfarmer-magazine.c Serving worldwide aquaculture since 1977
Serving worldwide aquaculture since
1977
CATCHING THE BUG
AN AQUA-TONIC
The insects for feed business about to take off
Investigating growth potential in fledgling field
INDUSTRY PIONEER
ORKNEY OPENING TRAINING
From managing salmon farms to managing markets
sponsored by
new site courses that Scottish Sea Farms’ Aquaculture bridge the skills gap goes live
MIDDLE EAST
Special focus on a fast growing industry
NUMBER 03
All well and good
MARCH 2015
Wellboats play an increasingly important role in the running of marine salmon farms, from the beginning through to the end of the production cycle
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PROCESSING UPDATE
Preview of Seafood Expo Global in Brussels
COMMUNITY FARMS
Harvesting sea cucumbers in Madagascan villages
A
s the salmon industry becomes more consolidated, and vertically integrated, wellboats are now being used routinely for a variety of essential tasks that help with the efficient running of salmon farms. Custom designed, wellboats are used to transfer smolts to sea water sites, to grade fish, transfer fish between seawater sites and to carry fish to harvest. Wellboats are also sometimes used to carry out bath treatments for sea lice.
16
dead-haul of fish to processing plants should be treated on-shore; that all water should be filtered prior to discharge into the sea; and that of wellboat transport water be proposed as a priority for the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre. For their part, the wellboat manufacturers are already working hard to address these issues, and the modern wellboat is a technically sophisticated piece of kit, with a number of features that address issues of biosecurity. For
There are a number of risks associated with the use of wellboats, in particular the transfer of pathogens to live fish within the wellboat, and into the sea as a result of discharging potentially infected water. In Scotland, these issues have been acknowledged with the establishment of the Wellboat Technical Standards Working Group in 2013. Amongst its recommendations include: that all marine vessels should log and record their position and the status of their valves; that all water from
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example, Sølvtrans, the world leading company within transport of live salmon uses a closed valves system, ensuring that when they transport live fish, no water is loaded or discharged to the sea during transportation or unloading. Its new vessels are also equipped with lice filters with 150 μ for circulated water, which collect lice and other organic materials from the water, minimising the risk of any transported fish being contaminated by diseases, infection, sea lice etc from the nearby fish farms. FF
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Under control
Norway – Research Council
“
The environment is more stable and the fish use less energy adapting to it
Under control
Above: Project participants at the centre’s opening. Right: CtrlAQUA scientists. Photos by Terje Aamodt/Nofima.
Joint approach between scientists and industry to address challenges of closed-containment systems
F
our Norwegian research institutions, two outside Norway and several industry partners from technology and the aquaculture industry have started operations at a centre for innovation in closed-containment systems. The centre, CtrlAQUA, has been given NOK 200 million and eight years to reach its goal of making closed-containment systems for salmon up to one kilogram. Innovations in closed-containment, where the salmon is separated from the outside environment by a tight barrier, can be important for the further development of the industry,
001_ff03.indd 4
All well and good
sponsored by
OCTOBER 2015
NUMBER 10
helping to address challenges such as sea lice, diseases and escapes, as well as reduce production times. Closed systems can be land-based, where water is recycled, or sea-based, in which large floating tanks receive clean water from depth. In CtrlAQUA, the research will deal with both approaches. The main focus of the centre is innovation in closed-containment systems for the most vulnerable periods of the salmon production cycle, such as the first sea water, post-smolt, phase. The centre will also contribute to better production control, fish welfare and sustainability
in closed-containment farms. This will happen through the development of new and reliable sensors, minimising environmental impact through recycling of nutrients and reducing the risk of escape, and diseases transmission to wild stocks. Senior scientist Bendik Fyhn Terjesen, from Nofima, who is the director of the centre, said that closed-containment systems for salmon up to one kilogram have further advantages than simply preventing lice and escapes. ‘We can control the environment in which the fish lives in a closed-containment system. The environment is more stable and the fish
