JAN 2023 - International Aquafeed magazine

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

WELCOME

What feels so rewarding about this first month of the year is that we may well have managed to leave all the accumulated tasks from the previous year finished off and behind us. And the New Year ahead looks fresh and inviting. If you were a fish, it would be a bit like plunging into new and unpolluted waters where food abounds while leaving the murky world we inhabited behind.

Roger Gilbert Publisher – International Aquafeed and Fish Farming Technology

Immediately we have the first exposition of the year confronting us.

Although not exclusive for aquaculture it does have a strong association with the production of feeds for aquatic species. Commonly referred to as the IPPE or The Poultry Show, this is actually the USA’s International Production and Processing Expo - co-hosted by the American Feed Association - which takes place annually at this time of the year in the Georgia Congress Centre, Atlanta to present the best and latest that the America’s have to offer in terms of feed processing equipment and nutrition; which is the all-important hall for our industry. IAF will be there promoting, reporting on our industry and encouraging both visitors and exhibitors alike to take a greater interest in all things related to the production of aquatic feeds.

This event follows last year’s late staging of the WAS Singapore 2022 Congress and Exposition for Asia Pacific –and which we report on in our Events Section at the back of this issue.

The World Aquaculture Society, through its Asia-Pacific chapter, organised this three-day event which was strongly supported by the Singapore government, the Singapore Food Agency and national universities together with sponsors and with the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, making the opening keynote presentation.

In her address she announced the commitment Singapore is making to aquaculture - by including it as a central plank in the country’s goal to provide 30 percent of its population’s nutrition by 2030. Known locally as ’30-by-30’ this program is aimed at making Singapore a regional hub for research and technological development in aquaculture over the coming years. The country also aspires to become a supplier of sustainably-produced aquatic products within the region.

As in Singapore, food security is on everyone’s mind now that we are coming to the end of the first year of the Ukraine/ Russian war that has adversley impacted communities globally in all sorts of ways; no less so than in the supply of grains such as wheat and oilseed meals along with other materials needed in the growing and production of macro feed ingredients - and we should not overlook the impact the war has had on our energy costs either.

We have reported elsewhere on our website and in our magazine the pressure fish farmers are currently under to stay viable when production inputs are dramatically changing. Already we have seen instances where previously strong production units have had to close due to feed and energy price increases. Often trying to pass on costs to the consumer

does not always work successfully as the latter always has an alternative which they can turn to in meeting their food protein requirements.

This iniquitous situation is forcing both producers and even countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, to look at where their food is coming from and how their supply chains can be altered in order to continue providing food at affordable prices and with awareness of possibe future food shocks.

Already in the UK, for instance - and there is no way we are suffering anywhere near as much as others elsewhere - we are finding that our weekly domestic energy bills are higher than the cost of food for a family couple. There is growing concern at community level of how we as households can respond to these pressures. This is the same for farmers - both fish and terrestrial farmers - who are also having to deal with rising food production input costs while the return at the farm gate remains unchanged. And of course, we all must deal with the consequences of disruption, delays to or the absence of products entirely. From previous conferences I attend in the latter part of 2022 I have detected a growing awareness that a more regional focus for feed raw materials to meet demand might be an option to explore and develop - this means that local needs might be met from within more local economies; rather than relying on far away supplies that may not reach you and when they do the global price of that commodity may have changed. While we are ‘splashing around’ in our newly found pond, we should give a thought for how we might manage our production costs over the coming year and how we might address the variety of 2022 challenges not been finished off and that have follow us into the New Year.

Aquafeed Journal

On occasion I have seen content from our IAF magazine cited and/or referred to in papers and other publications. That is very encouraging for the authors of these articles which we have published but it has not given any credit to those who have provided the material initially. That is about to change!

IAF is introducing this month its ‘Aquafeed Journal’. We are set up to peer-review contributions and provide an open-access platform on our website to accommodate submissions from companies, organisations and individuals who have done considered work and wish to have their contributions properly reviewed and accredited. Unlike the normal features and articles we publish, there will be a charge to cover the review process, the managing of the papers submitted, the timely publication of peer-reviewed documents and the management of the library, etc.

It may take some time to receive contributions to this service on a regular basis. We have posted the opening page of the Aquafeed Journal in this edition. If you wish to contact the manager of the service, please write to journal@perendale. co.uk in the first instance.

IAF wishes you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

www.aquafeed.co.uk

Firstly, welcome to 2023 and a Happy New Year to all and to our Chinese readership in the year of the rabbit.

