May - Jun 2014 - International Aquafeed magazine

I N C O R P O R AT I N G F I S H FA R M I N G T E C H N O L O G Y

Assessing the potential of polychaete meal in shrimp feeds Prospects on dietary trace minerals – aquafeeds & aquaculture

Use of a heat-stable protease in salmonid feeds – experiences from Canada and Chile

Fish Farming Technology supplement

Nets and cages Recirculating aquaculture systems

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CONTENTS

AN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE FOR THE AQUACULTURE FEED INDUSTRY - INCORPORATING FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

Volume 17 / Issue 3 / May-June 2014 / © Copyright Perendale Publishers Ltd 2014 / All rights reserved

Aqua News 3 3 4 6 7 7 8 9

People are counterfeiting what!

UK population failing in healthy eating Costs added to the burden of EMS Muyang changes brand name to FAMSUN New prawn farm approved Queries on antibiotics From granite to gold in phosphorus production FIndia and Aquaculture - a promising avenue

Features 10 14 18 24 30 34

Assessing the potential of polychaete meal in shrimp feeds Rainbow Trout fry syndrome Prospects on dietary trace minerals: aquafeeds & aquaculture Algae and animal nutrition Use of a heat-stable protease in salmonid feeds - experiences from Canada and Chile Evolution in Extrusion of Aquatic Feeds

Regular items 7 THE AQUACULTURISTS 28 PHOTOSHOOT 40 EXPERT TOPIC - TILAPIA 48 INDUSTRY EVENTS How do we grow Aquaculture in USA?

Future Fish, SEG Brussels

Oceanology 2014 London – Aquaculture Conference review 52 CLASSIFIED ADVERTS 54 THE AQUAFEED INTERVIEW 56 INDUSTRY FACES

International Aquafeed is published six times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom.

All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published. ©Copyright 2014 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1464-0058

Also in t Our Fishhis issue: F

ar Technolo gy centr ming e section supple Nets an ment: d Recircula cages aquacult ting u systems re

www.perendale.co.uk

Editor Professor Simon Davies Email: simond@aquafeed.co.uk Associate Editors Dr Albert Tacon Email: albertt@perendale.co.uk Dr Yu Yu Email: yuy@perendale.co.uk Dr Kangsen Mai (Chinese edition) Email: mai@perendale.co.uk Editorial Advisory Panel • Abdel-Fattah M. El-Sayed (Egypt) • Dr Albert Tacon (USA) • Professor António Gouveia (Portugal) • Professor Charles Bai (Korea) • Colin Mair (UK) • Dr Daniel Merrifield (UK) • Dr Dominique Bureau (Canada) • Dr Elizabeth Sweetman (Greece) • Dr Kim Jauncey (UK) • Eric De Muylder (Belgium) • Dr Pedro Encarnação (Singapore) • Dr Mohammad R Hasan (Italy) Circulation & Events Manager Tuti Tan Email: tutit@aquafeed.co.uk Design & Page Layout James Taylor Email: jamest@aquafeed.co.uk Editor - Asia Pacific Roy Palmer Email: royp@perendale.com Editorial executive Sean Parris Email: seanp@perendale.co.uk International marketing team (UK) Darren Parris Email: darrenp@aquafeed.co.uk Lee Bastin Email: leeb@aquafeed.co.uk Tom Blacker Email: tomb@perendale.co.uk Tilly Geoghegan Email: tillyg@perendale.co.uk Latin American Ivàn Marquetti Email: ivanm@perendale.com Pablo Porcel de Peralta Email: pablop@perendale.com India Raj Kapoor Email: rajk@perendale.com Africa Nathan Nwosu Email: nathann@perendale.com More information: International Aquafeed 7 St George's Terrace, St James' Square Cheltenham, GL50 3PT, United Kingdom Tel: +44 1242 267706 Website: www.aquafeed.co.uk

Creoso - welcome

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ts glorious May summer sunshine in Plymouth and the exam season is over for our undergraduate students with the campus much more relaxed in tone with students enjoying outdoor food markets, the nearby beaches and the famous Dartmoor Moor.

There is a definite ‘end of term’ atmosphere here in SW England. My grading is complete and students will be waiting for their degree results in July.

However, I manage a masters’ programme in sustainable aquaculture and these students are now in the middle of some exciting projects based in local trout farms in Cornwall and two students working on the potential of dietary inclusion of seaweed for juvenile cod in Ireland with a further lad based in Virginia Tech working on clownfish nutrition. It is so welcome to receive the support of contacts in other institutions and the enhancement of my students’ experiences. It is much appreciated.

One of the major issues in aquaculture research is the question Professor Simon Davies of ethics and the legislation governing animal (including fish) work in research. I am a firm believer in best practice and the application of good pragmatic governance towards compliance for high standards of care and welfare in fish experiments in laboratories and aquaculture installations in practice.

However, wherever I travel and in particular specific areas of Europe, especially the UK, this now seems to have become stifling with over-bureaucracy, conflicting opinions and interpretation of rules (EU directives often down-played in most of Europe) and a general lack of understanding of officials (mainly non-practicing veterinarians) with little training or appreciation of the aquaculture industry, fish biology and standard good husbandry.

Indeed, this is now becoming a serious concern undermining and constraining our ability to conduct excellent applied research in the UK and leading to more aquaculture research being conducted overseas. I will come back to this issue in a forthcoming feature.

In the last two months I had the pleasure to conduct a public doctoral examination in Bergen, Norway, for a candidate working on cataracts in salmon that had produced already three scientific papers. Lenticular cataracts in salmon may be attributed mainly to dietary histidine deficiency, although other environmental factors are involved.

I was also an invited speaker for the 2014 annual meeting of the British Society of Animal Science, held in Nottingham University in late April. This society addresses all areas of animal production systems, ruminant and monogastric, but fish is quite unusual although I had great comfort in reminding the audience that fish production had now eclipsed beef production globally. My talk was on the development of novel feed ingredients and additives for aquaculture. I think fish have now come of age in the animal production world of scientists.

In the current issue we have the following main articles and features; First, we focus on providing good sources of trace elements and minerals for healthy fish and crustacean production.

Prospects on Dietary Trace Minerals: Aquafeeds & Aquaculture by Sungchul Charles Bai covers the major biological and management question of providing effective bioavailable trace elements for fish serving an excellent mini-review.

We include: The Nutritional & Immune Impact of AZOMITE® in Tilapia and Shrimp by Damon Fodge & Doug Fodge, DF Intl., LLC Dirk Lorenz-Meyer, Behn Meyer EU, Gmb William T.H.C. Chang, Lytone Enterprise, Inc. Topically, we have an article from France on sea weed teechnology for animal nutrition with potential for aquafeeds as well as a special report on automation and control of live food production so vital to modern hatcheries.

A interesting report examines stable enzyme (protease) additives for salmonid feeds from a Chilean and canadian perspective by M A Kabir Chowdhury, PhD, Jefo Nutrition Inc., SaintHyacinthe, Quebec, Canada Dr. Pedro Cardenas Villarroal, Alinat Chile, Chile.

Ever mindful of the increasing risks of fish disease and health, we include an article on rainbow trout fry syndrome that examines the historical background of this significant disease problem. The report details treatments such as traditional chemo-therapeutic and potential vaccine development but highlights the use of the product Orego-Stim®. This is a natural feed additive based on oregano, developed by Meriden Animal Health. The oregano essential oil acts as an immunity enhancer and growth promoter, with further benefits including antibacterial and antimicrobial properties as a prophylactic natural agent.

Our current issue has all, the main news reports, contemporary topics and interviews with leading experts in the field. Please enjoy and keep up with your contributions.

Have a most wonderful summer and a good fish and shrimp harvest wherever you are! Not forgetting the wine.

Professor Simon Davies

Aqua News

People are counterfeiting what?!

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his sounds like one of those crazy ideas… stealing fish crates we understand but counterfeiting them?

A few weeks ago the Sydney Fish Market (SFM) was advised that operators have been receiving poor quality crates stamped with the SFM logo.

The matter was investigated and SFM was given photographs and subsequently sample crates, and were able to immediately deduce that these crates had not been produced nor issued by SFM and are in fact, counterfeits.

Gus Dannoun at SFM said ‘These crates are not only an

inferior product but because they bear the SFM logo, they infringe our trademark. We advised our solicitors who immediately commenced an investigation. SFM will be doing everything that the law permits to seek damages and costs for this breach of our trademark.’

He added ‘The SFM logo on the counterfeit crates is the same as that which was first introduced in 2003 though the obvious difference in the crates is that the logo on the genuine crates is hot stamped while the logo on the counterfeits has been screen printed.’

UK population failing in healthy eating

and calories and are not a good choice for children.”

Government advice recommends that no more than 11% of our diet should come from added sugars but the National Diet and Nutrition Survey for 2008-12 shows that added sugar made up an average of 14.7% of the diet of kids aged under ten.

The nationwide sur vey is based on research into the eating habits of 1,000 people a year. It found all age groups exceed recommended daily levels of saturated fat and salt and despite a huge publicity campaign encouraging people to eat five por tions of fruit and veg a day, just 10% of boys and 7% of girls aged between 11-18 hit the target.

Dr Tedstone added: “The findings, from the four years covered by the survey, confirm that eating habits do not change quickly. It is clear that we all need to work together to help people improve their diets.”

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damning report from Public Health England this week said British kids are going over their recommended sugar intake by more than a third and it blames the nation’s sweet tooth on fruit juice as well as soft drinks and cereals.

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England which published the repor t, said: “The new data highlights that children are drinking too many sugar y drinks. The best drinks for school-aged children are water and low fat milk. Fruit juice is also a good choice as it can be included as one of your five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. However, it should only be drunk once a day and with a meal because it can be high in sugar and cause tooth decay.

Fizzy drinks can be high in sugar

FEATURES Every issue of International Aquafeed is available to view online in our Archive section. Both full online editions and individual features can be viewed, and it is completely free.

www.aquafeed.co.uk/archive.php

The (invisible) market gaps Ioannis Zabetakis, assistant professor of food chemistry, university of Athens, Greece

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n aquaculture, but also in food industry, there is often a ‘fear-gap’ between research & development and marketing departments.

Lots of novel and innovative ideas stay locked in some drawers and they are never presented to the appropriate sales/marketing people.

Some of them are around the development of natural products and the valorisation of by-products.

This ‘fear-gap’ is a two-way reaction.

Researchers do not have a strong belief in the marketing potential of a novel product and marketers are hesitant to take some considerable risks.

However, we need to find ways to tackle this fear in a constructive way and produce novel, functional and sustainable products.

One of the main fears when working with carnivorous aquaculture species is this: “For how long can we be sure that fishmeals and fish oils (FO) are going to be available in competitive prices?”

Past experience has shown that the fatty acid profiles of fishmeals and FO are like moving sand. Can we rest assured that the next batch we order of FO will have the same profile as the last two ones? If not, what can we do in order to tackle this uncertainty?

Complete substitution of FO with vegetable oils (VO) (that is, with blends containing rapeseed oil, palm oil and linseed oil) may induce lower transcription levels of certain stress and antioxidant-related genes in the intestine, according to latest research.

Feed trials with the same oil blend partly substituting FO in combination with plant proteins at different inclusion levels has shown that in response to acute physiological stress, high levels of plant-derived dietary ingredients can enhance COX-2 induction and synthesis of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids in the intestine of salmon [1]. These pro-inflammatory compounds may impose a considerable risk in a dual

May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 3

way: first, by affecting negatively the health of aquaculture fish and second by decreasing the nutritional value of our end product.

However, we could tackle this aquatic food security problem in a different way by exploiting olive oil and olive industry by-products as fish feed ingredients and hence enriching fish flesh with anti-inflammatory compounds of olive origin [2].

Going back to the ‘fear-gap’, we could propose to marketers that an olive-fed fish could replace partly the existing ones by bringing a novel marketing and functional angle into the (commercial) game. The consumers need though to be properly informed on the functional properties of the novel fish before being asked to pay the higher dividend.

All in all, information is the best medicine against (any type of) fear and leading aquaculture companies should take a leading role bringing to the consumers the benefits of novel fish diets.

How many leading companies are, though, prepared to spend some valuable resources (time, money, website updating) in order to disseminate R&D information?

I want to believe that a few companies are (or would be) prepared to take the chance and come on board in this innovation experiment. After all, marketing novel food has been the most rewarding experiment for quite few years now …

For further reading 1. Substitution of Dietary Fish Oil with Plant Oils is Associated with Shortened Mid Intestinal Folds in Atlantic Salmon http://www. thefishsite.com/articles/1846/ substitution-of-dietary-fish-oilwith-plant-oils-is-associated-withshortened-mid-intestinal-folds-inatlantic-salmon 2. Exploiting the anti-inflammatory properties of olive (Olea europaea) in the sustainable production of functional food and neutraceuticals http://link.springer.com/article/10.

1007%2Fs11101-014-9350-8

Aqua News

Benefits of integration of feed safety and feed responsibility

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Johan den Hartog, managing director of GMP+ International, Rijswijk, The Netherlands

bout a year ago, GMP+ International introduced the first standard requirements for assurance of specific responsibility items in feed.

This standard was published in a new module of the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme: the GMP+ Feed Responsibility Assurance (FRA) module.

The standard is the first of a range of standards which will be published in this new module.

The GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance scheme was renamed as GMP+ Feed Certification scheme, now containing two modules: Feed Safety Assurance (GMP+ FSA) and Feed Responsibility Assurance (GMP+ FRA), both with their own specific logo.

Next to the existing and widely used GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance logo, a new logo was developed which can be used by feed companies successfully audited and certified against the GMP+ FRA standards.

The reason to create this special module within the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme was the fact that GMP+ FSA certified feed companies are more and more confronted with questions and request from customers and stakeholders in the production chain to demonstrate not only compliance with high feed safety standards but also the assurance of certain responsibility standards.

The GMP+ Feed Certification scheme offers individual feed companies already a lot of elements to meet these requests. First of all, clear and practical requirements to establish, operate and update a sound and robust management system.

In order to assure either safety or responsibility standards, a feed company can use the same procedures and systems. When there is already a GMP+ feed safety management system implemented, a company has already implemented within one integrated management system: • an exhaustive prerequisite program to create a necessary basic level for assured operation; • HACCP-procedures to identify, control and monitor the risks; • Procedures assuring that not only today but also tomorrow and next month and year, all systems and procedures are working correctly; • Involvement of management in order to a.m. assure that necessary resources are supplied, and communication within the chain is guaranteed.

Next to this, the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme offers independent thirdparty certification. This type of verification should give stakeholders and customers trust that a certified feed company complies with their requirements.

Clear rules for certification, approval of auditors and certification bodies, and a complete supervision program, focused on harmonising and improving the level of performance of both auditors and certification bodies are key pillars of the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme.

To include these standards for feed responsibility in the same certification scheme as the feed safety standards, gives a company certain benefits. As said before, the standards to assure feed responsibility require a company to use the same procedures and systems as required for feed safety assurance.

The standards will be structured more or less in the same way, and will be familiar and recognizable for companies. Standards for feed safety and feed responsibility are easy to combine.

Besides this, auditing both standards can be combined and the idea is to avoid overlap as much as possible. This will result in reducing extra costs for auditing and certification to a minimum.

In one combined audit all aspects will be covered and two certificates will be granted: ‘one stop shop multiple certification’.

The standards for GMP+ FSA certification and the standards for GMP+ FRA certification can be found on the website of GMP+ International: www.gmpplus.org.

Costs added to the burden of EMS

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ardly a day goes by without a seafood news item which involves the dreaded Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Syndrome (AHPNS), more commonly known as Early Mor tality Syndrome (EMS), a disease which is crippling aquaculture shrimp/ prawns.

Dr Farshad Shishehchian of Blue Aqua International Pte Ltd and current President of World Aquaculture Society’s Asian Pacific Chapter, has seen this issue escalate to such a level that he has decided to organise ‘The EMS Forum’ which will aim to engage all sides of the issue for discussions.

This event will be held in Bangkok on 28-29 June 2014 and features many of the wor ld’s exper ts (see http://bit.ly/1nDxOAG for all updated information) which will include sessions on different perspectives of the disease covering research, government and industr y; myths and facts; current status; economic aspects and predictions for the future, and solutions.

Blue Aqua have joined forces with the newly formed Association of International Seafood Professionals (AISP) and Perendale Publisher s Limited to ensure that this is not just a ‘talk fest’ but that it may be a catalyst for getting on top of the issue and aiming to find some solutions for all.

EMS – is it a plague or not a plague?

Tony Emms, a business strategy consultant in Singapore, who has recently under taken a major investment study on the ASEAN aquaculture industr y commented, “When I first heard about the EMS outbreak at GOAL 2012, I actually raised

4 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

a question as to whether or not it was a plague because it seemed to be , when compared to terrestrial livestock disease outbreaks.

“I received a response from an industr y exper t that it was a plague, but most commentators advised that such outbreaks were a normal par t of operational life in the shrimp industry it has happened in the past with other significant disease outbreaks, e.g. past wipeouts in Taiwan.

“This was a bit of shock having been involved in wor k on the impacts of BSE and AI on terrestrial livestock businesses and industr y, where outbreaks are stopped from spreading on a ver y rapid basis,” he adds.

“We now have a clear indication of par t of the financial impact of this disease, EMS or AHPNS and it is huge. The losses repor ted and oppor tunity losses, when translated into the whole value chain will be truly spectacular.

“Even more so, when one brings in the whole industry and value chains in Vietnam, China and Malaysia, where trade sources and industry technicians still actively repor t that the EMS/AHPNS disease scenarios are bad with no end in sight.

“It now seems to be time for the regulator s across the Asian region to stop and rethink their policies, operations and activities in future, so such economic damage can be eliminated or reduced significantly, as it would be in an AI or FMD breakout in the terrestrial livestock industry. It is apparent that one benchmar k for this “stop and rethink” lies in how Chile dealt with its recent ISA disease crisis.”

Aqua News Prawn attack

Over the last few year s the major diseases that have attacked prawns have been: • Yellow Head Virus (YHV) • Infectious Hypodermal and Hemalopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV) • Infectious Micro-necrosis Virus (IMNV) • White Spot Syndrome Baculovir us complex (WSSV) • White Feces • Bamboo Shaped Disease • Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Syndrome (EMS/AHPNS) All of them have impacted in some way, some worse than others, but the latest disease , known simply as Ear ly Mor tality Syndrome (EMS), has many people concerned because it has not been fully diagnosed despite the mighty effor ts of the world’s exper ts.

E M S f u l l t i t l e i s E a r ly Mor tality Syndrome/Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Syndrome and the tell-tale signs relate to significant atrophy of the hepatopancreas (HP), often pale/yellow or white within the HP with black spots or streaks occasionally visible. The HP does not squash easily between the thumb and forefinger.

As the name suggests EMS affects prawns in the first 10 to 40 days after stocking.

Mor tality rate is 40 to 90 percent no matter on the species and it has been documented that survivors display slow growth.

The most traded fish

Prawns/shrimp are the most traded fish in the international market ahead of salmon and tuna and whilst EMS has been a burden for China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, etc. it has opened the market for other producers, including Ecuador, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh, which have not been hit by the disease.

Based on financial repor ts of many public listed companies and the likely scale up from this to a whole industry and value chain picture , the overall impact that this disease now appears to have is immense, affecting both the supply and consumer end of the valuable seafood chain.

The disease has not only found a way into some countries on the farm side, but it has crushed both large and small operations and created inflated prices which are now impacting jobs and menu planning. A figure of well over US$15 billion is mentioned by various industr y sources.

AISP spokesper son said, “This is a crisis for the seafood industr y is of massive proportions in respect of money, jobs, trade and confidence and, whilst many are working on gaining more knowledge about the disease and how it may be beaten, there are many gaps in the communication about the disease, its impacts and on the processes through which it can be beaten.

“All par ties needed to under stand the consequences of diseases and that health management should be a shared responsibility with primary industry, the full supply chain and government investing to build resources and capacity so that aquatic animal disease emergencies and prevented and better managed.”

The final words on prawn farming and the issues that have to be faced go to a legend in the industr y, Dr Chingchai Lohawatanakul, President and Vice Chairman of Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Co., Ltd., who, when p r e s e n t i n g a t G OA L i n 2012, said, “Shrimp business is like marriage: The outsiders want to get in and the insiders want to get out.” For those ‘in’ IAF recommens engaging in the EMS Forum in June.

Updating to meet the challenges of the new world Roy Palmer, director, Aquaculture without Frontiers

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ike any organisation going through what might be called ‘growing pains’, Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF) knows that it has to change if it is to succeed in achieving its strategies and goals.

Change is never easy and for organisations like AwF, which rely strongly on volunteers, it is very difficult. But change we must!

As part of the new broom we have revisited the website (www. aquaculturewithoutfrontiers.org) and re-organised many of the headings and created new areas of activities and news. We have now posted our Strategic Plan 2014-17, added more volunteer information and completely revamped the ‘Giving & Funding’ area and created a new Education Area.

Please have a view of the website and give us your comments and importantly your ideas to value add to what we have done.

An important new development in the ‘Giving & Funding’ section is the involvement of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into our program.

A new element of leadership is making a profound difference in gauging business performance: corporate social responsibility.

In the past companies were judged on high performance by measuring against key business imperatives including competitive differentiation, sales, attracting and retaining talent, operational efficiency, return on investment and profitability. But today that is no longer enough.

According to Edelman’s Good Purpose Study, 67 percent of consumers say they are more likely to buy products and services from a company if they know it supports good causes, up more than 11 percent from the year before. This has seen CSR surge passed its tipping point.

“A plethora of research points to a majority of stakeholders agreeing that CSR is a ‘must do’,” Kristian Darigan Merenda, Edelman’s senior vice president of brand and corporate citizenship was reported to say.

May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 5

AwF also learned about research conducted earlier this year by Impakt Corp. which revealed that corporations that are considered leaders in terms of business performance take a common approach to CSR. According to the research, there are five interrelated criteria which form a new blueprint for the way corporations can maximize their investments in CSR: business-based social purpose; clear theory of change; quality and depth of information; concentrated effort; and partnering with experts.

As a result of being born from a world association of seafood experts and academics and engaged heavily in aquaculture AwF believes that its key corporate social leaders are within the very same industry. As a key ingredient in business strategy and execution, the AwF CSR program can play a central role in helping corporations to be seen as leaders.

In the world of business astute corporations are allocating increasing internal resources to CSR investments that feature clear objectives and deliver measurable social outcomes AwF is keen to partner organisations offering the opportunity for companies to put back into developing countries through aquaculture (the world’s fastest growing primary industry producing a renewable sustainable highly nutritious protein/food). By working together we can find ways where we can help develop capacity and build capability in aquaculture. Of course, any company can get involved.

Many of the importers would likely be keen to do something but maybe have been lacking the experience that AwF can bring to the table.

Hence a partnership collaboration could achieve so much for all.

If you believe that involvement in AwF’s CSR program would be beneficial to your organisation, please complete the CSR Registration form (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ CSRRegistration ) and we will contact you to discuss possibilities.

AQUACULTURE

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by Dominique P Bureau, member of the IAF Editorial Panel

Does Better Nutrition Equals Better Disease Resistance? A Paradigm Shift May Be Occurring The emerging treat of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria and the creation of "super bugs" (bacteria resistant to almost all the currently available antibiotics) is leading some medical experts to predict a very dim future for our health care system. Through careless use of these wonderful tools that are antibiotics, we may have been shooting ourselves in the foot. To some experts, including Dr. Gerry Wright, Scientific Director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada), we will very likely face catastrophic consequences in the not too distant future.

This grim perspective need to be a wake-up call for all of us, including us working in the aquaculture industry. When I hear of very powerful "human" antibiotics illegally used in fish and shrimp culture in Asia, I cringe! We truly need to invest in novel solutions to deal with bacterial disease in aquaculture species. These solutions may need to be based on completely different approaches. Nutritionists probably have an important role to play in addressing this challenge.

However, we may need to experience a paradigm shift.

As a student, I have always been

taught the adage that "better nutrition results in better disease resistance". In aquaculture, in response to a disease outbreak or simply to prevent one, we often assume that one should resort to supplementation of the diet with a variety of nutrients and other dietary compounds (vitamin C, vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, zinc, glucans, nucleotides, alginates, etc.) that may positively influence the immune system and thus the ability of the animal to resist pathogens. I have been following pretty distantly the whole area of research on the effects of the large array of nutritional supplements on disease resistance. I may be a little too skeptical at times but so far, I have been largely unimpressed.

What if the solution was not in better nutrition (more, more, more) but rather in less good nutrition (less is more)?

Would that be a change in paradigm for our field?!

Think about it. What is good "motherly" advice when we catch a cold or suffer from the flu? Isn't it "get plenty of rest, drink plenty of fluids and eat very little solid food"?

The equivalent approach was common practice in animal agriculture before the advent of antibiotics.