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use less energy adapting to it. This means that the salmon has more energy available for growth and good health.’ Closed systems for strategic phases in salmon farming can help to make the Norwegian vision of an eight-fold growth in value creation from aquaculture possible, and lead to an increased number of jobs and the production of healthy seafood. In the centre there will be three departments: technology and environment, led by Dr Fyhn Terjesen; preventative fish health, led by Harald Takle, also from Nofima; and fish production and welfare, led by Lars Ebbesson of Uni Research. CtrlAQUA is one of 17 Centres for Research-Based Innovation (SFI), a major programme created by the Research Council of Norway. The primary goal of the SFI programme is to strengthen companies’ capacity for innovation, and to develop leading industry relevant research. Nofima is accompanied by five solid institutions in CtrlAQUA: Uni Research, the University of Bergen, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the Freshwater Institute in the US and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. The University of Bergen will have principal responsibility for research education at the centre. The total budget for CtrlAQUA will be
”
NOK 196 million, spread over eight years. Industrial partners from the supplier industry are Krüger Kaldnes AS, Pharmaq Analytiq, Pharmaq AS, Oslofjord Ressurspark AS, Storvik Aqua AS and Aquafarm Equipment AS. Participants from the aquaculture industry are Marine Harvest ASA, Grieg Seafood ASA, Lerøy Vest AS, Cermaq Norway AS, Bremnes Seashore AS, Smøla klekkeri og settefiskanlegg AS, Marine producers Norway AS and Firda sjøfarmer AS. The formal opening by the Research Council took place at the end of May at Nofima, Sunndalsøra. Norwegian fisheries minister Elisabeth Aspaker, present at the ceremony, said the goal of the CtrlAQUA SFI is perfectly compatible with the government’s ambitions for the aquaculture industry. ‘I have great expectations for the achievements of CtrlAQUA. Even though eight years is a long time, it is urgent that we find solutions to reach the goals. CtrlAQUA is an important part of this.’ The director of innovation in the Research Council, Eirik Normann, presented the SFI plaque to Fyhn Terjesen, saying: ‘You have put together a very strong consortium. I want to point out that the committee that evaluated the application was fascinated by the innovation that the concept brings with it, and it believes that the centre will probably produce important innovations within aquaculture.’ FF
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NOFIMA FACTS With 360 employees and customers from 49 different countries, Nofima’s turnover in 2014 was £527 million The company is currently engaged in 620 projects worldwide. Nofima has several laboratories and pilot plants, which it uses for research, including: BioLab – an accredited contract and research laboratory; NAMAB – a flexible minifactory; and Patogen Pilot Plant – Europe’s first highsecurity production hall. Nofima carries out research for the fisheries, aquaculture and food industries, including: breeding and genetics; capture-based aquaculture; fish health; and consumer and sensory sciences. Each year Nofima organises several symposia, courses and seminars in which its scientists share their expertise.
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Archive – November/December 1989
Bordeaux – natural focus for big EAS congress Delegates were particularly drawn by the topic of ‘success, failure and bankruptcy in the aquaculture industry’
T
HE name Bordeaux is synonymous with excellent wine, but in fact this historic capital of Aquitaine presides over an area of south west France which could as easily be famous for its aquaculture in future. The region has a vast resource of potential sites, with brackish and freshwater marshes, lakes and ponds, rivers, no shortage of water, and even the possibility of offshore marine farms. It already produces oysters – 50,000 tons at Marennes, 15,000 tons at Arcachon – clams, trout, salmon – the farm of Mezos in Landes produces 2,000 tons a year – prawns from farms in the marshes, eels in closed-circuit systems, sturgeon and turbot, to name but a few projects. Bordeaux, therefore, formed a natural venue for the Aquaculture Europe ’89, staged by the European Aquaculture Society (EAS) in October. The event was held in several halls of the Palais des Congres at Bordeaux-Lac, and indeed several cage manufacturers took advantage of the adjacent lake to float their exhibits. As usual with these occasions, the congress was far too large for any
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individual to cover all their interests. Not only were two international conferences running during the three days, but two satellite symposia also competed for attention. Delegates had the choice of the International Aquaculture Conference organised by EAS/ ADA, the International Sturgeon Symposium (CEMAGREF-AGEDRA), a satellite symposium
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on pond fish culture (Syndicate National des Exploitants d’Etangs), or a symposium on biotechnology in aquaculture (BIOTECHNICA). On top of this, more than 200 posters challenged the eye, assuming that you weren’t waylaid by friends and colleagues among the 1,000 or so delegates thronging the halls and bars, or the further 1,000 visiting the exhibition. Around 120 exhibitors took space in the building, which provided some 3,000 sq m of show area. The vast majority of these were French companies, but with a scattering of representatives from Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Japan, Norway, Holland, the UK, Switzerland and the USA. Sturgeon club Interest in sturgeon had drawn a lot of delegates to the conference. One Englishman, John Taylor, representing Fish Eagle Trading Co, at the show, was even inspired to start a UK club for sturgeon production. In reality, however, those in search of practical advice on farming sturgeon were disappointed by the Acipenser sessions. Speakers tended to dwell on national statistics and research
