Fish Farmer Magazine July 20

Fish F armer JULY 2020

A GIANT ARRIVES China Crisis

Sandy Neil reports on covid panic

EVERYTHING IN PLAICE Could plaice farming take off?

DISRUPTION

AQUA AWARDS GO VIRTUAL Vote for your favourites

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13/07/2020 14:25:58

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13/07/2020 03/03/2020 11:52:08 10:05:34

Welcome

Editor’s Welcome

N

o smoke. No Fire. That was the end result of the ‘suspected’ connec�on to salmon in the latest covid-19 outbreak in Beijing. The incident sent shockwaves around the industry and, as Sandy Neil outlines in his in depth study of what took place later in this issue, the reverbera�ons will con�nue for some �me to come. Elsewhere we have seen the lockdowns star�ng to ease in a lot of places, including finally here in Scotland, but also seen many other places take a couple of steps backwards.

This seems to be the emerging pa�ern.

It has been a busy month for the industry, with some new support packages announced, although there have also been some examples of companies repaying furlough funds back to the government as they found that they had not been required. There was also a notable departure at the SSPO announced, as it was revealed that Julie Hesketh-Laird will What’s happening in aq be leaving her post as Chief Execu�ve in the autumn. in the UK and around th With no physical shows this year, the number of online conferences and seminars has What’s happening in aquacu boomed and we give an update on Nor-Fishing’s ‘virtual’ 2020 event in the news sec�on. in the UK and around the w We also take our regular look at both JENNY transport and logis�cs and breeding and gene�cs.

HJUL JENNY HJUL –– EDITOR EDITOR Finally, Vince McDonagh takes an interes�ng look at the prospects for plaice farming, HJUL JENNY HJUL –– EDITOR EDITOR as well as running his eye over theJENNY possible effects of sea warming for the fish farming Steve Bracken SSC’s record results Stewart Graham The final sessions industry (spoiler alert – they’re not good!).

I may finally be let out on the road to meet a few of you in the very near future, but un�l Steve Bracken SSC’s record results Stewart Graham The final sessions salmon farming sector in Scotland, when it was to then enjoy reading this months magazine. he focus this month istopictures on Europe, the internati T HE is coincidence that andwhere videos of unhealthy Sno Fish Farmer went press, there was sti lltold no offi cialonal be thewere subject ofScotti a be parliamentary inquiry, embraced the industry willsent soon gathering the (European salmon to news outletsfor just asjoint the Scotti sh news from the shScotland, parliamentary inquiry into salmon farming sector in when itEAS was tosalmon he focus this month istopictures on Europe, the internati T HE is coincidence that andwhere videos of unhealthy Sno Fish Farmer went press, there was sti lltold no offi cialonal opportunity this would provide to explain how it operated.

Take care, Aquaculture and WAS Aquaculture Society) parliament went back to work at (World the start of month.

These farming, conducted earlier this year by thethis Rural Economy be the subject of aSociety) parliamentary inquiry, embraced industry willsent soon be gathering the EASinto (European salmon were to news outletsfor just asjoint the Scotti shthe news from the Scotti sh parliamentary inquiry salmon Current trends In good Julie Hesketh-Laird The had nothing to hide and, if given fair hearing, Meet thehealth new chief exe Dave Edler conference, to be staged over five days in theait southern images had this litt le to doprovide with theto current state of Scotland’s ficould sh and industry Connecti vity (REC) committ ee.

MSPs have now heldFrench five opportunity would explain how operated.

Aquaculture Society) and WAS Aquaculture Society) parliament back to work at (World the start of month.

These farming, went conducted earlier this year by thethis Rural Economy address much of the criti cism levelled against it. city of Montpellier.

As well as highlighti ng the latest technological farms where sea lice levels are in decline and, in fact, at a fi vemeeti ngs, in private, to consider their report and we must be Current trends In good Julie Hesketh-Laird The had to hide and, if given fair hearing, Meet thehealth new chief executiv conference, to benothing staged over days in theaof southern images had litt le to do with thefive current state Scotland’s ficould sh and industry Connecti vity (REC) committ ee.

MSPs have now heldFrench five Fish Farmer supported this but at times salmon advances in our fast moving sector, Aqua 2018felt willthat alsohas feature year low (htt p://scotti shsalmon.co.uk/monthly-sea-lice-reports). pati ent.

However, waiti ng forview, their recommendati ons been 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 abe fivemeeti in private, tolevels consider their report and must farmers were being drowned out bywhich theREC noisier elements offarming the sessions on emerging markets and look atinvolves the role ofthe fishusual This latest propaganda campaign, all made harder by leaks from within to anti -salmon Fish Farmer supported this atthe times salmon advances in our fast moving sector, Aqua 2018felt willthat alsohas feature year low (htt p://scotti shsalmon.co.uk/monthly-sea-lice-reports). pati ent.

However, waiti ng forview, theirbut recommendati ons been angling lobby, which had called foras the investi gatiRural on.

But asngs the farming in alleviati ng poverty.

Increasingly, industry meeti anti -aquaculture suspects, came Holyrood’s Economy acti vists.

The latest of these (see our news story on page 4) farmers were being drowned out bywhich theREC noisier elements offarming the sessions onpropaganda emerging markets and look atinvolves the role fishusual This campaign, allofthe madelatest harder by leaks from within the to anti -salmon sessions progressed, and eventually farmers’ voices were heard, are broadening their scope, tackling subjects such asthat thethe social and Connecti vity committ ee returned the summer recess we to makes grim reading for the industry asfrom itgati suggests committ ee angling lobby, which had called for the investi on.

But as farming inThe alleviati ngof poverty.

Increasingly, industry ngs anti -aquaculture suspects, came as Holyrood’s Rural Economy activists. latest these (see our news story onmeeti page 4) 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 sessions progressed, and eventually farmers’ voices were heard, are broadening their scope, tackling subjects such asthat the committ social and Connecti vity committ ee returned the summer recess we to makes grim reading for the industry asfrom it suggests ee Serving Worldwide Aquaculture Since 1977 food security and saving the planet, aindustry move that is toanti welcomed. the excepti on ofvaluable one or two Greens cahoots with -farming Those who want toWe shut down thein asbe shut down this sector, rather than to those who operate became more misti c. now believe that MSPs, perhaps with acceptability ofopti aquaculture and the contributi on ithave, makes toexpected, global consider its draft report into the future of salmon farming. members have been willing to listen to those campaigning to Also investi gati ngacti initi aties, veswhich inregard thenow developing world, Harrison campaigners, will, on balance, the industry in a Dr favourable stepped their viti involve the within it.up food security and saving the planet, aindustry move that is tobreaching welcomed. the excepti on ofvaluable one or two Greens cahoots with anti -farming Those who want to shut down thein asbe expected, shut down this sector, rather thanthe tohave, those who operate Meet the team Charo Karisa of WorldFish writes about farming potenti al inthe Fish Farmer: Volume 43 Number 07 light.

They will hopefully see that farmers take their environmental biosecure environments of farm sitesindustry to snatch photographs in Of course, such stories may be inaccurate and, in any case, Also investi gati ng initi ati ves in the developing world, Dr Harrison campaigners, will, on balance, regard the in a favourable stepped acti vitiish es,and which nowculti involve breaching the within it.up their Editorial Advisory Board: Nigeria, both in catf ti lapia vati on. responsibiliti es seriously and that businesses will only ever invest the hope of fi nding incriminati ng evidence against farmers.

Onein committ ee’s fi ndings are not binding.

Scotland’s fi sh farmers Contact us Charo Karisa of WorldFish writes about the farming potenti al in light.

They will hopefully see that farmers take their environmental biosecure environments of farm sites tosomething snatch ingame Of course, such stories may be inaccurate and,photographs inofany case,ngthe Steve Bracken, Hervé Migaud, Jim Treasurer, In Scotland, the summer has been aofwaiti What’s in a name?

Dr Nick Lake Phil Thomas growth that isfibeen sustainable.

Tel: +44(0) 131 551 1000 campaigner lmed himself searching, unsuccessfully, for minister, dead have always fortunate to have the support their Nigeria, both catf ish and tilapia culti vati on. responsibiliti seriously and that businesses will only ever invest in the hope of fies nding incriminati ng evidence against farmers.

One committ ee’s fiin ndings are not binding.

Scotland’s fi sh farmers Chris Mitchell, Jason Cleaversmith while the parliament is in recess and the members of Holyrood’s Fax: +44(0) 131 551especially 7901 If the committ ee members, those who have yet to of Phil fi sh at a Marine Harvest site.

Another said he saw ‘hundreds’ Fergus Ewing, to grow sustainably.

In Scotland, the summer has been something of a waiti ng game What’s in a name?

Dr Nick Lake Thomas growth that isfibeen sustainable. campaigner lmed himself searching, unsuccessfully, forto dead haveRural always fortunate toshfarmermagazine.com have the support of their minister, and Hamish Macdonell Economy and Connecti vity committ ee conti nue weigh up Email: visit aparliament farm, like tothe learn more about theagainst of infested salmon in awould pen, but we only have his word that But itsalmon should not go unchallenged that some MSPs onsubject the REC while the isdedler@fi in recess and members of Holyrood’s If the committ ee members, especially those who have yet to fi sh at a Marine Harvest site.

Another said he saw ‘hundreds’ of Fergus Ewing, to grow sustainably. the evidence in their inquiry into salmon farming.

We don’t expect Interim Editor: Dave Edler their we have plenty of good stories in our May Even Rural and Connecti vity committ ee conti nue weigh up Head Offi ce: Special Publica� ons, Fe� esto Park, of theinquiry, professional vets and biologists who manage theissue. welfare of committ ee, with their own against the growth of visit a Economy farm, like toagendas learn more about the ofthetime infested salmon in go awould but we only have his word against that Buttheir itsalmon should not unchallenged that some MSPs onsubject the REC report unti l pen, the autumn but hope the MSPs are using the Designer: Andrew the Balahura bett er, they could head to the Highlands later this month, where 496 Ferry Road, Edinburgh, EH5 2DL Wefor evidence in their inquiry into salmon farming. don’t expect these farms on a daily basis. industry, are in breach of Code of Conduct MSPs. As they their wefully have plenty of good stories in ourgrowth May toinquiry, become acquainted with the facts about fithe shissue. farming. of the professional vets andagendas biologists who manage welfare of committ ee, with their own against the of theEven Commercial Manager: Montpellier report Dr Marti n Jaff a Doug McLeod meet the aquaculture industry en masse at Scotland’s theirthey report unti l the autumn but hope the MSPs areas using theittiis, meit Ifthey the is proud of its high standards, itsalmon says are inwill aindustry positi on to inflthe uence the future course of farming, bett er, could head to Highlands later this month, where This month also sees reti rement of Marine Harvest’s longest these farms on a daily basis. industry, are in breach of the Code of Conduct for MSPs. As they Subscriptions Janice Johnston to become fully acquainted with the facts about fi sh farming. biggest fi sh farming show. must mount aaquaculture much more robustWe defence oftrouble itself, through its and of businesses vital toBracken.

Scotland’s economy, we have a right Montpellier report Dr Marti n Jaff a Doug McLeod they will meet the industry en masse Scotland’s serving employee, Steve had no Subscrip� ons Fish Farmer If the isto proud ofreti itsAddress: high standards, as itsalmon says itcollecti is, it ng are in aindustry positi on inflthe uence the future course ofat farming, jjohnston@fishfarmermagazine.com This month also sees rement of Marine Harvest’s longest will certainly be at Aquaculture UK inindustry, Aviemore and look representati ve body, the SSPO, than it has done to date.

The toWe know who they are, and we hope the through its warm tributes from his friends and colleagues to mark the biggest fi sh farming show.

Magazine Subscrip� ons,economy, Warners Group must a much more robustWe defence itself, through its and ofmount businesses vital toBracken.

Scotland’s we have a right Publisher: Alisterserving Benne� employee, Steve had noof trouble collecti ng forward toand, seeing many of you there too. campaigners, we now see, willrest stop nothing, representati ves, will pressure the parliament toand investi gate before milestone along with of the industry, thefarmers team will certainly be at Aquaculture UK inat Aviemore and look Publica� ons plc, The Mal� ngs, West representati vethey body, the SSPO, than itthe has done tothrough date.

The toWe know who are, and wethe hope industry, its at Fish warm tributes from his friends and colleagues to mark the should be prepared toyou fivery ght back. the to REC report isall published.

Farmer wish him the best for the future.

Street, Bourne forward seeing many of there too. campaigners, we now see, will stop at representati ves, will pressure the parliament toand investi gateatbefore Rising stars Marti nBrown Jaff a Orkney anniversary Janet milestone and, along with the rest of thenothing, industry, thefarmers team Fish Lincolnshire PE10 9PH should prepared to fivery ght back. the RECbe report published.

Farmer wish himisall the best for the future.

Conte Conten 4-15 4-14 News 4-15 4-14 News

Fair hearing French connection Farmers must fight back Uphold the code Fair hearing French connection Farmers must Uphold the codefight back

Dave Edler

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16-21 16-17 16-22 Industry pioneer News Extra platform Parliamentary in 16-21 16-17 16-22 Industry pioneer News Extra platform Parliamentary inquir 22-23 18-19 24-27 Salmon market SSPO 22-23 18-19 24-27 Salmon market SSPO

24 20 20-21 28-29 BTA Shellfish Comment 24 20 20-21 28-29 BTA Shellfish Comment

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Cover: Nordlaks vessel arrives

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Tel: +44 (0)1778 392014

ons: £75 a year www.fishfarmer-magazine.com nowSubscrip� on @fishfarmermag Fish Farmer isUK ROW Subscrip� ons: £95 www.fishupdate.com a year including Facebook and Twitter Fish Farmer is now postage on www.fishfarmermagazine.com - All Air Mailwww.fishfarmer-magazine.com www.fishupdate.com Facebook andthe Twitter Contact us Meet team

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26 22-23 30 Shellfi sh Comment BTA 26 22-23 30 BTA Shellfi sh Comment 28-31 24-25 32-33 SSPO Comment Scottish Shellfi sh Sea Far 28-31 24-25 32-33 SSPO Comment Scottish Shellfi sh Sea Farms Rising stars Marti nBrown Jaff a Orkney anniversary Janet 32-33 26-27 26-30 34-35 Shellfi shfiSea Cleaner sh Far Scottish Comment 32-33 26-27 26-30 34-35 Janet Machrihanish Orkney farm Marti nBrown Jaff a visit Shellfi shfiSea Cleaner sh Farms Scottish Comment 13

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Janet Machrihanish Orkney farm Marti nBrown Jaff a visit Advisory Board: Steve Contact Tel: +44(0) us 131 551 1000 MeetEditorial the team Fax: +44(0) 131 551 7901 Bracken, Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Steve Bracken, Scott HervéLandsburgh, Migaud, Editorial Advisory Board: Steve Tel: +44(0) 131 551 1000 Migaud, PatrickJim Smith and Jim Hervé Patrick Smith, PatrickMigaud, Smith, Treasurer and Fax: email: +44(0) 131 551 7901 Bracken, Scott Landsburgh, Hervé Steve Bracken, Scott HervéLandsburgh, Migaud, jhjul@fi shupdate.com Treasurer, Wiliam Jim Treasurer and Dowds William Dowdsemail: William Dowds Marti nofJaff a era Vaccines New player Dawn Migaud, PatrickJim Smith and Jim Hervé Patrick Smith, PatrickMigaud, Smith, Treasurer and 3 new Editor: Jenny Hjul jhjul@fi shupdate.com Treasurer, Wiliam Jim Treasurer and Dowds William Dowds William Dowds Head Office: Special Publications, Dawn Marti nofJaff a era Vaccines New player new Designer: Andrew Balahura Fettes Park, 496 Ferry Road, Editor: Jenny Hjul Advertising Manager: Team Leader: HeadEdinburgh, Office: Special Publications, EH5 2DL Designer: Andrew Balahura Fettes Park, 496 Ferry Road, Dave Edler 14/07/2020 15:03:46 Advertising Manager: Team Leader: Figure 9. Development of salmon nominal catch in sou

34-35 28-29 32-33 36-41 Comment Cleaner Orkneyvisitfish Farm 34-35 28-29 32-33 36-41 Comment Cleaner Orkneyvisitfish Farm

36-39 32-35 34-35 43-45 Wild salmon Cleaner fish decl Orkney IoA careers 36-39 32-35 34-35 43-45

Contents

Fish F armer

In the July issue...

News

What’s happening in the UK and around the world

SSPO

24-25

Hamish MacDonell

Shellfish

26-27

Nicki Holmyard

Nordlaks

28-29

Offshore Giant

Comment

30-31

Mar�n Jaffa

Update on China crisis

32-37

Sandy Neil

Gael Force

38

Gael Force targets world class supplier status

Transport

A look at the two big players in aquaculture logis�cs

Breeding and Genetics Sea Warming

54-55

A long term threat to salmon farming?

Plaice farming

56-57

Scien�sts revive interest in plaice farming

Processing News

All the latest news from the processing industry

Industry Diary

All the latest aquaculture events, conferences and courses

Aqua Source Directory

62 63 64-65

Find all you need for the industry

Opinion

66

Nick Joy

32

ff07 Contents.indd 4

42-43 46

The fish of the future?

4

6-23

46

56

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

13/07/2020 14:30:56

Gaelforce.indd 5 Gael Force Group.indd 7

13/07/2020 09:06:52 12:42:21 27/03/2020

United Kingdom News

NEWS...

Aquaculture UK goes virtual scientist at Nofima; and The Fish Site’s Rob DUE to the postponement of Aquaculture Fletcher. Once again, the quality of UK this year, the annual celebration this year’s awards entries has been of the industry, the Aquaculture outstanding. Congratulations UK Awards Dinner, will and good luck to each of our unfortunately not take place as shortlisted finalists’. originally planned.

There will also be an However, the sponsors and award for the Best Overall judges all agreed that it was Aquaculture Company, vital that this important event which is sponsored by did not go unmarked, so the Crown Estate Scotland and organisers have announced is decided at the judges’ that this year’s winners discretion. will be celebrated as part The judging procedure for of a unique Virtual Awards the awards was based on Ceremony across social Above: The 2019 Aquaculture Awards a voting system following a media, on 16th September rigorous debate between 2020. the panel – those judges In addition to the 13 award with a connection to a company or product in categories decided by the esteemed judging panel, the running for an award had to declare their there will be an opportunity for the aquaculture interest and abstain from voting on that particular industry to recognise the most inspiring and category. innovative of all the nominees via The People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Sølvtrans. Individuals The shortlist: across the global industry will be able to vote for Finfish Farmer of the Year – sponsored by Gael Force any company or individual that has made it onto a Group shortlist, which means there are over 40 finalists • Lovemore Ndovie, Kayalami Aquaculture to choose from for the People’s Choice Award.

• Funke Olatunde – a PhD student and fish farmer, This year’s awards feature an impressive range of Nigeria • Ross Fennel – site assistant with the companies, research organisations and individuals.

Scottish Salmon Company, Gigha, Scotland The biographies of everyone shortlisted can • Noelia Rodriguez – hatchery manager for be found on the awards website at http:// Scottish Sea Farms, Barcaldine, Scotland aquacultureawards.com/vote/ Shellfish Farmer of the Year – sponsored by M&S This is the chance for the people to vote on who they feel is the most deserving overall winner Select Farms • Gordon Turnbull – owner and operator of Isle within Aquaculture this year. of Mull Oysters, Scotland • George Holmyard – - Please cast your votes now via the official manager of Offshore Shellfish, Devon, England website voting form at http://aquacultureawards.

• Koo Eng Wah – Sepang Today Aquaculture com/vote/ Centre, Malaysia - Voting will close at 5pm 15th September 2020.

- The winners will be announced across social media platforms on 16th September 2020.

