Fish Farmer January 2019 by Fish Farmer Magazine

Fish Farmer VOLUME 42

NUMBER 01

JANUARY 2019

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Serving worldwide aquaculture since 1977

REACH FOR THE SKYE

GROWTH STRATEGY

STIRLING CHOICE

SCOTCH MYTHS

On the site of Mowi’s Scottish feed mill

Ben Hadfield looks forward to a bumper year

Professor outlines her priorities in new post

Industry must find its voice: SSPO’s Hamish Macdonell

January 19 Cover.indd 1

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Contents 4-13 4-15 4-14 News

What’s What’s happening happening in in aquaculture aquaculture in the the UK UK and and around around the the world world in

14-17 16-21 16-17 16-22 Interview Industry pioneer News Extra platform Parliamentary inquiry

JENNY JENNY HJUL HJUL –– EDITOR EDITOR

Fair French connection Farmers must Uphold the codefight back Greathearing expectations

TIAT

Steve Bracken SSC’s record results Stewart Graham Professor Selina Stead The ﬁnal sessions

salmon farming sector in Scotland, when it was to he focus this month istohuge on Europe, the internati T HE is coincidence that pictures andwhere videos of unhealthy Sno Fish Farmer went press, there was sti lltold no offi cialonal HE New Year brings promise for Scotland’s aquaculture be the subject of a parliamentary inquiry, embraced the industry willwith soon gathering the EAS (European salmon were sent tobe news outletsfor just asjoint thefor Scotti sh salmon news from the Scotti shharvests parliamentary inquiry into industry, bigger predicted salmon farmers, opportunity this would provide explain how it month. operated. Aquaculture Society) and WAS (World Aquaculture Society) parliament went back to work atto the start of this These farming, conducted earlier this year by the Rural Economy after last year’s relatively modest output, and exciting The industry had nothing to hide and, ifcompletion. given fair hearing, conference, to bethe staged over five days in theaof southern images had litt le to do with the current state Scotland’s ficould sh and Connecti vity (REC) committ ee. MSPs have now heldFrench fiinclude ve projects, long in pipeline, nearing These address much of the criti cism levelled against it. city ofngs, As well asare highlighti ng the latest technological farms -Montpellier. where sea lice in decline and, inwe fact, at fivemeeti in Farms’ private, tolevels consider their report and must Scottish Sea hatchery at Barcaldine (featured in ourabe Fish Farmer supported this view, but at tiby mes felt salmon advances inissue), our fast moving sector, Aqua 2018 willthat alsohas feature year low (htt p://scotti shsalmon.co.uk/monthly-sea-lice-reports). pati ent. However, waiti ng for their recommendati ons been December and the feed mill built Mowi (the new name farmers were being drowned out by the noisier elements of the sessions on emerging markets and look at the role of fi sh This latest propaganda campaign, which involves all the usual made harder by leaks from within the REC to anti -salmon farming for Marine Harvest as of January 1) on Skye. We visited the latter angling lobby, which had called foras the investi gatiRural on. But asngs thethe farming inThe alleviati ng poverty. Increasingly, industry anti -aquaculture suspects, came Holyrood’s Economy acti vists. latest of these (see our news story onmeeti page 4) earlier this month for our special feed feature, met some of sessions progressed, and eventually farmers’ voices were heard, we are their scope, subjects such asthat the committ social and Connecti vity committ eetackling returned the summer recess to makes grim reading for the industry asfrom it suggests ee newbroadening team and saw how the final preparations are going. And we became more opti misti c. We now believe that MSPs, perhaps with acceptability of aquaculture and the contributi on it makes to global consider its draft report into the future of salmon farming. members have been willing to listen to those campaigning to caught up later with Mowi boss Ben Hadfield to hear about the food security and saving the planet, aand move that is toanti welcomed. the excepti on ofvaluable one two Greens cahoots with -farming Those who want toor shut down the industry asbe expected, shut down this sector, rather than tohave, those who operate company’s ambitions for Scotland -in beyond. Also investi gati ng initi ati ves in the developing world, Dr Harrison campaigners, will, on balance, regard the industry in a favourable stepped their activitigot es,off which breaching within it.uphas The year already to anow goodinvolve start, with the the light. They will see that farmers take their environmental Charo Karisa ofhopefully WorldFish writes about thesnatch farming al inthe biosecure environments of farm sitesStead to photographs in Of course, such stories may be inaccurate and, inpotenti anynew case, announcement that Professor Selina will be the Nigeria, both in catf ish and ti lapia culti vati on. responsibiliti es seriously and that businesses will only ever the hopeee’s fifinding evidence against farmers. Onein committ ndingsincriminati are not binding. Scotland’s sh farmers director ofofStirling’s Institute ofngAquaculture. Wefitalked toinvest her In Scotland, the summer has been something of a waiti ngdead game growth thatplans isfibeen sustainable. campaigner lmed himself searching, unsuccessfully, for have totakes have up the support their minister, aboutalways her forfortunate when she post inofof March. while the parliament is in recess and thethe members Holyrood’s If the ee members, especially those have yet to of fi sh at acommitt Marine Harvest site.Farmer Another hewho saw ‘hundreds’ Fergus Ewing, to grow There are changes at sustainably. Fish too,said as we warmly welcome Rural Economy and Connecti vity committ ee conti nue to weigh up visit a salmon farm, would like to learn more about the subject of infested salmon in a pen, but we only have his word against that But it should not go unchallenged that some MSPs on the REC three new members to our esteemed editorial advisory board. the evidence in their inquiry into salmon farming. We don’t expect their inquiry, we have plenty of good stories in our May issue. Even of the professional vets and biologists who manage the welfare of committ ee, with their own agendas against the growth of the Joining us are Chris known their report unti l theMitchell autumn of butPharmaq, hope the who MSPswill arebe using the time the bett er, they could head to Highlands later this month, where these farms on a daily basis. industry, are in breach of the Code of Conduct for MSPs. As they to become most people in the industry, Cleaversmith of Akva to fully acquainted with Jason the facts about fish farming. they meeton theanother aquaculture industry en masse Scotland’s If the industry proud of itsthe high standards, as itsalmon says is, it are inwill aScotland, positi inflthe uence future course ofat farming, Group familiar face the sector, anditHamish This month alsoisto sees reti rement ofinMarine Harvest’s longest biggest fish farming show. must mount a much more robust defence of itself, through its and of businesses vital to Scotland’s economy, we have a right Macdonell, the SSPO’s director of strategic engagement. Hamish serving employee, Steve Bracken. We had no trouble collecting We will certainly be at Aquaculture UK inindustry, Aviemore and look representati ve body, the SSPO, than itthe has done tothrough date. The to know who they are, and we hope its may be new to aquaculture but hecolleagues has wasted time warm tributes from his friends and tono mark thegetting forward to seeing many of you there too. campaigners, we nowpressure see,the will stop at representati ves, will the parliament toand investi gateatbefore milestone and, along with thenothing, industry, thefarmers team Fish to grips with its challenges - asrest youof can see from his excellent should prepared to fivery ghthappy back. the RECbe report published. column on Page A very New to you all! Farmer wish himis18. all the best for theYear future.

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22-23 18-19 24-27 Salmon market SSPO

Current trends In good Julie Hesketh-Laird Meet thehealth new chief executive Hamish Macdonell

20-21 Comment Martin Jaffa

48-49 Feed 44-46 46-49 40-41 50-55 Trout focus Brussels Aqua 2018 Innovation Aquaculture New processors’ groupon Sti rling course Pictures atmarket the exhibiti Insurance

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Finnish product

52-54 Feed New technology 56 48-49 50-58 42-45 Book review Training Aqua 2018 Innovation Aquaculture

Introducti onons Farming angle Focus Africa Robot on soluti

Phil Thomas What’s in a name? Dr Nick Lake Phil Thomas

56-57 58-59 60-63 68-69 51 Alternative species Aquaculture Claws bass for thoughtUK Australia Training Sea

22-25 26 22-23 30 Shellfish Shellﬁ sh Comment BTA Janet H Brown

Barramundi boom Martyn Haines European leaders Chris Mitchell

Montpellier report Dr Marti n Jaﬀ a Doug McLeod

26-27 28-31 24-25 32-33 Feed sh Sea Farms SSPO Comment Scottish Shellﬁ Ben Hadfield

58-59 Alternative species Cultured caviar

Rising stars Marti nBrown Jaﬀ a Orkney anniversary Janet

32-33 26-27 26-30 34-35 Shellfi shfiSea Cleaner sh Farms Scottish Comment Janet Machrihanish Orkney farm Marti nBrown Jaff a visit

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Editorial Advisory Advisory Board: Board: Steve Editorial Bracken, Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Steve Bracken, Scott HervéLandsburgh, Migaud, Jim Treasurer, Chris Mitchell, Migaud, PatrickJim Smith and Jim Hervé Migaud, Patrick Smith, Patrick Smith, Treasurer and Jason Cleaversmith and Hamish Treasurer, Wiliam Jim Treasurer and Dowds William Dowds William Dowds Macdonell Editor: Jenny Hjul Designer: Andrew Editor: Jenny Hjul Balahura Designer: Andrew Balahura Designer: Balahura Adverti singAndrew Manager: Team Leader: Advertising Dave Edler Team Leader: Dave Edlershupdate.com dedler@ﬁ Adverti sing dedler@fishupdate.com Adverti sing Executi Executive: ve: Advertising Scott Binnie Executive: Scott Binnie sbinnie@ﬁ shupdate.com sbinnie@fishupdate.com Publisher: Alister Bennett Publisher: Alister Bennett

Tel: +44(0) +44(0) 131 131 551 551 1000 1000 Tel: Fax: +44(0) +44(0) 131 131 551 551 7901 7901 Fax: email: email: jhjul@fishupdate.com jhjul@ﬁ shupdate.com

28-35 34-35 28-29 32-33 36-41 Feed visitﬁsh Comment Cleaner Orkney Farm

Head Oﬃ Office: Special Publicati Publications, Head ce: Special ons, Fettes Park, 496 496 Ferry Ferry Road, Road, Fett es Park, Edinburgh, EH5 EH5 2DL 2DL Edinburgh,

36-41 36-39 32-35 34-35 43-45 Feedcareers IoA Wild salmon Cleaner ﬁsh decline Orkney Alex Obach

Cover:Steve Alisonsh Hutchins, Dawnfresh Cover: Bracken explains Lumpsucker Scotti Sea Farms regional Cover: Kevin O’Leary, siteOrkney, manager farming director, Loch Etive. salmon farming toon Prince Charles producti on manager for of Mowi’s newBinnie feed plant at the Picture: Scott during his visit to Marine Richard Darbyshire (left ), Harvest and Kyleakin, Skye. in 2016. Photo: Iainat Ferguson Westerbister team Scapa Pier Photo: Angus Blackburn

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Salmon market Montpellier preview From torobust salmon Investor advice Cargillshrimp

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Mowi’s new Marti nofJaﬀ a mill Vaccines New player Dawn new era

69 64-67 70-73 52-54 Aquaculture Nigeria Networking Research UK Meet the team on Boosti ng producti Dave Chris Conley Mitchell

62-63 81-82 76-77 56-59 Processing & Retail News White fish move From the Archive Value chains Aquaculture UK Awards David LittinleChina reports Growth Developing trends 64-65 Aqua Source Directory 91 78-79 63 Find all you need for the industry Retail & Marketing Processing & Retail News Save Pinneys jobs Carlisle jobs Recruitment Eat more ﬁshchallenges 66 Opinion 92-93 80-81 64-65 By Nick Joy Aqua Source Directory

Figure 9. 9. Development Development of of salmon salmon nominal nominal catch catch in in southern southern and and northern northern NEAC NEAC 1971 1971 to to 2016. 2016. Figure Text at at top top inserted inserted by by author. author. Filled Filled symbols symbols and and darker darker line line southern southern NEAC. NEAC. Text

The mackerel hypothesis Transport Leask Marine Sti rling students

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94 82 66 Opinion

Figure 10. 10. Examples Examples of of the the young young mackerel mackerel currently currently growing growing up up ‘all ‘all over’ over’ the the North North Sea, Sea, Figure Norwegian Sea Sea and and along along the the Norwegian Norwegian coast coast at at the the moment. moment. These These were were caught caught in in aa ‘washing ‘washing Norwegian set’ by by the the purse purse seiner seiner ‘Brennholm’ ‘Brennholm’ at at an an arbitrary arbitrary position position 100 100 nm nm west west of of the the Lofoten Lofoten Isles Isles in in set’ January 2018. At this stage these small mackerels are competitors to the postsmolt salmon, January 2018. At this stage these small mackerels are competitors to the postsmolt salmon, later they they will will be be both both competitors competitors and and potential potential predators. predators. The The new new and and abundant abundant availability availability later Printed in Great Britain for the proprietors Wyvex Media Ltd by J Thomson Colour Printers Ltd, Printed in Great Britain for the proprietors Wyvex Media Ltd by J Thomson Colour Printers Ltd, Printed Printed in in Great Great Britain Britain for for the the proprietors proprietors Wyvex Wyvex Media Media Ltd Ltd by by JJ Thomson Thomson Colour Colour Printers Printers Ltd, Ltd,of juvenile mackerel in the multi sea winter salmon feeding areas may be a good explanation to of juvenile mackerel in the multi sea winter salmon feeding areas may be a good explanation to Glasgow ISSN 0262-9615 Glasgow ISSN ISSN 0262-9615 0262-9615 why the the MSW MSW fishes fishes have have such such aa good good condition condition at at present present despite despite their their poor poor early early sea sea growth. growth. Glasgow Glasgow ISSN 0262-9615 why Photo JC JC Holst. Holst. Photo

Introducti on Novel technology Temperature Introducti on

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United Kingdom News

NEWS...

Scotland invests £3.5m to improve gill health A £3.5 million research initiative has been launched in Scotland to improve the health of farmed salmon. Two Scottish consortiums, backed by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), are embarking on projects to improve gill health and resilience in salmon. The ﬁrst study will explore the factors that can cause gill damage or disease to

facing salmon farming, not only in Scotland, but across all salmon producing countries. ‘This is an internationally significant issue, which we’re aiming to address through this focused effort from some of the top minds in the field. ‘The health of a fish’s Above: Robin Shields gills is absolutely critical to its overall welloccur – such as the lo- and equipment – while project will analyse being. The outcomes the genetic characcal environment, water also examining how we are looking for better to prevent and teristics which cause quality and temperafrom these projects tures, as well as nutri- control the condition. some salmon to be more vulnerable to gill are to help provide And the second tion, farming practices, the industry with the disease. knowledge and tools The results could allow the aquaculture it needs to manage and control outbreaks, industry to breed and – further down fish with enhanced resilience to gill infec- the line – to prevent tions and other health disease as far as we issues, such as sea lice. can by breeding fish with greater natural The research will resistance.’ bring together the Giada Desperati, expertise of a range research and develof businesses and academic institutions, opment coordinator TRANSPORT SHIPPING TRANSPORT & & SHIPPING TRANSPORT & SHIPPING led by Scotland’s Rural at Loch Duart, said: EEE SSS TTT AA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 5 9 AB BL L II S 99 SH HE ED D I INN 119 95 5 ‘Rising water temperaCollege (SRUC); the TRANSPORT & SHIPPING TRANSPORT & TRANSPORT & SHIPPING SHIPPING EEE SSS TTT AA 119 99555 ABB BLL LI IISS D NN 1 999 SHH HEE ED D II IN ture is adding to the Roslin Institute (part gill challenges facing of the University of AVAILABLE FOR LONG-TERM, LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS, LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS, our salmon. LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS, Edinburgh); salmon SUCCESSFULWITH WITH PARTNERS PARTNERS SUCCESSFUL SUCCESSFUL WITH PARTNERS SHORT-TERM AND ONE OFF ‘Ensuring the best farmer Loch Duart; • Road Haulage • Shipping • Port Facilities • Storage & Warehousing • Craneage • • Road Haulage • Shipping • Port Facilities • Storage & Warehousing • Craneage • • Road Haulage • Shipping • Port Facilities • Storage & Warehousing • Craneage • and Landcatch Natural possible health and SHIPPING CONTRACTS welfare for our fish is Selection, part of massively important Hendrix Genetics. to our company. Not Another 10 organonly is Loch Duart isations, including investing heavily in the Scottish Salmon Ferguson Transport & Shipping offers a comprehensive range of new technology to Company and Grieg distribution services by road, rail and sea, covering the whole of the Ferguson Transport & Shipping offers a comprehensive range of Ferguson Transport & Shipping a comprehensive range of UK for general haulage, plantoffers and machinery movements. counteract this probSeafood Shetland, will distribution services by road, rail and sea, covering the whole of the distribution services by road, rail and sea, covering the whole of the UK for established general haulage, plant and machinery movements. A long family-run business with industry experienced UK for general haulage, plant and machinery movements. also contribute to the lem, but we welcome and competent staff throughout all divisions of the company, working A long established with industry experienced hours a day andfamily-run 365 days abusiness year to provide long-term, short-term A24long established family-run business with industry experienced with open arms the and competent staff throughout divisions of the company, working work. and adall hoc solutions. and competent staff throughout all divisions of the company, working 24 hours a day and 365 days a year to provide long-term, short-term 24 hours a day and 365 daysFreight a yearServices to provide long-term, short-term Corpach Intermodal – Road / Rail / Sea opportunity to work and ad hoc solutions. Robin Shields, senior and ad hoc solutions. Kishorn Port Sea Freight, Warehousing & Logistic Services Road, Rail, Sea & Port Facilities Mallaig Port Sea Freight, Warehousing Logistic Services Corpach Intermodal Freight Services – & Road / Rail / Sea together with other aquaculture innovation Corpach Intermodal Freight Services – Road / Rail / Sea Kishorn Port Sea Freight, Warehousing & Logistic Services Kishorn Port Sea Freight, Warehousing & Logistic Services Mallaig Port Sea Freight, Warehousing & Logistic Services manager at SAIC, said: salmon farmers on Mallaig Port Sea Freight, Warehousing & Logistic Services Integrated Freight Facility, Annat, Corpach, Fort William PH33 7NN ‘Gill health is up there this important health T: 01397 773840 F: 01397 773850 E: enquiries@fergusontransport.co.uk T: 01397 773 840 with sea lice as one of issue.’ www.fergusontransport.co.uk Integrated Freight Facility, Annat, Corpach, Fort William PH33 7NN Integrated Freight Facility, Annat, Corpach, Fort William PH33 7NN T: 01397 773840 F: 01397 773850 E: enquiries@fergusontransport.co.uk E: enquiries@fergusonshipping.co.uk Alastair Hamilton, T: 01397 773840 F: 01397 773850 E: enquiries@fergusontransport.co.uk the biggest challenges www.fergusontransport.co.uk

LOGISTICS

FERGUSON FERGUSON FERGUSON FERGUSON FERGUSON FERGUSON

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Ferguson.indd 1

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senior geneticist at Landcatch Natural Selection, added: “Amoebic gill disease (AGD) is emerging as one of the most important challenges to the salmon industry worldwide, with treatment costs presenting a substantial financial burden to the industry. ‘Since introducing genomic selection as a means to enhance resistance to AGD in 2014, Hendrix Genetics has demonstrated that the use of this technology can substantially accelerate genetic progress compared to conventional breeding programmes, with evidence suggesting gains are both cumulative and permanent. ‘A significant constraint on wider deployment of this technology is the cost of genotyping. Although Hendrix Genetics has introduced innovations to tackle this, cost remains a significant obstacle. ‘In this project, we will develop and apply methods to further improve the cost-efficiency and the accuracy of selection for disease resistance.’ The Roslin Institute, Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture, and Landcatch have a track record in collaborating to develop innovations in this field, said Hamilton.

18/02/2015 11:57

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All the latest industry news from the UK

Mowi expects 60% bigger harvest PRODUCTION by Mowi (formerly Marine Harvest) is expected to increase to 65,000 tonnes in Scotland this year, up 60 per cent from the 40,000 tonnes harvested in 2018. Ewan MacColl, the company’s operations director for processing and feed, explained in Mowi’s newsletter, The Scoop, how the whole salmon farming industry had experienced lower volumes last year, compared to 2017, a bumper year for the sector. He said 2018 was about ‘rebalancing’ and gearing up production ‘in preparation for what we anticipate to be another bumper year in 2019’. ‘We are expecting to produce around 65,000 tonnes next year. Increased volumes bring both challenges and opportunities. ‘In terms of the operational side of the business, we need to plan to process an additional 25,000 tonnes compared to this year. ‘Our Blar Mhor processing plant in Fort William will be at capacity in the second half of next year

so we are looking west to our colleagues in Ireland. ‘We have a processing plant in Donegal, which is 100 per cent organic. Currently, we process 10,000 tonnes of salmon at Donegal and there is capacity to scale up this operation. We have just completed a trial in December, which went very well. ‘There is still some work to do but we are confident that we will be able to transport fish from Argyll to Donegal for processing and then back to Scotland for onward distribution.’ On the front foot - Ben Hadfield: Page 26

Above: Ewan MacColl

Producer looks to Asia to boost sales MOWI is looking to expand sales to Asia this year as uncertainty over Brexit raises the prospect of tariffs on European trade. The company exported 32 per cent of its volume – out of a total of 47 per cent exports – to Europe in 2017, said head of sales Georgina Wright. Wright, who chairs a working group organised by the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation to help prepare for Brexit, told Mowi’s newsletter: ‘We have been in discussions with both Westminster and Holyrood to underline the importance of our products and frictionless trade. ‘Scottish salmon is the single largest food export for both the UK and Scotland. The EU is a very important market for us and we currently enjoy frictionless trade. ‘France is the largest country sale of these EU exports, enjoying both our regular Scottish salmon and our premium priced Label Rouge product range. ‘If we revert to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) rules, then fresh whole Scottish

Above: Mowi’s Georgina Wright

salmon will have a tariff of two per cent for exports to EU member states. ‘Of course, we will continue to lobby hard for frictionless trade post Brexit, but for me, 2019 will be focused on opening up new markets outside the EU, increasing our market share in current non-EU markets such as China and the US, whilst maintaining strong relationships with our customers here in the UK, which is still our biggest market. ‘I see a lot of opportunities in markets such as Japan, Korea, UAE to name a few, but also we will continue to work with our European customers even if this carries a tariff.’