I was told by a friend that in the old days, when pigs were sick, they would simply be taken out of the herd and allowed to heal on their own with very simple diets (grass, vegetable residues, etc.). I am not sure it worked perfectly but it probably did not too much harm and perhaps even prevented the spread of disease to the entire herd.

As a graduate student, I was fascinated by the work of the research group of Dr. W.D. (Bill) Woodward at the University of Guelph who showed that the very significant depression of the immune of highly malnourished mammals could be reversed through simple interventions (notably thyroid hormone injections) and this prior to addressing the malnutrition problems, something that common wisdom took as an essential corollary of improving the immune response of the animals.

Almost 20 years ago, Dr. Hugh Ferguson, the former head of the Fish Pathology Laboratory at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) told me his team had found the nutritional "silver bullet" to cure bacterial gill disease in salmonid

fish species. What was this silver bullet? Fasting the fish for several days!

Dr. Ferguson's team found that fasting fish that were challenged with the bacterial disease agent (Flavobacterium branchiophyllum) provided absolute protection to these animals. The fish that were fed during and after the challenge with the pathogens died rapidly.

Refeeding the fasting animals prior to clearing of the bacterial load from the gills resulted in resurgence of mortality (for detailed results, readers can consult: McPhee et al. 1995. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 21: 163-170).

My research group recently collaborated with the team of Dr. John Lumsden who now heads the Fish Pathology Laboratory at OVC on the effect of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) on resistance of rainbow trout to cold water disease (Flavobacterium psychrophyllum). Previous research from my group had shown that rainbow trout was extremely sensitive to DON. Surely, this extreme sensitivity would be translated into a decrease resistance to disease when DON was included in the diet of this species. What we saw was the exact opposite! The incorporation of DON in the diet of rainbow trout appeared to significantly increase resistance of the animal to the disease agent, in part through reduction in the appetite of the animal and in part through another mechanism.

What are the mechanisms at play?

I have not carefully looked into this myself. However, so far through some consultation with a number of experts, my feeling is that nobody really knows. Pathogens are living organisms. When we are feeding the animal we may also be feeding the pathogens? However, attempts to restrict the dietary supply of nutrients (iron, glucose, etc.) to infected fish had very limited effect so far.

It is strange thing to write but poorer nutrition may, in some cases, improve disease resistance of animal. We definitely need to look more carefully at this new paradigm!

Agree or disagree? Please don't hesitate to contact me. dbureau@ uoguelph.ca See Dominique Bureau's previous columns, and have your say in the comments section on the Aquaculturists website. http://bit.ly/1pc1DWL

6 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

Aqua News

Muyang changes brand name to FAMSUN

M

uyang Co., Ltd. recently announced changing its brand name from Muyang to FAMSUN starting May 2014.

This move is prompted by the idea of better illustrating the company's business and the farm-to-table industry chain it serves. It is consistent with Muyang's global strategy and it aim of becoming an integrated solution provider in the agroindustry FAMSUN originates from "famous, farm, family, sun and union"; it represents Muyang Co., Ltd.'s development concept and vision, which is to build a green and healthy supply chain from farm to table together with its customers and to convert traditional agriculture into a more modern, profitable and sustainable business integrating solutions in feed manufacturing, grain milling, grain handling, storage and food processing, as well as automation.

The creative design of the FAMSUN logo features a beveled letter "F", a curvy letter "A", a stretching letter "S" and a friendly letter"U". It will be the only signage representing Muyang's business, products, service and solutions. Meanwhile, the company will continue to operate in its current structure, providing follow-up services based on a relevant agreement, and its business contacts will remain unchanged.

FAMSUN will make its publish debut at the 12th China Animal Husbandry Expo between May 18th and 20th in Qingdao, China and VIV Europe 2014 - between may 20th and 22nd in Utrecht, Netherlands.

AQUACULTURE UPDATES The two latest Lerøy Aurora farms join the three existing Lerøy certified operations, two certified Marine Harvest farms in Norway and Tassal’s site in Australia. The number of ASC certified salmon farms is now eight in total. An additional eleven farms in Norway, Australia, Canada and Chile are also awaiting the outcome of their assessments.

Queries on antibiotics

V

ietnamese Government through the National Agro-Forestr y-Fisheries Quality Assurance Depar tment (Nafiqad) said it had received warnings from the EU and Japan about the Oxytetracyline antibiotic found in Vietnam’s shrimp shipments.

In Januar y-April alone, these two mar kets detected 11 shrimp shipments with high Oxytetracyline antibiotic residues.

Japan has found four more shrimp batches from Vietnam having Oxytetracyline antibiotic residue problems since March 14 when that country launched checks on all the raised shrimp shipments

from Vietnam after detecting the antibiotic residue excess in two batches of shrimp.

Although Oxytetracyline antibiotic is allowed in seafood farming, the fact that Vietnamese raised shrimp had been warned of the excessive antibiotic content by the two major shrimp importers indicated that this substance was being overused in local shrimp farming, Nafiqad said.

Currently, the allowable level of Oxytetracyline antibiotic in the EU is 0.1ppm. This is also the permissible rate for seafood products that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development specifies in Circular 15/2009/TT-BNN.

NUMBER CRUNCHING

The Scottish crusacen industry 14% is the increase in production tonnage of mussels in 2010 equaling approximately 7,199 tonnes.

1,400,000 – 3,190,000 - is the difference in Pacific oyster shell production from 2011 to 2012.

Source: Scottish Government, www.scotland.gov.uk

£9.8 million is the estimated value of the Scottish shellfish industry in 2011 with a total value of £8.7 million in 2012

The Aquaculturists A regular look inside the aquaculture industry Aquaculturalists: 400,000 thank yous!

Today, at 4pm on May 9, 2014 we achieved 400,000 views.Thank you to all our readers over the past three years! And in order to thank everyone for supporting us on our journey of keeping you up-to-date with the latest news and information related to aquaculture and aquafeeds, we are offering a contest that we simply cannot put a value on: It’s our ‘500,000 Readership Contest’: Applicants submit their best guess as to when our blog will hit 500,000 views (please supply your name and your best guess to seanp@perendale.co.uk) The two individuals who guess closest to the time we tick over the 500,000 mark will win the prize: A free subscription to International Aquafeed for both winners that will run uninterrupted until we reach 1 million views!

We would like to thank each and everyone of you again for continuing to support us as well as the aquaculture industry - no matter where you are! http://bit.ly/1jyhSNl

Sharing the goal of responsible aquaculture Today the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) and GLOBALG.A.P. came together to develop the next steps towards achieving efficiencies across the three programmes.

A year on since the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed, the three competing organisations once again met at Seafood Expo Global to demonstrate how their collaborative working will provide greater access for producers. http://bit.ly/1iGeAmj

Regional Cooperation for Improved Biosecurity Raising awareness of the link between genetics and disease will be addressed by the global aquaculture community at a special session on regional cooperation for improved biosecurity on 11 June at World Aquaculture Adelaide 2014 (WAA14).

Aquatic animal health issues cause massive losses in the aquaculture industry each year. It is estimated that across the global tropical shrimp industry alone around 40% of production is lost to disease. http://bit.ly/1g1Kpew

4% is the increase in production tonnage of pacific oyster in 2010 equaling approximately 2,900 tonnes 2010 - was the year that king and queen scallop production increased by 83 per cent with a 33 per cent increase in the prior year 2009.

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Salt Interception Scheme pipeline, but it will now drill its own bores looking for between 20 and 30 million litres initially and then topping up from there.

The aquaculture farm will have a hatchery, three 500-tonne fish farm units and a processing plant and if plans go as expected the company will process about 1,500 tonnes annually employing 45 people.

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E

xpected to cost AD$5.5 million a new prawn and fin fish farm has been approved at Waikerie on the River Murray, South Australia, and construction will soon commence enabling the business to be operating in 2015.

A-Culture Holdings managing director, John Henderson, says the company had initially planned to draw water from the Woolpunda

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New prawn farm approved

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Aqua News

New joint Turkish feed company will focus on feed efficiency, technical service, and sustainability The BioMar Group, a leading international fish feed specialist, and the Sagun Group, one of the leading Turkish companies within aquaculture, fish processing and trading, announced at the Seafood Show in Brussels the formation of a Joint-Venture fish feed company in Turkey, which also includes the construction of a fish feed factory in Turkey.

The President of the Sagun Group Mr. Ahmet Tuncay Sagun and the CEO of the BioMar Group Mr. Torben Svejgaard used the celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Turkish Pavilion at the Seafood Show in Brussels to sign a Memorandum of Understanding as the basis for forming a Joint-Venture company in Turkey. The factory is expected to enter operation towards the end of 2015, and will supply fish feed to both Turkey and some of the neighboring countries. http://bit.ly/1lcPlJK

May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 7

www.theaquaculturists.blogspot.com

Aqua News

From granite to gold in phosphorus production illeting waste contains high levels of phosphorus, but a large fraction is bound in poorly soluble mineral complexes in fish bones. Salmon have a limited ability to digest phosphorus from fish bones, and most of this phosphorus in the feed is therefore excreted in an undigested state into the environment.

waste may be a significant source of phosphorus with this technology,” says Albrektsen.

“It’s difficult to obtain the phosphorus present in herring filleting waste, which has a lower content of bone than other raw materials that we have experience of using. But we managed it after careful adaptation of a method we use for other marine raw materials to process and acid treat filleting waste. Our results show that herring filleting waste may be a significant source of phosphorus with this technology,” says Albrektsen.

Biotechnology innovation

An excellent source for salmon smolt

F

The food research institute Nofima has long been working to develop biotechnology solutions that can make the nutrients in fish bones more readily available for salmon.

Senior researcher Sissel Albrektsen and her colleagues at Nofima have worked on a project financed by the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund (FHF).

They have managed to garner a large fraction of the phosphorus present in herring filleting waste.

“It’s difficult to obtain the phosphorus present in herring filleting waste, which has a lower content of bone than other raw materials that we have experience of using. But we managed it after careful adaptation of a method we use for other marine raw materials to process and acid treat filleting waste. Our results show that herring filleting

“We have shown that salmon fry during star t-up feeding and salmon smolt after release to the sea can both take up and use the phosphorus extremely well,” says Albrektsen. “The results suggest, however, that salmon fry are slightly more sensitive than salmon smolt with respect to the neutralising agent that is used as buffer during the production.

We need to examine this more closely, and it will be important in whether commercial production can be successful.

The phosphorus in fish bone hydrolysate can be absorbed from the intestines just as other readily soluble phosphorus salts used in salmon feed. The results for rate of growth, phosphorus digestibility and the amount of phosphorus from the feed that is stored in the fish all show that this is the case. Our experiments have also shown that the skeleton

AQUACULTURE UPDATES

farms; which are expected to play a role in the long-term sustainability of the global food supply.

The recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has highlighted the growing role of fish in feeding the world. According to the latest edition of FAO’s “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture” – Global fisheries and aquaculture production totaled 158 million tonnes in 2012 – 10 million tonnes more then 2010. This large scale of production has been primarily driven by small-scale aquaculture

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced that Aramark and its client par tners at the University of Virginia and James Madison University have achieved MSC Chain of Custody certification resulting in the first MSC certified Aramark properties in the United States. The cer tification of these two universities will provide more than 40,000 students, faculty and employees daily with seafood that can be traced back to a

develops normally when the fish obtain sufficient phosphorus from the diet, and this is very important to avoid deformities in farmed salmon.”

Environmental and financial benefits

Phosphorus is a limited resource and Albrektsen points out that we will have to find more efficient ways of using the resources we have. “ We h a v e s h o w n t h a t upgrading bone raw material, which has sometimes been seen as hazardous waste from the production of fishmeal, has a large potential and may be enormously beneficial as an ingredient in feed. There are indications that fish bone hydrolysate has further positive proper ties, such as an ability to improve the digestibility of several other nutrients and to give improved growth.

We plan to continue to work on this in order to understand fully the potential of the new ingredients.”

par ticularly if the new production lines are located at existing fish landing or fishmeal production facilities. The greatest investment is needed during the initial phase ,” concludes Albrektsen.

Phosphorus •

•

•

•

Commercial use

The method is not yet ready for industrial use, but Nofima is involved in the Forny project, with the goal of commercialising the new technology.

“We do know that the production process for acid hydrolysis requires relatively small and simple changes in a company, and the requirements for increased exper tise to handle the new processes and product lines are also relatively small. The investment required is also reasonable,

fishery that has been certified to the science-based, global MSC standard for sustainable wild-caught seafood.

Future Fish Eurasia, the 7th International Fair for Fish Imports/ Expor ts, Processing, Aquaculture and Fisheries will be organised by Eurasia Trade Fairs at the Izmir International Fair Centre between 05 – 07 June 2014. Future Fish Eurasia 2014 will be organised in a 11,000m² hall, where products and services from over 250 local, international and represented companies will be on display. The

8 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

•

The EU has identified a reduced availability of phosphorus as one of the greatest challenges facing Europe in the 21st century.

The production of phosphorus is currently controlled by China, the US and Morocco, where the largest sources are located.

Even though large reserves of phosphates are found in the Ear th's soil and under the oceans, reserves that can be economically exploited are limited - and this means that measures must be taken to eliminate the way phosphorus is currently overused and wasted.

There is a huge global requirement for phosphorus: demand is high, particularly for use in fertilizers (90%), and is growing year by year.

It has been estimated that the volume of marine byproducts from the pelagic fish sector, farmed fish and the fishing industry in Norway amounts to approximately 929,000 tonne (2012).

Phosphorus from pelagic fish alone corresponds to 60-70% of the amount of phosphorus that is currently added to salmon feed.

concept of Future Fish Eurasia is a combination of fish products, aquaculture and fish processing equipment, catering to fish traders, fish farmers & processors.

Lerøy Seafood Group and Bureau Veritas hosted a joint ceremony at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels last week to celebrate that three Lerøy Aurora farms have been certified against the ASC Salmon Standard for responsible aquaculture.

Aqua News

India has done pretty well in

viding overall guidance on all important facets of the aquaculture industry.

The additional capacity of feedmills can be used to produce more feed and help develop inland and coastal cage farming which is almost non-existent today.

Driving India onto consumption of value-added or processed forms of fish (fillet, steaks and other ready to cook products) will bring in a pull affect, supporting more fish production.

Half of India’s population in the age band below 25 years are

FAO (2012) puts India in the band of 5-10kg per capita fish supply in live weight equivalent.

When low-value fish used for fishmeal is deducted and actual per capita fish meat consumption is estimated, it figures out close to that of chicken consumption – 3.07kg/person.

Yet another assessment carried out by the FAO puts India in the <2g fish protein in total animal protein consumed in the country.

This indicates that fish is not very popular across most of the population and therefore offers a

establishing capacity for production of aquaculture feeds.

Its 26 mills have the installed production capacity of 2.88 million tonnes/annum and the country produced and marketed 1.25 million tonnes feed in 2013 (indicating a capacity utilisation of 43.40 percent).

Currently these mills cater to shrimp and fish feed from pond based farms.

USSEC has largely been responsible for establishing the fish feed sector in India and continues pro-

sure takers of such convenience products.

India has 2.40 percent of world’s land mass, four percent as water resources and carries 17 percent of the world’s population. The country cannot afford to underutilise water resources or waste it. The aquaculture industry has to rapidly adopt better farm management techniques, engage better and efficient species, use of feed and better water management systems to optimise production.

huge potential for consumption growth.

India is a protein deficient countr y and supply of this nutrient component in any form has a ready use, benefit and market, given the huge population base.

Aquaculture prospects for the country are huge, given underutilised inland water bodies, a rather long coast line and a significant gap in fish protein consumption via potential customer opportunities.

India and Aquaculture

- a promising avenue

by Dr P. Emmanuel Vijay Anand ,Director, Indian Animal Feed, Aquaculture and Soy Meal Program, US Soybean Export Council

I

ndian aquaculture is recognised well by the global audience because it has emerged as a major player in shrimp production and exports.

It stands four th as a shrimp producing region and fifth in the Asian shrimp production (FAO/ GOAL).

India also enjoys the status of being the second in aquaculture production after China worldwide with a production of 4.64 million tonnes in 2010 (FAO, 2012). India no doubt has these hallmarks, but has to do better to gain an even more prominent status in the global aquaculture.

The country also has a mighty social responsibility to generate more protein and feed its ever increasing population.

Aquaculture is definitely one promising avenue.

in the spotlight of farmed shrimp.

Value addition and increasing fish protein consumption are key areas that India needs speedy progress and some work has been initiated on these lines.

Capacity increase

Significant change

Aquaculture industr y has undergone significant changes in the past eight years.

A single farmed fish group (carps) has transitioned into two groups with the Pangasius catfish becoming popular.

India is on its way to fur ther diversify species but is rather slow on this front.

Development of commercially viable hatcher ies for species like snakeheads, Cobia, Sea Bass, Pompano and the kind could significantly turn around India’s aquaculture perspective.

Localised consumption markets for fish are becoming decentralised, facilitating a better reach for fish. India still needs to work on its cold chain infrastructure and post harvest handling techniques.

Some improvements are seen on the chilled fish packaging by the use of insulated ice boxes.

There has been an almost total shift in the shrimp species cultivated since the Indian Government allowed the farming of Penaeus vanameii putting India

May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 9

FEATURE

Assessing the potential of polychaete meal in shrimp feeds

by Ingrid Lupatsch, PhD, Center for Sustainable Aquaculture Research, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom

D

etritivorous marine polychaete worms are farmed commercially as live bait for sport angling and most recently as an ingredient in formulated aquaculture feeds.

Polychaetes are considered as an important constituent for shrimp maturation diets and as live feeds for flatfish. They contain longchain fatty acids, prostaglandins and bromophenols, with the latter attributed to enhance the seafood flavour of the farmed products.

Especially members of the Nereidae (e.g.

Nereis virens, N. diversicolor) are currently being used and cultured for this purpose.

The following study evaluated the use of formulated feeds containing polychaete meal (from Nereis virens) in the culture of Litopenaeus vannamei combining both digestibility and growth trials.

Table 1: Apparent digestibility coefficients (percent) of polychaete and fishmeal as determined in shrimp

Dry matter %

Fish meal*

Polychaete meal**

69.4

72.7

Protein %

84.5

85.2

Organic matter %

78.1

74.4

Energy %

82.2

76.2

* Composition of fish meal per kg as fed: Dry Matter 933g, Crude protein 646 g, Lipid 99g, Ash 183g, Gross energy 18.39 MJ. ** Composition of freeze dried polychaete meal per kg as fed: Dry Matter 950, Crude protein 543 g, Lipid 110, Ash 120g, Gross energy 20.5 MJ.

Livestock, culture conditions and experimental design

Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei spawned and subsequently reared at the Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture were used for all the trials in this study.

Those shrimp were offspring of a broodstock acquired from a commercial hatchery (Bonaire, Caribbean).

Polychaete meal was obtained as freeze dried product from a polychaete farm in

South Wales and marketed by Prochaete Innovations Ltd. Detailed composition is described in Table 1.

All the trials were set up indoors as part of a recirculation system, which included mechanical and bio-filtration units, a protein skimmer and a sand filter. Water temperature was kept at 28째C, salinity at 32%, and photoperiod was set at 12 hours of light daily. Temperature and dissolved-oxygen levels were measured daily, while total ammo-

Table 2: Formulation and composition of experimental feeds (per kg as fed) Ingredients

Fishmeal

30% Polychaete

60% Polychaete

100% Polychaete

520

340

180

0

0

180

340

520

Wheat gluten

100

100

100

100

Wheat starch

280

270

260

255

Formulation Fish meal Polychaete meal

Vitamin &Mineral

10

10

10

10

Di-Calcium- Phosphate

0

10

20

30

Fish oil

50

50

50

45

Binder (Alginate)

20

20

20

20

Dry matter, g

918

920

925

922

Ash, g

130

128

127

125

Analyzed Composition

Lipid, g

102

106

109

107

Crude Protein, g

410

413

400

392

Gross Energy, MJ

18.40

18.51

18.67

18.77

352

354

344

338

Digestible Energy*, MJ

Digestible Protein*, g

14.83

14.72

14.67

14.53

DP/DE ratio g/MJ

23.7

24.1

23.4

23.3

* incorporating results from digestibility trial 10 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

FEATURE nia nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate and pH were measured weekly.

Feeds were prepared by mixing the dry ingredients with a binder and water, extruded through a meat grinder and afterwards dried in a 45oC oven for 24 hours. The resulting pellets had a diameter of 2.5mm and were stable up to 24 hours in water.

Table 3: Performance parameters of juvenile L. vannamei after 42 days of growth at 28oC (average ± STD) Fishmeal

30% Polychaete

60% Polychaete

100% Polychaete

Weight initial (g)

1.74 ± 0.06

1.73 ±0.06

1.78 ± 0.00

1.75 ± 0.03

Weight final (g)

5.38 ± 0.37

6.24 ± 0.22

6.33 ± 1.01

5.40 ± 0.45

SGR*

2.69 ± 0.09

3.05 ±0.01

3.01 ± 0.37

2.68 ± 0.23

Feed intake g/ day/shrimp

0.21 ± 0.01

0.22 ± 0.02

0.21 ± 0.03

0.21 ± 0.02

FCR**

2.44 ± 0.19

2.01 ± 0.07

2.00 ± 0.19

2.43 ± 0.16

Survival (%)

86.7 ± 6.7

88.9 ± 6.9

85.6 ± 16.4

84.4 ± 5.1

Diet treatment

Digestibility

Apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) for dry matter, crude protein, gross energy and organic matter of fish meal and polychaete meal were determined in replicates in shrimp of ~ 15g size according to Lupatsch et al. 1997. Chromic oxide was used as the nonabsorbed marker (0.8 percent inclusion) and faeces were collected by siphoning. Faecal matter from a given tank was pooled over the trial period until a sufficient amount had been collected for subsequent analyses.

Digestibility of ingredients were calculated using well established equations and are presented in Table 1.

Growth trial

Thirty shrimp of 1.7g initially were stocked in 300L tanks providing triplicates per treatment. Feeds were formulated to contain 40 percent protein and 10 percent lipid and to gradually include polychaete meal at the expense of fish meal (Table 2). Shrimp

* SGR = Specific growth rate ** FCR = Feed conversion ratio = g of feed fed per g of live weight gained.

were fed manually to apparent satiation up to three times daily. Any uneaten pellets were collected at the end of the day and accounted for.

Feed intake was thus quantified and evaluated in relation to growth response.

The trial lasted for 42 days and shrimp were sampled initially and at the end of the trial for subsequent chemical analyses. Through comparative body composition of the shrimp carcass the relationship between dietary protein and energy intake and protein and energy deposition was assessed, which allowed estimation of the utilization efficiency of the feed ingredients incorporated in the diets.

21-22 Kuntai Hotel Beijing, China SEPTEMBER

2014

Results and discussion

Polychaete containing feeds were well accepted by the shrimp and results indicated that digestibility and efficacy of polychaete meal was equivalent to fishmeal. Survival of shrimp on all dietary treatments was above 84 percent with no significant difference among treatments. There was also no significant difference in growth and FCR of shrimp at any time during the experiment (Table 3).

Nevertheless, there is a trend that shrimp on the ‘combination’ diets were growing slightly faster than the diets based on a single ingredient (Table 3).

Equally, no difference in whole body com-

EMS Forum: Managing the Shrimp Epidemic

part of:

First reported in Asia in 2009, Shrimp Early Mortality Syndrome has caused major production problems in the cultivation of shrimp in countries such as China, Malaysia,Thailand, and Vietnam.

27-28 JUNE Supported by

Throughout the world consumers’ behaviour and attitude towards food has been changing and, as a result, the industries supplying food need to focus on the exchange of information in order to meet these new demands.

Kasetsart University, Bangkok,Thailand

Organised by

Beijing

Aquatic China 2014

2014

A focus on how to best manage the issues facing shrimp farmers in the Asian territories

The emphasis of the Aquatic China 2014 two-day conference is creating an opportunity pathway for those in China’s aquaculture industry to connect with some of the world’s experts on aquaculture research, science, nutrition, feed formulation, economic production, food safety, quality assurance and certification.

www.aquafeed.co.uk/aquaticchina

www.asianaquaculturenetwork.com

May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 11

FEATURE position of shrimp was detected among the different treatments (Table 4).

The efficiencies of energy and protein

utilization were calculated from energy and protein gained in relation to energy and protein consumed. Here, the superiority

of the ‘mixed’ feeds was more apparent.

Gross energy retention efficiency was 15.1 percent for L. vannamei fed the 60% polychaete meal, which was significantly higher than the energy efficiency of shrimp on the fish meal and polychaete meal only diets (Figure 1). Similarly the crude protein retention efficiency was significantly higher for L. vannamei fed the 60 percent polychaete at 22.7 percent compared to shrimp fed the single ingredient diets (Figure 1). No significant difference was observed for energy or protein retention efficiency for shrimp fed the polychaete only diet compared to the 100 percent control fishmeal diet.