Event Director Cheri Arvonio said: ‘These prestigious awards will once again highlight the incredible range of talent and cutting-edge advances in technology involved in the global aquaculture sector. We are once again incredibly grateful to the judging panel, featuring Alex Adrian, aquaculture operations manager of Crown Estate Scotland; Martin Gill, head of aquaculture and fisheries at Lloyds Register; Nicki Holmyard, Director of Offshore Shellfish Ltd; Professor Dave Little, head of research at Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture; Ingrid Olesen, senior

6

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Outstanding Contribution to the Industry – sponsored by Marine Scotland • Amy Novogratz – co-founder and head of AquaSpark, Netherlands • Alan Henshaw – manager of Calverton Fish Farm, England • Alastair Barge – owner/operator of Otter Ferry Seafish, Scotland • Djames Lim – CEO of the Lim Shrimp Group, Indonesia Environmental Impact – sponsored by Cargill • Innovafeed – insect protein producer, France • Fjord Maritime – generators for feed barges, Norway • Nofir – recycling, Norway • EWOS/Cargill Aqua Nutrition – developing compostable feed bags, Scotland

Aquaculture Supplier of the Year – sponsored by Stingray • Benchmark Genetics/StofnFiskur • Ace Aquatec • NAFC Marine Centre UHI • Gael Force Group Community Initiative - Sponsored by Diversified Communications • Loch Duart – Salmon Pool community funding • Mowi Scotland – Salmon Wagon • The Scottish Salmon Company - Outer Hebrides Local Energy Hub (OHLEH), Lewis Economic Sustainability – sponsored by BioMar • AquaseedFishtecknik – fish smokers, Nigeria • The Scottish Salmon Company - Apprentice to Expert training scheme, Scotland • Scottish Sea Farms – Eday Employee Housing, Scotland • The Scottish Salmon Company - Outer Hebrides Local Energy Hub (OHLEH), Lewis, Scotland Animal Welfare – sponsored by MSD Animal Health • John Avizienius and Malcolm Johnstone – RSPCA Assured • FAI Farms – Tilapia Wellbeing project • Benchmark Genetics – SalmoBreedSalten • Ace Aquatec and Scottish Sea Farms – novel slaughtering systems Innovation – sponsored by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre • Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group – novel packaging • Vita Aqua Feeds (World Feeds Ltd) – cleaner fish feed blocks • EWOS/Cargill Aqua Nutrition/Gaia BioMaterialsLtd - compostable feed bags • Ace Aquatec & Scottish Sea Farms – novel slaughtering systems Rising Star – sponsored by AILG Skills Group • Funke Olatunde – Imoran Farms, Nigeria • Rosie Dreghorn – Cargill/EWOS, Scotland • Zoe Fletcher – AquaBio Tech Group, Malta • Ivana Russo – BioMar, Scotland Collaboration – sponsored by the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture • The Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) • Mowi Scotland – River Lochy salmon enhancement project • Davidsons Animal Feeds / The James Hutton Institute – seaweed in livestock feeds • Benchmark Genetics / Nofima – development of whitespot-resistant shrimp Unsung Hero • Professor Chalres Ngugi - Kenya • Dr Martin Jaffa – Callander McDowell, UK • Nigel Woodhouse – Hawkshead Trout, UK • Nick Bradbury – BioMar, UK

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

13/07/2020 14:34:35

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13/07/2020 12:44:33 03/12/2019 16:48

United Kingdom News

Cheerio Furlough

SCOTTISH Sea Farms has announced that it will repay all money received from the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme as markets re-open and business performance begins to show signs of bouncing back.

The company will pay back in full the furlough scheme funding, which provided vital support at the start of the COVID-19 restrictions, and won’t be making any further claims.

Commenting on the decision, Scottish Sea Farms’ Managing Director Jim Gallagher said: ‘Both the UK and Scottish Governments were quick to identify food producers as being key to the nation’s resilience during the COVID-19 crisis, so we have worked hard to put in place the protective measures necessary to enable us to operate safely and at near full capacity to help keep supplies of fresh farmed salmon flowing.

‘However for a small percentage of our staff, COVID-19 brought the need to shield, whether for their own protection or that of their loved ones. For others, it has required them to provide full-time care to their children who would otherwise be at nursery or school, making working impossible and furloughing the most practical option.’

8

ff07 news MASTER.indd 8

Since March 2020, the company has furloughed 36 full-time and part-time staff – eight per cent of its 451-strong workforce – under the Job Retention Scheme, amounting to support in the region of £106,000 until end of June.

Throughout, these 36 furloughed staff have received 100 per cent of their basic pay; 80 per cent of which was provided by the HMRC and the remaining 20 per cent by Scottish Sea Farms.

Added Gallagher: ‘It was hugely important to us that these employees weren’t disadvantaged due to personal circumstances. The Job Retention Scheme has helped ensure they could take the time needed to care for themselves and their families.’

Although it’s hard to predict when exactly it will be safe or practical for those furloughed to return to work as normal, Scottish Sea Farms is opting to cover the full cost of salaries.

Explained Gallagher: ‘Trading has been exceptionally tough these last few months. On the one hand, panicbuying led to an initial bounce in domestic sales. On the other, our export markets all but closed resulting in reduced sales, increased

freight and operating costs, and significantly reduced profits.

‘Now, we’re starting to see a nice bounce in several of these same markets: France, Italy, Spain, Germany and even the Far East are all open again. There’s a long way to go but the business is in profit and as such we feel the money received via the Job Retention Scheme would be better served invested in the country’s essential services and recovery.’

Repaying the furlough support received is just one of the ways Scottish Sea Farms hopes to contribute to Scotland’s renewal and recovery.

Said Gallagher: ‘We’re opening new farms and working steadily to increase the number of fish grown, we’re committed to continuing our investment in our farming infrastructure and approaches, and we’ll place much of this investment with the local supply chain – all of which will translate into more well-paid, highly-skilled jobs and additional revenue, both for the Scottish economy at large and the many remote and rural communities in which we work.’

Above: Scottish Sea Farms. Inset: Jim Gallagher

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

13/07/2020 15:49:27

All the latest industry news from the UK

Scottish Quality Salmon appoint new Business Development Director The Scottish Salmon Company and Chair of SCOTTISH Quality Salmon, which sets the Scottish Quality Salmon said: quality and promotes Label Rouge Scottish ‘Cameron’s knowledge of the French marSalmon, has created the new role of Business ket and his understanding of the premium Development Director to grow the Label food sector will make a valuable contribuRouge Scottish Salmon brand and enhance tion to Label Rouge Scottish Salmon. We the market for its exports. export an iconic Scottish product which Cameron Sutherland has been appointed is highly prized by consumers and chefs. I to the new role and joins the company with look forward to working with Cameron to extensive experience in promoting premium drive quality in the product and develop new Scottish food and drink products in France. market opportunities further.’

He spent four years as Head of Food and Label Rouge is an official endorsement Drink - France for Scottish Development of the superior quality of a food or farmed International until 2019. He then set up a product. To obtain this recognition, a strinspecialist import and distribution company in gent set of standards prepared by a group France working with Scottish food and drink of producers must be approved. These companies. standards establish the criteria which the His appointment for Scottish Quality Salmproduct must meet, in particular with regard on comes at a time when reputation, provto farming techniques, feed, equipment and enance and quality have never been more Above: Cameron Sutherland sites, hygiene and staff training. important for consumers in export markets  Differentiating elements of Label Rouge and he will work to consolidate and develop Scottish Salmon’s exceptional quality include: the sales of Label Rouge Scottish Salmon • The flesh contains a maximum of 16% lipid throughout France, the top market for all Scottish Salmon.

• An identification system is implemented to ensure traceability of the Sutherland said: salmon throughout the production process up to point of sale, guar‘I’m absolutely delighted to take on this role having seen the tremenanteeing origin and compliance with the stringent production criteria dous success of Label Rouge Scottish Salmon in France over the past • Freshness guaranteed by an “eat by date” of 10 days after harvesting few years in my previous role. The Scottish salmon farming sector has • Salmon are reared in accordance with codes of best practice and an excellent story to tell about its quality standards – being the first with respect for fish welfare, the environment and sustainability non-French food to receive the Label Rouge award 28 years ago – bears • Maximum stocking density in seawater pens is 1.5% fish and 98.5% testimony to that. water ‘I’m looking forward to developing new marketing and business strat• Guaranteed Scottish origin egies to build on that success and promote the unrivalled provenance In addition, each box carries a sequentially numbered label, also supand quality that underpins it.’ plied by the certifying body.

Su Cox, Communications and Business Development Director of

Stornoway Salvation Army gets vital SSC donation THE Scottish Salmon Company (SSC) has provided the Stornoway Salvation Army Food Bank with a donation to help those in need in the local community following its latest round of Community Fund awards.

Stornoway Salvation Army plays a key role in supporting the local community in times of great need. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the charitable organisation has been actively working to provide help and assistance to the close-knit community of Stornoway.

SSC’s donation will be used by the Stornoway Salvation Army to purchase food items and supplies to prevent any members of the local community being left without access to basic essentials. In the current climate, the charity has seen a significant decrease

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in revenue but a significant increase in demand for help.

With the donation, the Stornoway Salvation Army can continue with its essential work and respond to people affected by the pandemic.

As a central part of SSC’s Community Charter, the Community Fund offers its employees the chance to nominate local businesses, groups and charities that encourage and support health and wellbeing in the local community for a grant of up to £250. The funding was awarded following a nomination by Tracy MacPhee who is a HR Coordinator at Marybank, SSC’s processing site in Stornoway.

Callum Newton, Lieutenant, at Stornoway Salvation Army said: ‘“In these unprecedented times, we have seen a huge need to provide support

to the community due to increased financial pressures. We thank the Scottish Salmon Company for its kind donation, which will allow us to continue serving people and provide food and supplies to anyone in need.’

Alan Brown, General Manager North, at The Scottish Salmon Company said: ‘We are committed to sup-

porting local communities where our teams live and work.The Stornoway Salvation Army offers assistance to anyone in Stornoway who is suffering from hardship.

This is a vital service, particularly at the moment due to the coronavirus pandemic.

We hope our donation will help to get essential items to families in the local area.’

Above: The Salvation Army in Stornoway

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13/07/2020 15:49:46

United Kingdom News

Scottish tech entrepreneurs invest in Ace Aquatec

Above: Chris van der Kuyl (left) and Nathan Pyne-Carter

SCOTTISH tech entrepreneurs Chris van der Kuyl and Paddy Burns have invested in Dundee-headquartered aquaculture technology specialist Ace Aquatec. Founded in 1999, Ace Aquatec is a double Queen’s Award for Enterprise winner that develops acoustic deterrent devices and electric stunners that are used by fish farm operators in the UK and across the globe.

The investment by the tech duo, who run the game development group 4J Studios that is best known for developing the Minecraft Console edition, follows a funding round last year led by Dutch investment fund AquaSpark. Aqua-Spark specialise in sustainable aquaculture and the 2019 investment was consistent with Ace Aquatec’s mission to use technology to accelerate the adoption of responsible marine practices.

The investment by van der Kuyl and Burns will also see van der Kuyl join the board of Ace Aquatec as the company enters its next phase of growth. The company’s management team, led by CEO Nathan Pyne-Carter, plans to grow its team and regional support network over the coming months as ethical

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farming and food insecurity move up the global agenda in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

Nathan Pyne-Carter, CEO, Ace Aquatec said: ‘Aquaculture is set to grow even quicker post-Covid and is seen by many commentators as one of the key drivers to address the onset of a global food crisis.

As the industry grows, we are helping our customers support their own growth with the most sustainable and ethical products in the market.’

On the investment by van der Kuyl and Burns, Pyne-Carter added: ‘Chris and Paddy’s experience growing digital businesses will be a significant asset to our team as we strive to blend the best of physical and digital technologies to help our customers produce environmentally sustainable seafood.’

Van der Kuyl said: ‘Paddy and I are delighted to invest in such a fantastic technology, manufacturing and innovation driven company. Ace Aquatec has shown phenomenal global growth and ambition and I hope we can help bring our

technology expertise to this world class organisation. Investing alongside management and an aquaculture specialist investor in Aqua-Spark gives us cause for great optimism and excitement for future developments.’

Ace Aquatec’s innovative products range from acoustic devices that protect fish farms from predators and humane electric stunning equipment that immediately renders fish unconscious before they leave the water to be processed, to the world’s first underwater 3D biomass camera that provides unobtrusive indicators of fish health. The company exports to Chile, New Zeland, Australia, USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Greece, Germany, Denmark and Russia and, in the UK, customers include Scottish Sea Farms and Loch Duart. The global aquaculture market is forecast to reach over $270 billion by 2025 according to Adroit Market Research.

Ace Aquatec is on track for record domestic and international revenues in 2020 and has a series of product, partnership and customer announcements in the pipeline.

Ace Aquatec won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Innovation in 2018 and 2019.

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

13/07/2020 15:50:57

All the latest industry news from the UK

Salmon company gives boost to Highland broadband THE connectivity of the communities in and around the Sutherland village of Scourie is to be transformed by the installation of free wireless broadband for all local residents.

Loch Duart, the independent Scottish salmon farm, which is based in the village, has awarded £14,400 from a local community fund to Scourie Community Development Company for brand new wireless broadband services, which will be provided through Highland Wireless.

The funding is being provided from the ‘Salmon Pool Fund’, a partnership between Loch Duart and their feed supplier Cargill Aqua Nutrition.

The initiative offers funding to charities and projects which benefit local communities in the areas where Loch Duart farms across Sutherland and the Outer Hebrides.

Mark Warrington, Managing Director of Loch Duart, said: As a business which works in isolated communities across the Highlands and Islands, we know how vital it is for people to be connected. We are proud to be able to help connect these communities through the Salmon Pool Fund which we manage with Cargill Aqua

Nutrition. This funding will ensure people living in Scourie and the surrounding areas can, for the first time, access high speed internet as fibre services currently do not reach them.’

A recent Ofcom report showed that not all premises in rural locations can get fixed broadband speeds of at least 30 Mbit/s. For example, in the Scottish Highlands 20% of households still lack this level of access.

Helen Houston Development Manager of the Scourie Community Development Company Ltd which manages the project, said: Being connected is so important to the people who live in and around Scourie and it has become even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic. We applied to the Salmon Pool Fund because so many people in our community still have very poor broadband, or none at all. We are thrilled to be receiving £14,400 from the fund and look forward to rolling out this new service later this year. We’d like to give a huge thank you to Loch Duart and Cargill Aqua Nutrition for making this possible.’

Loch Duart currently produces 6,000 tonnes of high quality salmon each

Above: The village of Scourie

year from its farms in Sutherland and the Outer Hebrides and employs 100 people.

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13/07/2020 15:51:19

United Kingdom News

Zoetis picks up Fish Vet Group from Benchmark SSPO announce Chief

Executive to step down

Above: A farm site

Zoetis has this month announced the acquisition of Fish Vet Group from Benchmark Holdings PLC, as a strategic addition to its Pharmaq business which develops and commercializes fish vaccines and offers services in vaccination and diagnostics for aquaculture. Adding Fish Vet Group grows the geographic reach and enhances the diagnostics expertise and testing services, including environmental testing, that Pharmaq’s reference lab Pharmaq Analytiq can now offer fish farmers in major aquaculture markets.

Fish Vet Group is headquartered in Inverness, Scotland, with diagnostic lab locations there as well as in Norway, Ireland and Chile, where it provides veterinary services and services in bacteriology, histology and PCR testing.

To help fish producers comply with strict environmental standards, Fish Vet Group offers surveys and analysis to monitor potential environmental impacts and inform responsible fish disease treatments as part of a sustainable aquaculture system. Tests and accompanying analyses from Fish Vet Group help producers to check the

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impact of existing fish farms and inform the potential for new site locations, determine and monitor seabed conditions, and provide input to required regulatory submissions. Comprehensive lab analysis includes marine and freshwater benthic taxonomy, sediment chemistry and water quality analysis.

Announcing the move Rob

Kelly, Executive Vice President and President of International Operations for Zoetis, said: ‘Raising healthy fish to meet the demands of our growing global population while respecting the environment is critical for a healthier, more sustainable future. Innovative fish health management tools, across the continuum of care and including vaccines and diagnostic testing, will help us better meet the needs of our customers. We are excited to welcome Fish Vet Group to our aquaculture team at Pharmaq and together offer fish producers the most comprehensive suite of fish health solutions’.

‘We are excited to join the team at Pharmaq to accelerate our offering in fish health, environment and diagnostics services’ said Jan Petter Berg, Fish Vet Group Global Manager.

‘We look forward to continuing to serve our customers and supporting good fish health in aquaculture systems world-wide.’

Left: Research and development

THE Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO) Chief Executive, Julie Hesketh-Laird, has announced her decision to leave the organisation in the autumn.

Hesketh-Laird was appointed to her role in February 2018. She has led the organisation during a period of great change and success for the sector.

Under her leadership, the SSPO has established itself as a prominent and credible voice in the Scottish food and drink sector, putting Scotland and the UK’s No.1 food export in sharp focus for stakeholders and in the media.

Hesketh-Laird has built firm foundations for stronger relationships between the SSPO and salmon farming sector with important stakeholders, from the government to regulators and environmental organisations.

She said: ‘I have greatly enjoyed working with my team at the SSPO and taking forward the cause of the salmon farming sector which is so important to Scotland and highly regarded in overseas markets. We have come a very long way in recent years, and I am proud to have achieved such good progress. As the sector emerges from the challenges of the Covid-19 crisis, it is a good time to move on and take on fresh challenges.

Salmon farming is now strongly positioned to play a central role in Scotland’s economic recovery’.

SSPO Chair Atholl Duncan Said: ‘We are very grateful to Julie for all the progress that has been made under her leadership. We wish her well for the future and we are now well positioned to build on the stability and strategic focus which she has brought to the SSPO.’ Her departure will take place in September 2020.

Above: Julie Hesketh-Laird

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

13/07/2020 15:52:17

All the latest industry news from the UK

Grieg appoints Mowi man to drive growth the opportunity to create something brand new in Grieg Seafood. I look forward to building a new sales organization and to bring out the market potential of the company. This will be a very exciting journey and I am looking forward to getting started.’

Above: Erik Holvik % FAI 00

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GRIEG Seafood has appointed Mowi Norwegian sales director Erik Holvik to drive up the development and execution of the company’s downstream efforts and global commercial strategy.

He joins the company, which has a major salmon farming operation on Shetland where it produces mainly for the UK market, as Chief Commercial OfďŹ cer, taking up his new post on October 1st.

Holvik has a long track record in the seafood industry, and has until now held the position as Sales Director of Mowi Markets Norway.

He began his career in Coast Seafood in 2003, where he worked for four years in the company’s VAP department.

Since 2011, Holvik has held various roles within sales, trading and towards the retail market in Mowi. From 2013 and onwards, he helped build the company’s sales organization in Bergen. Holvik holds a Bachelor Degree in Commerce from Macquire University in Australia.

Grieg CEO Andreas Kvame said: ‘In Grieg Seafood, we have very exciting years ahead of us. By 2025, we will grow sustainably, we will improve our production cost and we will evolve from being a pure supplier of salmon to becoming an innovation partner for selected customers. I am very pleased that Erik will join our team to develop our new downstream efforts. He has the experience, the knowledge and not least the enthusiasm needed to succeed.’ Holvik added: ‘I have had great years in Mowi where I have learnt a lot, been part of a strong professional environment and worked with fantastic colleagues. Still, it was impossible to turn down

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13/07/2020 15:52:35

European News

NEWS...

This cod be the answer

Above: Cod

AN Icelandic company has been given the go-ahead to expand cod farming on a limited scale in the north-west region of the country. The development is interesting because Iceland is better known around the world for its conventional trawler catching of wild cod, arguably its most important fishing activity and seafood export. Few appreciate it also produces cod through aquaculture.