The world moves forward Feeding is the most important task in aquaculture. Therefore, you should choose the best and most advanced tool. We in Steinsvik have worked with feeding systems since the 80s. Time after time, systems like Are 126, MultiFeeder, GMT Feeder and FeedStation have set the standard for what is possible to achieve with a central feeding system. Around the world, our solutions are used both for land and sea based farming. Now we have raised the bar once again. We present Next Generation FeedStation!

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United Kingdom News

Aquaculture awards go annual and global

THE Aquaculture Awards held in Aviemore last May are to become an annual event, with a date already ﬁxed for May, 2019. They will also be thrown open to a wider audience, with global aquaculture companies invited to compete. The organiser, 5m Publishing, announced the new date for the Scottish Marine Aquaculture Awards, to be held at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh on May 29, following the success of this year’s competition, staged at Aquaculture UK. ‘The 2018 awards were hugely successful – attracting a record number of entrants from around the UK – and we’re keen to encourage international involvement this time too,’ said 5m’s sales and marketing director Matt Colvan. ‘The annual awards are now open to participants in the sector from around the world.’ The awards will take place at a presentation dinner following a half-day seminar, the details of which will be announced shortly. The categories include: Applied Research Breakthrough (sponsored by Lloyds Register) – open to any research project involving collaboration between the industry and academic sectors. The winner will be the project that is most likely to have an impact on the industry and has already demonstrated some tangible measures of success. Sustainability (sponsored by Cargill) – will be presented to the organisation that is able to demonstrate the consistency of its contribution to the environmental, ethical and economic sustainability of the industry. Entrants will need to highlight ways they are addressing each of the three E’s. International Impact (sponsored by BioMar)- an award set to promote companies and/or new

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initiatives with a truly international impact. Projects that promote cross-industry collaboration and/or make their results freely available for the greater good of the sector will be viewed particularly favourably. People’s Choice – individuals are invited to nominate a person from within the sector whose attitude and achievements in the last 12 months have been particularly inspirational. The public will then be able to vote for anyone from the shortlist, which will be drawn up by the judging panel based on the best of the nominations received. Most promising new entrant – nominations sought for people, companies or products that have arrived on the aquaculture scene since January 2018. Animal Welfare – any initiative that has improved the welfare of the farmed animals and/or the wildlife they interact with since January 2018. Initiatives can cover a range of factors, including genetic, pharmaceutical and technological innovations, or improvements in husbandry and farm management protocols. Tech/Data Innovation – an award for the developer of novel hardware or software that has, or is projected to, improve the performance of any aquaculture sector. Diversity (sponsored by Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre) – the employer, individual or organisation that has done the most to promote diversity in their workforce and/or the sector in general since January 2018. ‘We have established a new set of categories which have a greater emphasis on sustainable farming practices, cutting edge research and technological innovation,’ said Susan Tinch, event organiser. The closing date for entries is March 1, 2019, and the shortlists will be announced in early April.

Third of salmon farming staff under 30 A THIRD of the workforce in Scotland’s salmon farming sector are under the age of 30, according to a report published last month by the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO). The majority work in Highlands and Islands communities, employed on farms, and in engineering, veterinary, processing, sales and marketing, and HR roles, as well as in laboratories and research. In total, more than 700 young people between the ages of 17 and 30 work in the industry in Scotland. Julie Hesketh-Laird, chief executive of the SSPO, said: ‘For the salmon farming sector, these young people are vital employees, keeping the workforce growing and embracing new ideas and new technologies. They

can work their way up the career ladder to become the managers of the future. Young people join salmon farming companies straight from school, after college or as graduates. For them, their work offers a well-paid, sustainable career path through on-the-job skills training, Modern Apprenticeships, National Progression Awards and graduate training. ‘The chance for young people to live and work in the rural areas they were brought up in is very important.’ ‘Salmon farming companies have become house builders and telecoms advocates, supporting local community initiatives and schools to help all their workers, especially the young, ﬁnd suitable modern facilities in the remote areas where they work.’

Scottish Sea Farms helps deliver faster WiFi

Above: The new broadband service in Drimnin is now live

A REMOTE Highlands community is enjoying a faster and more reliable broadband service thanks to Scottish Sea Farms and other local partners. Drimnin, in the west Highlands, home to just 57 properties, was not included within any private or public sector plans for the roll-out of broadband, and villagers had to contend with a slow, unreliable satellite connection. At the same time, Scottish Sea Farms was looking to enable remote feeding at its salmon farms around the Sound of Mull. By joining forces, the salmon producer and the community have overcome the challenges to deliver broadband. Scottish Sea Farms’ senior IT analyst and project leader, Forbes Baylis, said: ‘Traditionally, a wireless radio link requires a direct line of sight. However, the exposed location of some of our farms, combined with the natural geography of the area, meant this wasn’t an option. Our proposed solution, in partnership with wireless specialists Rapier Systems, was to effectively ‘bounce’ the signal back and forth from different locations, but this was dependent on us securing permission to install the necessary masts and repeaters at the most suitable locations. ‘Drimnin Community Broadband CIC proved instrumental in reaching out to businesses.’

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14/01/2019 16:04:22

All the latest industry news from the UK

New vessel for new Shetland firm A NEW Shetland vessel service company, set up as a one-stop-shop for the aquaculture industry, has ordered its first workboat. Ocean Farm Services (OFS) is a joint venture between two well established local companies,Whalsay based Aurora Marine and Scalloway based North Isles Marine.The firms will combine forces to provide a stronger, broader vessel service to Scotland’s growing salmon farming sector. The new boat, Apollo, commissioned from Stamas Yard Services (SYS) and designed by Marin, will join the Aurora Quest of the same design, carrying out mainly net cleaning for farming companies. The boat’s hull will be made in Poland while the outfitting will take place at SYS in Karmsund, just outside Haugesund, Norway. Delivery is scheduled for early summer, 2019. With a length of 14.96m breadth of 7m, and draught of 3.15m, the vessel will have a crew of three. Håkon Rugland, CEO of Stamas, said: ‘We are very pleased with the signing of this first build for us as a company.The collaboration between Ocean Farm Services, Marin Design and ourselves has been very productive and we look forward to several joint projects going forward.’ Colin Leask of Aurora Marine and a director of the new OFS, said: ‘This marks a milestone and a start of an expansive period for us as a company. ‘The new set-up will result in an increased service level and greater reach. More interesting projects are in the pipeline and we are very pleased to sign this first vessel with Stamas Yard Services.’ With salmon producers in Norway creating innovative concepts for large, offshore farms to cope with the world’s growing demand for salmon, it won’t be long before Scotland’s farms follow suit, said Leask. ‘Therefore, we feel for us to be in a position to cover and assist this growth going offshore, and with inshore cages and nets becoming larger all the time, larger vessels and more innovative technologies will inevitably be required. ‘By combining our two existing companies and experience, we’ll be in a much stronger position to move forward, along with the industry, and be able to compete against the large Norwegian service companies.’ He said the goal was for OFS to operate as a one-stop-shop for all vessel services required by salmon farms in Scotland. ‘OFS will be fully equipped with vessels, equipment and qualified, experienced local crews, capable of covering all vessel services.’

Above: How the new boat will look

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Boat order boost for Scotland

A SCOTTISH boat builder has secured two new contracts to build aquaculture support vessels. Ferguson Marine Engineering (FMEL) will deliver the boats, designed by Aberdeenshire architects MacDuff Ship Design, to Inverlussa Marine Services. The first vessel will be 21m in length and over 100 tonnes and is due to be completed in May 2019.The second will be 26m and weigh approximately 450 tonnes, and will feature two decks, offering greater flexibility. This boat is due to be completed by late 2019 and will go on a long-term charter for one of Scotland’s leading salmon farmers. Ben Wilson, managing director of Mull based Inverlussa Marine Services, said: ‘We are looking forward to working with Fergusons and are extremely happy that these vessels will be built in Scotland. ‘We have been very impressed with the investment made in the shipyard in recent years.’ Gerry Marshall, CEO of FMEL, added: ‘We are delighted Inverlussa Marine Services has chosen FMEL to build these two innovative vessels. ‘Due to the extensive investment into creating a world-class facility in Port Glasgow, we are now in a position to offer companies, such as Inverlussa, the option to keep this vital work in Scotland.’

Sea lice conference lost to Faroes THE 13th International Sea Lice Conference, due to be held in 2020, will now be hosted by the Faroes Islands, not Scotland, as previously announced. The organisers revealed that Scotland had renounced its plans to host the event due to ‘agenda problems’. Scotland had secured the prestigious conference during a vote by delegates at last year’s conference in Punta Arenas, Chile. It had beat off competition from Australia and the Faroes. But now the event will switch to the Faroese capital Tórshavn, in September 2020. Polly Douglas, aquaculture

innovations manager at the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), had made the case for Scotland on behalf of the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture. A university spokesperson said: ‘The University of Stirling is in discussion with the organisers of the International Sea Lice Conference to host a future event.’

14/01/2019 16:04:42

European News

NEWS...

EU ﬁsh farm proﬁts double

Insight into Norwegian suppliers THE Norwegian analysis provider, Kontali Analyse, has launched two new publications covering salmon farming and aquaculture in Norway. ‘Norwegian Aquaculture Suppliers 2018’ gives detailed financial analysis of Norwegian suppliers to the salmon farming industry. Available separately are the background figures on which the report is based. The other new publication from Kontali is ‘The Salmon Farming Industry in Norway 2018’, with a detailed analysis of Norwegian salmon farming. Again, background figures are available in a separate publication. Kontali produces a wide range of special reports and publications, mainly for the aquaculture and fishing industries, and also organises the Productivity Conference, to be held next in Kristiansund, from November 6-7. Further details are available from the company at mail@kontali.no

Above: Salmon farm, Scottish highlands

EUROPEAN fish farming companies have seen their profits double between 2014 and 2016, according to the latest EU economic report on the aquaculture sector. And Britain remains one of the largest players in the business. In 2016, the EU aquaculture sector produced and sold 1.4 million tonnes of seafood, worth almost €5 billion. Employment figures demonstrated that aquaculture firms provided more stable employment opportunities, marking a strong recovery from

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2013 in most of the large aquaculture producing countries. The EU is currently home to some 12,500 aquaculture enterprises, mostly micro-businesses employing less than 10 employees. Employment has remained stable in terms of total employees (73,000) but has significantly expanded in terms of full-time equivalents: from 36,000 in 2013 to almost 44,000 in 2016. The report said this positive trend is likely to continue, with investment being significantly higher

than any depreciation, adding that the sector has a positive perception about its future development. The EU aquaculture sector distinguishes three subsectors: marine, shellfish and freshwater production. With €2,731 million in turnover, marine aquaculture (mainly salmon and trout) is by far the largest, followed by shellfish (€1,134 million) and freshwater (€1,028 million) production. The report also said production is dominated by five countries: the UK, France, Greece,

Italy and Spain. These countries account for roughly 75 per cent of total production volume. In the marine sector, the UK is the main producer of salmon (91 per cent of total value), whereas Greece is the main producer of sea bream and sea bass (47 per cent of total value). In the shellfish sector, France produces 86 per cent of the oysters while Spain leads on mussels, covering 45 per cent of the volume. The report adds that the potential impact of Brexit remains unknown.

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14/01/2019 16:07:14

All the latest industry news from Europe

Iceland salmon farm row firms win ASC approval

Above: Katrina Jakobsdóttir

TWO Icelandic fish farming companies at the centre of a national row, which saw their applications for expansion suddenly withdrawn four months ago, have received Aquaculture Stewardship Council environmental certification for their production techniques. Both SalMar backed Arnarlax and Arctic Sea Farms received the green light from Iceland’s

Food Administration last year to expand their salmon production operations in the Westfjords region by up to 17,500 tonnes, creating around 200 jobs in the process. But permission was unexpectedly withdrawn by the country’s Environmental and Natural Resources Complaints Committee following protests from environmental groups. The row also involved the country’s prime minister, Katrina Jakobsdóttir, who stepped into the debate at one point. The two companies have since been granted temporary licences, which have laid down conditions and placed restrictions on their plans until they remedy a number of defects highlighted by the Environment Committee. Income from Icelandic aquaculture rose by 34 per cent in 2017, with earnings more than doubling in the past three years, according to the government information organisation Statistics Iceland. Pre-tax profits were well up too, rising by 2.6 billion Icelandic kroner (£16.6 million), which compares with a loss of ISK 1.7 billion (£10 million) in 2016. The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is one of the strictest environmental certification bodies in aquaculture and known worldwide. The award means all salmon produced in

the Westfjords this year will be certified. Companies that pass the ASC certification commit themselves to minimising environmental impacts. Kristian Matthiasson, managing director of Arnarlax, said: ‘We are very pleased to have an ASC environmental certification. This underlines our goal of sustainably pursuing aquaculture in harmony with nature and society.’ Arctic Sea Farms managing director Stein Ove Tveiten added: ‘The ASC certification is of great importance to us as our customers are looking at environmental impacts and making demands on them. We believe that this focus on environmental issues gives us a long-term competitive advantage.’

Above: Kristian Matthiasson

Kontali Analyse is an independent, world-leading provider of analyses, mainly for the aquaculture and fishing industry. Besides delivering analyses for the seafood sector, we also publish a wide range of publications and special reports

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14/01/2019 16:08:30

European News

Promotion for BioMar’s UK boss

Above: BioMar’s Paddy Campbell

DANISH feed group BioMar has appointed Paddy Campbell, the head of its UK based business, as vice president of its salmon division. At the same time, Håvard Jørgensen, will be promoted from global R&D director to managing director in Norway. BioMar said that both men, who were due to assume their new responsibilities from January 15, had ‘delivered remarkable business results in other executive management positions’. Campbell, previously a head of global R&D

within BioMar, has helped established the company in Australia, and is currently overseeing the construction of a feed mill in Tasmania. He has been working for BioMar since 1998, where he started as a product developer. Jørgensen, said BioMar, has ‘a very solid insight into the Norwegian industry through his R&D work within salmon’. BioMar CEO Carlos Diaz said: ‘I feel very fortunate that we have been able to allocate two very strong executive profiles to support our focus on the salmon division. ‘The salmon division comprises a very important part of our business and we consider the division a vital driver of our innovation and sustainability efforts. ‘I look very much forward to continuing the positive development of our products and services within the world of salmon.’ The current vice president of the salmon division, Jan Sverre Røsstad, is leaving BioMar Group after 12 years heading the Norwegian business unit as well as the salmon division. Diaz said: ‘Jan Sverre Røsstad has been a very important contributor to the development of our salmon feed business and the development of the salmon industry in general.’ Great Dane: Page 40

Process more, earn more says seafood chief THE head of Norway’s Seafood Council has said the industry could hugely increase its wealth and job creation if more of the fish it sold abroad was processed before it left the country. Presenting the 2018 exports figures, chief executive Renate Larsen said that 84 per cent of salmon went out unprocessed. With so little fish being processed in the country that farms or catches it, the sector is losing around 30 billion kroner (£2.8 billion). ‘In 2010, the proportion of unprocessed fish for export from the white fish sector, pelagic and aquaculture accounted for 67 per cent (of output). But in 2018, the proportion of unprocessed fish had increased to 72 per cent,’ said Larsen. ‘There is a great potential for increased value creation in Norway - from increased value from the products themselves, through the efficient use of waste raw materials and the potential to create Above: Renate Larsen more jobs.’

Record 2018 for Norway’s seafood exports NORWEGIAN seafood exports hit a record high of 99 billion kroner during 2018 – or just over £9 billion. But there was a little disappointment that they did not break the magical 100 billion kroner barrier. Nevertheless, the figure represents a five per cent value increase on 2017 and, at 2.7 million tonnes of farmed and wild caught fish, a volume increase of four per cent. Renate Larsen, CEO of Norway’s seafood council, said: ‘It has been a good year for Norwegian seafood exports. In summary, there was both a record high export value and a record high export volume for

Above: Good year for salmon exports

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Norwegian seafood in 2018. ‘This was achieved despite Brexit, a trade war and other challenges that have created unpredictability in the world market. ‘Seafood exports to the EU market have increased due to lower competition and a favourable currency situation against the euro. ‘But we saw a decline in seafood exports to Asia, as a result of increased competition and continued challenging market access to China.’ Norway’s fisheries minister, Harald Tom Nesvik, said: ‘Once again, a new record has been set for Norwegian seafood exports. We have every reason to be proud of that. This represents good and important news for the Norwegian economy. The seafood industry contributes to value creation and jobs all across the country. ‘While the value of exports has increased by 60 per cent over the past five years, the volume has increased by almost 10 per cent. ‘Greater volume growth is therefore highly desirable in order to develop the industry further. Our goal is for the industry to continue to grow, and as a seafood minister, I work for this goal every single day.’ As expected, aquaculture, mainly salmon, was the best performer last year, accounting for 72 per cent of total value, but only 40.5 per cent in volume. Sales of farmed salmon totalled 1.1 million tonnes, worth NOK 67.5 billion (almost £6.2 billion) Norway exported 46,400 tonnes of farmed trout for NOK 3 billion (£274 million) in 2018, a rise of 16 per cent in volume, while the value increased by NOK 127 million, or five per cent on 2017. Cod exports totalled 127,000 tonnes and earned the country’s fishermen NOK 9.4 billion (£860 million).

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14/01/2019 16:09:06

All the latest industry news from Europe

Tromsø may overturn ban

SalMar to go ahead with ‘smart’ farm THE Norwegian salmon farming giant SalMar is to press ahead with its ambitious open sea development project despite a partial rejection of its application for 16 licences. The Fisheries Directorate tuned down around half of the licence applications by SalMar and its subsidiary, the advanced marine technology company Mariculture, just before Christmas. Now the two businesses have issued a joint statement saying they will proceed with the scheme, known as Smart Fish Farm, using the remaining eight licence permits. SalMar founder Gustav Witzøe described their strategy as ‘important for Norway

Above: SalMar founder Gustav Witzøe

and the Norwegian aquaculture industry’ at a time of scarcity of sustainable sites in coastal areas, and strong worldwide competition from land based farming. He said: ‘This will be the world’s first plant designed for farming out in the open sea. Investment costs are currently estimated at approximately NOK 1.5 billion. The specially designed deep water project – called the

Smart Fish Farm – could be established in heavily weathered areas about 20 to 30 nautical miles off the Norwegian coastline. ‘SalMar has already acquired valuable experience in offshore aquaculture technology through its seamless Ocean Farm development. The experience from this earlier development has been very good. The fish thrive, they grow better, they do not require lice treatment and have lower mortality.’ Smart Fish Farm will take twice as much fish as the Ocean Farm, with the capacity to produce three million salmon in its eight production rooms. The platform will be 70m high, and with a diameter of 160m.

Above: Norwegian fisheries minister Harald Tom Nesvik

A CONTROVERSIAL decision by Tromsø City council late last year to ban any further open fish farming inside its municipal zone may yet be overturned. The Labour party on the council, which makes up the largest political group inside a largely left leaning coalition, has said it will look again at the ruling, which stipulates that any new fish farms should be enclosed or based on land. Labour leader Jarle Heitmann told iTromsø, the northern Norwegian city’s main newspaper, that he had listened to objections from the fish farming industry and had taken on board comments that much of the technology for total closed farms was still in the development stage. He said he would hold a party conference on the issue after members had met representatives from the aquaculture industry. ‘We do want to learn more,’ he told iTromsø. ‘We agree, along with the industry, that there must be environmental considerations, but we may have to find solutions other than demanding that all new plants should be enclosed.’ Marit Bærøe, regional manager for Seafood Norway’s Department for Aquaculture in the north of the country , said she was pleased that the party was reconsidering its stance. ‘It is very, very positive,’ she added. ‘It has been scary to us that local politicians are sitting with such negative attitudes towards an industry that is very important (economically).’ Immediately after the city council’s decision in November, there was a major backlash from the industry and national (mainly conservative) politicians. Fisheries minister Harald Tom Nesvik said it sent out all the wrong signals to future investors, while Norway Royal Salmon, which had been planning further investment to build a new salmon waste facility in Tromsø, warned it may have to reconsider that decision.

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14/01/2019 16:09:24

World News

NEWS...

World’s biggest wellboat bound for Tasmania in Turkey. The Ronja Storm, at 116m long and 23m wide, is the biggest vessel of its kind to come from Norwegian

Photo: Havyard

AUSTRALIAN salmon farmer Huon is to take delivery later this year of the world’s largest wellboat, recently launched at a shipyard

Above: Ronja Storm.

wellboat operator Sølvtrans. The wellboat can hold 7,450 cubic metres of water in its fish tanks, more than twice as much as existing large wellboats, and will be able to carry 5,000 cubic metres of freshwater. From the Cemre shipyard in Turkey where it was built, Ronja Storm will be towed to Norway to be completed at Havyard, in Fosnavag. In is expected to

be delivered to Huon in Tasmania in the summer, on a tenyear contract with Sølvtrans, the world’s biggest wellboat company, which has 21 vessels operating in Norway, Scotland, Chile and Tasmania. Huon farms Atlantic salmon in pens up to 240m with around 600 tonnes capacity. The producer already has one Sølvtrans wellboat, the Ronja Huon. This has 300 tonnes so can only

get half a pen of salmon on board at a time for freshwater treatments. The Ronja Storm will have the capacity to bathe an entire 240m Fortress pen (designed by Huon), and will have an on-board desalination system. By transporting all fish in an enclosed system that can be sterilised, the potential for disease transfer is reduced, said the company. Last year, Sølvtrans

reported an increase in both revenue and operating profit for 2017, from NOK 410.8 million to NOK 739.6 million (£69 million). Operating profit for 2017 was NOK 345.3 million (£32.3 million) compared to NOK 185.2 million. In its annual report, the company said it was positive about prospects for the wellboat market, especially for larger vessels with closed technology.