Conclusion

Fig. 1: Protein and energy retention efficiency in shrimp fed the experimental feeds Table 4: Proximate composition of juvenile L. vannamei fed diets containing polychaete meal at increasing levels (per g wet weight).

Dietary treatment

Initial

Fishmeal

30% Polychaete

60% Polychaete

100% Polychaete

Dry matter, g

210

230 ± 6.6

233 ± 8.4

244 ± 9.1

232 ± 11.6

Ash, g

30.0

29.3 ± 1.8

27.1 ± 2.0

28.3 ± 0.7

28.0 ± 0.5

Protein, g

144

162 ± 3.7

162 ± 6.5

170 ± 8.2

161 ± 8.9

Energy, kJ

3.92

4.61 ± 0.1

4.81 ± 0.3

5.13 ± 0.2

4.84 ± 0.3

Polychaete meal inclusion in the diets of L. vannamei supported equal growth performance and feed efficiency compared to a standard fish meal diet. Freeze-dried polychaete meal could thus serve as a total substitution for fishmeal. The final decision however is dependent upon availability and price of the product.

More Information:

C

Ingrid Lupatsch, PhD, Email: i.lupatsch@swansea.ac.uk

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12 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

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FEATURE

RAINBOW

TROUT fry syndrome

Aquaculture in its brief, modern history has been hit by a number of different diseases. Bacteria, viruses and parasites can cause serious problems for a fish farmer

by Kat Konstanti, International Technical Support Specialist, Meriden Animal Health

S

almonid aquaculture has suffered from a number of different ailments.

Infectious Salmon Anaemia, caused by the Isavirus from the orthomixoviridae family, led to a major crisis of the Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry in Chile, dramatically reducing production numbers.

Ectoparasitic conditions such as sea lice infestations and amoebic gill disease are affecting the salmon aquaculture industry throughout the world, causing major economic losses.

Bacterial infections are also common, causing diseases such as Furunculosis or Bacterial Kidney Disease.

One of the bacteria that causes problems in salmonids is Flavobacterium psychrophilum.

The first time it was isolated, it was from the kidney and external lesions of diseased coho salmon in Washington, USA [3].

At that time, the disease was given the name “peduncle disease” [12]. Infections with F. psychrophilium have since been labeled with many different names [3, 39, 26, 49, 7, 28, 25] but currently the names Bacterial Cold Water Disease (BCWD) [17, 22] and Rainbow Trout Fry Syndrome (RTFS) [40, 14] are commonly used in the USA and Europe respectively [1].

Until the 1980s the disease was only found in North American salmonids at low water temperatures (6°-10°C) [15]. Now it is found throughout the world.

RTFS has been identified in North America [17, 16], nearly every country in Europe [2, 43, 49, 53, 27, 38], Australia [44], Chile [52], Peru [25], Japan [52, 19] and Korea [23]. It can now

infest non-salmonid hosts, like common and crucian carp [24], European and Japanese eel [24, 20], ayu [52, 23], pale chub [19], roach [29] and tench [24].

The bacterium probably affects all types of salmonids [36] but the most susceptible species are rainbow trout and coho salmon [11, 22, 8].

The most severe outbreak of disease occurs in sac fry, where mortalities can reach up to 50 percent. In fingerlings, mortalities can range between 5-20 percent [15].

Furthermore, it has recently been noted that it is capable of causing disease at much higher water temperatures [15].

The bacteria

Flavobacterium psychrophilum are Gramnegative bacteria cells that are flexible, weakly refractile, slender rods with rounded ends [17, 41, 30, 36]. The disease starts with the presence of the pathogen in the water. Infected

fish shed bacterial cells into the water and dead infected fish shed cells at much higher numbers [31, 29]. The bacteria can also survive for several months in fresh water outside the host [54, 51, 32, 35, 50]. Such infections, from one fish to another or from environmental sources, are called “horizontal” pathogen transmissions. Vertical transmissions are from the parents to the offspring. This type of transmission is also probable with RTFS [5, 47].

The bacteria have been found on the exterior of the egg, the ovarian fluid and in milt [5, 47, 33]. Taking all this into consideration, it is assumed that the bacteria can enter the host via a combination of routes [36] and its adhesive properties can help in the successful colonisation of its tissues [36].

There are many environmental strains of F. psychrophilum and not all of them are pathogenic. There are at least three main serotypes [27, 21, 48] and several distinct genetic lineages with considerable genetic

Table 1: Haemocytic activity of white leg shrimp

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Parameter

Control

Enro 10ppm

OS 500ppm

OS 1000ppm

OS 2000ppm

Pool SE

Phagocytosis (%)

13.12

10.29

10.02

13.32

15.74

1.821

Phagocytic Index

2.05

0.77

0.72

1.96

2.43

0.7281

Prophenol Oxidase Activity

0.17

0.21

0.5

0.59

0.58

0.0689

Phagocytosis (%)

10.34

12.89

10.91

11.38

13.82

2.6784

Phagocytic Index

1.15

1.16

0.98

1.19

2.6

0.6926

Prophenol Oxidase Activity

0.07

0.09

0.14

0.2

0.2

0.0228

Phagocytosis (%)

44.95

52.44

69.71

77.76

82.09

5.5831

Phagocytic Index

30.01

34.6

62.21

81.61

82.35

13.9416

Prophenol Oxidase Activity

0.59

0.94

1.25

1.59

1.57

0.384

14 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

FEATURE Table 2: Phagocytosis Activity of Catfish under normal conditions Parameter

Control

Enro 10ppm

OS 500ppm

OS 1000ppm

OS 2000ppm

Pool SE

Phagocytosis (%)

42.55

54.55

23.72

56.85

70.31

5.59

Phagocytosis index (%)

20.31

44.62

33.57

45.61

87.12

14.02

Month

Month 1 Month 2 Month3

Phagocytosis (%)

9.54

10.57

14.23

14.22

17.00

4.84

Phagocytosis index (%)

1.36

1.45

4.06

4.19

4.18

2.21

Phagocytosis (%)

32.73

33.34

29.77

33.85

40.42

5.53

Phagocytosis index (%)

12.72

13.93

18.92

22.07

24.99

4.23

and virulence variation [9, 29, 20, 45, 46, 37, 16, 38, 1]. This fact turns this disease into a bacteriology minefield.

Treatment

The main method of treatment is use of antibiotics. Oxytetracycline has often been used around the world against RTFS [39, 4, 22, 28]. Amoxycillin and oxolinic acid have widely been used In Europe [4, 6]. However the development of antibiotic resistance makes antibiotics an unsustainable method of treatment [15].

A lot of effort has been put into developing a vaccine but little progress has been made so far [15, 1]. Some experiments with injectable vaccines, that have used either formalin-killed or heat-inactivated bacteria, have shown some promise but such vaccines

will be very impractical for farm scale fry inoculations [15, 1]. Until a viable vaccine is produced, the industry will have to rely on the use of antibiotics for treatment, along with good biosecurity and husbandry measures to possibly avoid the outbreaks.

Barnes & Brown (2011) [1] suggested that dietary research is warranted, such as an evaluation of novel dietary ingredients in feeds or improved feed formulations that lead to changes in RTFS susceptibility.

Orego-Stim Aquatract L

Orego-Stim速 is a natural feed additive based on oregano, developed by Meriden Animal Health. The oregano essential oil acts as an immunity enhancer and growth promoter, with further benefits including antibacterial and antimicrobial properties.

A/S

May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 15

This section will be divided into two subsections. The first outlines the mode of action of oregano essential oil and the second demonstrates its immunity-boosting properties in aquaculture species. All the data in these sections is obtained from studies conducted

by Meriden Animal Health.

Note: As the scope of this paper focuses on the antimicrobial and antibacterial effects of Orego-Stim速, growth promoting results are not shown in the main text, however results from commercial trials studying the growth promoting effects of the product on Rainbow trout, are shown in appendix 1 for reference.

Mode of Action

Indirectly, Orego-Stim速 acts as a growth promoter and an appetizer. It improves feed intake and digestion, boosts immunity and has antioxidant and anticoccidial properties.

Primarily however, it is an antibacterial.

In general, gram-negative bacteria, in contrast to gram-positive bacteria, have both a cytoplasmic membrane and an outer lipid cell membrane with a much smaller peptidoglycan in between. As the ancestral types of bacteria do not have the outerlayer, it has been suggested that this extra outer-layer in the gram-negative bacteria has evolved as a protection against antibiotics. This is a theory that could explain why

FEATURE

gram-negative bacteria are more resistant to antibiotic treatment.

Unlike antibiotics, OS has a very primitive mode of action. Orego-Stim contains unique levels of Carvacrol and Thymol which are natural phenols that act like disinfectants. The active ingredients of Orego-Stim® can alter the bacteria’s cell membrane, increasing its permeability and resulting in water imbalance and cell death. This inhibitory effect is not due to the transfer of any chromosomes, neither do they affect the cytoplasmic components of the cells, thus there is no risk of increasing bacterial resistance, like in the case of penicillin or streptomycin (Hui, n.d).

Immunity boosting

Two studies conducted at the Kasetsart University in Thailand, focused on determining the effectiveness of Orego-Stim® as an antimicrobial agent against pathogenic bacteria. The first study was conducted on white leg shrimp, Litopenaeus Vannamei.

Five treatment groups were reared for three months. During that time, three groups were fed Orego-Stim® at different concentrations (500ppm, 1000ppm & 2000ppm), one group was treated with the commonly used in-feed antibiotic, enrofloxacin (10ppm) and a control group fed with the normal diet.

The phagocytic index and the prophenol oxidase activity were measured monthly.

Phagocytes are cells that protect the animal by ingesting foreign organisms such as bacteria. Prophenol oxidase activity measures the volume of enzymes produced which aid the

phagocytes in clearing pathogens from an under two conditions; normal temperature organism. Table 1 shows the results of the (27-32°C) and low temperature stress (22study. It can be seen that the Orego-Stim® 24°C). The results are shown in tables 2 and 3. treated groups show better immune function.

Appendix 1: Growth Promotion Following the three Study on Rainbow Trout months, the shrimp A commercial trial conducted by a Denmark fish feed producer where challenged with studied the growth-promoting effects of Orego-Stim in rainbow the virulent gram-negtrout. Table 1 shows the results after the 49-day study. ative bacteria Vibrio It can be seen that the inclusion of Orego-Stim in the feed harveyi. The challenge increases the number of production while decreasing the FCR. lasted for 10 days. The On this study, it was further calculated that (including the cost bacteria were introof feed and Orego-Stim) the OS group added value of more duced in two ways, than €3000 by bath treatment and by oral administraTable: Commercial Trial Data on the growth promoting effects of tion. In both cases, the Orego-Stim on Rainbow Trout vibrio bacteria count Orego-Stim on the intestine and Control Difference 500ppm the hepatopancreas in the Orego-Stim® 2000ppm group was Average Start Weigh (g) 64.6 67.6 equal or lower than Average Final Weight (g) 107.3 114.3 the control or the enrofloxacin treated Weight Gain (g) 42.7 46.7 +9.4% groups. Furthermore, Starting Biomass (Kg) 1,250 1,250 the Orego-Stim ® 2000ppm group exhibFinal Biomass (Kg) 2,087.5 2,212.5 ited a significantly highBiomass Gain (Kg) 837.5 962.5 +14.9% er survival rate.

A study with the Production of Fish (Kg) 51,450 57,330 +11.42% same outline was conFeed Used for Production (Kg) 47,849 51,597 +7.8% ducted on hybrid catfish to evaluate the immune Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) 0.93 0.90 -3.2% status of the fish, studied 16 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

FEATURE Table 3: Phagocytosis Activity of Catfish under Temperature Stress Conditions Parameter

Control

Enro 10ppm

OS 500ppm

OS 1000ppm

OS 2000ppm

Pool SE

Phagocytosis (%)

23.55

26.62

28.50

41.24

41.60

4.51

Phagocytosis index (%)

8.95

8.23

11.43

27.64

27.04

6.60

Month 1

Month 2

Phagocytosis (%)

5.05

5.66

5.82

5.97

8.48

2.14

Phagocytosis index (%)

0.41

0.50

0.53

0.55

1.23

0.40

Phagocytosis (%)

28.98

31.53

31.77

33.26

34.62

3.23

Phagocytosis index (%)

10.52

13.10

13.86

13.66

15.54

1.25

Month3

It can be seen that in both the normal and stress conditions, the fish exhibit greater efficiency to enhance phagocytosis activity and percentage of phagocytosis, especially during the first month.

Subsequently they were challenged with the pathogenic bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila. During the bath treatment challenge, the groups treated with Orego-Stim® were as effective as the group being treated with antibiotics in preventing mortalities (100% survival rate). However the Orego-Stim® 1000-2000 groups were significantly more effective in eliminating A. hydrophilia in the intestines, without compromising beneficial lactic acid bacteria.

Conclusion

Rainbow trout fry syndrome has been

plaguing the salmonid aquaculture industry and has been causing severe economic losses through mortalities and cost of treatments which are becoming less effective as resistance develops. Currently this disease is in the top 5 diseases that cause economic problems in the UK aquaculture sector, possibly higher in the EU and USA sectors.

The use of antibiotics is becoming less and less sustainable. Certain antibiotics have been banned in animal use in many countries as they have been proved to be harmful for human consumption. The antibiotics that are available are becoming less effective from overuse or misuse. Furthermore, even when the antibiotics do work, their use requires what is called a “withdrawal period” to allow for any chemical residues that can be attained in the flesh to dissipate. During

May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 17

this time, the fish are vulnerable to further infections.

As disease outbreaks will probably occur during a farming cycle, alternative preventative or therapeutic treatment options have to be put in place to help the farmers protect their livestock. With public opinion rapidly shifting against the use of chemicals and medications in their food, use of natural products that can fulfil that job would be the best option for both worlds.

With Orego-Stim® being this effective in combating bacteria directly and boosting the immunity of the organism, alongside its growth promoting effects, further research on its ability to prevent outbreaks of RTFS is warranted. The easy in-feed application method for the farmers, along with the increased food consumption, the improved gut health and the antibacterial properties that pathogenic bacteria cannot defend against, all this turns Orego-Stim® to the 100% natural additive everyone has been waiting for.

References Available at www.aquafeed.co.uk/ref4872

More Information: Kat Konstanti katkonstanti@meriden-ah.com

FEATURE

Prospects on dietary trace minerals: Aquafeeds & Aquaculture

by Sungchul Charles Bai, Professor/Director, Deptartment of Marine Bio Materials & Aquaculture, Feeds and Foods Nutritional Research Center (FFNRC), Pukyong National University, Nam-gu, Busan, Korea

Dietary trace minerals must be supplied in adequate quantity to ensure the optimal growth and health of farmed aquatic species. The significance of trace mineral bioavailability has become more important as the aquaculture practice has gone under phenomenal intensification worldwide. Moreover, the composition of majority of commercial fish feed has been changing and there is an increased use of dietary plant protein. As a result, the bio-availability of trace minerals are being adversely affected by the presence of antagonistic factor such as phytic acid in plant protein.

E

ven though, our knowledge in fish nutrition has advanced significantly, the information on trace minerals requirement is still limited and fragmentary.

Whereas, the sustainability issue has put a new dimension in aquafeed formulation with a wide array of new ingredients and additives, on the other hand, the importance of basic nutrient such as trace minerals is still in sideline.

Substantial investment and integrated scientific efforts are warranted to bridge the knowledge gap and further improve our understandings on the significance of dietary

trace mineral in fish nutrition and health at the least cost to environment.

An overview

The importance of trace minerals supplementation in fish feed formulation has been well accepted since some of the trace minerals from ambient water and feed itself cannot supply the optimal level required by the cultured aquatic species.

The reluctance among researchers to determine the trace mineral requirement has been partly due to the related difficulty of conducting research on mineral nutrition.

Problems associated with the quantification of mineral requirements include identification

Table 1: Trace Minerals their functions and deficiency signs in aquatic species Microminerals/ Trace Minerals

Functions

Deficiency Signs

Impaired growth and reduced activity of copper-containing enzymes

Copper

Metalloenzymes, Fe metabolism

Cobalt

Vitamin cyanocobalamin ( B12 )synthesis

Chromium

Carbohydrate and lipid metabolism

Anemia Impaired glucose utilization

Iodine

Thyroid hormones, energy production

Thyroid hyperplasia

Iron

Hemoglobin, enzyme, lipid oxidation

Impaired growth, anemia

Manganese

Organic matrix of bone

Impaired growth, skeletal abnormalities, cataracts

Molybdenum

Xanthine oxidase

Reduced enzyme activity

Selenium Zinc

Glutathione peroxidase, component of amino acid selenocysteine Metalloenzymes,

Reduced growth, anemia, exudative diathesis, reduced activity of glutathione peroxidase Reduced growth, anorexia, cataracts, skeletal abnormalities,

Source: Adopted and Modified from NRC, 2011 and S. C. Bai, 2011, Nutrient Metabolism & Feeds in Fish, pp. 41 18 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

of the potential contribution of minerals from the water, leaching of mineral from the diet prior to consumption, availability of suitable test diets that have a low concentration of the targeted mineral and limited bioavailability (NRC, 2011).

The trace minerals including copper, manganese, iron, zinc, selenium, chromium, iodine and fluorine participate in a variety of metabolic processes. Some of the vital biochemical processes involving minerals are the formation of skeletal structures and other hard tissues (ex. Fin, rays, scales, teeth and exoskeleton), electron transfer, regulation of acid: base equilibirium, the production of membrane potentials and osmoregulations.

In strict sense, except the osmoregulation, rest of the basic metabolic functions of various elements are same for aquatic and terrestrial animals. Trace minerals or micro-minerals are important components of hormones and enzymes serve as cofactors and/or activators of a variety of enzymes as well as participate in a wide variety of biochemical processes (NRC, 2011). Only a few scientific review including, Davis & Gatlin (1996) and NRC 2011 summarizes the estimate of mineral requirement in few commercially important aquaculture species.

However, the trace mineral requirements in several other aquaculture species are still unknown and the practical feed formulation follow the general estimation.

Table 1 summarises the function and common deficiency symptoms of trace minerals in aquaculture. The deficiency symptoms depend upon the degree and duration of deprecation of that certain trace mineral in certain species under certain environmental condition.

In strict sense, one cannot define the sub-optimal level of trace mineral for an aquaculture species applicable for all kind of culture environment. The requirement

FEATURE level and deficiency symptoms for trace minerals under appropriate and stressful environmental condition remains to be investigated in aquaculture.

At this point, we must appreciate what is known today and try to further improve our understanding in the significance of trace mineral in fish nutrition, health and environment.

Lower requirement

Even though, trace minerals are typically required in much lower quantity in fish diet but its supplementation at optimum level is a critical issue in fish feed formulation.

Scientific reports gathered over last two decades indicate, few trace mineral are quite sensitive and proper care should be taken to ensure their inclusion at optimum level in fish feed formulation. For instance, trace mineral selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient in animals and is required for normal growth and development.

However, high selenium concentrations in an animal’s diet can result in toxic effects.

Selenium is similar to sulfur with regard to its basic chemical and physical properties (it has the same valence states, forms, and analogs of hydrogen sulfide, thiosulfate, sulfite, and sulfate) and mammalian studies show that cells do not discriminate well between the two elements as proteins are being synthesized (it is assumed that the mechanistic features underlying toxicity are essentially the same for fish, because the resulting pathology and teratogenic features are the same).

When present in excessive amounts, selenium is erroneously substituted for sulfur, resulting in the formation of a triselenium linkage (Se-Se-Se) or a selenotrisulfide linkage (S-Se-S).

Either configuration prevents the formation of the necessary disulfide chemical bonds (S-S).

The result is distorted, dysfunctional enzymes and protein molecules, which impair normal cellular biochemistry (Ganther 1974; Stadtman 1974; Diplock and Hoekstra 1976; Reddy and Massaro 1983; Sunde 1984).

Consequently, there has been public awareness and governmental efforts including in the Republic of Korea to establish an upper limit of selenium in aquafeeds to prevent both cultured fish and consumers from selenium toxicity.

Consecutive studies conducted in my laboratory, investigated the requirement and toxicity level of dietary Se in few commercially important species (Kim et. al., 2003; Lee et al., 2008; Lee et. al., 2010; Arshad et. al., 2010).

Based on our experimental results, we concluded that a dietary Se level above 7.38mg Se/kg is likely toxic and with a long-term feeding trial, a dietary Se level of 4.13mgSe/kg may cause toxic effects in juvenile olive flounder.

While the overall performance from our preliminary feeding trail, a dietary Se level of 0.21mg NaSeO3/kg diet was concluded to be optimal for proper growth performance and a dietary Se level of 12.3mg Na2 SeO3/kg was anticipated to be toxic to juvenile black seabream.

Likewise, various other studies have reported the toxicity level for Se in different aquaculture species. Overall observations in our experiments in different species and taking into account other reports, it appears the requirement and toxicity level for Se is species specific and therefore proper care should be taken to avoid its adverse effects.

Further few other trace mineral such as dietary Copper (Cu) toxicity has also been documented by various other authors.

Therefore, dietary trace minerals should be supplemented in judicious manner, keeping in mind a delicate balance must be maintained between the ingestion, digestion and absorption of trace minerals.

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Fish health management

The concept of maintaining the health of fish through the best possible nutrition is well-accepted in modern fish farming.

Scientific evidence gathered over the past 30 years indicates that dietary nutrients as well as additives could stimulate the

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May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 19 ET-248B.indd 1

3/18/14 4:33 PM

FEATURE Table 2. Growth performance and hematological characterstics of juvenile Black seabream fed different levels of dietary Se for 15 weeks.

Diets1

WG(%)

FE(%)

SGR(%)

PER

PCV(%)

Hb(g /100ml)

RBC (X106cell/ Îźl)

Se 0.21

327.4a

93.3a

2.70a

1.72a

42.2

15.3

3.34

Se 0.30

357.5a

94.9a

2.88a

1.79a

38.2

16.5

3.69

Se 0.52

325.6a

91.9a

2.69a

1.72a

38.6

16.1

3.59

Se 1.29

349.7a

94.3a

2.80a

1.78a

32.5

17

3.12

Se 12.3

254.4b

84.2b

2.23b

1.53b

26.6

13.1

2.9

13.0

1.40

0.08

0.03

2.46

0.72

0.16

Pooled SEM9

1Diets Se 0.21, Se 0.30, Se 0.52, Se 1.29, Se 12.3 contained 0.21, 0.30, 0.52, 1.29, and 12.3 mg sodium selenite (Na2Seo3)/kg diet.

Note: For more detail, please refer Lee. et. al., 2008

immune system of fish and help to fend off diseases (Kiron, 2014).

Consequently, the last decade has witnessed a great deal of attention paid to develop safe and cost effective immunostimulants, probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics and so on.

Worthy to note that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;functional feedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; has been defined as the feed which can supply the nutrient beyond the basic requirements of a cultured species. Nutritionally well-balanced and properly processed diets are the prime importance in intensive aquaculture, where fishes are frequently reared in stressful environment.

Deficiency of any nutrients, especially vitamins and micro minerals could be an ample reason to trigger the disease epidemic in an aquaculture operation.

Trace minerals being the integral part of several metalloenzymes have significantly greater impacts on preventive health management and success of an aquaculture venture.

For example, Lim et al., (2001a) attributed the imbalances in Iron (Fe) would compromise the immune system and the resistance of fish to disease. The effects of dietary zinc on immune response and disease resistance in fish has also been reviewed by Lim et al.

(2001b).

Observations reported include enhanced chemotaxis of macrophages, a lower phagocytic ability, improved or attenuated disease resistance and reduced or negligible effect on antibody production.

Selenium is another important trace element for fish because it is a constituent of selenoproteins and has structural and enzymatic roles similar to glutathione peroxidase (the antioxidant enzyme). This mineral modulates the immune functions such as inflammation and virulence development (Rayman, 2000; Kiron, 2012).

In channel catfish selenoyeast and selenomethionine as the source of Se were observed to increase the antibody titer corresponded to their dietary concentrations (Wang et al., 1997).

Furthermore, Se is an integral part of the

enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and it has some complementary biochemical functions with vitamin E (Gatlin et. al., 1986a).

GSH-Px is part of the cellular defence system against oxidative damage, together with the antioxidant vitamins such as vitamins C and E. Hilton (1989) mentioned that these nutrients do not act independently and are interrelated with other nutrients in terms of function and metabolism.

A few studies on the interactions of these vitamins in fish have been investigated in rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri (Richardson) (Hung & Slinger 1980) and channel cat fish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque) (Gatlin et. al.,2003 1986b).

Vitamin E and Se function synergistically in animal tissues to form an important antioxidant defence system. The interactions of Se and vitamin E in fish have been reported in channel cat fish (Gatlin III et al. 1986a; Wise, et. al., 1993), Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. (Poston et. al., 1976), rainbow trout (Bell et. al., 1985) and chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Thorarinsson et. al., 1994).