The country’s food agency has told Háafell, a subsidiary of Hrastfrystihusin Gunnvarar (HG), that it has been granted an extended four year operating licence extension to cultivate 7,000 tonnes of fish, of which 6,800 tonnes is rainbow trout

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and 200 tonnes cod on a 17 acres site in Isafjord. It previously had permission for 2,000 tonnes of fish. HG said it has carried out a full environmental assessment on its plan.

Cod farming is not new.

Norway tried it several years ago with a limited degree of success. But it presented biological challenges and with the nearby Barents Sea home to the world’s largest stocks of wild cod it became uneconomic. However, cod prices have shot up over the past two years which has led to renewed interest in both Iceland and Norway in this type of aquaculture.

The company began cod farming in a small way 18 years ago – from egg

incubation to full sized fish.

It said on its website this was a much awaited moment because the granting of aquaculture permits in the Isafjord region had been extremely slow in recent years. The initial application went in some time ago. With two modern trawlers, it is also a conventional fishing and seafood processing business with a market reach into North America, Europe and Asia.

Kristján G. Jóakimsson, HG’s production and marketing manager said the company was also keen to expand salmon farming in a big way, but the granting of this application was something to be getting on with.

Bond nephew ‘stirred not shaken’ by fish farm investment THE nephew of James Bond creator Ian Fleming has been stirred into financial involvement in a project to build a new fully integrated land based fish farming facility in northern Norway. The investment is being planned by the relatively new business Langnes Laks (Langnes Salmon) in which the British entrepreneur Rory David Fleming has a financial interest and is reported to be joining the project team.

Langnes Laks, part of the larger company Lba.as, was set up about 18 months ago by Geir Spiten who holds a senior management position with the aquaculture supply company Akvatech, who has known Fleming for some time. Fleming is also involved with Akvatech.

Spiten told the website ilaks.no that he had been a personal friend of Rory Fleming for at least 20 years and they were now in the final states of completing the licence application.

If approved the salmon farm will be built in the town of Alta which Fleming is believed to have visited on a number of occasions. Local people have openly welcomed the project which will use the latest land farm technology as well as bring considerable economic benefits to the area.

He belongs to a wealthy family, involved in banking and gold mining, and is a millionaire in his own right, but his involvement with the salmon farm project is a personal investment and is not linked to the family business.

Fleming was born in 1968, at a time when the James Bond films, based on stories written by his late uncle, were reaching the height of popularity. Almost 50 years on, they continue to attract large worldwide audiences.

Above: Ian Fleming

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13/07/2020 15:53:06

All the latest industry news from Europe

Fish farms cause community split in Iceland

Above: Akureyri City, Iceland

ONE of Iceland’s main cities has caused a stir and political division in the region by telling the government that it does not want fish farming on the 47 mile long fjord which leads into its port.

Akureyri City Council has conveyed its surprise message to Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries following a major debate.

But the move has caused anger in some parts of the fjord who say the city council has not consulted neighbouring communities who may want fish farming development. They believe the city is throwing its weight around.

Located in the north of the island, Akureyri (population 19,000) is Iceland’s fourth largest city and despite its remote location remains ice free during the winter, thanks to the Gulf Stream. This makes it a popular calling point for Arctic cruise ships which reach it along a picturesque 70 kilometre approach called Eyjafjörður.

The call was made by Gunnar Gíslason, leader of the of the local Independence Party and approved by the city council’s ruling coalition. The final decision, however, is up to the government in Reykjavik which is keen to develop Iceland’s rapidly growing salmon farming sector.

He expressed fears about the impact of development on wild salmon fishing and the natural habitat in the region, adding “the risks associated with aquaculture are simply too great”. He agreed that fish farming had brought welcome considerable economic benefits for communities in the Westfjords and eastern regions of Iceland, but it was not for Akureyri or the small harbours along Eyjafjörður.

However, not all of these harbours are in agreement and want to see further investigations into the benefits and impact of aquaculture. Members on Fjallabyggd Municipal Council at the northern end of the fjord (pop 2,000) , for example, have expressed anger at Akureyri council’s apparent ‘big brother’ call for a total ban and thinks there could be possibilities for aquaculture development if approached carefully. It is calling for the issue to be debated by all the coastal communities before any final decision. It

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is also writing to the Fisheries Ministry calling for a full risk assessment to be carried out before a final decision.

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13/07/2020 15:53:22

European News

BioMar and Bio Feeder announce environmentally friendly boat

BIOMAR and Bio Feeder AS are extending their collaboration and have now embarked on an exciting project to develop a new and innovative hybrid vessel. This will be the first vessel in Norway to use battery power in fish feed deliveries. The ship will be chartered to BioMar during the high season, with the first feed deliveries taking place in the summer of 2021.

‘With this vessel’s cutting-edge hybrid technology, we are continuing to develop our role as an innovator in the aquaculture industry,’ says Tore Gunnar Wikdal, BioMar’s Supply Chain Director The Kryssholm will be one of the market’s largest feed vessels, boasting a cargo capacity of more than 3000 tonnes. The ship is owned and operated by Bio Feeder.

‘We are very much looking forward to upgrading the Kryssholm. This is a very exciting project and we are delighted to be continuing our collaboration with BioMar in this venture,’ says Nils Tore Øpstad Melingen of Bio Feeder.

With a length overall of no less than 89.9 m and a beam of 13.6 m, the Kryssholm will be the largest fish feed carrier on the market. The Kryssholm features a combination of diesel engines

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and hybrid batteries, a combination that offers both noiseless DP delivery and low energy consumption on delivery.

‘During DP discharging, the ship will use batteries and auxiliary engines. Using the hybrid solution during discharging enables both emissions and consumption to be reduced,’” says Øpstad Melingen.

Financial support for the conversion of the vessel has been received from the Business Sector’s NOx Fund. The grant is conditional upon the Kryssholm being fitted with a system for treating the exhaust gases produced by its engines. The aim of the NOx Fund is to reduce emissions by business and industry to enable Norway’s commitments under the Gothenburg Protocol to be met. The NOx Fund was established in 2008.

Top: The Nyksund - NSK Shipping Middle: Tore-Gunnar-Wikdal_BioMar Left: Nils Tore Melingen, Bio Feeder

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

13/07/2020 15:53:46

All the latest industry news from Europe

BioMar scales up Danish RAS production taskforce and continuously strengthens the team with more RAS experts.

‘Being situated in an area with a long history of RAS research and development has enabled us to be first movers in RAS feeds and will continue to be crucially important in the innovation development of feeds for land-based farming.There is good recognition for our RAS feeds globally and our ambitions for this growing segment are high’, stated Carlos Diaz, CEO BioMar Group.

The Danish production facility has Above: BioMar Aquaculture Technology Centre ATC Hirtshals experienced organic growth in recent ve: BioMar Denmark years hence a decision was made two years ago to invest and add capacity.

BIOMAR has announced that it’s new production The facility has experience in specially designed line at Brande, Denmark is now fully operational. feeds for more than 40 aquaculture species, The line is dedicated to RAS and fry aquaculture including trout, salmon and yellowtail kingfish.The feed production and is the result of a DKK 100 investment project has been able to increase the million investment that has enabled BioMar to overall capacity by 25% up to 160,000 tons of feed increase the annual capacity of the Danish facility produced annually with improved flexibility, quality by 25%. and production performance.

BioMar’s Danish feed production facility is situAnders Brandt-Clausen, the Managing Director ated in the heart of the Silicon Valley for RAS in of BioMar Denmark explains: the Jutland region of Denmark. Jutland is home to ‘Installing an extra production line into a facility leading RAS companies from technology providers that is in daily operation was challenging, particuto fish producers who have been supplying the larly in the last few months of the process where industry for over 30 years. Hence, BioMar has we all have been working under extraordinary a full focus on feeds for landbased farming and circumstances due to the COVID-19 situation. accelerated efforts in the area with a dedicated

Thanks to our highly skilled and dedicated people, we have been able to successfully manage the process without compromising the daily operations and scheduled deliverables’.

Aquaculture feeds from the new line have been tested through the last couple of months and have shown impressive results. BioMar’s premium range of fry feeds produced on the new line demonstrate an extraordinary performance on technical quality parameters. Pellets coming out of the new line are now in a much better diameter: length ratio, the inter-size gap has been improved for a smoother transition between pellet sizes.

The improved process control technology on the new line will further strengthen BioMar’s ability to focus on more physical quality parameters such as sinking speed and water stability.

‘We have just been through the fry feed season and we received very positive feedback from farmers around the world on the quality and performance of the products’, concluded Brandt-Clausen.

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14/07/2020 09:21:30

European News

Iceland salmon gets new retail brand ICELAND has launched its own retail salmon brand – at least among three fish farming companies.

ASC certified fish is now being sold under the combined name of Iceborn, launched this week by the Norwegian sales company Seaborn.

The businesses who have signed up are Laxar Aquaculture, Fiskeldi Austfjörður (Ice Fish Farm), and Arctic Fish, all large scale producers of salmon in Iceland.

Kjersti Haugen, Seaborn’s operations manager, told the newspaper Morgunbladid that for a number of years Seaborn had worked with producing businesses on the east coast, but now it had added west coast breeders and this had provided more volume.

She said that by increasing the quantity of salmon available from a wider area it was now possible for Iceborn to ensure year round delivery which was required to market a product under a single brand: ‘This is a way to increase consumer knowledge of Icelandic salmon and its excellence’.

She also said that Icelandic fish had an excellent reputation for quality, particularly in the United States, one of its key overseas markets.

Seaborn has been operating in Norway since 2001, and is owned by ten smaller family owned Norwegian aquaculture companies. It now a major distributor of salmon and trout to more than 60 countries around the world, mainly in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Seaborn says: ‘Our owners represent the whole value chain from broodstock

Above: Icelandic salmon

and roe, via hatching, fry and smolt to marine growers of the highest quality. Satisfied customers are the key to Seaborn’s ability to compete in a tough market.’

Nor-Fishing digital line up announced WHEN the COVID-19 virus struck in February-March, the world became a completely different place. The management of the Nor-Fishing Foundation hoped for a long time that it would be possible to run Nor-Fishing 2020 as planned, but these plans were shattered in late April, when the government announced that all gatherings of more than 500 persons were banned until September 1st. Consequently, Nor-Fishing 2020 was cancelled - for the first time in the exhibition’s history.

However, thanks to today’s ICT technology, they have now arranged a digital version of Nor-Fishing. The work was started immediately after the cancellation decision was made, and the program quickly took shape.

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The digital event will run for 3 days during the Nor-Fishing week, from Tuesday 18th to Thursday 20th August. A detailed program is laid out in front of the event so people can get to know the program before the live stream starts.

During the 60 years since the first exhibition was held in Bergen, with the solemn participation of H.M. King Olav V in his general’s uniform, Nor-Fishing has developed into one of the world’s largest and most important fishing exhibitions. It has also developed into a trade show where the focus is on technology and equipment. The 1960 show was as much a fair for the general public as an exhibition for professionals.

Nor-Fishing 2020 Digital can best be

described as an interactive TV program. A program host will guide viewers through an industry event consisting of exciting reports, interesting guests in the studio, professional debates and meetings with many exciting exhibitors.

Exhibitors can also buy advertising time during the “broadcast”. They can choose between 30 and 60 seconds of advertising time that will be broadcast between the elements of the “TV program”.

‘We have been fortunate to have recruited TV personality Arne Hjeltnes as the program host for these broadcasts,’ says Kari Steinsbø. ‘He has previously hosted the entertainment at our seafood dinners for several years, and he also knows the Norwegian fishing industry very well.’

‘With Nor-Fishing 2020 Digital, we will set the standard for digital fairs,’ says the CEO of the Nor-Fishing Foundation, Kristian Digre. ‘We want to give visitors a truly unique viewing experience and will facilitate exhibitor-viewer interaction - which is as it should be during a trade show.’

In addition to posting the live stream directly, the entire event will be posted on Nor-Fishing’s website so that anyone can view the content at a time that is best for the individual. The digital exhibition will thus live on after the year’s event is over. Following Nor-Fishing 2020 Digital is completely free of charge for viewers.

www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

13/07/2020 15:54:43

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15/07/2020 12:17:31

World News

NEWS...

Aller Aqua launch new feed for Atlantic RAS salmon

Top: Faeces structure of ALLER FLOW (le�) compared to a compe�ng RAS feed (right) Above: Faeces par�cle dispersion and harvest a�er 45 seconds in ALLER FLOW (le�: 90% harvest) compared to a compe�ng RAS feed (right: 60% harvest)

ALLER Aqua have launched a new feed called Aller Flow, which is specifically for Atlantic salmon in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). It has been created to optimise performance in terms of both water quality and the health of rapidly growing fish.

Production of Atlantic salmon in RAS is gaining popularity across the globe with steadily rising production volumes each year. While technically advanced and requiring large investments, RAS also calls for highly sophisticated and advanced fish feeds.

Following the increasing trend of large-scale production of Atlantic salmon in RAS across the world, Aller Aqua introduced Aller Flow as the best choice for farming Atlantic salmon in this sophisticated environment. Thoroughly tested and developed at the trial station at Aller Aqua Research in Buesum, Germany, Aller Flow has been created considering the impact of the feed on the entire production system whilst maintaining focus on

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fish health and growth.

Dr. Robert Tillner, Product Manager at Aller Aqua, said: ‘Aller Flow has been developed to enable the highest feed efficiency, not only in terms of growth but also feed conversion. Every digit in improved feed conversion means fewer nutrients to be handled by energyconsuming filtration units in RAS. ‘Keeping this in mind, we were able to improve the FCR by no less than 4% in Atlantic salmon fed Aller Flow compared to a competing RAS feed. That is a huge difference when producing several thousand tons of salmon!

‘We have also significantly improved the faeces structure from fish fed Aller Flow compared to a competing RAS feed, meaning that the more compact and stable faeces are efficiently transported through and removed from the system by filtration units. This will make a big difference for the efficiency of the RAS as well as the economic result.’

AquaMaof appoints new North America Sales Director ISRAEL based AquaMaof Aquaculture Technologies, which operates in the RAS space, has announced the appointment of Lior Gal as the company’s new Director of Sales for North America.

Gal brings ten years of experience in global sales and marketing, developing new markets and projects in the U.S. and other parts of the world, as well as locating potential customers and suppliers. He comes with a depth of experience in the field of agriculture projects and services. Gal will be responsible for pre- and post-sale support for customers and projects in North America.

Before AquaMaof, Gal was the international trade manager at Galilee Export, where he worked for five years in local and global sourcing of Agricultural products for trading worldwide. He holds a BA in economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Earlier this year, AquaMaof was commissioned by 8F Asset Management Pte. Ltd. to provide its technology to a 20,000MT Atlantic Salmon production facility to be constructed on the U.S. east coast. This project, which is in its design stage, is one of nine projects that AquaMaof has under development around the world, with an expected combined capacity of 61K MT of Atlantic Salmon and other premium species.

‘Lior brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our executive leadership team, and we are looking forward to him driving our marketing and sales efforts to new heights,’ says Shai Silbermann, VP of Marketing and Sales at AquaMaof. ‘North America is a strategic market for us, where interest in our solution has risen significantly. The interest is derived from the growing local demand for seafood, as well as the US administration’s policy to encourage the local aquaculture industry.’

‘I am excited to join AquaMaof in this exciting time of tremendous interest in the company’s technology, and I am looking forward to sharing my experiences and tapping into my in-depth knowledge to drive AquaMaof’s growth and ensure continuous and optimal client support.’ says Lior Gal.

Above: Lior Gal

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

13/07/2020 15:55:33

All the latest industry news from around the world

Anue Water Technologies launch new geomembrane covers ANUE Water Technologies is launching customizable Geomembrane coverings for outstanding odour elimination in aquaculture and other industrial and municipal markets throughout the USA, Canada and the Caribbean region.

This technology consists of high strength geomembranes fitted with pockets that contain replaceable filter media, custom engineered to fit each application and ensure exceptional broad-spectrum odour control. It can be used in practically any application, such as tanks, sludge pits, open channels, vessels, fowl offal, truck bays, vertical vents, and fugitive emissions from vent covers. The technology was commercialized in 2011 and is already proven with use in 11 countries by major companies and municipalities. This includes use in industrial, municipal, and food and beverage applications.

The filters are designed to remove all odours, including those from difficult sulfide and ammonia. The system eliminates the need for costly chemicals or scrubber equipment,

and greatly reduces labour touch and OSHA risks, paying for itself within 6 – 12 months.

Anue VP General Manager Greg Bock stated: ‘Anue is pleased to introduce this innovative, thoroughly tested and proven technology in the US, Canada and Caribbean region. These geomembranes provide many more municipal

and industrial customers an even lower-cost approach to sustainable odour control. This broadens Anue’s product line to a wider range of odour control solutions.’

Above: Anue Geo-Membrane systems eliminate odors in all shapes and sized applica�ons

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13/07/2020 15:56:00

World News

AquaBounty starts land based salmon harvest in Indiana

AQUABOUNTY Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQB), a landbased salmon farming pioneer, has successfully commenced the commercial-scale harvest of conventional Atlantic salmon raised at its first farm in the United States.

This first harvest at its Albany, Indiana farm validates AquaBounty’s land-based Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) model as an efficient and sustainable way to raise Atlantic salmon.

AquaBounty strategically located its first U.S. farm within easy reach of key U.S. markets to accelerate delivery of fresh, nutritious Atlantic salmon to U.S. consumers. As part of this effort, the company has established the necessary supply chain connections to these key markets and is formalizing commercial customer

agreements.

‘As the global population increases, we are seeking better ways to efficiently feed a hungry world with a sustainable source of nutritious food,’ said AquaBounty’s CEO Sylvia Wulf.

‘Land-based aquaculture is a reliable method for supplying fresh and healthy salmon. This harvest is the result of AquaBounty’s almost 30 years of experience in aquaculture and demonstrates our expertise in raising Atlantic salmon.’

With rising concerns about the safety and security of our food sources, AquaBounty offers a consistent supply of salmon that is raised domestically in the U.S. on a carefully monitored and managed land-based farm where the fish grow, swim and school naturally in a healthy, disease-free

environment without the use of antibiotics. AquaBounty salmon are raised efficiently and compassionately by experienced specialists within a system that conserves precious natural resources and operates with a lower carbon footprint when compared to other salmon farming practices.

The Indiana-based farm will ramp up monthly harvest of conventional salmon throughout the summer and plans to reach 100 metric tons per month by early 2021. The annual capacity of the farm is approximately 1,200 metric tons.

‘AquaBounty’s success comes at a time when the global supply of Atlantic salmon is facing a multitude of challenges,’ continued Wulf. ‘The AquaBounty strategy for farm design and operation is driven by concern for the health of our salmon. Our goal is the

delivery of fresh, secure and delicious salmon raised right here in the United States.’

With this harvest of conventional Atlantic salmon underway, AquaBounty will prepare for the first commercial harvest of its proprietary, genetically engineered AquAdvantage Salmon in the fourth quarter of 2020 at the Indiana Farm. This will be followed by the first harvest of AquAdvantage salmon at its Canada-based, Prince Edward Island Farm in the first quarter of 2021.

AquaBounty currently is the first and only provider of genetically engineered Atlantic salmon approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada.

Above: Peter Boyer holding an Atlantic salmon Below: Albany Fish Farm grow-out tanks

SmartAqua and Wiley join forces Wiley over many years. With the rapid ing on multiple projects with SmartAqua and Wiley, with expansion into land-based farming and the some larger players in the RAS Australian bases and a global need for turnkey project management of a space, as well as existing sea footprint have teamed up, comland-based facility integrated with processing, cage operators. They have seen bining decades of international led to us deciding to formally merge our international travel restrictions experience in the aquafarming skillsets’. due to COVID-19 cause a masand seafood processing sector Wiley’s Logan Ashmole, Senior Project sive decline in seafood import to provide turnkey services Manager said the relationship is and export – both for land-based aquaculture, working well: from the supply recirculating aquaculture ‘We are seeing an increasand demand side. systems project management, ing number of proposed RAS As a result, we have processing plant design and projects, particularly for salmseen a global push construction. SmartAqua has a Above Alastair Smart on-farming - there are more than for domestic food 26-year history in aquaculture 50 RAS proposed projects (and production for food security as consulting around the globe, with a growing counting) to farm salmon on countries can no longer rely on focus on land-based farming and processing land. The total estimated producthe import market. operations. Wiley has navigated the food tion of these announced projects Alastair Smart, MD of facility project delivery business for over a up to 2050 is equal to 25% of SmartAqua said this joint apcentury with a large, experienced engineertotal current salmon production proach makes for a great team: ing, design, and delivery team. at around 600,000 tonnes.’