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AT least ten net pen fish farms in British Columbia are to be voluntarily closed or relocated in an effort to create a migration path for wild salmon, it was revealed last month. Described as a groundbreaking agreement, it involves two major companies, Mowi and Cermaq, and the federal and state governments and the First Nations, which represents native Canadians. All the farms are in what is known as the Broughton Archipelago area of British Columbia, where there has been strong opposition to sea farms, particularly from some in the indigenous community. The closures will take place over the next five years, with four farms due to cease operations this year, two in 2020 and four more in 2022. The future of a further seven farms will depend on First Nation approval and on being granted Department of Fisheries licences. Diane Morrison, managing director of Mowi in Canada, said the province was changing and that means businesses had to evolve with those changes. She said it was an important agreement for the company’s 600 employees, their families and their future. ‘Marine Harvest will not be making any changes to staff or contractors because of this agreement, but based on the agreed plan we will be initiating

a transition in the Broughton and our operations there will change,’ she said in December. Mowi said in a press release that the agreement ‘will ensure a viable production area is maintained during the transition period and allow for business adjustments to be made. There are no changes to employment anticipated at this time.’ John Horgan, the prime minister of British Columbia, said it was very important to maintain public confidence in the aquaculture industry. The agreement included a plan for oversight of the operations by First Nations in the area, which then could be used as a template for other industries in the province, he said. Salmon farmers in British Columbia, who employ many staff from First Nations communities, have endured years of disruption from organised protests, representing wild salmon interests. Unlike other farm operators in provinces such as Newfoundland, the industry in BC has lacked government support. The BC agriculture minister, Lana Popham, has been an outspoken opponent of salmon farming. The sector is worth approximately $1.5 billion in revenue and supports more than 6,600 jobs in the province. Martin Jaffa: Page 20.

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14/01/2019 16:10:23

World News

Vietnam facing China farm threat VIETNAM’S fish farmers and seafood exporters have been warned they face a growing competitive threat from near neighbours China. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said some Chinese enterprises are now investing heavily in pangasius farming, which until recently had been considered as a largely Vietnamese domain. The association said the development was mainly the result of the recent US-China trade war, which had led to heavy losses in tilapia exports from China to the United Atates. As a result, Chinese companies are now investing in pangasius production. Currently, China is one of the most important export destinations for Vietnamese pangasius, buying, in value terms, 23 per cent of total output. Vietnam is also the third largest supplier, after Russia and Norway, to China of white fish in general. This year, the Vietnamese seafood sector is expected to start work on building a national brand for pangasius and farmed shrimp in an effort to strengthen its presence in the global market place. VASEP expected Vietnam to have earned about US$3.8 billion from seafood exports in 2018, including $2.2 billion from pangasius alone.

Maine salmon farm aims for ASC approval THE company behind a land based salmon farm in Maine, in the US, said they will seek a sustainability certification once the facility is up and running. Nordic Aquafarms plans to build an inland salmon farm capable of producing more than 60 million pounds of fish per year in Belfast. It has called the project one of the largest of its kind. The firm said it will seek certification from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)

as a sustainable seafood producer. Nordic’s sister company, Sashimi Royal of Denmark, recently received the same certification. Nordic president Erik Heim said ASC certification is the ‘gold standard for fish farming’. The firm said in a statement that it would ‘go beyond these environmental and sustainability standards’ once the facility is operational, AP reported. It hopes to open in 2020.

Ecuador eyes further shrimp growth SHRIMP production in Ecuador is expected to increase by around 10 per cent in 2019, according to the Camara Nacional de Acuacultura (CNA), Intrafish reported. Production is forecast to be between 510,000-515,000 tonnes over the next 12 months, equalling around 1.12-1.13 billion pounds of shrimp products, according to CNA president José Camposano, The country’s production has grown sharply, since dropping to 200,000 pounds in 2000 following a white spot outbreak the previous year. Better quality feed and improvements in genetics and management practices have boosted Ecuador’s industry, with growth mostly led by the larger producers. But continued growth may also depend on the level of investment made by small and medium sized producers, reported Intrafish.

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The Norwegian government has issued special licences for aquaculture with emphasis on reducing strain on the environment.

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14/01/2019 16:10:42

Interview – Selina Stead

Stirling

BOSS

Why professor grabbed ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to head IoA

ROFESSOR Selina Stead, who takes up her new position as director of the Institute of Aquaculture (IoA) on March 1, said she almost feels as if she is coming home. She is not a Scot and has spent 15 happy years at Newcastle University, where she is Dean, Public Orator and Professor of Marine Governance and Environmental Science, but it is difficult to work in aquaculture in the UK without acquiring some Scottish connections. ‘Wherever I’m working around the world I’m always waving the flag for aquaculture in Scotland,’ she told Fish Farmer just before her appointment was officially announced in January. Stead came north to do her PhD in Aberdeen in the early 90s and ended up staying 12 years. Her contacts, in academia and beyond, remained strong and she was instrumental in bringing the EAS (European Aquaculture Society) conference to Edinburgh in 2016. She credits the success of that show to the support of the local industry and to Marine Scotland, which underwrote and sponsored the event, and when she heard about the Stirling City Deal last year (which will give £17 million to the Institute), she was impressed by Scotland’s ‘huge’ commitment to its industry. ‘Everything just feels right, everything’s lined up, but that commitment from the Scottish government and from the university – it can be quite difficult to get the funding in life sciences and applied sciences – and the fact that you’ve got government and a university that are really excited and really seem to be demonstrating their commitment, I just said okay! It’s a once in a generation opportunity. ‘You’ve got to have that political will and not just political will per se but that it’s high up the agenda. Because governments especially with the growing uncertainty – whether it’s climate change, political or

Left: Stirling has ‘superb scientists’ said Stead Opposite: Professor Stead, the new director of the Institute of Aquaculture. Photo: University of Stirling

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whatever – it’s pretty unprecedented so the fact that food security, aquaculture is up there is really important.’ Stead was headhunted for the IoA job in June last year and said the headhunters were ‘particularly insistent’ about the role. ‘I thought ‘wow, this is fantastic’, but I wasn’t sure, given you’ve some absolutely superb scientists – which is another reason for me going, just the folk there, such an amazing critical mass. ‘Traditionally, heads of institutes in universities would generally do internal appointments so although I thought there might be a change [in leadership] I didn’t know whether it would be advertised externally, so that was a very pleasant surprise.’ She spoke to a lot of people to get ‘a sense of the lay of the land’ and to be well prepared for the interview. ‘With something like this you’ve got to put your heart, soul, energy into it and I wanted to be sure the commitment from the government, and from the university, was real. ‘What also really impressed me was that all the team I spoke to at Stirling were very open, they didn’t dodge any questions and there was that genuine sense of passion and excitement which was quite infectious. ‘It was quite a long process – the closing date for applications was August 16 and then the final interview was October 31, but I started speaking with people from September 27. It was the most thorough process I’ve ever been involved in, including the final interview. ‘But I always feel it’s a two-way process and it’s as much about finding out how you find these people because you’re going to be working with them. The more I’ve worked in universities, particularly at this level with the level of responsibility, that team has to be right. And from the first person I spoke to…it felt right.’ Stead has already identified her priorities,

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14/01/2019 16:00:36

Stirling boss

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Interview – Selina Stead the first of which will be getting to know her new colleagues and building on the Institute’s ‘brilliant history’. ‘It’s about ensuring the ideas I’m offering and wanting to share fit with expectations and the ambitions of colleagues there. ‘An equal first is how we make best strategic use of the City Deal investment. That’s incredible so really aligning those opportunities with colleagues’ ambition is going to be critical to me.’ Also important is the brand, ‘the unique selling point of the Institute’. Stead asks: ‘Is that still right now and is that going to be right in the next five or 40 years?’ The IoA has international cachet but she wonders if there are other areas that can be explored – for instance, conservation, which isn’t necessarily associated with aquaculture but is an area where she sees opportunities. ‘What attracts me is the international reputation, so it’s getting that balance between how we work closely with local industry, particularly with shellfish and finfish, but also that transfer of knowledge…why Scotland is so successful. She said when she was working in Tanzania recently she was asked why Scotland punched above its weight in aquaculture, and she said it has some of the most pristine marine environment and freshwater in the world. ‘There’s an amazing story about aquaculture which unfortunately I don’t believe always gets told as well as it could. ‘I’ve seen too many documentaries when it’s too one sided, some of the arguments fuelling that negative perception of the salmon industry.’ While countering such perceptions are a Scotland-wide challenge, she sees a distinct role for the Institute. This will involve harnessing the student body, using their energy and technological skills to spread the word about the industry. ‘We’ve got students, we’ve got ambassadors, we can use digital technology to tell the wider benefits of aquaculture.’ She also wants to improve communications across the Institute, from

the website to the way her colleagues’ express themselves. ‘We’ve got to be a lot more creative because there is so much information,’ she said. She mentions increasing visibility by using blogs, for example, to tell people what the staff and students are doing. ‘If you look at the different types of information people read, you’ll find that when they look at scientific publications they are less than one per cent. They talk to their peers, they talk to their specialist organisations, their representatives. ‘I think it’s really important that colleagues are given the time and encouraged to be broader in how they get the messages out there.’ The Institute was at the forefront in 2018 of launching the ‘women in aquaculture’ initiative to address gender imbalance in the industry. Stead said she was aware of the ‘Aquagettes’ in the department and is also impressed by the work of SAIC (the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre) in setting the agenda on equality, which she believes has a wider context. ‘For me, it’s broader than gender, it’s about diversity – other minority representatives. I’m really looking forward to using my experience here. ‘I’ve been on the Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network) university panel, where we’ve really looked at equality, diversity, and inclusion, and what I’d also like to do is

Opposite: Stead receiving the EAS Distinguished Service Award from then EAS president Sachi Kaushik at the Edinburgh conference in 2016

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14/01/2019 16:01:29

Stirling boss

We’ve got students, “ we’ve got ambassadors, we can use digital technology to tell the wider beneﬁts of aquaculture

”

Highlights to date in distinguished career

share my experience of how other countries are promoting women, whether that’s working in the sector, the conditions from a production point of view, from academia, or from a different sector view. ‘I think the most powerful messages have to come from women that are involved themselves so I’m keen to promote what’s going on already and to support other initiatives.’ On Brexit and future funding, she thinks there is already a good balance of UK and international work that goes beyond European funding. ‘I’m very confident that if you’re doing the right science for the right questions you’re always going to find funding. There is always going to be funding for research and training from the industry.’ In Newcastle, she said they had ‘huge success’ recently from the centres of doctoral training, and she will use her experience as chief scientific advisor to the Marine Management Organisation, particularly her understanding of the industrial strategy, in Scotland. ‘Where I want to ensure we’re doing a good job here (and I know they already do) is how you do that crystal ball gazing.’ This, she said, means identifying now what the priorities will be in five years’ time and asking ‘are we doing the right things in the right way at the speed which is really going to

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Selina.indd 17

help [the industry]’. She thinks there is already a very good balance between the applied and fundamental research, and acknowledges the part played by the innovation centres, like SAIC, which have been ‘hugely valuable’ in getting commercialisation of ideas. Stead is also optimistic about other types of funding post Brexit – ‘I guess seeing the UK going back to an island nation there seems to be greater energy looking for partnerships with commonwealth countries, emerging economies’. From March, she will be on the 6.22am train from Newcastle, and will be a weekly commuter to Stirling while her children ﬁnish their schooling. She said she can’t wait to start her new job and if there are challenges, they are positive ones, such as ﬁnding enough hours in the day. ‘I’m so enthusiastic and really feel so passionate about aquaculture in the big global picture. It sounds corny but it is the answer to feeding the planet and food security. How can I do everything I want to do? But I’m much better at prioritising my time compared to previously. ‘My big question is it’s such an incredible Institute with such an amazing history, what can my contribution with colleagues be to make it go from strength to strength, how can we be the best we can be and be even better?’ FF

SELINA Stead is a past president of the European Aquaculture Society and board member, and in 2016 she received the highest honour from the EAS, the Distinguished Service Award, and was made a life member. This recognised her commitment to finding global marine food security solutions for vulnerable coastal communities across the world. Professor Stead’s work at Newcastle University combines natural and social science methods. She also leads international teams to tackle complex problems such as poverty in coastal areas and marine food insecurity. Her current and recent research spans marine science and governance of coral reef ecosystems; fisheries management and piracy in East Africa, Oman, Somalia and the UK; sea cucumber biology in South Africa; seaweed aquaculture in Malaysia; community based management in Nigeria, and; marine governance of Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, South Pacific, and the western Indian Ocean. She was the chair and founder member of the Scottish government’s Marine Science Advisory Board from 2010 to 2017. In July 2017 she was named the government’s new Chief Scientific Adviser for the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), and will play a key role in the development of marine policy post-Brexit.

14/01/2019 16:01:46

Trade Associations – Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation

BY HAMISH MACDONELL

Just tell the story New SSPO man’s mission to debunk myths about the industry

Y former colleagues in Grub Street were ready with the quips and the gags when I announced I was leaving newspapers after nearly 30 years to join the salmon industry. ‘From poacher to poacher,’ was how one wag with a culinary bent described my change of career. ‘Keep up with the splashes (but not the front page variety)’ was another, while several commented that they had always thought my copy was a bit fishy. There was one journalist, however, who wished me well but said she no longer ate salmon having read – and believed – a particularly grisly

SSPO.indd 18

scare story in her own newspaper a few months before. I told her I would set it as a personal challenge to get her to eat salmon once again and while I am determined to do that, I did take on board the more serious tenor of her remarks. How Opposite: Fresh raw had we got to the stage where normally intelli- salmon fish steak on ice gent, balanced and inquisitive individuals were turning their backs on one of the healthiest and

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14/01/2019 15:58:00

Just tell the story

tastiest forms of protein we produce? How had we arrived at the point where farmed salmon was clearly one of Scotland’s greatest economic success stories yet was being talked down at almost every opportunity? I have come into this sector at the tail end of two parliamentary inquiries, to be faced with criticism from anti-aquaculture campaigners and a simmering dispute with some wild salmon interest groups which seems more about myths and unfounded claims than proper scientiﬁc evidence. Farmed salmon is the UK’s top food export. It should be the jewel in the crown of the country’s food production sector, yet some of our MSPs view it with such suspicion it sits above only bankers, railway companies and the nuclear energy industry in their estimation. That does seem a particularly Scottish trait - to pick away at success. There are some parliamentarians who champion the industry but there are others who seem to want to chip away at it constantly. My job – as the new director of strategic engagement at the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation - is to help shift attitudes and change perceptions. I want to debunk the myths which have been allowed to take root, I want to challenge the misconceptions and rubbish the unfounded claims made by some of the more lurid of the industry’s opponents.

In fact, the better I get to know this sector, the more times I am reminded of the old line about ‘the lie being halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on’. Putting it bluntly: getting our boots on quicker and chasing down those misconceptions is going to be a large part of my job and while that will be a challenge, I have also been tremendously encouraged by so much that is inventive and forward looking in this industry. I have only been involved for a few weeks but already I can see this is a sector which delights in innovation. Yes, there are issues but the farmed salmon sector doesn’t seem phased by them. Not only that, but it then revels in the process of finding new and imaginative ways of solving these problems. That is the story I want to tell: of sea lice being defeated by cleaner fish and of cleaner fish then being farmed to protect wild stocks, of farm waste being turned into energy, and of better and more sophisticated equipment being adopted to protect salmon from everything, from the waves to seals. In the few weeks I have been in post, I have been to fish farms everywhere, from Scourie to Skye. In doing so, I have met some of the most enthusiastic, determined and compassionate farmers in the country. If I could get all of the sector’s critics out to those farms to do what I’ve done and see what I’ve seen, many of those negative voices would fall away, I’m sure of it. That’s not going to be possible, so I’ll have to resort to other methods of turning them round, but it is going to take time. In the modern world of public relations there are hundreds of awful management-speak terms, the most overused of which seems to be ‘changing the narrative’. While I understand where that phrase comes from, I tend to favour a more old-fashioned term, honed over years in the now fading world of ink and paper and deadlines: just tell the story. All of you in the farmed fish sector have a great story to tell: I just believe it is time it was heard. FF

FISH FARMER

“getIf I allcould of

the critics out to the farms, many of those negative voices would fall away

”

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14/01/2019 15:58:21

Comment

BY DR MARTIN JAFFA

Writing is on the wall British Columbia farm closures set precedent for all new anti-salmon farming campaigns

T might be surprising to learn that Pacific salmon are more abundant today than at any time since records began - although some species and some populations in certain regions are faring better than others. Pink salmon are the most abundant, based on more than 90 years of data (according to a scientific paper published last April), and their numbers are boosted by large-scale hatchery production in Alaska, Russia and Japan. It is even more surprising that pink salmon are doing so well because in 2005, research funded by the David Suzuki Foundation claimed that sea lice from salmon had killed over 80 per cent of annual pink salmon returns, and that local extinction was certain. The foundation was referring mainly to pink salmon populations in British Columbia’s Broughton Archipelago. The research that led to these conclusions has been questioned by other scientists as having serious flaws and deviations from commonly accepted good practice, cherry picking data and making inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims. But the David Suzuki Foundations described the work as undeniable, compelling, and irrefutable proof. Yet stocks of pink salmon did not collapse. Campaigners such as Alexandra Morton claimed that this was only because their warnings had been heeded and farms had responded by improving their management practices. However, historical catch data has shown that wild salmon numbers have plummeted before only to rebound. In 1960 - long before there were any salmon farms in BC - numbers of pink salmon were even lower than in 2000. Concern over low wild salmon numbers reached a crisis in 2009 when just 1.6 million sockeye returned to the Fraser River. The numbers during the previous two years had also been very low. But in 2010, 28 million sockeye returned, followed by 19 million in 2014. Returns of sockeye to the Fraser River have yo-yoed between extreme highs and lows over the last decade. In 2018, the final figure for sockeye returns was expected to be around 12 million, up from 1.5 million in 2017. Despite the improved runs of sockeye in 2018, the BC government has

Martin Jaffa.indd 20

been persuaded by activists that more needs to be done to protect wild salmon. On December 14 last year, BC premier John Horgan announced a radical new strategy to protect and restore wild salmon stocks. This will involve the orderly closure of 10 salmon farms from around the Broughton Archipelago to create a safer migration corridor for young wild salmon on their way to the ocean, although there is no evidence that salmon farming has any impact on wild salmon numbers. In fact, a new tracking project has found that the highest mortality of young salmon migrating down to the ocean occurs high up the river early in the migration. Up to 40 per cent of young sockeye die as a result of a naturally occurring virus, IHN (infectious haematopoietic necrosis), that weakens the fish, making them easy pickings for bull trout. Mowi (formerly Marine Harvest) Canada, which will lose eight farming sites as a consequence of Horgan’s announcement, welcomed the move to protect wild fish. The company said: ‘Going forward, we see the implementation of the recommendation as a positive step towards building mutual goodwill, trust and respect as we work to earn First Nations’ consent of our operations in the Territories.’ Other farming sites will only be permitted to continue with the permission of the First Nation people, so the conciliatory statement is not of any surprise. By comparison, the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers’ Association (ACFFA) issued a statement

The “ industry

chose to go along to get along. Bad mistake – Vivian Krause

”

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14/01/2019 15:56:51

Writing is on the wall

Above: BC’s salmon farm closures plan

rejecting the assumption that removing salmon farms from coastal BC waters will save wild Pacific salmon. The ACFFA said it was a simplistic notion that is not based on scientific evidence, and does a disservice to the identification of the complex issues facing wild salmon on the west coast. However, the most telling comment came through a tweet form Vivian Krause, the independent researcher who previously exposed the $33 million campaign to undermine farmed salmon production in a misguided attempt to protect wild salmon fisheries in Alaska. Krause tweeted: ‘Sad to say, if the salmon farming industry had been willing to challenge the flawed science and false claims of the activists, today it might be in a different situation. But the industry chose instead to go along to get along. Bad mistake. And lots of jobs now going to be lost.’ She has a point. The problem now is that this is not just bad news for the BC salmon farming industry; the BC government has set a precedent that will form the basis for all new anti-salmon

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Martin Jaffa.indd 21

farming campaigns. Yet, as the recent report from Scotland’s REC (Rural Economy and Connectivity) committee highlights, there is a lack of definitive evidence linking salmon farming to the decline of wild fish populations. The evidence is all circumstantial. It is based on the fact that the time the angling sector first began to be concerned about a decline in wild fish catches coincided with the arrival of salmon farming on the west coast of Scotland. The reality that wild fish catches had been in decline for decades was largely ignored because until salmon farming became established, anglers had no scapegoat to blame. Some months ago, Fish Farmer columnist Nick Joy mentioned that he’d heard about proposals for the creation of a salmon farming industry fund to distribute money to worthy projects and organisations in the wild fish sector. The idea was a sign of cooperation between the farming and wild fish sectors, albeit a one-way cooperation. Joy was very much against this, arguing that it would be perceived as some form of reparation. His point was why take this route if salmon farming was not the cause of wild fish decline. This now sounds very much like the ‘go along to get along’ approach that worries Vivian Krause. Will the next step here be farm closures? Certainly, the wild fish sector is already keen to see this happen and even SEPA (the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) has indicated that it would consider something similar in its ongoing consultation. The writing is very much on the wall. FF

14/01/2019 15:57:10

est aquaculture Looking further aﬁeld there are also interesting insights – ASSG SG and SSPOTrade – to Associations into oyster growing around the globe and also an t topics of the day overview of the Hungarian aquaculture industry, which is ors respectively. beginning to evolve from production of carps to higher Shellfish value predatory ﬁsh.We hope you enjoy all the changes. FF d we hope you’ll

Rob Fletcher News Editor

Shellfish - Abalone Shellfish - International focus

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

ry Board

ons culture

BY JANET BROWN H BROWN

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.