In addition, high dietary supplementation

of vitamins C and/or E and Se showed positive effects on growth and immune response in brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill) (Poston & Livingston1969), channel cat fish (Durve & Lovell1982; Li & Lovell 1985; Li et. al., 1993), Atlantic salmon (Salte et. al., 1988; Hardie et. al., 1990) and rainbow trout (Navarre & Halver 1989).

In a study conducted in my laboratory to study the synergetic effects of vitamin C, E and selenium, observation suggested that dietary supplementation of vitamin C and E over required values had positive effects on growth performance, but there were no synergetic effects of dietary vitamin C, E and Se supplementation over minimum requirement levels on the growth performance and disease resistance in fingerlings Nile tilapia.

Altogether scientific evidences suggest, in depth investigations are warranted to explore the opportunities to use the dietary trace mineral in preventive health management in aquaculture.

Plant protein in aquafeed & trace minerals bioavailability

Feed formulations for farmed aquatic animals have historically relied on fishmeal to provide a major part of their nutrient requirements.

However, economic and sustainability issues have exerted substantial pressure for the reduction of fishmeal in aquafeeds.

Numerous scientific studies in last three decades have investigated the efficacy of different plant protein as an alternative to fishmeal.

Consequently, there has been a massive shift towards the use of plant protein in aquafeed formulation. Plant protein contain a wide array of antinutrients, among them the presence of antagonists factors such as phytic acid has been acknowledges as the major

Table 3 . Efficacy of chelated trace minerals in aquaculture Minerals

Fish/Crustacean

Remarks1

Reference

Se

Channel catfish

Higher Bioavailability

Wang & Lovell, 1996

Zn

Channel catfish

Equivalent

M.H.Li & Robinson , 1996

Zn

Abalone

2~3 times

Tan & Mai, 2001

Cu

Grouper

2~4 times

Lin et al., 2010

Cu

Olive flounder

2 times

Mohseni et. al., 2011

Cu

Sturgeon

2 times

Mohseni et. al., 2011

Cu

Pacific white shrimp

3~4 times

Bharadwaz et al., 2014

Korean rockfish

2~4 times

Katya et. al.,2014

Premix (Cu, Zn & Mn)

Pacific White shrimp

4~6 times

Katya et. al., 2014 (Unpublished)

Premix (Cu, Zn & Mn)

Rainbow trout

2 times

M..J.S. Apines et al., 2003, 2004

Premix (Cu, Zn, Mn & Fe)

1 Remarks represent the reported comparative efficiency of chelated trace mineral Vs Inorganic source in respective experiment 20 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

FEATURE

barrier hindering the bioavailability of trace lower Ph in fish gut apart from its high cost. mineral. Phytic acid (myo-inositol 1,2,3,4,5,6- Deterioration of phytase activity at high temhexakisphosphate) is the major phosphorus perature of fish feed processing, especially in (P) storage compound in plant seeds and can the case of extrusion processing are additional account for up to 80 percent of total phos- factors, all together limiting the use of phytase phorus. Phytic acid binds with divalent cationic in aquafeed formulation.

Another approach to increase the bioavailtrace minerals rendering them unavailable to the animal and these are consequently lost to ability of trace mineral as highlighted in NRC the environment as waste (Cheryan, 1980; (2011), “as the aquatic animal feed industry Davis and Gatlin, 1996; Davis et al., 1993; Li increase its use of plant feedstuffs, the need for mineral supplementation should increase.” and Robinson, 1997).

Since environmental pollution due to high The limited bioavilability and potential dietary deficiency of trace minerals are serious rate of mineral excretion by mineral antagoconcern as adequate trace mineral ensuring nisms at higher level of dietary inclusion the optimum growth and health of cultured has been a common problem in livestock husbandry. It remains an important research species in aquaculture.

An ideal approach to improve the bio- area for scientific community to clearly underavailability of trace mineral has been recom- stand the ultimate fate of trace minerals at mended as the inclusion of microbial phytase higher level of dietary inclusion in aquafeed in fish diet. Phytase is an enzyme chemically formulation. known as myo-inositol-hexaphosphate phosphohydrolase (Class 3: Hydrolases), produced Trace mineral form and sources: either by microorganisms or present in some Critical issue plant ingredients.

Inorganic form (sulfate/nitrate) of trace Monogastric animals cannot produce this mineral has traditionally been used in aquaenzyme. feed formulation.

Presence of phytase in some animals is of However, the limited bioavailability of Reed Mariculture, Inc. | 2014 Hatchery Ad Campaign | Theme: Ad-1 Shellfish Diet microbial origin. Microbial phytase either as inorganic source of trace mineral due to its lacement: International Aquafeed | Size: Half Page | Dimensions: 190mm X 132mm a dry powder or as a liquid is available com- higher affinity to antinutrients has hastened mercially ( Baruah. et. al., 2004). the search for alternative form of inorganic However, microbial phytase has been trace minerals. reported to have limited efficiency due to As a result, scientific communities have

|

attempted to develop more stable and bioavailable form of trace minerals suitable for aquaculture. For instance, tri-basic copper chloride (TBCC) has been reported as the more concentrated form of copper than copper sulfate (58% vs 25% Cu).

Since it has low hygroscopicity and is insoluble in neutral water, it should be a less reactive and less destructive form of copper when combined with vitamins in diets (Cromwell et al., 1998). Shao et. al., (2010) suggested TBCC could be a new dietary copper source as more bioavailable than copper sulfate for crucian carp.

However, the supporting information is scanty and needs further research to justify the bioavailability of TBCC in aquaculture.

In last decade, research is increasing shedding light on the potential benefit of using organic/chelated form of trace mineral in aquaculture.

Typically, organic trace minerals are more stable in the digestive tract and less prone to interactions and antagonisms as they are bound to organic molecules and less available to interaction and binding. Some of the commonly available organic trace minerDesign: A | Version: 1 als are metal proteinates, metal amino acid complexes and metal amino acid chelates.

Earlier studies have demonstrated improved bioavailability, growth and disease resistance in fish fed metal proteinates (zinc protein-

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FEATURE

EXCELLENCE IN YEAST – EXCELLENT FOR FISH Figure 1: Average mortality (Mean ± SD) of juvenile olive flounder exposed to dietary selenium for 10 weeks.

Diets Se0.61, Se4.13, Se7.38, Se18.6, Se35.9, Se66.0, and Se146, contained 0.61, 4.13, 7.38, 18.6, 35.9, 66.0, and146 mg Se/kg diet respectively Note: For more detail, please refer Lee. et. al., 2010

Figure.3. Survival rate (%) of Olive flounder fed different levels of dietary chelated Cu for 12 weeks.

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y

Ge

Diets contained 7 (Cu0), 10.4 (CuM5), 15.8 (CuM10), 24.9 (CuM20), 43.4 (CuM40), 82.1 (CuM80), 158 (CuM160), 308 (CuM320), 658 (CuM640), and 1267 (CuM1280) mg Cu/kg diet Note: For more detail please refer, Mohseni et. al., 2012.

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ate) and metal amino acid complexes (zinc methionine) compared to fish fed inorganic sources (Hardy and Shearer, 1985; Paripatananont and Lovell, 1995a,b, 1997).

The glycine chelates of trace minerals have been shown to improve performance, tissue mineral retention, hematology parameters, immune function and disease resistance in the rainbow trout (Apines et al., 2003; Apines-Amar et al., 2004a,b; Satoh et al., 2001) and in red sea bream (Sarker et al., 2005), despite the presence of dietary antagonists such as phytic acid or tricalcium phosphate (Bharadwaz et. al., 2014).

Table 3 summarises the few scientific reports on the efficacy of chelated mineral in aquaculture. Nevertheless, a cross comparison among these reports on chelated trace minerals could be perhaps misleading.

Since, fish species, fish size, diet composition and other experimental condition vary among different experiments.

Further, a fundamental difference among different experiment comparing chelated trace mineral and inorganic trace minerals is the balancing of ligand in all experimental diets has been

22 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014 10.01.14 10:03

overlooked by various research groups.

Since, ligand could be an additional source of nutrients in chelated trace minerals, researchers must give importance to balancing the ligand in inorganic treatment as well, to prevent the bias that difference in results could be due to ligand.

Available scientific reports particularly published in last decade evidenced that there is a significant increase in the efficiency of chelated minerals in aquaculture.

Nevertheless, every manufacture claim their product to be best and making a right choice is often a challenge. Recently, consecutive studies in my laboratory investigated the efficacy of chelated minerals consisted of a range of divalent cationic minerals chelated to two molecules of HMTBa (2-hydroxy4-methylthiobutanoic acid or hydroxy analog of methionine; Mintrex™, Novus International, St. Louis, USA) claimed to have in an extremely stable configuration.

The stability of these molecules renders chelated trace minerals less available to binding to phytic acid and to interference from other dietary antagonists.

These molecules are thus

FEATURE

Figure 2: Cumulative mortality rate (%) of Nile tilapia challenged by E. tarda.

Diet Control: (150mg AA,100mgTAand 0.2mg Se per kg diet) Excessive ascorbic acid (eAA): (2000 mg AA, 100mg TA and 0.2mg Se per kg diet) Excessive a-tocopheryl acetate (eTA): (150mg AA, 240mg TA and 0.2mg Se per kg diet) Excessive selenium (eSe): (150 mg AA, 100 mg TA and 0.5 mg Se per kg diet) Excessive all (eALL): (2000 mg AA, 240 mg TA and 0.5 mg Se per kg diet) Note: for more detail please refer, Kim et. al., 2003

able to reach the receptors in the gut epithelium where they are absorbed into the circulation of the animal (Eide, 2004; Wang and Zhou, 2010; Yi et al., 2007).

Overall performance observed in our experiments vouched the potential benefit of using chelated trace mineral, Mintrex Cu in marine fish, Olive flounder and fresh water fish white sturgeon (Mousheni et. al., 2011), Mintrex Cu, Zn, Mn & Fe premix in Marine fish Korean rockfish (Katya et. al., 2014) and Mintrex Cu, Zn & Mn premix in marine shrimp, Pacific white shrimp (unpublished).

Worthy to note that, chelated trace minerals and their premix should also be supplemented at optimum level, high level of dietary inclusion could also be toxic.

Table. 4. shows the toxic effects of chelated mineral premix observed in Olive flounder (Mohseni et. al., 2012).

Overall trend shows, chelated trace minerals and premix is holding a great potential as safe and effective alternative to traditional inorganic source of trace minerals in aquaculture. Even though despite of potential benefit, the high cost of chelated trace mineral often acknowledged as the major factor limiting its use in aquafeed industry.

Thus, complementary inclu-

sion of chelated with inorganic trace minerals could be logical step to encourage the inclusion of alternative dietary mineral source in aquafeed formulation.

Conclusion

The significance of dietary trace minerals should get due recognition, for the vision of aquaculture sustainability.

The true value of any high quality fish feed is non-existent, if the basic nutrient requirement has been compromised in feed formulation.

We need to have a clear understanding on the species specific trace minerals requirements in aquaculture.

As the aquafeed formulation has been shifting to dietary plant protein from fishmeal, emphasis should also be placed to revise the inclusion level of as well as efficacy of new perspective to ensure the bioavailability of trace mineral.

At this point, we must appreciate what is known today and try further improving our knowledge on the significance of dietary trace minerals in fish nutrition and health.

Acknowledgement: I wish to thank my PhD student, Kumar Katya for his input in articulating this article.

May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 23

FEATURE

ALGAE and animal nutrition

W

hether brown, red or green, algae are resources with huge potential, however they are largely untapped, particularly in Europe.

Even if the implementation of viable economic sectors still seems distant, more and more projects are based on the valorisation of this promising raw material for food and feed industries: A process for which scientists and industrialists have everything to gain in moving forward together.

The earth has seven production basins of brown seaweed, Asia being widely ahead (75 percent).

Northern Europe comes far behind with two percent of world production.

“The required conditions for the cultivation of seaweed are cold water with no ice”, recalls Marc Danjon, deputy director of Ceva, the Centre d’Etude et de Valorisation des Algues, which emphasises that seaweed culture sector has increased by eight percent every year for 30 years.

“Do you know many sectors having such exponential growth ? It’s an impressive market,” notes the scientist who regrets that France still produces less than 100 tonnes per year.

Here stands the challenge of Breizh’Alg project, which aims to establish a seaweed industry and bring the development of seaweed culture within a process of regional development.

For Marc Danjon, it’s time to think of a ‘range’ like we do for vegetables and to develop a real industry for ‘sea vegetables’.

All the more since seaweed are full of qualities offering enormous opportunities to exploit: they do not need fertilizers, nor freshwater, nor pesticides and require on average one-sixth of the surface needed by terrestrial cultures.

In contrast with the terrestrial plants that draw nutrients from their roots, algae absorb nutrients on their entire surface, thus greatly increasing their productivity.

Moreover, their colloidal structure, which allows greater water retention, provides to algae twice more dry matter than terrestrial plants. A well-known quality for Canadians and Norwegians, who are developing a significant production of Ascophyllum meal, widely used in agriculture and animal nutrition, including cattle.

Brown seaweed of the Fucales family, Ascophyllum is particularly interesting for its vitamins, minerals and proteins supply, but also for its powerful binding properties. Setalg, based in Brittany, commonly uses it for animal feed, mainly for petfood (read RAA 649, p36).

Nutritional value

Our interest in seaweed is not new: it dates back to the Neolithic, where they were used as fertilizer, feed, fuel, etc.

As for research on algae, it really started in the second half of the 19th Century, with the creation of marine stations of Concarneau (1859) and Naples (1872), followed by the start in 1872 of the laboratory of experimental zoology now known as biological Station of Roscoff.

Raw material with several interests, macroalgae are too often reserved for specialty 24 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

markets, therefore with sometimes a prohibitive cost.

The nutritional value of algae stands yet in the joint presence of minerals (particularly rich mineral fraction), fiber, protein, vitamins and lipids, depending on the species (see descriptive table).

In the feed industry, seaweed meals are increasingly used as a dietary supplement, but seaweed extract still remain quite inaccessible economically.

Valorisation

This is exactly Ceva’s role (Center of study and valorization of seaweed), based in Pleubian, Côtes d'Armor, to clear the knowledge before considering possible applications, so that the operation is economically viable.

Idealg project, born in late 2010 (coordinated by the European University of Brittany and Roscoff Biological Station), aims to develop a sector of algae for industrials.

It is part of “The Great Loan Project”, "which amounts to consider for the first time algae in the same way as wheat or corn!" Said Jean-François Sassi, product division manager of Ceva.

The idea is to increase volumes by intensive selection work; this project complements Breizh'Alg intention, which is to develop an economic sector of seaweed in Brittany.

"This is the second floor of the rocket,” Marc Danjon likes to imagine. “Both projects are advancing in parallel: Idealy must feed itself from the results and difficulties of Breizh'Alg.” Today’s priority is to find areas of culture, which actually happens in the recovery of concessions, especially from the shellfish industry in trouble.

FEATURE

The next step after seaweed farming will be offshore marine aquaculture, with shellfish and seaweed culture on the same site as fish farming (open ocean aquaculture).

Algae have a detoxifying effect that is particularly interesting in a closed system: the co-culture shrimp / green seaweed, commonly practiced in Mexico and Asia, thus improves the sanitary status of the farm, reduces feed costs and has a positive effect on pigmentation of crustaceans raised under these conditions.

Applications of seaweed are - theoretically numerous: cosmetics, human and animal nutrition, chemistry.

Until now, the latter sector has known the heaviest investments from large groups.

"Today, three large groups share the global market of transformation of seaweed in bio-products, says JeanFrançois Sassi: FMC Biopolymer, Cargill and Dupont, all three directed towards the production of alginate or carrageenan, in other words, gelling agents for food and industrial use.

“At the other end of the chain, there are also some small seaweed farmers that we count on the fingers of one hand in Brittany.

In between, it is missing SMEs working on the very diverse transformation of algal material,” he adds Some manufacturers, like Olmix, understood the market opportunity that could represent the algal resource exploitation.

A project like Ulvans aims to implement a complete green algae industrial sector.

The scientific literature begins to abound to demonstrate the positive effects of sea-

weed in health and nutrition of humans and animals.

Henri Salmon, researcher at INRA, presented at Olmix 1st Algae Symposium in September 2012, the result of his research on immune action and antiinflammatory effects of marine sulfated polysaccharides (MSP).

"Depending on the considered type of polysaccharide, there is a general action on innate immunity, with different mechanisms of cell recognition and many types of pathways - activation of the complement, of the lymphocytes, production of cytokines.”

The scientist also notes that more and more publications have reported very successful results in many areas of human and animal health, "Whether in the field of antiviral activities (Influenza, H5N1), in the regulation of inflammation and anticoagulant properties or anti-tumoral activities, to mention only the most important ones. Most of these activities have been observed or measured in cell cultures or experimental animals (rat); all these properties are potentially applicable to livestock species."

A lot of perspectives

For now France is still far from using these resources on an industrial scale.

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May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 25

FEATURE requires very specific conditions.

Green seaweed are rich in indigestible fiber so they are good Brown seaweed: 5-11 % DM Protein for health but not directly for Red seaweed: 30-40 % DM (quantitatively animal growth. In culture, it is equivalent to soybean) therefore necessary to enrich the Green seaweed: 20% DM Microalgae : Between 12 and 65 % DM Ulva in protein and in digestible fiber.”

Macroalgae : low lipid content value of 1 to 3% Fat DM (up to 5% in Ascophyllum nodosum) Further research is needed to Green seaweed: high content in oleic (C 18:1) reduce the obstacle represented and alpha-linolenic (w3-C 18:3) fatty acids. by the fibers for protein digestRed seaweed: high content of polyunsaturated ibility, in order to transform seafatty acids, EPA (w3-C20-5) and arachidonic acid weed matter in real raw material (w6-C20: 4). Presence of linoleic and linolenic fatty acids. for all species.

Brown seaweed: comparable to other families, “We can get a complete food with a high concentration of linolenic fatty acids. quite easily as long as we control Microalgae: Can accumulate over 50% of the conditions of biomass protheir dry weight in fat. These consist mainly of duction,” says Jean-François Sassi. triglycerides, phospholipids and glycolipids. They contain saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids Brown, red or green, seasuch as omega 3 : ALA,EPA,DHA, or omega 6 weed have the potential to feed :ARA. but these products are not caliAverage total content: 32 to 50% DM Fibers brated. (macroalgae) Insoluble fiber is found in small amounts in the Significant variations of chemiform of cellulosic fractions and floridean starch. cal composition of seaweed Soluble fiber (or phycocolloids), more interesting, actually make their operation are better represented: Red seaweed: 51-56% in the form of agars, difficult, hence the necessity for carrageenans and xylans further research on this issue.

Green seaweed: 51-56% in the form of ulvans, Regarding microalgae, operatrhamnanes and arabinogalactan ing conditions are even more delBrown seaweed: 67 to 87% in the form of icate and complex, which makes laminaranes (B-glucans), alginates and fucans their cost prohibitive (around The mineral fraction can represent up to 36% DM. Mineral Euro3600 per kilo). Their fat Macro-nutrients: sodium, calcium, magnesium, component (macroalgae) potassium, chlorine, sulfur, phosphorus... content is particularly interesting Trace elements: iron, zinc, copper, selenium, for the biodiesel industry and molybdenum, fluorine, manganese, boron, nickel, many projects are being set up cobalt… to develop its use in animal and Case of iodine: exceptionally rich in iodine, human nutrition. especially for brown seaweed (kelp) and red seaweed (Gracilaria) and can reach 10 000mg/ “We are still a long way kg. from producing protein meal”, Red seaweed: provitamin A Vitamins reports Marc Danjon, who is Green seaweed: vitamin C calling for a real technological Brown seaweed: vitamins E,C revolution to develop the use The B vitamins are well represented (B2 and B3 in of microalgae. particular), with originality for B12 normally not “The fields of research found in plants.

Microalgae: vitamins B1, B6, B12, C,E, K1 are numerous and very promising but algae suffer Antioxydants Macro and microalgae: Caratenoids between 0.1 and 0.2 % (Fucoxanthin, B-carotene, violaxanthin, from being excluded from zexanthine and lutein) plant crops," observe Ceva‘s Macroalgae: polyphenols (phlorotannins) can researchers. represent from 5 to 20% dry weight of brown Europe has no agronomic seaweed. approach towards algae like Asia Seaweed are underutilised, regrets Marc does, "where they grow algae the same way as vegetables," he adds.

Danjon from Ceva.

Probably also for cultural reasons algae come marginally in the human diet, compared About Olmix & the to the use that is made in Asia.

Ulvans project Regarding the specific case of green seaOlmix, a specialist in ‘green chemistry’, weed, Marc Danjon asserts that their potential quickly saw the potential of algae in aquaculuses in food are underutilised worldwide. ture and agriculture. Green seaweed polyTheir protein content can achieve a significant saccharides, ulvans, combined with micronrate of 30 percent of dry matter and are also ised clay from Montmorillon gave birth to rich in fiber.

Amadéite® in 2004 and this patented product Nevertheless, Ceva’s researchers warn the is now introduced in various feed suppleindustrials: "Wild resources do not present a ments for animals. very important energy supply and their culture Today with the support of Oséo (up to Composition of seaweed used in animal feed

26 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

Euro10 million for a project which amounts to Euro25 million euros of investment), Olmix wishes to structure the valorisation of seaweed at an industrial scale and to develop the use of algae as proteins substitute to fishmeal, fertilizer and biostimulant for plants.

In all, four plants are mobilised around the pilot project: two sites for the collection and initial processing, in Plouenan and Nantes, and two high-tech stations for the development of finished products: "Our technique is to hydrolyze the algae to isolate active principles and to extract the proteins.

“The valorisation in animal nutrition is driven towards nutraceuticals and aquaculture, where seaweed offer a real alternative to fishmeal. Our pilot plant in Plouenan will reach a processing capacity of 15,000 tonnes of algae.

In Indonesia a project to develop algae for bioethanol and food (human and animal) is being developed with volumes of two million tonnes. It is clear that the raw material is over there,” says the company.

About Ceva

Ceva, based in Pleubian on the Northern coast of Brittany, is the only technical center in Europe dedicated to the study and valorization of marine plants.

Originally created in 1982 to study the phenomenon of green seaweed, Ceva expanded its applied research on algae (macro and micro), marine plants and marine biotechnology.

The center is equipped with a laboratory of analysis, focusing on the research of seaweed active principles. It combines the resources needed for R&D projects on the development of new process (extraction, purification) and the physio-chemical characterisation of products stemming from these projects or specific customers’ requests.

It is strongly focused on the chemistry of algal polysaccharides, but also of proteins, polyphenols, pigments and minerals.

Ceva also ensures the transfer of scientific knowledge from academia to the industrial field: it is well equipped with a pilot platform providing the full transformation process to develop various semi-industrial products according to the requests. With a staff of 25 members, Ceva is organised in three main departments that are environment, culture and products.

Created with the support of Breton communities and industrials of algae sector, Ceva is a private research organisation open to any type of industrialists. It is part of Actia network, which is certified as Agroindustrial Technical Institute (Itai) by the First Ministry.

Reference: La Revue de l'Alimentation Animale N° 664, mars 2013 by Sarah Le Blé and Caroline Morice.

FEATURE

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May-June 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 27

PHOTOSHOOT

The South American countries are increasingly adopting aquaculture instead of Fishing unlike its growing remains quite static.

Not a week goes by without one or more reports on the governments of Central and South America showing their support behind his fledgling aquaculture. From Paraguay to Brazil, opportunities in sustainable aquaculture development are pursued with vigor, and according to a recent report from Fitch Ratings, New York, Peru is expected to remain a major player in the business of international aquaculture, being the largest exporter of fishmeal in the region On the other hand, Chile is also a major player in the industry; remains No. 3 in the production of fishmeal, No 2 in fish oil and No 1 in the production of salmon.

Brazil is the second largest aquaculture producer in Latin America. However, its 8,400 miles of coastline and extensive inland waters, make this activity has an enormous potential. With 76,266 tons produced in 2004, shrimp culture is the most important aquaculture resource in Brazil, followed by the culture of freshwater species such as tilapia.

28 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | May-June 2014

FISH FARMING

TECHNOLOGY SUPPLEMENT

Nets and cages Recirculating Aquaculture Systems - Benefits and disadvantages of modern basic systems

SUPPLEMENT

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

NETS CAGES

& A

t Boris Nets all our fish cages are manufactured to the highest standard using drawings and technical information gathered throughout our years of experience in the industry.

The company works closely with each customer so that its cages are crafted using a mix of traditional methods and modern technology with great attention to individual specifics and site conditions. The result is a premium quality product with an excellent reputation.

Cages are predominantly made using knot-less nylon netting. Good for its strength elastic-

ity and resistance to abrasion with a relatively high uv resistance.