‘SmartAqua have worked with Above Logan Ashmole The Wiley/SmartAqua team are work-

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13/07/2020 15:56:30

All the latest industry news from around the world

Danish tech solutions company expands into Asia ASSENTOFT Aqua A/S, based in Denmark, has announced the setup of their Asian operations as part of their global expansion plan. Assentoft Aqua Asia Pte Ltd will be based in Singapore.

The recent Covid 19 pandemic has grossly exposed the gaps and weaknesses of our global supply chain which has exacerbated the threat against our food security infrastructure. Coupled with dwindling numbers of wild captured fishery globally, which is now a known fact, it is a matter of time before our ocean resources are depleted.The future of food fish production has been shifting and will ultimately move towards land-based aquaculture. Asia is the world’s largest aquaculture producer and the launch of Assentoft Aqua Asia could not have taken place at a better time than this.

‘The decision to choose Singapore as the location for the launch of our Asia base was a natural choice as entering any of the markets in Asia for the first time will be extraordinarily exciting for any business.

The challenges will be immense but so will be the rewards.We believe that Asia will be the next epicentre for Aquaculture growth and Singapore is strategically located in the heart of Asia and is the ideal spring board for entry into the Asia market

including mainland China’ – Said Peter Damgaard Nielsen - Chairman, Assentoft Aqua Asia.

The company has also announced the appointment of Associate Professor Matthew Tan as the Chief Executive Officer, Asia and Director of Assentoft Aqua Asia Pte Ltd. A/Prof Tan is a veteran in the aquaculture industry and was previously the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Oceanus Tech Pte Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oceanus Group Ltd – One of the world’s largest landbased aquaculture company which is listed on the main board of the Singapore Stock Exchange.

A/Prof Tan is also Singapore Representative (Private Sector) to APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security and Co-Chair for Sustainable Development in Agricultural and Fishery sectors where he co-ordinates discussions between senior officials, APEC governments and the private sector on the use of technology and combined resources for Sustainable Development in the Agriculture and Fishery Sectors.

He brings a valuable wealth of experience to Assentoft and will be supporting our

pipelines of RAS projects (both Salmon & Tropical Pelagic) in Asia plus responsible for the setup of Assentoft Research & Development centre in Singapore.

Welcoming the development,Ambassador Dorte Bech Vizard from the Royal Danish Embassy in Singapore, said: ‘Denmark is known for high quality and sustainable food production and is a leading exporter of food and food technology worldwide.Throughout the Danish food production chain, you can find innovative, new solutions to global climate challenges for a world that soon has to feed 9 billion people.With Singapore’s growing focus on food security and sustainability, new opportunities are arising for Danish companies to be part of Singapore’s food story. As the newest member of the family, I am pleased to welcome Assentoft Aqua to Singapore’.

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13/07/2020 15:56:48

Coronavirus crisis – Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation

BY HAMISH MACDONELL

Seize the moment A stronger and more resilient sector could emerge from the current crisis

T

he tail to this crisis is going to be long and painful. There will be second waves and third waves, localised hotspots and regional lockdowns in various parts of the world not to men�on the millions of job losses and mountainous government debts.

And yet, and yet – a sense is star�ng to build within the Sco�sh salmon sector that something be�er, stronger and more resilient could emerge from the wreckage.

The first seeds of this idea were sown in the response the sector submi�ed to the Benny Higgins’ inquiry, which was tasked with finding a way forward for the Sco�sh economy out of the Coronavirus nightmare.

Mr Higgins, the former chief execu�ve of Tesco Bank, was looking for high-level ideas, for strategic thinking and for ways in which industry and business could li� the Sco�sh economy out of the Covid mire.

To paraphrase JFK, Mr Higgins did not want to know what the country could do for us, he wanted to know what we could do for the country – so we told him: Scotland’s farmed salmon sector has the poten�al to be a flag-bearer for the Sco�sh economy, leading it out on to firmer economic ground.

Our companies not only weathered the Covid storms with very li�le government help but they also coped admirably with the virtual collapse of export markets and the closure of domes�c food service.

Not only that, but our farmers kept their fish healthy and growing, con�nuing to supply domes�c retailers without a break and changing work pa�erns to ensure absenteeism could be kept to an absolute minimum.

There is a great deal of pride – and rightly so – within the sector at how resourceful and resilient our farmers have been over the last three and half months.

Our member companies have soaked up everything this crisis has thrown at them and bounced back again.

But it is the future that counts and this is where the real opportunity lies.

The UK desperately needs to sell good abroad. It needs it for income and to improve its balance of payments and, as the UK’s largest food export, salmon has a key role to play in this. There is also the simple issue of tax revenue. In 2018, the Sco�sh farmed salmon sector generated almost £100 million in local, Sco�sh and UK tax revenues.

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So the ques�on to Mr Higgins and to wider government is this – how much more could the sector do if it was given the chance to grow and grow sustainably?

The world loves Sco�sh salmon. The global market, if not absolutely insa�able, s�ll has a huge poten�al for growth within it. Ten years ago, the Sco�sh salmon sector had a ten per cent share of the global market. Now it has less than seven per cent.

The market has grown, others have taken advantage of that growth and Scotland has been le� languishing while our interna�onal compe�tors have powered ahead.

The Sco�sh Government is looking for a green recovery, a sustainable revolu�on that will lead to a low-carbon future.

Well, the salmon sector is already ahead of the game in this area too. Salmon produc�on has the lowest carbon footprint of any comparable livestock, it uses less water, has a be�er feed-to-protein ra�o and produces more protein per product than any of its compe�tors.

But there is more than this too. The Covid crisis has focused a�en�on much more closely on health, healthy ea�ng and the largely firstworld problem of widespread obesity.

What be�er to lead a crusade for Scotland than one of the healthiest proteins on the planet? Not only is salmon packed full of Omega 3 but it is a low-fat product providing a fantas�c source of vitamin D. It has not escaped the no�ce of Sco�sh ministers that our rural areas suffered severely during the Covid crisis because so many communi�es rely heavily on the tourist trade for survival.

All along the west coast and up through the

Above: Sco�sh salmon farm, Shetland

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13/07/2020 14:37:06

Seize the moment

islands, communi�es hunkered down, safe in the knowledge that the fish farms were s�ll earning, that staff were working and bringing in money while the bed and breakfasts and guests houses were boarded up.

The average salary in Sco�sh salmon farming is £34,000, well above the na�onal average. This is money that has been keeping rural communi�es in sparsely populated areas alive.

How much more could we do if given the green light to grow, and grow sustainably?

And that is the crux of this issue. The Scot�sh salmon sector �cks all the boxes for the government. It already generates substan�al tax revenue and helps with the balance of payments, it keeps hundreds of rural communi�es alive, it provides a low-carbon, sustainable, healthy protein to the popula�on and it could provide a poten�al source of well-paid employment to thousands more Sco�sh youngsters.

Yet its share of the global market is shrinking, its influence and reach is declining and it is being overtaken by others all because of a lack of clear leadership and vision from government and regulators.

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SSPO.indd 25

Our member companies have soaked up “everything this crisis has thrown at them and bounced back ” Sco�sh salmon has the poten�al to lead Scotland out of this crisis but it is in danger of being held back by �midity and hesitant decision making. At the moment, our farming companies have to wait months, even years for decisions on new farms.

We are not asking for looser regula�on, we just want be�er regula�on. We want it to be clear, understandable, efficient and speedy: that’s all.

Not only can we help the country pick itself up and get going again, we can lead that crusade. We do not need the incen�ve of subsidies or hand outs. All we need is a na�onal decision-making environment that appreciates our poten�al and regula�on that allows sustainable growth to happen.

Give us the ‘green’ light: this is the message we will trumpet as the country starts to emerge, blinking from the lockdown.

This is a moment of real opportunity – its �me we seized it.. FF

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13/07/2020 14:37:27

Shellfish

BY NICKI HOLMYARD

Ancient Oysters Growing oysters – what’s changed over the centuries?

O

yster farming as we know it, has increased rapidly in the past 50 years, yet it is purportedly one of the oldest forms of aquaculture.

Certainly the Greeks and Romans were known to have cul�vated oysters in ponds.

However, ‘It was a bold first man that first ate an oyster,’ wrote the Irish sa�rical novelist Jonathan Swi�, and I tend to agree with him, although these days I adore them!

According to Bobby Groves, whose deligh�ul book Oyster Isles, I have wri�en about before in these pages, a Roman Praetor named Orata was credited with being the first person to lay out ar�ficial oyster bed in Europe in BC 97. Groves also found that oysters in Ireland were first taxed at Wexford harbour in 1281, and oysters from Essex, Kent and Hampshire were men�oned in the Domesday Book of 1086.

On the island of Jersey, where Chris le Masurier runs his third genera�on family oyster farm, the Jersey Oyster Company, there is evidence from shell middens that the local popula�on enjoyed oysters more than 6,000 years ago. Records from more modern �mes show that around 2 billion flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) were exported to English markets between 1810 and 1871, un�l the industry went into decline.

Oyster produc�on was revived on Jersey around 30 years ago, when the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) was introduced, and Chris and his team now

Left: Sergius Orata demonstrates his method of oyster cul�va�on. (From a medieval French illustra�on). Above: Bobby Groves. Opposite from top left: Judith Vajk, Gordon Turnbull, Chris le Masurier

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Nicki Holmyard - Shellfish.indd 26

produce more than 1,200 tonnes per year on a 36-acre concession, using tradi�onal mesh bags laid on low metal trestles on the beach.

On the West coast of Scotland, Judith Vajk, who runs Caledonian Oysters, says that li�le has changed structurally in the industry in the 35 years she has been working in it, although the introduc�on of baskets systems such as the Australian SEAPA are star�ng to make inroads in Europe.

Baskets systems are designed to swing in the �de and keep the oysters tumbling, which in turn helps to develop a well-cupped oyster with a clean shell and high meat content. They also do away with a lot of the backbreaking labour required to turn bags on trestles.

Vajk, who began farming oysters on Herm

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15/07/2020 11:58:45

Photo: Richard Hunt Smith

Ancient Oysters

with her late husband Hugo in 1985, is also enamoured with her Smart Oyster farm management system – a recent purchasewhich enables her to see in real-�me, what is happening on the farm and how growth and harvest tracks over �me.

‘One of the biggest changes is the growth in the amount of paperwork we are required to keep up with these days, which is becoming onerous. Hugo once said that because of all the regula�ons and restric�ons that are constantly being introduced, if he was star�ng out again, he would not go into oyster farming. And that was a few years ago!’ she said.

On Mull, where Gordon Turnbull now manages the oyster farm set up by his father Nick in the early 1990s, he admits that making efficiencies is probably the biggest change he has made, along with working at it full �me with an employee, whereas his father also worked as a part-�me fisherman.

‘We s�ll use the same trestles and tradi�onal poche bags, but we have greater knowledge about how to produce for a quality market, which enables us to focus on ge�ng it right. Covid-19 has seen a bit of a slow-down in sales, but it has also given us �me to do more grading and to concentrate on catching up with a backlog of husbandry and maintenance,’ he said.

Turnbull buys in oyster seed measuring 4 – 10mm, whereas his father bought in half-ware at 25mm, which is no longer available.

The purchase of a water grader has boosted the volume of oysters he can grade per hour, and the introduc�on of 1,000 SEAPA baskets for a trial is working well.

‘The suspended baskets do produce a be�er oyster, but this has to be balanced against the cost of the equipment, so we are wai�ng to see how the trial goes on. They make it a lot easier on the back though!’ he said.

In France, the first wri�en accounts of harves�ng flat oysters (Ostrea edulis), come from the Middle

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Nicki Holmyard - Shellfish.indd 27

There is “evidence

from shell middens that the local popula�on enjoyed oysters more than 6,000 years ago

”

Ages, although it is knows that the Romans were very par�al to Belon oysters, which are grown in the River Belon and have an intense copper finish. The called them ‘calliblepharis,’ which means ‘beau�ful eyelids.’

In the 17th Century, oyster farms began to spring up in the salt water marshes of the Atlan�c Coast, and in managed ponds in the Marennes-Oléron region. Farmers collected oyster spat from rocks, or dredged them from natural beds to ongrow in purpose-built ponds. Records show that around this �me, banquets comprised exclusively of oysters were held, and historical figures like Marie Antoine�e and Voltaire were very keen consumers.

By the 18th Century, salt produc�on was declining, which freed up the salt marches for increased levels of oyster farming. However, before long, this prac�ce led to decima�on of the wild seed beds, leading to the authori�es issuing several decrees in the 1850s, banning the harves�ng of flat oysters from natural beds on the French coasts.

The lack of oyster seed opened the way for modern oyster farming to develop, with flat oyster spat collected on wooden stakes and later on different mediums. In the 1860s farmers started to import Portuguese oysters (Crassostrea angulata) into the Arcachon Basin, and the chance dumping of a cargo of these into the Gironde estuary in a storm, led to this species quickly domina�ng the industry. A century later, in the 1960s, Portuguese oysters accounted for almost 80% of produc�on, with flat oysters represented just 20%.

Just ten years later, the Portuguese oyster was decimated by disease, to be replace by the Japanese Pacific oyster which has become the most widely cul�vated species in the world.

Today, while many countries are involved in niche oyster farming, the industry is dominated by China, which accounted for a staggering 86% of produc�on by weight in 2016.. FF

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13/07/2020 14:39:33

Nordlaks

Offshore

Giant

Cheering crowds greet salmon platform’s arrival in Norway

BY VINCE MCDONAGH

E

Everything virtually in place and ready to go into produc�on.

That’s the upbeat message from Nordlaks as its giant offshore salmon farming pla�orm HavFarm 1 arrived at its northern Norway home a�er a 15,000 nau�cal mile journey from China.

Named the Jostein Albert a�er a former Nordlaks chairman, the 33,000 vessel sailed into her new base near the

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port of Hadsel, two months a�er leaving the Yantai Raffles yard where she was assembled. Almost 400 metres long, she is now floa�ng on her own at the site where she hopes to start producing salmon by September this year.

Nordlaks Project manager Bjarne Johansen said: ‘We are very excited. This is a big event for us. But we feel the process has been good and we have a lot of good people involved.’

Images: Our montage shows how the vessel was carefully put into place

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13/07/2020 14:42:11

Offshore Giant

The company said the development will herald a new era in offshore aquaculture and should lead to fewer escapes and a reduc�on in lice, two issues which have dogged the industry in recent years.

Designed by NSK Ship Design, its Sales and Marke�ng Manager Thomas Myhre described the vessel as unique and one of the largest sea transport voyages of its kind.

He also said the coronavirus outbreak had presented a few challenges before it embarked on its voyage, including carrying out some inspec�ons by video camera.

The company said there had been no major delays and the Jostein Albert was greeted by a cheering crowd which include Norway’s Fisheries Minister Odd Emil Ingebrigsten, who congratulated Nordlaks on the project.

However, not everyone was so enthusias�c. Local fishermen and environmental grounds have publicly expressed concerns about the long term impact such a large structure will have on this wildlife rich area of Norway.. FF

“

We are very excited, this is a big event for us

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Nordlaks - Vince.indd 29

”

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13/07/2020 14:42:40

Comment

BY DR MARTIN JAFFA

England’s Dreaming New aquaculture strategy should be market led not wishful thinking

T

he last issue of ‘Fish Farmer’ included the news that a new strategy had been launched to expand aquaculture in England over the next 20 years. The strategy was commissioned by Seafood 2040 together with Seafish and the UK Government. The aim is to provide a pathway for growth of the aquaculture sector in the UK over the next two decades.

Whilst I am probably one of the staunchest supporters of aquaculture that anyone might find, I personally think that the development of an ‘English Aquaculture Strategy’ is a complete waste of time. If England were to have a thriving aquaculture sector, I believe that it would have happened regardless of whether there was a strategy in place or not. I am sure that those proposing an English Strategy have seen that there is one for Scotland, but the Scottish Strategy was designed to build on a growing sector whereas in England, whatever aquaculture exists is essentially moribund. Of course, there are tweaks that can be made to enhance what aquaculture there is, and these might need changes in legislation, but such changes are not going to radically overhaul the existing sector.

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Interestingly, I have heard similar views from the EU where officials argue that the aquaculture sector has not developed in the same way it has, for example, in Norway. There is good reason.

The problem for England and the EU is that there is too much competition for space and resources and as a result most forms of aquaculture are not really viable. An English Aquaculture Strategy is not going to change that. It could be argued that new technology will offer new opportunities. Closed contained recirculation systems appear to be all in vogue but they have yet to really demonstrate any commercial longevity. According to the latest wisdom, indoor salmon farms could be built on the edge of London to service local demand, but there is no proof that the capital’s consumers would be willing to pay for local ‘London’ salmon.

Interestingly, this is not the first English Aquaculture Strategy to be commissioned. In 2011, a consultation group was assembled including representatives from a wide range of interests. A report was put together in 2012 but it was never published, although part of the consultation process was. I don’t know why the final strategy was never published but I can hazard a guess.

Below: Grouper. Above: The draft report included some scenarios of future production in Cobia, Opposite: Sea bass England. This vision consisted of producing 65,000 tonnes of marine fish in pump ashore raceways. The 65,000 tonnes of fish included 1,000 tonnes of turbot, 1,000 tonnes of sole, 1,000 tonnes of halibut, 6,000 tonnes of cobia, 6,000 tonnes of grouper, 10,000 tonnes of bream,

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England’s Dreaming

20,000 tonnes of bass and 20,000 tonnes of salmon.

It is hard to imagine why anyone would want to farm cobia and grouper in England when these species are not even part of the existing fish landscape. In the days when the predecessor to Seafish was involved in trialling farming, they did attempt to produce turbot in Scotland, but the know-how was transferred to Galicia in Spain where there was demand for the fish. The same team also tried to farm sole, but their attempts came to nothing. Halibut is farmed at Gigha in Scotland, but it is just one farm. Presumably they would have expanded if it had been justified by the market. Bass is proving popular in the UK, but the volumes of imported fish fall well short of 20,000 tonnes. Finally, there seems little logic to farming salmon in pump ashore when many thousands of tonnes are produced north of the border. It seems very much as if a committee sat round and suggested species that might be grown

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Martin Jaffa.indd 31

followed by a guesstimate of what could be produced.

My own view was this strategy was flawed from the outset and this was because it was developed in response to possibilities of production. My view is that any strategy should be market-led. There’s no point producing aquaculture produce for which there is no market demand. Who exactly is going to buy grouper or cobia, when local fishermen can’t get UK consumers to buy fish like herring and pollock? According to the report in Fish Farmer, Seafish say that here is significant potential for the development of mussel, clam and scallop farming that is already established in the south west of England along with oyster farming but surely, these farms don’t need a strategy to expand. What they need is increased demand from the UK consumer and this is something that is very much in short supply.