Above: The show was held in several halls
achievements rather than the practicalities of production. Thus, you could learn that 13 farms were constructed near the Caspian Sea and six on the rivers of the Azov so that, today, 100 million young sturgeons from 1-3g can be placed in the Caspian and 30 million in the Sea of Azov. As a result, about 26,000 tonnes of sturgeon are available each year of which the female furnish around 1,750 tonnes of caviar, from the Caspian alone. Attending sessions of the main conference meant frequent dashes from one hall to another, a scramble for translation headphones – not always available – and careful perusal of the programme to identify speakers. A topic which did draw in a lot of delegates, however, was the one on ‘success, failure and bankruptcy in the aquaculture industry: professional standards for consultants’. Chris Aldridge, managing director to Sea Farm (Polly) Ltd, in Scotland, who had come to France partly to attend the launch of the new Sea Farm (Europe) Ltd, made his own observations on this session: ‘The chairman closed proceedings with a call for a clean up of the consultancy business and Codes of Practice, but earlier ‘Paddy’ Secretan (Aquaculture Insurance Service) made it clear that the fish farmer should capitalise his business sufficiently against risk
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Archive – November/December 1989
from as yet unknown problems and not expect insurance companies to underwrite this aspect of business. ‘Amanda Courtney (British Trout Association) was able to point out that the aquaculture industry was very strong on technical consultancy and fell flat on its face when it came to any market research prior to establishment of projects. ‘Colin Nash (FAO),after reviewing a recent study of 150 external assistance projects, where very few had proved to be successful, believed that the consultancy sector would now settle out. ‘Bjorn Myrseth concluded with a very frank analysis of the bankruptcies of several Norwegian fish farming companies and his assessment of why they had failed – cash obtained too easily, low equity base, too rapid expansion, diseases, lack of expertise in all areas, low prices for smolt and salmon, and poor financial controls.’ Further news from this conference will appear in forthcoming issues.’ FF
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DON’T MISS THE UK’S LARGEST AQUACULTURE EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE 25 & 26 MAY 2016 AVIEMORE, SCOTLAND An international event where you can: Meet
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05/05/2016 16:01:17
Markets & Retail News
Young’s expands its Gastro range
Seafood exporter wins Queen’s Award SEAFOOD export specialist FAO27 has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade, the UK’s highest accolade for business success.
BASED in the Black Isle and France, the firm operates as the sales export department for a number of local small scale seafood processors and fishing boats. It sells whitefish, shellfish, farmed salmon and smoked and hot smoked salmon from the north of Scotland to retailers, wholesalers, large fishmongers and independent YOUNG’S Seafood is boosting its power brand stores across Europe. Gastro by introducing three new marinade prodAlthough the majority of the ucts aimed at the dining-in market. products are exported to marThe Gastro range, with its emphasis on fish sokets in France, Italy, Belgium, phistication, has been a major success story for DON’T MISS THE UK’S LARGEST AQUACULTURE Portugal and Luxembourg, the Young’s and is now worth more than £54 million firm has recently started to a year to the company. EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE make inroads into the UK too. The restaurant inspired dishes have attracted Named after the grid £20 million incremental value to frozen fish, reference for the North Sea 25 & 26 MAY SCOTLAND breathing new life into categories that2016 haveAVIEMORE, fishing sector and standing for seen some shoppers leave, such as battered fish. An international event where you can: ‘freshness and origin, 27 for A couple of months ago, as part of a move to Meet traceability’, FAO27 was set up attract more people to frozen fish, it launched in 2009 by managing director two new dishes and now it has followed this Anne Moseley as a consulup with its marinades. They will be available inin tancy to help fishermen and Sainsbury’s and Waitrose stores. International Aquacultureprocessors export to Europe. Profits up: Page 84
Above: Anne Moseley
It now has now a team of five and supports more than 150 full time jobs and several family run businesses in Scotland. Moseley said: ‘This is a wonderful recognition for the company and, in particular, for the local fishermen, salmon farmers and seafood processors we are honoured to work for. ‘The Queen’s Award is
recognised across the world as a mark of outstanding business achievement and our award is a great testament to the dedication of the family run companies we work with to bring the best of Scottish seafood to a wider market. ‘The Scottish fishing fleet is vital to the economy and deserves to be widely appreciated. The recent tragic losses at sea remind us of the extremely tough and often hazardous conditions our fishermen work in.’ Philip Watt, managing director of Fraserburgh based Nordic Shellfish which works closely with FAO27, said: ‘Working with the team at FAO27 has helped our business grow and develop new markets. ‘Their expert knowledge of what products will sell well on the continent has been invaluable to us.’