Together with the comparatively low cost this makes it an excellent choice for fish cage manufacturing.

Nylon netting size ranges from first feeder to larger mesh size higher-grade netting, perfect for offshore heavy weather conditions. There is some shrinkage but this is taken into consid-

The old and the new makes for a premium product eration during our manufacturing process.

“We have conducted large scale trials with polyester in comparison to traditional nylon cages.

Although it is perceived that the lower elasticity, decreased shrinkage and higher UV resistant properties are advantageous it is not proven that these are significant. Nylon remains the preferred material of the two for most of our customers,” says the company.

Dyneema has been widely used in production for several years. Although more expensive than other materials it provides 3-4 times greater strength by weight than traditional nylon netting and retains this strength for a longer period leading to an increase in longevity in the life of the cages.

Dyneema is favoured by freshwater clients as it is easy to handle being light and the increased strength offers superior protection from predators such as otters. It is also widely used in cages for sea bream as they have a tendency to chew at the cages.

Again the increase in strength provides better resistance to this.

“We have used dyneema in the production of seawater cages.

“However due to lack of elasticity we would recommend an increase of at least a 25 percent in strength to compensate for this and ensure that the integrity of the cage is left uncompromised.

“These specifications make the dyneema cages approximately half the weight in comparison to a conventional nylon cage. Due to the nature of dyneema it is critical that nets are produced to the correct size with the correct amount of slack added evenly.

“In our opinion this makes the need for hand mounted ropes greater to ensure the probity of the product. There is a propensity by many manufacturers due to the raised costs and machine mounted roping to use considerably less than the amount required to make a premium quality cage.”

More recently there's been a significant interest in the use of Ultra high tenacity PE. Generally, knotted provides the advantage of being around 20 percent stronger in comparative weight to nylon. It has very good abrasion resistance and is very low stretch. These properties make it excellent in cages where in situ net washers are used. That said it is difficult to obtain in sizes below 18-20mm which could lead to restrictions in its use.

“The majority of our ropes are made from polysteel due to its superior abrasion resistance. We use the traditional hand mounting method in preference to machine sewing as it allows for more even strain distribution reducing future repair needs,” says the company.

In situ net washing processes have necessitated a change in design of cages.

The amount of slack incor-

02 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | Fish farming Technology

porated into the netting for the manufacture of the cages has had to be reduced to allow a firmer surface to allow the washer to operate efficiently. If too little slack is used the integrity is comprised. The ropes will no longer form the framework of the cage and too much strain will be placed on the netting itself leading to potentially catastrophic results. For this reason it is imperative that all ropes are hand mounted to ensure even and consistent distribution of the netting therefore minimising the risk of unnecessary damage.

Working closely with customers

We work closely with our customers to develop anti predator methods with great success.

A large number of our customers use predator screens permanently attached to the outside of their cages for extra protection and allowing the net itself to be tighter which is also a good deterrent .Along with weighting systems and in particular the froya ring support system which helps to maintain net shape in strong current reducing the potential loss from seal attacks, excellent results have been achieved and the loss of fish has greatly reduced.

“We are currently involved in a research and development program and have successfully trialled a new sewing machine for use in the manufacture of treatment tarps on a larger scale using very heavy duty materials .

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY diamond style on all or part of the net has proven very beneficial in keeping the integrity of our nets in bad conditions around the world, whilst still allowing for good aeration from water flow.”

The use of gussets, chaffer panels and double netting on areas of the net that are prone to more abrasion is extremely effective. Together with the hand mounted roping, attention to specifics, excellent design, highly skilled net makers and machinists Boris Nets produces cages often classed as some of the best in the world.

Next generation for Lift Up

D

aily ‘morts’ removal and handling are part of best practice in fish farming and Lift Up AS has, since 1989, supplied many thousand ‘morts’ collection systems from it factories in Norway and Chile.

The systems use the age-old air-lift principle and are simple in construction and efficient in operation. A souser-shaped cone is lowered to the bottom of the floating net-cage and from there a hose allows ‘morts’ to be lifted from the bottom of the cage to the surface by means of compressed air introduced into the cone at the base.

Lift Up has a wide range of

models for different species of fish and various sizes of nets, and exports its products to fish farmers worldwide.

Its newest generation of collection systems incorporate a full enclosed systems to bring ‘morts’ from the bottom of cages all the way to a central collection point on a service barge or onto shore for dewatering and disposal. This allows for all waste water to be disposed away from the live fish in the cages and minimises contamination.

Lift Up AS will again be exhibiting at this years Aqauculture UK 2014 show in Aviemore, Scotland, with special focus on its newest and fifth generation of collection systems.

Star netting introduced to Scotland

W

&J Knox has been making nets for aquaculture since the inception of the industry in Scotland. Traditionally, knotless nylon netting has been utilized for cage nets; however in the past year, Knox has started to introduce cage nets to

Scotland which have been produced from star netting, a modified HDPE developed by Garware-Wall Ropes of India.

Star netting is flexible and easy to handle, weighing approximately 25 percnet less for the same strength as nylon.

The key benefits are that there is less algae formation and no antifoulant is required.

Both the structure and the raw material make it more suitable than nylon for machine cleaning.

Samples of star netting and further details will be on display at Aquaculture UK at the Knox stand

Association of International

Professionals

S

eafood – that is fish from both fishing and aquaculture - is the most traded food commodity in the world and it is an essential product for the health of humans globally and critical for many under developed countries for food security.

As professionals, we all need to be aware of issues covering everything from food safety to environmental sustainability, trade barriers to fraud, etc, are all important as we move forward.

The aim of this association is to network, share, educate, communicate and promote all activities relating to creating a better seafood world.

There are no boundaries as this a large and diverse industry but our aim is not to duplicate what others are doing and to work with all dedicated seafood organisations and people.

We have created a website, blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter (see details below) to enable there to be a terrific flow of information and to enable us all to promote the exchange of ideas and information, foster interaction, understanding and professional collaboration among individuals, organisations and governments, disseminate

UP-COMING ACTIVITIES

“This has resulted in a company in Australia ordering and shipping one of our largest ever products over, with great potential for further purchases in the near future.

“Our cages have proven a great success in some of the worst storms on record both nationally and internationally offshore. Leaving them intact and uncompromised when other machine sewn cages have been destroyed with devastating fish losses.

“Changing the method in which netting is mounted from the usual square hanging form to

knowledge about fish, seafood and associated products and promote advancement of the state-of-the-art in fish research, development, extension and education.

Our association does not aim to charge for membership as we believe that it is best to engage as many industry people as we can and we do not want fees getting in the way.

We plan to create services and opportunities for all our members and for those services there will be charges.

You will get to choose if you want to sign up to the services or not. If the services are not what you want then you will not have to pay for them. The emphasis is on us to ensure the services will be seen as being seen to be worthwhile to you, otherwise you will not sign up.

We can all grow and improve ourselves and our industry simply by learning from each other and nature.

We use the Canadian Geese as an example - Scientists believe that the characteristic “v-shaped” flock of geese migrating serves two purposes.

First, it creates a current of air along the lines of geese that makes it easier for individuals to fly. Second, it allows for better communication and unity of the flock while in the air.

• 7-11 June 2014 Association engaged in many events at World Aquaculture Conference, Adelaide, SA, Australia • 28-29 June 2014: Association assisting with EMS Forum, Thailand • 1-2 July 2014: Association invited to speak at Monaco Blue Initiative, Santiago, Chile • 6-8 August 2014: Association organizing in conjunction with VASEP the Vietfish Conference, HCMC, Vietnam • 21-22 September 2014: Association invited to speak at Aquatic China, Beijing, China • 9-11 November 2014: Association organizing SEAFEX Seafood Summit, Dubai, UAE • 11-13 March 2015: Association assisting Seafood Processing Conference at VIV Cer ti Asia, Bangkok, Thailand fica

tion

seafoodprofessionals.org

Fish farming Technology | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 03

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

R AS RECIRCULATING

AQUACULTURE

SYSTEMS

Benefits and disadvantages of modern basic systems

E

very fish farmer hopes to achieve the same goal of high quality fish to a minimum production cost.

RAS with degassing tanks and fixed bed up flow bio filters In fixed bed up-flow filters with fixed substrate, the water is distributed evenly throughout the bottom of all the bio filters. This is done to secure a low water flow speed up through the bio filter media - in order to also remove the smaller particles. It also reduces the amount of solid material the bio filter has to break down as there is settlement in the bottom of the bio filters prior to entering the bio filter media. The media has an open structure (media is 15% of the volume) which helps to secure a low water speed. This low water speed helps the media and the bacteria that grow on them to effectively catch the microscopic particles. In fixed bed up-flow bio filters the whole surface of the media is used to remove particles and ammonia, and the result is cleaner water. Back flush of the bio filter is a simple operation that doesn’t significantly affect the water quality. The bio filter is separated in sections meaning that one can be cleaned while the other sections are still running. The cleaning intervals are 8-16 weeks depending on the amount of feeding. It is possible to implement a semi-automatic cleaning system to the bio filters which ease the cleaning operation of the bio filters significantly. Efficient removal of micro particles reduces the need for ozone treatment to get clean and clear water. If ozone is used, then only a small doze is needed due to less particles in the water.

The degassing system contributes positively to the water temperature in the RAS because the air blowers heat up the air blown into the water and degas the CO2 in the water simultaneously. So in addition to the improved water quality, heating costs are reduced thanks to the design.

Due to the design of the bio filter, settlement in the first part of the bio filter is impossible.

The use of 2-3 bio filters gives each bio filter less volume this will result in significant higher water speeds in the bio filters.

High water speed makes it difficult to catch micro particles. The cleaning of the bio filter blocks has shown to be very time consuming

sing, there is a need to have a high water flow to keep the CO2 level down as trickling filters have lower efficiency compared to degassing tanks.

The water enters the trickling filter just after the drum filter and still has a lot of organic material in the water. Organic material creates a lot of sludge in the bio filter, the trickling filter, “drops off” of old sludge that

Benefits

Disadvantages

Trickling filter does 2 jobs - CO2 stripping and ammonia removal.

2 times pumping gives higher power consumption. CO2 stripping is cooling the system down at winter and heating it at summer.

Labor intensive to clean bio filters. Need higher water flow to control CO2.

Benefits

Disadvantages

Trickling filter does 2 jobs - CO2 stripping and ammonia removal.

2 times pumping gives higher power consumption. CO2 stripping is cooling the system down at winter and heating it at summer.

Labor intensive to clean bio filters. Need higher water flow to control CO2.

Benefits

Disadvantages

Low energy consumption of the pumping of the water due to the one-time pumping. No cleaning of the bio filter.

Makes dirty water when running at full capacity.

Little CO2 degassing capacity.

Benefits

Disadvantages

Low energy consumption due to “one time pumping”. Best mechanical capture of particles in the bio filter! This makes clean water. Less oxygen consumption due to clear water = less CO2 production = less power consumption.

A little higher area requirement. Not full automatic cleaning of the bio filter.

because it sometimes needs to be taken out of bio filter for manual cleaning.

It is a known fact that the relatively large amount of air needed for trickling filters cools the water significant because of the evaporation. This technology is actually well known in cooling towers.

When using trickling filters for CO2 degas-

04 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | Fish farming Technology

goes back to the fish tanks as small particles (circa 70% goes to fish tanks and circa 30% to fixed bed filters). This design makes the water dirty due to low cleaning efficiency. The fixed bed bio filter has more chambers which runs in series at 4 times the speed of the water compared to fixed bed up-flow filters were the water runs parallel.

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

The trickling filter is made of bio block systems which requires cleaning 1-2 times a year with a high pressure cleaner.

The water is pumped 2 - 3 times which gives higher power consumption.

The high water speed in fixed bed up- and down-flow filters makes it difficult to remove the micro particles. In combination with a trickling filter this makes the water unclean.

As described before, the relatively large amount of air needed for a trickling filter

cools the water significant because of the evaporation.

Moving bed filters are self-cleaning because of the air that is blown into the bio filter medias to keep them moving. When the layers of dead micro-organisms grow too thick it will peel off causing dirty water. The smallest particles that come into the moving bed filter will not be caught in the filter but go back into the fish tanks causing very unclear water.

Blowing air into deep water columns as it is done in moving bed bio filters gives high super saturation of Nitrogen which requires significant vacuum degassing systems to remove the super saturation of Nitrogen in the water.

Dirty water in the fish tanks creates a significant higher oxygen consumption and CO2 production of up to 50% which requires up to 50% more electricity consumption for oxygen injection and CO2 removal as well as 50% more oxygen purchase.

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Fish farming Technology | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 05

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

Pharmaq in ‘holistic ‘ distribution deal with Leiber to expand its global product portfolio

T

wo key companies to the aquaculture sector have entered into a distribution agreement that will benefit fish farming operators when it comes to combining fish health with fish nutrition.

By signing a distribution agreement with the German ingredient manufacturer, Leiber GmbH, Pharmaq AS teams up with a very competent partner in the interesting segment of yeast products and immune stimulation for its global aquaculture customer base.

“Pharmaq is very happy to add the quality products of Leiber GmbH to its portfolio.

It will make a basis for early entry into new geographies and species, as well as strengthening the relationship with customers in our present markets," says Jan Oppen Berntsen, Director Feed Products and Equipment in Pharmaq AS. For 60 years, Leiber GmbH, located in Bramsche in Lower Saxony, Germany, has

Interview - Pharmaq International Aquafeed interviewed Jan Oppen Berntsen, Director - Feed Products and Equipment based in Pharmaq’s Oslo office, Norway, who answered questions with interesting insights and depth.

How will Leiber’s products benefit Pharmaq’s customers?

Traditionally, Pharmaq AS has had its main focus on vaccines for farmed fish. And as such our vaccines are specific products, meaning one component in any given vaccine is designed to solve one specific disease in one specific specie.

A vaccine can contain many different components and thus solve many disease problems in one injection. The most commonly used injection vaccine in Norwegian salmon farming today contains six different antigens and protects against as many pathognes.

Leiber's products are delivered through feed and their basic ingredient is beta-glucan.

Beta-glucans boost the animal’s unspecific immune system and as such is a more

been one of the leading manufacturers of specialist yeast products. The natural raw material of brewers' yeast is processed using an innovative biotechnological method to form highquality products which are used in the areas of animal nutrition, food, food supplements and biotechnology.

“Our customers are found in the salmonid, tilapia, pangasius, sea bass/bream as well as the shrimp segments of the global aquaculture industry.

“By adding a high-quality beta-glucan man-

general way of helping animals overcome general stress periods.

Feeds containing immune stimulating substances such as beta-glucan are often recommended during stress periods caused by for example change in temperature, change in feeding regime, before handling such as sorting and vaccination.

At what stage is it now and what is the long-term goal of the agreement? Is this a world-wide agreement or for specific regions?

Leiber wanted to strengthen their presence in the aquaculture segment and chose to do so through the collaboration with Pharmaq AS. Pharmaq AS is recognised as the world's leading pharmaceutical company specialising in aquaculture. We provide environmentally sound, safe and efficacious health products to the global aquaculture industry through targeted research and the commitment of dedicated people.

The agreement gives Pharmaq access to Leiber's products exclusively to

ufactured by Leiber to our Pharmaq product portfolio, we will support unspecific immunity to products administered by the oral route,” says Jan Oppen Berntsen.

Pharmaq AS provides environmentally sound, safe and efficacious health products for the global fish farming industry. Besides a range of therapeutic products, the company's core products are fish vaccines with a broad portfolio of 25 different vaccines for various markets.

aquaculture in a few selected markets (Greece and Spain) and as our own branded products to aquaculture on a global basis.

Leiber's brands are BioLex MB40 and Beta-S. Pharmaq's corresponding brands are Vetregard and ALPHA Beta 80. The latter products (Beta-S and AB 80) are purified and with a very high content (> 80%) of Beta-glucan.

The long term goal is to build a stronger presence in the feed additive segment for a product portfolio that fits our business idea.

(Pharmaq provides environmentally sound, safe and efficacious health products to the global aquaculture industry.) Leiber products fit this perfectly.

Has there been a history of working with fish farmers that use Leiber products anyway? Has it been a naturally, gradual process?

No, we have a small product portfolio in selected markets in this segment. Some of our present customers will naturally be interested in the Leiber products.

06 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | Fish farming Technology

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

Interview - Leiber

I

nternational Aquafeed interviewed Karen Mörler, Marketing Animal Nutrition at Leiber GmbH in Bramsche in Lower Saxony, Germany who also answered question about the agreement in detail.

How will Leiber’s products benefit Pharmaq’s customers?

Leiber’s high quality ‘made in Germany’ products for aquaculture include the highly purified 1.3-1.6-ß-D-glucan Leiber Beta-S and the yeast cell wall product Biolex MB40, which are both delivered through the feed.

The famous phrase “prevention is better than cure” gains more and more importance in today’s aquatic animal husbandry. Following this approach, the overall aim and result of these prophylactically administered products is to boost the immune and health status of fish and shellfish in order to increase their resistance against the variety of stress factors that occur during the production cycles in intensive aquaculture.

As a result, the efficiency and profitability of the aquaculture farms is improved, mainly but not exclusively through a reduction in mortality rates.

How important is the health of fish to Leiber’s current customers, and does Leiber's immune stimulation products match well for fish farmers with Pharmaq’s products and expertise in fish vaccination and fish health?

The health status of fish and shellfish is the decisive

factor in why Leiber’s customers are using the health promoting products Leiber Beta-S and Leiber Biolex MB40.

In today’s intensive aquaculture fish and shellfish are often subjected to a plethora of various stress factors in their living environment. A chronic stress response is generally believed to suppress or dysregulate immune functions and makes the organism more susceptible to pathogens with the eventual risk of causing diseases.

Among others one frequently occurring stress factor is handling, and this is where Leiber’s and Pharmaq's products complement each other perfectly.

Especially Leiber’s ß-glucan product Leiber Beta-S prepares the fish to better overcome the stress of a vaccination procedure and, in addition, subsequently improves the effect of the vaccination through its proven, adjuvant effect.

What links will this distribution partnership bring, are there long-term goals?

Leiber wants to further strengthen its presence in aquaculture and Pharmaq as the market leader in aquaculture pharmaceuticals, with a direct link to the farmers, is an ideal partner.

The combination of both companies’ products will generate a more holistic approach to the improvement of fish health and ultimately to the profitability of aquaculture operations for the farmers’ benefit in a sound, safe and sustainable way.

Fish farming Technology | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 07

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

SEAFEX Middle East/North Africa Seafood Summit

A

n ever increasingly crowed ocean where increasing demands are being made by various activity groups is putting unnecessary pressure on the fishing and aquaculture industries.

That’s the message delegated attending the inaugural Seafood Summit event which was part of the Seafex Seafood Exhibition (which in itself was part of a massive program covering all activities seafood related from world hospitality competitions through to various trade shows and meetings), at Dubai World Trade Centre earlier this year.

The Association of International Seafood Professionals (AISP) was engaged to put together the Summit program.

The opening of the Summit included a message from Carl-Christian Schmidt, Head of Fisheries Policies Division at OECD with a video which sets the scene for the challenges ahead for what is describes as the “Green Growth Period”.

Starting proceedings with a session ‘Corporate Ocean Responsibility: Regional Ocean Industry Collaboration’ was Paul Holthus from the World Ocean Council (WOC). Mr Holthus highlighted how complex and challenging it is when we are dealing with an ever increasingly crowded ocean with everyone demanding their needs should get priority.

The WOC session brought together representatives from shipping, desalination and fisheries/ aquaculture and much was learned about the challenges and opportunities in each sector.

Captain Anshuman Singh, a legal expert in shipping matters, explained that at the moment many shipping companies were economically challenged and this has seen many vessels simply left an anchor, that is, dumped. Captain Singh also spoke about water ballast issues and action plans in case of oil spillages – these can both have incredible impacts on fisheries/aquaculture.

Prathapchandra Shetty, Emirates Star Fisheries, commented that in addition to fisheries, aquaculture, shipping and desalination, these same waters host an increasing level of many other economic activities - oil and gas, ports, dredging, coastal development, tourism and their ocean uses - which collectively create challenges to maintaining marine ecosystem health and productivity in the region.

Felix Dent, FAO Globefish, gave an excellent presentation on ‘Status and Trends of Global Fisheries & Aquaculture’ and gave some basic information on FAO and Globefish roles.

‘Certification – Benefits beyond the Demands’ was a presentation by Peter Redmond, Global Aquaculture Alliance. Through the development of its Best Aquaculture Practices certification stand-

ards, GAA has become the leading standardssetting organisation for aquaculture seafood.

Trading seafood in MENA, especially the Middle East is an important activity that people do not know enough about. Sadaf Murad, an AISP member based in UAE, gave her views on ‘Import, Consumption and Re-Export’ business.

Sadaf highlighted that the area has become a large re-processing hub for the MENA area.

Sadaf gave information on import patterns (species, sources and connections); the spectrum of seafood products (the top echelon, masses, bottom of the pyramid consumption, species and movements, etc.); inter trade and cross trade (re-processing, re-export, etc.). The presentation created a taste for the next subject ‘Fishing & Aquaculture including Financing and Investing in the Arab Region’ led by Izzat Feidi, Fisheries Consultant based in Egypt and a panel of people he had engaged.

The panel consisted Salih Salem Bahawini, Al-Qalzam (Sea Global Co, Saudi Arabia); Professor Jean-Yves Mevel, UAE University, UAE; Prathapchandra Shetty, Emirates Star Fisheries, Yemen/UAE and Max Goulden, MacAlister-Elliott Partners Ltd, UK. We learnt that whilst the overall resources of the Arab region in general constitute a small part in the international fisheries scene they are considered a very important economic activity especially in the traditional, artisanal communities in these countries where it provides employment, food and a source of income from the various activities associated with the fisheries industry.

“With this background, and in order to increase the benefits of a largely low level industry in terms of returns of the industry to the various national economies as well as to the various sectors of the industry including the fishermen communities, there is a significant need for more attention and prospective of development in the region in order to raise the potential of food security.

“Major investments will need to be injected in the sector to increase the future benefits of aquaculture in these countries of the region,” commented Izzat.

A successful day one was wrapped up with a presentation on Aquaculture without Frontiers, highlighting the issues regarding the alleviation of hunger and poverty and the activities of the AwF. Day Two at SEAFEX was focused on how to make money from our oceans/water responsibly.

Dr Jed Brown, of the MASDAR Institute, gave us an insight into ‘Integrated Seawater Aquaculture/ Agriculture Project for Bioenergy Production in UAE’.

The importance of seafood as it relates to individuals health was a GILLS presentation. The catch cry is that everyone knows the importance of seafood and health but if that was true then surely we would not be getting anti-seafood activities and surely every country would address their food security needs as far as seafood is concerned.

Importantly, we would not have eating disor-

ders as we have with both hunger and obesity around the world and seafood would be given priority in areas relating to space/access. We know that is not the case so we need to continue to find new ways to spread the message globally.

Roger Gilbert, International Aquafeed, just returning from an important Chinese Nutrition Conference which focused on aquaculture feeds, etc., gave an excellent presentation on the challenges we face on how to feed a growing population in the future.

He stressed that aquatic organisms like fish, have an advantage in efficiency (very effective feed converters) compared to land animals which is due to their advantage of having ambient body temperature,and requiring less energy for keeping body in balance, as they live in water. As feed resources become scarce and more expensive this advantage will become stronger he believed.

Despite these facts, there is a perception, mainly outside the aquaculture society, that feed is a major sustainability issue for aquaculture. Most concern is related to the use of fish as feed for fish but he believed that as long as there is good management of fisheries ensuring that fish harvest is sustainable, due to the efficiency benefits of fish, aquafeed is the best allocation for fishmeal and oil.

However, he pointed out that the industry has invested in substantial knowledge allowing use to reduce fishmeal input in diets with many feed companies reducing the inclusion of marine ingredients by 50 percent over the last 10 years, and clearly had more gains to make.

‘Marketing and Lessons in Fishing & Aquaculture’ was presented by Professor Jose Fernandez Polanco, Universidad de Cantabria, who has a wealth of experience in these areas stressed that marketing is an imperative in driving the industry from being commodity driven to consumer driven.

Through various case studies which he has completed over the years he highlighted that marketing was still an important issue to be overcome.

Dr Farshad Shishehchian from Blue Aqua, Thailand, spoke about ‘Making Profit in Aquaculture’ and attracted a good audience.

The IASP launched its website (http://seafoodprofessionals.org/) highlighting that its aims were to create a professional association representing all individuals from all sectors of the global seafood industry community enabling interaction, understanding and collaboration; disseminating knowledge about fish, seafood and associated products; lifting values by promoting advancement in seafood research, development, extension, education and standards that will lead to a professional accredited industry.

The event closed with the International Premiere showing of “Drawing the Line”, an 80 minute movie, a concept of Bruce Davey, a Northern Territorian Spanish Mackerel fisherman who was keen to get some factual issues on record about the previous Australian Governments push for Marine Parks and with the added value of explaining the ‘Super trawler’ issue as it unfolded in Australia.