It is hard to think of any species that could be farmed in England for which there is not only increasing consumer demand but also that has access to the right resources to help it grow. This is exactly why the existing English aquaculture industry has largely failed to develop beyond its current size. I may well be wrong and therefore I am eagerly awaiting the publication of the new strategy later this year. I may yet have to eat my words.. FF

It’s hard to imagine why anyone “ would want to farm cobia and grouper in England ” 31

13/07/2020 14:44:08

Covid-19

The week that shook the salmon industry Update on covid-19 and the ‘China crisis’

BY SANDY NEIL

F

or the second �me this year, the salmon farming industry was at the mercy of unpredictable events halfway across the globe. In one week in June, a second wave of coronavirus in China, according to Chinese state media, was traced to chopping boards used for imported salmon, sparking fears across the country. Within days experts absolved salmon of blame, confirming COVID-19 could not be transmitted from fish to humans, but the damage was done. The Chinese seemed to have lost their appe�te for salmon, and nobody knows yet how long it will last. What happened that week taught a painful lesson, that this pandemic is far from over.

Salmon exports were looking up as May came to its close, and many European economies reopened from the three-month lockdown. In the month’s final days, the Norway Office of Sta�s�cs, an indicator for neighbouring salmon farming countries like Scotland, showed fresh salmon

prices had shot up by over 10 per cent to NOK 65.46. The flow of fresh salmon was shi�ing back to Asian markets such as China, where re-opening had begun earlier. But within a fortnight events in China had again revealed the fragility of systems we once took for granted.

It seemed like déjà vu. On New Year’s Eve 2019, China alerted the World Health Organisa�on (WHO) to cases of an unusual pneumonia in the port city of Wuhan, tracing to its busy Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. On 11th January, a 61 year-old man, who had bought food at the market, became the first fatality of the unknown pathogen, later iden�fied

Above: Salmon processing Opposite (top): Chinese fish market. (below): Coronavirus has been spreading into many ci�es in China

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Sandy Neil.indd 32

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The week that shook the salmon industry

as SARS-CoV-2, a contagious coronavirus like the common cold, now known to everyone as COVID-19. Many scien�sts theorize it originated in bats, and may have passed through an intermediate host before jumping to humans.

From the Chinese market, the contagion spread swi�ly from country to country, to date infec�ng almost 8.5 million people, and causing over 441,000 deaths.

In a bid to halt exponen�ally accelera�ng death tolls, and bide �me un�l a cure was discovered, governments around the world imposed the most severe restric�ons on travel and social interac�ons known in peace�me.

Few lockdowns were more severe than in China.

But it seemed to work: when the UK locked down in March, China’s ruling Communist Party

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Sandy Neil.indd 33

declared victory over the virus, and relaxed many of its strict controls.

A�er passing 80,000 confirmed cases at the start of that month, it added only 3,200 un�l June. In the Chinese capital of Beijing, life returned to something like normal. Restaurants welcomed diners, people went back to work, schools reopened. Then, six months a�er the first outbreak, history repeated itself.

On Wednesday 10th June, a 52 year-old man surnamed Tang walked into a local hospital suffering fever symptoms. He tested posi�ve for COVID-19. Worryingly, Mr Tang said he had not le� the city in more than two weeks, and had not been in contact with anyone outside the city.

The next day, the Beijing authori�es announced China’s first domes�cally transmi�ed coronavirus case in 55 days. Dozens more cases followed – a small number for a city of 22 million – but now facing a second wave of the deadly disease, the Chinese authori�es took no chances.

‘Beijing will take the most resolute, decisive, and strict measures to contain the outbreak,’ said a city government spokesman, Xu Hejian. Schools closed just a month a�er reopening; restaurants, bars and nightclubs shut their doors; thousands of flights in and out of Beijing’s Capital and Daxing airports were canceled. Millions of residents were forced into ultra-secure quaran�ne, with compulsory temperature checks and bans on leaving the city limits. Health officials faced a desperate search to find where the virus had gone, and where it had come from.

Soon it was discovered Mr Tang – ‘Pa�ent Zero’ – and virtually all the infec�on cluster had visited the sprawling wholesale food market of Xinfadi, in the Beijing district of Fengtai. Tang, local media reported, had gone to buy ‘fish’ for his children. Xinfadi was quickly closed, and anyone who had been in or near it since 30th May, as well as their close contacts, was ordered into quaran�ne for 14 days. In the capital of the world’s most populous country, the task of containing the deadly disease was equal in size to the task of finding its source.

Xinfadi is Asia’s largest agricultural market – the ‘food hub’ of Beijing – supplying about 80 per cent of the city’s meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables. Every day 10,000 workers and customers trade at 2000 stalls in a

In the “capital of

the world’s most populous country, the task of containing the deadly disease was equal in size to the task of finding its source

”

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13/07/2020 14:45:31

Covid-19

complex the size of 157 football fields. It is much larger than the Wuhan market where the first cases were detected at New Year, but there is no evidence of a wildlife trade. The new cases in Beijing raised worrying questions – not only about how the virus got to Xinfadi, but also about whether livestock or even fish could carry the virus.

Gene sequencing, claimed the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), showed the virus came from Europe, but it was a different, and older, strain to the one currently spreading in Europe. Wu Zunyou, the CDC’s chief epidemiology expert, said the strain did not originate in Beijing. In a state TV interview, he said: ‘It must be some people or goods outside of the city that carried it into the (Xinfadi) market. It’s unclear who, or what kind of goods, had brought the virus into Beijing.’

However, other scientists came to dispute the European tag. ‘It clearly emerged in Wuhan,’ said Ben Cowling, a professor and head of the division of epidemiology and biostatistics at Hong Kong University’s School of Public Health. ‘In the media in China they are saying it’s a European strain but they haven’t clarified that it’s the virus that came from Wuhan and went to Europe and then came back again.’

Events unfolded fast. Chinese health officials said the seafood and meat sections of Xinfadi were seriously contaminated with SARS-CoV-2. Like the Wuhan market, low temperatures and high humidity likely contributed to the spread. Then, on Friday 12th June, came a shock statement that sent shockwaves round

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Sandy Neil.indd 34

Supermarkets and restaurants “ across Beijing hurried to pull salmon from their shelves ”

the city, country, and the world. The Xinfadi market’s chairman told a Beijing News reporter that the strain had been found on a cutting board in a booth handling imported salmon.

The next day, Zeng Guang, a senior epidemiologist at the CDC, was quoted in the Global Times, a party-controlled nationalist newspaper, urging the public to temporarily stay away from raw salmon.

While Chinese officials were clear about the low risk of transmission of the virus via food, news across China linking the two took its toll.

Panic ensued. Supermarkets and restaurants across Beijing hurried to pull salmon from their shelves and

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The week that shook the salmon industry

Above: Due to the detec�on of neoconaviruses in salmon at the Xinfadi market. All farmers’ market vendors began cleaning up discarded seafood products.

Opposite (left): Ben Cowling. (Photo: The

University of Hong Kong)

Top: Regin Jacobsen Right: Chinese raw sliced salmon sashimi

menus, reserves of the fish were dumped, bulk orders evaporated, and imports from Europe were halted.

Diners rushed to cancel reserva�ons at Japanese restaurants, while salmon suppliers scrambled to salvage the tarnished reputa�on of their prized product in China.

The sudden boyco� dealt an unexpected blow to the many salmon suppliers and restaurateurs already struggling to claw their way back in the pandemic’s a�ermath. Alan Wong, owner of Hatsune, a chain of Japanese restaurants in Beijing and Shanghai, called himself ‘the unluckiest restaurateur of 2020’ to the New York Times.

Mr. Wong, like many other restaurant owners in China, shut many of his fi�een restaurants a�er the first outbreak in January. Earlier this month, his business was beginning to return to pre-pandemic levels. Then reports circulated about the contaminated cu�ng board, and customers stopped coming. ‘We were packed on Friday and now dead ever since,’ he said.

‘Totally empty.’

For years, China’s growing appe�te for salmon was a sign of the country’s rising living standards and burgeoning middle class. Now it was being cast out. China accounts for about 5 per cent of global salmon demand, impor�ng about 80,000 metric tons of chilled and frozen salmon each year from Chile, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Australia, Canada, and, to a lesser extent, Scotland. The virus is not rampant in most of these countries.

Thousands of miles away, Regin Jacobsen, chief execu�ve of the Faroe Islands salmon farmer Bakkafrost, said calls from China cancel orders began coming in over the weekend. Up to 20 per cent of Bakkafrost’s fresh salmon exports, he said, went to China every year. Soon they ‘prac�cally went from 100 per cent down to zero’. Rushing to respond, the company stated its employees had been regularly tested for coronavirus, and there had been no new cases in the Faroe Islands since April.

Norway’s seafood companies too saw a rapid rise in cancella�ons for salmon orders from China over the weekend, said the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC). Last year Norwegian salmon accounted for 45 per cent of the market in China. The total value of the country’s salmon exports to China reached $167 million, and was growing, said Anders Snellingen, the NSC’s manager of global opera�ons. By Thursday, Norway’s salmon exports to China had fallen by a third. ‘We hope this can

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Sandy Neil.indd 35

be resolved quickly,’ Mr Snellingen said. ‘In the very short term we see there might be logis�cal challenges to ge�ng seafood in via Beijing.’

A�er the weekend on Monday, the industry came out in force dismissing a connec�on between salmon and COVID-19. The US Food and Drug Administra�on, stressed the North American trade body the Na�onal Fisheries Ins�tute (NFI), stated that ‘food or food packaging’ had not been associated with transmission of COVID-19, and that there was ‘no reason to be concerned’ about transmission of the virus from food.

‘Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organiza�on, and the European Food Safety Agency all emphasize this finding,’ said the NFI President John Connelly. ‘Seafood, including salmon, con�nue to be among the healthiest foods consumers can choose. Reports to the contrary are not science-based.’

That day the Sco�sh Salmon Producers Organisa�on (SSPO) joined the chorus sta�ng there was no evidence linking COVID-19 to food imports into China. China is the third-largest market for Sco�sh salmon, behind France and the US, impor�ng about 9,000 metric tons of Sco�sh salmon in 2019, worth £60 million.

‘While the outbreak of coronavirus in a busy wholesale market in China is a worrying development, there is no credible evidence linking it to any imported food products,’ said the SSPO’s Director of Strategic Engagement Hamish MacDonell.

‘As proven by several scien�fic studies, including one by University College London in the past few weeks and the Asian Fisheries Society, salmon can neither be infected with, nor spread, coronavirus.

‘The emerging evidence, supported by Chinese experts in virology and infec�ous disease, points to cross-contamina�on from a local infected source.

‘There have been no recorded cases of coronavirus among Sco�sh salmon sector employees.’

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Covid-19

Above: Shushi salmon.

Right: Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen Opposite (top): Arturo Clement. (below):

Norwegian salmon farm

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Sandy Neil.indd 36

Chinese health officials and state media later acknowledged imported salmon was not responsible for spreading the virus, but it was too late: the damage had already been done. At a news briefing on Tuesday 16th June, Shi Guoqing, deputy director of the CDC’s emergency response centre, said there was no evidence that salmon was the host - or even an intermediate host - for the virus. Mr Shi said there was no trace of the virus on the salmon before it reached the market, suggesting the virus was present in the market, rather than in the salmon itself.

Experts agreed. ‘Viruses must rely on the viral receptor on the host cell surfaces to infect cells. Without the certain receptor they cannot enter into cells successfully,’ Cheng Gong, a virologist at Tsinghua University said. ‘All known evidence so far suggests this kind of receptors exist only in mammals, not fish.’

The CDC’s chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou, told China Daily he could not confirm salmon in the market was the source just based on the chopping board testing positive. He said the fish could not catch the virus in their natural habitat – but added that it was possible they were contaminated by workers during their capture or transportation.

‘There may be other possibilities such as that one owner of a cutting board was infected, or other food sold by an owner of a cutting board tainted it,’ he said. ‘Or a buyer from other cities caused the virus’ spread in the market. The flow of people in the market was big, and many things were sold. It is not likely the exact source of transmission will be found in a short time.’

On Wednesday more big guns weighed in. A statement from the Norwegian government, which, together with Chinese authorities, concluded salmon from Norway was not the source of the coronavirus found on cutting boards at the Beijing market. ‘We can clear away uncertainty,’ said Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, Norway’s fisheries and seafood minister. A NSC spokesman added: ‘We have seen no official statements saying what was the route of the coronavirus’.

Until more research is done, it remains unclear what the original source of the virus was, or where it might have come from. ‘Coronaviruses cannot multiply in food; they need an animal or human host to multiply,’ the WHO said in a document on its website. It is very unlikely for a person to catch COVID-19 from food, the global health body added, because thorough cooking will kill it. The risk from a food package that has been moved and exposed to different conditions and temperature is also very low.

Dirk Pfeiffer, a veterinary epidemiologist at the City University of Hong Kong, doubted the virus arrived at the market in fish: ‘I think it is much more likely, and therefore plausible, that it was brought to the market by infected humans.’ If the contaminated seafood hypothesis is true, other places handling European salmon should have seen outbreaks, added epidemiologist Keiji Fukuda of the University of Hong Kong.

However, despite all the heavyweight reassurances, many Chinese diners were still hesitant.

Alyssa Mai, 19, a college student from Guangzhou, told the New York Times while she knew the risk of getting the virus from eating salmon was low, she would not have it any time soon.

‘My relatives would be worried,’ she said.

The drop in demand told immediately. Salmon prices across producing countries in the northern hemisphere dived sharply that Monday, wiping out many of the gains made just a few weeks ago. In Norway, from a high of NOK 63 a kilo in late May, they were down by NOK 10 to NOK 53 a kilo with predictions of further reductions to come. One forecast suggests price levels of NOK 45 a kilo in the weeks ahead. Prices were also down in Scotland and producers expected them to drop further.

Stocks too plunged. By Tuesday’s close on the Oslo Stock Exchange, over $1.4 billion (€976 million) had been wiped off shares in publicly traded salmon farming companies.

All major salmon shares listed on the exchange dropped sharply on Monday, and most continued sliding on Tuesday.

How long will it be before exports to China improve? Bakkafrost expected a halt in China’s imported salmon market for a few weeks

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The week that shook the salmon industry

un�l the outbreak in Beijing is clarified. However, ‘the salmon is not the problem,’ CEO Regin Jacobsen said: ‘China knows a lot about this virus and they know the outbreak is not from salmon. The problem is the logis�cs are now impacted by the virus, therefore China needs to sani�ze the en�re value chain, which will take some �me.

‘What people are concerned about is if fish has been contaminated by the infected workers in the markets,’ he said. ‘Of course, this is not going to last but at least we need to be sure that what we eat in restaurants is safe.

‘The problem is not here in the Faroe Islands, the problem is elsewhere in the value chain.’

Bakkafrost added it will await updates from China before sending any more salmon.

The head of a Chilean salmon export group targe�ng the Chinese market said the incident posed ‘a serious situa�on’ for the industry, despite no actual proven link between salmon and the virus. Nicolas Terrazas, CEO of New World Currents, a joint venture represen�ng Chilean salmon companies Blumar, Granja Marina Tornagaleones and Cul�vos Yadran in China, said the market fallout was swi�. ‘This is having a significant effect on many companies, and all countries of origin, not only Chile,’ Terrazas said.

‘Unfortunately we think to some extent it will affect consumer’s confidence in imported seafood altogether and it will take some �me to recover,’ Terrazas said.

Following the incident Chilean salmon products underwent widespread tes�ng at ports across China, while salmon industry officials held talks with Chinese customs authori�es. But even a�er none of the tests turned out to be posi�ve, Chilean salmon producers now seem to be facing an image problem, with retailers largely reluctant to stock their products and shoppers keeping their cash firmly in their wallets.

By the end of June, Chinese consumers and retailers were s�ll shunning Chilean salmon products. Arturo Clement, president of salmon producers trade body SalmonChile, said that while there has been no formal ban on Chilean salmon entering China, ‘the problem is there is no demand.’ In 2019 Chile shipped around 35,000 metric tons of salmon products to China.

The Norwegian Seafood Council reported that exports of fresh salmon to China fell by 94 per cent at the end of June. However, its latest figures released on 6th July, revealed the export value of Norwegian seafood had reached an ‘all-�me high’ for the first half of the year.

In the first six months of this year, Norway exported seafood with a value of NOK 52.9 billion – an increase in value of 3.5 per cent, or

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Sandy Neil.indd 37

NOK 1.8 billion, measured against the first half of 2019.

‘A weak Norwegian krone is the main factor driving growth,’ said the NSC’s CEO Renate Larsen.

‘Salmon exports were hit hard by the corona crisis, with reduced turnover in the restaurant sector, but since April we have seen an improvement in the situa�on. Important markets such as Italy, the United Kingdom and France have moved towards normaliza�on of demand following a sharp fall in consump�on in March and April,’ said NSC Seafood Analyst Paul T. Aandahl.

The EU has overall increased its value share of total exports from 70 to 71 per cent in the first half, while exports of Norwegian salmon to Asia during the same period saw a slight reduc�on in value.

‘Exports have varied widely from month to month and between markets. The largest variety has been China, with an almost stop in February,’ Aandahl said. ‘Here we have seen a gradual growth up to and including May, before it again stopped in June a�er a flare-up of the corona virus and the introduc�on of strict restric�ons that affected food imports into China.’

Ideally in tackling a deadly pandemic, governments should be led by science not poli�cs, but many observers detected a poli�cal mo�ve to China’s targe�ng of imported salmon.

Facing global cri�cism for its ini�al downplaying of the virus, Chinese authori�es have for months waged a propaganda campaign to highlight their successes in taming the virus and deflect blame for the pandemic to outsiders.

In the weeks before this outbreak, Chinese officials had spoken proudly of their success in containing the coronavirus, sugges�ng China could be a model for others to follow. But the new cases show their model may be much more fragile than it first appeared.

‘Given all of the effort they put into protec�ng Beijing, the fact that they let the virus slip through their formidable capital defenses is a bit of a blow to the Communist Party,’ said Drew Thompson, director for China in the Pentagon from 2011 to 2018 and now a research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

‘Blaming this on foreign forces that got through their screen is a palatable op�on for them,’ he added, calling the backlash against salmon a form of ‘xenopescophobia, the fear of foreign fish’. FF

As proven by several scien�fic studies… salmon can “neither be infected with, nor spread, coronavirus ”

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13/07/2020 14:47:24

Gael Force

Blowing a Gael Gael Force targets world class supplier status

A

quaculture equipment and technology supply partner Gael Force Group has announced new appointments to its board of directors as it implements an ambi�ous new 5-year strategy to grow into a world class supply partner in the global finfish aquaculture sector.

The implementa�on of the new strategy comes on the back of an incredible period of growth which saw sales climb from £17.1m in 2016 to £41.5m in 2019. Successful delivery of the strategy is expected to lead to a similar rate of growth as the previous 4 years, with more than a doubling of sales and its workforce over the 5-year period.

At the core of its strategy are six key drivers for growth: product innova�on, manufacturing excellence, quality assurance, best-in-class service, sustainability, and export market development.

The �ming of the new strategy coincides with key appointments to the Gael Force Group board and the re�rement of two of its stalwarts.

Re�ring this September from Gael Force Fusion a�er nearly 20 years of service is Opera�ons Director Iain Forbes. Commen�ng on his departure he said: ‘I am certain that the company will con�nue to go from strength to strength in the forthcoming years and that it is clearly in the very best of hands. I wish everyone at Gael Force Group all the very best in the next exci�ng chapter of the business.’

Responding to Iain’s forthcoming re�rement, Group Managing Director Stewart Graham said: ‘“Iain leaves behind a tremendous legacy in the aquaculture sector, to Argyll and the west coast of Scotland as well as a team and ownership which will see the company develop and grow further into the future. It truly feels like the end of one era and the beginning of another.’

Group Sales Director Jamie Young and Group Produc�on Director Stephen Offord have both been promoted to the Gael Force Group board and will play key senior roles in driving the new 5-year strategy.

New Group Finance Director Robert Foster who has joined the Group from Halliburton, replaces the outgoing Tim Phillips, who is re�ring a�er almost 8 years of service with Gael Force. Foster commented: ‘It’s clear that Gael Force are an extremely successful and ambi�ous company and I look forward to suppor�ng the business in delivering on its strategy through focusing on delivering excellence, innova�on and quality assurance to our customers.’

