Fish Farmer Magazine October 2016 by Fish Farmer Magazine

Fish Farmer VOLUME 39

Serving worldwide aquaculture since 1977

NUMBER 10

OCTOBER 2016

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EUROPE IN EDINBURGH

SEA LICE CHALLENGE

INDUSTRY PIONEER

FEED FIND

Show highlights as Scotland plays host to EAS

International experts meet in Ireland to talk pest control

OddGeir Oddsen on making marine worms marketable

Novel protein marks ‘new era’ in fishmeal alternatives

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Contents 4-12 News

What’s happening in aquaculture in the UK and around the world JENNY HJUL – EDITOR

Good experience

hile British politicians continue to debate how to withdraw from the EU, the UK’s aquaculture industry is as focused as ever on engaging with Europe. The extensive collaborations with partners on the Continent was especially evident last month when the European Aquaculture Society came to Scotland for its annual conference, an event that drew delegates from across the Channel, as well as from further afield. Among hundreds of presentations, the recurring themes were how to expand production in a sea of red tape, whether goals for growth are ambitious enough and, of course, how to control sea lice. We bring you some of the highlights from the three-day show. Just after Aquaculture Europe ended in Edinburgh, scientists headed to Westport in Ireland to grapple again with parasites, at the International Sea Lice Conference. Ian Armstrong reports for Fish Farmer and says he was heartened by the quality of research devoted to this most ‘troublesome’ problem. In both conferences, there was agreement from several speakers that good husbandry is crucial to success - whether in battling sea lice and farming cleaner fish or in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems. This might seem obvious to farmers but it’s reassuring to know that their efforts and experience are appreciated throughout the sector.

13 Comment

Professor Phil Thomas

Contents – Editor’s Welcome

32-33 Aquaculture Europe Seafood in Schools

34-35 Aquaculture Europe RAS from scratch

14-15 SSPO

Charter launched

16-18 Feed - Industry Pioneer

36-37 Aquaculture Europe

20-22 Feed

38-39 Aquaculture Europe

OddGeir Oddsen

Calysta

Shellfish focus

Trout prospects

40-47 Sea Lice Conference Sensible science

23 Feed

50-51 Humber Summit

Vince McDonagh reports

Nutriad

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Meet the team

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

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Cover: Meercat’s Jim Mair and John Keeney of Dawnfresh on the new 15m workboat delivered to Loch Etive last month. Picture: William Dowds

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Welcome - Oct.indd 3

Introduction

26-27 Aquaculture Europe Missing growth targets

28-29 Aquaculture Europe Meeting growth targets

Subscriptions

56-57 Research

AGD vaccines

58-59 Processing News Saucy move

63-65 Aqua Source Directory

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24-25 Aquaculture Europe

Find all you need for the industry

30-31 Aquaculture Europe

66 Opinion

By Nick Joy

Norwegian innovation

04/10/2016 09:10:12

United Kingdom News

NEWS...

Marine Harvest seeks feed plant go-ahead Photo: Gernot Keller, www.gernot-keller.com

MARINE Harvest Scotland has submitted its application for a ﬁsh feed plant on the site of the quarry at Kyleakin. The £80m investment will create 55 full time, permanent jobs. The planning application contains detailed information about the plant and any potential impact, including the results of extensive research and analysis of the site. Extensive consultation with the community has also taken

Above: Kyleakin, Skye, where the proposed plant will be built

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with elected representatives in the area. Each home in the area was leaﬂeted with information about the proposal and an invitation to attend a drop in session. Ben Hadﬁeld, managing director of Marine Harvest Scotland, said: ‘We have been very

pleased with the response to our plan to build a ﬁsh feed plant at Kyleakin. ‘The feedback from the local community has been overwhelmingly positive and people are keen to see the feed plant up and running and providing jobs. ‘That’s not to say they haven’t asked questions and raised concerns, but we are conﬁdent we have addressed these and reassured them on the issues brought up during the consultation process.’ The application includes assessments of transport, noise and wildlife as well as the potential impact on the Marine Protected Area.

The site at Altanavaig (or Allt Anavig) quarry, is more than large enough to accommodate the development, which will include the feed plant itself as well as raw material storage silos, product storage and packaging, a loading area and car parking. The investment in a Scottish feed plant is part of an overall drive by Marine Harvest Scotland to become a more efﬁcient and sustainable business. Construction of the plant will take between a year and 18 months and Marine Harvest believes it could be up and running as early as 2018. New mill exceeds expectations: Page 9

Boat builder’s first foray into farm market INVERLUSSA Marine Services will take delivery of a new support vessel for the aquaculture market next spring after placing an order with Havyard Ship Technology in Norway. The 23m workboat, to be named Gina Mary, has been designed in close collaboration with Inverlussa and Macduff Ship Design, and will be built at Havyard’s shipyard in Leirvik. She is due for handover in April 2017, with an option for another vessel to be delivered Q3 2017, to add to Inverlussa’s expanding ﬂeet. Sales director at Havyard Ship Technology, Lars Conradi Andersen, said: ‘Inverlussa is a perfect partner for us as we enter a new segment, and with their long experience within both sea

farming and operation of workboats, they offer good expertise. ‘ Inverlussa managing director Ben Wilson said: ‘We looked at various shipyards around Europe and are satisﬁed that we have found a company with the qualities we are looking for. When they came up with an excellent delivery time as well, the choice was easy. Judging by the products they deliver, we have every reason to have high expectations for our new vessel.’ This contract is the ﬁrst for Havyard Ship Technology within this market.

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04/10/2016 09:15:05

All the latest industry news from the UK

International ties for Scotland’s shellfish industry THE Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) has signed a letter of intent with New Zealand’s largest independent science organisation, the Cawthron Institute, to explore research projects that could lead to higher productivity in the shellfish industry. SAIC first connected with the renowned Cawthron Institute and its pioneering commercial mussel hatchery, SPATnz, in 2015 when researching the viability of a similar facility in Scotland. That mission to the Antipodes, led by SAIC CEO Heather Jones, also included a visit to Spring Bay Seafoods in Australia. Now, a £1.7 million multi-partner hatchery is being piloted at the NAFC Marine Centre at the University of Highlands and Islands, with additional expertise from Spring Bay Seafoods. The new agreement between SAIC and Cawthron, which was signed by Jones and Cawthron chief executive Professor Charles Eason at Aquaculture Europe 2016, hopes to build a similarly beneficial relationship between the Scottish and New Zealand aquaculture industries. ‘Supporting new shellfish production systems is one of SAIC’s four priority innovation areas,’ said Jones, ‘areas identified by the Scottish aquaculture industry as being key to the sustainable growth of the sector. ‘This new, more formal relationship with

Professor Eason said: ‘New Zealand has a strong track record in terms of production but as such we need to be thinking increasingly about sustainability, and Scotland has a great deal of expertise in the areas of fish health and welfare, genetics and biosecurity. ‘This letter of intent represents an important connection, enabling us to identify areas of mutual interest, tap into best practice and really keep a close eye on the health and welfare aspect of aquaculture.’ Earlier this year, SAIC signed a similar letter of intent with Nofima, the leading European institute for applied research into aquaculture, fisheries and food, that has since resulted in a meeting between Scottish and Norwegian researchers to identify possible areas of collaboration. The intention now is to connect aquaculture experts from Scotland and New Zealand. Professor Eason said: ‘For a small to medium sized enterprise like the Cawthron Institute, it’s Above: Charles Eason and Heather Jones hugely important to be collaborating. the Cawthron Institute will enable us to pool our ‘New Zealand likes to think of itself as a world combined knowledge of the challenges of selective leader in key areas of aquaculture. So too does breeding for mussels and oysters, amongst other Scotland. issues, to make more advances, faster.’ ‘However, to truly maximise that leading edge The potential benefits of the collaboration aren’t and grow into the future we need to connect with restricted to the shellfish sector. one another and work together wherever we can.’

Drop in harvest ‘will be reversed’ blooms, said SSPO chief manager of what happens and how we manage our executive Scott Landsfish. If it’s telling us there burgh. ‘We have to be very vigi- is something compromislant to ensure we have the ing our fish then we have healthiest fish in the sea to deal with it, and that’s at any given time and also what we’ve done.’ ensure that the healthiest The Scottish industry fish go to market,’ he told had its second highest production level ever last BBC Radio Scotland. He said parasites such year despite the drop, as sea lice were a prob- which Landsburgh said lem not just for Scotland he believed would be but also for Norway and reversed this year. Canada, because of water He said Scotland was environment changes in investing heavily in the the northern hemisphere. farming of cleaner fish ‘The environment is the and last year 2.3 million lumpsucker and eight million wrasse ova were laid down to hatch. ‘This helps us manage our parasite challenges – it’s a great biological solution to what is basically a natural problem.’ The Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2015 showed an increase in trout production of 46 per cent to 8,588 tonnes. Above: Healthiest fish go to market

THERE was a drop in Scottish farmed salmon production last year of 4.1 per cent to 171,722 tonnes, according to Marine Science Scotland figures published in September. The main reason, according to the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, was that the fish were harvested earlier because of ‘environmental issues in the water’. These included jellyfish attacks and harmful algal

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UK news.indd 5

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04/10/2016 09:15:34

United Kingdom News

Apprenticeship for managers welcomed THE benefits to Scotland’s aquaculture industry of a new Modern Apprenticeship for managers were highlighted at a Scottish parliamentary reception hosted by Michael Russell MSP during Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight. The Technical Award in Aquaculture at level 4, initially available through NAFC Marine Centre UHI, offers progression and on-the-job learning for those in higher level and managerial positions within the industry. Speaking at the event, Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, said: ‘As an MSP for a west coast rural constituency as well as a former environment minister, I am well aware of the

Above: Lantra Scotland chair Henry Graham, Hayley Eccles, Michael Russell, Lisa Askham and SSPO chair Anne MacColl

economic and social importance of aquaculture. ‘These apprentice-

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UK news.indd 6

ships will make a big impact and I am delighted to be celebrating them this evening.’

Hayley Eccles of Scottish Sea Farms and Lisa Askham of the Scottish Salmon Company, both finalists in Lantra’s Land-based and Aquaculture Learner of the Year Awards, shared their experiences of coming to aquaculture from other jobs and then finding success through modern apprenticeship programmes. Guests at the event included other current and former Modern Apprentices, training providers, representatives from aquaculture businesses and MSPs. Lantra Scotland director Kevin Patrick said aquaculture businesses have recognised that apprenticeships provide an effective route for developing staff. ‘The popularity of the MA at levels 2 and 3 has grown steadily and this has led to a demand for the more advanced level 4. ‘Working in partnership with aquaculture companies and other

industry stakeholders, Lantra has developed this technical apprenticeship for those looking to make the move into management or for existing managers wanting to get formal training. ‘While the number of people doing Modern Apprenticeships in aquaculture may be relatively small compared to other industries, they do make a significant contribution to our more rural areas. ‘As well as the economic benefits they bring to Scotland’s food and drink sector, local people can gain a nationally recognised qualification whilst continuing to live and work within their community.’ The chair of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO), Anne MacColl, talked about the positive effects that training through Modern Apprenticeships is having on Scottish salmon production.

‘The Scottish salmon industry has and will continue to make a significant commitment to Modern Apprenticeships for school leavers and for existing employees,’ she said. ‘These are exciting times and an opportunity for our industry to work in collaboration with all of the aquaculture industry, and as part of Scotland’s highly successful food and drink industry. ‘Working with Skills Development Scotland and the training providers who are key delivery partners, we’ve seen significant growth in the aquaculture MA above all others, which is a positive trend, helping to professionalise roles and facilitate career pathways. ‘Whilst there are opportunities to do much more, I am delighted to see that as an early outcome, we continue to attract new entrants to the salmon industry while providing secure careers for those already employed.’

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04/10/2016 09:16:11

All the latest industry news from the UK

Commons honour for vaccine specialist STIRLING based Aqualife Services has been selected to appear in the latest Parliamentary Review, a fixture in the political calendar. The main aim of the Review is to showcase best practice as a learning tool to the public and private sector, and this edition is aimed at the agriculture sector, with tens of thousands of copies sent out to leading policy makers. Aqualife, a world leading fish care specialist, features alongside an introduction from the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, and a small number of organisations, including salmon farmer Loch Duart. The review also includes a look back at the year in Westminster, with the political commentary written by Mark D’Arcy, the BBC’s parliamentary correspondent. Aqualife managing director Ronnie Soutar said: ‘It was a privilege to be selected to appear in this year’s Parliamentary Review. I’m very pleased to see Aqualife’s position as leaders and innovators in our sector recognised – it’s a real tribute to the hard work and dedication of everyone in the company.’ The director of the Parliamentary Review, Daniel Yossman, said: ‘It’s been an utter privilege to work with a range of organisations from across the country in this year’s Review. Without their input, our aims of

spreading expert knowledge and raising standards simply would not be achievable. ‘They’ll be a hard act to follow and next year’s organisations will have to be on the top of their game to meet the challenge.’ The Review was set up by MP David Curry in 2010 and he remains its editor. He said: ‘Each of the representatives brings something very different to the table, while at the same time capitalising on the collective wisdom of their industry. ‘There may be choppy waters ahead but organisations across the country would be well advised to keep an eye on the representatives in this year’s Review when deciding how to set their sails.’ Philip Hammond said: ‘The message we take to the world is this: we are the same outward looking, globally minded, big thinking country we have always been – and we remain very firmly open for business.’ The Parliamentary Review’s publication was marked by gala events at the House of Commons in September.

Seafood ﬁrm scoops export award ASSOCIATED Seafoods Ltd (ASL) has won the Moray Chamber of Commerce ‘Exporter of the Year’ award in recognition of the strong sales performance of its premium Scottish smoked salmon. At the chamber’s annual awards dinner in Elgin last month, ASL was presented

with the award, sponsored by Walkers Shortbread, following the success of its Pride of Scotland brand in overseas markets. The brand was successfully relaunched at this year’s Seafood Expo Global in Brussels to showcase the premium quality of the salmon used, as well as the traditional

smoking methods and its Scottish heritage. Henry Angus, export manager for Associated Seafoods, said: ‘We are thrilled to have won this award and at the heart of our success has been the commitment of our staff in producing premium Scottish smoked salmon that is in strong demand

Above: Best practice

Snorkel success

around the world. ‘Through the Pride of Scotland brand we only ever use Scottish salmon which, of course, is only ever smoked in Scotland. ‘We intend to further grow our export base over the coming years, which will deliver further beneﬁts to the Moray region and the wider Scottish economy.’ Above: Snorkel cage

The International Sea Lice conference in Westport, Ireland, last month heard that snorkel cages reduced lice load by more than 75 per cent in Norwegian trials. Fish are encouraged to stay low in the cage and away from the infectious sea lice stages that tend to congregate near the surface. Fish can reach the surface through an enclosed tube so they can adjust their swim bladders but otherwise they remain out of reach of the lice. The results of trails showed that at 0m, fish were infected with about 15 lice. This fell to just five at 4m, while at 12m, the louse load was no more than one. More sea lice conference reports: Page 40

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UK news.indd 7

04/10/2016 09:19:29

European News

NEWS...

Sea lice treatments ‘working’

THE Norwegian Food Safety Authority said sea lice treatments appear to be working, with lower lice levels

reported in the first half of the year. The Norwegian authorities have set a maximum limit of

0.5 adult female lice on average per fish. So far this year, 2.9 per cent of the farms exceeded the lice limit

on a weekly basis, compared to 5.4 per cent in 2015 and 7.8 per cent in 2014. ‘This is a step in

the right direction,’ Elisabeth Wilmann, director for fish and seafood at NFSA, told Intrafish. The industry has invested heavily in biological methods to control sea lice and these seem to be helping. ‘We’re seeing an increasing number of producers managing to maintain low lice levels through winter and spring with the aid of lumpfish and other non-medicinal methods,’ said

Wilmann. ‘The industry need this as salmon lice are becoming increasingly resistant against medicines.’ She said the NFSA is concerned about fish welfare during lice treatments. ‘Too many fish are dying in Norwegian fish farms, and too many fish suffer before they die,’ she said. ‘We are therefore implementing a violation fee if producers do not provide adequate fish welfare.’

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04/10/2016 09:21:44

All the latest industry news from Europe

New mill exceeds expectations

MARINE Harvest’s Norwegian feed mill in Bjugn is set to produce 300,000 tonnes of feed this year, which could provide 87-88 per cent its feed needs in Norway. ‘The mill was built with an estimated capacity of 220,000 tonnes annually, but this year we’re nearing 300,000 tonnes,’ Marine Harvest’s CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog told a Norwegian website. The Bjugn facility has been in operation for two years, with raw material supplied from around the world. ‘We are well positioned in that Bjugn has a central location in relation to our production sites. That means efficient logistics,’ said Aarskog. He said the proposed Scottish plant on Skye will improve efficiency as currently feed is delivered from the east of Scotland. ‘Our new factory on the west of Scotland will revolutionise the industry there,’ Aarskog told kyst.no. ‘As at Bjugn, in Scotland we will be bringing raw materials into the factory from around the world.’

Sustainable feed product for shrimp A NEW feed additive for shrimp has been launched in the Belgian city of Antwerp, at the world’s first plant producing specially designed methionine, an amino acid. Manufactured by German firm Evonik, the product, called Aquavi Met-Met, is a dipeptide made up of two DL-methionine molecules. It achieves the same weight increase in shrimp and crustaceans as conventional methionine sources, but uses only half the active substance. This is mainly due to the fact that the dipeptide must be enzymatically broken down in the digestive system of the shrimp and is therefore available for protein synthesis at the right time. That in turn means that a higher share can be processed. Aquavi Met-Met is considerably less water-soluble than

other methionine sources and therefore does not leach out of feed as quickly. This relieves the burden on the water. The Antwerp plant’s modular design allows for increasing production capacity in order to meet customer demand. ‘With Aquavi MetMet, we are launching

another product for healthy and sustainable animal nutrition,’ said Dr Reiner Beste, chairman of Evonik, at the inauguration ceremony. ‘Based on our scientific and technological expertise, we have developed a product innovation that we can now offer to our customers worldwide.’

Since shrimp farming is concentrated in warmer seas close to the equator, the main markets for the additive are located in Asia, as well as in South and Central America. Evonik is already beginning to supply customers from these regions with the new product as the

plant is ramped up to capacity. ‘We are pleased that Evonik built the first production facility for Aquavi Met-Met in Antwerp,’ said Frank Daman, Evonik site manager in Antwerp. ‘The new plant affirms our site’s key position in Evonik’s global production network for methionine.’

Hydrogen energy tested in Spanish aquaculture sector THE aquaculture sector is a promising market niche for hydrogen and fuel cells technologies, claims a project called Life Aquasef. Experts from the project are working with the sector, enabling producers to generate oxygen in situ by using 100 per cent renewable energies. Energy savings due to this innovation amount to 30 per cent of actual energy costs in aquaculture facilities. The project aims to

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European News.indd 9

Above: Bart De Wever, Mayor of Antwerp; Frank Daman, general manager Evonik Antwerp; Gaëlle Husser, product manager; Reiner Beste, chairman

address two major challenges for the aquaculture sector: environmental and energy sustainability. Many inland aquaculture facilities in Europe are located in areas without access to the grid, using energy derived from fossil fuels. In addition, these facilities become highly dependent on external oxygen supply as keeping a constant dissolved oxygen rate is crucial to finfish production. Installations based away from urban

centres have difficulty in accessing commercial oxygen and their supply costs are increased exponentially due to transportation difficulties. ‘The added value of

using this technology in the aquaculture field is that both generated gases can be used: oxygen for supplying the hatcheries, and hydrogen for producing electricity, heat and/

or mechanical work,’ said David Solera, company coordinator of the project. The project is EU funded and completion and further results are expected by June 30, 2017.