08 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | Fish farming Technology

According to FAO, Argentina leads the world rankings in terms of its potential to develop mariculture, but one of the biggest obstacles to develop aquaculture in general, is its strong agro - livestock culture, and low consumption of fish resources. Argentina captures about of 750 thousand tons of fish per year (average), of which only 26% is consumed.

The heavy losses that occurred several years ago by the ‘white spot’ virus, did jeopardize the future of the Ecuadorian shrimp industry. According to the Cámara Nacional de Acuicultura de Ecuador (CNA), the production currently exceeds 200 thousand tons per year, becoming the shrimp, the first aquaculture export product of the country.

March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 29

FEATURE

Use of a heat-stable protease in salmonid feeds - Experiences from Canada and Chile

by M.A. Kabir Chowdhury, PhD, Jefo Nutrition Inc., Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada Dr Pedro Cardenas Villarroal, Alinat Chile, Chile

V

olatility of supply, price and quality of commonly-used ingredients and lack of proper characterisation of their components are forcing aquaculture feed manufacturers to use high safety margins for nutrients while formulating a feed.

Techniques such as cooking, conditioning, soaking and finally, using enzymes for various components are increasingly used to improve the quality of ingredients in feed or to reduce the variations in their quality.

Besides phytase (for phosphorus) and some carbohydrases, dietary proteolytic enzymes are gaining attention in recent years, mainly because of the need for better utilisation of proteins from existing sources.

Protease breaks down large, indigestible and insoluble proteins to highly digestible smaller peptides and some free amino acids. These small chain peptides may also contain some bioactive properties influencing ingestion, digestion, absorption, and assimilation of nutrients in animals.

These intrinsic properties of protease enzymes are encouraging for nutritionists and feed formulators as they allow them to include more low-digestible protein ingredients without compromising the quality of the feed.

The influence of exogenous protease

In the intestine of animals, polypeptides are digested to smaller peptides and amino acids by several enzymes derived from pancreas or secretory cells of the intestinal epithelium in slightly alkaline environment achieved by pancreatic secretion of bicarbonates and bile acids from the gall bladder (see Figure 1).

The absorption of nutrients occurs in the intestine by optimising the intestinal surface area within the constraints of the coelomic cavity.

Presence of exogenous protease can influence the rate of reactions in the intestine enhancing nutrient utilisation efficiency of the animals.

Effects of protease in aquaculture feed can be manifested in more digestible proteins in feed, improved digestibility of nutrients in an ingredient, better mucosal health, growth and feed conversion of the farmed aquatic animals.

Trials with shrimp, crab, salmonids, carps, tilapia, pangasius, seabream and other species have shown significant improvement in growth, feed conversion or nutrient utilisation efficiency. In studies with salmonids species, addition of protease in feed not only improved the protein 30 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

FEATURE quality of the feed but also stimulated gut health, growth, and feed conversion helping the bottom line of feed manufacturers and producers.

Table 1. Growth performance and intestinal villi height of rainbow trout fed diets containing graded level (0, 175, 250 ppm) of Jefo protease Treatments

Improving protein quality

Initial body weight (g)

Final body weight (g)

Specific growth rate (SGR, %)

Thermalunit Growth Coefficient (TGC)

FCR

Villi size (µm)

In several in-vitro and in-vivo studies with the Jefo protease, a marked Control 390 850a 0.92a 2.52a 1.43b 630a improvement in protein digestibility Control + 175 ppm protease 402 971b 1.05b 2.94b 1.35a 663b of ingredient and feed was observed.

Control + 250 ppm protease 399 987b 1.07b 3.03b 1.33a 737b In a study conducted at the Notes: Different letters in a column denote significant differences (P<0.05) among the treatments University of Saskatchewan of Canada, addition of the protease to a coThe protein digestibility of a feed was then determined using the extruded canola-pea based diets resulted in significant improvement in apparent digestibility of crude protein, energy, lipid and dry matter following equation: Protein Digestibility (%) = 100 x (Initial CP – Final CP)/Initial CP (P<0.05) in rainbow trout (see Figure 2A) (Drew et al. 2005).

The protein digestibility was analysed in three different hydrolysing The improvement was less pronounced in the co-extruded flax-pea conditions (temperature and pH). In all three cases, significantly more based diets.

Availability of more digestible nutrients also resulted in improved digestible protein was reported in feeds containing the protease than feed conversion and growth of rainbow trout fed diets containing with in those without (see Figure 3). the protease (see Figures 2B and 2C).

In another in-vivo study conducted at the Universidad Catolica de Growth performance and intestinal health Temuco with three species of salmonids (coho salmon, Atlantic salmon Several growth and digestibility trials conducted in Canada and and rainbow trout), both protein and carbohydrate digestibility were Chile showed significant improvement in performance of the test improved significantly in fish fed the treatment diets containing the animals fed diets containing the protease compared to those fed the protease than those fed the control diets (Chowdhury 2012). control diets (see Table 1).

In an in-vitro digestibility study at the Universidad de Concepcion of Similarly, height (µm), density and structure of intestinal villi also Chile, protein digestibility of commercially extruded (extrusion temp. showed a marked improvement in fish fed the protease diets (see 120oC) salmonids feeds with and without protease was determined Figure 4). using the HCl-Pepsin method. The method involved grinding of the Increased availability of nutrients coupled with increased intestinal feed samples followed by HCl-Pepsin digestion for 16 hours and then, nutrient absorption capacity resulted in the better growth and feed separation of solids. conversion in treatment animals.

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March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 31

FEATURE

Challenges for using a protease enzyme

Issues with heat-stability have been a major hindrance for the use of enzymes in aquafeed.

Very few enzymes in the market today are truly heatstable.

In addition, it is difficult for feed manufacturers to compare efficacy of various enzymes to improve the protein quality of their feed using traditional or prescribed enzymatic activity assays. Traditional or prescribed enzymatic assays rely on specific substrate, which may not be suitable for a feed.

Feedmills must be able to rapidly and accurately test complete feeds for the presence of a protease as part of their QA/QC process. The in-vitro protein digestibility assays provide a solution to this problem enabling feed manufacturers to test the effects of an enzyme not by measuring activity but in real term, the quality of proteins.

This innovative solution should be standardised and utilised as a tool to compare effects of different enzymes on a particular feed.

Preference to multi-enzyme containing protease-complex has also been a rising phenomenon.

All enzymes are proteins and adding a protease in the cocktail creates a situation where other enzymes become the nearest substrate for the protease. While it is acceptable to use all the carbohydrases together, using protease in a cocktail usually reduces the efficacy of other enzymes.

Several published and unpublished trials with carps, shrimp and salmonids showed lower beneficial effects of multi-enzyme compared to a single protease or a protease-complex.

If intended, it is recommended to use protease either separately or in a protected form in a multi-enzyme cocktail to prevent hydrolysis of other enzymes.

Conclusion

Apart from their availability and poor nutrient characterisation, imbalanced amino acid profiles, poor digestibility of nutrients, presence of various anti-nutritional factors has been limiting the use of some novel ingredients in aquaculture feed.

Using a protease enzyme would therefore be a useful solution to address these unknown factors.

It can be assumed that in the near future, similar to phytase, protease enzymes would become an essential component of feed as a cost-effective solution to improve the quality of salmonids feeds.

References: Chowdhury, M.A.K. 2012. Aquafeed: Advances in Processing & Formulation, Autumn Issue.

Drew et al. 2005. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 119:117-128

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FEATURE Various aquatic feeds by extrusion cooking

Evolution in Extrusion

of Aquatic Feeds

by Joseph P. Kearns, Wenger Manufacturing, Inc, Sabetha, KS, USA

A

quatic feed production has undergone tremendous changes as the industry has advanced towards efficiency and sustainability of the aquaculture industry.

SustainableBusiness.com, published in 2011, stated that aquaculture is in a rapid industry growth phase, that is “Driving the scientists' research is the recognition that aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production sectors in the world.

“It has grown at an average annual rate of 8.4% since 1970 and total production reached 65.8 million tons in 2008 according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

“Today, aquaculture is a US$100-plus billion industry that provides more than half of all seafood consumed in the world, surpassing wild-caught seafood.”

If it is a food fish it can be fed

Let’s review here how the art of production of feed, for aquatic animals by extrusion, is prepared and advancing for various species; predominately the major species are carp, eel, salmon, trout, shrimp tilapia, catfish and a collection of additional species that are regionally farmed.

Basically, if it swims and is a food fish then feeds can be prepared for their consumption.

The aspects of the feed are defined by researchers for those specific species.

Generally, this includes the nutritional requirements and physical characteristics required in the feed for select species.

Historically, aquatic feeds were simply other fish caught to feed the more valuable marketable species. The shift occurred when advanced feed produc-

tion methodology was applied which initially centered on the use of pellet mills. This would be the art of compounding feed ingredients into pellets which were sinking in design due to the equipment abilities, compounding or pressing the ingredients by force into a pellet shape.

Today, this method is still used as there are various values applied to the final product, the fish.

Economics apply even in aquaculture as some species do not have the market value for advanced feed production methods, or simply they are not required for that species.

Extrusion does have advantages in formulation abilities and in some cases the feeds are actually less costly due to mainly the reduced starch requirement in sinking feeds.

Less starch give more room for nutritional

Example of a Large Aquatic Feed Production Plant, Skretting, Norway

building blocks allowing lower cost protein uses in the feed.

As this industry in whole is advancing technically other methods of feed production emerged, mainly extrusion cooking. Why? Initially, it was seen that the density of a feed from an extrusion cooker was floating.

Researchers found they could monitor the fish and feed consumption easily with the use of a floating feed for many species in effect changing the feed pellet characteristics desired.

This effect was seen in the catfish industry and others where additional advantages including formulation cost reduction and feed production methods allowed for feed cost improvements.

Thus, aquaculture became a business, a big business, with entrepreneurs studying all aspects of it.

Any advantage that could improve the bottom line was of interest. Small aquatic farmers with a few ponds turned their operations into large 1000-hectare farms, small feedmills turned into huge bulk feed production plants, usually in specially designed configurations.

The implication of change

Let’s review extrusion and the implications of changes effecting this individual method of production.

A definition of extrusion cooking: “Extrusion cooking is the process where expandable biopolymers such as protein and starch are plasticized in a tube by a combination of heat, shear, and pressure resulting in the denaturation of the protein, the gelatinization of the starch, and the exothermic expansion of the extrudate.”

Explained on the basis of aquatic feed production expandable biopolymers, starchy ingredients and functional pro34 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

FEATURE

teins, are required to hold the pellets together and to impart the needed ingredients to make the feed float, sink slowly or sink rapidly.

Usually the starch requirement in extrusion is in the 10 percent range for sinking and 20 percent range for floating.

Proteins are added for the nutritional value with good quality functional proteins or ones which have not been overheated before extrusion also allow binding of the pellet.

Extrusion is usually a high temperature/short time (HT/ST) process with extreme changes occurring in the extruder barrel.

In about 30 seconds the powdery raw material is melted into a plastic state by heat via friction, shear by design of the barrel components and pressure by forcing the material through this device. T he result is the final product. The question is how to control all of these parameters and make an individual feed or many different styles of aquatic feeds with the same machine?

Historically, this process started out very simply, that is what the industry had to offer, simple but an advanced extruder which was designed to expand products.

Honestly, these machines came from the petfood industry and it just happened they were the driver for extrusion in aquatic feed applications. The industries mirrored each other - believe it or not. At that time it was

typically eight to ten tons per hour maximum capacity with restrictions.

Early on the restrictions were how much fat or fresh meat can be placed in the extruder as well as capacity, smaller diameter feed capacity, was greatly reduced when compared to larger feed sizes. Pellet of 15mm or larger were unheard of and when someone asked for sinking feeds, heads were scratched.

Over the years the petfood industry asked for more fat in the extruder, more fresh meat, density control, control of the air cell sizes in the pellets, more durable products to mention a few.

Coincidentally, many of these topics matched the questions from the aquatic industry.

Advancements in extrusion equipment

Large Capacity Single Screw Extruder for Salmon and Floating Feed Applications, 17 tons per hour dry rate after extruder

Open Twin Screw Extruder Barrel. Discharge on right where the plasticized mass is about to exit the extruder. Shows the flow to melted state phase changes

Let’s review these based on the flow through an extruder.

Early on it was seen that the dry feed flow rate to the extruder needed to be even. Same for the liquids. If they varied the pressure in the barrel changed and the expansion then varied or yielded different diameter pellets.

Advancements of using loss-in-weight feed

systems advanced this area greatly, even allowing for compensation while the bin empties at different fill levels. Dry ingredient flow coupled with the liquid flows as a percentage greatly increased the accuracy of complex formulation extrusion.

In other words as oils or fats, water, steam, startup waste streams, ground meats and any

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PROGRESSIVE AQUAFEED PROCESSING

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FEATURE

Photo of small cell structure needed for vacuum coated feeds for elevated oil content

0.5 mm Shrimp Feed, example of small diameter extruded feeds

Photo of a large diameter aquatic feed. Center hole in pellet to aid in drying and digestion. Hole can be left out for semi moist feed production for large marine fish such as tuna

Sample off of a HIP Preconditioner, 50% fresh meat, 11.5% steam added, 3.4 minutes retention time and a 35% moisture content. The perfect conditioned free flowing powder ready for the extruder

other solutions added could be done very accurately. Tremendous improvement as the mix became very exact going into the extruder.

A major step forward in predictability on the extrudate coming out of the machine. All of this could be done with flow meters and manual operation. Computers are generally the operations control method today for advanced production and profitability.

Preconditioners, a standard device on most extruders as well as pellet mills, was the device that takes the ingredients both dry and wet and prepares them for the actual extruder barrel.

Many designs are available from single cylinders, multiple cylinders and dual shaft conditioners. All work as they were designed for at the time.

Current technology would include dual-shaft conditioners with each shaft having speed and rotational control.

Residence time is considered one of the main advancements between cylinder designs.

Water and steam could always be added, the question is how do you like cleaning an extruder?

The older cylinder designs mixed everything together but in some cases the result was so sticky that flow from the conditioner to the extruder barrel stopped: The point downtime and cleaning started. Newer designs over the years, improved residence time, eliminated this problem area as the increased time allowed for absorption of the liquids into the dry feed allowing for a non-blocking, free-flowing powder to easily flow into the extruder barrel.

The petfood industry pushed for more meat addition which offered advantages in the aquatic sector also.

The development of a High Intensity Preconditioner, HIP, has allowed for unsurpassed inclusion of protein sources such as terrestrial land animal liquid streams or ground up fish waste up to 50 percent when making a finished feed.

That is 50

High Intensity Preconditioner with Dual Drive, Speed and Rotational Control

36 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

percent meat and 50 percent cereal or dry ingredients extruded into pellets.

Eighty-five percnet has been achieved when extrusion of an ingredient is required. Combination of soybean meal and fish waste dried to be stored for future use, other dry ingredients can be used also.

Extruder barrel advancements center on gaining control of the process as well as increased capacities.

In the case where a single product is made the extruder can be set up for that application, such as a plant always making salmon feed. Of course, there can be differences within this sector requiring modifications or various controls to achieve the range of products needed.

How about the aquatic feed manufacturer in an area where there are numerous styles of feeds required? This extruder application would require a higher degree of flexibility to make all the style feeds.

Tools to assist in extrusions success

Buoyance of aquatic feeds still receives attention and this is mainly due to the fact that formulations are in constant flux.

Price variations of ingredients and the nutritional knowledge for the species is most definitely moving aquatic feeds to least cost formulations. As more is known about the use of indigenous and wide varieties of ingredients technology will assist the feed makers in achieving the required feed densities.

Traditionally, the method for changing density is to modify the open area of the extrusion die in relation to the energy needed to cook and expand the product. Low density requires less open area and the opposite is true for heavy feeds.

Imagine you make a feed and the formulator modifies the formula slightly for cost advantages and you have a range of letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say 50 formulas you manufacture in various different diameters. Different diameters have different capacities and different rates of expansion in each die design. Each is

FEATURE scheduled to be made depending on the requirement by your clients. This is almost an impossible situation to manage effectively.

Either you restrict the formulation changes so as the extruder setup is well defined for that product or you might elect to use technical devices to assist in the management of the required equipment changes so the formulation can move slightly due to market costs.

There are a number of devices depending on your extruder supplier that can assist in this area allowing elevated flexibility while greatly reducing down time.

Flow restrictors in the extruder barrel are designed to change the rate of passage through the barrel.

Anytime you restrict the flow you increase friction or energy input.

Increased energy input generally increases expansion. Reduced energy input or opening the barrel up for easier flow makes the feed heavier or less expanded. Where in the barrel to place a device depends on the actual application.

The extruder barrel can be taken apart and the screw configuration changed to achieve flow restriction.

Devices have been developed to avoid

costly down time as much as possible with the use of devices that can be changed while running.

Typically they are used at the end of the barrel or midway in the extruder barrel thus Back Pressure Valves and Mid Barrel Valves. Back Pressure Valves are used at the end of the extruder and Mid Barrel towards the center. Devices at the end of the extruder usually assist in making a difficult to float formula float easier.

Mid barrel valves are typically used when making slow sinking or sinking style feeds. Exceptions do exist as other technology can be combined with the above flow restricting devices.

In the case of requiring more open area than traditional possible, design changes with larger dies and cone head designs has allowed for increased open area greatly improving the capacity on sinking feeds predominately the smaller sizes.

When controlling density the open area is an important factor in the floatability of the feed thus more open area results in higher capacities on sinking feeds. Larger extruders can also do the job but if a smaller extruder is used and achieve a higher rate the investment cost just went down per ton produced.

This photo shows a specialized C²TX, Conical Twin Screw extruder for shrimp feed production, notice the single shaft tapered conditioner, High Shear Conditioner. Also show it the Oblique Tube Die at the discharge with a Back Pressure Valve directly behind

Extruder Barrel with an Atmospheric Vent (shown closed) and Manual hand crack operated Mid Barrel Valve. Motorized version also available

Extruder OEE for the Production of Fish Feed

AMANDUS KAHL GmbH & Co. KG, Dieselstrasse 5-9, D-21465 Reinbek / Hamburg, Phone: +49 40 727 71 0, Fax: +49 40 727 71 100, info@amandus-kahl-group.de

March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 37

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FEATURE

cook allowing highly elevated meat inclusion rates.

Species-by-species review

Feeds for farmed aquatic animals will always need work to elevate improvements and to handle the new technology related to varieties of ingredients so the industry continues to move forward.

Recently, reviewing an article by Mike Urch published in World Twin Screw Extruder complete with a Density Management System, included vent and Fishing and Aquaculture (Jan. 13, vacuum pump system. For those mid-range fat 2014), he stated in the article on level sinking feeds, formula dependent cobia, “Cobia is a beautiful fish with a firm, white flesh,” Mr Myrseth says, “So we had great hopes for it. But we did have some production problems.

“It seemed to eat a lot, but at a certain size it stopped growing or it grew too slowly. So the feed factor was very high and we had problems making money on it.

“There seems to be a problem with using dry feed for this fish.”

Right now work is progressing on aquatic feeds with the Thermal Twin-Screw design mentioned Thermal Twin Extruder making a high inclusion above. level wet fish paste seen in tank to left pumped into the HIP Conditioner at 50% of the capacity Possible use for new technology to change the way of making some select marine fish feeding situations The development of the Oblique Tube Die has increased the open area by about viable. If you can take half the formula or so three times effectively allowing extruders and use ground waste aquatic material such to achieve as an example four tons per as head, frames etc and couple this with the hour of sinking shrimp feeds of 1mm in semi-moist concept of not drying the feeds, diameter. Technology is just starting that then you can in effect make a soft feed that can perhaps double this to the eight to has a texture that might be more conducive 10 tons per hour on small diameter feeds to select species.

Tuna, cobia, grouper and other using traditional twin-screw extruders.

As mentioned above increased pressure in the extruder barrel yields floating feeds. Thus an early solution was to vent the barrel and allow escape of pressure and some moisture for sinking feeds. The result was an increase in density.

Further developments showed that there could be an advantage for pulling a vacuum out of this vent to enhance the sinking effect.

This technology is used for aquatic feeds on a limited basis when special combinations of ingredients are passed through the extruder.

Typically this would be a mid-range fat level sinking feed.

Also discussed was the requirement of pet food manufacturers to increase meat inclusion levels. History has shown that cooking high levels of fresh meat type products does not work well in frictional designed extruders. The challenge was met and the design of the thermal twin-screw extrusion allowed 10 times the steam inclusion moving the operational conditions from frictional cook to thermal 38 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

marine fish might do well on different feed design then what is traditionally available in dry form.

It must be better than feeding whole fish which is considered not sustainable. It would also allow for furthering the studies of what they require nutritionally to allow reduced feed cost and increase their acceptance as a possibility for increased farming.

Terrestrial land animal waste products should also be considered as protein sources or as amino acid building blocks which in some cases might partially replace the ever decreasing availability of fish meal.

Salmon feed is a good example of improving feed techniques.

These feeds went from single digit oil levels years ago to nearly 40 percent oil in the feeds at this time. This caused a complete reversal in equipment design. The industry went from making sinking pellets off the extruder to floating pellets which were then later infused with oil via atmospheric coaters and later with vacuum coaters for the extreme high oil inclusions.

The oil added externally filled the air sacs in the pellets eliminating the air resulting in sinking pellets.

Communication between researchers and equipment designers allowed for discussion which resulted in the process we have today.

It was not that simple and one point that stood out was keeping the oil in the pellets after vacuum coating. Protein sponges need to be made that did not release the oil in the bag. Studies showed that energy input was the key. Higher specific mechanical energy inputs gave a smaller cell structure which hold the oil effectively.

Shrimp feeds is one that stands out as an unusual feed. 100 percent sinking, good water stability, small diameters and

FEATURE differences in formulations have shown that special feed production equipment might be the answer for this animal.

Single-screw extrusion has been used and is still used in some areas. Everything needs to be exact as any change in the formula can disrupt the production. Twin-screw extrusion is more forgiving in this case. Twin-screw extruders are more positive pumping devices thus less susceptible to screw wear changing the cooking effect in the barrel. Not to mention the need for pressure to shove feeds through die holes which are sometimes in the 0.8mm and above ranges. The above mentioned OTD was designed for this sector specifically as well as other micro feed diameters.

Traditional floating feeds is the most stable of the aquatic sectors. Large capacities are desired due to the low margin on catfish, carp and tilapia feeds. In some cases these feeds are easily formulated for the nutritional aspects required however the struggle is in filling the formula with inert or high fiber lower cost ingredients. This is where devices to impart more energy come into play as discussed above. Also better grinding of the fibrous ingredients do make extrusion easier.

Post extrusion processes

As one part of the process advances the rest need to do the same to keep pace.

The two main areas here are drying and

Atmospheric Coater for effective external application of liquids from 0.5% to 8% to 10% range

Coating is another topic. High oil levels use vacuum coating. Low oil levels use atmospheric coaters.

Ever consider how to apply probiotic or prebiotics as well as the other liquid ingredients which are showing great interest?

At what percent are they applied? Real low percentages? New atmospheric coaters with control allow for low Coefficient of Variance application down into the 0.5 percent application range.

Controls have had tremendous advancements.

Source Technologies Principal Device to take samples in line while on line for moisture, density and other product attributes for advanced equipment computer control coating. Dryers have advanced for better and more even water removal, +/- 0.5 percent moisture variance. Sanitary dryer designs improve downtime for cleaning with easier internal access. Floor space requirements are reducing based on equipment designs.

March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 39

Density check, moisture checks, NIR, photo recognition, float or sinking rates and other aspects can now be monitored on line and computer control adjustment based on the data for corrective action to move the process back in the characteristic ranges needed.

In summary, the feed production support industries for the aquaculture industry are in the same exponential growth phase keeping pace with the research and advancements in this industry ensuring the needed improvements for advancements.

Better cages, pond designs, water quality systems, novel ingredients, the feeds themselves and the feed production equipment are all moving forward as communication between disciplines in this industry continue to challenge each other to improve.

EXPERT Tâ&#x2014;?PIC

EXPERT TOPIC

TILAPIA Welcome to Expert Topic. Each issue will take an in-depth look at a particular species and how its feed is managed.

40 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

EXPERT T●PIC

1

2 3 4

6 5

Tilapia a well travelled fish that finds a market everywhere People have been cultivating Tilapia for years: a bas-relief on a 4000-year-old Egyptian tomb shows tilapia held in ponds. Tilapia are low on the food chain and adaptable.

1

USA

Whitefish USA

Despite the overall decline in per capita fish consumption in the US, popularity of tilapia continues to grow.

According to the National Fisheries Institute, consumption of whitefish in the USA (cod, pollock, tilapia and pangasius) surpassed that of shrimp and rose by 6.2 percent in 2012. Together with pangasius, tilapia is the main driving force behind the growth in whitefish consumption in the USA in recent years.