In his depar�ng message in Gael Force Waves Newsle�er, outgoing Finance Director Tim Phillips commented: ‘I can honestly say that there has not been one day in my spell at Gael Force when I haven’t felt be�er from virtually every interac�on I’ve had.

There’s a lot of lip service paid in the wider world to customer focus and the rest, but here I’ve never felt that it’s anything other than the blood that runs through us. Serving our customers is the beginning and the end.’

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our customers is the “Serving beginning and the end ”

Commen�ng on the new strategy, Stewart Graham said: Despite the challenges created by Covid-19, a strong hand on the �ller has ensured a steady course for Gael Force throughout the pandemic.

The exemplary commitment and leadership I have seen across the company during these challenging �mes means that the business con�nues to perform strongly. We move forward with every confidence that our new strategic aims and ambi�ons to be world class, will provide us with a stronger foo�ng to be even more compe��ve, more innova�ve and value adding to the market and uphold our reputa�on for being a trusted partner to our long standing customers, both in Scotland, Canada and in our target export markets.’ FF

Top: AquacultureSeaFeed-on-Barge Above L-R: Stewart Graham, Iain Forbes, Tim Phillips

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www.eggedosis.no

A Global Supplier and Partner for Maritime Aqua Services Local presence, global reach.

SERVICE VESSELS

HARVEST VESSELS

LIVE FISH CARRIERS

FEED CARRIERS

www.aquaship.no

Aquaship UK.indd 39

13/07/2020 12:48:16

Aquaship – Advertorial

Thoroughly modern merger AquaShip combines expertise to form world class company

I

n July 2018 Shetland based Johnson Marine Ltd, and Norwegian wellboat operator GripShip AS merged to form a new world class company with the express inten�on of crea�ng an innova�on led global shipping company in the mari�me aqua service sector.

Johnson Marine, well known throughout the aquaculture sector as an innovator of on-site harves�ng systems, had grown rapidly since its incep�on in 2008. Prior to the forma�on of AquaShip it had over 115 employees opera�ng a fleet of 17 vessels, on charter, throughout Scotland, Iceland, and the Mediterranean.

One of the key drivers in the decision to merge the two companies was the desire to harness and combine the companies significant exper�se and skill set and capitalise on the considerable growth opportuni�es facilitated by the crea�on of a new en�ty with aspira�ons to design and construct a fleet of innova�ve, industry led vessels that would operate in all four main areas of the mari�me industry. To help realise this vision AquaShip successfully secured private equity financing from New York based AMERRA Capital Management.

AquaShip AS then went on to acquire two addi�onal harves�ng vessels, the Aqua Viking & Gerda Sæle from Ar�c Shipping AS and Salmon Star AS respec�vely in date thus AquaShip’s ini�al goal of crea�ng the first shipping company in the world to own and operate service vessels, harvest vessels, live fish carriers and, feeding carriers had been achieved.

AquaShip Group is headed up by CEO Sverre Taknes who states that their main goal is to contribute to further growth in the market and to, more specifically, help their customers produce as much top-quality fish as possible. To achieve that goal, AquaShip relies on building long-las�ng customer rela�onships, providing a reliable service, a growing fleet of

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Aquaship UK - PED.indd 40

modern vessels with up-to-date technology and innova�ve solu�ons and most importantly crews with the unique and valuable combina�on of mari�me exper�se and hands-on experience.

Following an intense post-merger integra�on process the AquaShip Group has been organised into a solid regional structure with the group headquarters in Kris�ansund Norway and business units based in the UK, Norway and Chile. Their Global Markets unit manages opera�ons in Iceland, Canada and the Mediterranean regions which are seeing rapidly developing produc�on ac�vity.

AquaShip UK is being led by industry veteran Alan Bourhill. Paying tribute to his predecessors Angus and Ivor Johnson he said: ‘Over the past 12 years Angus and Ivor, with the support of the team here in

“

When companies partner with AquaShip they are capitalising on the many years of experience we bring to the table

”

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Thoroughly modern merger

Shetland, grew their marine service company with a reputa�on for delivering innova�on and customer service. The founda�on they created will con�nue to be developed within the new group organisa�on.’

Although AquaShip operates all over the world, their decentralised organiza�on brings the company closer to their customers and their

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Aquaship UK - PED.indd 41

markets. The combined experience and exper�se in each service segment makes them a natural partner for both large and small fish farming companies alike.

The arrival of brand new and modern harvest vessel Aqua Mist in June 2020 takes the AquaShip fleet up to 31 vessels, delivering services to sea farmers and fish feed producers around the globe. In addi�on, a new-build vessel named Aqua Caledonia will be added to the fleet in June 2021. The vessel is a well equipped1500 m3 live fish carrier, that will operate in Scotland. The Aqua Caledonia project shows the company’s ability to deliver customised, flexible, and innova�ve solu�ons to the aquaculture industry. Of course, the AquaShip presence in all segments of mari�me aquaculture services places the company in a unique posi�on to understand customer needs, and to deliver fi�ng solu�ons based on its broad experience of the value chain from feed to end marked product.

‘The post-merger integra�on process that we undertook at the end of 2019 has been transforma�onal. We have, in a short space of �me been successful in integra�ng our cross-cultural teams, systems and processes and have a very strong pla�orm for both future organic growth as well as global expansion.’ said Bourhill.

‘When companies partner with AquaShip they are capitalising on the many years of experience we bring to the table and are secure in the knowledge that the standards we operate to will enhance their own business objec�ves in the areas of safety, environmental and economic performance’.

For more information contact Alan Bourhill on +44 (0) 7468 912144 or visit aquaship.co.uk FF

Clockwise from top right: Aqua Fjord 1950 tonne capacity feed carrier opera�ng in Norway; Aqua Enterprise 15m x 10m service vessel opera�ng in Iceland; Aqua Lady 1950 tonne capacity feed carrier opera�ng in Norway; Aqua Transporter 1250m3 fish transporter and treatment vessel opera�ng in Ireland; Aqua Service 24m x 11m service vessel opera�ng in the Mediterranean; Aqua Solundoy 300m3 harvest vessel opera�ng in Scotland; Aqua Fjell 3200 tonne capacity feed carrier opera�ng in Norway

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Transport

If you know your history A quick look at the two big players in Scottish aquaculture logistics

W

With our usual regular look at transport and logis�cs for the aquaculture industry, this month we are going to take a brief look at the histories of two of the bigger players in the Sco�sh sector – Ferguson Transport & Shipping and Northwards Transport and Distribu�on.

Ferguson Transport was founded in 1959 by the late Archie Ferguson with his wife Anne in Ardrishaig, Argyll. Archie’s uncle, Andrew Grindlaw was the first haulage contractor in Ardrishaig and operated horsedrawn carts and coaches in the early days. Archie worked with his uncle for some years a�er he completed Na�onal Service, before star�ng out on his own. Farm feed, forestry and general haulage were the typical types of transport carried out in the early 1960s.

Unfortunately Archie was tragically killed whilst assis�ng with the recovery of a loaded vehicle stuck on a forest road in 1997. Anne Ferguson re�red from the business at the end of 2004 a�er 45 years, and the company is now run by four of Anne and Archie’s children: Group Managing Director, Alasdair Ferguson, and Group Directors, Leslie Innes, Carol MacKinnon and Jack Ferguson.

In 1998, Director, Alasdair Ferguson saw an opportunity to revolu�onise the way fish feed deliveries were carried out at the �me.

Lorries would o�en have to travel down narrow, single-track, unsuitable roads to reach fish farms. Ferguson Transport then came up with logis�c shipping solu�ons to provide the delivery service more efficiently, work-

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Transport - Intro.indd 42

ing with their clients to provide the best end results for them.

Ferguson Shipping was then born and shipping opera�ons began, firstly carrying out sea trials, and then chartering a ship to operate on the West Coast of Scotland. In 2004 they purchased their first vessel, the Harvest Anne, and opera�ons grew from there to the six vessels currently in the fleet today.

Most of the vessels are double-barrelled named, a�er the founder member of the company, Anne Ferguson, meaning that the end name of each vessel is Anne. The first part of each vessel is then named a�er another female member of the family. For example the Leslie Anne is a�er Anne Ferguson’s daughter, Leslie Innes, and the Jodie Anne and Carhie Anne are named a�er Jodie Ferguson and Carhie Mackinnon, Anne Ferguson’s grandchildren.

The company currently carries out approximately 90% of fish feed deliveries by sea, via port and warehousing facili�es at Kishorn Port and Mallaig Port.

In 1999, whilst looking for a suitable port facility to run the company’s Shipping opera�ons out of, Group Managing Director, Alasdair Ferguson remembered a visit he had made to Kishorn Port with his father years before.

Alasdair went to visit the Port, and found it the perfect place to base Ferguson Shipping and serve the needs of the industry.

Ferguson Transport & Shipping moved on site

Left: Northwards Ooposite: Ferguson unloading

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13/07/2020 14:52:51

If you know your history

in early 2000 and has since made significant investments to integrate freight services and cut down road miles par�cularly in rural areas where the road infrastructure is very fragile and lacks sufficient investment or available funds for major improvements.

The port is ideally located centrally to Ferguson Transport & Shipping’s opera�ons on the West Coast of Scotland.

In 2012 Ferguson Transport & Shipping offered a new logis�c solu�on in integrated rail transport to take freight off the roads helping to increase road safety, decrease conges�on and reduce CO2 emissions.

Stemming from one single truck in 1959, Archie’s pride and joy, the Commer Two-Stroke, the road fleet gradually grew throughout the years, encompassing niche markets such as Skyline Harves�ng for periods of �me. The road fleet is now upward of 70+ trucks; with a mostly Volvo fleet, but also including Scania and MAN trucks.

Northwards Ltd was formed in January 2002 a�er a management buyout from P&O Sco�sh Ferries Ltd of their freight, haulage and maintenance opera�ons in and between Aberdeen, Orkney and Shetland.

Northwards has gone from strength to strength over the years with rapid cargo volume growth and con�nued geographical expansion.

In January 2011, Sea-Cargo Aberdeen Ltd became majority shareholders in the company, providing added exper�se and transport links in to Scandinavia.

Northwards now currently operate out of depots in Shetland, Orkney, Aberdeen, Inverness, Scrabster and Glasgow.

Through strategic and focused growth Northwards are connec�ng their customers with transport services historically unavailable or cost-inhibi�ve. Their aim is to create modern, focused and forward thinking logis�c solu�ons.

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Transport - Intro.indd 43

At Northwards the company’s ul�mate priority is providing its customers with the most efficient and reliable service to suit all transport requirements.

This involves listening to customer feedback and inves�ng in new technologies that will make tangible and prac�cal benefits for clients.

The company currently has opera�ng bases in Lerwick, Kirkwall, Aberdeen, Inverness, Scrabster and Glasgow.. FF

In 1998 “ Alasdair Fer-

guson saw an opportunity to revolu�onise the way fish deliveries were carried out

”

INTEGRATED MARINE, RAIL & ROAD LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS THROUGHOUT THE UK Work vessels and Port services available for short term, long term and one-off contracts

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13/07/2020 14:53:10

Webster Griffin – Advertorial

Bags all packed Webster Griffin offers packing solutions for aquaculture

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ebster Griffin, based in Crowborough in East Sussex, have been manufacturing equipment for packing fish feed and Salmon food into all types of bags for over 20 years.

Their open and consultative approach means that they benefit from customer feedback, enabling them to continually innovate and update their technology.Webster Griffin strive to develop bagging solutions which, owing to the remote, inhospitable marine locations of most fish feed factories, must pump out production around the clock with minimum down time.

The company told Fish Farmer: ‘We are proud to count many of the world’s leading salmon food manufactures amongst our clients, including Cooke and previously Skretting, Mowi, EWOS Cargill and Biomar’.

As every clients operating philosophies are different so are the solutions available from Webster Griffin:- compact low throughput, economical packing lines for factories who benefit from cheap readily available labour and therefore pack continuously 24 hrs per day, or alternatively high speed automatic systems for producers who manufacture feed continuously, but only wish to run the packing line during one shift per day with very few operators.

The 1.5 ton Big Bag of FIBC is the optimum unit load for shipping the feed from the factory to the fish farm, it is more convenient and much more economical than handling 60 x 25 kg bags on a pallet, hence it has become a worldwide standard, and Webster Griffin have kept pace with this trend by developing a range of machinery to fill bulk bags with pellets at rates of up to 90 tons per hour (60 x 1.5 ton bags). For special batch producers they supply 15-25 ton/h machines.

To avoid the need for purchasing, handling and returning wooden pallets, their new machines facilitate ‘pallet less’ bulk bag filling, while their unique patented ‘Semi-Suspension’ filling ensures filled bags are tightly packed and

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Webster-Griffin - PED.indd 44

stand up straight - essential when the filing line is combined with an automatic full bag transport and accumulation conveyor system.

As with Webster Griffin’s Super Sac or Jumbo Bag filling systems, they offer a comprehensive range of bag filling machines, from low cost manually operated bagging stations for 10 tones/h, to fully automatic high speed Form Fill Seal bagging lines for 30 tonnes/h.

Even when running at 15 tons/h, form fill seal provides a highly cost effective and reliable method of automatically filling 10 kg, 25 kg, and even 50 kg bags, while the company’s robot palletisers have proven their worth in over 80 installations worldwide.

Webster Griffin are integrators and distributors of Okura robots, which are highly versatile, easy to set up, programme and maintain and exceptionally fast.The new Ai 1800 is the quickest on the market – all reinforced by Okura’s legendary reliability and backed up by support from Webster Griffin’s Service department and team of Field Engineers.

The trend towards increased automation and higher speed packing is inevitable.A major cost saving for most clients in Europe comes with the adoption of automatic guided vehicles (AGV) and the company’s ‘Line Integrator’ range of AGV’s mean that clients can cost effectively connect all packing lines with an automatic pallet wrapper and their warehouse or dispatch area.

The ‘Line Integrator’ AGV’s will also load empty piles of pallets into the pallet magazine in an auto bag palletising line, enabling the totally automated packing process to become a reality. FF

We are “proud to

count many of the world’s leading salmon food manufacturers among our clients

”

Above: Versa�le, fast, reliable. Fully automa�c FFS (Form Fill Seal) bag filing and palle�sing line from Webster Griffin Inset above: High speed Bulk Bag system Left: Rugged, high speed ‘pallet-less’ FIBC/ Bulk Bag filling line at Biomar, Grangemouth, Scotland

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13/07/2020 12:51:45

Ready for Brexit Logistics

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’ Toole Transport have 25 years experience in Seafood logistics.

Based in Bellshill they operate daily services across the whole of the UK & Europe. In Association with John Driege Transport in France, they offer an unrivalled, efficient daily service between Scotland & Boulogne . Brexit will generate an additional 200 million Customs declarations per annum. Expertise is in short supply and Customs agency capacity is generally not ready for a five-fold increase in the volume of transactions. O’Toole having identified this issue has taken positive steps to turn a potential threat into another opportunity to excel.They, along with other leading logistics providers, founded the Customs Clearance Consortium (CCC), a specialist 24 hour Customs agency set up purely for the additional volume generated by Brexit. CCC management is in constant contact with all major stakeholders involved in the process, including HMRC, Government and the European Commission & is at the forefront of Brexit preparations.

For expert advice on Brexit & for all your seafood logistics needs please call O’Toole on 01698 687 949 or email sales@otooletransport.com

JDOT LOGISTICS - Established in 2019 by O’Toole Transport and John Driege Sarl - Operating from a 20,000 ft chilled facility in Bellshill, Scotland

We offer our customers a unique experience with direct access to the business owners. Laurence O’Toole has been in the seafood logistics market all his working life, he understands the need for efficiency above all trust to deliver your seafood - communication, 200 Refrigerated Trailers with&Live temperature tracking on time every time. Contact 01698 687949 to see how O’TOOLE TRANSPORT can addbetween value toScotland your business.

6 depots, 200 top - Operating daily services and Boulogne France of the range refrigerated trailers.

- 6 Strategically located depots in Europe serving all major seafood platforms

+44 (0)1698 687949 www.otooletransport.com

PETER McKERRAL & CO. LTD Haulage contractors throughout Scotland for over 40 years Transportation of Aquaculture Timber Livestock General haulage Merchants of hay, straw & sawdust

Darlochan Yard, Kilkenzie, Campbeltown, Argyll. PA28 6NT

T: 01586 820 258 E: petermckerral4@gmail.com www.petermckerral.co.uk www.fishfarmermagazine.com

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13/07/2020 11:53:07

Breeding and Genetics

The fish of the

future?

T

he poten�al of fish and shellfish produc�on to feed a growing global popula�on could be significantly enhanced through advances in gene�cs and biotechnology, researchers have said.

Many species of fish and shellfish have been domes�cated rela�vely recently compared with most livestock species, and so have diverse gene pools with major poten�al for selec�ve breeding, according to a recent review paper published in Nature Reviews Gene�cs.

The development of tools to gain insight into the gene�cs of these species, and apply such tools for breeding and management, provides opportuni�es to release that poten�al, researchers say.

Most aquaculture species can produce many offspring, and large popula�ons with improved gene�cs can be bred quickly for improved produc�on performance.

The benefits may include improved growth, resistance to disease or robustness in diverse farming environments.

Farmed fish is on course to overcome wild fish as the main source of seafood, and consequently gene�c tools and exper�se are in high demand to increase the efficiency and sustainability of aquaculture systems, which currently rely mostly on unselected stocks.

Insight into the genomes of species can enable careful selec�on of a farming popula�on with desirable traits, and monitoring genomic varia�on will help maintain gene�c diversity as farm popula�ons develop.

In the future, technologies such as genome edi�ng could be used to introduce desirable traits, such as disease resistance, into farmed species, and surrogate breeding could be employed to support produc�on of preferred species.

The review paper was a collabora�on between experts from the Universi�es of Edinburgh, Exeter, S�rling, and Aberdeen as part of their ‘AquaLeap’ project.

AquaLeap is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Natural Environment Research Council and the Sco�sh Aquaculture Innova�on Centre, in partnership with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Hendrix Gene�cs, Xelect, The Na�onal Lobster Hatchery, Tethys oysters, and O�er Ferry SeaFish.

Environmental Biologist Dr. Eduarda Santos, from the University of Exeter and co-author of the study said: ‘The rapid expansion of aquaculture has contributed to increased food security across the globe, however, issues related to domes�ca�on of desired species and emergence of diseases, limit its further development.

‘Genomics has the poten�al to offer solu�ons to many of these limita�ons by improving our knowledge of the genomes of cultured organisms, gene�c selec�on, and be�er understanding of the dynamic interac�ons between genes and the environment, to maximise food produc�on.’

Dr. Jamie Stevens, also from the University of Exeter and co-author added:

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Breeding & Genetics Intro.indd 46

“

Many species of fish and shellfish have been domes�cated rela�vely recently compared with most livestock species ‘We only have to look at the example of Atlan�c salmon to see the immense value of a sequenced genome to the rela�vely recent op�misa�on of a wild species for the aquaculture market.

‘Similarly, we an�cipate the delivery of a genome for other species, including the European lobster, will offer similar opportuni�es to develop molecular tools with which to rapidly increase the poten�al of lobster as an aquaculture species and improve the sustainability of its wild popula�ons.’ FF

”

Above: Salmon Ova and fry. Left (top): Dr. Eduarda Santos. Left: Dr. Jamie Stevens

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13/07/2020 14:55:02

AquaGen - Advertorial

Scotland born and bred Reliability at the core of AquaGen’s new investment

T

he acquisi�on of the Holywood breeding centre in 2019 was a bold move for AquaGen Scotland, and one that gives the company a leading posi�on in the Sco�sh market. Of par�cular benefit to customers, is the supply chain security offered by local produc�on. Sales Manager Mar�n Haberfield explained: ‘Our new breeding centre confirms AquaGen’s commitment to the Sco�sh industry. As a global partner in the field of salmonid gene�cs, our desire to produce a top-quality egg with a Sco�sh provenance is an important part of our con�nual development process’.