04/10/2016 09:22:09

World News

NEWS...

Aquaculture industry should double in size

A REPORT on the Canadian aquaculture industry has called for a doubling of the sector in the next decade. ‘We are confident the aquaculture industry can grow steadily within the next 10 years and do so sustainably – environmentally, eco-

nomically and socially,’ said the September 19 report from the Senate’s standing committee on fisheries and oceans. Senators Fabian Manning and Elizabeth Hubley, who compiled the report, said the industry has been plagued by misinfor-

mation, mistrust and a mishmash of federal and provincial laws and regulations, all of which prevented it from growing and sometimes darkened its name. The committee has made recommendations to improve all of those problems and the report

strongly supports growing the industry as a safe, effective way to feed the growing demand for seafood products, as well as to produce employment and economic spin-offs. Aquaculture generated more than $1 billion in gross domestic

product in Canada in 2010, with $354 million in direct GDP and $710 in indirect impacts, the report said. The industry created 5,828 full time jobs, with income of $193 million. The committee recommended changes, primarily to federal legislation. Most provinces with an aquaculture industry – notably British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island – are governed by a plethora of different laws and by multiple regulators, including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, as well as various provincial departments. Some of these laws

operate in opposition to one another, making it more difficult to set up fish and aquaculture farms and operate them, senators found. The committee recommends a new Aquaculture Act could bring the legal framework under one umbrella, ensuring the industry is operating under the same standards in each province. Senators said many Canadians have an unfair mistrust of the industry and government should take measures to address the issue. It says the government should create a public database within the next two years containing information about the licence and compliance of aquaculture operators.

Marine Harvest sues activist for trespassing MARINE Harvest Canada has filed a lawsuit against activist and independent biologist Alexandra Morton for allegedly trespassing on three salmon farms on the BC coast last month, CBC News reported. Morton spent the summer visiting farms — uninvited — aboard the Martin Sheen, owned by the group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, looking for what she said were unhealthy salmon. Marine Harvest alleges she and others trespassed on their Glacier Falls, Midsummer Island and Sonora Island operations without permission and intentionally tampered with the equipment. At two facilities, they’re accused of violating biosecurity procedures. The group is also accused of

World News.indd 10

flying a drone and diving at one facility, putting an object in the water at another and ignoring Marine Harvest’s instruction to leave. ‘The defendants’ conduct interfered with Marine Harvest’s use and enjoyment of its property,’ the company wrote. Morton told CBC News the work she and others did visiting salmon farms was necessary to draw attention to what she believes is a threat to wild salmon. Marine Harvest said it is willing to provide tours of facilities to the public and to share information with First Nations partners, conservation organisations, academia and government. It is seeking damages, costs and an interim and permanent injunction.

Above: Biosecurity procedures ‘violated’

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04/10/2016 09:25:48

All the latest industry news from around the world

ASC sets sights on Australia THE Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has appointed its first representative in Australia. Duncan Leadbitter will lead commercial outreach and strategic growth in the region. The ASC has expanded its focus in Australia and New Zealand in response to demand from the retail sector, government and aquaculture producers. The organisation has entered into a partnership agreement with Leadbitter through Fish Matter, his Australia based fisheries and natural resource consulting company, to support ASC’s global plan and lead the regional strategy to promote the availability of ASC certified seafood for consumers in Australia and beyond. ‘We are excited to welcome Duncan to the ASC,’ said Chris Ninnes, CEO of ASC. ‘We are privileged to work with some of the most dedicated experts in the field of seafood sustainability. ‘Duncan is among the most knowledgeable professionals in the industry and his work in Australia and Asia with local communities, various government agencies, NGOs, scien-

Above: Duncan Leadbitter

tists, academics and the industry is representative of the collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach which the ASC believes will be key to the transformation of the aquaculture industry.’ Eiffel Tower Leadbiter said: ‘Aquaculture 324 m is critical to ensuring the availability of the seafood necessary to feed the world.

‘A growing proportion of seafood supplied in Australia and New Zealand is farmed and in the wider region this number is even higher. ‘It is increasingly difficult for shoppers to know which fish is the best environmental and social choice. The ASC logo makes it easy for consumers to choose responsibly and I am pleased to join the ASC in this vital work.’ Australia has become an important market for ASC in recent years. A Tassal salmon farm in Macquarie Harbour became the first ASC certified farm in Australia in 2014. Since then, nearly a dozen Australian farms have earned ASC certification. The rapid uptake on the farm side is a welcome development for retail partners in the country, including Coles, said the ASC. One of two major supermarket chains in Australia, Coles has made a significant commitment to ASC and launched a high profile series of advertisements and in-store All delivered promotions to highlight its dedication Burj Khalifa Steinsvik Bargestostacked the828 programme. Woolworths has 1800 recently m m also begun actively promoting ASC salmon in-store.

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04/10/2016 09:26:12

World News

World heads to Chile for AquaSur exhibition

Above: Puerto Montt, Chile

THE most important aquaculture show in the southern hemisphere gets under way later this month in Puerto Montt, in the Los Lagos region, the centre of the industry in Chile. AquaSur, from October 19-22, brings together aquaculture companies from around the world. The last event, in 2014, attracted 20,500 visitors and covered 14,400 square metres of exhibition space. Despite difficulties faced in the sector, the event has continued to grow since it was created in 2002 and is a magnet for aqua-

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culture professionals, especially from Central and South America. ‘Although the industry has gone through several situations this year, we firmly believe AquaSur 2016 is set up as a beacon of opportunity that allows us to bring providers and clients over to develop a healthy industry,’ said Cristián Solís, general director of AquaSur 2016. ‘This year the demand for participating has been particularly high.’ The show is expected to draw people from 40 different countries, with a big focus on equipment suppliers

among the stand holders. ‘The international relevance of AquaSur is reflected in the international interest - from exhibitors, visitors or even accredited press. ‘In 2012, 48 journalists were credited; in 2014, 62 communications professionals turned up and this year we have no doubt that we will overtake this figure,’ said Solís. Among the international exhibitors this year is the Danish Fish Tech Group, which recognises that Chile is currently focused on reforming its aquaculture industry. The emphasis is on making production more innovative, to incorporate more efficient technology and make production more sustainable – something Danish companies can help deliver.

Cooke gets $3.2m to battle sea lice COOKE Aquaculture of Canada is to receive around $3.2 million in federal funding towards developing a promising new process to battle sea lice in farmed salmon. The family owned New Brunswick company is working on a project that uses warm water to remove the parasite. The process is thought to have a very high removal rate of around 95 per cent. The project is costing some $5 million in total. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is providing $3 million, with a further $247,000 coming from the Aquaculture Collaborative

breaks, thereby strengthening the Atlantic salmon brand and competitiveness in the marketplace. Cooke Aquaculture processes and Research and Develsells 115,000 tonnes opment Programme. of Atlantic salmon Cooke Aquaculture is each year from its contributing close to worldwide opera$1.9 million. tions, which include Cooke estimates Scotland. industry costs due to Last month the sea lice infestation in company acquired New Brunswick and Balta Island Seafare, Newfoundland and which has farming Labrador alone have operations on Shetbeen running at $15 land. This acquisition, million a year for the which includes three past five years. farm sites and just It says that, if sucover 1,000 tonnes of cessful, this project will salmon production, have a direct impact gives Cooke Aquaon reducing sea lice culture Scotland exrelated losses for the clusive management company and provide over the northern a green alternative to most farming region managing sea lice out- in the UK.

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04/10/2016 09:26:41

Trade Associations – SSPO

Comment

BY BY PROFESSOR PROFESSOR PHIL PHIL THOMAS THOMAS

Time to think Underpinning outside the box provenance

Unique chance to streamline public sector bodies

B I

usiness managers who haveabout successfully Do we think enough what gives the achieved major organisational change almost always they wished theymarkets? had made industry itssayedge in key

more radical moves, earlier and faster. But most also accept that radical change needs t may not politically correct toitsay so at opportuniti es be of circumstance to make achievafarmed salmon ble,present since thebut opti ons for Atlanti changecare alwayswould condinot by have leading food tioned thebecome external Scotland’s operating environment. export withoutesthe Crown Estate’s positive Such opportuniti of circumstance happen engagement with aquaculture development frequently in the private sector; they are rarer in back in the 1980s. the public sector, where organisations tend to be Now, is a significant part of the more inflaquaculture exible. agency’s marine leasing portfolio is areguNotwithstanding that, Scotland nowand faces larly celebrated bypublic the Crown Scotti period of significant sectorEstate’s adjustment. Insh Marine Aquaculture Awards event. This year’s early September, the Fraser of Allander Institute event in Edinburgh the 11ofJune was the published an in-depthon analysis budget choices as a combined result of increased fiscal usual highly successful showcase fordevoluScottish tiaquaculture on, uncertainti es asurrounding Brexit, and and rare opportunity for the indusdownturn the Scottito shmark oil economy. try to joinintogether its success. The of ‘Scotland’s Budget - 2016’ Theconclusions Crown Estate is presently at the centre looked prettdevoluti y dire. There were a range of impact of further on discussions between the esti but all foresaw a substanti al cumulati ve UK mates, government and Scotti sh government. The squeeze on future public spending oversh thefuncti next ons fourrelong-term of key Scotti years, the worst case up to £1.6 billion. mainsinunclear and professional expertise could things had it,inSeptember alsoofsaw the Scotti sh beAssquandered the process organisati onal government publish a paper on ‘The Future of change. Forestry in Scotland’, proposing transfer ofse the Both the Crown Estate’s core experti and Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) and Forest the Marine Aquaculture Awards are imporEnterprise Scotland (FES) thencti sole of tant in maintaining the to disti vecontrol coherence the Scottish government andand the it winding of Scotland’s aquaculture wouldup beofa the Forestry Commission Forest tragedy if they became and casualti esEnterprise of politicalas ‘cross-border public authoriti es’. change. Given the pressure reducewas public expenditure This year’s Awardstoevent hosted by the proposals could seen as missing aneld, opporactress, writer andbe comedian Jo Caulfi an tunity for choice more radical restructuring. present, inspired by whoever madeAt the booking. there are very five public in Scotland whose She was funnybodies and entertaining and kept main remit is concerned with management of the proceedings going withthe a swing. Only once land and/or freshwater and marine resources: FCS did she stray, when she wondered what ‘proveand FES;actually Marine meant’. Scotland (MS); Scottish Natural nance Heritage (SNH); and the Crown Scotland In a room full of folk whoseEstate livelihoods (CES), which is also being devolved. 12Unquestionably, the case can be made that each of these organisations does somewhat different jobs. However, there are also significant areas of

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SSPO.indd 12

Phil Thomas.indd 13

“

We should be organising our training and education provisions much better

”

depend on the provenance of their products she quickly sensed an audience response and moved to safer comedic material: there are some overlap. why not radically about bringing all these organithings Therefore, you just don’t jokethink about! satiHowever, ons together a single body? This myself would reduce duplicati on, off er herwithin remark left me asking whether we think enough substanti al scope for increasing operati ng efficiency and provide better, more about the underpinning of the provenance of Scotti sh farmed fish – and streamlined services for both private and public customers. for me that’s farmed salmon. For years,is there have that beenScotti piecemeal initiatives toisseek synergies There no doubt sh provenance important to between our industhese different organisations. Why not bite the bullet and embrace the obtry – it gives us the edge in all our key markets. jective of a fully integrated single Scottish body – let’s call it Land and Marine Provenance can be defined in various ways but most people will agree Scotland, for want of a title. that it goes beyond the appearance and sensory qualities of the final The relevant organisations currently have a combined annual budget of product: flavour, texture, visual presentation and product consistency some £170 million, and a staff of about 2,480. So the new body would be a are always key factors in consumer appeal but provenance is about moderate size compared with some existing Scottish public sector bodies. much more. But it would also be surprising if the synergies of operation did not provide It reflects a wider concept of consumer quality assurance, including: savings of over 15 per cent, possibly over £25 million per annum. the place where the fish is grown and processed; the professional More importantly, however, there would be major advantages for industry integrity of the production and processing methods; and the quality, and business in having all public sector land and marine management commitment and care of the people involved – the professional skills, operating through a genuine, well-coordinated one-stop-shop. It would allow expertise, passion and dedication of the producers themselves. a revolution in approach – not least in the development planning system, In Scotland ‘place of producti on’ givesons usinvolved a huge natural where the multiour plicity of public sector organisati is one ofadvanthe tage because we grow fi sh in the pristi ne coastal waters of some of most challenging hurdles to change. the beauti andwill, wild theSNH’s world, androle ourisbrand is The most conservati onful lobby noscenic doubt,areas argueof that special protected by its PGI status. ‘conservation’, but in practice that depends absolutely on land, marine and adoptionLikewise, of the Scotti Finfi Code Good together Practice wildLikewise, life management. somesh will saysh that MS of (brought allied with industry’s on deep commitment a range ofdepartments independent post-2010 by the an amalgamati of existi ng Scottishto government farm quality assurance programmes, including the RSPCA sh welfare and agencies) has a mainly marine role. But that ignores its majorfiresponsischeme, builds on the underlying strength of our statutory regulatory bilities for freshwater fisheries, freshwater aquaculture and fish health across systems to assure our producti on systems. all species; in truth it straddles the land and sea. Finally, skills, experti se, passion dedicati of ourBut farmers You can ofthe course debate much about theand detail of theon concept. there is be demonstrated abundance dayFurther in anddevoluti day outon–of and they to were a can key point which needs toinbe kept in sight. powers showcased by the recent awards event. Scotland, the prevailing economic climate and the shedding of EU regulatory However, being wholly objecti and forward looking, it is this third conservati sm that could follow Brexitvewill provide excepti onal opportuniti es of provenance Scottish industry has greatest ofarea circumstance for thewhere Scottishthe government to think outside the boxscope and for systematiScotland’s c development. That isThis notisto our industry’s skills modernise public sector. a tisay me that of unique opportunity, and professional se are FF not of the highest calibre, but it is to which should not to experti be missed! recognise that our vocational educational and training structures, and

would allow a “A one-stop-shop revolution in approach ”

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03/07/2015 14:31:33

04/10/2016 09:29:16

Trade Associations – SSPO

Good

neighbours

Community Engagement Charter aims to cement industry support

or many years, salmon farming companies have been quietly investing in and supporting local communities throughout the Highlands and Islands. From sponsorships to sports kits, theatre for schools to technology for elderly people, the projects are wide ranging. Support comes financially, through volunteering, offering facilities and company expertise. Now the industry has formalised these many projects under a new set of guiding principles, which it describes as its Community Engagement Charter. Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, which developed the charter project, said: ‘As an industry we have always been engaged with local communities in many ways. ‘The time is right to make a public commitment to maintaining and enhancing this

SSPO.indd 14

“

There are bound to be groups who don’t know how to go about engaging with us

”

support. It is really important that communities feel more engaged with companies and recognise the many benefits they receive from salmon farming in their area.’ The Community Engagement Charter focuses on several core principles, such as maintaining open lines of communication with communities, local sourcing where possible and support for local initiatives, especially if they are in line with the industry ethos of improving health, education and the environment. ‘We are acutely aware that working constructively with local communities brings benefits for everyone,’ said Landsburgh. ‘While, in many ways, this charter formalises what companies already do, it should also be seen as a signal of enthusiastic commitment to social licence – a mutual interest in local development and benefits.’ Each company has its own particular way of supporting communities, from the Heart of the Community Fund run by Scottish Sea Farms, to activities aimed at children and education, such as the Scottish Salmon Company’s sponsorship of the National Theatre of Scotland and Imaginate, which brings live theatre performances to children and young people across Scotland. Shinty, civic events, Dragon’s Den style school competitions, fish farm

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04/10/2016 09:31:52

Trade Associations – SSPO

Opposite page: Cooke Aquaculture is kitting out Shetland pupils with waterproofs. Clockwise from top left: Loch Duart sponsored cyclist Kerry MacPhee; Wester Ross hosted Gordonstoun Junior School’s Green Group; Marine Harvest shinty; polar bear conservation programme; Scottish theatre companies launch new schools initiative; youngsters try out equipment provided by Scottish Sea Farms

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SSPO.indd 15

visits and projects, pipe bands, swimmers and cyclists are just some of the endless ways in which community life is helped by other salmon farming companies like Marine Harvest, Wester Ross Salmon, Cooke Aquaculture and Loch Duart. The Community Engagement Charter is being welcomed by local and national politicians and wider interest groups. The community support – both in cash and in kind – is worth around £1 million per year and as the industry sets its sights on future development, there is no reason why this ﬁgure could not rise. The SSPO and its member companies are launching the charter across the Highlands and Islands over the coming weeks. ‘It’s important to announce the charter so that people in local community groups see that there is a genuine and ongoing commitment from the industry,’ said Landsburgh. ‘Many already have great relationships with salmon farming companies but there are bound to be groups who don’t know how to go about engaging with us. The charter is a good resource for them and there are links in it to show the kinds of activities that have already been helped.’ FF

04/10/2016 09:33:37

Industry pioneer – OddGeir Oddsen

Diet of

worms

Why working with Mother Nature makes business sense

quaculture pioneer OddGeir Oddsen’s business card gives an address in England and his current venture takes him to Wales, the Netherlands, Thailand, Belize and beyond. His base, though, is in his native Norway, 10 miles south of Stavanger. He has certainly covered a lot of ground professionally, having spent his entire working life (apart from three years out, in agriculture) in some aspect of fish farming or feed manufacturing. He could have become a research scientist but the lure of a regular salary, not to mention a company car and a girlfriend who didn’t want him to go to Oslo to study, ensured he followed a career in industry. With a father who was general manager of Skretting, the choice of industry was almost inevitable. OddGeir had worked in the Skretting feed mill as a college kid and it was to Skretting he returned after completing a masters degree in molecular biology from the University of Bergen. ‘I got the funds to do a PhD but I had to wait from June until November for them to release the money,’ he says. ‘Because I knew so much about feed manufacturing and had been working for Skretting during all my holidays at university I got a job for a few months. Then they persuaded me to stay instead of doing the PhD.’ He says while it would be nice to do research just for the sake of learning more, he knows from friends that much time is spent chasing grants and he has no regrets about the direction he has taken. For more than 30 years he has been at the forefront of aquaculture development, in Norway and Scotland. Although he has held senior roles as a farmer – including CEO of Pan Fish Scotland, formerly Lighthouse Caledonia - and also headed the salmon breeding company

Industry Pioneer - October.indd 16

Salmobreed - he has gravitated back to where he started: the feed business. His latest venture is Prochaete Innovations, focused on producing marine worms (polychaetes) as an alternative feed ingredient to fishmeal. A natural part of the diet of fish and shrimp, they provide a valuable protein source, have a good fatty acid profile, and contain factors which are important for the maturation process in many farmed species. ‘Polychaetes are one of the natural flavour enhancers found in the marine environment,’ says OddGeir. ‘We believe it makes sound business sense to work with Mother Nature rather than deplete marine resources.’ His involvement goes back to 2013 when he set up Prochaete with Thai shrimp exporter Seafresh, taking over a company in Wales that had been farming polychaetes (Nereis virens) for angling bait initially and had begun to develop pelleted aqua feed. Now Prochaete works with two farms, in Wales and the Netherlands, which farm marine worms in biosecure ponds. The focus is on shrimp and OddGeir said the launch of a complete range of shrimp feed, from larvae, to grow-out to maturation, under the ProChaete brand is imminent. Rearing worms in Europe where there is no shrimp farming and therefore no shrimp disease is important, said OddGeir, who has found the contrast between salmon farming in the West and shrimp production, in Asia particularly, ‘an eye opener’. ‘The salmon industry is a western culture,

“

If you think that salmon farming has been a boom and bust cycle over the years, shrimp has been worse

”

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04/10/2016 09:45:45

Diet of worms

Opposite page below:

OddGeir Oddsen, then CEO at Lighthouse Caledonia, with David Taylor. top: Marine worm (polychaete)

we are trained differently and use a more scientific approach.’ He said he is ‘a bit humbled by people who’ve put in time and effort to solve their issues’ in places such as Thailand, where there is a bigger distance between the scientific community and the farmers. ‘With these small backyard farmers in Asia, families who have one or maybe two small ponds, and live on them or beside them, there is a lack of standards and traceability.’ For Seafresh to be able to process 25,000 tonnes of shrimp they will buy from 1,000 farmers but only 25 of these are approved by large retailers like Tesco. The 25 accept the programme we are running with them and are a lot more scientific, and understand what we want. But the company doesn’t buy from the other farmers because Tesco would never accept it. ‘When Thailand had 600,000 tonnes of shrimp, there were 25,000 farmers. If you look at Scotland, which is doing 180,000 tonnes of salmon with five farmers, there is a big difference about how you apply science.’