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Markets & Retail News
Scotland’s seafood stars in Asia
Catering students in ‘fjord to fork’ fight
IN a further bid to enhance Scotland’s trade relationships with the Asian market, Seafood Scotland, along with some of Scotland’s leading fish and seafood companies, attended this year’s Food and Hotel Asia last month.
THE companies were part of a delegation of 15 Scottish food and drink companies, under the banner of Scottish Development International (SDI) and the Scotland Food and Drink Export Partnership, at the show in Singapore.
In 2014 the show attracted more than 65,000 trade visitors, and this year there were well over 3,000 exhibitors from around 70 countries and regions. Campsie Glen Smokehouse and the Scottish Salmon
Company were among those represented at the Scottish pavilion, used as a base to engage the Asian market at the region’s most influential show, taking place every two years. James Withers, chief executive of Scotland Food and Drink, said: ‘Scotland’s food exports have risen by 50 per cent since 2007 and our reputation is growing around the world. ‘Our export strategy is specifically targeting Singapore and the Far East, where demand for premium products with a strong provenance story is rapidly growing. This presents huge opportunities for Scottish
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Faroe Islands
In the pink
Aquaculture set to overtake fishing exports as salmon sector grows BY VINCE MCDONAGH
F
AROESE aquaculture is growing at such a formidable speed that exports are poised to overtake those from conventional fishing for the first time. News of this important milestone was released by the Faroese government in its most recent newsletter. Indications that fish farming in the Faroes is enjoying its best period yet has been evident for some time. Situated midway between Iceland and Scotland, few people outside Scandinavia give this beautiful but rugged archipelago of 18 main volcanic islands much thought. The Faroes, with its capital Torshavn, is a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Copenhagen looks after currency, defence, foreign affairs and certain judicial matters. The nearest comparison is probably the Channel Islands and their relation with Great Britain. The Faroes is not a member of the European Union which means it has control of its own fishing grounds, critically important in a country where 95 per cent of exports are seafood related. There have been demands for total independ-
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Top and right: Bakkafrost pens. Above: Torshavn.
ence, but at the moment the country is sticking with Denmark. At the last count, the Faroes had fewer than 49,000 inhabitants – smaller than the population of Inverness in Scotland- yet the country sustains a significant fishing fleet consisting of long liners, pair trawlers, purse seiners and ocean going factory trawlers. Now it is making its presence felt in global aquaculture markets, particularly for the quality of its farmed salmon and aquaculture innovation. It has not been an easy journey. The history of Faroese aquaculture goes back a long way, starting in the 1950s with small scale salmon and trout farming. Serious fish farming got underway in the 1990s, but it had a troubled start largely due to problems with disease and related issues. Some countries might have given up at this point. However, the industry, with support from the Torshavn government, invested a lot of money and effort in a programme which successfully eradicated these problems. In 2003 the country implemented one of the most comprehensive and stringent aquaculture veterinary regulation regimes in the world to ensure it protects its salmon from disease and other pressures. The Faroese Veterinarian Act on Aquaculture now provides inspiration and guidance for the implementation of sustainable aquaculture standards around the world. Writing in the official government newsletter, Rógvi Olavson said: ‘Fish farmers never doubted that the Faroese fjords and their clean, temperate waters had a huge potential for fish farming. ‘Following a slow recovery, the aquaculture industry was transformed into a
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06/05/2016 15:17:52