Situated near Dumfries, in the South of Scotland, Holywood has benefi�ed from being repurposed from a high quality smolt produc�on facility, to one capable of holding broodstock and incuba�ng up to 40 million eggs at any one �me. To date, £4 million has been invested at Holywood and addi�onal developments will be made in the future as the business grows.

The make-over has included upgrading of the power supply, installa�on of tank environmental control systems, and upgrades to ligh�ng, hea�ng, monitoring, water delivery and management systems, plus computerised hea�ng and chilling systems, and new back-up generators.

‘We needed to create a fool-proof system with complete back-up,’ said Haberfield.

A Chilean-designed containerised egg incuba�on system with dedicated water supply and waste removal, was also a key purchase.

For the elite fish, a new broodstock unit has been created, by isola�ng part of an exis�ng building, and a cryogenic freezer installed to store milt. Haberfield explained that in Norway, AquaGen curates a reference library of milt at its dedicated cryopreserva�on centre:‘We have incorporated the best design and equipment from our opera�ons in Chile and Norway, to create a state of the art centre at Holywood’.

The nearby community has also benefi�ed from the investment, through a focus on using local contractors to undertake the extensive renova�on and building works.

We needed to create a fool-proof “system with complete backup ” www.fishfarmermagazine.com

AquaGen - PED.indd 47

First eggs To get the Elite unit underway, fer�lised eggs were imported from Norway to Holywood in January 2019, with a view to keeping the best performers as future broodstock. Produc�on Manager Daryl Moore explained: ‘These are now 1.5Kg and will be kept as a landlocked popula�on, while being carefully monitored as poten�al broodstock for 2021/22. All of the elite fish are scanned to determine their sex, then pit tagged, which allows us to iden�fy and monitor individual fish throughout their life.’

Produc�on of eggs from en�rely land-locked popula�ons is increasingly important. Large scale commercial RAS produc�on requires egg

Above: Farming Technician Alex Kulczyk holding a male broodfish

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13/07/2020 12:53:11

AquaGen – Advertorial

intakes all year around, whereas tradi�onal produc�on methods only needs supply within a 6 months window. AquaGen’s challenge is to match the biological process in Atlan�c salmon that has evolved over thousands of years, with our customer’s needs. These in turn, are driven by demand to supply the market with fish that has improved welfare outcomes and is produced with minimal environmental impacts.

Mee�ng these requirements with high quality eggs, requires skilled control of the environment in terms of temperature and photoperiod.

Extensive use of ultrasound provides informa�on that allows us to monitor the process, but there is s�ll no subs�tute for years of experience in the interpreta�on of results.

Advanced skills specific to broodstock management and egg produc�on in Scotland are in limited supply, so are currently provided by Global Best Prac�ce Manager Joaquin Garcia Nunez, who has been seconded from AquaGen global opera�ons in Chile. Experts from AquaGen’s Norway HQ and produc�on facili�es are also regular visitors and advisors at the site.

A small accommoda�on unit allows 2 people to be onsite and on call

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24 hours per day, 7 days per week, ready to respond to false alarms and emergencies.

Welfare of the fish is an undisputed priority.

‘The work is challenging because we are working on a new site that is being developed at pace, but we all pull together and are being rewarded by the quality of the fish.

It’s also great knowing that we are helping to develop the wider Sco�sh salmon industry,’ said Moore.

Brood salmon The salmon in the main broodstock hall are kept in different photoperiods to mature sequen�ally over the coming months, which will allow AquaGen to supply eggs from October 2020 to May 2021. The males average 14Kg and the females 11Kg.

Left: Broodfish se�led well into their tanks at Holywood Opposite - above: Main broodstock hall Opposite - below: Farming Technician Will McDonald ultrasounding broodfish

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13/07/2020 12:53:35

Scotland born and bred

We have “ incorporated the best design and equipment from our opera�ons in Chile

”

Their tanks are fi�ed with automa�c O2 injectors to maintain oxygen levels, advanced auto feeders, and monitors that link to the central control room. A spare pump sits beside each tank as part of a comprehensive con�ngency plan to maintain the highest level of care and reliability at all �mes.

Fish are stripped in an adjacent biosecure incuba�on unit and mixed with milt, before transfer to a series of silos, where their progress is carefully monitored. The incuba�on unit has a total capacity of 40 million eggs per year.

Sor�ng takes place using a MASKON fish egg sorter, a system that AquaGen knows well, having helped to design the first prototype. The machine takes up to six images of each egg, and classifies their quality based on criteria including unfer�lized, size, coagula�ons, pin eyes, and dead eggs.

Eggs will be ready for shipment to customers from October 2020, when Moore is looking forward to celebra�ng his second year with the company.

‘It has been a busy couple of years, moving into a hatchery that had been empty for some �me, remodelling, renova�ng and rebuilding, keeping fish happy while all this was going on, and ge�ng to grips with new technologies. However, we have an excellent team who are learning fast on all aspects of opera�ons. The next exci�ng part is just around the corner, when we start shipping more Sco�sh produced eggs to our Sco�sh customers’. FF

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13/07/2020 12:53:54

Xelect – Advertorial

BY TOM ASHTON

Recircle of Life

New frontier in global aquaculture requires a new approach to selective breeding

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ne of my first experiences of working in the aquaculture industry was on a �lapia farm in Cambridgeshire, thousands of miles from anywhere a �lapia may normally call home. Those were the early days of recircula�ng aquaculture systems (RAS) – it was the beginning of a new fron�er that was technically and economically risky. Many tried and many failed. Today RAS opera�ons are succeeding on a global scale. Coldwater fish like Atlan�c salmon are being produced in the heat of Miami, and China. Yellowtail kingfish are being grown in northern Eu-

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rope – even vannamei shrimp are being farmed in Scotland.

Recircula�on technology is inherently complicated. At the heart of the systems are the mechanical, biological and chemical filtra�on of water. Mechanical systems for aera�on, degassing and waste removal are also vital for ensuring a healthy and clean tas�ng product.

Below: Xelect CEO Prof.

Ian Johnston and Opera�ons Director Tom Ashton at their custom built laboratory in Scotland

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13/07/2020 12:55:13

Recircle of Life

For RAS investments to succeed, new “genetic lines will need to be developed,

selecting animals that perform optimally under the unique set of conditions There is a lot that can go wrong, but with rapid advances in technology, especially in the informatics and monitoring space, these risks are being overcome and RAS is gaining a strong position in the future of aquaculture.

As aquaculture diversifies, species selection is important. A good candidate species for RAS has reliable market demand with a high value, relatively short life cycle and ready acceptance of dry feeds.

RAS brings a host of benefits over open cage aquaculture. Biosecurity is tight – it is much easier to control the entry of pathogens into the system when it is in a building on industrial land. It is almost impossible for fish to escape and cause environmental issues, and the release of parasites in to wild populations is not an issue with RAS. Pollution is not a problem – it is simply collected and can be converted into valuable nutrient by-products for other industries. RAS facilities bring the product close to market, meaning fresher supply, with lower food miles – a big advance in quality and sustainability for the industry.

In open systems, Atlantic salmon are bom-

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Xelect - PED.indd 51

”

barded by pathogen challenges of one sort or another on a daily basis resulting in production losses, animal welfare issues, and significant costs associated with vaccination, medication and the treatment of residues. An important component of the armoury to combat disease is genetic selection for tolerance against specific pathogens such as sea lice or the infectious agents that cause IPN, ISA and AGD disease.

Not surprisingly, disease resistance and growth have had top priority in the long running genetic improvement programmes that have contributed so much to the development of the industry. Small improvements made in each generation are cumulative resulting in large gains over time. However, RAS does away with the problem of pathogens and parasites and makes past gains in disease tolerance redundant. As in so many other areas RAS will prove to be a truly disruptive technology.

Thus, whilst growth and feed efficiency will always be important traits for improvement, top priorities for RAS will include tolerance to stress and high CO2, fillet yield and flesh quality..

For RAS investments to succeed, new genetic lines will need to be developed, selecting animals that perform optimally under the unique set of conditions, and focussing improvement on the right traits, rather than growing ‘off the shelf’ juveniles from genetic lines developed for cage culture.

Fortunately, today, the cost of genomic sequencing and genotyping is lower than ever before, meaning individual aquaculture companies of almost any scale can afford to run their own genetic breeding programme.

Doing the whole process in house is a tall order, given the highly specialist nature of the science, but companies like Xelect have assembled expert teams that work together with hatcheries to deliver the latest genetic management.

By focussing on the selective breeding of highly tailored strains that suit their unique environmental conditions and production requirements, RAS enterprises will be able to advance into a profitable and environmentally sustainable future. FF

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13/07/2020 12:55:28

Benchmark – Advertorial

Ova Delivery

Benchmark Genetics overcomes covid-19 challenges to egg supplies

D

espite the recent pandemic, nothing has prevented Benchmark Gene�cs in Icleand from con�nuing to deliver egg supplies to its clients.

Since the import ban of salmon eggs from Norway to Scotland, Iceland has become the main source of salmon eggs to the region. However, the Covid-19 pandemic could have put a stop to this phenomenal growth in market share, but Benchmark Gene�cs has outperformed the challenges and con�nued to give a flexible, all year-round supply to the Sco�sh salmon farming industry.

Stofnfiskur operates two land-based broodstock facili�es in Iceland, specialising in the selec�ve breeding and produc�on of Atlan�c salmon eggs. It is at the forefront of gene�cs exper�se, knowledge and technology and has long term experience in expor�ng live eggs. For the Sco�sh industry, the Icelandic model results in eggs with a wide selec�on of gene�c traits produced under the highest standards of biosecurity. The ova are produced by world class specialists in gene�cs, in a disease-free environment not found anywhere else in the industry. The broodstock lives its en�re life on land. However, to ensure the gene�cs are adapted for farming in the sea, the strain is tested for performance in commercial environments in Norway.

As well as a strong focus on product quality, Benchmark Gene�cs are extremely focussed on the customer experience and obtaining customer feedback that will feed in to improving products and services. Ben Perry, Sales and Technical Manager for the UK and North America at Benchmark Gene�cs says: ‘It is my responsibility to ensure that our clients receive the op�mal product to realise the most poten�al from their produc�on system. A high-quality input gives the best start in life. Therefore, we spend a lot of �me discussing the small details of every input to ensure that the ova are held in the best possible condi�ons’.

Always at the forefront of innova�on, Benchmark Gene�cs is con�nuously driving new developments, which is reflected in the launch of a new so�ware system, BreedControl. The purpose of the system is to give customers a higher level of control as they can access informa�on related to products and shipments more readily. BreedControl will maintain and manage data for the en�re produc�on chain, giving faster and more precise data on the produc�on Top: Vogarvik and sales of salmon ova.

Above: Ben Perry For further informa�on about Stofnfiskur and Left: People at work BreedControl please contact Ben Perry at ben. perry@bmkgene�cs.com. FF

The “ ova are

produced by world class specialists in gene�cs

”

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13/07/2020 12:56:49

Highest level of biosecurity

AND DELIVERY ALL YEAR Our product concept SalmoProtect and SalmoSelect has been carefully developed through long term breeding programs. Our international team of genetic experts are working across geographic boundaries, sharing research, knowledge and technology for continuously improving the genetic performance of our strains.

For more information:

BEN PERRY Sales and Technical support Manager ben.perry@bmkgenetics.com

Due to our land-based production both in Iceland and Norway we can assure you the highest level of biosecurity and delivery all year round.

bmkgenetics.com Benchmark.indd 53

13/07/2020 12:57:34

Processing – Sea Warming

There may be trouble ahead Sea warming a potential long term threat to salmon farming

BY VINCE MCDONAGH

T

wo key reports are pointing to sea warming as a potential long term threat to Atlantic salmon farming. They come from slightly different sources, but the message on rising temperatures seems to be the same.

The first report is from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), while the other was published earlier this year by EUMOFA, the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

First, the NMBU analysis which says that while the seas off the Norwegian coast are currently ideal for salmon, but they are starting to warm up and it is sending out signals that problems lie ahead. Øystein Evensen, professor of aquaculture at the NMBU Veterinary College, said temperatures should range from eight to fourteen degrees Centigrade, with the ideal level being 13 degrees Celsius.

But if the waters warm (as a significant group of marine

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biologists says is now happening) then the salmon become stressed, they eat less and grow more slowly.

He said Atlantic salmon were, by nature, carnivores, with a great need for oxygen to grow and thrive. In warmer seas the supply of oxygen decreases and with sustained temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius, normal body functions break down and the fish suffocate.

And very low sea temperatures have the same effect.

The report also says research from the University of Tasmania in Australia clearly showed stress related damage to the liver when salmon were exposed to high

Above: Scottish salmon farm Left: Øystein Evensen Opposite: Atlantic salmon

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13/07/2020 14:56:25

There may be trouble ahead

temperatures over time (21 Degrees Celsius for example) Farmed salmon do not have the opportunity to escape or swim away when the water temperature rises. Salmon’s solution is to swim down the cage. The deeper, the colder the water gets, and the more oxygen it contains. The fish will naturally swim downwards and it gets crowded, says Professor Evensen.

And, as a fish farm is usually no more than 40 metres deep, the temperature rises on or near the surface and the fish will swim down into tighter spaces which can lead to stress and eventually death.

This happened at a farm owned by Northern Harvest Sea Farms off the coast of Canada last autumn when 2.6 million fish died over a 13 day period.

Recent research by Nofima and the EU funded project Climefish says that climate change will see sea temperatures continuing to rise with all that means for the salmon.

The worry is that changes may take much faster than biology can adapt. In southern Norway where temperatures could be high for most of the year there may be problems with fish in cages.

Rising temperatures also lead to increased instances of salmon lice, one of the main challenges facing aquaculture companies.

While this is all bad news for the industry there are various methods that can help salmon withstand warmer waters, says Øystein Evensen.

He suggests targeted breeding as one longterm way of improving animal welfare for the fish and limiting losses for the industry.

Another solution could be to add oxygen to the cage using the latest technology. For example, an air blower could provide higher oxygen levels particularly in the upper water layers.

‘It is very important for the animal welfare of the salmon, and Norway’s salmon farming, that we take climate change seriously,’ Evensen stresses.

The EUMOFA report also touches on how Climefish has been tackling the issue to help aquaculture operators and fish producers predict, prepare and adapt to climate change. It says: ‘Partially supported by ClimeFish, a team of researchers found that since the 1980s, ocean temperatures off the Norwegian coast have risen by 1 °C on average.

‘The researchers predict further increases over future decades as likely to create problems for salmon farming’.

The team has examined the impact of different temperature scenarios on salmon farming, covering all 13 production regions in Norway for each decade between 2010 and 2069. Quoted in the same news item, Nofima scientist Dr. Elisabeth Ytteborg says: ‘Even under the mildest scenario we see that rising ocean temperatures may pose a challenge for salmon’.

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Sea Warming - Vince.indd 55

If the waters warm…the salmon “ become stressed, eat less and grow more slowly ”

Dr. Ytteborg also believes new technologies, along with breeding for improved temperature tolerance and alternative farming locations are some of the solutions that could help maintain healthy fish: ‘When it comes to determining which measures we should implement, we still don’t know enough about how the farmed salmon will react to higher temperatures and increased ocean acidification.’

People may continue to debate the causes of climate change, but the two reports make it clear there is no doubt it is happening – and with consequences for the future of fish farming. FF

Coming in the next issue...

AUGUST 2020 • Sea lice • Cleaner Fish • Anti-fouling and Disinfection • Management, Monitoring & Analysis

For more information on opportunities for advertising with editorial content around these subjects please contact: Janice Johnston 0044 (0) 131 551 7925 jjohnston@fishfarmermagazine.com

by Friday 31st July

Fish Farmer 55

13/07/2020 14:56:52

Processing – Plaice

BY VINCE MCDONAGH

Everything in plaice Scientists revive interest in plaice farming

P

LAICE has long been a dinner favourite in Britain, but wild stocks are subject to fishing and environmental pressures, especially in the North Sea. So, what if it could be cultivated in the same way as salmon and trout? The last time an attempt was made to breed plaice was just after the war – almost 75 years ago and at a time when there was an abundant supply of fish from the sea.

Left to their own devices, plaice can live for up to 50 years, but they grow and reproduce very slowly leaving them vulnerable to overfishing. Some populations are facing a serious risk of decline.

Now scientists at Norway’s Institute of Marine Research (IMR) are reviving interest in plaice farming, using previous knowledge gained over the past 30 years from halibut breeding trials.

IMR researcher and sustainable fish farming project manager Birgitta Norberg says halibut is probably the most difficult species of all to cultivate. It is both complicated and expensive.

Yet, thanks in part to previous research, a number of companies in Norway

56

Plaice Farming - Vince.indd 56

are now looking at adding halibut farming to their commercial operations, along with cod - and even warm water prawns.

Meanwhile, back at the Institute, a group of marine scientists are working to see if the experiences gained with halibut can act as a model for breeding plaice and possibly other flatfish Below: Plaice Norbert explains: Opposite (top): Birgitta ‘To understand the process, we have to find Nordberg and Anders markers in the genome, which say, for example, Mangor-Jensen will try why one type of fish grows faster than another. to breed plaice. It has ‘In this way, we can better understand biology, not been done at HI and in the longer term choose which individuals since World War II. (below): Baked plaice with to breed.’ peppers and broccoli The goal, she says, is to produce plaice at around a kilo in weight, more than three times that of the fish today found in certain parts of the North Sea. When research into plaice farming was last carried out in the 1940s, scientists were able to breed several thousand fish from fry.

‘This was a major breakthrough and was largely due to the use of live-fed artemia, as we still do today,’ said Anders Mangor-Jensen, another IMR researcher.

‘In retrospect, there has been some work on the species, but HI researchers have not published anything on the plaice breeding since 1946.

‘We don’t know anything about the growth or the quality of the fish.What we know so far is that it takes three times less time to produce plaice fry than halibut, and with minimal mortality.

Now we have to make the way as we go.’

The plaice fry has been produced in two large, round vessels. Over 10,000 larvae have been breeding over the last couple of months. Eventually they will be moved to a flatter vessel where they can grow further.

According to the researchers, it seems that, like turbot, the plaice prefers to lie somewhat layered. And one of the problems the researchers struggled with when it came to halibut was to

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13/07/2020 14:58:05

Photo: Chris�ne Fagerbakke / Ins�tute of Marine Research

Everything in plaice

Looking to

recruit?

“

The goal…is to produce plaice at around a kilo in weight

”

make them develop from the larval stage in 50 litre vessels.

Mangor-Jensen said: ‘By using many of these little guys at the same time, the researchers can compare the results between them. Plaice works well in small systems.

We have not had any mortality’.

He said the plaice currently being produced were only at the fry stage.The next step was to perform growth tests which will show how fast they can grow.

Currently, the plaice produced in Austevoll is only in the fry stage.The next step is to perform growth tests, which will show how fast the plaice grows.

Footnote:The term plaice comes from the 14th century Anglo-French plais which in turn derives from the Latin word platessa simply meaning flat fish.There are four main plaice species, European, American, Alaskan and scale eye. But commercially, the most sought after variety is European. FF

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Plaice Farming - Vince.indd 57

Post your vacancy on www.fishfarmermagazine.com for only £199 (+vat) per job posting.

Contact Janice Johnston 0044 (0) 131 551 7925 jjohnston@fishfarmermagazine.com

Fish Farmer 57

13/07/2020 14:58:35

Vonin – advertorial

Extreme Solutions Delivering moorings and nets at high energy, exposed sites

W

ith high-energy aquaculture sites to oversee in Scotland’s Western Isles, Mowi Regional Seawater Manager Kris Laird wanted to see for himself how Faroese fish farmers operate in highly exposed environments that regularly withstand excep�onally hos�le condi�ons.