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Industry Pioneer - October.indd 17

There is little chance of a Scottish style consolidation in this part of Asia, though, with the lack of technology. ‘Governments have to legislate on what are acceptable farming practices. There are a lot of poor people in shrimp producing countries and it’s hard for governments to impose restrictions - it’s also food for the people, for their survival.’ He said the number of people in the shrimp industry is still increasing, but it remains a volatile business. ‘If you think that salmon farming has been a boom and bust cycle over the years, I can promise shrimp has been worse.’ The busts are disease driven and principle among these diseases is EMS (early mortality syndrome) which cut production by around 30 per cent when it hit Thailand in 2103. ‘Early Mortality Syndrome arrived in China in 2009/2010 and moved from country to country. The collapse of the Thailand sector – it was about 600,000 tonnes and went down to less than 200,000 tonnes was a major blow for processors, including us, and for the growers. ‘Now the farmers don’t dare to grow them big any more – as soon as they can harvest them and get the price for them they do that just to make sure they don’t lose any.’ The crisis in Thailand, the world’s largest supplier of shrimp, drove up prices, and countries free of disease, such as Ecuador, have been able to capitalise on that. ‘There has been a global growth in shrimp production after the decline because of EMS, but there has also been a very big shift from

04/10/2016 09:46:05

Industry pioneer – OddGeir Oddsen country to country. Some Asian countries have avoided the disease while others have had big problems. Ecuador has had a rapid growth in the output of shrimp. The question is, is that a sustainable growth?’ Sustainability is paramount to Prochaete, said OddGeir. In the past he has talked about the ‘mismatch between global supply of fishmeal and the ever increasing demand for aquaculture feeds’. ‘As the world’s population increases, the need to grow seafood increases. It’s become a matter of urgency to find new ways to feed farmed seafood without further depleting the world’s oceans. That’s been the guiding principle behind how we’ve built our company.’ Seafresh customers include Wegmans and Whole Foods in the US, and M&S, Sainsbury’s and Tesco in the UK. ‘We take shrimp to M&S from Honduras, shrimp to Sainsbury’s from Belize, and also from Belize to the US, and we take shrimp from Thailand to Tesco. All these are driven by sustainability – they have their own subtle differences but as a general approach, sustainability is important and feed and the fisheries involved are a big part of it. ‘In Thailand there have been issues around human trafficking and trash fisheries. So the worm part is connected to that idea, how can we increase our sustainability and reduce our footprint in nature. ‘We also know that worms are a very important ingredient in the maturation process of shrimp – if you go into a hatchery with broodstock they will use worms, either frozen or fresh. They spawn a lot better, produce more eggs and more robust offspring. ‘They are using 5,000-6,000 tonnes of worms in this industry and most of these are wild, so in many places there is now a problem with quantities. So consistency of supply is reduced. ‘We’re also seeing that the worms are a vehicle for disease transmission – you don’t have to be that smart to see that it’s a dangerous thing to do to take worms on the beach and put them into the hatchery. If you have a disease you’re moving it around – it’s a recipe for disaster. ‘The salmon industry has been a lot better in the control of the movement of biological materials. Now the shrimp industry is more sceptical about wild worms and fresh worms but even frozen worms are a carrier of pathogens. So what we’re providing is a feed where the worms are treated prior to being put in the feed.’ As part of the process, extruded feeds are heated to over 90 deg C for a specified period, which effectively kills bacteria. The challenge for Prochaete is to find a way to upscale production. Up until now, most of the worms were bought from the farm in Wales but it’s a small facility and OddGeir said they are moving more into the Netherlands. ‘They were producing two kilos per square metre per year in the Netherlands (less in

Industry Pioneer - October.indd 18

Wales) – this is not enough. In Central America they pay between $30 and $40 per kilo for wet worms. You can’t replace fishmeal with worms at that price. ‘You need to drive down the price so what we’re looking at now is to intensify the production of worms. We’re talking about 800 kilos per square metre. Some people say it’s impossible,’ he admitted, but industrial engineer Andrea Semiao, of Edinburgh University, is trying to solve that problem, working on the design of the reactor where worms are produced. He said they have been talking to Skretting and EWOS about the product but ‘need to have more volume’. While the majority of production is going to the shrimp market, there is also potential in finfish. Prochaete was involved in a recent wrasse breeding project at Machrihanish with Marine Harvest and the University of Stirling. ‘Wrasse is a peculiar fish and I think the conclusion was there was no conclusion!’ said OddGeir. ‘They tested a lot of different types of feed and one of the problems with the feed we supplied was that it was a feed that wasn’t made for the fish. They wanted to test something with worms in it but it didn’t grow that well.’ But one of Norway’ big producers of lumpsuckers is a near neighbour of Oddgeir’s and he continues to be in discussions with them. ‘And we’re working with fishmeal replacement in Europe and in South America for finfish – salmon in Santiago, and sea bass and bream in Greece. They become attracted to the feed if it has worms in it, even in small proportions. ‘What we also see is that it gives improvements in the gut, which is one reason the guys in the Mediterranean are using it. It enhances the gut pathology of the bass and bream and they can then increase the use of soya.’ Marine worms are not OddGeir’s sole preoccupation these days. He has been trying to get his template for land based salmon production, FishFrom, up and running on Scotland’s west coast since obtaining planning permission in 2013. ‘Everything was ready to go but the only thing missing was a lot of money! People think there is too much risk involved, too many unknowns. We’re talking about £22-25 million for one project, which Above: Polychaete is 3,000 tonnes gutted weight. The technology is there, the biology is there, so I think the risk is not that high.’ He and his partner, Andrew Roberston, have been talking to new investors since May, however, and remain optimistic. With his main focus on worms, does he ever miss the salmon industry? ‘The FishFrom project is salmon enough for me,’ he laughs. ‘And with all the issues they have in the industry, I don’t feel the short-term need to work with salmon again.’ FF

need “toYoudrive

down the price so what we’re looking at now is to intensify the production

”

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04/10/2016 09:46:27

FishMagazine Farmer Wellboats– Introduction

Fish FarmerFish Farmer VOLUME 38

NUMBER 10

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

ORKNEY OPENING TRAINING

INDUSTRY PIONEER

From managing salmon farms to managing markets

sponsored by

OCTOBER 2015

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.

06/03/2015 14:28:03

02/10/2015 15:09:06

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+44 (0) 1371 851868 04/10/2016 09:47:17

Feed – Calysta

Fanfare for new FeedKind facility Teesside plant will trial novel protein as potential fishmeal replacement

HE world’s first facility for converting methane gas into a sustainable feed ingredient was officially opened in Teesside last month. The plant, set up by US based Calysta, will produce sample quantities of FeedKind protein as a fishmeal replacement. A full-scale commercial factory will be built in North America at a site to be announced by the end of this year, with production expected to start within two years. Leading figures in the aquaculture industry, including from Marine Harvest, along with retailers Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, investors and feed companies attended the launch in Redcar. Visitors came from Japan, the Middle East, south-east Asia, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as the UK, to tour the £30 million facility, which was financed by a small group of investors, including the Dutch based AquaSpark, as well as an Exceptional Regional Growth Fund (EGRF) award. Mike Vellings, co-founder of investor Aqua-Spark and one of the early backers of Calysta, said other alternative feed ideas have scalability issues but with FeedKind that was not a problem. He said he had ‘picked a winner’. FeedKind protein is produced in the world’s only commercially validated gas fermentation process. It is a natural, traceable and safe non-animal source of protein, said Calysta. It is approved for sale and use in many animal feeds in the EU and has been tested on multiple fish species, including salmon. The facility will become fully operational towards the end of 2016, said the company. At the opening ceremony, Calysta president and CEO Alan Shaw said the goal was to get FeedKind ‘adopted as a gold standard replacement for fishmeal’ and that 45 per cent of the people in the world who use fishmeal would use the product within six years. ‘The opening of this plant represents the end of a decade of development and heralds a new era in the race to sustainably feed the world’s growing population,’ he said. ‘By 2050 the global population is expected to rise from 7.4 billion today to 9.6 billion and require 70 per cent more protein than is currently available. ‘Calysta can help meet this need by supplying the aquaculture indus-

Feed - Calysta .indd 20

try with a naturally produced, sustainable and traceable feed alternative to replace conventional ingredients based on fishmeal and soya. ‘Calysta’s proprietary technology enables retailers and consumers to have increased confidence in the integrity of their food. ‘Our first focus is the salmon farming industry and we were very pleased to welcome representatives from a number of key producers today. FeedKind protein has been shown to improve growth rates, nitrogen retention and gut health in Atlantic salmon.’ Shaw predicted that FeedKind, which will be produced for trials from the Teesside plant, would be ‘transformative’, especially, in time, for the shrimp industry. The process for converting methane into a feed protein, patented by Calysta, was developed after years of research in Norway, but it was ‘the dramatic shift in the cost of methane that made it economically viable’ said Shaw.

Above: Alan Shaw at the FeedKind facility in Redcar: Right: Shaw wih Redcar MP Anna Turley at the opening ceremony.

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04/10/2016 09:53:00

Fanfare for new FeedKind facility

heralds a new era in the race to sustainably “Thisfeed the world’s growing population ”

Josh Silverman, Calysta’s product and innovation oﬃcer, said the focus now is on getting the product to market. The US facility will contain 20 bigger versions of the Teesside plant, which is seen as a ‘model’ on which to base the commercial operation. ‘My hope is to build these all around the world in the future. There is a lot of methane so the ability to sell it to a higher value protein market is great.’ Established in California in 2011, Calysta brings together experts in biotechnology and product innovation to focus on commercialising disruptive, sustainable technologies. Earlier this year Calysta partnered with Cargill for production of FeedKind

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protein in North America. ‘The world is crying out for a product like this and we’re going to supply it,’ said Shaw. Paul Morris, director of nutrition and formulation at Marine Harvest Fish Feed, who took part in a panel discussion at the launch, said a lot of R&D had gone into salmon feeds which now support fish in: fish out ratios better than 1. That means more fish can be grown than the amount of fish going into its feed. ‘Fishmeal replacement’ is an over-used term, he said. ‘The trick is to find the raw materials that have the features and benefits of fishmeal and will replace it when fishmeal is 10 per cent

04/10/2016 09:53:36

Feed – Calysta

or less. Fishmeal is a multi-talented and benign raw material, it contains a multitude of valuable nutrients and doesn’t contain any anti-nutritional factors. Other raw materials have to be processed to improve their nutrional value and remove anti-nutritional factors.’

In Norway, Marine Harvest’s feed production is close to 300,000 tonnes a year – ‘we’re not talking about small quantities of raw materials,’ said Morris. ‘They have to be delivered every month, on time and in full because the scale is vast and the turnover is quick. Materials have to compete for the right to get into ﬁsh feed and it’s a tough job because the competition is ﬁerce.’ FF

Left: Nigel Perry, CEO of the Centre for Process Innovation, MP Anna Turley and Alan Shaw

Nutriad. Helping companies (and fish) grow. DISCOVER OUR AQUACULTURE RANGE Nutriad’s multidisciplinary team of nutritionists, micro-biologists and feed technologists focuses on understanding speciesspecific problems in fish and shrimp. That is the starting point of true innovation. Our senior aqua feed experts have farmto-fork insight in the aquaculture food chain. They provide world-wide expertise in formulation and processing of aqua feeds. Nutriad’s aqua additives directly contribute to improved productivity and profitability for producers of (feed for) fish and shrimp. Interested? Let’s get in touch: visit nutriad.com for your local contact.

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04/10/2016 09:54:39

Feed – Nutriad

Promoting gut health Farmed tilapia trials show significant improvement in productivity BY DR PETER COUTTEAU

EED is the most important production cost in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) farming, amounting to 60 per cent of the total farming expenses. The search for functional feeds to enhance digestive capacities and robustness against diseases is a major goal for the fish feed industry. In this regard, additives capable of promoting a stable and healthy gut microbiota have the potential to directly impact digestive efficiency of fish and result in effective natural growth promotion. Better gut health forms a natural barrier against pathogenic infections entering via the digestive tract and boosts the overall immune status of fish, leading to higher resistance to disease and better performance. Results in marine fish and shrimp demonstrated the positive effects of gut health promoters on performance and profitability in field conditions. The effect of a natural growth promoter based on a double mode of action – that is, modulation of the microbiota and quorum sensing inhibition (SANACORE® GM, Nutriad) - was evaluated on the production parameters of tilapia reared in cages in Brazil. This study was conducted with Nile tilapia by the Instituto da Pesca in collaboration with a commercial tilapia integrator in the Sao Paulo Region of Brazil, who provided the fish and logistical support for feed and fish processing. The study was performed in 7m3 cages and covered 111 days, from 170g fish until harvest at market size of approximately 750g fish. During the field trial, conditions were favourable and there were no disease outbreaks during the grow-out, resulting in excellent survival at harvest (control cages averaged 92 per cent survival). Despite the excellent productivity in the control cages, the gut health promotor promoted a significant improvement of survival, growth and food conversion, resulting in an overall

The study “revealed

the potential of gut modulators

”

improvement of productivity of 7.7 per cent compared to the control group. The economic analysis showed that the feed additive resulted in 9.9 per cent increased revenues for the farmer and a return on investment of 2.2. In addition, fish fed the gut health promotor showed a lower visceral fat deposition (-8.4 per cent) as well as improved viscero and hepato-somatic indices (-6 and -12 per cent respectively). The study revealed the potential of gut modulators as growth promotors in the grow-out of tilapia in the absence of major disease threats. Further work is underway to investigate the impact on survival in production conditions where disease pressure is affecting fish health and farm productivity. Nutriad delivers products and services to more than 80 countries through a network of own sales offices and distributors - supported by four application laboratories and five manufacturing facilities on three continents. Find out more at www.nutriad.com FF

Above: Natural growth promotion Left: Figure 1: Effect of a gut health promotor on FCR and survival of tilapia. P value < 0.05 shows statistically significant results are indicated with *.

Figure 1: Effect of a gut health promotor on FCR and survival of tilapia. P value < 0.05 shows

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com statistically significant results are indicated with *.

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04/10/2016 09:56:31

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – Edinburgh

CAPITAL

SHOW

he European Aquaculture Society celebrated its 40th anniversary at Aquaculture Europe 2016, with an impressive line-up of past presidents in attendance and some 1,700 delegates over three days at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. The theme was ‘Food for Thought’ and many discussions focused on the increasing contribution of aquaculture to global seafood supply. How to grow more fish better was a constant theme too, with sessions on technological innovation, nutrition, the application of genetics, and sea lice control just some of the highlights. With representatives from across Europe, there was plenty of opportunity to compare levels of production and address the obstacles to growth, whether regulatory, technical or biological. The sessions ranged from the purely scientific, featuring presentations from the leading research institutions in Scotland, Europe and beyond, to industry forums on shellfish, trout, RAS, the use of cleaner fish – and much more. Over the following pages we bring you a flavour of Food for Thought and the accompanying exhibition. The next Aquaculture Europe conference is in Dubrovnik, from October 16-20, 2017.

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04/10/2016 09:59:42

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – Edinburgh

Images: Clockwise from

top left, EAS past presidents; exhibition ﬂoor; Scottish dancers; cooking ﬁnal; EAS president Sachi Kaushik and past president Selina Stead; piper Fiona Fotheringham of Marine Harvest; brisk business at Faivre, W & J Knox and AquaTT; Fish Farmer’s William Dowds and conference organiser Mario Stael. Pictures: Pedro Muñoz López.

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04/10/2016 10:00:05

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – Edinburgh

Minister opens EAS conference in Edinburgh SCOTLAND’S minister for the Rural Economy, Fergus Ewing, stressed the importance of aquaculture to the country when he opened Aquaculture Europe 2016 in Edinburgh. He said as a Highlands MSP he appreciated the value of the industry in rural communities, where the sector has for decades provided jobs and opportunities where there are very few others. And aquaculture is important to the economy. With exports of farmed salmon worth around £500 million, Scotland is the largest producer in the EU and the third largest in the world. Aquaculture is also important for Scotland’s future in Europe, said Ewing. Governments work together with industry and academia in a modern ‘triumvirate’, which was essential to overcome the challenges of aquaculture. ‘Whatever our future, aquaculture will continue to be extremely important to us in Scotland and that is one of the reasons I’m delighted you [the European Aquaculture Society], in coming for the ﬁrst time to the UK, have chosen to come to Scotland.’ The EAS president, Sachi Kaushik, welcomed delegates and then presented a distinguished service award to conference chair and former EAS

Above: Minister Fergus

Ewing

president and long-serving EAS board member Selina Stead for her many years’ contribution to the society. Some 1,700 delegates attended the threeday conference at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, the best turn-out in a while according to the EAS.

SCOTLAND COULD TREBLE OUTPUT, SAYS SSPO SCOTLAND could treble its current production levels of farmed salmon and still sell its output all over the world, said Anne MacColl, chair of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation. There is an ‘insatiable demand’ for the country’s high quality product, she told an international audience on

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the ﬁnal day of Aquaculture Europe 2016, in a talk titled ‘Why Scottish salmon farming is a global success’. The three key drivers of the Scottish industry are provenance, people and product. The sector here was recognised as one of the best regulated in the world, thanks to stringent production standards, and Scotland was an exporter not just of salmon but also of expertise. MacColl, who took on her role earlier this year after heading Scottish Enterprise International, said the salmon industry was ‘very honest’ and faced up to its challenges. Foremost among these was controlling sea lice and the industry had committed more than £10 million for research to ﬁnd solutions.