In the pink reliable large scale export industry in the mid to late noughties.’ He said that if the growth of aquaculture continues it will at some point soon become the largest export industry in the Faroe Islands, a mantle held by traditional fisheries since the mid-19th century. The fish farming industry today is comprised of a small number of companies situated around the islands, all vertically integrated, controlling the entire process of production, from smolt to harvesting and sales. Their main markets for products are Europe and Asia. By far the largest producer of farmed salmon is Bakkafrost, which announced in February that in 2015 it had climbed above the one billion Danish kroner (DKK) pre-tax profit mark for the first time. Chief executive Regin Jacobsen described 2015 as an eventful year for the company. It is now building a large new production centre and headquarters, at a cost of 200 million euros, which will merge seven factories into one. Bakkafrost has not only been helped by the rise in demand for salmon, but is generally recognised as having a product of exceptional quality. It has a workforce of more than 700 people, which in a country with such a small population makes it a huge employer. The company is not the only player though. In March another aquaculture company, Hiddenfjord, told the Faroese broadcaster Kringvarp Føroya that it had ‘made sensational strides’ in the development of indoor aquaculture during the past year. This, it said, decreases the risk of disease and considerably increases efficiency and product quality. Founded in 1929 as a small white fish business, HiddenFjord is located on Fútaklettur, one of the remote Atlantic Faroe Islands, which provides ideal natural conditions for salmon farming. The industry is helped by the public, but independent, research and development company known as Fiskaaling. Their work centres around the prevention of disease and experimental fish farming programmes. Fiskaaling also produces salmon eggs and provides smolt to fish farming companies. Being able to tell overseas buyers that the entire production
chain takes place in the Faroes is a major attraction. The success of fish farming has also helped to stem migration from the islands – always a problem in the more remote parts of Scandinavia – by providing secure and well paid employment. While it will never match Norway for size and scale, there is no doubt that the farming of Atlantic salmon is making an important and growing contribution to the economy of the islands. When completed, Bakkafrost’s futuristic looking new factory is going to make a lot of people sit up and take notice. FF
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Faroe Islands
Early success in lumpfish trials
Photo: Pablo Gordillo Chueca
These first “experiences
LUMPFISH are helping in the fight to defeat salmon lice, the Faroe Islands’ largest aquaculture company disclosed recently. During the past three years, Bakkafrost says it has been participating in an industry wide research project aimed at identifying the potential of cleaner fish in helping to eliminate or reduce salmon lice in Faroese aquaculture. It found that the most suitable fish indigenous to Faroese waters was the lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) and an attempt was therefore made to cultivate this species at the Faroese research station in Nesvík. Bakkafrost said: ‘The result was that Bakkafrost in April 2015 could stock the first ever Faroese bred lumpfish on our sea site at Kunoyarnes. ‘Culturing lumpfish with salmon carries some adjustments in working practices, and this first stocking has been an attempt to identify the right adaptions necessary for the lumpfish to thrive together with the salmon.
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are a good foundation to build on
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Left: Lumpfish, an important tool
‘Among other things, we have established good procedures for transferring the lumpfish to sea, found out which shelters the lumpfish appear to thrive in and implemented good feeding practices. ‘The effect of lumpfish in lice control has also been a natural part of this project. The stomach content of the lumpfish is regularly examined, and we often find lice remains, which reflect the lice feeding activity in the cages. ‘In addition, we are closely monitoring the amount of lice per fish in each cage, and here we can observe lower lice numbers in cages with lumpfish compared to cages with no lumpfish. ‘This is especially evident in the first period in the sea when the salmon is relatively small.’ Experiences from the site, together with experiences from other farming companies, have shown the potential of lumpfish as a cleaner fish, and it must now be considered as an important tool in a chemical free, lice defeating strategy. Bakkafrost said: ‘With better knowledge about the biology of the lumpfish and the interaction between salmon and lumpfish, we will be able to develop this tool even further. ‘This is something that Bakkafrost is aiming at in the future, and these first experiences with the Faroese lumpfish are definitely a good foundation to build on.’
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iF sh Farmer VOLUME 38
NUMBER 10
ulture since 1977
CATCHING THE BUG
AN AQUA-TONIC
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Under control
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The environment is more stable and the fish use less energy adapting to it
Under control
Above: Project participants at the centre’s opening. Right: CtrlAQUA scientists. Photos by Terje Aamodt/Nofima.