Early last year he arranged a trip with some Mowi colleagues from Scotland to the Faroe Islands, visi�ng key suppliers to the Faroese aquaculture sector and to see how fish farms operate under the tough condi�ons around the islands, with year-round strong currents and wild weather that is a feature of the Faroese winter months.

The three main companies serving the Faroese aquaculture industry are cage and workboat supplier KJ Hydraulic, JT Electric which has a range of feeding systems, high quality cables, lights, cameras and feed barges – and Vónin, which has a long history in developing and producing mooring system equipment, aquaculture nets and a range of associated hardware. All three companies have a growing presence in the UK market and work closely together to service the UK Aquaculture Industry. Laird found that the trip was very instruc�ve: ‘What I learned from the visit is that Faroese suppliers and farmers like to keep things simple in opera�ng and servicing sites. All the suppliers and farmers work closely together to reach the best solu�ons on these challenging sites’.

‘The Faroe Islands have a number of high-energy fish farm sites. At Mowi we are always looking at new ways and ideas of improving our equipment and farm prac�ces, especially as we move towards more exposed areas. So we wanted to see how they operate under extreme condi�ons and what equipment they use.’

Mowi subsequently chose Vónin to be a preferred supplier of moorings and nets, with JT Electric and KJ Hydraulic also supplying equipment to a number of

58

Vonin - PED.indd 58

sites in Scotland.

Laird revealed that seeing Faroese farms in opera�on and also the depth of experience and exper�se there gave him the confidence to order Vónin equipment for Mowi’s sites: ‘The in-depth modelling and the highly detailed discussions we had right at the start of the process were key for me in choosing Vónin mooring systems’ .

Vónin’s technical team design all mooring systems using Aqua Sim which is accredited by the Norwegian government to perform mooring analysis for the aquaculture industry, in accordance to the NYTEK-regula�ons. The engineering so�ware takes into account all loca�on condi�ons and factors that could affect the sites ensuring that all mooring systems meet the required standards.

Vonin’s Technical Moorings Engineer Torkil Thompson takes up the story: ‘The overriding factors when designing a mooring system is safety and durability. Mee�ng Sco�sh Technical Finfish Standard 2020 has been an interes�ng process and we’ve managed to work well mee�ng the requirements’ Thompson said that he had seen significant developments in the nine years he has been in the aquaculture sector: ‘Based on each site’s loca�on and the different environmental data produced, the requirements for secure installa�ons becomes very complex and it’s vital to communicate with site personnel,

Above: The connec�on plate is a central component in Vonin’s Nordic Diamond Mooring systems.

Left: The MOWI team wanted to see Faroese fish farming for themselves.

Opposite - left: Vónin’s moorings engineer Torkil Thompson at a recent Sco�sh installa�on.

Opposite - right: The farming condi�ons in the Faroe Islands can be hos�le and requires strong equipment.

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

13/07/2020 12:59:14

Extreme Solutions

“

environmental teams and installers so that we have as much informa�on and data as possible to be certain that systems meet every requirement, especially as we go more to exposed sites’ Vónin’s Export Manager Nathan Breeze commented that Vónin and the Crosby Group have an aquaculture product alliance, with Crosby products at the heart of Vonin’s Nordic Diamond Mooring system:

‘Crosby products are designed and manufactured for the rigours of the challenging opera�onal condi�ons in aquaculture, focusing on fa�gue, shock resistance, strength and corrosion protec�on.

‘All manufacturing plants producing hardware for our aquaculture range are located in Western Europe and we have full traceability.’

Laird commented that it was ‘highly reassuring’ to be able to see Vónin installa�ons for himself at exposed sites in the Faroes.

‘We now have a number of Vónin nets and mooring systems installed and I’m very sa�sfied with the quality of the equipment and the short �meframes Vónin worked to to deliver these.’

‘I’m delighted that Mowi chose us to be a preferred supplier of moorings and nets to their sites,’ said Breeze.

‘We are making real progress in the UK and ge�ng the right feedback from clients who are happy with our short delivery �meframes and pricings – but what is cri�cal is that they are happy with the quality of our service and equipment, that for me is most important.’. FF

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makes aquaculture more profitable Vónin // Flatnavegur 6 // FO-460 Norðskála // Faroe Islands // Tel. +298 474 200 // aquaculture@vonin.com // vonin.com

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Vonin - PED.indd 59

59

13/07/2020 12:59:37

Ace Aquatec – Advertorial

Seals of approval

Ace Aquatec.indd 72

27/03/2020 09:04:47

Predator control technology and best practice has evolved to meet MMPA restrictions

A

nimal welfare conversa�ons usually focus on interac�ons between fish and people but managing conflicts between fish and marine mammal predators is also important for maintaining high welfare standards on a fish farm. A�acks from predators like seals can cause high levels of fish stress and mortali�es if the right precau�ons are not taken.

Approaches to protec�ng fish from predators have evolved over the years and upcoming regulatory changes have prompted farms to further refine their technology and processes to ensure protec�ng their fish doesn’t nega�vely impact local marine life.

What’s changing?

When new import provisions of the Marine Mammal Protec�on Act (MMPA) come into play on 1 January 2022, the USA will ban fish product imports from countries whose farming opera�ons cause ‘mortality and serious injury of marine mammals’. With Sco�sh salmon exports to the USA currently worth £179 million a year- Scotland’s largest non-EU export market – prepara�ons for the MMPA are high on the industry’s agenda.

It’s important to understand the MMPA is not a ban on acous�c devices or any par�cular technology; the focus is on reducing mortali�es and serious injury. One thing that will be impacted though is a last resort op�on that currently allows farms to apply for a license to shoot seals.

An industry wide drive to reduce seal mortali�es has already led to large reduc�ons in the number of seals being shot, but to be MMPA compliant this will no longer be an op�on in future. Farms have known about this change for several years and have been improving their technology and processes in prepara�on.

Farmers hoped for a single solu�on In the early days of addressing preda�on problems farms hoped to find a perfect single solu�on. The two most common approaches adopted were acous�c deterrents and reinforced an�-predator nets.

Early acous�c deterrents didn’t meet modern welfare expecta�ons Many farms first looked to tradi�onal acous�c deterrent devices; systems producing noise at a single narrow frequency (10.3kHz). These offered ini�al success but research demonstrated habitua�on to these narrow frequencies a�er 6-12 months and some studies indicated impact on cetacean species.

Reinforced ne�ng helped but had limita�ons Another early solu�on some farms experimented with was an�-predator ne�ng. These reinforced nets around the pen nets create a barrier preven�ng seals from making quick damaging strikes against the fish pens. Although effec�ve at reducing fish mortali�es due to seal a�acks, this solu�on also had its limita�ons when used in isola�on.

Seals circling the outer nets can s�ll stress fish - pu�ng them off their feed and slowing growth rates- and when stressed fish eventually fall to the bo�om from exhaus�on seals can eat them through the net.

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Ace Aquatec - PED.indd 60

This page - clockwise from above: Ace Aquatec’s low frequency RT1 deterrent; Thermal image of seals from Ace Aquatec’s triggering system; Ace Aquatec’s thermal camera can detect seals then trigger deterrents; Seals can cause significant mortality and serious stress to fish.

Opposite - clockwise from top left: Acous�c predator deterrents on a fish farm site; Acous�c predator deterrents on a fish farm site; Aerial photo of an Sco�sh salmon farm using acous�c deterrents.

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

13/07/2020 13:00:46

Seals of approval New acous�c devices can be safe for seals and cetaceans Innova�ons in acous�c technology have now allowed farms to take a more comprehensive approach blending acous�c and ne�ng solu�ons for maximum protec�on.

Acous�c technology has come such a long way over the last few years that Ace Aquatec won the 2018 Queen’s Award for Innova�on for our success in reducing conflict between seals and farms. Our US3 and RT1 acous�c deterrents were recognised for providing a step forward in both welfare and effec�veness.

The US3 is a mid-frequency deterrent designed with a wide frequency range (10-20kHz) and randomised computer-generated sound pa�erns designed specifically to avoid the hearing risks and habitua�on effects experienced by single frequency systems. The low frequency (1-2kHz) RT1 system was then developed to provide an op�on that avoids the sensi�ve hearing range of cetacean species like porpoises and dolphins; making it safe for use in areas known to have cetaceans.

Since then the company has further refined its systems to help farms prepare for poten�al MMPA restric�ons. A thermal camera can now automa�cally trigger their deterrents when a seal is approaching; meaning the system only ac�vates when needed. And a new so�ware update adds an automa�c ramp down period a�er every ac�va�on and synchronises every deterrent at a site to cut down the acous�c Duty Cycle.

Ace Aquatec also engage with industry groups like Freedom Foods and Sco�sh Na�onal Heritage to keep their technology up to date with the latest animal welfare guidance.

The future is a combina�on of safe acous�cs, reinforced nets, and good farming prac�ces For the best protec�on against predators modern farms are now pairing a combina�on of an�-predator nets and acous�c deterrents with constant a�en�on to detail on their an�-preda�on farming prac�ces.

The most successful farms the company works with keep these principles in mind when focusing on reducing conflict with predators: 1. Quickly remove any dead fish to avoid a�racting predators 2. Deploy acous�c deterrents before stocking the site to avoid seals ge�ng accustomed to uninterrupted predatory behaviour 3. Keep an�-predator nets �ght to minimise seal contact with fish 4. Use low frequency acous�c op�ons (1-2kHz) if opera�ng near cetaceans 5. Avoid acous�c deterrents using a narrow sound frequency or single tone Change always has the poten�al to be scary but it doesn’t need to be. With the right blend of processes and technology in place fish farms and marine mammals can both thrive within the new MMPA regulatory framework.

For further informa�on about Ace Aquatec please visit www.aceaquatec.co.uk FF

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Ace Aquatec - PED.indd 61

“�Innovaons in

acous�c technology have now allowed farms to take a more comprehensive approach

”

61

13/07/2020 13:01:09

Processing News

Safety first at processing facilities

Above: Donna Fordyce

AT the end of last month Seafood Scotland and Seafish, as part of the Scottish Seafood Training Network (SSTN), brought the industry together for a webinar with Helen Muir, Chairman of the SSTN, to establish what change was required across the sector to make it safer for workers and consumers.

Muir, Head of HR for Dawnfresh, shared many of the measures that Dawnfresh have recently undertaken to make its operations safe in light of Covid-19, and to ensure that production can continue around social distancing with new hygiene guidelines in place, as well as those that might come in the future as

we deal with as yet indistinct crises.

Muir commented: ‘Although the product is the same, Covid-19 changed almost everything about what we do to reach that point. For an industry that is process-driven we had complex systems in place that have been fine-tuned over years of experience.

‘This Spring, we had a matter of days to upend our entire operation. From social distancing measures, touchpoint reduction and capacity reviews to making sure employees could still have breaks and holidays, and be safe in an emergency, every single aspect of our business was overhauled.

‘Worker safety and quality product are ‘mission-critical’ areas for our operation, and so we did what needed done to ensure both continued. As a result,

we are still processing, and importantly, market-ready for an increase in demand.’

At present, Scotland is running at around 50% processing capacity, but as markets prepare to reopen and consumers demand for premium seafood increases, the sector must be ready.

Donna Fordyce, from Seafood Scotland, commented: ‘While some of the larger operations like Dawnfresh have been quick to act, some of the smaller processors have found getting back to some level of operational capacity a real challenge. It is hard to know where to start, and production has completely stopped in some places. However, to get the entire seafood sector moving again, all parts of the supply chain need to be up and running.

‘The measures Dawnfresh have

‘The measures Dawnfresh have taken were necessary, implemented quickly and are constantly monitored alongside Government and HSE advice’ taken were necessary, implemented quickly and are constantly monitored alongside Government and HSE advice. They are a superb example of the level of action required by all to ensure key workers can operate. I hope the session serves as inspiration for those in the sector that have been unsure of what they need to do, and as a result, they can perhaps begin to get back to business.’

Baader teams up with Kiel on sustainability project Baader recently joined the university of Kiel and 78 project partners from academia, industry and administra�on for a several years spanning project on bio economy on marine sites (BaMs). The project is funded with over 20 Million Euro by the German Federal Ministry for Educa�on and Research (BMBF). Baader is primarily involved in a sub-project that is aiming at improving animal welfare in aquaculture systems.

The project is set to kick-off in August 2020 and is termed for three years. The focus is to collect so-called bio-indicators that can point to the health condi�on and stress level of the farmed fish.

‘Ecologically sensi�ve and sustainable aquaculture will become more important going forward. The development of corresponding plants and the research of new processes has a high poten�al for innova�on, which we want to further promote and decisively advance in the new project,’ says Professor Rüdiger Schulz, Botanical Ins�tute, University of Kiel, who is leading the project together with Professor Carsten Schulz, Ins�tute for Animal Breeding and Animal Husbandry at the Faculty of Agriculture and Nutri�on.

Dr. Pia Meinlschmidt, Product Manager, Baader adds: ‘Op�mizing the process from farming to slaughtering is not

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Processing News.indd 62

only relevant for ethical reasons. Minimum stress significantly improves final product quality which is not only of high importance to our customers but especially to the end consumer’.

Un�l now, the knowledge surrounding the specific parameters that can posi�vely or nega�vely impact the well-being of farmed fish has been limited. The BaMs project aims at providing new insights.

Hoopers unveils shellfish processing equipment

Hoopers Island Oyster Co., a full-service aquaculture enterprise headquartered in Cambridge Maryland, has unveiled new oyster handling equipment for high-produc�on shellfish processing.

Manufactured at the company’s fabrica�on facility, the Hydraulic Bin Tipper and Ou�eed Tumbler Conveyor were designed in response to industry service, safety and produc�on issues iden�fied by Hoopers and other oyster growers.

‘These machines are the latest in the line of innova�ve processing equipment developed

by Hoopers Island based on observa�ons from our own oyster farm and discussions held with other growers,’ said Managing Partner Ricky Fitzhugh.

‘Employee safety, efficient handling and dependable customer service, are cri�cal to today’s high-volume shellfish-growing opera�ons.’

The two news products contain many new features and innova�ons that are sure to prove a hit for Hooper’s client base and the wider shellfish processing industry in the region and further afield.

www.fishfarmermagazine.co.uk

13/07/2020 15:01:51

Industry Diary

Industry DIARY The latest aquaculture events, conferences and courses OCTOBER 20 ASSG ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2020

The Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers’ annual conference features speakers from around the world.

October 8-9, 2020, Oban, UK

NOVEMBER 20 AQUACULTURE AFRICA 2020 Alexandria, Egypt November 28 - December 1, 2020

APRIL 21 AQUACULTURE EUROPE 2021

This conference will cover the full scope and diversity of European aquaculture. AE 2021 will feature an international trade exhibition, industry forums, student sessions and activities, satellite workshops and updates on EU research.

Cork, Ireland April 12-15, 2021

MAY 21 AQUACULTURE UK 2021

FEBRUARY 21

SEPTEMBER 21 WAS NORTH AMERICA & AQUACULTURE CANADA 2021

This World Aquaculture Society event will feature hundreds of world class speakers and delegates from around the globe.

St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada September 26-29, 2021

AQUACULTURE EUROPE 2021 Aviemore will once again be the venue for this bi-annual trade fair and conference. It is undoubtedly the most important aquaculture exhibition held in the British Isles. The show has a tremendous following and with increased investment for 2021 it promises to reach even further across the broader aquaculture markets in both the UK and Europe.

The event will be held in Singapore this year with involvement from countries throughout the Asian-Pacific region and around the world.

Aquaculture is growing rapidly in the region and therefore 2020 is the perfect time for the world aquaculture community to turn its focus here.

Singapore, December 14-18, 2020

Lusaka, Zambia, June 28 - July 1, 2021

OCTOBER 21

DECEMBER 20

WORLD AQUACULTURE 2020

AQUACULTURE AFRICA 2021

Aviemore, United Kingdom May 19-21, 2021

JUNE 21

Madeira, Portugal, October 5-8, 2021

NOVEMBER 21 RASTECH CONFERENCE

RAStech 2021 is the venue for learning, networking and knowledge sharing on RAS technologies, design and implementation across the world.

Hilton Head Island, SC, USA November 3-4, 2021

ASIAN PACIFIC AQUACULTURE 2021 Surabaya, Indonesia June 8-11, 2021

SEAWORK

AQUACULTURE AMERICA 2021 San Antonio,Texas, USA February 21-24, 2021

MARCH 21 LATIN AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN AQUACULTURE Guayaquil, Ecuador March 22-25, 2021

www.fishfarmermagazine.com

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WORLD AQUACULTURE 2021 Seawork is Europe’s leading commercial marine and workboat exhibition, providing businesses the opportunity to showcase their products and services to an international audience.

Southampton, Mayflower Park, UK, 15-17 June, 2021 Visit www.seawork.com

Merida, Mexico, November 15-19, 2021

FEBRUARY 22 AQUACULTURE 2022 San Diego, California, USA February 27 - March 3, 2022

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13/07/2020 13:03:59

Opinion – Inside track

Disruption

BY NICK JOY

I

The time we are in is so weird and unpredictable that it is hard to know which way to turn. Trying to figure out how government will act is one thing but figuring out how the public will act entirely another. From the stock market to personal behaviour we are in the aftershock period of Coronavirus and that is if it is over. We have seen the greatest abrogation of our civil rights since the second world war and how it affects the country in years to come will be interesting to see to say the least. If you had told me a year ago that locals would be queuing outside a local shop to stop people they didn’t know going in, I would never have believed you but it has happened. Or that caravanettes would be turned off ferries. I don’t say this to shock or even criticise though I do think it is awful. Its because this whole situation is creating novel behaviours and novel behaviours create problems and opportunities. The difficulty is predicting what is going to happen and which ones are going to be good for your particular business.

What became clear very quickly was that many export markets closed down at high speed as borders closed, local markets closed and people started to shop less frequently. Then people started getting adventurous with their cooking at home and new trends started appearing. People may or may not continue the trend of cooking more at home but the trends that do come will be less like what we have known. Will the slow centralisation of shopping to megastores change to smaller stores centrally invoking a more complex supply chain? After all disease is easier to spread in large stores where many people go. How will the delivery system to the consumer change? I know that consumers are looking to buy food in very different ways now. The lockdown encouraged more lateral thinking in accessing the consumer.

Wholesale supply and the box delivery systems have increased to consumers. Many different routes to market are appearing apart from the normal supermarket delivery systems. I doubt that the innovation in this field has ended.

Then there is food service and what was a very dominant part of the market. If China is anything to go by, and I am not saying it is, then the recovery for this sector to what was the previous norm will be slow and treacherous. The public are nervous now and will jump at perceived ghosts. So the unpredictable nature of the future is made even more so by the illogical reactions of scared people. These factors are already showing in the stock markets with stocks jumping around and not necessarily following previous behaviours.

The level of disruption to our existing markets has already been shown to be vulnerable to such ghost events as the China event of finding Coronavirus on salmon. The impacts of such stories cannot be measured easily because the public reads so widely with such little understanding and often doesn’t follow the story through to its conclusion, which means that residual impressions will remain.

It’s time for our industry like many in the food industry to take control of the message. It is highly unlikely there will be a more opportune moment for some time. Government is aware that in being rigorous about lockdown it has seriously damaged the economy. The risk is that the cure is worse than the disease. So I am sure government would

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Wholesale “ supply and the box delivery systems have increased to consumers

”

be receptive to support an industry that has suffered such a huge market disruption. It doesn’t have to be a new message but we have so many things on our side just now: the public is very focussed on health and we have a healthy product. They want to cook at home, so there are two good reasons. Lastly as export markets can be disrupted so fast now, the strength of our internal market has become critically important. So it would be utter madness not to use this opportunity to raise the awareness of salmon in every way it can be so that we have a good fallback position in our own market. I fear this is not the last time we will need it!

Too often in my career have I heard the old hoary one about fish consumption in the UK being hard to increase or the lack of cookability as in my last article. In an unpredictable world the winner will be the one who takes control of the story. FF

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