The farming of wrasse, in particular, was ‘really important’ for the industry, complementing other mechanical and engineering solutions. ‘Because it is environmentally friendly and economically sustainable it has a brilliant future and we need to think about how we take it further. ‘We’re well on our way to producing farmed wrasse at commercially viable levels for the sector to use as a biological treatment for sea lice.’ Scotland ships about £500 million worth of salmon to more than 60 countries – representing almost half of Scotland’s total food exports. ‘By 2030 we believe we can double the value of farmed salmon to the Scottish economy and create many more jobs right through the supply chain, diversify the career structure, develop

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04/10/2016 10:00:42

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – Edinburgh

We must grow more fish CURRENT growth targets for UK aquaculture are nowhere near enough to meet future demand, said Sainsbury’s aquaculture and fisheries manager Ally Dingwall. The Scottish government has set a goal of increasing finfish production to 210,000 tonnes by 2020 but this is a ‘drop in the ocean’, said Dingwall, the plenary speaker on the second day of the conference. It’s unlikely we will produce domestically the fish we need so there is going to be a requirement for international trade, said Dingwall, giving a retail perspective on the state of the industry. The Food Standards Agency recommends that people in the UK eat two 140g portions of fish a week, which equates to 32kg live weight per capita per year. Consumption in the UK is now 20.8kg per person per year, leaving a shortfall of around 12kg. This, said Dingwall, amounted to some 760,000 tonnes live weight shortfall annually to feed the UK population in line with FSA guidelines, which will have to be met through aquaculture as wild catches have plateaued. ‘We recognise that any significant growth in sales of fish in our business is going to have to come from aquaculture.

targets are “Aquaculture a drop in the ocean ”

Right: Anne MacColl, chair of the SSPO

the skills, and work with colleagues and collaborators all over the world to help make the industry powerful globally. We are very ambitious and we’re not immune to understanding what the blockers might be.’

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‘We need to eat more fish and we need to grow more fish,’ he said, but at the moment there is no plan in the UK or Europe to grow what we need. Globally, we need to produce 140 million tonnes extra by 2050, which is triple current aquaculture output, or we’ll have a major food security problem. To do this, the industry globally must focus on disease mitigation and biosecurity – ‘we need innovation to control and prevent disease… there’s no point ramping up production unless you’re going to keep animals alive’. Feed was also a priority, with alternative sources of protein, oil and omega-3 required. He mentioned innovations such as Calysta’s FeedKind protein, micro-algae, GM camelina plants, and marine worms, but many of these will take time to come to market. To meet growth targets, the industry has to use more of the 70 per cent of the planet’s surface that is sea. Like the Norwegians, Scotland should develop new offshore technology, and industry and research science must collaborate further – ‘we can’t operate in silos and any R&D work that’s invested in needs to have application’, he said. Sainsbury’s uses three independent certification schemes for its farmed fish and there is 100 per cent compliance across everything it sells with one or more of those. But customers expect the retailer to behave responsibly. There is confusion over labelling, he said, and many customers don’t know fish is farmed. ‘We have to be careful about our messaging and the level of complexity and what assurances we’re able to give our customer...their expectation is that we’re doing the right thing on their behalf.’ Salmon remains the number one best seller out of fish sales by a long way so any negative publicity about farming has not had an impact on customer behaviour. Dingwall said he thought there could be a move away from value added products in the future, partly driven by food security and food becoming more expensive. As confidence increases and people learn to cook more effectively, we’ll see more prime protein involved and potentially less added value. As for Sainsbury’s policy towards selling genetically modified food, in the light of the US FDA’s approval of GM salmon, Dingwall said it’s a taboo at the moment. ‘Our customers would say that’s not something we want, and we react to our customers’ needs. If there was a broader acceptance in the future, though, who knows,’ he said. ‘But at the moment it’s very much a no-go for us.’ Asked if there was increased wastage with the demand for regular sized portions, Dingwall said reducing waste was a big issue for Sainsbury’s and everything is utilised somewhere, in pates and party food and in fish pastes. ‘We look at the supply chains and see what we can do to make them more efficient and reduce waste.’

Above: Sainsbury’s aquaculture and ﬁsheries manager Ally Dingwall

04/10/2016 10:01:10

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – Growth

Scotland

not stagnating

Government insists growth is on course and targets will be met

quaculture growth may have stalled in Europe in recent years but in Scotland the sector is expanding, according to the government. In 2015, Scottish farmed salmon and mussel production was the second highest ever, and the sector is well on track to meet its targets – 210,000 tonnes of finfish and 13,000 tonnes of shellfish - for 2020, said Willie Cowan of Marine Scotland, the body that manages the marine environment. ‘We hear about stagnation in aquaculture - well, maybe in some places, yes, but in Scotland it’s going up,’ said Cowan. Since 2006, farmed fish production has increased from 130,000 tonnes to just touching 180,000 tonnes in 2015, and shellfish has grown from just over 5,000 tonnes to 8,000 tonnes. Scotland has a quarter of the EU’s water but to achieve further growth we need ‘new science and technology to go to new places and grow aquaculture sustainably in a different operating model’, said Cowan. The independent consenting review, initiated by Marine Scotland and published just before the Scottish elections in May, had not been shelved and the new government, and new minister, would take its recommendations forward. These, which could include a ‘one-stop-shop’ consenting process, were now going through the Ministerial Group on Sustainable Aquaculture (MSGA) and the initial reaction to the report would be made at the end of October. Cowan said Scotland is seeing a transition away from inshore sites towards higher energy sites, due to lack of space inshore and environmental challenges. The country is developing an aquaculture locational guidelines map to identify potential areas for growth and the government has just spent almost one million euros on new DEPOMOD sea lice dispersal and shelf modelling tools. ‘We expect, because of the cutting edge science that’s gone into this – led by Kenny Black at SAMS - that new facilities will have a bigger amount of biomass consented and a considerable number of existing facilities will be able to expand their biomass just by the application of this new science.’ The government is focused on growing aquaculture in a sustainable manner, said Cowan. To this end, there would be a new sea lice policy on

Top: Willie Cowan. Left: Mussels

“ ” Xxxxx

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agreed reporting levels with increased monitoring and intervention. One of the key issues is to find a way of avoiding sea lice altogether by moving into higher energy waters with open sea aquaculture. Scotland needs the science to make that happen and would be watching Norway’s ‘very interesting plans’ carefully. Cowan also suggested the planning process could be accelerated by improving pre-application procedures – companies must persuade local communities that a development is good for them. ‘If the sector creates jobs and is sustainable and environmentally friendly, why are people not asking us to come to their area to farm?’ Scotland shares information internationally, with other salmon producing nations Norway, Canada and Chile. And the MGSA brings together industry, academia, environmental NGOs, regulators and government policy makers, all with the single focus of growing aquaculture. The Scottish Technical Standard, published last summer, was also aimed at reducing the environmental impact of farming. It will become a regulatory requirement probably next year, to be implemented by at least by 2020. The industry and gear manufacturers were involved in developing the STS so all the investment that is going into new kit now already meets that standard so by 2020 we will be there or thereabouts, said Cowan. Among recent innovations in Scotland were the use of cleaner fish as a biological solution to controlling sea lice; exploring our own technical solutions; setting up a shellfish hatchery; and investing in pilot scale multi-trophic aquaculture, where seaweed, mussels and salmon are farmed together. To encourage growth, the government led a shellfish summit recently where it pledged more financial support in the way of a loan guarantee scheme for start ups. A similar summit for finfish will be held at the end of October, where the industry led vision for 2030, with a target for production worth £3.5 billion, will be presented. But it was put to him that the government’s targets were very modest - Scotland could afford to be much more aggressive, said Norwegian aquaculture expert Bjorn Myrseth.

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04/10/2016 10:06:33

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – Growth

Space race

MAKING space for sustainable aquaculture is the goal of the AquaSpace project, said Kenny Black of SAMS, who is leading a global team in the three-year study. The subject of planning had come up throughout the conference, said Black, and there was a ‘disconnect’ between strategy at the European level and the national level and what actually happens on the ground. The aquaculture industry within the EU has failed to grow in recent years, while countries outwith the EU, including other European countries like Norway, have expanded. Something is happening in Norway that is not happening elsewhere, said Black. There are 21 partners in AquaSpace - one of the projects funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. The aim is to provide increased space of high water quality and the team will look at case studies across the globe using an ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA) and marine spatial planning (MSP). There is a very strong emphasis in the programme on public perception and how to improve that – not just among the general public who consume fish, but with those who have an influence over whether or not a local development takes place. As part of the AquaSpace case study in Argyll, a meeting was held in Oban in January. Among the topics raised were evaluation of current policy, coexistence with other sectors, particularly the fishing sector, and developing accountability from fish farmers and from regulators. Shellfish was discussed too. Argyll has a fantastic coastline for shellfish, said Black, and used to be the centre of shellfish in Scotland but it’s tiny now – for reasons related to the length of time it takes to get licences, which is ‘totally out of kilter with the benign nature of shellfish farming’. ‘Where do people get their information on aquaculture and how do they use it? One of our hypotheses is that there are a small number of people who provide this information and they have quite a lot of power but often it is information of dubious quality, and often it is very old.’

Above: Professor Kenny Black

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TAPAS for starters Europe missing out on opportunities because of red tape AT a TAPAS (Tools for Assessment and Planning of Aquaculture Sustainability) seminar, Dave Jackson, of the Marine Institute Ireland, said we know why there is no growth in European aquaculture. ‘The majority of experts agree that administrative issues are far more important than technical issues in hampering the

Above: ‘Horrendogram’

sector’s development.’ He quoted EU commissioner Karmenu Vella saying the industry needs to grow by 30 per cent over the next 10 years – for food security and for jobs. But Europe was missing out on the opportunities because of red tape. TAPAS is a project that aims to identify the bottlenecks to growth in European aquaculture and give the industry a ‘kick start’, said Stirling University’s Trevor Telfer, who is leading the 15-member consortium. With a budget of €7 million and a four-year timescale, the aim is to improve the way aquaculture is managed across the

an acceptable timeline “Whatforisdecision making? ”

EU and to develop an ‘aquaculture sustainability toolkit’ for environmental assessment and regulation. Over the next nine to 12 months the consortium would be involved in a fact-finding mission to investigate the problems and find solutions. There are currently 19 separate EU laws that impact on aquaculture, said Jackson, producing a diagram - described in the propaganda of the Brexit campaign as a ‘horrendogram’ - to illustrate the huge plethora of inter-connected marine legislation. ‘We’ve got to fix it or we won’t get any progress.’ It can take up to 60 months to a get an aquaculture licence, but how many people can afford to hang around that long with no income? We know we have to simplify administrative procedures but how? What is an acceptable timeline for decision making, asked Jackson. The next step for TAPAS is to identify precithe bottlenecks, and find ways to simplify the process.

Strategy? What strategy?

‘DEVELOPMENT versus stagnation’ was the title of the EATip (European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform) meeting, but there was really just one theme: stagnation. Norway aside, representatives from across Europe painted a picture of frustrated opportunities. France, for example, hasn’t had a new finfish licence for 10 years. It is very difficult to attract investors to the sector if they have to wait sometimes seven years to get ‘no’ for an answer from the planning bodies. ‘We need an overall picture of where we see the industry going,’ the meeting heard. Anna Pyć, a trout and carp farmer from Poland and vice president of the Polish Trout Breeders Association, said her country aimed to increase production of farmed fish by 14,000 tonnes to Above: Anna Pyć around 42,000 tonnes by 2020. There was also a target to double the supply from Polish intensive aquaculture to Poland’s processing industry, which currently depends mainly on imports. However, she questioned whether there really was a strategy to achieve these ambitions. Despite several ministries in Poland overseeing different aspects of aquaculture, there is no coordinated plan to grow the sector. New water laws under the EU Water Framework Directive, for instance, make it prohibitively expensive for aquaculture companies to access water. And while the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund gives aquaculture the green light, there is no matching campaign to develop the European market so countries like Poland can compete with cheaper imports.

04/10/2016 10:06:56

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – Edinburgh

Close contest Norway’s new licence scheme sees rush for permits

orway’s new development permits for fish farms, announced last year, have ‘created a rush’, said aquaculture veteran Bjorn Myrseth during a presentation on technological innovations. There have been 35 applications to date but so far only one has been approved – SalMar’s, which received eight development licences to establish an ocean farm based on offshore technology. The permits allow for 780 tonnes capacity each, a total of 5,440 tonnes, representing an investment by the company of 690 million NOK, said Myrseth. The cages have 250,000 cubic metre capacity and can withstand wave heights of up to 5m. But it is perhaps the closed containment innovations that will ultimately prove more successful, said Myrseth, who is himself involved in one such scheme, based on a concrete structure, with the company Stadion Laks, translated as Salmon Stadium. The 34,000 cubic metre tank will be able to produce 2,000 tonnes in a raceway RAS system, built to last 100 years. Among the applications, the most - 11 - are for closed containment systems, said Myrseth, who presented a comparison of the costs per 1,000 tonnes produced in each project – a difficult calculation because the companies involved tended to redact large chunks of ‘secret’ information. SalMar ‘s Ocean Farming system would cost 400 million NOK – an investment of 50 million NOK per 1,000 tonnes, while Marine Harvest’s ‘egg’ concept represented 40 million NOK per 1,000 tonnes of production, according to Myrseth’s table. His Stadion Laks innovation would cost 41 million NOK per 1,000 tonnes, compared to Marine Harvest’s ship farm, which would cost 37.5 million NOK. By contrast, a traditional net pen costs about NOK 4 million. In his view, the closed systems represent cost efficiency as well as being

It’s “ impossible

to say who the winners will be but there’s no doubt we’ve learnt a lot about how to farm ﬁsh

better protection against sea lice (the risk is especially very low if the water is pumped from depths below 20-25m) and escapes and offering better control of temperature, lower FCR, fewer morts and leaner fish because they are swimming more. It will be another year at least, Myrseth reckoned, before all the applications have been Image: Bjorn Myrseth through the Norwegian bureaucracy. ‘It’s impossible to say who the winners will be but there’s no doubt we’ve learnt a lot about how to farm fish.’

”

AquaGen project tracks escapees AQUAGEN researchers presented results from ground-breaking project TRACK at Aquaculture Europe 2016. Kim Erik Grashei, researcher at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, said the project facilitates the genetic tracking of

EAS.indd 30

escaped farmed Atlantic salmon. Every year there are more than 100,000 reported farmed salmon escapees in Norway. ‘For a fish farmer to be held accountable for an escape incident, it must be possible for a fish to be classified correctly as escaped farmed Atlantic salmon, and to be tracked back to its source,’ said Grashei. ‘This requires a high degree of precision to avoid accusing the wrong fish farmer.’ In October 2014, AquaGen launched TRACK, a system that can genetically trace farmed fish through the genotyping of all parent Atlantic salmon broodstock used in food production in Norway. The system uses a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism chip (SNP-chip), a genetic

marker tool which can identify an individual’s genome. Some 55,000 SNPs are relevant to the AquaGen strain of fish, and when assessed in combination, they are unique to families. ‘We record all combinations of parents, and keep a comprehensive record of the eggs sent to each customer,’ said Grashei. ‘The origin of any escaped farmed Atlantic salmon can thus be easily tracked with a high degree of precision using parentage assignment.’ Until all fish are recorded in this way, AquaGen is able to use a combination of ‘exclusion ratio’ and ‘genomic relationship likelihood’ methods to assign parents to unknown escaped offspring.

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04/10/2016 10:10:29

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – Students

New generation

‘Leaders of the future’ on engaging with industry – and each other

tudents from across Europe gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges for the next generation of aquaculture scientists and professionals. Among a panel, led by EAS student group president Antonios Chalaris, were past presidents of the EAS and industry representatives. Heather Jones, CEO of the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), said the students were the ‘leaders of the future’ but couldn’t assume things such as funding would be the same as they are today. The role of the SAIC is to strengthen the connections between aquaculture research and its practical application, and students debated whether academia or industry presented the best prospects for their careers. Former EAS president Michael New, the founder of the charity Aquaculture without Frontiers, said the opportunities for young people in the industry were far greater than they were 40 years ago. Also, aquaculture ‘was not just about making money – there are people starving in the world who can be fed through aquaculture…always remember that side as well as the commercial side’, he said. Another former EAS president, Laszlo Varadi, who has devoted his career to developing Hungarian aquaculture, stressed how the sector could help people in Europe as well as in the third world, and suggested that social economic aspects of aquaculture needed more research. The students, wondering how they could be further engaged with industry, agreed that research collaborations are important for encouraging

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EAS.indd 31

people to work together. Chalaris said there are plenty of occasions for students to gather, including many international conferences and the meetings Above: Members of the held by individual universities. The EAS SG, which has 100 members, had just EAS Student Group launched a new website and was developing its social media presence. Edinburghxx But some felt the EAS was not on the radar of many students, especially at undergraduate level, and that the lack of travel grants didn’t encourage participation in conferences. The PhD students attending acknowledged that it was up to them to go back to their institutions and give talks and spread the word about what they had learnt at outside events, such as the EAS conference. University teachers could help too – ‘Even if students can’t come here, their supervisors can and it’s their job to make the links and tell students about the EAS,’ said one student. Michael New, describing himself as an ‘old fossil’, said there were opportunities for information transfer that simply didn’t exist when he was a student. Back then, there was no internet and you had to be physically near a library to access reference material. To get in touch with a professor in another institution or country you had to write a postcard and hope against hope to get one back. ‘You have all the tools you need now – it’s important that you ﬁnd a way to use them.’

have “allYou the tools

you need now – it’s important that you ﬁnd a way to use them

”

STUNNING TECHNOLOGY ON MORE SITES NORTHERN Irish company Electro Fishing Services has completed a deal to supply a ﬁsh farmer in Ireland with its patented concept in humane harvesting. The company, recently acquired by SmithRoot Inc based in Vancouver, has developed electro sedation technology that stuns ﬁsh, initially within one second, without causing muscle spasms and stress. It has been thoroughly tested in both fresh and seawater., with data collected from 10

million 400-500g ﬁsh. Called the Humane Fish Harvester, the system has been installed for several years at Dawnfresh sites on Scotland’s west coast, where it is in daily use to kill trout gently with innovative electrical waveforms so that ﬁsh emerge ‘fully dead’ before they are put on ice.

04/10/2016 10:15:01

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – Edinburgh

High School pupils compete at cooking ﬁnal “

The focus on aquaculture was designed to provide a showcase event for the conference

”

GLEN Urquhart High School boys triumphed in the cook-off final on the first day of the Edinburgh conference to become the Scottish Aquaculture Competition champions of 2016. The team from Drumnadrochit beat off a strong challenge from Balfron High School girls to impress the judges enough to claim the top prize. The pupils were the stars of the opening plenary and cooked in front of an international audience of around 1,000 people. The competition has seen the pupils visit salmon, mussel, trout and

EAS.indd 32

oyster farms in their area to learn more about the importance of aquaculture to Scotland. They were asked to record their experiences and ﬁndings, and made short videos highlighting Scottish aquaculture to the world. This initiative is part of the Seafood in Schools project, which works with high school and primary pupils all over Scotland, helping them to understand where seafood comes from, how it gets to their plate, and why it is important to eat as part of a healthy diet. ‘Seafood in Schools works with around 40,000 pupils each year and is an important source of information about the entire Scottish seafood industry,’ said Nicki Holmyard, Seafood in Schools programme manager. ‘The focus on aquaculture with the Glenurquhart and Balfron pupils was designed to provide a showcase event for the conference.’ The judges, EAS president elect Bjorn Myrseth, food journalist Cate Devine, and Fraser Dryburgh from the Scottish government, assessed each school’s entries for their overall appeal, appearance, aroma and taste, before declaring Glenurquhart’s dish a resounding winner.