Joint approach between scientists and industry to address challenges of closed-containment systems
F
our Norwegian research institutions, two outside Norway and several industry partners from technology and the aquaculture industry have started operations at a centre for innovation in closed-containment systems. The centre, CtrlAQUA, has been given NOK 200 million and eight years to reach its goal of making closed-containment systems for salmon up to one kilogram. Innovations in closed-containment, where the salmon is separated from the outside environment by a tight barrier, can be important for the further development of the industry,
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helping to address challenges such as sea lice, diseases and escapes, as well as reduce production times. Closed systems can be land-based, where water is recycled, or sea-based, in which large floating tanks receive clean water from depth. In CtrlAQUA, the research will deal with both approaches. The main focus of the centre is innovation in closed-containment systems for the most vulnerable periods of the salmon production cycle, such as the first sea water, post-smolt, phase. The centre will also contribute to better production control, fish welfare and sustainability
in closed-containment farms. This will happen through the development of new and reliable sensors, minimising environmental impact through recycling of nutrients and reducing the risk of escape, and diseases transmission to wild stocks. Senior scientist Bendik Fyhn Terjesen, from Nofima, who is the director of the centre, said that closed-containment systems for salmon up to one kilogram have further advantages than simply preventing lice and escapes. ‘We can control the environment in which the fish lives in a closed-containment system. The environment is more stable and the fish
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use less energy adapting to it. This means that the salmon has more energy available for growth and good health.’ Closed systems for strategic phases in salmon farming can help to make the Norwegian vision of an eight-fold growth in value creation from aquaculture possible, and lead to an increased number of jobs and the production of healthy seafood. In the centre there will be three departments: technology and environment, led by Dr Fyhn Terjesen; preventative fish health, led by Harald Takle, also from Nofima; and fish production and welfare, led by Lars Ebbesson of Uni Research. CtrlAQUA is one of 17 Centres for Research-Based Innovation (SFI), a major programme created by the Research Council of Norway. The primary goal of the SFI programme is to strengthen companies’ capacity for innovation, and to develop leading industry relevant research. Nofima is accompanied by five solid institutions in CtrlAQUA: Uni Research, the University of Bergen, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the Freshwater Institute in the US and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. The University of Bergen will have principal responsibility for research education at the centre. The total budget for CtrlAQUA will be
”
NOK 196 million, spread over eight years. Industrial partners from the supplier industry are Krüger Kaldnes AS, Pharmaq Analytiq, Pharmaq AS, Oslofjord Ressurspark AS, Storvik Aqua AS and Aquafarm Equipment AS. Participants from the aquaculture industry are Marine Harvest ASA, Grieg Seafood ASA, Lerøy Vest AS, Cermaq Norway AS, Bremnes Seashore AS, Smøla klekkeri og settefiskanlegg AS, Marine producers Norway AS and Firda sjøfarmer AS. The formal opening by the Research Council took place at the end of May at Nofima, Sunndalsøra. Norwegian fisheries minister Elisabeth Aspaker, present at the ceremony, said the goal of the CtrlAQUA SFI is perfectly compatible with the government’s ambitions for the aquaculture industry. ‘I have great expectations for the achievements of CtrlAQUA. Even though eight years is a long time, it is urgent that we find solutions to reach the goals. CtrlAQUA is an important part of this.’ The director of innovation in the Research Council, Eirik Normann, presented the SFI plaque to Fyhn Terjesen, saying: ‘You have put together a very strong consortium. I want to point out that the committee that evaluated the application was fascinated by the innovation that the concept brings with it, and it believes that the centre will probably produce important innovations within aquaculture.’ FF
NOFIMA FACTS With 360 employees and customers from 49 different countries, Nofima’s turnover in 2014 was £527 million The company is currently engaged in 620 projects worldwide. Nofima has several laboratories and pilot plants, which it uses for research, including: BioLab – an accredited contract and research laboratory; NAMAB – a flexible minifactory; and Patogen Pilot Plant – Europe’s first highsecurity production hall. Nofima carries out research for the fisheries, aquaculture and food industries, including: breeding and genetics; capture-based aquaculture; fish health; and consumer and sensory sciences. Each year Nofima organises several symposia, courses and seminars in which its scientists share their expertise.
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
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05/05/2016 16:05:37
Processing News
Icelandic feels the chill THE ongoing row over Grimsby based Icelandic Seachill, which has been accused of cutting overtime to pay for the new national living wage, has been taken to the European Commission in Brussels.
Above: Processor Icelandic Seachill faces protests
THE Unite union’s regional officer Dave Monaghan and shop steward Mark Hodso also handed in a letter to the firm’s Icelandic owners protesting at the UK bosses changing workers’ contracts without agreement. They claim workers are being pressurised into signing new contracts which will see their pay packets reduced. The union said last
month that Icelandic Seachill relies on large amounts of overtime from its 400 workforce at the chilled site and was engaged in ‘an outrageous sleight of hand’ to recoup the money it is paying out for the 46 pence per hour increase required by the ‘national living wage’. It says that without this overtime the company would not be able to generate
the tens of millions of pounds in revenue that it does. But Icelandic Seachill, which produces the award winning Saucy Fish range, said it needs to manage its wage costs to stay competitive in a challenging market. Icelandic Seachill managing director Simon Smith said: ‘We have invested a significant amount in the overall wage
increase and have shared information about the overall cost to the business, our profitability and our performance to ensure that our employees are fully aware of all the facts. ‘Through the consultation process we have responded to their concerns and improved the original offer to ensure their pay is competitive and agreement can be reached.’ The company claims that it has been receiving requests from employees asking to reduce the amount of overtime, which was not an efficient way of working.
Competitive market
“
We have invested a significant amount in the overall wage increase
”
The union’s Brussels letter was handed over through the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF) and European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT).