Buoyant The some otherbusiness side of thein pond Put mussels Taste of French culture

What do Chinese and Scottish shellﬁsh aquaculture have in common? Reducing salmon liceofinfection it starts – canlearn bivalves help?from the Can the Association Scottishbefore Shellfish Growers anything 8 visiting the is Instiorganised? tute of Oceanology, at the Chinese Academy of Science (IOCAS) ELL, the quick answer that questi on is that it is not volume ofAssociation way America’s East toCoast Shellfish Growers in Qingdao, plus several conversations, what follows is an insight into a very production. outstrips not to onlysee Scotland but just about every- farm Journeying to China ‘Land’s End’ largest abalone in Europe their own or in association with phytoplankton.

W D E

small part of Chinese shellfish aquaculture. where in terms of production of all types of mollusc. The of bivalves were basket The hatcheries I visited were allspecies reminiscent of basicused shrimp hatcheries, No, what they have in common is that the greater part of the cockles, (Clinocardium nutt allii), Pacifi c oysters which they may wellresearch have beengrants once since this area had previously concentratculturer isRobert suspended culture. I had not fully appreciated, until I gave a talk in B Rheault – more commonly federal to address critical industryan research VER since Sylvain Huchette came to speak at substantial the ASSG conference The lower temperature is, however, advan(Crassostrea gigas), mussels (Myti lus edulis and ed on shrimp aquaculture before disease wiped it out. China on oysterasaquaculture in the(Rheault UK (Fishbeing Farmer, May 2018), that the Scotknown ‘Skid’ Rheault priorities. in Oban in 2013 it has been my ambition to seeThey his abalone farm tage in that in Brittany the abalone will grow M galloprovincialis and their hybrids) and Pacific were all laid out on the same basic lines, with square concrete tanks tish emphasis on suspended culture owed a lot to the quirk of Scotti sh law that pronounced ‘row’) or Bob – set up the How has the ECSGA grown and is it still growing? for myself. So I took the opportunity of visiting the Vannes Salon to 13-14cm in size in the wild, while in the scallops (unconfi rmed hybrids Mizuhopectfor larval rearing, but the scale ofabout them was impressive. Theaof hatcheries now had theEast Crown owning all theGrowers rights toAssociation the oysters and mussels on the seabed. Coast Shellfish We grow in membership by 10 to 20 per cent year and we de la conchyliculture (shellfish exhibition) andproduce the farm on the Mediterranean they will breed at 6cm. en yessoensis x Pati nopecten caurinus), which ols different species inpast succession using the same systems, scallops, then Why didin the Chinese suspended aquaculture? I assume it relates to (ECSGA) 2004 andtake has up been its executive had a sharp increase this year, but we still only have a small fracsame trip – both being in Brittany. A lotobtained ofand Sylvain’s from hismore PhD were fromexperience commercial growers in oysters, then in some cases abalone other gastropods, of which maximising the producti on by using three dimensions in their very intensive director for six years. tion of the industry as members. Of the estimated 1,300 farms on the d The farm, France Haliotis at Plouguerneau, Finistère, is a little off the was invaluable in setting up the farm; but his Vancouver Island, British Columbia. later.Coast, culture. Since weinvolved now bettinerthe understand theasecological benefits of undisSkid became idea of an we It only have research about 15focused per cent. The nature of the industry beaten track (the clue is in the name, Finistère or East ‘Land’s End’!). was on the Australian For the trials, bivalves were placedspecies individually system is integrated in are other ways too. Scallop shells provide thewho settleturbed habitat on theheseabed and the complex that can be built, this is The sociation because had been working as ecosystem an such that many farmers very small, part-time operations established by Sylvain in 2004, following his PhD programme studying Haliotis rubra and H laevigata, whereas he is in two litre containers with 450 copepodids in ment material forThere the oysters andlarge the oyster spat areseveral sold attof ached to these isoyster a goodfarmer thing toinhave in common. a state without an aquaculwon’t pay dues. are few farms, and these believe abalone aquaculture in Melbourne. farming the European abalone, Haliotis tuber750ml of water. scallop shells. Theindustry species are in oneIsland. respect, the Japanese oyster Crassosture at also the the timesame – Rhode they needseems to join an association. They can hire their own lobbyist. The farm is situated in the far west of Brittany and thedon’t location Allleast four20species were to ingest They settthe le atmain a density ofculata. at per shell, butfound often far higher.the They are gigas. everything appears very diffto erent. On the basis of one day What rectory trea ‘I had to But be very activeelse on the state level are issues facing ECSGA? to have come about by a lucky meeting, also in Melbourne, between The Australian farms feed their stock on artilarvae, and temperature wasareas not aas signifi cant then grown on in the same tanks as there are no nursery such. The spent visiti ng hatcheries in Laizhou (north west of Qingdao) and one morning get things going,’ he said.one ‘I established a state We spend a lot of time ficial and energy dealing with shellfish sanitation of his relatives and a local oyster farmer, Emmanuel Legris. diets based on fishmeal. Sylvain rejected factor. Large shellfi sh individuals ingested far shells can thenparahaemolyticus be broken to allow the oysters moreto room to grow. Theyof are growers’Herve association with aAustralia few allies, started issues. Vibrio control seems surer, Steve Bracken, Miguad, Sunil Kadri and Ken Hughes clearly plays an important role in this history because iton was this system as contrary todominate the ethosmuch of his my more than small. eventually grown in lantern nets. writing an industry newsletter and sent it to all time. We are also trying to rectify the trade war with the EU so we can while doing an internship in Australia that Sylvain was introduced tohatcheries the farm, which do things inscallops the sustainn: Andrew Balahura Ofoperati the species investi gated, were Of the very many ng isinto Laizhou (of aintotal ofmost 3,000 in north the state legislators, brought in guest speakers restore some of the lucrative connections we had EU markets five abaloneAlister sector,Bennett by Dr Scoresby Shepherd. way. a herbivore a carnivorous wds wdowds@fishupdate.com Publisher: found to take in comm. greater numbers of2018) larvae, China ago. and 5,000 in China asable –Feeding pers. Ximing Guo onlybut five from other states where things weretold going years We are trying toa whole get acknowledgement for the ecosystem Shepherd him he had real aptitude for the work and following his diet may have made management easier, but it size for size the cockles consumed the most. Fax: +44 (0)well 131and 551where 7901 e-mail: editor@fi shfarmer-magazine.com are producing triploid through C. gigas. Only one iscredit producing the tetraploid oysters and nary a negative word was services we provide nutrient trading, and we are conadvice, Sylvain went to Stirling University for a thorough grounding in would surely have prevented the farm gaining In separate experiments, the shellfi sh were this oneworking hatcherytois improve really controlling the technology even though itareas. is out of .com www.fiheard. shupdate.com Eventually we gotaquaculture some traction and before returning to Melbournestantly water quality and expand harvest (MSc), for hisnow. PhD, superthe organic status it was awarded in per 2012, found to consume between 18 to 38 cent of patent regulations thatvised were2DL holding back ettes Park, 496fixed Ferrythe Road, Edinburgh EH5 Are there different chapters in the ECSGA or are members mainly by Prof Robert Day. certified under Ecocert France. the hatcheries copepodids presented to them. While the NTEGRATED multi-trophic They sell sperm to the other or the actual triploid larvae. C. industry.’ oysterlimit folk?for the er’, P.O. Box 1, the Crannog Lane, Lochavullin Industrial Estate, Oban, Argyll, PA34 4HB Having his farm in Brittany means it is at the northern Since we were not there at a good tide we bivalves took in the larvae regardless of whethaquaculture (IMTA) aims hongkongensis is the only oyster species cultured in oyster China which with a If the temperature is too low the We represent 60commercial per cent clam farms, 40 perBut cent farmsis 0) 1631 568001This led on to a larger consortium, abalone in Europe. will not about settle. could not the seapresent site. Lesage, er phytoplankton was orXavier not, they took to reduce the environnotspat hatchery – it ismussel collected aftvisit er sett lement in estuarine areas and has number of growers getting together at various Clockwise from top right: and there is areared nascent industry. who is in charge of theon grow-out operation, f world £95 including postage. All Air Mail. in a far higher proporti of phytoplankton mental impacts of monproved diffi cult to raise in hatcheries so far. ECSGA meeting; oyster; meetings and the idea of establishing an East I have heard you talk at demonstrated conferences about the importance of lobbythe system by hauling oneintroof when both present. oculture of fish Dr byRobert farming them in ietors Wyvex Coast MediaShellfish Ltd by Headley Ltd., Ashford, ISSNB0262-9615 Rheault. species scallop grown is the baywere scallop (Argopecten irradians), GrowersBrothers Association was ban- Kent ingThe – what doofyou advise? the large square containers (see fig 1) out of This could be related to fi ndings from much association with filter feeding molluscs, duced in theimportant early 1980s,toproducing more than 800,000 tonnes. died about. They had seen how well organised It is really ensure that the regulators don’t put you out of an onshore tank. older work on the behaviour of Chinese sea lice scallop, larvae, and so remove particulate waste This was introduced because of disease problems with the the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association business. If you are not involved in the process of writing regula3 itcontainers m These consist fourthe individual where was shown that the copepodids can material and algae to utilise dissolved and is then now the species since it can be grown toofmarket sizethey within (PCSGA) had become, how effective they could tions, thepreferred law of unintended consequences dictates that will 0.5m cube cages together. take evasive actionattached when they detectBy theholding nutrients. A further possibility has been considered one year. be in meetings with regulators, how they probably hurt you if you don’t protect yourself. You need to participate one such cage in this onshore system, there is feeding flow field oftoa environmental bivalve. This evasive be- that of pest control. It sounds ideal: why not use the siphoning heard from various sources the atti tude issues focused government research dollars toward in Ithe scientific research, thethat public outreach and the education ofhad your always stock for satisfying orders, andYouTube abalone haviour can actually be before viewed in this power of mussels or other bivalves to take out the infectious changed radically in the past fi ve to 10 years, in that this farmers could key problems – they wanted that. legislators. By demonstrating the growth inat green jobs,itself. the sustainable 08/02/2013 11:24:01 can be the farm clip,were httpurchased p://bit.ly/2neRpfg stage of the sea louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis? do more production or less anything, much more controlled now. While setting up the ECSGA, Skid continued seafood and but the ecosystem benefits, we can enlist the help My response on the cage How can thisrelated be applied in the commercial This is a free swimming planktonic stage, the copepodid. Since the size was curiouswhen to know this first atti tude toifseeing hatchery practi ce.emerge I was to run his own company, farming and marofIpoliticians thehow regulators get crazy, or we have a need retoon? think ‘this is an artificial reef’. Theof situati is more complicated. The fibiota rst of this infective stage is around 500μm, it is within the range of particle shown what wasEducating added to was the water inThis the hatcheries. There were two keting oysters trading as Moonstone Oysters search dollars. the legislators is a constant task. There is huge attached and within the cage compartments issue Iiscouldn’t the larvae of L salmonis are Ipositi vely size that can be taken up by mussels, although their normal diet of phyto- different products and although understand the labels, was told working out of Narragansett, Rhode Island, turnover and they know was nothing about industry. If youhave don’t have so rich, andyour research projects been phototacti cseveral and will be found at greater concenplankton is much smaller. they were diff erent brands of mixes of species of bacteria species used and he is still an adjunct faculty member in time to do it then you need to pay someone to do it for you. This is why carried to investigate this of associated trationsout in the surface metres the sea. fauna. Initial trials carried out in the University of Maine demonstrated that Above: Mussels as probioti cs. the University of Rhode Island’s Department busy professionals are members of trade associations. The one real enemy the crab,water Cancer Thisof behaviour wouldisinhave to be accommomussels in experimental situations did indeed take up the copepodids. Opposite page: Scallops; was strikinginterest was the lack people working the edible hatcheries; of Fisheries and Aquaculture. He established Is What export a major for your growers? pagurus; can into the cage a larva and dated for itby theget placement of theas shellfi shtobut They were found in the stomachs of mussels but also in other parts of Pacifi c oysters exchange was manual and took place every 12 hours but there seemed be the East Coast Shellfish Research Institute We are experiencing anthen explosion in the the three market for oysters right grow in years the cage is at sea this is easily possible with suspended culture. the mussel, but the main point was that they were clearly being removed almost no young people around. and has been successful in attracting several now, so there is not a lotto ofasurplus production to send overseas, but size can prey on the And howthat effecti veno is longer it likely toabalone. be? from the water column. I was told that many of the hatcheries were viable as they But werefor the most part the relationship ofalso all the associMuch the work on IMTA and on this Researchers further north, in New Brunswick, Canada, looked at a wider being left behind by technology, butofthere clearly is demand for spat and I saw 12 www.fishfarmer-magazine.com ated fauna and flora is benign thecarried abalone. potenti alascontrol of sea lice hasfor been range of filter feeding bivalves and also looked at the effects of temperalittle evidence of much technology such. The part the farm consists of be out in sea the based north eastern states of the US.may ture, shellfish individual size and whether the sea lice were presented on A visit to IOCAS in Qingdao provided insights intoofwhere aquaculture 190 cages (in their groups of four compartgoing. I was particularly interested to see that they were researching the culti-

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www.fishfarmer-magazine.com vation of Rapana venosa (Asian rapa whelk), which I had seen being reared in 10:29:56 06/03/2015 www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

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Taste of French culture

ments). There are 17 lines, 100m long, with the end of each line secured with a large anchor and chains. The cages are placed on the seabed at a depth of 3-16m, depending on the state of the tide. Xavier feeds each cage once per month providing enough seaweed to feed the four compartments, each containing 500 abalone, for one month. Clockwise from top: Dr Seaweed such as Palmaria palmata will stay Sylvain Huchette in alive for this time but perhaps the process the nursery system of adding the seaweed effectively gives it a of France Haliotis. heat shock that can provoke spawning. Thus The spat go into this the cages emerge from the sea festooned in nursery and remain further growth of the algae (see fig 1). until the following In the course of our conversation I came to June before being realise that abalone culture does not concern placed out in sea itself with just the husbandry of one species. cages; three-monthThere is also the husbandry of algae for feed. old abalone feeding on The initial stages of the abalone, the landthe algal plates (fig 3); based hatchery stage, are fed on the green Sylvain with the plates algae Ulvella lens, which forms a crust on of green algae, Ulvella plastic sheets held in tanks while this develops lens, that provides (figs 2 and 3). food for nursery stage There are holding tanks for this alga, and the abalone (fig 2); Xavier tanks are seeded with stock that, given a heat Lesage hauls out a sea shock (a temperature rise of not more than cage from the onshore 3˚C), will sporulate. These algae encrusted storage (fig 1). This sheets provide feed for the spat during the first shows the block of year in the nursery area. They then go out to four cages attached the sea site for the next three years; they will to each other. All reach market size in three to five years. photos: JHBrown This is another area where Sylvain’s concern

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first response on seeing the “cageMyemerge was to think this is an artificial reef ”

for the environment becomes clear. Fertiliser for the algal growth is clearly essential and could be provided easily by addition of chemicals, something he has done in the past. However, he is currently seeking the best way to utilise more organic and sustainable sources of the essential nutrients. Other seaweeds are used for the sea based stage. Since Brittany has a history of seaweed harvesting, there was initial difficulty in getting necessary permits for collection. One advantage was that the farm needed Laminaria digitata at dif-

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Shellfish - Abalone

ferent times to when commercial harvesting takes place, from May to September. They need this species from January to June. In total they need 50 tonnes of this algae per year. Once Saccharina latissima is available they feed this as it has higher protein content. It takes from 10-20kg to produce 1kg of abalone and they use about 120-150 tonnes per year of seaweed, which they harvest themselves. The optimum seaweed is the red seaweed, Palmaria palmate, which is collected in the summer. Saccharina latissimi, which can spawn and cover the cages, can be collected oﬀ the lighthouse (the Phare de l’Ile Vierge, the tallest stone lighthouse in Europe and the tallest traditional lighthouse in the world at 82.5m). Laminaria digitata is taken from very exposed areas but can be collected in winter. Seeing the coastline on a ﬁne autumn day with just a light breeze, there were still heavy breakers on the rocks on this very rugged coastline and it was not hard to imagine that this collection of seaweed could be a very hazardous activity.

Shellfish.indd 24

Sylvain here again shows his concern for the environment. All seaweed collected is weighed and its location noted. He is already seeing different patterns in distribution and this may be the sort of information that is increasingly found to be lacking in our understanding of processes such as climate change and ocean acidification. But it can also be a useful safeguard for the process of harvesting itself. Comprehending what observed changes are due to natural variation and what to manmade changes needs this sort of monitoring, making such detailed records – and having the means to get these examined. Sylvain has strong links with the local university so maybe there is a two-way traffic of data and students available here. One of the major differences he found with

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Taste of French culture

Opposite: Hauling the

the European species was that they turned out to be much easier to breed than their Australian counterparts. Sylvain will start conditioning broodstock in February and will get first spawnings in June. In 2018, he did five spawnings in June, and one in July, August and September. Some 50 million eggs will lead to about five million larvae and then there will be about 10-30 per cent settlement, providing the nursery tanks with about 500,000 to 1.5 million post-larvae. So from fertilised eggs to juveniles there is about one per cent survival. For each spawning, Sylvain uses 20 males and 20 females so ends up with 20 times 20 families. The traits he looks at are for growth and meat ratio. He currently has a 50 per cent meat ratio in his abalone. He is also trying to get aspects of the behaviour and welfare into the breeding programme. They can see there are dominant and weaker animals within the cage populations. A larger one is always in one position in the cage and so has better access to food, and with less cryptic colouration. But I suspect there may be more student projects on this behaviour before it can be used to influence the selection. When Sylvain started the farm he selected his broodstock visually. He now works with the French poultry and aquaculture breeders association, SYSAAF (Le Syndicat des Sélectionneurs Avicoles et Aquacole Français), so there are more specific controls against inbreeding. Abalone can vary very much depending

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“

It was not hard to imagine that this collection of seaweed could be a very hazardous activity

”

algae festooned cages for feeding. Photo: Nicolas Job (©France Haliotis); Xavier Lesage shows the contents of a sea cage with its harvest of abalone but also with rich marine life; artiﬁcal reef? cage lies providing sanctuary for great biodiversity as well as growing conditions for abalone. Photo: Nicolas Job (©France Haliotis).

Above (clockwise from top left): Ormeaux a la

bonne franquette; Sylvain cooking abalone; inside a cage; Phare de l’Ile Vierge seen on a calm day.

on their habitat; their shell colouration reﬂects their diet so for the stock of France Haliotis, where the initial diet is green algae, there is an initial greeny turquoise colouration at the peak of the shell. (This characteristic is used in South Africa when ranching abalone since farm raised abalone there have very pale shells from their original diet - Fish Farmer, September 2018). France Haliotis currently produces six to seven tonnes of abalone, which go direct to market with a value around €60 per kilo. This puts it very much in the luxury market and Sylvain has always taken a proactive approach to marketing, making personal contact with chefs and demonstrating himself the product’s ease of preparation. He can also guarantee supply and his website (www.abalonebretagne. com) shows a selection from many of his customers, some famous names among them, all with delectable looking dishes. He also organises events about four times per year at the farm, with a chef. The gourmet dishes look very enticing, but Sylvain cooked fresh from the sea abalone for us, sautéed in butter. The verdict? Delicious ‘l’ormeaux a la bonne franquette’! FF

14/01/2019 15:55:52

Feed – Mowi

On the front foot Ben Hadﬁeld on selling feed, dramatic sea lice improvements, and sustainable growth

EN Hadfield will soon have two huge feed plants to oversee and he is impatient to get the latest up and running. As managing director of Mowi (formerly Marine Harvest) in Scotland and chief operating officer for feed in the group, he must feel a double sense of achievement, as Kyleakin nears completion. But although happy with the almost finished project on Skye, he admits to being irked by the delays outside his control, and the consequent overspend. ‘We’re very pleased with the location and the project and how feed is developing as a whole, but we’re obviously frustrated with the level of bureaucracy we’ve encountered, which has surprised even me and I know what Scotland can be like,’ he told Fish Farmer, after we visited Kyleakin in early January. The paper work and a delay with the electricity has taken its toll on the timeframe for delivery, which was supposed to be in late 2018, and the budget, said Hadfield. ‘Other than that, we’re still very happy with the project. You’ve got to be realistic about these things. If you haven’t got the stomach for challenging things like delays and budgets then you shouldn’t embark on such big projects.’ As for the cost, he said: ‘We’re a very well-run company and when we say to the investors and the board and the shareholder base that we’re going to build it for 116 million (euros) and it goes over that then that is of course negative. ‘The overspend may amount to 20 per cent, which isn’t good but at the same time, on a build of that scale and that complexity, it’s not an absolute disaster.’ Once the new plant is operational it will first and foremost be aimed at improving Mowi’s business. But the Norwegian mill at Bjugn sells feed and Scotland will too. ‘We spend quite a lot of money on R&D because we’re humble in the sense that we’ve started this feed business, and we’ve had some success growing quite quick. But Ewos, BioMar and Skretting have been doing it for 30 years.