Top: Fraser Nicol, Flett Marsham, Ewan McAtier, Jay Brady from Glen Urquhart High School Below: The team from Balfron High School

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04/10/2016 10:17:52

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – Edinburgh

FEED FOR FRAGILE FRY BIOMAR launched a new range of starter and transfer diets to boost the health of Mediterranean species. Transfer feeds are already commonly used in salmon farming but the transfer of sea bass, sea bream and meagre from the protected hatchery environment to sea cages has always had the risk of losses. ‘Improving the health status of the fragile fry and improving their resistance against diseases prior to transfer to cages is of great concern, and we now are ready to oﬀer a transfer feed range that brings a small revolution to Mediterranean ﬁsh farming,’ said Michel Autin, technical director of BioMar’s EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region. The new feed, presented at the conference, was developed with BioMar’s partner, Lallemand Animal Nutrition. The feed is formulated with the inclusion of two functional ingredients, B-WYSE and Bactocell, for reduced deformities, improved gut health, and better resistance to bacterial attacks, such as vibrio spp, by stimulating the immune system and increasing mucous production.

Stéphane Ralite, aquaculture product manager at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, introduced B-WYSE, the new biologically active product that is being extracted from selected marine yeast by utilising an innovative production process. Trials have shown the positive effects of B-WYSE on the health status of both shrimp and fish, including sea bass and sea bream. BioMar has included the functional ingredient Bactocell in its feeds since 2010. ‘Various test show that the combination of B-WYSE and Bactocell have clear positive impacts on health parameters and is perfectly suited to strengthen the fragile marine fry and prepare it for transfer to the harsh environment in sea cages,’ said Autin. ‘We are confident that our customers will soon experience the positive effects of this revolutionary concept as we expect that our marine fry and transfer feeds will considerably improve survival rates and the health status of fragile young fish and protect them against some of the common diseases in Mediterranean fish farming.’

Above: Michael Autin, right, with senior researcher John Thinsley

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Above: Crowds at the opening reception on September 20

Destroyed by Dome AN ultrasound system that could help eradicate parasites and algae from sea cages was the talking point at the Aqua Farming Solutions (AFS) stand. The Dutch company has developed its product – called the C-Dome - over the last 12 years but only recently begun targeting the aquaculture industry. The dome is placed in the middle of a cage where it creates ‘captivation bubbles’ by ultrasound that can eliminate all unwanted organisms between 0.2mm and 0.7mm that come in its way, including parasites and algae. It works at a range of up to 55m in seawater and is eﬀective as a net cleaner as well as an anti-sea lice device, claimed the ﬁrm’s Nina Hanssen. The C-Dome operates at an average frequency of 40KHz with an amplitude of 110 decibels, said the company, and so Above: C-Dome can help control sea lice cannot be heard by humans. The system is currently undergoing trials at a salmon farm in northern Norway, said Hanssen.

04/10/2016 10:18:27

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – RAS

Farmer led design is best Marine Harvest’s freshwater manager says staff are key to success

arine Harvest Scotland’s freshwater manager John Richmond oversaw the establishment of the new Lochailort hatchery and is now in charge of the Inchmore plant, currently under construction. Lochailort - Scotland’s largest RAS facility, completed in 2013 - has so far produced 2,500 tonnes of salmon parr and smolts. Inchmore is on a similar scale and will produce 800 tonnes of biomass per year by the time it is operational in 2018. Both facilities have four individual recirculation systems. Once Inchmore is complete, Marine Harvest will be able to produce all of its parr and 65 per cent of its smolt in RAS systems. As a fish farmer with 22 years in the industry it is not surprising that Richmond believes a good RAS design should be led by the farmer. The element of contingency and safety can then be built into the design – you need to be sure the engineering is capable of supporting the fish biomass, he said. Different designs apply to different situations. For instance, both Lochailort and Inchmore are built on the basis of very low new water. That necessitates denitrification and a very robust system.

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The construction of a RAS farm, with sometimes 200 men working on the site, requires the farmer’s continual presence. At Lochailort there was £40,000 of damage during construction, said Richmond, and Marine Harvest applied what it learnt from this experience to the Inchmore project. ‘At Inchmore we started with how we wanted to handle our fish and then built the system around that. At Lochailort it was a bit the other way.’ He said a big part of the operating cost of a farm is the staff it takes to run it. There are specific challenges in a big RAS farm, including mortality removal, vaccination and transport. ‘Staff are absolutely key – the people who have the right knowledge are few and far between,’ he said. The system is ‘hugely complex’ and bot-

“

At Inchmore we started with how we wanted to handle our ﬁsh and then built the system around that

”

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04/10/2016 10:22:45

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – RAS

Advantages of GM The future is rearing rapidly growing salmon on land

he world’s first genetically modified Atlantic salmon could help address global food security problems, said Ron Stotish, CEO of Canada’s AquaBounty Technologies, at a seminar on RAS. Stotish said the component of RAS they have been working on is the fish itself. Molecular genetics and biology provide the opportunity of not only improving growth but also improving genetics, disease resistance, and the nutritional quality of the fish and controlling fertility. The company, which has spent more than 25 years developing a faster growing salmon with a single growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon and a gene from ocean pout, has recently won approval for its product from Health Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration. Both countries concluded that the AquaAdvantage salmon was indeed an Atlantic salmon and safe to consume. No additional labelling was required by either country. By rearing their salmon in a land based

closed containment system, AquaBounty said it can be farmed close to markets, making it more economical, as well as eliminate the chance of escapes. The fish are also all female, with every egg rendered triploid so they cannot reproduce. Stotish said their fish can be grown to harvest weight of 4-5kg in 16-20 months, a shorter cycle than non-transgenic salmon. Furthermore, the FCR is significantly lower (20 per cent) in fast growing AquaAdvantage salmon, and there is higher protein and lipid retention. The company is preparing to scale up production, with a hatchery in Prince Edward Island where it has grown 12 generations of AquaAdvantage salmon, and a commercial grow-out facility in Panama. The main stumbling block remains public perception but Stotish said they believe US consumers, who have adapted to GM soy products, will become ‘desensitised’, leaving a ‘relatively small percentage’ of objectors. ‘It’s really about the food – supplying food for our children and grandchildren.’

will become desensitised, leaving a “Consumers relatively small percentage of objectors ” Above: John Richmond (left) at Inchmore

tlenecks occur when it comes down to just two or three people with the necessary knowledge, responsible for 14 million fish. To address this, Marine Harvest has started a ‘training matrix’ at Lochailort which it will continue at Inchmore. Everyone is on it and people who are experts then train the others – ‘they are the key to the success of the operation’. Production planning is also vital, especially managing the biomass transfer between four systems and four batches a year. Richmond said the very high growth rates ‘caught us out at Lochailort’. Each part of a RAS farm is integral so you have to make sure each part is working, with constant checks a crucial part of the daily routine. Lochailort employs two crews, each operating seven days on and seven days off because operations are continuous. There are eight people in each team (six fish farmers and two technicians), plus two engineers on site at all time, and management. ‘You need quite a few bodies to manage what is essentially four farms under one roof.’

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04/10/2016 10:24:19

our resident design or affected by, the forthcoming Aquaculture and FisherAndrew Balahura, ies (Scotland) Bill and we have been fortunate enough to ring it more upsecure an extensive interview with Scotland’s recently apl columns from pointed Minister for the Environment, Paul Wheelhouse. est aquaculture Looking further afield there are also interesting insights Aquaculture – Shellfi sh the globe and also an –2016 ASSG SG and SSPOTrade – to Associations intoEurope oyster growing around t topics of the day overview of the Hungarian aquaculture industry, which is ors respectively. beginning to evolve from production of carps to higher d we hope you’ll value predatory fish. We hope you enjoy all the changes. FF

has 0 years of the stry. Now ournalist, er food magazine.

ry Board

ons culture

BY JANET H BROWN

Rob Fletcher News Editor

Paul Wheelhouse is Scotland’s Minister for the Environment and Climate Change and is an MSP for the South of Scotland.

Janet Brown works to support and promote all aspects of sustainable shellﬁsh culture and restoration via The Shellﬁsh Team and edits The Grower.

Network building The other side of the pond

Prospects ‘not so bleak’ – but industry must remain alert Can the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers learn anything from 8 the ith no fewer than eight publicised sessions, plus other indusevents she referred to was that of 2013 when way America’s East Association is organised? try workshops goingCoast on at theShellfish same time, itGrowers was a pleasant an unforeseen rapid build-up of Dinophysis

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surprise to find a reasonably sized and very international audience at the shellfish workshop. Organised by Mark James of MASTS and Stefano Carboni of Stirling r Robert Rheault – more University, withB additional inputcommonly from Nick Lake (ASSG), the event was known as ‘Skid’ Rheault chaired by Nicki Holmyard. (Rheault being ‘row’) Bob – set the The pronounced organisers had put or together an up interesting programme to proEast Coast Shellfish Growers Association vide a cross section of useful information to the shellfish grower but ols (ECSGA) in 2004 and has beenresearch its executive also highlighting areas where was cried out for. This may director for six years. d have been the more profitable line to aim for since it is probably fair involved in the idea of an as-researchers attending EAS toSkid say became that there are more academics and sociation because he had been working as an meetings than hard-headed farmers. oyster farmer in a state without an aquaculIn the opening talk, Aad Smaal of Wageningen Marine Research ture industry at the time – Rhode talked about the Euroshell projectIsland. and what it had achieved. The rectory meetings ‘I had toI be very active on the state to attended in Arcachon and level Rotterdam as part of Euroget things he said. established state shell were going,’ very useful and‘Ihave resulteda in changes of emphasis in growers’Herve association with a few allies, started surer, Steve Bracken, Miguad, Sunil Kadri and Ken Hughes research. writing an industry newsletter and sent all the science to the The aim was to develop best practice it in to getting n: Andrew Balahura the state legislators, brought in guest speakers producers with the Publisher: hope of building a closer cooperation. As part wds wdowds@fi shupdate.com Alister Bennett from states networks where things were going thisother extension, were seen to be important but probably Fax: +44 (0)of 131 551 7901 e-mail: editor@fi shfarmer-magazine.com well and where nary a negative word was have yet to materialise. .com www.fiheard. shupdate.com Eventually weHowie got some traction and Scotland talking about Next was Jennifer of Food Standards fixed the regulations that were holding back ettes Park, 496the Ferry Road, Edinburgh EH5 2DL role of FSS in helping the shellfish industry maintain food safety the industry.’ er’, P.O. Box 1,and Crannog Lane, Lochavullin Oban, Argyll, PA34 4HB emphasising that it is a Industrial balance ofEstate, responsibilities. One of the This led on to a larger consortium, with a 0) 1631 568001 number of growers getting together at various Clockwise from top right: f world £95 including postage. All Air Mail. ECSGA meeting; oyster; meetings and the idea of establishing an East ietors Wyvex Coast MediaShellfish Ltd by Headley Ltd., Ashford, ISSNB0262-9615 Dr Robert Rheault. GrowersBrothers Association was ban- Kent died about. They had seen how well organised the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association m (PCSGA) had become, how effective they could be in meetings with regulators, how they focused government research dollars toward key problems – they wanted that. While setting up the ECSGA, Skid continued to run his own company, farming and marketing oysters trading as Moonstone Oysters working out of Narragansett, Rhode Island, and he is still an adjunct faculty member in the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. He established the East Coast Shellfish Research Institute and has been successful in attracting several

36 12

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caused real problems for the mussel farmers. This was then neatly caught up by the next speaker, Keith Davidson of SAMS, who substantial federal research grants to address critical industry talked about the ‘future direction of research HABS priorities. management’, where work to predict where How has the ECSGA grown and is itblooms still growing? toxic algae might end up can be very We grow in membership by aboutboth 10 tofor 20 shellfish per cent and a year and we important marine fish had a sharp increase thisfarmers. past year, but we still only have a small fraction of the industry as members. the estimated on the With anOfunforeseen gap1,300 in thefarms programme, East Coast, we only have one about 15 per cent. The nature of the industry area not scheduled to be addressed, is such that many farmersthat areof very small,selection part-timewithin operations who genetic the shellfish won’t pay dues. There are few large farms, and several of these believe industry, was included, with Pierre Boudry they don’t need to join an association. They can hire their own lobbyist. of Ifremer gallantly stepping up to give an What are the main issues facing impromptu ECSGA? entirely talk without notes or We spend a lot of time power and energy point.dealing with shellfish sanitation issues. Vibrio parahaemolyticus control seems to dominate much We listen when people chat to us, and of es-my time. We are also trying to rectify the trade war with the EU so we can pecially when they are enthusiastic. This was restore some of the lucrative connections we had in EU markets five the case. The talk did, however, very much years ago. We are trying to get acknowledgement for the ecosystem Left: Dr Nick Lake greets highlight the differences between France services we provide through and we are conand nutrient Scotlandcredit in thattrading, for their oyster industry the audience at the stantly working to improve water quality and expand harvest areas. they have a choice of wild–caught or hatchshellﬁsh forum with Are there different chapters in the ECSGA or are members mainly ery-reared gigas oysters. chair Nicki Holmyard. oystertop folk? Opposite left: Dr Liz One problem with this is the hatcheries, Weer-Cook represent about 60having per cent clam farms, per cent oyster farms Cotti of SAMS. developed the40 production of triploid andright: there is a nascent industry. Top Recently found mussel oysters and tetraploid oysters as a high tech I have sea heard you talk at means conferences about the importance carpet squirt of producing oysters that canofbelobbysold (Didemnum vexillum) ing – what do you advise? at a premium because they do not mature inItLoch Creran. Photo: to ensure that the regulators don’t put you out of is really important sexually, now find these are competing with Dan Minchin, Marine business. If you are not involved in the process of writing the regulathe3oysters from the wild spat being sold as Organism Investi gations tions, then the law of unintended consequences dictates that they will ‘born at sea’! Below: Pierre Boudry, probably hurt you if you don’t protect yourself. You need to participate He talked about the considerable problems left , Aad Smaal and in the scientific research,ofthe public outreach and the education of your introducing selection into the hatchery Nick Lake. Photos: legislators. By demonstrating the growth in green jobs, the sustainable 08/02/2013 11:24:01 process since when working with a species in JHBrown seafood production and the ecosystem benefits, we can enlist the help of politicians when the regulators get crazy, or if we have a need of research dollars. Educating the legislators is a constant task. There is huge turnover and they know nothing about your industry. If you don’t have time to do it then you need to pay someone to do it for you. This is why busy professionals are members of trade associations. Is export a major interest for your growers? We are experiencing an explosion in the market for oysters right now, so there is not a lot of surplus production to send overseas, but

was crucial for all organisations “to Ithave a biosecurity plan in place ”

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04/10/2016 10:28:41 06/03/2015 10:29:56

Network building

which one individual can produce five million eggs the risks of inbreeding are huge. He firmly favoured that it should be commercial hatcheries carrying out the selection work, although stressed that Ifremer would provide support in this. Tim Bean and Mike Gubbins, both of Cefas Weymouth, gave talks on the state of the oyster herpes virus, for which Scotland still remains free for now but for which we need to remain fully alert to the risks of its introduction. Melody Clark of the British Antarctic Survey came with a title ‘Shellfish in a changing world – not so bleak?’ With all the doom and gloom of global warming and ocean acidification, she explained the thinking behind the project CACHE (Calcium in a changing environment). While acknowledging the factual nature of these problems her ‘not so bleak’ approach was to suggest molluscs adapt rather successfully and proceeded to give specific examples of experiments and studies that demonstrate exactly this, not just in molluscs but also in other marine species. She also gave evidence that longer term experiments can sometimes demonstrate these beneficial adaptions that are overlooked by short term experiments. So after some reassurance it was time to get the real bad news of the day. Liz Cottier-Cook of SAMS, in a talk billed as ‘Practical biosecurity responses to the threat of invasive species’ told us that the invasive species Didemnum vexillum (carpet sea squirt) had been found in Loch Creran. What is alarming about this is that despite surveys carried out in 2011 around Largs Marina, where it was first found in Scotland, this was the first real look for the species carried out. However, the fact that it was an oyster farmer who alerted her to the problem and hence alerted Marine Scotland and SNH, does

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highlight the importance of aquaculturists as early warning systems. Cottier-Cook was at pains to stress that it was crucial for all organisations, fish farms, shellfish farms, marinas and boat owners to be aware of this problem and to have a biosecurity plan in place. There is a guidance document available on this at www.snh.gov. uk/docs/A1294630.pdf. FF

04/10/2016 10:29:10

Aquaculture Europe 2016 – BTA

Trout

in good

health Positive outlook for sector as association is restructured BY OLIVER ROUTLEDGE BRITISH TROUT ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN

AINBOW trout production increased to the highest level recorded at 8,588 tonnes last year, according to the latest survey of Scottish fish farm production, released shortly before the EAS conference. To those who read last month’s BTA article in Fish Farmer, this data will resonate with the claim that ‘there are indications that trout farming in the UK…may have turned the corner’. A future of expanding production is perhaps already upon us! A whole day at the conference was dedicated to trout farming, starting with the British Trout Association AGM, and continuing with a series of presentations, ranging from reports on relevant scientific research to assessments of the future markets and regulatory environment. The AGM, chaired by Oliver Routledge of Selcoth Fisheries, included the traditional reports to members on the association’s activities during the past year – such as representational

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Above: Rainbow trout

efforts on proposed regulations and abstraction reforms, as well as standard governance issues. This was followed by a Special General Meeting, which addressed a proposal to restructure the association, by transforming the current 11-member council to a smaller body, more akin to a board of directors. This would deal with corporate and administrative matters, and working groups would be established, sitting beneath this board. There would be two specific sectoral working groups, focusing on ‘table’ and ‘restocking’ production. As a result of the narrowing of focus compared to the current council, combined with the absence of any requirement to consider corporate/administrative issues, these groups would foster a more efficient working environment along with an improved liaison with BTA members. Each group would have a chair and vice-chair plus a further four members, although any BTA member would be encouraged to attend and contribute to the quarterly meetings. The board would consist of a non-industry chair, working group representation (the chairs of each group), a feed company representative, the chair of Quality Trout UK and an honorary treasurer, plus the BTA executive officer (who would also attend both working groups).

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04/10/2016 10:37:56

Trout in good health

“

Members rationally and reasonably debated the potential for their industry

”

The proposal was passed by the members present at the meeting (including proxies), with a generally expressed expectation that the outcome would be a more effective representational body for the industry, one that would be better able to address the vast array of political, legislative and operational issues that face the trout farming industry in the UK. The next session was a series of presentations and a Q&A panel from representatives of four feed companies, under the overarching theme of ‘Future feed – new products’, which gave an insight into some of the technical developments underway in the feed supply sector. The final morning session saw presentations covering current achievements in BTA generic marketing (Hugh Coulson), funding support opportunities for the industry in the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (Scottish government and Marine Management Organisation), a review of market potential (Martin Jaffa), and an update from the QTUK chairman (Oliver Robinson) on developments in this industry led accreditation scheme. The afternoon sessions saw a wide range of presentations, firstly including an assessment of future developments in EU aquaculture (Shara Routledge), which articulated Commission policy and how it synchronised with industry aspirations, an explanation of the ‘Biffio’

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project to turn fish farming waste to energy (Iain Young), the potential of cryo-preservation for future generations (Russell Ferguson), and the funding opportunities available for industry to collaborate with Scottish research through the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (Heather Jones). The final session focused on research activities, from Stirling to Weymouth (Cefas), which have been investigating significant disease issues confronting the industry (RTFS, RMS, Puffy Skin), along with an explanation of a new Cefas ‘app’ which would enable real time recording of fish movement. It was a busy day but this was a successful annual convocation of the British trout industry, in which members rationally and reasonably debated the potential for their industry and an improved structure of their representational organisation for the future, one which is widely viewed as positive. FF

04/10/2016 10:38:20

International Sea Lice Conference – Ireland

BY IAN ARMSTRONG

Science and common sense World’s experts gather to address parasite peril ‘Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been accurately described as a combination of common sense and scientiﬁc principles.’

his phrase, recently inserted on to our new website, came to mind during the long drive home from the highly successful sea lice conference, held in Westport, Ireland, at the end of September. The international conference provided a timely and very heartening confirmation of the quality of research currently being undertaken by an impressive array of scientists from around the world. Along with other specialist service providers, I have been fortunate to attend the last four of these biennial meetings, where leading researchers come together to present, listen, and review the latest scientific advances so that we can continue to control these most troublesome of marine ectoparasites ubiquitous within wild fish populations. Both hemispheres of the salmon farming world have had operational challenges in successfully imposing sustainable sea lice control measures. Expansion of our industry

in the northern hemisphere is constrained by Lepeophtheirus salmonis, while Caligus spp, most notably Caligus rogercresseyi, is the sea louse of concern in Chile, a country without native salmonids into which eggs from both Atlantic and Pacific salmon were introduced in relatively recent times. Just under 300 delegates attended the three days of the main conferRight: Tor Einar Horsberg ence, with some 80 staying in Westport for an additional day to particireceives his award from pate in the inaugural Bioassay Workshop. Dave Jackson. Opposite: Some 47 individual presentations, each of 20 minutes’ duration, formed Jackson with Irish the scientific core of the conference, with the level of interest from the minister Sean Kyne who opened the conference; international scientific community being further confirmed by some 76 delegates; poster display. posters which were on permanent display throughout. The proceedings will be a fascinating read when they are published by the organisers but, meanwhile, highlights of two of the scientific talks can be found over the next pages, along with Martin Jaffa’s typically thought provoking presentation which so aptly launched the conference.