Solid start to 2016 for Marel MAREL, the leading global provider of advanced fish and food processing systems, has announced solid results for the first quarter of this year with an EBITDA increase of 15 per cent and a strong order book. Revenue for the three-month period totalled 233.9 million euros compared with 244.1 million euros for the same period in 2015, but that figure includes six million euros of now discontinued operations. Marel said its order book this quarter stood at 339.9 million euros, some 50 million euros up on this time last year. The EBIT (earnings before tax and interest) was 15.1 per cent of revenue. The Icelandic company said ‘the order intake is robust and well balanced, both geographically and between product groups. Large orders were secured in India, the US, Brazil and Europe during the quarter. ‘Cash flow and operational performance was strong and net debt/EBITDA is 2.9x at the end of the quarter, which is within the range of the targeted capital structure.’ Marel CEO Arni Oddur Thordarson said: ‘The year 2016 has kicked off well. I would like to welcome the
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MPS (meat processing systems) team on board. ‘Our first steps as a united team are promising. We have maintained the momentum with excellent orders received in the quarter of 254 million euros, our operational results are strong with a pro forma EBIT of 15 per cent and we enter the future with a record order book of 340 million. ‘We can already see the positive effect that MPS is having on our operations. We are now a full line provider of solutions and services in poultry, meat and fish. Marel Meat
Young’s profits up in challenging year
is now accounting for 33 per cent of total revenue with best in class profitability.’ He added: ‘Taking into account the order book and the upcoming delivery time of projects to customers, we foresee an increase in revenues over the course of the year. ‘We reaffirm our guidance of modest organic revenue growth and increase in operational results between years compared with the 2015 pro forma result of 977 million euros in revenue and adjusted EBIT of 133 million euros.’
YOUNG’S Seafood has announced a six per cent increase in operating profits for the financial year to September 2015. The profit figure emerged at £26.7 million compared with £25.2 million for the 12 months to September 2014. EBITDA rose by £900,000 (two per cent) to £37.4 million. Young’s said the results show the operating company’s progress in both EBITDA and operating profits in a challenging market, while turnover remained robust at £587.9 million. The company relaunched its award winning Masterbrand during the last financial year, with a multichannel advertising campaign. This resulted in significant growth of Young’s Power Brands including Gastro, which is now worth more than £54 million, having grown by over 42 per cent. Young’s Seafood continues to be the market leader in the UK fish and seafood market.
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 15:16:35
Processing News
Prizes for top products GERMAN company Kagerer & Co and France’s Freshpack won the top prizes in this year’s Seafood Excellence Global awards in Brussels, announced on April 26. They were among 39 finalists, including the Scottish Salmon Company for its Native Hebridean Salmon, the only
UK product to be shortlisted within its category, the best hotel/restaurant/ catering product. The competition, formerly known as the Seafood Prix d’Elite, recognises the best products exhibited at Seafood Expo Global. Kagerer & Co, of Munich, scooped the best retail product
award for its entry, Dim Sum – Quick ‘n’ Easy. Judges praised the distinctive flavour of the dumplings. Freshpack, of Saint Martin les Boulogne, took home the hotel prize for its raw king crab meat. It vacuum seals crab legs whole, Above: Awards for excellence in seafood which the judges said Marine Harvest had finals, and won two offers restaurants eight products in the prizes, both put forflexibility.
ward by the company’s French branch. Its Mini Gourmandises was awarded a special prize for convenience, while its ASC Salmon Traiteur in Double Protection Packaging was the winner in the retail packaging category. Other prizes were awarded for innovation, health and nutrition, and seafood product line.
Smoke your own with cooking bag A SIMPLE ‘smoking bag’ that can produce a barbecue style meal with minimum effort went on show at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels last month. Made by Shropshire based company Sirane, the Sira-Cook Supreme bag has a wood chip sachet enhanced with liquid smoke and placed below the perforated non-stick layer, allowing the flavours to come through.
It can be used in almost any cooking environment, from ovens to barbecues, griddles to hot plates. Simon Balderson, Sirane managing director, said: ‘Our new Sira-Cook Supreme cooking bag has so many potential uses – and offers numerous advantages to users. But using the bag as a ‘smoking bag’ could really help retailers offer a truly stand-out
product. It is a foil bag capable of withstanding significant direct heat, allowing for its use on a barbecue as well as in an oven. ‘The food will be tender, retain all the juices and flavours as well as the goodness, and could be sold over the counter in the pack. ‘For the customer there would be no mess, no smell, and no need to handle the food. The
bag can be heat-sealed or folded over, and add genuine value to retail food sales. ‘The bag is available in a number of sizes and in a standard and non-stick version. ‘It’s perfect for seafood, meat and poultry – anyone looking to supply fresh food or ready meals with a difference and offer truly great flavours way that is easy for the consumer.’