Kyleakin - Ben.indd 26

‘So we realise if we’re going to continue to make the same rate of gain as we have on feed, that depends quite heavily on R&D.’ The feed, he said, keeps getting better and better as the R&D matures. There are dedicated research sites at Averoy, in western Norway, acquired from Nofima in 2013, and at Ardnish in Lochailort, which has been integrated into a specialised feed trials unit. Unlike Norway, the Scottish mill will bring in some raw materials, including organic fishmeal and proteins from brewery by-products, by truck and has a truck silo on the site ‘It won’t be a common occurrence, but for some of the bespoke or organic diets, some of the really high end freshwater diets, then we will bring in higher protein materials by truck. So in that sense it’s a bit different from Norway,’ said Hadfield. The factory also has a fluid bed dryer for doing small pellets – so it can handle small pellets down to 0.8mm, giving it scope to produce a

Left: Ben Hadﬁeld Opposite: Work on the feed mill is almost complete

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On the front foot

greater variety than in Bjugn. ‘Obviously, we’re interested in expanding third party supply so we’ll look to both the salmon and the trout sector,’ said Hadfield, adding that his operations director, Gideon Pringle, ‘knows a little bit about trout’ from his days at Dawnfresh. ‘We’ve had a number of approaches to look at trout feed production.’ Mowi has created a new role for a feed managing director, appointing Atla Kjist, who will be based in Bergen but with responsibility for Scotland too. ‘When we had one facility we didn’t really need an MD, but when you’ve got two facilities and you’ve got responsibility for Scotland, and we’re growing quite a lot in Scotland at the moment…so we brought Atla in to support me.’ In fact, 2019 is shaping up to be a bumper year for Mowi in Scotland, better even than 2017 which saw record production for the whole industry. ‘We had a big year in 2017, but the decision was made in 2015 to reduce the smolts that went to sea in ‘16, so that was fairly painful, to have a 40,000 tonne production year in ’18,’ said Hadfield. ‘This year, we’re back on track and the biology has continued to improve, so I think we’ll be around 65,000 tonnes. ‘I think the whole farming scene has done well, particularly in Gideon’s area, where the biology has improved, the sea lice situation is dramatically different, the growth is good, and we’ve got more fish in the sea so we’re able to obtain higher harvest weights. The mission for everyone is to make sure that continues.’ And, hopefully, provided the political will is in place, there will be no barriers to Mowi growing further? ‘If you compare the year 2017 to what we expect in 2019, we’re only growing by 5,000 tonnes, and I would argue that, with continued improvement in the biology, that that’s sustainable, responsible development. If we can continue those trends and grow incrementally, that’s a good thing. ‘But I’m slightly hesitant about coming out with some big targets because we’ve just been through a parliamentary inquiry where the aspirations of the industry were sort of thrown back at us in terms of asking about sustainable controlled growth. ‘Growth should be sustainable and good quality growth, so that when you grow and increase production, the biology should also be improving at the same time.’ He said Mowi is in a ‘defendable position’ but he must be hoping that he won’t have to spend quite so much of his time defending his industry this year, following the lengthy inquiries of last year, which he appeared before. ‘I think we’re constantly prepared to defend the industry,’ he said. ‘But what I want to see from Marine Harvest, the other companies and the SSPO is a little bit less of a trench mentality and more speaking openly about the challenges we face, but at the same time speaking about how we need to produce more fish from the ocean in the way that we do. We need to be on the front foot much more.’ He said he found that a large part of the inquiry – conducted by two Holyrood committees – ‘was a fairly sustained and coordinated attack on the industry on all fronts’. ‘I don’t want to belittle people’s concerns because some of them are valid, but some were grossly exaggerated. ‘The inquiry at the moment has found that there’s no reason to have a moratorium on this industry but there are sensible calls for quality growth, incremental growth and some common sense approach to relocation of sites.’

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He said he is optimistic that’s what will happen, although the main Rural Economy and Connectivity (REC) committee findings still have to be debated in the Scottish parliament. Hadfield is a fan of his company’s new name, which he said seems to be pronounced ‘Movi’ by Norwegians and ‘Mowi’ by Brits. He said acceptance of the new brand may take a bit of time, ‘especially in Scotland where Marine Harvest has a long history’, but he thinks it’s ‘a fantastic strategy and it’s right for the company now’. Hadfield was working for Mowi in Norway before taking on the Scottish operation. Would he move further afield, to Canada, for instance, if the next feed mill is to be built there? ‘I’m just a soldier in this so I’ll go wherever Marine Harvest asks me to go,’ he said, ‘but Canada is interesting, in a step wise fashion.‘ He said Mowi needs to build up the biomass there, on both the east and west coasts, first. ‘And then we’ll put some energy into mapping out the business case for Canada with a view to getting something to the board in the next few years. I think there’s a strong case for it but we’re not in a rush.’ FF

“

We’ve had a number of approaches to look at trout feed production

”

14/01/2019 15:53:25

Feed – Mowi

Skye’s the limit Scotland’s biggest salmon farmer prepares to open new feed mill

T is now just weeks to go before Scotland’s biggest salmon farmer, Mowi, opens its feed plant on Skye and the newly assembled team was raring to go when Fish Farmer visited the site in early January. The mill, in the Allt Anavig quarry at Kyleakin, just over the Skye bridge, will cost up to £125 million. It marks a signiﬁcant investment in the Scottish side of the Norwegian owned business, and represents a proud moment for the company as it becomes a fully integrated operation. Only Mowi in Norway has had its own feed factory to date, at Bjugn,

but the company has expressed interest in building a facility in Canada, said Kevin O’Leary, who is the site manager at Kyleakin. The Norwegian feed factory, which opened in 2013, made around £7.3 million profit in 2017 and has now paid for itself, according to Ben Hadfield, Mowi’s managing director in Scotland and chief operating officer of feed for the group.

Left: Site manager Kevin O’Leary on the quayside with the unloader, made by German manufacturer Neuero , in the background. Opposite: O’Leary at his desk at the Kyleakin site. Photos: Angus Blackburn

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Skye’s the limit

O’Leary joined Mowi in November 2017, moving not just into aquaculture for the first time but also from England to the remote west coast of Scotland. He is clearly relishing the challenge and looking forward to the day when Mowi can replace feed from external suppliers with its own product, and deliver this to all its salmon farms in Scotland, as well as to Ireland and the Faroes. ‘We’re heavily into commissioning start-up plans – we’ve actually bought our first raw materials now,’ said O’Leary. These raw materials, which will arrive at the end of February, will come from all over the world and will mostly be transported by sea, cutting down on road haulage, one of the reasons the quayside location was chosen. Kyleakin is also ideally situated for Mowi’s farm sites, which are dotted along the west coast and around the Inner and Outer Hebrides. The plant will be serviced by general workboats and one specialised ship, built for Bjugn but being transferred from Norway to Scotland in June. Bagless delivery will be possible with this vessel and O’Leary said they were working with their farms to look at manless hatches for delivery points, which will cut down on the days at sea for the vessel. The pier will be ready by mid-March and they have already tested the docking facilities, with the delivery of the giant unloader/suction plant on the quay – ‘it was a 15,000 tonne ship so our 7,000s are going to be fine,’ said O’Leary. Construction at Kyleakin began in June 2017 and he is confident the plant will be operational by mid to late March.

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Kyleakin.indd 29

‘We’ll have those raw materials here within two or three weeks of starting. We will run wheat through the silos and through all the milling to make sure it’s all working and clean. And then we’ll start one plant and make sure that’s running for the first week and then start the second plant. ‘The full capacity is 170,000 tonnes. For 2019 we’re aiming for 110,000 tonnes and then in 2020 we’ll be up to full capacity.’ It’s less than Bjugn, which can manage 300,000 tonnes, but it will serve a ‘much different’ market, said O’Leary. ‘What we’re trying to do in Norway is reduce the range of products but produce lots of it…they’re going to be up to 340-350,000 tonnes in volume. ‘Whereas here it will be 170,000 tonnes but split across many more markets, but also different sizes and products as well.’ These will include a full range, from 1mm to 11mm size pellets, covering broodstock, organic for the Irish market, and slightly different feed for the Faroese market, with more marine ingredients. ‘And we’ll supply 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of freshwater feed for the Norwegian market,’ said O’Leary. The site has two extruders, one operating at 25 tonnes an hour and the other at 10 tonnes an hour, designed because of the different size of pellets they are going to produce. Kyleakin will not be making cleaner fish feed, although O’Leary said this and medicated feed may be built into the business later. But before then, the plan is to have enough feed to supply increasing production by Mowi – as well as other salmon farmers, including every farm in Scotland if required. ‘We’ve certainly got enough capacity to be in the open market,’ said O’Leary. ‘We’ve built that capacity in and with the 24/7 operation this will be, that shouldn’t be a problem. ‘We want to be on the open market as soon as possible. It’s why we’ve set this team up and why I’m here, to be a very big player in that market.’ The team includes director of nutrition and formulation Paul Morris, formerly of Skretting, and Dr Erica Bonvine, formulation optimiser, who has joined the Scottish mill from Norway. They will not only be looking at price and value, but at the component parts of the product as well, including novel ingredients. O’Leary said

The locals “have been

brilliant, you can’t praise them enough

”

14/01/2019 15:47:07

Feed – Mowi

they have an open mind about alternative raw materials, and the R&D facility in Bergen has continuous projects on the go. O’Leary himself is a feed specialist, with a background predominantly in ﬂour milling, although he trained as a marine engineer. For much of his career he worked for Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM). He was headhunted for the Mowi job and said as soon as he started to do some research on the company, he was ‘amazed by it’. ‘The whole vertical integration of feed was something I did with RHM in the early days. So I had the experience of that.’ He talks about the thrill of building a business model around the plant, at the beginning of a new era for Mowi in Scotland.

Kyleakin.indd 30

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Skye’s the limit

What “ we’re trying

to do in Norway is reduce the range of products but produce lots of it

”

‘RHM has now come to the end of that model and are now closing that company down, but this is at the start. What I’m doing now, almost 30 years later, is quite exciting because it’s almost the same as what we were doing then.’ He is also impressed by the community he has relocated to – and bought a house in – and has been involved in the Kyleakin community group since he arrived. ‘The locals have been brilliant, you can’t praise them enough,’ he said. ‘We had a wine and cheese evening before Christmas just to thank them. ‘There are a few guys who’ve got a bit worried about it, but not many, and most of them we’ve found extremely helpful.’ He said people are willing to talk about poten-

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Kyleakin.indd 31

tial problems, the company deals with them quickly, and there have not been any real clashes. ‘They appreciate the jobs and the type of jobs - with a big global company, there’s security in the job, it’s all year round, there are pensions and benefits. ‘And it’s not just the 53 full-time jobs, we’ll need other people for services like catering, cutting the grass, things like that.’ Mowi has sponsored the Kyleakin mini bus, shinty teams, and is supporting a new cycle path on Skye. The company has also organised an emergency services day on January 26, ‘Blue Light’ day, as part of the community integration, as well as to safeguard the staff. ‘We’ll have the police, the ambulance, the fire brigade, the coastguard, RNLI, and the mountain rescue here and we’ll go through worst case scenarios of what could happen - man overboard, over the pier, fire on the top floor, trapped person, the unthinkable,’ said O’Leary. The final stage of the Skye development will be the creation of a visitor

Above: View of the new feed plant and pier from the Skye bridge; the silos (Photo: Mowi) Opposite: Kevin O’Leary in his office at Kyleakin

14/01/2019 15:49:35

Feed – Mowi

centre, on land next to the feed mill. Plans for a three-storey oﬃce block on the site have now been shelved, and temporary tin huts currently house the staﬀ. But once the feed plant is up and running, and infrastructure (including roads) is completed, the focus will switch to on-site accommodation and the visitor’s centre. ‘We’ll start the plans later this year if everything goes well,’ said O’Leary. ‘It will take six months to build, three months in the planning. Certainly by 2020 we’ll be looking at opening it, 2021 at the outside.’ Mowi has said the centre will help explain its farming (and feed) operations to the public but it will also serve as a showcase for the whole industry, bringing the story of salmon farming to a wider audience. FF

Fjordvejs Maskinfabrik A/S Congratulate Mowi on their new feed factory on the Isle of Skye

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14/01/2019 15:50:26

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14/01/2019 12:54:25

Feed – Mowi

Top team trained and ready

Above: Some of the new staﬀ at the Kyleakin site

HALF of Kyleakin’s logistics team of ten arrived on the day Fish Farmer visited, bringing the staﬀ almost up to its full complement, which will be 53 to begin with, said site manager Kevin O’Leary. Mowi has tried to recruit locally where possible, but has cast the net wide and attracted seven diﬀerent nationalities to the management posts alone. ‘I’m very pleased with the team we’ve got and the training we’ve given to them,’ said O’Leary. ‘The selection process has been quite extensive. We’ve had way over 400 applicants and interviewed 150-200 of those, and from that whittled them down to the group that we’ve got. ‘It’s going to be about 60 per cent in total from the area. We’ve been quite blessed with the good

Kyleakin.indd 34

skill set around engineering and production. ‘But not many have run fish feed factories, so there’s a training programme we’ve designed that takes into account that, even with good academic or vocational training background, we have to teach them what a fish feed factory does.’ Mowi, with Highlands and Islands Enterprise support, devised a £225,000 training plan, which has been running for four months and is now in its final stages. Many in the team have been sent to the Norwegian plant in Bjugn, and 15 employees went to Kansas in the US, to Wenger, where the feed extruders were made, to learn how to operate the machinery and how to maximise efficiency. ‘It’s hard to really go and pitch in

the market for a specialist on feed, especially for a process engineer; you have to develop them and developing someone in that position takes time,’ said O’Leary. ‘It’s an investment. All the other positions have been quite specialist at management level but they’ve been available – formulator, engineer, production person, you can actually go out and get them with some experience. ‘My quality manager, Richard McKinney, comes from Skretting, he worked with Paul Morris [director of nutrition and formulation], and has been in the business for 20 years.’ O’Leary said the remoteness of the location has presented challenges too, along with ﬁnding homes, and he has signed nine leases recently.

‘Because we’re in Skye, it’s obtaining houses here and the lifestyle. People may think they understand it but the locals say unless you’ve done two winters you don’t count. The community aspect I think is excellent – I think it’s something we’ve forgotten a little bit.’ O’Leary has spent several weeks at a time in Norway, liaising with Atla Kjist, who takes over in March in his new role as managing director of feed, and also working closely with the manager of the Bjugn feed mill, Claes Jonermark. Some of the Norwegians will work shifts in Kyleakin as the plant gears up, and Peter Nilsson, the Bjugn process engineer, is coming over for three months. Then, next year, O’Leary said they will take on two apprentices.

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Skye’s the limit

Creating the perfect fish pellet PAUL Morris, director of nutrition and formulation, explaining the science behind fish feed at Mowi, said it’s all about the ingredients. ‘The top principle is that every single pellet has to deliver 100 per cent of what a fish needs every meal, every day. ‘Salmon need nutrients like protein and its constituent amino acids, fats including fatty acids and other special lipids, vitamins and minerals. Although salmon can thrive without them, we also add carbohydrates to the feed, which help to bind the feed together and create a structure which is optimised to absorb the added oil. ‘The protein, fat and carbohydrate all contribute energy (or calories) which is good for growth rate and feed effectiveness. We also add some supplements to the feed, for example, extracts from yeast cell walls, that promote resilience and robustness in the fish. ‘The industry has spent years establishing the nutrient requirements of salmon at every stage of its lifecycle and we carry out numerous feed trials. These test feeds are fed in controlled conditions to fish in replicated pens and we monitor a whole range of responses in the period while the fish double or, ideally, triple their initial weight. ‘Throughout the feeding trial we monitor feed intake, growth rate and feed conversion ratio (how much feed is eaten per unit of fish growth). At the end of the trial, we take an in-depth look at the condition factor, yields, quality, robustness and welfare outcomes for the salmon. ‘The final recipe for fish feed is therefore based on the trial feeds that have supported the best combination of performance, quality, robustness and welfare. ‘For us, nutrient requirements always come first but, after that, there is still scope to add extra value to the fish via the feeds. For example, by carefully selecting the type and amount of different fish oils we use, we can fine-tune the amount of omega-3 that the fish will contain at the point of sale. ‘We source raw materials from all over the world and we take feed safety and sustainability extremely seriously. A dedicated team ensures that we only purchase ingredients from approved suppliers who are expect-

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Kyleakin.indd 35

ed to conform to our code of conduct. ‘We ask our suppliers to be certified by globally recognised schemes – for example, IFFO RS, Pro Terra and GMP+ - that uphold high standards for raw material sourcing, manufacture and transport. Making the feed ‘When it comes to actually making the feed, we have advanced software which is programmed to begin weighing and blending the raw ingredients. The process of manufacturing the feed exemplifies the application of feed technology, engineering and operator skill. ‘Salmon feed is particularly challenging because we are making a product that is 35-40 per cent liquid (oil) that is dry to the touch and resilient when handled. ‘The process is semi-continuous with an extruder (a giant, high speed, flow-through pressure cooker) and a vacuum fat coater (low pressure chamber where liquids can be forced into a porous matrix) at its heart. ‘Having been cooled and sieved to remove any broken pellets, chips or dust, the pellets are transferred to a silo at the factory, then to a silo on a ship and ultimately despatched directly to a silo on the farm. With increasing scale, the industry has been able to adopt a bagless supply chain. This is a great step forward both in terms of cost and the environment. ‘Ultimately, Mowi is a global salmon farming company, with the value of our company and our reputation being reliant on the performance and quality of the fish we grow. That’s why our salmon, and what we feed them, must come first.’ (First published in the January issue of Mowi’s newsletter, The Scoop)

Above: Fish feed

14/01/2019 15:51:27

Feed – Alternative ingredients

New chapter for

novel feeds Skretting focuses on flexibility in fish nutrition breakthroughs

HERE was much fanfare when Skretting launched its first fish-free salmon feed at Aqua Nor in Trondheim in 2017. Now the company has notched up another significant breakthrough in fish nutrition, but this one has been brought to market more quietly. Just before Christmas, a supermarket chain in France began selling trout reared on insect meal diets, produced by Stavanger based Skretting in collaboration with the French company InnovaFeed. The progress of this novel feed ingredient has been steady and even now is only commercialised in relatively small quantities; but there is a sense of excitement in the feed sector over the level of innovation in the race to replace marine ingredients with viable alternatives. Dr Alex Obach, managing director of Skretting’s Aquaculture Research Centre and Skretting R&D director, has been in the industry for 25 years but now talks of a new pace of change.

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‘So many developments have been made in the last couple of years,’ he told Fish Farmer. ‘After more than 20 years of research, Skretting managed to grow salmon without fishmeal and fish oil. ‘We achieved that with fishmeal in 2016, and in 2017, alternatives to EPA and DHA became available that will allow us to become independent from fish oil.’ The source of omega-3, containing both EPA and DHA, was produced by algae developed by German company Evonik and Royal DSM, and made into feed by Skretting at its Aquaculture Research Centre. This year, Evonik ad DSM,

Above: Alex Obach Photo: Skretting. Opposite (top): May-Helen Holme. (Below): Cod farm Photo: Skretting

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14/01/2019 15:39:32

New chapter for novel feeds accept GMO materials, and to use non-GM materials in the markets that do not accept them. Obach believes insect meal has wide acceptance because people know that fish eat insects and they are a natural part of the diet. ‘Also, it’s a very sustainable raw material in that you are transforming by-products – for example, brewery by-products – and using them in to grow the insects.’ However, even such well advanced alternative ingredients will take time to become mainstream rather than niche options. While ‘you can just build insect factories wherever you want’, this is still early days for the technology. ‘Today we don’t have major volumes. If you take all the insect meal produced in the world it’s probably a few thousand tonnes.’ Skretting needs two and half million tonnes of aquafeed raw materials a year, and all the global insect initiatives combined produce, at the most, around 100,000 tonnes. ‘There are many insect producers spread over the globe and they are very different,’ said Obach. ‘They grow different species and are all at under the joint venture Veramis, will scale up different stages of development. production at a plant in Blair, Nebraska. ‘Some are already producing significant amounts - 50,000 tonnes in With limited supplies of fishmeal and fish oil one case - but the others are often start-ups or scale-ups. from capture fisheries, aquaculture producers ‘That’s why one of the things we’re trying to do at Skretting is support must find new sources of protein and omethem because we want these projects to go through. It is in our interest ga-3 fatty acids if the industry is to continue and in the interest of the industry. growing. Skretting has said its goal in the future ‘One of the problems we have with insect meal is it’s still relatively exis to use ingredients for aqua feed that do not pensive. It is typical – when you start producing something new, in the compete with food for human consumption. beginning before you can start scaling up and optimising production, Obach said the key for the big feed compathe price will be a little bit higher. nies in this mission is flexibility, and the more ‘Then of course you have two options – one is to say we don’t support innovative alternatives on the market, the these initiatives and then probably they won’t succeed or they’ll bebetter. come niche. Or we really try to support them but then it has a cost. ‘For us, it was a bit of a mindset change when ‘Who in the value chain will take that cost? It cannot rest solely with we finally said, now we can be independent the feed supplier. We’re trying to find some projects where we share of fishmeal and fish oil in salmon, let’s start to the extra cost between, for example, a retailer, a farmer, and a feed look at alternatives. We see a lot of exciting company.’ things happening on the alternative raw mateSkretting has been in contact with most of the insect companies and is rials front.’ working with between five and ten of them, said Obach. Of these, insects currently ‘look very promis‘Some of them are also looking for funding and if a company like ing’, said Obach, but feed companies need to Skretting is backing you up, that is another way of helping them,’ he follow up all leads. said. ‘Our strategy in Skretting is to try to support Obach’s colleague, Dr May-Helen Holme, Skretting’s manager of salthem all. Because we don’t see these initiatives monid nutrition, agrees that further progress depends on the aquaculas competing with each other. ture industry collectively pulling its weight. ‘In 2015, the world produced 70 million ‘The insect industry has been pushing and pushing and there hasn’t tonnes of seafood. That represented 70 million tonnes of aquaculture feed. With the FCR (feed conversion ratio) you normally have to multiply by 1.3 kilos of feed on average to produce 1kg of seafood, but today some seafood produced is not being fed. ‘According to the FAO, in the next 10 to 15 years, aquaculture is going to grow by another 40 per cent. Aquaculture will produce more than 100 million tonnes of seafood. ‘We will need another 40 million tonnes of aquaculture feed…we want insect meal, we want algae meal, we want microbials, everything. ‘What we need to do as a feed company is to make sure we have enough flexibility, wherever we operate. Some raw materials will be accessible in some countries, some raw materials will be accepted in certain markets and not in others, so for us it’s vital to ensure we have enough alternatives.’ The aim, he said, is to be able to use, for example, GM (genetically modified) raw materials in the markets where consumers and retailers