Sea Lice - Intro.indd 40

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04/10/2016 10:48:31

Science and common sense

The presence of delegates from organisations such as the David Suzuki Foundation provided confirmation of our industry’s continued willingness to be open about our challenges. The committee, ably led and coordinated by Ireland Marine Institute’s Frank Kane and Dave Jackson, were responsible for delivering this impressively well organised conference. The 18 months of planning, together with their supporting team of unpaid volunteers and the always smiling staff at the Knockranny, a hotel owned and operated by a local Westport family, ensured that scientific progress was maximised. Anyone wishing to learn how to structure and deliver an international conference could learn much from this partnership. The scientific committee successfully struck an optimal balance between the various disciplines, which included such diverse topics as epidemiology, genetics, molecular biology and chemotherapeutants. Attendees benefited from the experienced chairs keeping presenters to their allocated 20 min slots and this, together with the clever scheduling, enabled the industry delegates to network outwith the presentations and also deal with the various urgent issues of their day. The conference provides a good opportunity to recognise outstanding scientific achievement and this year it was the overdue turn of industry veteran Professor Tor Einar Horsberg from the Norwegian School of Veterinarian Science to be awarded the prestigious Kabata award, while the best presentation award deservedly went to Jordon Poley of the Atlantic Veterinary College in Canada. Undoubtedly, the formation of the Sea Lice Research Centre in Norway has harnessed that country’s extraordinary capacity and willingness to invest significant sums into scientific research, while the Atlantic Veterinary College in Atlantic Canada also continues to deliver

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It provided a timely and very heartening “ conﬁrmation of the quality of research currently being undertaken ”

innovative research. Representatives from the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre were present to help make sure our own country continues to deliver industry leading research. The presence of veterinary health heavyweights Elanco and Benchmark Animal Health ensured that the conference session dealing with chemotherapeutants proved very informative. In particular, Elanco’s new Lufenuron based product, currently being intelligently introduced into selected countries, shows considerable potential to upgrade and modernise national IPM strategies. Continuing with the ‘common sense’ theme of any IPM strategy, it is essential that accurate bioassays are performed to the same consistent standard throughout the world to allow valid international comparisons to be made. MSD generously sponsored the ﬁrst Bioassay Workshop and the delegates listened to a range of fascinating talks, including Scottish industry expertise being very ably demonstrated by Chris Findlay of Fish Vet Group and Bill Roy of MERL. Detection methods ranged from the practical biological assays being undertaken in Scotland, Norway, the US, Canada and Chile, together

with the more modern molecular and genetic techniques which are starting to be introduced to assist veterinary decision making. I drove away heartened by the quality of the research being delivered by the international scientific community and by the high calibre of young scientists being attracted into one of the key industries of the future. However, I need to end this upbeat report on a note of caution: the five-year gap between 2003 and 2008 when no international sea lice conference took place suggests that there was either indefensible complacency or insufficient research at that time to justify such an international gathering of scientists. Please let us, as an industry, make no further mistake – Lepeophtheirus salmonis has evolved its capabilities over many thousands of years in the Atlantic Ocean and we underestimate the abilities of this parasite at our considerable peril. For more details of the conference visit www. sealice2016.com Ian Armstrong runs Nevis Marine Ltd, an independent provider of management services to aquaculture. FF

04/10/2016 10:49:07

International Sea Lice Conference – Ireland

BY MAJBRITT BOLTON-WARBERG

Early promise Good husbandry key to lumpsucker success

Main picture: Male lumpsucker guarding eggs; batch of eggs; reduction in lice levels.

Sea LIce - Irish.indd 42

little over 13,000 tonnes of salmon was produced in Ireland in 2015 with a value of €90 million. There are a small number of producers nationally, with Marine Harvest Ireland representing the largest stakeholder. More than 80 per cent of production is organic, which requires adherence to strict regulations and standards. As with other salmon farming countries, there are several bottlenecks that hinder development of the industry including diseases (such as sea lice and amoebic gill disease), lengthy licence applications and negative public perception of finfish farming. Sea lice infestations represent the single most significant problem in the industry, giving rise to lost production, additional costs of treatment and potential negative interactions with wild stocks. With reduced efficacy of chemical treatments in controlling lice and growing environmental concerns, the need for sustainable solutions has never been greater. Currently, among the integral trends in the development of salmon farming is the use of cleaner fish. Wrasse (five species) and lumpsucker are found naturally in Irish waters although little is known about their population(s) or numbers in the wild. The salmon industry in Ireland relies for now on wild caught wrasse and farmed lumpsucker. In 2014, researchers at Carna Research Station (CRS), at the National University of Ireland, collected juvenile lumpsucker on seaweed longlines off the south west coast. These fish were weaned on to a moist diet and finally to a dry pellet. They were subsequently used in the first trials on lumpsucker delousing efficacy in Ireland and further ongrown for use as broodstock. A simple trial with one control (50 salmon, no lumpsucker) and one treatment (50 salmon plus 10 lumpsucker) was devised with 1.6kg (average) salmon and 50g lumpsucker. Lice counts were carried out on days 0 and six, with lice numbers decreasing significantly in the treatment tank over the six-day period. In addition, 50 per cent of the

lumpsucker had lice in their stomach at the end of the experiment. In 2015 and 2016, production of lumpsucker at CRS was co-funded by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM, Irish Sea Fisheries Board) and Marine Harvest Ireland. In 2015, just over 100,000 juveniles were produced and transferred to sea. Production has increased to >250,000 in 2016. Egg sources include masses found locally, 2014 broodstock (Irish), wild caught broodstock (Irish) and fertilised eggs imported from the UK and Norway. Lumpsucker hatch between 270 and 300 degree days and can be weaned straight on to dry feed. There is variable growth, with fish being ready for transfer to sea in five to eight months, with transfer size dependent on the net size being used at sea. Although the aim of the current cleaner fish programme at CRS is lumpsucker production for industry, applied and basic research is used to advance and optimise rearing strategies to produce good quality juveniles. This research includes benchmarking growth of lumpsucker under Irish environmental conditions, evaluating temperature optima for growth, determining feed rations required by different sizes and understanding the effects of stocking density on growth. Some challenges have been faced, including tail nipping, microsporidian infection in broodstock and Pseudomonas outbreaks at sea. There are several strategies adopted by the Irish producers: (i) no cleaner fish used at all, (ii) wild caught wrasse only and (iii) wild caught wrasse and lumpsucker in combination. The general strategy is to deploy six per cent cleaner fish, although this will vary with each site. Supplemental feeding and artificial kelp hides are vital to keeping cleaner fish healthy. Relatively low mortalities of lumpsucker were observed

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04/10/2016 10:58:22

Early promise

Sites that have staﬀ dedicated to “ maintaining the cleaner ﬁsh do better than those without ”

post-transfer to sea in comparison to other countries. Furthermore, there has been successful reduction of lice levels by both wrasse and lumpsucker, particularly in sites that have been fallowed. It is clear that there is still work to be done to optimise this strategy for sea lice control. Key to cleaner fish efficacy is good husbandry at all stages and particularly at sea. Sites that have staff dedicated to maintaining the cleaner fish do better than those without. In Ireland, there is a need to establish native strains for use as broodstock. An indigenous strain would be better adapted to local environmental conditions and would pose a lower risk in terms of biosecurity and genetics. Finally, research on the nutritional requirements of lumpsucker is vital to the production of robust juveniles, and the development of specialised vaccines will do much to increase survival at sea. Lumpsucker offer a promising solution in the battle against sea lice, one which will require modification over the coming years and should, for the time being, be used in combination with other treatments in a comprehensive and integrated pest management plan. Dr Majbritt Bolton-Warberg is project manager of the cleaner fish project at Carna Research Station at the National University of Ireland, Galway. FF

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04/10/2016 10:58:47

International Sea lice Conference – Scotland

BY DR MARTIN JAFFA

Wild rumours

Catch data suggests salmon farming is a convenient scapegoat for the decline of certain fisheries

he latest issue of an angling magazine includes an article that begins: ‘The sorry tale of the decline of wild salmon and sea trout numbers in the West Highlands and Islands of Scotland is a horror story. ‘For more than 30 years now there has been sufficient evidence of the most likely cause of the decline to warrant an immediate moratorium on any further expansion of salmon farming.’ I refer to this simply because it illustrates the continued belief to this day that salmon farming is primarily responsible for the decline of salmon and sea trout catches along Scotland’s west coast.

Although the writer of the article says that there is sufficient evidence of the likely cause, the reality is that the evidence is largely circumstantial. In addition, some west coast rivers are appearing to be undergoing a recovery. For example, the website of the River Lochy states that: ‘The River Lochy has seen a remarkable revival over the last 20 years. From a mere 32 fish in 1998 to an average now of 450 salmon and sea trout. With its majestic backdrop of mouth-watering pools and glides, it is still without doubt, ‘The Queen of Scottish Salmon Rivers’. Fishing also appears to be returning to Loch Maree with the reopening of the Loch Maree Hotel, although current catches are still a shadow of what they used to be. The collapse of the Loch Maree sea trout fishery was where salmon farming was first linked to declining fish catches in Scotland. A scientific paper by Butler and Walker published in 2006 suggested that the arrival of salmon farming to adjoining Loch Ewe coincided with the collapse of the sea trout fishery. The graph showing the fall in the sea trout catch in the Butler and Walker paper only goes back to 2001 and I wondered what happened after that. The Association of Salmon Fishery Boards Annual Review includes graphs of catch data from the main rivers, including Loch Ewe. What was of most surprise was the inclusion of catch data for salmon. No one had ever mentioned salmon when referring to the Loch Maree collapse. As the scale of the salmon and sea trout catches are so different, it was impossible to see any real trend as to what was happening to salmon catches. However, both salmon and sea trout migrate down the same river and out

Above: Loch Ewe catches. Opposite (top): Laggan Fishery District. (Below): Nell Fishery District

Loch Ewe catches

The immediate question came to mind - was this an isolated instance or were other fishery districts exhibiting similar patterns? There are 109 fishery districts in Scotland of which 61 are located within the west coast aquaculture zone. I decided that it would be interesting to see what patterns emerge by plotting the catches from all 109 areas. Martin Jaffa .indd 44

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04/10/2016 11:02:29

Wild rumours

Laggan Fishery District

into Loch Ewe and past its salmon farms where,

allegedly, the migrating fish pick up sea lice, Nell Fishery District

which eventually would lead to their deaths. I managed to obtain the original catch data for

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Martin Jaffa .indd 45

Loch Ewe for both salmon and sea trout and re-plotted them together with a trend line. While the sea trout catches followed the decline detailed in other graphs, the salmon catch showed an increase. Surely, if the salmon are migrating out past the salmon farm, they too should

04/10/2016 11:02:48

International Sea lice Conference – Scotland

to the same allegedly lethal sea lice Gruinard Fisherysuccumb District

over 400 graphs for comparison. What immediately became apparent was that every fishery district is different. This is not surprising because loading but the reality was that they weren’t. every river is different and therefore it is not unexpected that the catches The immediate question came to mind - was from them would be different too. this an isolated instance or were other fishery Some fishery districts show an increasing trend for all four graphs while districts exhibiting similar patterns? There are The first observation from theincatch is 61 that from the with horror claimed, 59a per cent others are being the opposite, all fourstory in decline. Others have mixture of 109 fishery districts Scotlanddata of which are far located within the west coast aquaculture zone. catches with increasing and decreasing trends. of west coast rivers have produced at least one set The of catches that have an increasing trend over the first observation from the catch data is that far from being the horI decided that it would be interesting to see ror story claimed, 59 per cent of west coast rivers have produced at least what patterns emerge by plotting the catches 60-year time period. This includes the Loch Ewe system. one set of catches that have an increasing trend over the 60-year time from all 109 areas. period. This includes the Loch Ewe system. Marine Scotland Science record the catches By comparison, 62 per cent coast fishery which arecent considered healthy, show By comparison, 62 per of east coast fishery districts, which a are for salmon, grilse of andeast sea trout and have been districts, healthy, sinceset 1952, in addition to these decreasing trenddoing forsoone ofand catch data. Most ofconsidered these are forshow seaa decreasing trout. trend for one set of catch data. Most of these are for sea trout. three sets of data, I created a fourth group by Sea trout catches also suffer in the west with 48 of the 61 districts (78 adding the salmon and grilse together as total Sea trout catchessalmon. also suffer in the west with 48 ofper the 61showing districts (78 trend per but, cent) showing declining cent) a declining importantly, 42 ofathese 48 (87 cent) were in decline from 1952 to 1982 that is, before theis, arrival As a result42 of this I initially trend but, importantly, of exercise, these 48 (87produced per cent)perwere in decline from 1952 to– 1982 – that of salmon farming on the west coast. before the arrival of salmon farming on the west coast. For salmon and grilse catches, 37 of the 61 west coast fishery districts (60 per cent) show a decreasing trend for the whole 60 years, with 25 of the 37 (67 per cent) showing a decline in the period before the arrival of salmon farming to the locality. Of the fishery districts showing a long-term decline for both salmon and grilse and sea trout, 14 were exhibiting an increasing trend before 1982, which was reversed after salmon farming became established. Eleven of these have subsequently recovered, such as the Lochy as described above, and just three remain in decline. The reasons why these three fishery districts have not recovered is unclear. Salmon farming may play a part but these analyses show that the west coast was in crisis prior to the arrival of salmon farming. The initial observation that prompted this study was the opposing

half “theNearly fishery districts show an increase for one set of catches and a decline for the other

”

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Snizort Fishery District sea trout catches 1952-2014 and 1952-1982 Martin Jaffa .indd 46

04/10/2016 11:03:55

decreasing trend for one set of catch data. Most of these are for sea trout. Sea trout catches also suffer in the west with 48 of the 61 districts (78 per cent) showing a declining trend but, importantly, 42 of these 48 (87 per cent) were in decline from 1952 to 1982 – that is, Wild rumours before the arrival of salmon farming on the west coast.

trends shown for salmon and grilse and sea lots of reasons why thisand happens but it is likely that the long period of Snizort Fishery District sea trout catches 1952-2014 1952-1982 trout catches in Loch Ewe. Some 47 per cent of the study will have evened out any such occurrences. west coast fishery districts show similar trends 2) Escapes have bolstered the catches of salmon – the official data for these catches. That is nearly half the fishery includes catches of farmed salmon. The numbers reported have not districts show an increase for one set of catches increased even around known escape events, suggesting that most and a decline for the other. The question is fish swim out to sea and are lost. why? 3) Sea trout remain in the loch – it has been suggested that sea trout I have tried to seek the views of anglers, espesuffer most from sea lice from salmon farms because they tend to cially those who are the most vocal critics of the remain in the vicinity of their home river. However, sea trout catches salmon farming industry. It has not been easy have been in long term decline even on the east coast where there is but the reasons given include: no salmon farming. 1) The catch data is inaccurate – the only The last reason I can offer is that perhaps sea lice from salmon farms reason that catch data should be inaccurate have little to do with the decline of catches along the west coast and is if those reporting the catches have misthat salmon farming is just a convenient scapegoat for all sorts of other represented what they caught. There are problems in the wild fish sector. FF

Opposite (top): Gruinard Fishery District. Above: Snizort Fishery District sea trout catches 19522014 and 1952-1982

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04/10/2016 11:04:16

International Sea Lice Conference – Norway

BY MELANIE ANDREWS AND TOR EINAR HORSBERG

Staying alive Investigating possible tolerance to low salinities

almon lice have been an issue facing the salmonid industry since the 1970s. However, their impact has become more noticeable as the industry has continued to grow. There are two primary aspects when dealing with salmon lice infestations, the fish welfare aspect and the economic aspect. Infestations may result in the fish experiencing increased stress, decreased growth rates, development of sores and lesions, and eventually death if not treated accordingly, which affects overall fish welfare. In addition, infestations may result in economic losses, such as the need for increased treatments, reduced product quality, reduced food conversion efficiency, and increased mortality. Chemical treatments were initially developed to combat the salmon louse and were administered as either bath treatments, or in feed treatments. As with all control measures, treatments should be rotated and properly controlled to avoid the development of tolerance and eventually resistance. Though such measures have been in place for some time, there have been reports of resistance that in turn lead to the development of non-chemical treatments. In addition to the use of chemical treatments, a more hands on managerial system is necessary in order to change to a proactive, rather than a reactive approach to treatment methods. Such proactive approaches include non-chemical treatments, such as the use of cleaner fish, enriched feed, underwater feeding regimes, submerged cages and freshwater bathing. Freshwater bathing has long been effective in combating a wide range of parasitic infestations in the aquaculture industry, and has become a useful non-chemical treatment to combat salmon louse infections. Bathing takes place in wellboats containing

Sea LIce - Norway.indd 48

“

It would be naïve to assume that resistance cannot occur with nonchemical control methods

”

freshwater. The fish are pumped from the sea cages into the wellboat, held there for approximately eight hours and then returned to the sea cages. The time it takes to pump the fish into the wellboat is dependent on the size and number of fish, but this method does result in the fish experiencing a wide range of salinities, with the first fish experiencing pure freshwater and the last experiencing higher salinities. In addition, as with many other treatment methods, this does not remove 100 per cent of the salmon lice, which leads to the main hypotheses of this study - what happens to the lice that remain on the fish? By allowing some to survive, are we driving selection pressure towards the development of stronger and more resistant parasites? Laboratory studies have generally illustrated that different stages of the salmon louse life cycle can only withstand relatively small changes in salinity before experiencing increased mortality. However, salmon lice have been found on their fish host after more than a week upriver. This shows that there are some discrepancies between what has been observed in laboratory settings, what occurs on the fish farms, and what is described from the wild. The current project focuses on two life stages of the salmon louse, the free-swimming copepodid stage and the pre-adult stage, as these are the two most ‘targetable’ stages. This is because the copepodid is motile and dependent on finding a host fish in order to continue development, while the pre-adults must often be mobile and search for suitable mates. A bioassay method for studying freshwater tolerance in these devel-

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Staying alive

Above: Aﬀected ﬁsh. Right: Sea lice.