According to the USDA, the USA market consumes close to 226,000 tonnes of tilapia a year, more than four times the amount only a decade ago.

Nearly all tilapia farmed in the USA are

7 raised in recirculating aquaculture systems often employ “bio-filters” — microorganisms that feed on nitrogen — to treat wastewater.

Bacteria break down some fish waste into nitrogen (which the microorganisms absorb for fuel) and other organic compounds that can be used to grow plants and algae, which are fed back to the fish. Sediment is removed from the tanks mechanically, and 99 percent of the water is recycled.

FAO Globefish reports that demand for tilapia, including high value fresh fillets, has grown strongly. Indeed, from January to September 2013, imports of fresh/chilled (airflown) tilapia fillets into the USA increased significantly by more than 40 percent in volume and 44 percent in value compared with the same period in 2012.

During the January–September 2013 period, imports from almost all major suppliers were higher except from Ecuador, which dropped its shipments to the USAby 17 percent compared with the same time period in 2012. Fresh tilapia fillets from Honduras, now the number one supplier of fresh product, were up by almost 30 percent. Amounts from Costa Rica and Colombia increased by 86 percent and 47 percent respectively.

During the first nine months of 2013, a total of 137,300 tonnes of frozen tilapia were imported, down eight percent from the same period the previous USA year.

However, import values were up 17 percent to US$693 million. The frozen fillet category, which makes up the largest share of frozen tilapia product, experienced a 12 percent decline in volume due to significant drop in supplies from China, Indonesia and Honduras.

In addition, much of the production in China is being diverted to African markets.

March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 41

2

China

China unassailable

In China, the world’s largest producer of Tilapia, had major issues in 2012 with damaging weather, disease and low prices which forced many farmers out of business.

However, production remained stable in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan, which are the major producing regions. Since the latter part of 2013, demand for tilapia fry from farmers has increased. Production in 2014 is expected to be an improvement over 2013.

According to FAO Globefish, total tilapia exports from China during the first nine months of 2013 were up seven percent in volume compared with the same time period the previous year, reaching 268,000 tonnes. The most popular category, frozen fillet, declined in volume by four percent while significant increases were noted in whole frozen (+19 percent) and breaded (+16 percent) categories. In terms of value, exports experienced a 16 percent growth to US$925 900 million.

According to national sources, during the first three quarters of 2013, exports of frozen fillets to the US, China’s largest market, declined by about 18 percent, while Mexico imported 34 percent more.

Exports of frozen fillets to the EU markets increased, including Spain (+32 percent), Poland (+62 percent) and Germany (+19 percent). Exports in this product category to Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia also grew, while exports to Iran and Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand) increased by a total of 138 percent.

EXPERT T●PIC For the first three quarters of 2013, the whole frozen category experienced a 39 percent increase in value to US$196 million.

This category also took a larger share of the total export volume at 36 percent compared with 32 percent in the same time last year.

This growth was largely facilitated by higher exports to African and Middle Eastern markets.

Alternative markets for China, such as in Africa, are being explored due to the stringent quality requirements the processing facilities must meet for export to the USA and EU. Supply constraints have also led processors to either reduce processing or focus on whole products to gain higher margin returns.

3

Taiwan

Taiwan on film

Taiwan PC produces an average of 70,000 tonnes of tilapia annually, 60 percent of which is exported to the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Republic of Korea.

In terms of frozen tilapia, Taiwan PC exported 24,189 tonnes in the January– September 2013 period, a 31 percent increase compared with the first three quarters in 2012. The majority of the frozen category was taken by whole tilapia at a 90 percent share.

Exports of whole frozen tilapia increased to almost all markets except for Saudi Arabia, Japan and Qatar.

In recent news, the Fisheries Agency

Asia Asia’s Lunar New Year

Asia has a strong affinity to Tilapia and in response to the Lunar New Year demand, prices of live tilapia have peaked in retail markets as well as in restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan PC. In Malaysia, live tilapia comes almost entirely from local sources, while Singapore generally imports its supplies. In Malaysia, ex-farm prices of live tilapia have risen from US$2.8 per kg in November 2013 to US$3.75 per kg in January 2014.

As part of the Lunar New Year promotion, wholesale live fish retailers in Kuala Lumpur are offering fish bundle deals, which feature tilapia (sold as Red Pearl) and jade perch sold together.

Prices for bundles in January 2014 ranged from US$37 per kg to US$105 per kg. Meanwhile, live tilapia are sold at US$5.60 per kg and are expected to be 10–20 percent higher during the Lunar New Year week. In seafood restaurants, live tilapia is priced at US$15–19 per kg.

announced that Taiwan PC will be taking active steps to promote tilapia raised in the country. Marketing plans include producing “films to introduce Taiwan’s high-quality tilapia production industry” to promote Taiwanese tilapia and help improve the image of the industry.

Additionally, several of the Republic of Korea’s importers were invited by the Fisheries Agency and local industry groups to visit tilapia farms in Taiwan and were reported to have approved of the high quality of the fish farms. The Republic of Korea is a major importer of Taiwanese tilapia, mostly as frozen fillets.

4

Vietnam

Vietnam’s potential

In recent years, Vietnam’s tilapia exports have been recorded in small volumes.

During January to September 2013, Vietnam exported about 1000 tonnes of tilapia to the EU and US. The EU absorbed the majority, at 80 percent.

In light of the challenges being faced by the Pangasius industry, Vietnam is now looking to tilapia production as another potential for export. It was reported that the An Giang province will be a hub to develop tilapia farming for export, with the Aquatic Breeding Production Center training farmers to produce fingerlings in the province and ensure sufficient seed supply.

growing since 2013, after the Ministry of Food Production embarked on a promotion campaign and introduced initiatives to open more markets for local farmers.

There are also plans to boost production from farmers with not enough capacity to meet the growing demand. The Sugar Cane Feeds Centre (SFC) in Longdenville has developed an arrangement to purchase tilapia from farmers and process and market the fish themselves. The SFC report that consumers have been buying more farmed-raised fish because of concerns regarding pollutants following the oil spills in December 2013.

7

Australia

Strange Australia

Strangely, in Australia Tilapia is considered a noxious pest!

One of the main species found in Australian waters is Oreochromis mossambicus (Mozambique Tilapia) and that is a species that normally lives in brackish water.

In many parts of Australia there are issues in arid land areas with salty water. It makes it very difficult to use the land/water for growing crops and vegetables but is ideal for growing fish and certainly growing tilapia but regrettably it is not allowed as Australia would rather invest in ‘silver bullets’.

“Tilapia is a popular food fish in Asia, Africa and the South Pacific.

“However, the use of tilapia for consumption in Queensland is illegal,” states

5

Europe

Amazed by Brazil

The European Union connection

Brazil

Amazingly, Tilapia production in Brazil is growing at an average rate of 17 percent annually. According to The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MPA), tilapia production exceeded 253,000 tonnes in 2011, showing strong growth compared with 2010 (+63 percent), when production amounted to 155,000 tonnes.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MPA) plans to invest BRL 252,000 (US$107 860) in tilapia genetic improvements. The project aims to train researchers and develop new products for the Brazilian tilapia industry.

6

Trinidad

Trinidad surprise

Trinidad is the surprise packet as there has been a significant increase in demand for farm-raised tilapia. This demand has been 42 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

In the EU they imported 24 percent more frozen tilapia fillets during the first nine months of 2013 compared with the same time period in 2012. This confirms the positive trend from the first quarter of the 2013 with close to 17,000 tonnes, up 28 percent from the same period in 2012.

Supplies from Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand continue to contribute marginally to the EU’s imports while China remains the dominant source, supplying 99 percent of the market. Spain, Poland, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium are the largest importers of tilapia within the EU.

EXPERT T●PIC the Queensland Government in FAQ’s on Deciphering Legal Jargon (http://www. daff.qld.gov.au/documents/Fisheries_ PestsAndDisease/Stop-the-spread-Module-3. pdf).

However in the very same document the New South Wales Government states “Can people eat tilapia? It is not illegal to consume tilapia in New South Wales, as long as the species isn’t being possessed alive. However, you are strongly advised not to use the species for consumption, as it is in the best interests of the environment to keep the species out of circulation in Australia.” Confused now?

In another part of CSIRO they have produced a document “Our Future World — Global Megatrends” where they state “whilst the state of biodiversity is in decline and the pressure is rising so too is the human response.”

(Are we to save what we cannot and miss out what we need? Tilapia produces a relatively cheap, white, skinless filleted fish that does not taste like fish and demand for the product worldwide is expanding so Australia has made a strange decision – Publisher).

ing competition from lower value species, namely Pangasius in the frozen fillet segment.

In turn, exporters are targeting alternative markets. However, overall tilapia production is expected to increase in 2014.

FAO last word

According to FAO Globefish demand for tilapia, particularly for the live market, has peaked in many Asian markets corresponding to the Lunar New Year’s high consumption period. In China, there is concern over ris-

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EXPERT T●PIC

The nutritional & immune impact of Azomite in Tilapia and Shrimp

by Damon Fodge and Doug Fodge, DF Intl., LLC, Dirk Lorenz-Meyer, Behn Meyer EU, GmbH and William T.H.C. Chang, Lytone Enterprise, Inc.

A

zomite® is the trade name for a naturally occurring mineral product that has been used to supplement livestock and aquatic diets throughout the world for over a decade.

During this time, a significant amount of data has been accumulated from the use of the product in farm trials, university tests and private research organisations. At this point, it is clear that azomite improves the quality of animal feed and this leads to improvements in performance, but a solid understanding of the exact mode of action remains illusive.

The name is an acronym for ‘A to Z of minerals including trace elements’.

It is mined from a deposit rich in trace minerals in the central part of the state of Utah in the United States. Millions of years ago this region was part of a freshwater lake and the azomite site was formed when a volcano spewed millions of tons of ash into that lake.

Today, the deposit exists as several large hills and the site provides the source of the natural inorganic mineral, which typically contains approximately 70 trace elements. The chemical composition reflects both the volcanic and freshwater sources (www.azomite. com).

The material is listed in the US Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR 582.2729) as

an anticaking agent for livestock feed and is generally recognised as safe (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Agriculture and livestock producers have used azomite to improve feed quality and as everyone knows improving feed quality leads to better livestock health and plant nutrition.

Azomite falls well within the guidelines for use in animal feed by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

Hundreds of years ago it was used by the local native people in agriculture. This eventually led European settlers to explore the natives’ use of it for their animals and gardens. In modern times, an entrepreneur named Rollin Anderson mined the product in the 1940s and gave samples to friends, some of whom were skilled at testing agricultural products. Mr Anderson’s activity paved the way for azomite’s use in sizeable international animal and agriculture markets.

Poultry, shrimp and tilapia farmers have used it in their feed in conjunction with their regular trace mineral mix for many years and claim that it boosts the quality of their feed and leads to improvements in weight gain, feed conversion and livability. Examples of the impact that the product has on live performance in tilapia and shrimp (Burapa and Shanghai Ocean Universities, respectively) are shown here. This research has shown improvement in weight gain and feed conversion of up to 10 percent in multiple scientific tests.

Improved availability

Trace minerals are essential in animal diets because they participate in biochemical processes required for normal growth and development.

However, examination of azomite and its typical amount of 70 elements reveals that

Table 1: AZOMITE® % 0% 0.8% 0.2% 0.6% 0.4%

1st Deaths (O2)

50% Death (O2)

100% Death (O2)

4th Hr (1.2 mg/L)

11th Hr (0.05 mg/L)

14th Hr (0.03 mg/L)

“

“

5th Hr. (0.6 mg/L) “

“

>5th Hr. (<0.6 mg/L)

“

“

14th Hr. (0.03 mg/L) “

“

14th Hr. (<0.03 mg/L)

““ 16th Hr. (0.025mg/L) “

“

17th Hr. (0.02 g/L)

44 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

there are not enough of the essential trace and ‘ultra trace’ elements to be the sole mineral source for the proper nutritional development of animals and plants (Hooge, 2008).

Moreover, perhaps no more than one percent of this inorganic product is soluble in water (Ba, B, Ce, Co, Cr, Ln, & Zn are sparingly soluble, Larsen 1990s), and X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the product exhibits <18 percent physical structure (due to a small amount of granite and pseudo granite in the product) and the remainder of the product is amorphous, without discernible physical structure.

Perhaps this lack of physical structure improves the availability, but that has not yet been tested.

Although the product is an HSCAS (Hydrated Sodium Calcium Alumina Silicate) the lack of physical structure makes it an atypical HSCAS. When the materials was introduced to the meat industry, researchers already knew that natural inorganic minerals in use at that time were poorly absorbed and did not fully satisfy an animal’s nutritional needs.

Efforts to increase the absorption and metabolism of six or seven of the well-known trace minerals are still underway, but efforts have already provided metal chelates that exhibit much improved bioavailability due to unique chemical characteristics (AAFCO, 1997). The use of natural inorganic minerals in animal diets has decreased because they typically provide <25 p[ercent of the minerals needed by animals.

Significant improvement

Azomite does not appear to fit the generalisations about inorganic minerals.

Two decades of animal scientific testing of the product for weight gain, feed conversion and livability improvements revealed that >85 percent of the tests yielded significant (p < 0.05) improvements.

In these tests, all feeds contained the regular commercial trace minerals to which azomite was added. These successes raise a question: with a trace mineral content that is low and practically insoluble in water, what

EXPERT T●PIC could explain these benefits? That question leads to a multitude of hypothetical explanations, but we tested two simple hypotheses: 1) that azomite inclusion in feed leads to improvements in animals because digestive enzymes are boosted and; 2) improved livability is due to increases in innate immune enzymes (Liu et al. 2009) and (Fodge et al. 2011).

A few other supportive tests were also conducted.

Studies in feed

Researchers added test amount of azomite to standard tilapia and shrimp rations.

An equal amount of flour was replaced in the experimental diets by the azomite, and the diets were not isocaloric. Three or four replications per test group were used in the tests. Dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, etc. were maintained as close to normal as possible. Enzyme activities were measured using standard test materials available commercially.

In addition to the measurements of enzyme activities, investigators also measured weight gain, livability and feed conversion (FCR) and although not shown, weight gain boosts were @15%, FCR improvements @10% and livability was better in the presence of the material.

As is clear from the study on digestive enzymes shown below, 0.2% to 0.5% azomite boosted the activity of 4/5 of the proteo-

lytic enzyme activities that were measured and also increased lipase activity in the shrimp. Some enzyme activities were increased as much as 30-40%, and this result helps explain why one obtains weight and FCR improvements.

Although not shown, dry matter and crude protein digestibility were assayed in the tilapia and both were improved (p <0.05) 9.9% and 1.75%, respectively.

Enzymes of tilapia and shrimp innate immune systems were examined next, and the table below shows the results. azomite in the feed boosted tissue concentrations of lysozyme (+ @40%), superoxide dismutase (+ @15%), phenoloxidase (+ >90%) and alkaline phosphatase (+25%).

The increases in both digestive and immune enzymes may be a hint that the explanation for the mechanism is quite complex.

To illustrate the potential complexity, azomite’s contribution of individual trace minerals to feed would contribute @0.1 to 1.0mg/ kg to the feed of aquatic animals that require several trace minerals at the level of many mg/ kg of each.

To add to the potential complexity of the mechanism, anecdotal reports indicate that less diseased pepper, tomato and grapes occur in the presence of azomite than in it’s absence. It is known that plants depend on an innate immune system that somewhat resembles that of invertebrates (Jones and Dang, 2006). Could it be that something more than simple availability or ratio of trace mineral X to Y would be required to explain azomite’s mechanism?

Although the mechanism for induction of such large amounts of enzymes may elude us at this time, shrimp and fish are subjected to more challenges by pathogens and opportunistic pathogens than other commercial

EXPANDER EXTRUDER

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March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 45

EXPERT T●PIC animals, and it is interesting that feeding animals a small amount of asomite appears to more adequately equip them to meet such challenges.

To establish that an increase in immune enzymes was not an artifact, the researchers challenged shrimp with Vibrio alginolyticus and measured the accumulated mortality four days after infection.

Only 13.5% of the shrimp that did not receive any AZOMITE® in their diets were alive after four days, but @ 43.5% of those with @ 0.4% azomite in their feed were still alive.

The aquaculture research and development teams did not measure antibody synthesis +/- azomite, but poultry researchers have, as the test result below indicates.

There were four test groups with eight baby chicks per test group.

Feed for each group received 0.5% of sand or calcium bentonite or sodium bentonite or azomite, all of which were similar particle size. At 16 days, each chick was injected with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and six days later blood samples were taken from each bird to measure total antibody and IgG activities/ml specific toward SRBC. As is clear, the antibody level in blood from the birds eating azomite contained @66% more antibody activity than any of the other groups (p < 0.05).

Next, the aquaculture researchers wanted to determine if azomite-treated feed would help shrimp survive hypoxia. They subjected shrimp that had consumed azomite in the feed to gradual oxygen deprivation (see below).

The group with 0.4% azomite in the feed withstood hypoxia the best, but in our opinion more rigorous testing is needed to confirm this result.

Nonetheless, lack of dissolved oxygen for shrimp and fish has a profound impact due to the extreme growth densities of commercial animals. Invertebrates depend on hemocytes to phagocytize pathogens identified by innate immune receptors.

Movement of hemocytes to sites of invasion and the total number of hemocytes produced under low oxygen tensions would be stressed if animals depend on anaerobic energy metabolism (Direkbusarakom and Danayadol, 1998 and Le Moullac et al., 1998).

Studies when added to shrimp pond soils Shrimp farms have tested azomite by fertilizing the soil of the ponds between grow-out periods. Pond soils are treated with @200kg/ha. Live performance, mortality, pH, phytoplankton and zooplankton and dissolved oxygen levels are measured.

In one thorough field study (six matched ponds – three were control and three were test ponds), an average of 17% increased

weight and 30% less mortality were observed in the azomite ponds.

Moreover, both zooplankton and phytoplankton levels were boosted 800-900%. pH values taken in the morning and at noon were numerically slightly higher in the test group than the control, but dissolved oxygen in the test group was increased @30% in the morning and was still 8% better at noon than the control values.

Currently, asomite is added to the pond soil between grow-outs at shrimp farms, especially extensive farms, in several countries.

For years it has been known that it is necessary to have the correct forms of trace minerals available for animals and to provide those trace minerals in the correct proportions - an observation that is perhaps as important as the presence of a 100% available metal-chelated mineral.

Little research is underway that explores the ratios of ultra trace minerals to each other as ‘university personnel’ who might be able to provide answers are faced with limited available funding for such exploratory research.

Our conclusion is that the proportions of trace minerals should receive higher priority in future research.

Conclusion

Azomite appears to enhance tissue protein synthesis (perhaps even beyond simply digestive and innate immune enzymes) leading to improvements in weight gain, feed conversion ratio and lean yield in aquatic species.

Moreover, the product improves the survival rate, apparently due to its ability to boost the immune enzyme response and perhaps also increase mucosal and shell strength.

It is clear to us that azomite provides some trace minerals that are important in animal nutrition. It will be satisfying to determine the exact nature of those minerals that are not currently being added in most animal diets.

46 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

References Hooge, D. “Natural Minerals Can Benefit Broiler Diets”, Feedstuffs 80(3): 24-26, 2008.

Boyd, J. N. and L. E. Burnett. “Reactive oxygen intermediate production by oyster hemocytes exposed to hypoxia”. J Exp. Biol. 202, 3135-3143, 1999.

Direkbysarakom, S. and Y. Danayadol. “Effect of oxygen depletion on some parameters of the immune system in black tiger shrimp (P. monodon), Adv in Shrimp Biotech., ed. T. W. Flegel, Natl Ctr for Gen. Eng. and Biotech, Bangkok, 147-149.1998.

Le Moullac, G., C. Soyez, D. Saulnier, D. Ansquer, J.C. Avbarre, and P. Levy, “Effect of hypoxic stress on the immune response and the resistance to vibriosis of the shrimp Penaeus stylirostris”, Fish and Shellfish Immunol. 8, 621-629, 1998.

Liu, A., X. Leng, X. Li, L. Wang, Y. Luo, and R. Zhu. “Effects of AZOMITE® on Growth, Intestinal Structure and Non-Specific Immunity of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus x O. aureus)”, Chinese Journal Animal Nutrition 21(6): 10061011. 2009.

Fodge, D., S. Rattanagulvaron, N.T.M. Huong.

“Making strides in aquaculture with natural trace minerals“ AQUA CULTURE Asia Pacific ,Vol. 7(3): 24-25. May/June. 2011.

Rodriguez, A., I. Lopez, E. Sujka, S. De la Cuesta, C. Lopez, and R. Nieto. “Chelated minerals in aquaculture” INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED, July/ August: 22-24. 2013.

Cook, M., N. DiNicola, W. Wu, E. Smalley, “Effects of clay products on Fusarium mycotoxins in broiler chicks”. Report from University of Wisconsin, Dept. of Poultry Science and Immunology, 13 pages, May 26, 1992.

Larsen, C. “Trace elements in AZOMITE® that was dissolved in water”. Western Analysis, Inc., 1 page, @ 1992.

Jones, J.D.G. and J. L. Dang. “The plant immune system”. Nature, 444(16): 323-329, 2006.

EXPERT T●PIC

Adding Value

cover artwork courtesy of AZTI-Tecnalia

Donostia – San Sebastián SPAIN October 14-17, 2014 www.easonline.org

March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 47

Organised by the European Aquaculture Society in cooperation with AZTI-Tecnalia

INDUSTRY EVENTS

VIV Europe, Utrecht, the Netherlands Contact: Ruwan Berculo Tel: +31 3029 52879 Email: viv.europe@vnuexhibitions.com Web: www.viv.net

25th - 30th May 14

XVI International Symposium on Fish Nutrition and Feeding, Queensland, Australia Contact: Dr Brett Glencross Tel: +61 7 3833 5926 Email: brett.glencross@csiro.au Web: www.isfnf2014.org/index.php

28th - 29th May 14

28 - 30 May 14

INDUSTRY EVENTS

Forum do mar Porto, Portugal Contact: José Martins Tel: +351 22 998 1459 Email: jose.martins@exponor.pt Web: www.exponor.pt

5 - 7 June 14

Future Fish Eurasia, Izmir International Fair Center, Izmir,, Turkey Contact: Eurasia Trade Fairs Tel: +90 212 347 10 54 Email: info@eurasiafairs.com Web: www.eurasiafairs.com

17 July 14

ILDEX Thailand on the move, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand Contact: Nalinrat Ananamnuaylap Tel: +662 670 0900 ext 118 Email: nalinrat.ana@vnuexhibitionsap. com Web: www.ildex.com

18 – 20 June 14

IndoLivestock, Jakarta, Indonesia Contact: Ika Angelia Tel: +62 2186 44756 ext 108 Email: comdept@napindo.com Web: www.indolivestock.com

Aquaculture Europe 2014, San Sebastian, Spain Contact: Mario Stael Tel: +32 9233 4912 Email: mario@marevent.com Web: www.easonline.org

15 - 17 October 14

Vietstock, Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Contact: Chau Tran Tel: +84 8 5401 2718 Email: chau.tran@ubm.com Web: www.vietstock.org

16 October 14

Ildex Thailand on the move Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand Contact: Nalinrat Ananamnuaylap Tel: +662 670 0900 118 Email: nalinrat.ana@vnuexhibitionsap. com Web: www.ildex.com

11 - 14 November 14

Eurotier, Hanover Fairground, Germany Contact: Karl Schloesser Tel: +49 06 924 788 254 Email: k.schloesser@dlg.org Web: www.eurotier.com

3 – 5 September 14

9th Shanghai International Fishery & Seafood Expo (SIFSE2014), Shanghai New International Expo Centre, 2345 Longyang Road, Shanghai, China Contact: Lewis Liu Tel: +86 21 6775 9097 Email: Lewis.liu@gehuaexpo.com Web: www.sifse.com

Events on the go Get your f

11 - 13 September 14

Ildex Myanmar, Yangon, Myanmar Contact: Ms. Nathaporn Vasinyont Tel: +662 670 0900 ext. 109 Email: nathaporn.vas @vnuexhibitionsap.com Web: www.ildex.com

23 September 14

Aquatic China (in conjunction with VIV China) New China International Exhibition Center (NCIEC) Beijing, China Contact: Anneke van Rooijen +31 30 295 2772 anneke.van.rooijen@vnuexhibitions.com Web: http://www.viv.net/en/Portal. aspx

7th - 11th June 14

World Aquaculture Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia Contact: Mario Stael Tel: +32 9233 4912 Email: mario@marevent.com Web: www.was.org

14 - 17 October 14

e APP her re

Aquaculture UK, Aviemore, Scotland Contact: David Mack Tel: +44 1862 8921 88 Email: info@aquacultureuk.com Web: www.aquacultureuk.com

5th Congress of the International Society for Applied Phycology (ISAP) Sydney, Australia Contact: Pierre Erwes Tel: +33 678 078 284 Email: pierre.erwes@biomarine.org Web: www.isap2014.com

23 - 25 September 14

VIV China, New China International Exhibition Center (NCIEC), Hall West 1 and 2, 88 Yu Xiang Road, Tianzhu Area, Shunyi district, Beijing, China Contact: Anneke van Rooijen Tel: +31 30 295 2772 Email: anneke.van.rooijen @vnuexhibitions.com Web: www.viv.net

Our Events register contains all the information that you need about all of the up-coming industry events, and forms an essential part of our app for all industry professionals

EMS Forum: Managing the Shrimp Epidemic

First reported in Asia in 2009, Shrimp Early Mortality Syndrome has caused major production problems in the cultivation of shrimp in countries such as China, Malaysia,Thailand, and Vietnam.