Fire badly damages Grimsby smokehouse A TRADITIONAL Grimsby smoked fish house and fish merchants was seriously damaged by fire earlier this month. Smoke and flames could be seen billowing from the premises of Atkinsons Smoked Fish on the edge of Grimsby Docks more than a mile away. The company is one of the oldest traditional smokehouses in the town and has an excellent reputation. Workers were forced to leave the site as firemen, using a hydraulic platform, attempted to tackle the blaze, which was eventually brought under control. The damage to the building appears extensive, with a large hole in the roof, but it is too early to know
Above: Grimsby Docks
how soon the business will be up and running again. An assessment of the damage will be carried out later. Some staff expressed fears for their jobs, at least in the short term as they watched the outbreak. The cause is being investigated but one theory is that the flames may have been fanned by high winds. Steve Norton, chief executive of the Grimsby Fish Mer-
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Processing News.indd 85
chants Association, said: ‘Our thoughts go out to Atkinsons at this time. ‘The only good thing is that no one was hurt and, hopefully, the firm can get back on its feet again.’ Atkinsons has been on the go since the early 1930s, started by Frank Atkinson. Local legend has it that he decided to go into the business after he won £25 on the horses.
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05/05/2016 16:12:33
Opinion – Inside track
Changing direction BY NICK JOY
I
am afraid that I cannot raise much enthusiasm over the Scottish election just past or the June EU referendum. I know they are important and even critical to an exporting industry like ours, but there is so much of it in the news just now that there is little more to say. As I was contemplating this, and other recent events, the world went white. Not just a small snow shower but a complete whiteout here at our house in the hills. It reminded me that life is not predictable and we have to prepare for unseen outcomes. I suppose I have become jaundiced by reading the farming press into thinking that farming on land or sea is going inexorably in one direction. The drive for cheap food predicates constant reduction in cost and as the cost of labour and materials rise there is only one possible way, which is to make animals more efficient. However, those of us in the know understand that this means making them grow faster on less costly food. I won’t get too emotive but clearly this falls into the category of ‘loading the donkey till it collapses’. We justify our actions because we are trying to supply a market that does not understand the impact of its buying decisions. Let me just briefly expand on that. It is easy for farmers to think that the market is uncaring and unkind and thus justify strategy on the basis of this, but the individuals in the market do care. It’s just that they don’t understand how food is produced and, far more importantly, don’t understand what their purchasing decision causes. If a pack of cheap and poorly produced ‘put your choice of protein in here’ had a sign on it saying ‘buying this will cause another good producer to go out of business’, people would think twice but that is patently not going to happen. None of us know enough about the food we consume. I used to ask audiences what they knew about avocadoes. If I was lucky someone would know where they were grown. Occasionally someone would know how they grew but no one ever knew what treatments were applied to the crop. This would usually be an audience of farmers and environmentalists. If we don’t know then how can we possibly expect consumers to? The solution sadly is outwith most farmers’ hands nowadays because of the control exerted by the people who supply the consumer, who are simply disinterested in anything other than market control. Market support doesn’t work as it simply subsidises the people who supply the market and drives down the real price. This lack of control looks likely to lead to the darkest of places, food produced in a vat from fermented bacteria and so on. Yes, I have no doubt it will supply your bodily needs but I cannot describe how little I want to be alive when this stage is reached. Faced with this darkest of views, I was looking out of my window at the snow nearly in May and thinking that life could get a little better when I remembered that not all trends go one way. Sometimes people push the world a little bit towards a better place and this month David Roadknight and our team at Loch Duart’s hatchery have done just that. It has been a unifying experience with requests for information from Norwegian hatcheries as well as hatchery
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There are “people out
there trying to make the lives of our animals better
”
managers growing wild stocks. What David and his team did was to develop a system using tarpaulin and balls to try to give the fish in their care a better environment and in so doing improved dorsal fin erosion or fin nipping. There is no need to go into the theories of this here. Suffice to say that it was a piece of work that is good for the fish and that will turn out to have economic advantage too. Nonetheless, it reminds me that despite the turgid events facing us and the inexorable creep of supermarket pressure, there are people out there trying to make the lives of our animals better. So though I am hardly unbiased in the matter, thanks to all of those people who do this day in and day out. I look forward to seeing you all at the Aviemore show! Nick Joy was co-founder and managing director of Loch Duart. FF
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
06/05/2016 15:15:50
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