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Sea LIce - Norway.indd 49

opmental stages has been developed, and is currently being used on geographically diverse strains with varying treatment history. The test is based on long-term exposure to different salinities, ranging from 100 per cent seawater to 100 per cent freshwater. Preliminary results indicate that pre-adult stages are more tolerant of very low salinities than originally thought. In addition, comparing the response of the different strains to the same range of salinities may indicate whether there is in fact a difference in tolerance between the various salmon louse populations. Preliminary results indicate that this is the case. The data will be compared to farm treatment data, which may also highlight differences in the number and frequency of treatments. Finally, we aim to develop bioassay protocols for on-site testing of salinity tolerance which we hope will curb the development of tolerance by allowing for rapid diagnosis and the application of appropriate treatments. Development of tolerance can be expected whenever the parasites are subjected to a selection pressure where the fittest individuals survive. It would be naïve to assume that this cannot occur with non-chemical control methods. To be able to follow this possible development over time, assay methods must be developed early and baseline sensitivity levels must be determined prior to the onset of problems. Melanie Andrews and Tor Einar Horsberg, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Sea Lice Research Centre, Oslo. FF

04/10/2016 11:12:24

Humber Seafood Summit – Seafish

Aquaculture

takes centre stage Brexit, consumer habits and food security on agenda at industry gathering BY VINCE MCDONAGH

HE Humber Seafood Summit, on September 28, was hailed as the most successful yet. Held on Cleethorpes Pier, near Grimsby, with the North Sea as a fitting backdrop, the event attracted almost 200 delegates from the UK, the US, Ireland and Iceland. And, for the first time, aquaculture took centre stage at the event, organised by Seafish, with four keynote speakers giving their views, and reflecting the now dominant importance of this seafood sector. But it was a six strong panel debate on Brexit which attracted intense interest. Leaving the EU could eventually bring ‘great’ opportunities for UK aquaculture, the summit heard. This upbeat message was delivered by Mike Berthet, development manager of the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA). However, he also had worries about the impact of the EU referendum decision in June. The UK imported a lot of seafood and fish farming could play an important role in reducing that total. Fish farming units known as aquaponic centres were now developing around the country. He cited the example of one fish farm in Lincolnshire producing large amounts of prawns and another centre near London producing tilapia. ‘In time, I believe there could be aquaponic centres near every large city.’ Also on the panel were Nigel Edwards, technical and CSR director with

Humber Seafood Summit.indd 50

Icelandic Seachill; Simon Dwyer, managing director of Seafox Management Services; Mike Elliott from Hull University, Dale Rodmell, assistant chief executive with the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO); and Andrew Oliver, partner with the Humber legal firm Andrew Jackson which specialises in fishing law. All expressed concerns about the future outside the EU. Berthet warned that if extra tariffs were imposed on seafood either coming in or leaving the UK as a result of Brexit, processing centres in the likes of Poland, Latvia and Lithuania could become the ‘Grimsby’s of the future’. He said it was important that the country introduced some young blood and got together a team of specialist negotiators who could work with Defra and prepare for what lay ahead. ‘We cannot spend the next 50 to 100 years apologising for a mediocre job if we don’t get a top team of forward thinkers. Fish is a very emotional issue for the public in Great Britain and we need to get it right.’ Simon Dwyer from Seafox told the audience that a lot of seafood was brought into Grimsby in trucks driven by Europeans and Scandinavians. ‘We have to ensure they are not impacted by Brexit,’ he said, and another watch had to be kept on the container ship sector to ensure they continued to come to the Humber. He reminded the audience that the UK imported 600,000 tonnes of seafood, mainly through the Humber, and the country exported 500,000 tonnes, with the EU the largest market. Solicitor Andrew Oliver said the transition from EU to UK law would involve a huge amount of

Left: Brexit panel. Above: BIM’s Tara McCarthy; some of the 200 delegates; Scott Nicholls

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04/10/2016 11:21:44

Aquaculture takes centre stage

In time, “I believe

there could be aquaponic centres near every large city

”

legislation and he was worried there would not be enough civil servants with the skills to carry out the work. It would probably mean that a lot of EU laws would have to be retained and kept as UK law. Nigel Edwards from Icelandic Seachill, but who was also representing the Seafood Alliance, said the processing industry offered a healthy, nutritious and affordable product. But it needed to be able to import low tariff or tariff free fish from both EU and non EU countries. It was also important that funding was maintained after departure. Fundamental changes are taking place in the way the UK public shops for seafood, the summit heard. The trend was now moving more towards online and convenience store buying. Chris Kirkland, senior analyst with the food and grocery charity IGD, said his organisation has been carrying out research into what consumers are thinking. The banking crisis of 2008 has had a major impact in recent years and recovery, while consistent, has been slow, with people spending less on food. However, there was signs they were now prepared to spend a bit more. Online was the fastest growing shopping channel, followed by top-up shopping in convenience stores. But while this was impacting on the larger supermarket stores, he did not think they were going to disappear. ‘What is driving all this is a fundamental change in the way we shop - little and often.This is greatest in London because there are more opportunities.We have seen an 11 per cent growth in convenience shopping over the past few years. The Co-op is planning to open 100 new stores while Sainsbury’s opens 100 stores a year.’ He suggested there was room for improvement in the way convenience stores offered fresh or chilled fish. ‘We found that 63 per cent will use convenience stores to top-up, but only 13 per cent will actually buy fish in a convenience store. We think there are opportunities there for fresh fish trials.’ He also revealed that some of these stores were now making revolutionary changes to their shape so as people go in they find ‘food for now’ and ‘food for later’ as they progress around the shop. At one Spar petrol station in Kent there are a fishmonger’s and a butcher’s stall where people could buy salmon or beef with their fuel. Katherine Shade, consumer insight director at Kantar World Panel, said seafood was now becoming an affordable alternative to red meat largely on health grounds, with older people more likely to buy fish for that reason. ‘Seafood is in a great position in the current consumer landscape because of health. Fresh seafood is growing at 2.6 per cent a year although some of that is due to price increases.’ FF

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Feeding the world WHAT does pig breeding have in common with salmon farming? In practical terms, not a great deal, according to Scott Nicholls, the entertaining founder and principal of Future Foods LLC, who spoke on the important role of aquaculture in feeding the world. Hog breeding, he said, using the American term for pigs, takes up a huge amount of space and human effort, while fish farming can produce the same volume of protein for far less space. He said with the world’s population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050 and GDP growing in many countries by five per cent a year, the big question was where all the extra food would come from. Nicholls, a founder of the Verlasso salmon venture and a director of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, said: ‘Agriculture will, of course, improve the efficiency of land farms but it still doesn’t take us where we want to go when it comes to feeding the world. It is aquaculture which is going to play the greater role in our food future.’ But the industry needed to adapt by finding fishmeal alternatives in feed and in the prevention and treatment of disease. Farms should not be allowed to contaminate each other. They have to be better distributed and there was no reason why they had to be so close to shore.

Ireland aims for higher value IRELAND is making major strides to create a more dynamic and competitive seafood industry, said Tara McCarthy, chief executive of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Irish seafood development agency. Ireland employs more than 11,000 direct and indirect workers in its fishing, aquaculture and fish processing sector. Farmed fish is worth 148 million euros a year while the value of fish landed totals 344 million euros. ‘When you think about seafood - it is on trend,’ said McCarthy. ‘But why are we not more excited?’ She said Ireland has brought

in advice from the Harvard Business School to find out why so many challenges remained. It found that the industry was hugely fragmented and largely product driven, it had a fractious relationship with the government at times, especially on issues to do with regulation, and it was hard to get it to speak with one voice. There were also difficulties in attracting talented young people into the industry. BIM set about creating a business plan to improve opportunities. ‘Unless we can create a more sophisticated industry we are not going to improve our competitiveness.’

Anti farming message ignored

THE majority of people in Britain are quite happy with farmed fish, Martin Jaffa, head of the aquaculture consultancy Callander McDowell, told the summit. A YouGov survey showed that farmed fish had a high confidence rating, with 62 per cent saying they were happy with it. ‘Those who rated it quite highly also said they had a bent towards wild caught fish, but it may be that this attitude applies to all wild foods,’ said Jaffa. The public was also aware of welfare issues, but he was not sure if they knew what welfare meant when it came to fish. It was a similar story when it came to taste. Overall, the UK’s attitude towards farmed fish was positive. This was also the case across the Atlantic in North America where there had been several campaigns against fish farming by various organisations and individuals with an environmental agenda. Jaffa said millions of dollars had been poured into these campaigns with the stark message that eating farmed fish was evil, but this message had been largely ignored by the American public. And the reason it has failed? People like the taste of farmed fish.

04/10/2016 11:22:15

Advertorial – Stranda Prolog

Handled

with care

Gentle vacuum pump puts fish welfare first

company based in Kristiansund, on the west coast of Norway, has developed the only operational three chamber vacuum fish pump currently available. Stranda Prolog’s newest vacuum pump is the VS Triplo and it is certainly making waves! Over the past 18 months, more than 20 of the new units have been delivered, mainly to delousing vessels and barges, where the pumps supply various delousing equipment with salmon from the cages. By using three chambers and running on specially developed software, the Stranda Triplo pump is able to deliver a near uninterrupted output of fish. Similarly, at the intake end, the suction is continuous, requiring less crowding of the fish, thus reducing stress and increasing fish welfare and product quality. If mounted below decks, close to sea level, the pump operates at suction levels lower than one meter water column (- 0,1 bar). This all but solves the problem of ruptured capillaries and upset swim bladders. When fish must be treated regularly, as is currently the case due to the influx of sea lice in Norwegian and Scottish waters, it is important that the work is done as gently as possible. The Stranda VS Triplo pump is designed with this in mind as animal health and welfare remain at the core of the company’s philosophy. Other important design goals are ease of use and hygiene. Ease of use simply means that operators should be focusing on the task at hand, not

Stranda - PED.indd 52

Clockwise from top right: Using three chambers and advanced software, the Triplo vacuum pump has a near uninterrupted output and continuous suction; the Stranda Triplo is ideal for use on barges and delousing vessels; hygiene and animal welfare are essential to Stranda Prologs philosophy - reflected in every stage of production; optional inspection hatches make cleaning and maintenance easier

on the equipment they are using. The quality of stainless steel selected, the way it is cut, shaped and welded, is all done with hygiene and functionality in mind. Large inspection doors make maintenance, cleaning and internal inspection easy. Compressors are placed in prefabricated containers, ensuring a clutter free work environment. While centrifugal pumps are good at performing certain tasks, they often struggle with large fish, or when pumping fish of all sizes. Modern vacuum pumps like the Stranda VS Triplo can handle fish over a wide range of sizes, which is often necessary when treating batches of relatively large fish that have not recently been graded. Treating fish may require a broad array of machinery. The VS Triplo pump is designed to be integrated with fish counters, graders, dewatering equipment, and equipment for separate handling of cleaner fish and filters for treating return water.

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04/10/2016 11:35:04

Handled with care

“

It is all done with hygiene and functionality in mind

”

It can also be made compatible with a wide range of software solutions, including Stranda Prolog’s own automation system, StraKS. This all adds up to a gentler way of pumping and a winning formula for the company as it nears the end of another successful year. For more details of the VS Triplo, Stranda can be reached on 00 47 71 40 14 00 or you can visit www.stranda.net. FF

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04/10/2016 11:37:11

Advertorial – MSD Animal Health

Professional

passion Building specialist skills, from South Africa to Scotland

CAREER PROFILE: AQUA TECHNICIAN

qua technicians work with fish farms to ensure fish are raised to the highest possible standards. This is certainly the case with Liam Doherty, who has held this position for MSD Animal Health’s (known as Merck Animal Health in the United States and Canada) aquaculture team for the past four years. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Liam spent most of his childhood growing up on the highveld before moving to the UK. From a young age he had a keen interest in fish, reptiles and fishing. He furthered his passion in an educational environment when he studied aquaculture management at Inverness College. Once qualified, he worked on various salmonid hatcheries, including the Highlands and Central Scotland, as well as a large operation in South Africa. This allowed him to build his specialist knowledge, develop strong contacts within the fish farming world and gain valuable experience and insight to support his long term career. With more than 16 years’ experience in aquaculture, technical, health and management roles, it was an easy decision for Liam to join the team at MSD Animal Health in Scotland, where he focuses on monitoring programmes, technical support and is the on-site ‘face’ of the company. His main areas of work include technical support of PD Monitor and SLICE Monitor, product trials, aquaculture health and management and MSD aqua products and vaccines. ‘I’ve always had a passion for fishing, so it seemed the natural direction for my career to progress,’ said Liam. ‘I grew up in South Africa where my interest in fishing began, so

MSD.indd 54

Right: MSD’s Dafydd Morris, Camilla MacDonald, Campbell Morrison and Liam Doherty;Below right: Liam and Camilla with Professor Randolph Richards, former director of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture

going on to study aquaculture management once I moved to Scotland just made sense. ‘I’ve been lucky enough to ﬁnd a company like MSD Animal Health who are just as passionate about ﬁsh and their health as I am, so my job doesn’t always necessarily feel like work. ‘There’s a lot of travelling to different sites but it means I get to work outdoors most of the time and enjoy some of the best views in Scotland. When the weather isn’t too great, it can be tough, but we just make sure to pack our waterproofs. ‘It’s been a great four years and I’ve learned

My job doesn’t always “ necessarily feel like work ” www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

04/10/2016 11:41:37

Professional passion

so much while meeting so many interesting people in this sector. ‘I look forward to continuing to build relationships across the various ﬁsh farms and ensuring the best ﬁsh health possible for our customers.’ Dafydd Morris, business manager of Aquaculture at MSD Animal Health Aquaculture, said: ‘Working with Liam is a pleasure. He already has over 16 years’ experience and has made great connections with people in the industry all over the country. ‘You can see his genuine passion for the job on a daily basis, and I look forward to many more years together working together to keep improving the industry.’ MSD Animal Health products include SLICE® - market leader feed premix targeting sea lice in salmon smolts and NORVAX® Compact PD – treatment for pancreas disease in freshwater salmon. FF

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MSD.indd 55

04/10/2016 11:50:57

Research – Amoebic Gill Disease

Bespoke vaccines Stirling team targets AGD with novel control strategy BY DR SOPHIE FRIDMAN

moebic Gill Disease (AGD) is rapidly emerging as a major threat to the Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry. It is caused by the amoeba Paramoeba perurans, which floats freely in seawater, only becoming a problem when it attaches to the gills of a fish it encounters. Infection leads to the characteristic appearance of white spots and streaks on the gills and, as the disease worsens, fish become lethargic and show signs of respiratory problems which can ultimately lead to death if left untreated. The severity of outbreaks of AGD are seen to increase in the summer months, when the sea temperatures rise and the parasite multiplies very quickly. This disease was originally reported in Tasmania in the mid-1980s but since then has spread to become a global problem - outbreaks have been reported from New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Chile to France, Spain, Ireland, Norway and Scotland. It does not just infect salmonid species but also non-related fish species such as sea bass, turbot and - worryingly - cleaner fish, including ballan wrasse and lumpfish, which are stocked alongside salmon in sea cages as part of a biological lice control programme. Currently, treatments are restricted to bathing infected fish in hydrogen peroxide or freshwater – both methods are costly and logistically challenging and, in addition, can have detrimental impacts on the health and welfare of already compromised sick fish. This disease is currently costing the global salmon farming industry millions of pounds a year in treatments and fish losses. An ongoing project funded by Innovate UK brings together fish health and vaccinology expertise from the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture, Ridgeway Biologicals

Research - Sophie.indd 56

The amoebae responsible for A

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04/10/2016 11:56:00

Bespoke vaccines

Left: The amoebae responsible for Amoebic Gill Disease. Below: White spots on the gills of an Atlantic salmon caused by the parasite Paramoeba perurans. Opposite page: Sophie Fridman examining infected gills at Stirling University’s Marine White spots spotson onthe thegills gillsofofananAtlantic Atlantic salmon caused parasite Par Environmental Research Laboratory White salmon caused by by the the parasite Paramo at Machrihanish, Kintyre, with MSc perurans. perurans. students Harry Hamlin-Wright and Lily Chang

The amoebae responsible for Amoebic Gill Disease

- the UK’s primary manufacturer of autogenous vaccines, and Marine Harvest. The aim of the project is to develop and test a novel control strategy against AGD in farmed salmon stocks, through the use of autogenous vaccines – that is, farm-specific vaccines or those that are individually tailored for each farm experiencing an outbreak of AGD. Such vaccines can be produced under specific regulations, controlled by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, and offer the potential to be produced and deployed rapidly in the face of emerging AGD threat. It was only in 2008 that the amoeba responsible for the disease was positively identified as Paramoeba perurans and, since then, dedicated research has resulted in the ability to culture this organism in a laboratory setting. The Institute’s Dr Sophie Fridman has visited a number of Marine Harvest sites on Scotland’s west coast and collected amoebae from the gills of salmon infected with AGD and grown them up in the lab at Stirling. The consortium is now culturing, isolating, characterising and comparing these different amoebae strains and developing vaccines based on the results. The vaccines will then be tested in experimental trials in the laboratory environment. Experimental vaccines that prove effective in the laboratory will be used to vaccinate fish in sea cages to assess vaccine efficacy in fish following natural exposure to amoeba. The benefits of this research are far reaching. Not only will it provide valuable information to the fish disease research community, it will also directly benefit the global salmon aquaculture industry through reduction in AGD and improved productivity and sustainability of production. FF

for Amoebic Gill Disease

offer the potential to “beThey produced and deployed rapidly ”

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Research - Sophie.indd 57

The amoebae responsible for Amoebic Gill Disease

04/10/2016 11:56:35

Processing News

Norton steps down as fish merchants chief Steve Norton has announced he is to retire as chief executive of the Grimsby Fish Merchants Association after 15 years and following a career in the seafood industry spanning 50 years. ‘SOMETIMES it is difficult to know exactly when to go,’ he said. ‘This has been a big part of my life, but after much thought I have concluded I owe it to my wife and family to give them more time. ‘There is rarely a dull moment in this industry and, for the most part, I have enjoyed working in it. But with Brexit we are going to be presented with some new challenges which I think need a fresh face at the helm.’ Norton has enjoyed a distinguished career during which time he has played a key role in a number of innovations, including the development of chilled fish which now makes up the largest part of the retail seafood market. He has worked in procurement, technical, commercial and manufacturing management. He joined Rossfish the year England won the World Cup and went on to work in various roles for Findus/ Nestle and Young’s Seafood.

Special relationship The kroner was “falling as fast as the snow outside

”

Above: Steve Norton with Icelandic ambassador Thórdur Aegir Óskarsson

He moved to Young’s just as Marks & Spencer and Waitrose were expanding their fish ranges beyond the freezer cabinets. Young’s came up with a new concept called chilled fish, both natural fillets and coated, which had a longer shelf life than fresh fish from the traditional slab. Norton said: ‘It was truly pioneering work and I was proud to be in at the beginning.’ In 2001, at the

invitation of the then chairman Bill Hobson, he was appointed chief executive of the Fish Merchants Association. Again it was a time of great change. Grimsby’s fishing fleet had all but disappeared which meant the merchants depended almost entirely on supplies from Iceland. But in 2008 that arrangement almost hit the buffers. Following the Icelandic banking crash, when it looked like many British

savers might lose their money, the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown invoked what was effectively anti-terrorist legislation against the country. This not only caused considerable resentment in Iceland, but threatened to freeze all financial transactions between London and Reykjavik, which meant fish merchants in Grimsby and Hull were prohibited by law from paying for Icelandic fish. Norton

said: ‘Bill Hobson and I were in Reykjavik when the crash happened. The kroner was falling as fast as the snow outside, but we knew we had to act fast.’ So with the help of Grimsby’s then MP Austin Mitchell they contacted the Bank of England, which put pressure on the Treasury to grant the fish merchants a special dispensation. It forged a special relationship with Iceland that still remains.