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don’t “seeWethese

initiatives as competing with each other, our strategy is to support them all – Alex Obach

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14/01/2019 15:39:53

Feed – Alternative ingredients some countries. ‘It depends on volumes. In some countries they will use maybe 10 per cent insect meal in their diets. If it is small country where aquaculture production is relatively small, that will not be a signiﬁcant volume. ‘But if we need to put 10 per cent insect meal in all the salmon diets in Norway then we need more – the salmon market in Norway is 1.6 to 1.8 million tonnes of feed so you need 160,000 tonnes of insect meal, and we’re not there yet.’ Quality Obach said often the quality of the insect meal Skretting tests at the beginning, at laboratory scale, is very good, and at the pilot scale it is still good, but when they start scaling up, problems

Above: Skretting’s factory at Averøy. Photo: Skretting

been anyone picking up, neither from the feed industry nor the customers nor the consumers,’ she said. ‘Skretting feels a great responsibility here to play our role to ensure the future success and sustainability of our industry, so we have a number of ongoing collaborations, working with the different players in the value chain to create awareness with the end consumer. ‘In general, it seems the industry has said for a long time that volumes are too low and the price is too high. But the insect firms are unable to attract enough funding if we keep progressing that way. ‘So by us getting involved and collaborating with them and helping them get the volume they have, get that into feeds and just getting these trials going (as in the ones just finished in France), that’s what’s going to push the snowball, it’s going to start rolling by itself soon.’ Obach said the tipping point from novel to mainstream for new ingredients such as insect meal could be just a couple of years away – in

can occur. ‘For example, the process they use can affect the quality of the meal and then we try to work with them, get them to review their process.’ Holme said: ‘We’ve done a lot of testing of different suppliers, helping them optimise their products for our needs, because they know how to grow the larvae, but there’s still a processing step where they actually make the larvae into meal where a lot of the nutrients can get lost. ‘There can also be a lot of batch variation, which we see with any animal raw materials – be that poultry meal or fishmeal – but because this industry is new, we had to map out where the variation was, where it came from, and for us we need consistent quality in order to be able to supply consistent quality of our feed.’ But Holme has confidence in insect meal as a reliable alternative protein source , once it can be produced in big enough quantities. ‘I don’t think there is much concern that it’s not going to work. We’ve proven that in many trials. Most customers are quite positive and there is a view that we need to be more sustainable, that’s really starting to trickle in, the importance of having new protein sources. ‘We’re definitely on the right track and the nice thing is that there are quite a few suppliers getting there, and that means we’re not reliant on just one or two in order to have insect meal in our silos. ‘And obviously there are different species, both with the black soldier fly and the meal worm being the main two for us.’

Flying off the shelves TROUT produced and processed by Truite Service in France, fed Skretting feeds containing insect meal from InnovaFeed, has now reached the French consumer. Auchan, a leading French retailer committed to responsible aquaculture, has made the insect-fed trout available in 52 supermarkets in the north and Ile-de-France, with plans to sell throughout France by the end of 2019. ‘The term ‘insect-fed fish’ applies only to aquaculture fish that meet two criteria – they have been fed a diet wherein at least 50 per cent of the fishmeal has been replaced by insect meal, and the fish have doubled in weight after the insect protein has been applied,’ said Elodie Petit, marketing manager at Skretting France, when the announcement was made before Christmas. Laurent Terninck of Truite Service added: ‘As a leader in fresh, high quality trout in France, we have been excited to be a player in this new phase for aquaculture.

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‘The fish have performed well; of course, insects form a natural part of a wild trout diet, but we have been delighted that the new feed has been received well by the fish and shown great results in terms of growth, health and flesh quality.’ For InnovaFeed, this marks an important step in the development of the insect sector, and the company is keen to continue pioneering the commercial implementation of insect meal. ‘We are making a new source of protein from insect rearing (Hermetia illucens), and the protein produced is high quality and able to replace more traditional ingredients,’ said Maye Walraven of InnovaFeed. InnovaFeed established a partnership with French company Tereos last September, and will use co-products from the Tereos starch facility to breed black soldier fly. The site will bring InnovaFeed’s production capacity up to 10,000 tonnes of protein a year, Feed Navigator reported last year.

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New chapter for novel feeds There will no doubt be even more interest in the novel ingredients market as other innovators see a big feed company like Skretting’s involvement. Holme said: ‘The insect industry has worked very hard to develop the process and industrialise it, but they haven’t been able to get the right investment because the investors, keen as they are, they need to see that there’s a market for it and that it’s been implemented before they invest in up-scaling. ‘I think that’s what’s just started now, the investors are going to say, okay this is working, it’s accepted in the market, there’s a lot of media attention around it, and there’s really something in it. ‘So they put in more money and the bigger factories get built because it’s tested technology, and then volumes go up and the prices come down.’ That said, Holme does not believe products such as insect protein will bring down the cost of feed eventually. ‘The best we can hope for is that the cost is the same. At the moment, we’re using soya concentrates at a competitive price, so the new raw materials produced locally will have to compete with that price, by balancing out a higher production cost with lower transport costs. But if we can get it to match the price we should be happy with that.’ Obstacles Regulatory obstacles could prove to be as much of a challenge as cost, especially in Europe. Obach said: ‘In Europe we are really resistant and critical of all initiatives that represent change. Theoretically, retailers in Europe don’t want European producers (salmon farmers in the UK, Ireland, Norway) to use live animal proteins. however, they seem to be quite open to insects.’ Other animal proteins, such as poultry meal and feather meal, are accepted everywhere else in the world, and Obach thinks consumers are open to change. ‘I think, in general, customers don’t know exactly what the salmon are eating and I think probably if you explain to them why it is good to utilise these highly valuable and nutritional raw material ingredients they would understand. ‘The consumable portion of a chicken is around 40 per cent. The other 60 per cent is typically discarded or turned into poultry meal, feather meal, blood meal, meaning you can use this potential waste and feed other animals with it. It’s excellent protein, from a nutritional perspective, for fish. ‘I think people are starting to talk more about a circular economy, about the practice of no waste. I think everybody understands this. Processed feather meal doesn’t look much different to fishmeal.’ Can he see the day when fish-free feed is not a rarity? ‘I think it will always be present, and sometimes it will be part of the diet and sometimes not. We’re talking about volumes…100 million tonnes of aquaculture feed needs to be produced in the next 10 to 15 years, but the whole production of fishmeal in the world is four million tonnes. ‘When we reach 100 million tonnes of aquaculture feed, if the world is only producing four million tonnes of fishmeal, even if you put all of it in aquaculture feed, it will only represent four per cent.’ He said the industry has to be clever in how it makes use of this fishmeal, reserving it for new species perhaps, rather than feeding it to salmon, which have already been reared on alternative diets. ‘It’s relatively easy to formulate a diet for fish - if you put in fishmeal and fish oil, you cannot get it too wrong. Let’s leave these highly valued raw materials for the new species, while they’re developing.’ Obach said although the aqua feed industry has been small compared to the poultry or swine sectors, the ingredients suppliers he talks to are increasingly interested in aquaculture. ‘Ingredient suppliers were concerned with other species and sometimes came to us. But what we see more and more is that they come to us first. ‘This is very interesting, especially when you talk about relatively high value ingredients, because I think aquaculture has some higher value

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From algae to essential oil VERAMARIS produces the two essential omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, from natural marine algae for animal nutrition, the company explains on its website. By combining expertise in cultivating natural marine algae with know-how in industrial scale fermentation, it has developed an innovation ‘that transforms feed nutrition’. ‘In the North Paciﬁc, we discovered an algal strain of Schizochytrium sp., which naturally produces the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Fermentation secures a supply of these essential nutrients without relying on marine ecosystems,’ said Veramaris. One tonne of Veramaris omega-3 oil save 60 tonnes of wild caught ﬁsh, said the company. With production in Blair, Nebraska, in the middle of the corn belt in the US, omega-3 is produced through waste free fermentation, using only two materials: sugar and marine algae. The sugar is dextrose, obtained from locally sourced corn – a renewable resource. And the algal strain Schizochytrium sp is cultivated in the Nebraska plant to seed the fermentation process. During fermentation, the algae cells multiply exponentially and convert dextrose into omega-3 fatty acids, which accumulate in oil vesicles. In the downstream process, the cell wall is broken and the oil vesicles are separated from the aqueous phase. Residual water is removed from the oil by centrifugation and the end result is a highly concentrated algal oil and a liquid co-product.

ingredients (such as insects) than poultry. Insects will most likely not go into a poultry diet, they are far too expensive. ‘That’s why with these higher value ingredients, suppliers are just targeting us, and that is good. In the past when we produced feed for aquaculture we had to see what was accessible and available in the market, produced for other purposes, and try to fit it into our recipes. ‘Today, what we see is we can work with the suppliers in order to develop things that are more specifically for aquaculture.’ The industry is dynamic, said Obach, with a lot of ‘very positive’ movement in the different value chains. ‘Salmon farming companies like Marine Harvest are integrating, feed additive suppliers are buying companies producing aquaculture feed - there are movements in all directions. ‘Not much happened in the aquaculture world for the last four or five years and suddenly everything is happening. At Skretting, we’re ready and excited about this change of pace.’ FF

insect “The industry

has been pushing and there hasn’t been anyone picking up from the feed industry nor the customers – May-Helen Holme

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14/01/2019 15:40:41

Feed – RAS

Mills boom Land based plants in North America present new opportunity for feed factories

KRETTING has focused investment into recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS) research in recent years. In 2016, the company expanded its Stavanger research centre to incorporate a dedicated recirculation hall, with tanks to test RAS feed, mostly for the salmon market. ‘We saw this coming – we have been active in recirculation for the last 10 years,’ said Alex Obach. ‘In fact, we launched the first commercial recirculation diet in 2009 and we have been doing research with the recirculation systems. If we manage – and I’m sure we will manage – to get recirculation to work for the larger fish, it’s impossible to predict where aquaculture will grow in the future.’ He said everyone is watching Atlantic Sapphire, the Norwegian owned company building a massive RAS salmon farm in Miami, Florida. ‘I don’t think it’s a threat to traditional farming at all, I think it’s just perhaps our licence to grow. It would be terrible if salmon production does not continue growing, salmon could become just a niche product. ‘Traditional production hasn’t been growing much - the big producers, Chile and Norway, and the UK, are not getting more licences – production in Scotland is relatively stable, Ireland is small, Australia will perhaps grow a little bit. ‘The big increase in production could come from Norway but the authorities have been very clear – before we solve all the biological issues there will be no more salmon production, no new licences granted, which means it’s good to have other projects in other parts of the world, like RAS, that are going to help us. The prices today are high enough, we don’t want them to get higher. ‘Norwegians are waiting, there has been a focus on alternative development concessions here for a number of high-tech systems, which I think is very good, it’s good to see the salmon industry doing innovation, it’s very positive. ‘But some of them are already investing in RAS systems but it’s not

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Even “ though the

recirculation diets won’t be a big percentage for many years, we see it’s a very exciting development

”

Above: New recirculation hall is ideally positioned to support the closed containment sector’s future growth

really to grow salmon the whole cycle. Most of the smolts are already produced in RAS systems but now they are growing post-smolts.’ May-Helen Holme said that all these recirculation systems have completely different requirements for their feed, something Skretting is well versed in. She said it could be an option in the future for Skretting to build feed mills in North America to supply the new RAS plants. ‘If it works out and we have good collaboration with their customers, then it’s definitely an opportunity that we haven’t considered, but we’re very open and we’ve built a lot of factories in the last few years. ‘Although, globally, we are supplying our RAS feeds tto close to 140 RAS sites, the recirculation diets for larger fish won’t be a very big percentage for many years yet, but we see it’s a very exciting development for us,’ she said. ‘Obviously, they need to do a lot of testing and we need to make sure we have feed to fit the systems. ‘We’re excited to be talking to these new farmers. We’ve worked to incorporate commercialised alternative omega-3 oils into feeds for our existing customers, but it has been challenge to sell. ‘But when we talk to the recirculation guys they are very positive towards these very sustainable but a little bit more expensive raw materials. They target different markets, they target customers that are very sustainably aware, so we see an opening there and maybe getting more take in the market for this. ‘The business model is very reliant on the fact that they don’t have to ship the fish, it’s not going to be flown around, so they don’t have that cost, which justifies higher production costs. But at the same time, they want to target a slightly different market to the mass consumer.’ Holme said Skretting’s RAS trial centre has ‘an exciting and ambitious programme’ in the next year. ‘We’re starting to get customer requests so we can really target our research so we make sure we deal with the real industry issues.’ She said eventually it would be interesting to use some of the novel raw materials in RAS but that would require ‘a lot more testing’. FF

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14/01/2019 15:41:04

Feed – Africa

Feeding the future BY MARIA ANGELA CALMET

How Skretting is supporting the growth of aquaculture

HE population of the African continent is expected to double by 2050, and this in turn will create more demand for animal protein. Fish will continue to be an important source, and as the demand in Africa increases, Skretting is committed to be present to provide feed to farmers and support them in their growth. Our journey in Africa began more than 20 years ago, with exports to different African countries. In 2014, Skretting created an organisation dedicated exclusively to manage the business in Africa. Now, the company has three factories - in Egypt, Nigeria and Zambia, producing feed for species such as tilapia, catfish, sea bass, sea bream and shrimp. Developing the aquaculture value chain and creating shared value is very important for Skretting, and we are continuing to develop partnerships with other stakeholders to promote best aquaculture practices. Concrete examples of this approach are our community development projects in Nigeria and Zambia, where we help farmers increase their income by providing technical advice on fish farming, and our recent partnership solidification with WorldFish. The latest project with WorldFish is an extension of an existing partnership that has been running for two years, conducting work at the WorldFish Aquaculture Research and Training Centre in Abbassa, Egypt, on tilapia nutrition and raw feed material evaluation. Skretting and WorldFish have also collaborated on Skretting’s Community Development Project in Zambia. Dr Gareth Johnstone, director general of WorldFish, said: ‘We believe that strategic collaborations with the private sector are essential for accelerating the sustainable development of aquaculture in Africa’s developing economies. ‘Our partnership with Skretting will enable the scaling of tried and tested technologies and best practices – one of our core goals – paving the way for fish to boost more nutritious diets, and secure steady incomes and improved livelihoods across the continent.’ The biggest challenges to develop the feed industry in Africa in the future are access to good quality local raw materials, improving fingerling genetics, development of infrastructure and training local teams. Skretting is well placed to support the industry with these challenges. Aquaculture production in Africa is 99 per cent inland, according to the FAO (The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 - Meeting the sustainable development goals). Egypt is the leading fish farming country, producing 1.37 million tonnes of fish. The second top producing country is Nigeria, with an estimated 307,000 tonnes of fish. Skretting’s mission is ‘Feeding the Future’. By living this mission, we will be closer to reaching a world with zero hunger. FF Maria Angela Calmet is project manager sustainability of Nutreco Africa

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“

Below: Tilapia farm

We help farmers increase their income by providing technical advice on ﬁsh farming

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Feed – Industry pioneer

Great Dane bows out BioMar veteran looks back on 45 years in aquaculture

IELS Alsted was planning to retire in 2015 but his company, BioMar, asked him to take on one last task – go and live in China for a year. This might not be everyone’s idea of winding down after a lengthy career but Alsted was up for the challenge. With his wife he made the move and used his broad experience to lay the groundwork for BioMar’s partnership with Tongwei, the world’s largest aquafeed manufacturer. He oversaw the opening of the joint venture’s new feed line at its Haiwei plant in southern China before returning to Denmark, and he finally left the company, where he was executive vice president, in December, after 45 years in the industry. Alsted, known as ‘Mr Aquaculture’ among his colleagues, built up a reputation for his wide technical knowledge and for promoting environmental sustainability in the feed sector, and this is where his interests still lie. He said his time in China involved trying to get the culture of BioMar aligned with that of Tongwei and while this work might be ongoing, he made some progress: ‘At least we now understand what we don’t understand!’ ‘There are two barriers, a language barrier and a culture barrier,’ Alsted told Fish Farmer. ‘Of course, we can do the feed there and make feed for the relevant species, but doing business there is something different. ‘It’s a huge country, almost like a continent, so it’s very diverse and not like what we’re used to, with almost just one species, salmonids. ‘In China, they have 100 species in production and the structure of trading is also different to what we know. It’s small units, family units, people who I can’t speak to because of the language and culture, and that was very challenging.’ Alsted tried to take to China the concept on feed that he helped pioneer at BioMar, changing the approach to fish feed from being a price per kilo to a performance based value. This, he said, was one of his professional highlights during his years at BioMar, where he arrived in 1987 to undertake a commercial PhD on environmental diets for fish.

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‘What we did when I came to the company, we used more expensive diets, and we used better raw materials because the environmental restrictions in Denmark were very strict so we needed to find a solution for reducing the discharge. ‘So what we did was take better raw materials with better digestibility with more optimum nutrition – it turned out to be more expensive diets but the farmers gained from two things: they made more money because the fish performed better. ‘At the same time, the discharge from the freshwater farms, but also from the sea cages, reduced significantly.’ That was at the end of the 80s, early 90s, and made a big difference, said Alsted – ‘the company earned more money, the farmers earned more money and the discharge to the environment was significantly lower. Everybody won. ‘That concept still holds – it has been a kind of trendsetter in many ways. But the way you do it has to be adapted to local conditions. ‘In places, for example in China, where most of the farming is in freshwater and where freshwater is the limiting factor, it’s highly relevant because that’s their biggest problem. They need to change the way of practice there so they could produce more with less.’ Alsted acknowledges that ‘you don’t change China overnight’, and that

Above: Niels Alsted. Opposite (top): Feeding salmon. (below): Niels in 1987

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Great Dane bows out

one of the problems is getting the right people in place there. ‘We know we can make the feed, we know we can make improvement on performance and things like that, from a nutrition and technical point of view. But selling it and convincing farmers to move on in that direction is not very easy.’ Despite the obstacles, he sees the move into China, which he helped to drive, as another high point in his career. ‘China has thousands of feed mills. They have feed companies with volumes five times bigger than BioMar. There are very good companies there moving in that direction. ‘The compound feed market is about 20 million tonnes in China – while the whole salmon market is maybe three, three and a half million. So the potential is there for changing the way of producing feed. ‘They have the same equipment – it’s more the concept of saying, okay we want to produce better products, we want to use better raw materials, we’re going to work on performance rather than price per kilo as the only factor. ‘That will come because China has a limitation on access to water and has a pollution problem - in the air but also in the water - so they need to do something about it. ‘It doesn’t help if you come with the best feed if your water condition doesn’t reward it.’ He said they have invited Chinese customers to Denmark to show them that, with simple investment and knowledge about water chemistry and microbiology, and recirculation, they can improve water quality. ‘The feed is not the problem, the problem is the way they run the farms… it’s the water quality which is the limiting factor.’ But China is where aquaculture growth is going to be in the future, and western expertise will continue to play a role. ‘Of course, there will be Chinese companies who are doing that and understand this concept, no doubt about that, but we can also do it.’ Alsted’s other crowning achievement, he said, was to encourage BioMar to invest in Chile in 2000. ‘I was very much in favour that we should be in Chile, and told the board we had to be there. In the beginning it was very, very difficult. ‘You have to remember that the salmon business has not always been as profitable as it is today. It was a disaster in 2001-004, when prices were down to $2 – hard to believe now.’ The company’s involvement in Costa Rica, where it has built a feed mill, and in the shrimp industry, along with its expansion in Asia, are also areas

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of future growth and investment. The salmon industry will continue to grow, he believes, but this growth will be limited, and based on ‘real offshore’ farming, and RAS technology. ‘Real offshore requires big companies with real financial muscles to handle it. But I’m sure they will develop the technology there. ‘Likewise, RAS systems will move forward and they will manage to do it in an efficient way. But they will never be able to compete on price per kilo.’ He said the logistics of RAS will offset its costs,

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Feed – Industry pioneer

because farmers can produce fish locally, for instance for the US market, instead of paying for expensive air freight. And he is confident that any production problems will be overcome, with the help of Danish technology. ‘The Danes were the first ones to do it [RAS] because they were forced by limitations on discharge. And that’s also why BioMar was very early with recirculation diets because it was part of our development that we supplied these recirculation systems and they required a little bit of a different diet. ‘When people say RAS will never work, don’t forget when they started with net pens people said the same. Some of these farms also went bust in the beginning until they learned how to do it. ‘The technology you use on net pens today is completely different to what you used in the beginning of the 80s. ‘Recirculation is not rocket science, it’s science, but it’s not rocket science. It’s water chemistry, microbiology and, of course, management.’ On the move towards vertical integration by companies such as Mowi (formerly Marine Harvest), Alsted said there are both pros and cons for the producer. ‘You have to be very, very big to do it in that way. There are advantages and disadvantages as we have seen over the history.’ He mentioned Skretting’s one-time integration with BP Nutrition when the feed company also owned Marine Harvest. ‘The story you can tell to your customers is good because you have control over the entire value chain (except you don’t have control over the main thing which is the raw materials, which you have to buy, and that’s 80 per cent of feed). ‘But if you put everything into one basket, you’re not sure you’re on top of the competition – things do move ahead in terms of investment in R&D and can you keep up with that? ‘They can copy more or less the diets [from the feed companies] because they request to know what’s in the diet, but times move on and