27-28 JUNE

2014

A focus on how to best manage the issues facing shrimp farmers in the Asian territories

Kasetsart University, Bangkok,Thailand Supported by

May 20th – 22nd 14

22 - 27 June 14

Organised by

European Algae Biomass Seville, Spain Contact: Dimitri Pavlyk Tel: + 44 2031 410627 Email: dpavlyk@acieu.net Web: www.acieu.net

e

6 – 7 May 14

www.asianaquaculturenetwork.com

INDUSTRY EVENTS How do we grow Aquaculture in USA?

by Roy Palmer, IAF Correspondent

“The US industry was predominantly cottage industry and it must collaborate to create large-scale operational businesses to enhance productivity and technology,” – says one participant on Aquaculture America’s 2014 ‘Emerging Issues’ session.

T

he National Aquaculture Extension Steering Committee (NAESC) created an Emerging Issues Session at Aquaculture America 2014 in Seattle and was honored to be invited to be engaged.

The Convener/Moderator for the session was Dave Landkamer (Oregon Sea Grant Aquaculture Extension Specialist) while Tetsuzan Benny Ron from Hawaii University was engaged in video production so that the session could be communicated to others who were not able to attend.

Each of panelist was allowed five minutes to present what they saw needed to be part of a new strategy.

The panel had well over 350 years of combined experience in aquaculture and consisted: Max Holtzman, U S DA ; G e o r g e L o c k w o o d , Aquaculture Advocate and Past WAS President; Michael Rust, NOAA; Daniel Benetti, University of Miami, Marine Aquaculture and Policy; Frank Asche, University of Stavenger, Norway; Carol Engle, University of Arkansas; Perry Raso, Matunuck Oyster Bar; Bill Martin, Blue Ridge Aquaculture; Daniel Brophy, Oregon Culinary Institute and myself.

Max concentrated on the issue of food security pointing out that USA had a trade deficit in seafood of some US$13 billion yet the overall food category was in surplus. He highlighted that US people were for tunate that such a small percentage of their disposable income was going on food when compared to many countries. The need for creating more aquaculture in USA was well overdue.

George, who could remember being at the fir st Mariculture meeting in Seattle back in 1975 stressed the need for an active industr y organisation based in Washington DC, a domestic review of domestic aquaculture, an organic aquaculture strategy and the ability

of having a regular conference in Washington DC to be in the face of politics.

Michael said: “If you want to predict the future, then create it!” and stressed that generally speaking the industr y was its own worst enemy. How many people know their regulator and have gone to the regulator with solutions instead of problems? He also mentioned that seafood was clearly the ‘health medicine food’ of the nation.

Daniel mentioned the lack of promotion of the industry, too many laws/regulations and the natural apathy, angst and anger that dulled the great news that should be hitting the airwaves. Carol highlighted the need for research and extension to investigate harmonization of all the regulations and the potential of a Producer Association to better organise the industry. Frank hit hard by saying that compared to Norway (and some other countries) the US industr y was predominantly a cottage industry and it must collaborate to create large scaled operational businesses to enhance productivity and technology that was available. He suggested that it would be hard to be globally competitive until that occurred and that regulations need to be streamlined and costed to ensure they were not a burden on aquaculture business.

Bill Martin was surprisingly ‘lost for words’ but agreed with Frank’s view on the need to become a ‘volume’ industry, the need for bigger and better infrastructures and looking towards the future algae for feed and improvements in genetics.

Stressed that this cannot be done with lots of money and highlighted that he has committed to the longterm with massive investment himself.

Perry, Daniel and myself added value in suggesting getting better understanding of consumers and those that communicate and deal

with them, for example restaurants, retailers, etc. The average consumer was still confused and had little knowledge about seafood. Worst was that even the people dealing directly with the consumers generally knew very little about the seafood they were selling.

March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 49

In summary, this was an excellent session which created lots of audience questions and participation. The key issues were education and extension at all levels, less in-fighting and uniting the industry through strong lobby association and funding and finance.

INDUSTRY EVENTS

FUTURE FISH

I

nternational Aquafeed magazine is an official media par tner of FutureFish Eurasia and is looking forward to this year’s event.

Eurasia Trade Fairs have organised this year’s event which will be the 7th time it is held. The location of the event is within the large Kültürpark Fuar Alanı in the central of Izmir, Turkey, for the FutureFish Eurasia exhibition from June 5-7, 2014.

There will be over 250 exhibitors from Turkey, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Russia, Korea, Portugal, Australia, Israel, Sweden, Poland, Slovenia, Japan, Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, India,

SEG BRUSSELS

U

INDUSTRY EVENTS

nder its new name of Seafood Expo Global, Brussels took place May 6-8, 2014 and whilst seemed as busy as usual was lacking any strong theme.

The usual suspects of Salmon, Cod and Pangasius/Basa were strongly focused and Shrimp/ Prawns were much in vogue bearing in mind the issues re supply and price due to tropical product being under pressure due to disease problems.

The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program announced it had been the first organisation to sign up to pilot the Global Seafood Sustainability Initiative’s (GSSI) certification benchmarking program.

Also on the Cer tification front GAA, Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), and GlobalGAP came together to develop the next steps towards achieving efficiencies across the three programs.

A year on since the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed, the three competing

Norway, France, USA, China, Iceland, Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, South Korea and the UK. Over 6000 local and international visitors are expected this year.

The focal point in visitor promotions has been The Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe,Turkic Republics and the Balkans.

The total floorspace of this year’s exhibition will be 11,000m² for a combination of aquaculture hardware, minerals, feed and fish processing equipment, catering for fish traders, fish farmers and processors.

For those not aware of Turkish aquaculture here is a breif background: Turkey has 8333km of coastline which runs from the Mediterranean Sea through the

organisations once again met at Seafood Expo Global to demonstrate how their collaborative working will provide greater access for producers.

Last year the three organisations identified and published common requirements on responsible sourcing of fishmeal and fish oil across the programs’ standards. More recently, GAA and GlobalGAP have taken up an active role in ASC’s work on developing its feed standard, which will lead to ASC certified feed which can be used by farms seeking or holding ASC certification.

GAA and GlobalGAP, which already have operational feed standards, are taking par t in the ASC Feed Dialogue steering committee meetings (as obser vers) and are actively participating in the technical working group on marine ingredients.

The ASC feed standard should be ready by the end of 2015.

The involvement of GAA and GlobalGAP will promote further common elements across the three programs to benefit the feed industry and suppliers of raw materials.

The MOU recognises the continued integrity of each program but there is still a substantial

Aegean Sea and leading all the way up to the Marmara and the Black Sea, (along with rich inland freshwater resources) provides Turkey with ideal conditions for many kinds of aquaculture. The country is expecting total production of 90,000 tonnes of Seabass and Seabream, and 80,000 tonnes of rainbow trout in this calendar year of 2014. Seatrout, Dentex, Meagre, Shi Drum and Sharpsnout Seabream are other species that are also farmed in Turkish waters.

A good percentage of the seabass/ seabream production is exported fresh and/or processed throughout the world whereas rainbow trout is exported mainly to Europe as a hot smoked vacuum-packed product.

The dynamic structure of Turkish

amount of work identified so GAA, ASC and GLOBAL G.A.P have prioritised the activities.

Over time together the organisations will: • Reduce duplication of effort for farms that undertake certification against more than one standard (status: standards’ comparison process started) • D e ve l o p c o m m o n fe e d requirements (status: initial overlap determined and published) • Develop common approaches to auditor training (status: relies on standards’ comparison) • Develop shared approaches to chain of custody certification (status: not yet started) • Encour age accur ate and objective messaging regarding the claims made for cer tified aquaculture products (status: this process has begun through mutual recognition of common objectives. Detailed messaging will rely on the standards’ comparison work.)

• Explore common approaches to the management of certificate information potentially through shared IT platforms. (status: not yet started).

aquaculture and Future Fish Eurasia form a perfect platform for those in this industry. This event will provide an oppor tunity to introduce your aquaculture and processing technology to Turkey and its neighbouring countries, meet key decision makers and network.

Future Fish Eurasia is organised with the full support of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Aegean Expor ters Association, İstanbul Exporters Association, İzmir Fish Producers Association, Turkish Seafood Promotion Committee and Eurofish Organisation.

If you are attending the event, do meet Tom Blacker from International Aquafeed magazine at stand No 426 throughout all days of the show.

Aquatic China 21-22 September 2014

T

hroughout the world consumers’ behaviour and attitude towards food has been changing and, as a result, the industries supplying food need to focus on the exchange of information in order to meet these new demands.

For example, retailers are demanding traceability; evidence of sustainable environmental activities including welfare (both social and animal) in addition to their usual tight specifications and this is particularly relevant in aquaculture where consumer acceptance is still being questioned.

Consumers are demanding healthier food and questioning the supply chain on all nutritional aspects, from the feed through to the food.

The emphasis of the Aquatic China 2014 two-day conference is creating an opportunity pathway for those in China’s aquaculture industry to connect with some of the world’s experts on aquaculture research, science, nutrition, feed formulation, economic production, food safety, quality assurance and certification.

INDUSTRY EVENTS Oceanology 2014 London – Aquaculture Conference review

by Tom Blacker, International Aquafeed

O

n Wednesday March 12, 2014, at London’s ExCel exhibition hall in a small conference room with around 120 chairs for delegates, the first aquaculture conference called ‘Oceanology International’ took place.

There was anticipation that there would be visitors from the accompanying exhibition hall.

Amazingly, there was a wide range of solely aquaculture researchers, industry companies and organisations and public bodies in attendance. International Aquafeed participated as the sector’s only media representative.

Neil Auchterlonie from CEFAS was invited around a year in advance to develop a programme and co-chair the event.

He gathered a working group to tackle the challenges of technology transfer and to locate aquaculture and other marine activities together so as to create a relation with the established core of Oceanology International’s make up, which is primarily marine and oceanographic industries.

It was a good cross-section and an interesting and varied set of players from aquaculture.

There were many short speeches in both of the day’s sessions. Here are some highlights with some interesting technical understandings and explanation included: • Tom Pickerell from Seafish gave an overview the 900 species in 190 countries of the world in aquaculture, with most in low technology and simplistic means and to stimulate growth in the EU and UK is a priority.

When questioned about substitution of feed components apart from fishmeal for feeding farmed fish, he claimed to have even heard a 0.9 to 1 rate of substitute sources, which was very interesting.

• Willis Aquaculture's Dan Fairweather detailed some constraints to growth and

barriers for aquaculture from his professional perspective as an insurer for fish farming enterprises.

They included: technology; disease and health management; sustainability of feed; lack of support, regulation and co-ordination from government and industry; negative public education and perception through a lack of marketing and a better needed level of capital investment levels to keep up with demand • Alex Adrian from The Crown Estate talked about the existing aquaculture and ‘the new kid on the block’ being seaweed (macro-algae).

One main and pertinent raison d'être for the organisation to the industry in marine terms, is seeking to complement existing seafood and environmental interests, create mutual benefits between offshore wind farms and aquaculture, secure sustainable feed sources and the marketability of the products, to fuel and improve consumer demand.

A point especially for readers unfamiliar with this organisation, there is a difference with The Crown Estate's version of sustainability compared to a purely commercial one profits are sought for the UK government, rather than a self-interested or competitive motive.

• The Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum's Richard Slaski started a trend for the day to discuss offshore aquaculture farms, as part of developing the marine agronomy.

This would mean aquaculture in Scotland moving from the shore to the higher energy environments further from the shoreline.

As one example, this change, as steady as it could be would still require a quantum leap from regulators, according to

Richard. This was certainly food for thought.

Session two

Richard's talk dovetailed nicely into the second session, which was 'Aquaculture in Oceanic Environments'.

Dr Pogoda from Ger many described how the spherical aquaculture cages, as featured previously in this magazine and even Time magazine, could in theor y be tethered to offshore wind farm windmills.

The afternoon then continued on to more technology and projects.

Recirculation systems (RAS) in many guises and scales were shown and discussed by the floor.

All credit to the range and breadth of these projects but International Aquafeed was probably most impressed by one talk about the IDREEM project (see more at www.idreem.eu).

This was an interesting look ahead to Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture, delivered by one you all may wish to look further at.

There were general leanings to the UK aquaculture industry and salmon, therefore, dominated the talks but there was a good level

March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 51

of international context brought about too.

The call from many speakers for more aquaculture via onshore recirculation systems (RAS) and offshore farms was a fascinating vision of the diversity and thinking needed for aquaculture production to grow.

After all was over in the conference room, and had been highlighted often by those in the know in this industry, the demand from the growing human populace is there and business is waiting to be won.

The pioneers and technically brilliant ideas are still there for the creatively minded in aquaculture and this cer tainly stimulated all who attended.

There was one general criticism that the depth of discussion was light and the brevity of 15-minute speeches was not effective in truly providing a conference with depth.

Overall, we here look forward to the next time this conference occurs again, in London from March 8-10, 2016!

More Information: Website: http://www.oceanology international.com/en/Sessions/3911/ Aquaculture

Welcome to the market place, where you will find suppliers of products and services to the industry - with help from our friends at The International Aquafeed Directory (published by Turret Group)

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Elevator buckets Alapala +90 212 465 60 40 www.alapala.com Tapco Inc +1 314 739 9191 www.tapcoinc.com 52 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

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Pest control

+1 402 434 9102

+886 2226 96789 www.fine-tek.com

+33 2 97 89 25 30

www.rentokil.co.uk

www.aqualabo.fr

Pipe systems

Agromatic

Jacob Sohne

www.binmaster.com FineTek Co., Ltd

Aqualabo

+44 0800 917 1987

Level measurement BinMaster Level Controls

Sensors

Rentokil Pest Control

www.bastak.com.tr

+41 55 2562100

+49 571 9580

www.agromatic.com

www.jacob-pipesystems.eu

Dol Sensors

Used around all industrial Plants sectors.

+45 721 755 55 www.dol-sensors.com

Andritz

Fr. Jacob Sรถhne GmbH & Co. KG, Germany Tel. + 49 (0) 571 95580 | www. jacob-pipesystems.eu

Vega

Visit us! www.pipe-systems.eu+45

72 160300

www.andritz.com

+44 1444 870055 www.vega.com/uk

Moisture analyzers

+31 318 545 754

+41 71 955 11 11

www.dishman-netherlands.com

+33 14 1475045

Muyang Group

www.chopin.fr

+86 514 87848880

Doescher & Doescher GmbH +49 4087976770

Probiotics

www.nir-online.de

Packaging

Vacines

Recruitment JCB Consulting

www.seedburo.com

+49 6227 732668

+44 7805 092067 www.cbpackaging.com Mondi Group +43 1 79013 4917 www.mondigroup.com Ugur Makina +90 (364) 235 00 26 www.ugurmakina.com

Ridgeway Biologicals +44 1635 579516 www.ridgewaybiologicals.co.uk

Vacuum

+44 161 427 2402

Wynveen International B.V.

www.jcb-consulting.com

+31 26 47 90 699 www.wynveen.com

Rolls Leonhard Brietenbach +49 271 3758 0 www.breitenbach.de OJ Hojtryk +45 7514 2255

CB Packaging

www.nabim.org.uk

www.biomin.net

+1 312 738 3700

NIR-Online

+44 2074 932521

+43 2782 803 0

Seedburo

NIR systems

nabim

Biomin

Hydronix www.hydronix.com

Training

www.muyang.com

www.doescher.com

+44 1483 468900

Dishman

Buhler AG www.buhlergroup.com

CHOPIN Technologies

Shrimp feed additives

www.oj-hojtryk.dk

Safety equipment

Weighing equipment Parkerfarm Weighing Systems +44 1246 456729 www.parkerfarm.com

Yeast products Leiber GmbH +49 5461 93030

Rembe

www.leibergmbh.de

+49 2961 740 50

Lesaffre Feed Additives

www.rembe.com

Second hand equipment Sanderson Weatherall +44 161 259 7054 www.sw.co.uk

+33 3 20 81 61 00 www.lesaffre.fr

To include your company in the International Aquafeed market place in print, and a company page on our website contact Tom Blacker. +44 1242 267700 โ ข tomb@perendale.co.uk

March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 53

The aquafeed interview

The aquafeed interview D

r Pedro Encarnação is Portuguese and a marine biologist. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Algarve, Portugal, in 1994 followed by a masters in aquaculture - before working there as a research associate until 2000. Later on he gain his PhD in animal and fish nutrition at the University of Guelph, Canada, which he completed in 2005.. In 2005 he joined Biomin in Austria before re-locating to Singapore in 2006 as its aquaculture specialist.

How did you come to work for one of the leading ingredient suppliers when at that time aquaculture was not a significant activity for the company?

Biomin being a livestock company saw the opportunity in aquaculture and that it could transition its livestock concepts to apply to aquaculture.

We started in the sector as ‘a one man show’ with the thought that I would be supporting the existing sales team. It soon became clear we needed to expand and specialize in the aquaculture field if we were to succeed in this transition of technology. We had to develop a strategy in aquaculture so Biomin formed an aquaculture department. Since then we have been adding more aquaculture specialists to our group in the R&D department and also technical sales people in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, India, China and Vietnam.

How important is research and the feed industry when it comes to improving the performance of aquaculture farms?

Then there’s the economics, the measure and maximizing of profitability.

Profitability is mainly driven by crop yield and price of shrimp and fish sold in the market. By using simple economic modeling, it is possible to calculate feed value under different production scenarios. . Sometimes optimization of performance and profit is not achieved when least cost is applied. Reducing nutrient density will lower price of feed ($/ kg) but can result in lower feed efficiency and can increase the cost of feeding ($/kg fish produced), so ultimately profit is lost. . Then there’s the environment: if you create problems outside the pond that means you probably have problems within your ponds.

Are there too many species of fish to focus on? Should we be more selective in the species we attempt to farm?

We need strategies and solutions to grow our industry. Aquaculture is more risky than farming other livestock species as it largely depends on the species and the individual focus of the industry involved.

Salmon is the stand-out example of controlled feeding, environmental management and adoption of new technologies across regions.

Dr Pedro Encarnação, Biomin

Research is very important, but the impact of its results in the field are even more important. I’m a fish nutritionist and I recognize that in Asia, nutrition and feed quality have allot of room for improvement.

There is a need for us to work with feed millers, to push for research outcomes that can be applied and can improve the performance of the feeds. With regard to feed mills, we’ve been focusing on inefficiencies and trying to develop feed additives that can improve profitability while improving nutrition and health of the animals. To a feed formulator additives are often seen as added expense, but we have to change this mind set and work with the industry to show that feed additives can be a usefull tool to create more flexible formulations and can improve the efficiency of the diets. Mycotoxin binders/ deactivators can reduce the negative impact of mycotoxin in some ingredients, phytogenics and organic acids can improve feed efficiency and reduce pathogen challenges in the animal gut Enzymes can improve utilization of certain nutrients and anti-nutrients, free amino acids can improve the aminoacid balance in the diet.

The problem is aquaculture is leading to a growing variety of species being farmed. To counter this means that industry has to be prepared to collaborate in order to focus on a range of species that have the highest potential. That currently includes salmon, Tilapia, Shrimp/Prawn and catfish.

The salmon industry is a good example of where concepts have been successfully applied and salmon farming is now comparable with chicken and swine production in terms of overall efficiencies. That’s not the case in Asia with freshwater species; only shrimp farming is comparable.

We need to reduce the risk of disease in our farmed fish stocks.

We also need to develop strong fish farming management. We need to inform the public of the benefits of fish as being more efficient in delivering food protein and high-quality nutrition. We need to improve our water management as water in many parts of the world is a limited resource. We need to develop marine and brackish water aquaculture as we do not have to rely on fresh water as beef and chicken farming need to.

Without sound science behind production systems the industry is inclined to go from boom-to-crash. This tells us there is still a lot that can be improved – educating farmers to take on new concepts that enhance their performance is one of them.

What is the key reason for poor performances in aquaculture?

In many countries and especially in Asia the focus on costs and “my feed is cheaper is a good reason!” Farmers still focus too much on price of feed and feed producers follow that, but they need to focus on efficiencies and outcomes. It’s not what feed costs, but what is the cost of production. How much does it cost me to produce a kg of fish? That means you have to look at more than feed price; you have to look at conversion, growth rates and the environment. It’s all about profitability and we call this ‘nutri-economics’ where you look at what is nutritionally required, what are the correct characteristics needed in the feed and how we utilize them to achieve maximum biomass gain?

If we focus on these high-potential species we can develop and compete with pigs and poultry as a supply of renewable, sustainable protein for consumers. Lots of fragmented effort dilutes them and delays an outcome. If we look at cows, pigs or poultry, we see that they have been domesticated over thousands of years. That should tell us that we can’t start with several new species all at once in fish farming. The industry should focus on few of those species that have higher potential and develop a sustainable and efficient production with strong marketing promotion

What are the key factors holding us back?

Fish should be an important part of our diet. In the America’s and some EU countries, for example, fish consumption is low while in countries such as China and Indonesia the percentage of fish in the human diet is high. The economic logic is that where fish forms a significant share of food supply, we will see growing demand for more fish, not from fisheries but from aquaculture.

Growing incomes and population will also mean greater demand for terrestrial animal protein, but will those sectors be able to meet demand? Fish is a great alternative.

In Asia we eat whole fish – not fillets. Consumers see the quality of fish when they buy it whole. Fish is the center of a meal. If you eat fish this way it is delicious and that’s why Asians love it. They see it’s really fresh and they appreciate fish more than meat. That’s something we can learn from in the West.

54 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

An extended version of this interview can be found on the Aquaculturists blog.

March-April 2014 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 55

New Director General of NACA Dr Cherdsak Virapat

D

r Cherdsak Virapat has been elected as the new Director General of NACA; he will commence duties in June 2014 and serve for five years. Dr Virapat obtained his BSc in fishery management from Kasetsart University, Thailand and his MSc in fishery science from the University of Helsinki, Finland – later obtaining a PhD in fisheries management from Dalhousie University, Canada.

Dr Virapat currently stands as Executive Director of the International Ocean Institute (IOI) where he has been active since May 2008. During his service of 27 years under the Royal Thai Government as an officer he was awarded the Royal Decorations of the Exalted Order of the White Elephant and the Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand.

Francois Fraudeau appointed as chief operating officer at Novus

N

ovus Internationals Board of Directors has appointed its Chief Operating Officer Francois Fraudeau to the position of Chief Executive Officer. His predecessor Thad Simons will retire from his position as CEO and will become the Senior Executive Advisor to the Board.

During his time in Novus, Fraudeau has held various positions in Europe, Asia and the USA. Using his extensive knowledge in feed additives and methionine he has helped lead the way in the development of sustainable products used in animal production.

Storvik Aqua appoints Rune Måøy as its new manager of sales.

S

torvik Aqua announced that Rune Måøy has been appointed as its new manager of sales.

Rune brings with him eight years as a sales manager in TINE Ingredients as well as an extensive background as a food technologist. His versatile work experience in both production and marketing makes him the ideal candidate for this position. Rune’s promotion represents Storvik’s new adaption to a market-oriented model.

Stig Jarle Pettersen joins Cermaq as CFO

C

ermaq ASA has recently appointed Stig Jarle Pettersen as CFO of Cermaq ASA. Mr Pettersen currently acts as the CFO to the Danish Biotech Company Affitech AS and is recognised as a Norwegian state authorised public accountant. Mr Pettersen received his degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in Bergen, Norway. He will bring to the table 20 years of experience from working with Actavis, Alpharma, Hafslund Nycomed, Xellia Pharmaceuticals and Helicopter Services Group

Obituary: Dr George Pigott

O

n April 6, 2014 Dr George Pigott passed away in Bellevue, Washington State, USA at the age of 85. As an officer in the Army Chemical Corps he had served in Korea and participated in the Nevada A-Bomb Tests. He received his BS, MS and PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington where he would later teach in the Institute of Food Science, College of Fisheries for 37 years – spending 10 of those years serving as its director.

Dr Pigott acted as the founding editor of The Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology and was responsible for authoring over 200 published technical papers.

56 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2014

by Marnie Snell

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