Upbeat message from Icelandic ambassador THE Icelandic ambassador to Britain made a surprise visit to the Humber Seafood Summit last month – and brought with him a message of assurance that his country’s links with the Humber remained firmly intact. Thordur Aegir Oskarsson was in the area to visit Icelandic seafood businesses, which together employ more than 2,500 local people. But he also took the opportunity to visit the seafood summit’s pre-conference reception where the best of local seafood was on display. The ambassador spoke about the developments in Iceland’s economy over

Processing News.indd 58

Above: Thórdur Aegir Óskarsson at the Humber Seafood Summit evening reception with North East Lincolnshire Council chief executive Rob Walsh and Steve Norton. Picture: Dave Moss

the past two or three years, which had also led to changes in the way fish was

being processed and marketed. He said: ’It is true we are now processing more of our own fish, but the strong links with Grimsby and the Humber are still in place and I am confident this will continue. ‘The UK is our most important market when it comes to fish exports and I don’t see that the situation will change.’ The ambassador said Brexit and the resulting fall in the value of the pound had made fish imports to the UK more expensive, but he thought that things would even out over the medium term.

Icelandic Group to sell another subsidiary THE Icelandic Group has put Ný-Fiskur, another of its subsidiaries, up for sale. Icelandic Ný-Fiskur is a leading producer and exporter of high quality, line-caught fresh fish products operating from a state-of-the-art primary processing plant in Sandgerði. The company exports around 1,700 tonnes of fresh fish and 800 tonnes of frozen fish. The board of the Icelandic Group said the decision was part of its strategy to simplify its operations. Last month the group signed an agreement in relation to the sale of its Spanish subsidiary, Icelandic Ibérica, to a group of producers in Iceland known as Solo seafood ehf. Ný-Fiskur, which employs about 100 people, processes 6,000 tonnes of raw material annually. Iceland Seafood’s main European activities are based in Grimsby, where it employs around 1,500 people in various seafood processing operations, including the award winning Saucy Fish brand.

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04/10/2016 12:17:59

Processing News

Saucy Fish moves into Canada

Above: Popular ﬁsh and sauce combination

AFTER the United States, Belgium and Austria, Britain’s Saucy Fish is now heading to Canada. Describing itself as the world’s leading chilled seafood brand, the Grimsby based company said it is launching some of its premium fish products in the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws. This is a first for the company. The popular fish and sauce combination, which is only a few years old, has moved another step closer to conquering the world The company said: ‘Inspiring the mid-week meal with quality fish and extraordinary flavour profiles will be at the heart of the Canadian roll-out, which will see Saucy Fish available in 349 stores owned by Loblaws - including Zehrs, Your Independent Grocer, Valu-Mart, Provigo, Dominion and Atlantic Superstore.’ The news comes following a string of international export announcements made over the last year across North America, including listings in Whole Foods Market and Publix. The range launched in Canada includes four new products found in the freezer aisle that can be oven cooked straight from frozen: Lemon Butter Sauce sensational with Herb Crusted Atlantic Salmon; Chili,

Lime and Ginger Dressing superb with Atlantic Salmon; Aged Cheddar and Chive Sauce smashing with Smoked Haddock; and Salsa Verde tremendous with Tilapia. There will also be three products from the pre-cooked Ready to Eat range: Sticky Maple sauce sensational with smoked and roasted Atlantic Salmon fillets; Tomato and Chilli Chutney tremendous with Roasted Sweet Chilli Atlantic Salmon fillets; and Sicilian Lemon & Dill Mayo magnificent with Roasted Lemon and Herb Atlantic Salmon. Paul Macis, international and business development manager at the Saucy Fish Co, said: ‘Following our stateside expansion over the last year, we’re exceptionally pleased to be launching in Canada with a brand new frozen range. ‘We know different international markets buy and consume seafood in different ways. We feel extremely confident that our inspirational fish and sauce combinations will brighten up the Canadian shoppers’ basket, and lighten the load on whoever’s cooking the mid-week meal. ‘We’re also delighted to have Loblaws as our retail partner. They are the perfect retail partner for our brand and they seem really committed to supporting our launch.’

…and is cool brand again Saucy Fish Co has just been voted as one of the UK’s coolest brands for the fourth year running. THE 2016-17 CoolBrands listing is the result of an extensive voting process that involved 36 influencers and 2,500 members of the British public. The four factors deemed to be inherent in a CoolBrand are authenticity, desirability, innovation and originality. Icelandic Seachill, part of the Icelandic Group which owns Saucy Fish, said

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Processing News.indd 59

the latest CoolBrands results – headed by Apple – underline the Saucy Fish Co’s prestige and allure within the country. Competition is substantial, with thousands of brands from more than 50 sectors considered by the voters; only those achieving top scores qualify for CoolBrands status.

04/10/2016 12:18:24

Archive – July/August 1994

101 ways to kill ﬁsh Patrick Haughton, Sparsholt College, takes a lighthearted look at mortalities, but the underlying message is serious

HILE working on your fish farm, do you ever wonder why you do the job? Is it the pay? Is it the long holidays or, maybe, the glamorous environment? Occasionally I ask myself this question (usually at 2am when I am cleaning the screens during a thunderstorm!). Why do I continue to look forward to the next batch of fish or the new season? On reflection, it is because I never get it right. To put it bluntly, every year I discover a new way to kill fish! If you are an animal welfare officer, let me assure you that my goal is to rear healthy, vibrant fish profitably. However, it is an inevitable consequence of farming fish that they will die due to mistakes, poor technology, bad husbandry and, sometimes, bad luck. The competition of the free market means that the commercial operator walks a tightrope. Since we farm to the limit of our resources, the borderline between success and failure is narrow and the transition is fast, painful and usually expensive. As a child I remember bringing a bucket of blennies up to our holiday cottage to show my parents. After they had been suitably inspected and my fishing prowess complimented, they were left outside, to be returned the following morning. I was to experience my first fish kill… Above: The July/August But my first loss of fish on a large scale was 1994 cover in the winter of 1978. Massive snow-falls over the fry ponds collapsed the netting and blocked the screens. We worked through the night in appalling weather to minimise the losses. At least I had not been responsible, but burying skip-loads of fish made a lasting impression on me. Such depressing work!

Archive - Oct.indd 60

Cannibalism The second big loss occurred when a wooden screen collapsed overnight and fingerling trout from a pond above found themselves sharing the pond below with some voracious second-year brown trout. I was first to arrive on the scene and, after skipping from one foot to the other and flapping my arms, I rushed off to find a seine net. While I was running around, the manager took stock of the situation, picked up a bucket of food and started feeding the pond. As if by magic the brownies stopped gorging themselves on the fingerlings and satiated their appetite on pellets. We were then able to solve the problem at our leisure. Not long after that, we installed metal instead of wooden screens. Since those early days, I have made all the standard mistakes: wrong dose calculations; overstocking; forgetting to put back the airstone, raise the standpipe or turn the flow on again. These have all resulted in small losses, near-misses and sometimes major disasters. One hundred thousand orfe fry, stocked into a recirculation unit before I had dechlorinated the water, is my worst calamity to date. Drowning In an effort to reduce the number of fish that die each year, I have here recorded some of the more unusual fish kills that I have experienced or been told about. This unusual mortality happened to an entire tank of snakeheads. The tank had been fitted with a lid because the snakeheads, as ‘air breathers’, had a propensity to escape. However, after the lid had been fitted, the tank was then filled to the level of the lid leaving the fish with no opportunity to breathe air. When we strip our tench, we do 20 or so fish at a time. They are

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04/10/2016 12:28:10

101 ways to kill fish placed in the anaesthetic, rinsed and then dried on tea towels. Usually about 10 tench are ‘rolled up’ in the tea towel and then removed, one by one, for stripping before being returned to the tank. After the spawning, the towels are gathered up and thrown into the washing machine. My partner’s wife had a surprise when, hours after one session, she unloaded the washing machine to find an exceedingly clean tench inside a ball of less clean tea towels. Once I made the mistake of caging up some large carp of about 2-6lb close to the edge of a pond. Inevitably, these drew the attention of the local village thief and a large percentage of them disappeared. Several months passed, and I was stocking a pond with swim-up carp fry. Carp fry are about the same size of a small eyelash and it is critical to sock them in water with ample food and no predators. To get a pond ready for stocking requires considerable work and skill. It must be drained, dried, lined, reflooded and manured. The plankton is carefully monitored and special insecticides are added to ensure the pond is ready to receive the fry with just rotifiers present. Imagine my disbelief after I had just released 120,000 carp fry into the margins, when I saw two large mirror carp cruise past me towards the fry. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. A hallucination? No! Where had they come from? My only guess was that the poacher had found it difficult to sell the fish and had decided the easiest way to get rid of the surplus was to return them to the nearest pond – my carp fry lake! Little could he have known that these fish now threatened the entire farm’s production for the following year. Once again I found myself doing the ‘fish farmer flap’. What should I do? Had I experienced a similar problem before? Yes – the brown trout/fingerling disaster. With confidence, I threw a few scoops of pellets into the

As if by magic the brownies stopped gorging “themselves on the ﬁngerlings and satiated their appetite on pellets ”

pond and strolled off to collect the seine net. A fish farmer was experimenting with a new, pressure-shocking treatment to induce triploidy. To identify the fish, each was ‘panjetted’ just above the pectoral fins. Some concern was expressed when none of the fish appeared to be recovering from the anaesthetic. The subsequent post mortem showed that the panjet had injected the dye through the skin into the heart of each fish. A fish farmer might be justified in altering the phrase ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’ to ‘out of the fry-rearing pond and into the feeder lid’. A common cause of salmon and trout fingerling mortalities is when a lid falls or blows off the feeder and floats around the tank. The fish make the mistake of jumping into the lid and asphyxiating. On a trout farm the broodstock were put into a half-acre lake to recover from the stresses of the spawning season. The lake had been built with a 200m pipe running beneath it so that the water could flow either under or through the lake. Generally, the water bypassed the lake so that it remained unsilted and in ‘nutrient balance’. The spent broodstock recovered quickly in this environment of space and large quantities of natural food, like daphnia and invertebrates. Unfortunately, the balance was upset when the water suddenly stopped flowing down the pipe and under the lake and started to flow through the lake. Within days, the extra nutrient loading resulted in a massive plankton bloom that in turn caused huge diurnal oxygen fluctuations. Over 100 dead and rotting 6-12lb broodfish had to be buried.

DynoRod were called and, some hours later, ejected an old paint pot that a carefree vagrant had thoughtfully put down the pipe. Fingernails A visitor expressed wish to do a day’s work experience on my fish farm. We were sorting green and golden tench on a gardening table: a very pleasant job in the summer with company. Gradually, during the morning, I noticed an ever increasing mortality in the ‘sorted’ tanks of fish. On close inspection they looked squashed. Since the pre-graded fish appeared in the pink of good health, I started to watch closely how my guest worker was handling the fish. Immediately, the reason for the mortality became evident. He had extraordinarily long fingernails and was gripping each fish with a pinch so strong he was crushing them as he jettisoned them across the grading table. Alcohol To sex-reverse tilapia, the fish are fed a hormone that is incorporated into their diet by dissolving it with alcohol which is then mixed with the food. The food is then left in a warm oven to allow the alcohol to evaporate. Unbeknown to my colleague, the fuse on the cooker had broken, and while the food in the morning looked dry, it was only dry on the surface. Inside the outer layer there was still a large concentration of alcohol. The following few days of feeding led to the loss of all the stock through alcohol poisoning. I must confess, I can think of worse ways to go. FF

FIND THE LATEST INDUSTRY VACANCIES AT FISHUPDATE.COM

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Archive - Oct.indd 61

04/10/2016 12:28:32

Markets & Retail News

New oily fish to land on Tesco counters

UK’S best new fish and chip shops announced

Norwegian fjord trout is making its way to UK shores, with selected Tesco stores stocking the oily fish from this month conscious. The fish is versatile and can be cooked in minutes. It will be sold in side format at Tesco fish counters at an estimated price of £12.50/kg. Customers will be able to request their quantity and the fishmonger will portion accordingly. Jack-Robert Møller, Norwegian Seafood Council UK director, said: ‘Norway is producing approximately 70,000 tonnes (whole fish equivalent) of Above: Chef Daniel Galmiche Norwegian fjord trout THE Japanese have balanced diet to help and this volume has been enjoying fjord them grow slowly, been stable for the last trout for years and UK producing excellent five years. chefs have developed quality fish with a deep ‘Around 85-90 per a taste for it too, eager red-orange colour. cent of this is being to place a new red fish Storing its fat mainly exported at a total valon their menus, says in the belly, fjord ue of NOK 2.3 billion in the Norwegian Seafood trout have lean flesh 2015. Our opportunity Council, promoting the which is full of protein, for the UK has been fish. vitamins and omega, to introduce a new Fjord trout are fed making it the perfect premium species in the a nutritious and choice for the health red fish category, and

we are very excited about this. ‘The biggest Norwegian exporter and producer of fjord trout is Lerøy Seafood, who will be exporting fjord trout for Tesco’s new fish counter product from October 2016.’ Chef Daniel Galmiche said: ‘As a chef, I’ve been lucky enough to serve fjord trout in my restaurants and even cook with it at its source in Norway. ‘With the new placement at Tesco, I am so delighted that UK shoppers can finally get their hands on this delicious fish for themselves. ‘The flesh is mouth-wateringly vibrant and is perfectly

Balanced diet

“

It’s the perfect choice for the health conscious

”

suited to marinating, smoking, curing and of course pan-frying. I also love marinating it in salt, sugar, coriander and lime – truly an incredible combination. To put it very simply - this is made by the glacier. It is pure, it is delicate – it’s amazing.’

Why Scots should eat more fish

Celebrity chef signs up for Seafood Week Mark Greenaway has become the latest prominent name to sign up as a partner for Seafood Week, which runs from October 7-14 THE celebrity chef, famous for appearing on Great British Menu, has agreed to back Seafood Week for the second year running and has developed a Seafood Week inspired special menu which he will be putting on in his Edinburgh restaurant throughout the celebration. ‘It is a real privilege to be joining Seafish for Seafood Week,’ he said. ‘I believe in cooking with fresh, local and seasonal produce and something we should all be extremely proud of is the fish from our oceans. ‘For such a small country the abundance and variety of fish and shellfish is second to none and something we should all be eating more of.’ Seafood Week, run by Seafish, is an annual campaign which champions the variety and quality of seafood availaAbove: Mark Greenway by Paul Johnston ble in the UK.

Retail News.indd 62

FOOD Standards Scotland (FSS) welcomed the BBC Good Food Nation Survey after it reported an increase in healthy snacking and increases in the number of people preparing meals from scratch. But the FSS said it was still concerned that one in six young people between the ages of 16 to 20 are consuming unhealthy fast food at least twice a day. When the government launched its

Eatwell Guide earlier this year, to help reduce the future projection of 40 per cent obesity by 2030, Heather Peace, FSS head of nutrition science policy, said: ‘Our research shows that most of the Scottish population are buying and eating too many foods such as cakes, pastries, biscuits, confectionery, crisps and sugary drinks. We should be eating more fruit and vegetables, more fibre-rich foods and oil-rich fish.’

THE UK’s top 10 fledging fish and chip shops were announced on September 26 by the 2017 National Fish & Chip Awards, organised by Seafish. Over the coming weeks, the shortlisted businesses will be subjected to mystery shopping assessments by industry experts, evaluating both product quality and customer service levels. This next stage of the competition will whittle down the top 10, forming the UK’s top three finalists who will go on to compete for the top accolade at the 2017 awards ceremony. Marcus Coleman, chief executive at Seafish, said: ‘Being shortlisted in this award is a fantastic achievement for newly opened fish and chip businesses. It demonstrates their incredible talent, dedication and commitment to thrive; traits that are to be applauded. ‘I’d like to offer up my congratulations to the shortlisted shops and wish them all the best as they continue in their quest towards becoming one of our finalists.’ Culminating in an awards ceremony in London on January 26, 2017, the National Fish & Chip Awards are recognised as one of the most prominent and respected seafood industry events in the UK.

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04/10/2016 12:31:14

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04/10/2016 12:36:00

Opinion – Inside track

The suicidal race BY NICK JOY

quaculture is great! There, I’ve said it and of course I am a completely unbiased commentator and should never be argued with. Actually, when you look at food production worldwide, aquaculture is a fantastic advance for the world. Ignore the luddites, who find anything wrong with anything new, and it becomes clear just how important it is. We produce a form of food that is acknowledged to be one of the healthiest that can be produced. In the case of fish with omega 3, it is simply true that you get up from a meal of fish healthier than when you sat down. So here we have an industry buoyed by the fact that it produces a wonderful healthy product and what happens? We try to produce it cheaper and cheaper. Whether it be rainbow trout, salmon or prawns, just like our competitors in agriculture we succumb to the market influence. We know that it will be bad for the animal. We accept that we will reduce the quality and often the health benefits, yet on we go. We look for cheaper ways to produce feed, often feeding things which are entirely unnatural to the animals’ digestion. We increase stocking levels to the point where the animals suffer and then step back from the edge. Why? All because the government, after the Second World War, decided that food should be cheap. Now at 8.9 per cent of our income we are not far behind the US (6.8 per cent) in our spending on food. My figures may be a little old but Italy is at 14.4 per cent, France at 13.4 per cent and in places where wages are low and malnutrition high, the figure can reach over 40 per cent. My problem is that this drive has resulted in the worst of all worlds. In the days when I used to go to the US a lot, I used to do a trick to bring this point home. Talking to chefs, who love a good gadget, I used to hold up my beat up phone and say, ‘I bet you can’t guess what one of these is!’ Most had acquired a new phone in the past year but did not know the cost of it, yet almost every one of them complained bitterly when food prices rose. We value the wrong things. When you connect this to the media and politics you find that they act similarly. When did you last hear a debate in parliament on the cost of televisions, gaming devices or mobile phones? Yet the price of food is a constant drive. So why do I call this column the suicidal race? Because in every way that is what it is, a race to the bottom. We create cheaper and cheaper food, paid for by the welfare of the animals we rear, and then throw it away in huge quantities because it is so cheap we don’t value it. Our society argues that food should be cheap but do not value it or the people who produce it. This in turn results in extreme cynicism in those who produce food, as it does in all whose product is not valued. In this case it is utter madness. We reduce the quality of what

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As we “ reduce the

price, we reduce the intrinsic health properties of what we produce

”

we produce as food because the government, the supermarkets, the media and the consumer supposedly want this. As we reduce the price, we reduce the intrinsic health properties of what we produce in order to meet the price point. If ever there was an industry racing to commit suicide in a long and painful way, it is an industry that forgets what makes it healthy. ‘You are what you eat’ is a truism that is often used in this context. If it is really true and we continue as we are, we are going to become the equivalent of the food we produce. I am lucky, I eat what I produce myself. My focus is on trying not to grow faster, not to grow cheaper, but to produce with the absolute minimum of intervention and to make my animals as happy as I can. I believe that animals and crops pay you back if you do and it is the reverse of everything most of the food industry is focused on. FF

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04/10/2016 12:40:47

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South American Regional Aquaculture 16 Latin American & Caribbean Aquaculture 16

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