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things change, and knowledge develops and if you’re not in that, you’re going to lose out. ‘You don’t know whether you’re paying a too high price for your own feed because what is the alternative, in terms of performance and price, product combinations? ‘The advantage is you can have only one type of feed so you don’t need any adverts or anything like that…but in a feed mill that’s very small money compared to raw material.’ Asked what he considers the biggest changes in aquaculture over the past 45 years, Alsted said: ‘From a feed perspective it is us being more or less independent from individual raw materials, so the knowledge of how to supply nutrients to a fish has increased tremendously. ‘Everyone can make a good diet based on fishmeal, fish oil, some wheat and some vitamins – that will always work for carnivorous fish. ‘But being able to limit that down to cereal is a huge step forward. ‘Fishmeal is a fantastic product but there is a limited amount of it so you need, if you want to grow, to find alternatives and that has been the big, big change.’ The greatest surprise over more than four decades has been how big the salmon farming companies have become. ‘That has surprised me,’ said Alsted. ‘Twenty five years back I would not have anticipated the salmon companies becoming multi-millionaire companies.’ FF

Above: Niels Alsted (left) and delegation at Dae-Han feed factory in South Korea in 1989

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14/01/2019 15:37:56

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14/01/2019 12:56:04

Feed – Novel ingredients

Cargill gives

farmers Latitude US crop growers gear up for GM canola oil production BY COLIN LEY

ARGILL is gearing up for the production of its new omega-3 genetically modified canola oil by running a targeted programme in Montana in the US. This will get the state’s cereal growers up to speed with the raw ingredient requirements of the company’s Latitude fish feed. Following the unveiling last year of Latitude as a 100 per cent plant based omega-3 breakthrough product for the aquaculture industry, Cargill has been talking to experienced cereal growers in Montana with the promise of a total harvest buy-back for everything that is grown. ‘This is a great Montana success story – and it’s just beginning,’ said Keith Horton, senior trials agronomist for Cargill’s global edible oils business in North America. He said that in addition to the launch of Latitude to give fish farmers an alternative to existing fish based feeds, the new specialty canola could also be of benefit to Montana agriculture. ‘The new variety is a boost for sustainable farming practices, giving wheat and barley

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growers an option for an improved crop rotation, while also offering producers a guaranteed market and a competitive return on their investment.’ Horton said last year that Cargill could get the same amount of omega-3 from 160 acres of its canola as from 1.7 million pounds of fish. Created through an extensive research partnership involving Cargill and German group BASF, the new omega-3 hybrid canola is the result of almost two decades of science and exploration from two of the most respected players in the agriculture industry. ‘Literally hundreds of different hybrid varieties were developed and tested before we found the right one to advance as an omega-3 hybrid canola, specifically bred to thrive in Montana’s unique climate and equipped to meet the new global demand for omega-3s,’ said Cargill. The engineered canola is grown as normal and the seeds crushed to produce an oil to replace fish oil in salmon or shrimp feed. Although the end product, Latitude feed, isn’t due to hit the commercial aquaculture market until next year, Cargill’s production preparations and buy-back commitment to new growers is a strong signal of intent for fish farmers, especially with the company declaring that its involvement in Montana is ‘for the long term’. The company’s commitment to the end product is equally strong, of course, with the Latitude brand name being carefully selected to highlight the new freedom which Cargill believes its development will give fish farmers in their future sourcing of omega-3 feed ingredients. ‘The growth in aquaculture production brings an increase in demand for omega-3s,’ said Willie Loh, vice president of market development for Cargill’s global edible oils business in North America. ‘With Latitude, therefore, we are combining our aquaculture expertise and canola innovation capabilities to help meet this rising demand by using plant based omega-3s in aquafeed, instead of relying on fish oil.’ The unveiling of the new product development chimes with recent research pronouncements from scientists at the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (Nofima), based on early results from trials to assess the safety and efficiency of canola based omega-3 oil as a potential salmon feed ingredient.

Above: Canola ﬂowers

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Cargill gives farmers Latitude

Nofima’s feed trials included giving salmon increasing amounts of omega-3 canola oil, with the fish subsequently being analysed for growth, composition and health. Results showed that salmon fed with omega-3 canola had the same fillet omega-3 levels as salmon fed with fish oil, with gene expression analyses showing that these effects depended on the amount of oil the fish received, not the type of oil. Further analyses also found no differences in health and growth between fish fed the two oils, according to Nofima senior scientist, Bente Ruyter, who led the research project. In launching Latitude as a commercial feed for fish farmers, Cargill said it believes its own canola based solution will become a reliable omega-3 product for aquafeed manufacturers. The company also promised future buyers 100 per cent product traceability, a pledge based on the fact that Cargill already manages the whole supply chain, stretching from canola seed provision and crop cultivation activities through to the processing of the final oil product. ‘Latitude is a sustainable solution which will deliver on the demand for fish oil, meet market expectations for reliable supplies and a predictable price, as well as being a safe and traceable source of omega-3, including EPA, DPA and DHA,’ said the company.

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support the global demand “Thisforcanomega-3-rich salmon ” Cargill also said that both fresh and saltwater feed trials have shown that 100 per cent of fish oil can be replaced with Latitude in commercial salmon feed with no negative effects on fish growth rates, fish health or fillet omega-3 content. ‘Inherent in its name, Latitude gives aquafeed manufacturers and their customers the freedom to use alternative omega-3 sources,’ added Loh. ‘This can support the growing consumer population, as well as the global demand for omega-3-rich salmon, known for its heart health benefits.’ FF

14/01/2019 15:35:59

Feed – Alltech Coppens advertorial

Inside trout

How additives can help defend against disease outbreaks BY BRAM MEERSMAN

HE global aquaculture industry has seen significant growth in the last few years and is expected to gain more and more market share in the future production of animal proteins. This annual growth requires continuous intensification of the industry, emphasising the importance of biosecurity and prophylactic measures to avoid disease outbreaks. Two of the most common problems affecting the UK trout market are red mark syndrome (RMS) and puffy skin disease (PSD). Both diseases have in most cases been seen in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and are causing serious economic losses, mainly in the UK. The main problem with RMS and PSD is that, so far, no causative pathogens

Alltech Coppens - PED.indd 48

have been identified. So what is known? Red mark syndrome emerged for the first FUNCTION time in the UK around 2002, affecting rainbow trout. Since then, outbreaks have occurred all around Europe, showing single to multiple skin lesions with IMMUNE SYSTEM full thickness lichenoid SUPPORT dermatitis. Lesions are usually found around the flanks and affect all layers of the skin and can, in extreme cases, even affect the underlying muscle tissue. Scale loss is commonly noticed around the lesions and, histologically, infiltration of mononuclear cells is seen. On the farm, high morbidity numbers (up to 80 per cent) and low mortality levels are common, although no negative effects are seen on appetite or the growth of the fish. Fish appear lethargic when affected, but the real problem is the loss of market value of the end-product due to the skin lesions. Research suggests F. psychrophylum and/or rickettsia-like organisms as potential causative agents for this disease, because of the positive effects using antibiotics (oxolinic acid, oxytetracycline and florfenicol) and a remarkable resemblance with strawberry disease (SD) in the US. The latter shows similar symptoms as RMS but seems to occur at higher temperatures. Therefore, RMS is also known as cold water strawberry disease. PSD was first reported in 1997 in the UK and shows many similarities with RMS and SD. PSD can be differentiated from the other skin diseases, based on clinical observations and epidemiology. In this case, skin lesions can be seen, in addition to local loss of pigment, lower appetite and lethargy, but low mortality rates. Histologically, we see hyperplasia and swelling of epidermal cells with infiltration of inflammatory cells. Of these three mentioned skin diseases (RMS, SD, PSD), puffy skin is the only one associated with loss of appetite and growth. To date, PSD has only been reported in rainbow trout, with brown trout less affected.

IMPROVED PERFORMANCE

Fig. 1

Left: Puﬀy skin disease in pan size rainbow trout, UK. Opposite: Example of red mark syndrome in salmonids

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14/01/2019 15:34:02

Inside trout Just like RMS, the mortality rates are low and economic losses are mainly due to downgrading of the end product, increased production costs and sometimes the need for early culling of the fish. Immunity It is clear that several factors, (See Fig. 2) and their specific characteristics, have an influence on whether and how severely a pathogen will affect a population when introduced into it. Those factors are the pathogen, the fish itself and the environment surrounding and connecting both. With increasing pathogenicity and increasing numbers of pathogen particles in the environment, the chances of infection and real outbreaks obviously increase. Secondly, it may be clear that if the environmental conditions (such as temperature, water quality, feed quality) are in favour of the pathogen and unfavourable for the fish, the chances of problems and outbreaks also increase. Last, but not least, the fish itself and specifically its health level, which is linked to its immunity status, has a major influence on whether diseases will break through or not. Healthier fish with a robust immune system are more capable of fighting off intruding pathogens and have higher chances of survival. If this state of healthiness and immune robustness is reached throughout the population of fish, we can conclude that the risk of disease outbreaks declines significantly. To boost the health levels of the fish and improve their protection barriers against pathogens, Alltech Coppens focuses on providing the highest quality feeds for customers. By selecting the best raw materials and functional feed additives, it makes sure customers have the highest chances of success. As a main feed additive the company uses Aquate (fig. 1). This product is a combination of several functional ingredients, produced by the mother company, Alltech Inc, and is added to all feeds, customised to species and the age group of the targeted fish. The additives BioMos and Actigen have the triple effect of increasing the health status and immunity robustness of the fish by: 1) Binding to certain pathogenic bacteria in the gut and flushing them out with the faeces.

Fig. 2

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This lowers the concentration of harmful pathogens in the gut, therefore lowering chances of infection. 2) Significantly increasing the concentration density, individual length and structure of the microvilli in the gut, resulting in a significantly larger absorption area for nutrients. This helps the fish to use its feed more efficiently and keep health status to a high level, making them more capable of fighting off pathogens. 3) Increasing the thickness of the skin and mucus layers, which are the first lines of defence against pathogens in fish. This could increase the fish’s protection against problems with RMS and PSD. Bioplex is a natural organic source of trace minerals (Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe) bound to amino acids to prevent interaction between the minerals during storage. This natural organic supply of trace minerals has been shown to improve bio availability, and therefore lower inclusion rates with lower environmental impact are possible, resulting in an increase in astaxanthin survival of more than six weeks, improved disease resistance and ingredient and feed stability. The cumulative effect of these ingredients is not to be underestimated and has shown to be beneficial for the health status and growth of fish fed on it. It lifts the robustness of fish and makes them less vulnerable against unfavourable environmental conditions and pathogenic pressure, both capable of severely damaging stock health and overall farm performance. For extra on-farm protection, or when sub-optimal environmental conditions are experienced, customers can opt to use COFIT feed. This top line feed contains, on top of prime quality raw materials and extra inclusion levels of Aquate premix, extra ingredients to support the immune system. It contains significantly higher amounts of antioxidants, such as vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium, to limit the negative effects of oxidative stress on the fish. Aquate is included within all Alltech Coppens feeds as standard and is designed to be fed continually. This ensures the fish are equipped with enhanced protection against puffy skin and red mark syndrome, as well as parasitic and other bacterial infections, 365 days a year. With these products, Alltech Coppens offers the farmer complete solutions to the current challenges faced today. Bram Meersman is aquatic veterinarian at Alltech Coppens For more information about Alltech Coppens solutions contact: Matthew French UK sales manager Alltech Coppens. Tel: 07786 083458. Email: mattfrench@alltech.com. FF

The “ cumulative

eﬀect of these ingredients is not to be underestimated

”

14/01/2019 15:34:23

Feed – Arvo-Tec advertorial

Ahead in the cloud New Year shows promise for Finnish feeding technology manufacturer

OR the Finnish feed technology company Arvo-Tec, 2019 is already shaping up to be a great year. A new cloud application for Arvo-Tec systems will soon be released, and a new website is about to be launched to celebrate 25 years in business. Arvo-Tec (AT) is a family run company focused on developing and manufacturing feeding technology for aquaculture worldwide. The main offices are located in Huutokoski, Finland, where fish farming has been going on since 1969. Building on this experience, Arvo-Tec was established in 1994 by managing director Kaj Arvonen. His aim was to make the lives of fish farmers easier by introduc-

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ing automated feeding systems and solutions that adapt to varying growing conditions, and the ever changing fish. One prime example of this technology is the first AT robotic feeder system to be installed in the UK, due to be brought online in the coming weeks. Located in the Outer Hebrides, the robot will handle the feeding of 200 tanks around the clock in a salmon family breeding unit. The bulk of the installation was carried out by Arvo-Tecs’s Scotland based service and sales partner, Sterner Aquatech UK. The success of the system is the result of decades of use in the field, plus listening to the company’s customers while conducting product development. Farmers around the world demand ever increasing levels of control and efficiency from the new technologies being implemented for fish farming, and tens of thousands of ponds, raceways, cages and tanks are fed with Arvo-Tec systems globally. Last year saw the successful start of a

Left AT centralised system at the new 1,000 tonne facility Below left: Arvo-Pro CLOUD - A powerful tool for operators Opposite (middle): TD2000 dosing units - proving popular in hatcheries and juvenile units (below): UKs ﬁrst robotic feeder requires a small footprint.

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14/01/2019 15:31:55

Ahead in the cloud

1,000-tonne RAS facility with the Arvo-Tec centralised system in place. The current test centre, next door to the company’s headquarters, houses a robotic system. The new facility provides a second, largescale trial environment for future use. Arvo-Tec representative Joonas Jääskeläinen told Fish Farmer of the company’s plans for the year ahead. ‘Early 2019 will see the launch of ArvoPRO CLOUD service, which will let you cut the cord, so to speak, allowing users to access all of the features and files of the system without having to keep the bulk of that system on their own computers. ‘Cloud service cuts out the high cost of hardware. You simply pay as you go and enjoy a subscription based model. ‘Mobile access to your data via smartphones and devices gives you the ability to keep instantly up-to-date and make changes, like feeding times, to the system anywhere. ‘For those who have a lot to get done, there isn’t anything more irritating than having to wait for system update to be installed. ArvoPRO automatically updates itself.’ Jääskeläinen added: ‘Cloud solutions also typically increase security and help counter the reality that if your local hardware experiences a problem, you might end up permanently losing your data. ‘The application is a powerful tool, giving you a whole new level of control at your fingertips - it makes no difference whether you are working on site, from your office or on the go. ‘Another change coming in early 2019 is the new website, set to launch in the coming months. We hope you will enjoy the new and improved look, more functional design, valuable content and improved organisation of the site, aimed to improve the user experience and offer more support. ‘Our goal in 2019 is to maintain the high standard we have set for ourselves and to keep producing and innovating quality equipment’ For more details: www.arvotec.fi.

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goal “inOur 2019 is

to maintain the high standard we have set for ourselves

”

14/01/2019 15:32:19

Feed – Technology

Smart

farming Canadian invention not only counts stocks but manages them too

ANADIAN technology company XpertSea has become a name to watch in the aquaculture sector since it launched its ‘smart bucket’, a device that counts, sizes and weighs small aquatic organisms such as shrimps, live feed and fish fry. The thinking behind XperCount, introduced around two years ago, was to improve stock management, using a combination of artificial intelligence, computer vision and machine learning. It provides information about the size and weight of the animal and the weight distribution, as well as health data. Now the Quebec City based firm has added a Growth Platform, a web based management system that will enable farmers and hatchery managers to track animal growth and make adjustments as needed – whether in feed, harvesting dates or health treatments. Canadian scientist and XpertSea CEO Valerie

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Robitaille, co-founder of the company with US engineer Cody Andrews, said the new platform ‘closes the loop, adding value to the data provided by the XperCount’. While the XperCount bucket is a simple container housing complex electronics in its lid (Fish Farmer, June 2018) – basically, an IoT device that connects to a portal where customers can access data – the Growth Platform is able to analyse this information for the farmer. ‘Producers can enter information about the feed, about water quality, and other data, and then we help interpret this data and give guidance to producers on how to optimise their farming,’ said Robitaille. The XperCount smart bucket has been deployed in 48 countries but the Growth Platform has only been on the market a few months, and adoption has varied among customers. ‘Our focus is on shrimp farms and in ﬁsh hatcheries,’ said Robitaille, explaining that the technology is so clever it can help farmers determine what’s the best harvest date in the future, based on how their shrimp has been growing, and how much they’ve invested so far in their pond and what the market prices are. She said although people could previously see the data from the smart bucket online, it was not being put in context – the production cycle and the data was not being interpreted as it is now, with the Growth Platform. The hardware of the bucket has not changed but the software is more advanced. ‘We worked on developing new algorithms to be able to get even more accurate information about the quality of the animals,’ said Robitaille. She said the technology is aﬀordable and user friendly, even for small farmers, because it requires little training. The Growth Platform, a subscription based app, can be accessed on any smart device. Future developments will include an application for salmon, with applications for trout and tilapia, at the hatchery level,

They will be able to design the right feeding regime, “make different pellet sizes to match the different fish, and make sure they grow uniformly ” www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

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Smart farming

already available. ‘I think in about three months we’ll be launching for salmon hatcheries; we’re already working on it so we’re about to launch it commercially,’ said Robitaille. What does the adaptation involve for changing to another species such as salmon? ‘At the hatchery level, it’s really about creating the algorithms that will be able to use the computer vision to detect what we want to detect on new species. So we work with machine learning and data innovation.

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‘We have to collect enough data that can create a robust algorithm, but now, since we’ve invested very heavily in artificial intelligence, we require less and less data and are able to create synthetic data as well so that we can accelerate this process. ‘Because often in these types of technology development, data collection is a bottleneck. Now we’re trying to make sure it’s more and more efficient.’ As far as the hardware goes, in the salmon hatchery ‘you would still have to put things in the bucket’, said Robitaille, but the team is working on evolving this, too, so in the future they will be able to measure fish in the tanks. She believes there is demand for the system in the salmon sector, at least at the hatchery level of production. ‘Combining the XperCount with the Growth Platform, they will be able to easily get not only the average weight but also the weight distribution, and then design the right feeding regime, make different pellet sizes to match the different fish, and make sure that they grow uniformly. ‘So I think this is going to be very beneficial at the hatchery level, definitely. In the grow-out stage, there is already some technology for bio-

Clockwise from top right: No more hand counting: by adding several litres of water to the XperCount bucket, this farmer gets a rapid, accurate count of his inventory; the XperCount is a connected device that counts and sizes aquatic organisms quickly and accurately; Valérie Robitaille, CEO and cofounder of XpertSea. All photos: XpertSea.

14/01/2019 15:30:18

Feed – Technology industry, but also the potential, and have many connections. ‘With the investment we hired quite a few people and we have some great talents. We have people who came from California, and other places in Canada as well as Quebec. And we have a few people in the ﬁeld as well, in Asia and South America. ‘We’re pretty excited about what we’re doing. There is so much room for bringing technology concepts into the aquaculture industry. There’s so much room for optimisation, especially in the warm water species. There are a lot of projects that we’re going to take on.’ FF

Left: The Growth Platform’s harvesting tool lets farmers know the pond composition, see the percentage of shrimp per kilogram in each category, and discover the most proﬁtable time to harvest. Below: These farmers can count, size and weigh their organisms accurately at the press of a button.

mass (measurement) and farm management. ‘We’re really focused also on developing technology that assesses the health of the animals.’ The Growth Platform can be used independently of the XperCount, with all the information entered manually, but Robitaille said the XperCount provides ‘that core data about the animals much more efficiently and accurately’. ‘When combining the two, it’s more powerful, but it’s still a great farm management tool as it stands alone.’ She said they have been working with trout producers, who find the Growth Platform ‘very low cost and user friendly’. But the focus is on pairing this with the XperCount – ‘we’re not pushing the platform independently but definitely it’s something that can be used independently’. The company has received the backing of aquaculture investor Aqua-Spark, which has enabled it to expand, and there are now 50 people on the staff. ‘They are amazing partners,’ said Robitaille of Aqua-Spark, ‘and we’re really glad to have investors that understand the industry and the challenges of the

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All our products are designed to withstand the harsh weather and currents of the North Atlantic, and can be tailor made for your specific needs.

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14/01/2019 12:57:04

Alternative species – Lobster

Cracking

the problem Norwegian innovator scaling up compartment cultured crustaceans BY VINCE MCDONAGH

HE rising price of lobster coupled with the development of new technology is making the shellﬁsh species a promising candidate for aquaculture, a detailed new report suggests. EUMOFA, the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture, said the UK, Norway and Iceland have been experimenting with lobster farms over a number of years, but had so far failed to reach commercial levels. However, that situation was changing, with the breeding of juvenile lobsters being developed in both the United States and Europe, and particularly in areas where wild stocks have declined. World catches of this high value and highly regulated species are currently around 167,000 tonnes, with a 92 per cent increase in American lobster (both Canada and the US) and a more modest 13 per cent rise in European lobster since 2007. European lobster, said EUMOFA, is much rarer than the American lobster and is mostly marketed alive. American lobster mainly ﬁnds its way into UK and European markets during the Christmas season, either frozen, whole, cooked or live. In Europe, the UK and France were the two countries with the highest catches, at 79 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

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But French consumers are paying up to five euros per kilogram more than their British counterparts. The average price per kilo in 2016 was €15.73. ‘The main limitation for lobster aquaculture has been high production costs due to the duration of the production cycle, the demand for 18-22 degrees C water to get acceptable growth rates, and the need for individual rearing compartments to avoid cannibalism and uneven growth rates due to hierarchies,’ said the report. The lack of a high quality formulated feed has also been a limiting factor. But EUMOFA said that new technology and the fact that lobster biology is now better understood have made it a relatively easy species to rear in closed cycle aquaculture. Rising prices have also helped. In addition, the aquaculture of juvenile lobsters has been developed in both American and European regions for seeding purposes where wild stocks had declined. EUMOFA highlights an additional study on the work of a company called Norwegian Lobster Farm, which has patented a new farming technology that incorporates all necessary prerequisites for successful and profitable culture of plate sized lobsters. The report said: ‘This major R&D project was first initiated in 2000 by the company with the aim to evaluate the potential for commercial production of plate sized lobsters (20cm/300g). ‘All trials were conducted in small to medium scale in order to reveal and solve the main bottlenecks (biological, technical and market challenges) before commercialising.

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14/01/2019 15:20:21

Cracking the problem

the only company in the world “thatWe’re has succeeded in closing the value chain for farming lobsters ”

has developed, tested and documented six different technologies, including single trays, stacks of trays, horizontal as well as vertical systems, strings of polyethylene, and communal rearing. The aim of the project was to develop cost effective farming solutions using recirculation of heated seawater. The report adds: ‘As a result of this work, Norwegian Lobster Farm has patented a new farming technology in 23 countries that incorporates ‘Moreover, Norwegian Lobster Farm has a all necessary prerequisites for successful and profitable culture of plate separate hatchery where IV-stage juveniles are sized lobsters. produced from broodstock carefully selected ‘This technology lifts the crustacean industry from 2D to 3D by effecfrom vital farming criteria. tively utilising all three dimensions in the water column.’ ‘The ideal system for rearing lobsters indiThe system is based on individual compartments, in a modular design, vidually should be relatively inexpensive to which can be built up in stages, according to Norway Lobster Farm construct and operate; simple to maintain; founder and CEO Asbjorn Drengstig, who presented his technology to based on automatic feeding and self-cleaning global aquaculture leaders at the Aquavision conference in Stavanger in of tank and cages; maintain ideal water quality June last year. conditions; use space in three dimensions; What’s more, the company has developed all automated technologies enable high densities; conserve water at high that now supplement most of the procedures that previously were temperatures; ensure good survival and permit dependent on manual labour. easy access to the livestock for inspection and The farming concept has been successfully tested over the last three feeding. years, with the result that the company is now commercialising the ‘American researchers had reported five years work and plans to expand its production up to 20 tonnes annually in a earlier that no successful attempts had been new factory on the island of Kvitsøy. made which include all of these features into a ‘We’re the only company in the world that has succeeded in closing single design. the value chain for farming lobsters so there’s a lot of potential to ‘Until the year 2000, neither commercial nor develop this into an industry,’ said Drengstig during his presentation at R&D activities had been done in Norway to de- Aquavision. velop a land based farming concept for raising ‘We’re doing something no one has ever done, we feel like we’re plate sized lobsters,’ said EUMOFA. doing something radical in the aquaculture industry, and we can have But since then, the Norwegian Lobster Farm lobster farms anywhere, or mostly anywhere, in the world.’ FF

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Top: Lobster Above: Asbjorn Drengstig Opposite: Grilled Lobster and vegetables on plate

14/01/2019 15:25:30

Alternative species – Sturgeon

Rearing to roe Aquaculture now accounts for almost all the world’s caviar BY VINCE MCDONAGH

NCE it was the preserve of European nobility and came only from the Caspian or Black Sea. Today, caviar is produced and eaten across the world, with aquaculture not only serving up almost the entire global supply, but also helping to preserve the fish from which this expensive roe delicacy originates. The very name conjures up images of wealth and affluence and, indeed, some rare varieties of caviar, such as that from the beluga sturgeon, prized for its soft, pea-sized eggs, remains extremely expensive - so much so that between 2008 and 2011 Russia suspended wild caviar production to allow wild stocks of sturgeon to replenish. Cheaper alternatives have been developed and this is where aquaculture has dramatically taken over, according to a new report by EUMOFA, the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture. Strictly speaking, caviar is roe from sturgeon, although eggs from other fish (including North Atlantic salmon) are sometimes used and labelled as caviar. Technically, this practice may be correct, but the ‘caviar’ certainly would not be accepted by the world’s leading hotels or any Michelin restaurant. EUMOFA says all sturgeon species originate in Eurasia, primarily in the Caspian Sea, Black Sea and the connected rivers. Caviar is normally graded as classic, royal or imperial, describing the appearance of each pearl in terms of size and colour. The most highly prized caviars are beluga, osetra from Russian sturgeon and sevruga from the starry sturgeon. While these three species are the best known, most of the caviar on the market today is from several other sturgeon species. They range from the more common varieties, such as the white or shortnose sturgeon, to the higher prized Siberian sturgeon and the beluga like kaluga sturgeon. Sadly, overfishing of sturgeon has almost led to the extinction of several of the species. Since 1998, international trade of all sturgeon species and related products has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In 2016, a total global harvest of 250 tonnes was recorded and that figure should rise sharply by 2020. The downside is that increased production

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has inevitably hit prices. The report finds that between 2014 and 2017, the average European export price fell from €428 to €370 per kg. The first United Nations FAO recorded sturgeon harvest from aquaculture was in 1984, with a meagre 150 tonnes produced. Since then, and especially after the turn of the millennium, production started increasing rapidly year by year. In both 2015 and 2016, the world aquaculture harvest of sturgeon was about 105,000 tonnes, of which China had the largest output at 90,000 tonnes. Estimates vary widely due to lack of accurate data, but from this China is thought to have produced between 75 to 144 tonnes of caviar, with much of it sold to Europe. EUMOFA said world production of caviar in 2016 was around 340 tonnes. This means that almost all caviar on the market today is harvested from farmed sturgeon, said EUMOFA. The report points out that exploiting sturgeon for caviar production can be costly because it takes many years for female sturgeon to reproduce. Included in the cost is also the process of selecting females for caviar production, although the gender can be decided on after three years of farming. ‘During this period, both male and female sturgeons are reared and after selection, males are harvested. In the past, the females were slaughtered, and their eggs removed. However, in recent years, fish farmers have developed techniques to remove the caviar without killing the fish, which reduces production costs by improving the yield per mother fish.’ In the wild it can take up to 20 years for the Siberian sturgeon, for example, to reach maturity, while the kaluga variety can take even longer (up to 23 years). EUMOFA said the time is halved in captivity, with spawning taking place once every four to five years. ‘China has developed hybrid species of kaluga and the production has increased rapidly over the past 10 to 15 years as it is more cost effective than the original kaluga species,’ the report said. With beluga, maturity time in the wild is reached after 19 to 22 years of age, with the next spawning at least five years later. In captivity, the species reaches maturity after 20 years – making the species the costliest. With the Russian variety, the maturity time is 12 to 16 years, with spawning every four to five years. But in captivity, maturity is reached after nine to 11 years. With Italy, France and Poland leading the way, Europe is also increasing production of caviar, with output reaching 128 tonnes in 2016 (the last year for which detailed figures are available), an increase of 17 per cent on 2015. The main European export markets are Japan and the United States. But, interestingly, Britain and Austria, where nobility still matters, are the two largest consumers of the delicacy. But the report is in no doubt that, over the last decade, China has become the main caviar producer and exporter in the world – and that position is not likely to change. EUMOFA also believes that the US may eventually become one of the largest suppliers, overtaking European countries such as Italy. So what of Russia, once the world’s main supplier and where caviar was almost a national symbol? The country today is a net importer, with home production estimated at just 45 tonnes. FF

“

The US may eventually become one of the largest suppliers, overtaking European countries

”

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

14/01/2019 15:18:42

Rearing to roe

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

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14/01/2019 15:19:12

MSD Animal Health – Advertorial

Insights and expertise

New direction for MSD’s aquaculture team in Scotland

OMBINING technical expertise and commercial experience to best serve the customers will remain the key business priorities for MSD Animal Health’s aquaculture team under the new leadership of Nikos Steiropoulos. Steiropoulos has almost 18 years’ experience in the industry, including most recently as junior vice-president of the Fish Veterinary Society, the specialist division of the British Veterinary Association (BVA). He is a well-known face in aquaculture circles and as of September 2018 he is leading MSD Animal Health UK’s aquaculture business as it enters a new and exciting period of growth across UK markets. His direct responsibilities will be continuing to develop long-term partnerships, seeking new commercial opportunities and creating solutions to customer needs. Speaking to Fish Farmer, Steiropoulos said: ‘I’m pleased to have joined the team at MSD and look forward to driving forward change within our structures, so that we can continue to be responsive to our customers’ needs. ‘As a fundamental step towards this end, my colleagues Camilla Wilson and Liam Doherty have recently embarked on empowered technical and account management roles and continue to put in the miles across Scotland to deliver their insights and expertise for customers daily. ‘The new combination of our technical expertise, as well as the commercial functions, is working very well. With all team members having previous hands-on working experience in aquaculture, we see that the overall customer experience and our potential to add value have both signiﬁcantly improved. Accordingly, customer feed-

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back has been extremely positive to this new approach.’ Steiropoulos’s rounded knowledge of the industry and proven track record of facilitating long-term business relationships with customers and stakeholders strengthens MSD Animal Health’s offering in aquaculture. It also reaffirms the organisation’s standing commitment to support sustainable growth across the sector, while driving forward higher health and welfare standards in farmed salmon and trout. Speaking about the wider industry, Steiropoulos said: ‘Salmon remains Scotland’s number one food export, selling in more than 60 countries and contributing massively to our economy by providing jobs and millions of pounds of investment to some of the most rural parts of the nation. ‘And while the sector faces up to the challenges inherent in catering for sustainability versus demand from an ever expanding global market, we have a really positive story to tell about managing sustainable growth, hand-inhand with cutting edge scientific expertise. ‘I’m pleased to say that MSD has been at the forefront of that work, in full alignment with our mission to focus on the science of healthier animals. ‘Fish health is a multi-faceted area that requires constant vigilance and readiness – as in every other farmed animal production system. ‘The Scottish aquaculture industry has proven it is up to the task and new areas of best practice are constantly being developed. ‘At MSD, our customers are benefiting from our innovative range of vaccines, but also the suite of support services and technology such as our AQUAVAC Audit App, which is proving

Left: Nikos Steiropoulos. Opposite: Camilla Wilson and Liam Doherty

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14/01/2019 15:17:12

Insights and expertise

an indispensable aid in capturing vaccination data. ‘Meanwhile, we continue to move forward with wider industry support, such as the ongoing mapping of pancreas disease and sea lice management best practices. ‘While clearly challenges remain for Scottish aquaculture, thankfully we have some of the best and brightest talents working on, and supporting, our farms. ‘The future for ﬁsh farming in Scotland is bright and MSD stands ready to oﬀer our technical expertise and innovative products.’ FF

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“

We have some of the best and brightest talents working on and supporting our farms

”

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Processing News

Salmon firms moving into white fish MORE aquaculture companies are predicted to expand into the cod and haddock business over the next year or two, following a major purchase by a Norwegian salmon business trio this week. The consortium was led by Coast Seafood, one of the world’s largest independent salmon and trout sales firms, and joined by Brødrene Karlsen and the seafood orientated businessman Gunnar Klo. They have acquired the white fish operations of the Danish/Greenland group Polar Seafood in the northern Finnmark region of the country. Up to now the firms have been largely involved with producing or selling farmed salmon and trout. The

move is also expected to secure jobs in this remote region. But more aquaculture firms are now looking to diversify, to be able to offer a wider selection of fish to their customers. The biggest player in this area is Lerøy Seafood, which two years ago bought the larger Havfisk cod and haddock trawler fleet and the white fish sales company Norwegian Seafoods. And SalMar has also broken into this sector. The specialist industry website Fiskeribladet.no said the trend was expected to continue, leading to much greater consolidation within the industry. It added that the salmon sector had the right marketing and selling expertise, along with the financial capital to fund new investment. The trio said: ‘Our companies have great faith in the potential of white fish, and see great synergy opportunities from white fish and salmon links.’ Polar Seafood added: ‘There is considerable consolidation in the white fish industry. ‘Polar Seafood has, through thorough explorations and negotiations, decided that a sale is a right decision.’

Considerable consolidation

“

Our companies see great synergy opportunities from white ﬁsh and salmon links

”

Retail expert helps raise standards that is paving the way in this SAINSBURY’S aquaculture and area, recognised as the UK’s fisheries manager Ally Dingwall best sustainable seafood suhas joined the board of directors of permarket for the seventh year the newly formed Global Seafood running. Assurances (GSA). ‘I’m delighted to be working The vision of GSA, which was with GSA to help make their created by the Global Aquaculture vision a reality — developing Alliance (GAA) and launched last a single reference point to year, is to create a single platform provide the suite of assurances for seafood (farmed and wild) Above: Ally Dingwall needed, with compatible and traceability. robust traceability,’ he added. ‘It’s exciting to see what the future holds for Currently, the priority for GSA is the developproviding assurance at seafood’s point of sale ment of Version 2 of the Seafish Responsible — assurance of environmental, socially ethiFishing Scheme standards, which will build cal, safe, traceable seafood, whether farmed on the experience of the UK sector and reflect or wild,’ said Dingwall. future industry needs across global supply ‘Sainsbury’s prides itself on being a retailer

chains. GSA will take over the standard from May 2020. The other priority is the GSA Seafood Processing Standards for both wild and farmed seafood, which are currently being piloted and will soon be put to market. ‘The UK retail sector have been leaders in embracing seafood assurance. Sainsbury’s, with Ally, have led that charge,’ said Wally Stevens, GSA executive director. ‘We’re thrilled to have him bring that expertise to the GSA board to help build an organisation able to offer a portfolio of credible seafood standards across wild and farmed supply chains. We believe that will benefit everyone, from producers and harvesters to consumers.’

Fishless fingers join vegan craze rose Fishless Fingers is on offer at £3.19 this month, before rising to a standard price of £3.99, slightly more expensive than the retailer’s chucnky cod fish fingers. Vegan products have made a draAbove: Waitrose Fishless Fingers matic appearance on Waitrose has launched store shelves over WHETHER Captain its own brand of vegan the past few months, Birds Eye would approve is somewhat ‘fish’ fingers, which are with young people in particular switching to debatable, but fishless said to have a subtle meat free diets, even fish taste and are fingers have become if they are not going made from breaded the latest product to seaweed and tofu with totally vegan. Some join the current craze have decided to try a crispy coating. for vegan food. veganism for a month A pack of six WaitThe UK retailer

Processing News.indd 62

in what has been dubbed ‘Veganuary’. Sainsbury’s is also launching a large number of ﬁsh alternatives as part of its vegan and vegetarian range, which includes 29 new products - ‘smoked salmon’ made from plants among them - and takes the total to over 100. Chloe Graves, who is the chilled vegan and vegetarian buyer at Waitrose, said: ‘After the successful launch of our vegan

and vegetarian range in October we’ve been working to see what other interesting dishes and products we can add to the range. ‘The Fishless Fingers are a great vegan alternative to a much loved food which we hope our customers will love.’ She added: ‘Our current selection of products has been selling really well week after week, with requests for more choice coming from our customers and partners, so we

could clearly see there was an appetite to have more vegetarian and vegan options in our shops.’ It is not known where the ﬁshless ﬁngers are produced, but Caistor Seafood, near Grimsby, is a possible location. The company (formerly Sealord) is now part of the Japanese Nissui group, is a regular supplier to Waitrose and is believed to have a dedicated tofu product line at the factory.

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14/01/2019 16:19:36

Processing News

Seachill boosts Hilton Foods growth

THE owner of Grimsby based fish processor Seachill has said it is looking at new opportunities for the business. In a trading update, Hilton Foods, which paid £80 million for Seachill 15 months ago, said it had made a ‘significant contribution’ to the group’s sales growth, and had also benefited from winning an important Tesco shellfish contract towards the end of last year. The statement added: ‘Although sales were lower, reflecting consumer demand, the group has continued to perform well. ‘Hilton’s trading outlook remains positive, with growth prospects underpinned by the expansion plans previously announced covering Australia, Central Europe and subsequently New Zealand, as well as further opportunities arising from the Seachill acquisition.’ The company said in a

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statement back in November that it had won new business to supply shellfish (thought to be shrimp or prawns) to Tesco, as well as to supply coated fish to Waitrose from March this year. The move has also brought a seafood jobs bonus for Grimsby, with more than 200 new vacancies being created to handle the additional contracts. Seachill has also unveiled plans to expand its chilled fish site, following the purchase of extra land, in a move that will create an additional 80 jobs. Last year was an extraordinary one for seafood deals, with contracts moving and changing hands at almost monthly intervals, driven in part by intense competition but also by the rising cost of fish, especially salmon and white fish such as cod and haddock. At the UK Seafood Summit

last autumn, Seachill managing director Simon Smith told the audience that the cost of fish was rising by 4.6 per cent year on year, outstripping rival proteins like meat and poultry. But he also said buying food was not all about price as healthy eating was becoming a major consideration, with fish playing a big part. Founded in 1998, Seachill, which owns the Saucy Fish Co brand, has grown to be one of the largest chilled and frozen fish processors in the UK, with well invested facilities and long established supply chain partnerships. It operates from two large production sites in Grimsby, with an additional 100-yearold artisan smokehouse also located in the town. It employs more than 1,200 people in the Grimsby area and was Icelandic owned prior to the sale.

Irish seafood processors unite craft skills in merger TWO well known Irish seafood processors have decided to merge. HJ Nolan of Dublin is to join forces with Carr & Son Seafood, based in County Mayo, in the west of the country, from March. A statement said the merger would unite the craft skills of two of the strongest seafood companies in Ireland. The businesses will complement each other in terms of product range and market coverage. The Grade ‘A’ BRC (British Retail Consortium) accredited facility on the Wild Atlantic Way will be supported by a sales office located in Dublin and will be well positioned to navigate into the future. The companies also said they intended to maintain their commitment to environmentally friendly business practices. Nolan was founded in 1912 and is still very much a family affair, with George Nolan, the grandson of founder Harry James, as chairman. This family continuity has ensured that Nolan has developed over the years into an experienced and professional company, with a team focused on ensuring consistency of product. Nolan produces a selection of quality smoked and fresh fish products for the domestic and worldwide market. Mondi Group, a Swedish seafood company, acquired Carr & Sons Seafood in 2014. Carr & Sons Seafood was originally established in 1946 and the Mondi Group has continued the tradition of the previous owners in producing and distributing a range of chilled pre-packed smoked, fresh and ready to eat seafood products for the retail trade. Erling Charleson, owner and founder of Mondi, said he was confident the merger would be an exciting new chapter for both companies.

14/01/2019 15:15:15

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Opinion – Inside track

New Year, new idea BY NICK JOY

HAT will 2018 be remembered for in our industry? It seems to have been the year of gill health even more than 2017 was. So maybe that will be the negative memory. It has also been a year of high prices, as usual defying the Eeyores who predicted the collapse of sales and the usual doom and gloom. So, my positive memory will be that the market for salmon is far more elastic than even I thought. Other than this, the usual appalling drivel, produced either by government or the anti-salmon farming lobby, will be consigned to the dustbin of history. For the wild lobby, the issue of why the east coast is seeing such awful returns may be the one thing that haunts them. As we enter the New Year, my separation from the sharp end of things piques me more than it has for some time. I have noted the difficulties of operation with AGD and PGD giving such trouble. At a recent meeting I attended it was clear that everyone thinks that net cleaners are implicated in some way in the rise of gill disease, but interestingly no one suggested that they were going to give up on them. Considering the ravages that have occurred, this is a surprising position. Maybe our industry has reached a stage, driven by cost, regulation and so called progress, where it simply cannot walk away from the net cleaning technology. This is quite understandable and reasonable, as capital investment, once spent, cannot easily be put aside. So what is to be done? Clearly, all the medicine and probiotic companies will be working flat out to find some sort of therapeutic solution. Meanwhile, I would like to propose a potential solution. As one who rarely, if ever, gets to sea any more, it is often easy to propose solutions and think that everybody should try this or that. I know how hard it can be to try things out at sea. Personally, I don’t think this is enormously difficult. My suggestion is to aerate below the net, especially when the net cleaner is operating, but, if possible, the rest of the time too. I am not talking about vast amounts of air, just enough to give an upwelling into the net and an outward current at the top of the net. The aeration source should be as deep as possible but a good few metres from the seabed to ensure that nothing settled is brought back up. I am not suggesting putting aerators or stones inside the net as this tends to encourage the detritus within the net to circulate and thus exacerbates the problem. The advantage of current from beneath the net is that it forces water into the net and thus pushes everything up and out. So you get well-oxygenated, clean water and the positive pressure inside the net should ensure that the detritus washed off the net tends to exit. The rest of the time, this pressure will ensure that the water entering the net comes from below the net. There will be those who suggest that this will bring faeces into the net, but having tried it a long time ago for other reasons, this was not the case, except for a very brief period at the initiation. Thereafter, the current was established and maintained and the faeces was not evident. I have also heard people say that it will affect fish behaviour. In my

Nick Joy.indd 66

There are a “ limited number of people who have such a long experience with salmon and have tried so many things

”

experience it did not. Of course, it may not work with gill disease, but logic suggests that keeping the surface water away is likely to lessen the risk, and encouraging the waste from cleaning to leave the net is likely to help. I miss being at sea and talking to people about ideas like this. I don’t expect anyone to take this on and I am fairly sure it will disappear into the dust. However, I feel strongly that I have to try as there are a limited number of people who have such a long experience with salmon and have tried so many things. This is not a scientific solution but a farming one. Even if I fail, maybe this will start an alternative discussion about what practical solutions are out there, while the medicine industry finds what is needed. Even if these are the idiotic ramblings of an old fish farmer, I wish you all a good New Year with healthy fish, healthy prices, grateful customers and an effective and useful government. Well, I have to wish for something. FF

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14/01/2019 15:12:22

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