This is actually my 15th year as the Nutrition and Health Editor which has spanned many changes in the feed sector specialising in aquaculture. In fact, I have been its longest serving editor so far. As such, I have seen over this long continuous time span the industry progress and evolve according to the local, national, and international demands for seafood and aquatic animal production for farmed fish, shrimp, and even ornamental species. The geopolitical situation in 2022 has been especially challenging for a feed industry reliant on commodities given the escalating costs. I do hope for an economic upturn in 2023 and more positive global markets and stability in all commercial sectors.

Professor Simon Davies Nutrition Editor, International Aquafeed

It has been a really exciting experience to share and explore my keen interests in the science of aquaculture nutrition with you and to advocate my academic knowledge and understanding of the many facets concerning metabolism, physiology and fundamental mechanisms linked to the nutritional supply of specific nutrient classes for both fish and crustaceans in general and also for specific challenges to combating stress and disease. Good nutrition and well-balanced formulated diets can alleviate the need for use of antibiotics and chemotherapeutics. The international relevance is obvious with the expansion of aquaculture production in Asia. On that note, I was sadly unable to travel to WAS last November in Singapore due to unforeseen circumstances. I had hoped to meet many old friends and make new acquaintances. However, in retrospect I did not contribute to my carbon footprint, so I feel vindicated. We are indeed promoting sustainable aquaculture development and the cost of feed ingredient transportation either by ship or air is quite another matter.

Back to the future, I see much in the development of functional feed additives and especially those based on carbohydrates (prebiotics) that are technically within the fibre class (complex non-starch polysaccharides) in feed ingredients that are

oligosaccharides that can resist enzymatic hydrolysis for the main part of the gut in fish but can lead to bacterial fermentation with beneficial gut health properties, by modulation of the intestinal biome of the distal gut. These can be found within certain natural materials such as oats e.g., β-glucans but can also be extracted from various yeasts as well as in some cases synthetically manufactured like GOS (Galacto-oligosacchrides). I have worked on this particular product with a leading commercial producer with some distinct functional effects on the gut microbiome. I can see expanded developments within the prebiotic sector due to their relative stability compared to probiotics in the feed extrusion domain, but probiotics are also playing a major role in improving fish health and welfare in different ways. I also see great strides in the use of specific enzyme technologies that are more target specific to enhance the digestibility coefficients of major feed ingredients for different fish species and shrimp making diets far more efficient in terms of their nutrient density and bioavailability for both protein and energy, and even macro and micro elements. The convergence of our improved understanding of fish and shrimp immunology and nutrition is already making headway and I am seeing more papers in such areas for my role as a reviewer for peer reviewed publications in leading aquaculture related scientific research. Next year I will be undertaking a number of academic and business travelling missions and hopefully in 2023 be reporting on these events.

This January sees me reach the UK Senior Citizen age of 66. However, we surely agree that age is just a number and as I practice good nutritional philosophy like I report monthly. I see similarities with salmon smoltification and its just another chance to acclimatise to new opportunities and on-grow in a new phase. Onwards and upwards is my message for 2023 and to continue supporting the industry with its novel innovations and enterprising spirit. Please keep your excellent articles and features flowing!

The good old days are gone forever. The days when we did not have to worry about computers, or the internet, or apps. When we were introduced to computers back in the 1960s, some of us young people got interested in them and started using them, and things were so easy. We were more worried about temperature or dust in the computer room than any bugs in the programme (of which there were aplenty), or anybody stealing our data.

Hempel The Nor-Fishing Foundation

My first encounter with computer viruses came as a big surprise. I had never heard about them and was shocked to find out that some virus had wiped out my files. Of course, I did not have any anti-virus protection back in the very early 1990s. But I soon got one.

Today, the situation is totally different. Every day I am the target of virus attacks or hacker attacks. And the criminals,for that is what the people behind this are -, are getting smarter and more sophisticated every day.

Computer power is everywhere today. It is part of everything we do. And that goes for aquaculture, too. Increasingly so, for each day we are getting deeper into the quagmire of computer applications and potential computer crime.

Much of today’s aquaculture is controlled by or through computer programmes and the use of computers. Protecting your programmes, your computers and your property therefore becomes a necessity, and it can be an expensive necessity.

Hackers can completely mess up your feeding schedules, or feed mixtures, and your entire stock could be viped out easily. Therefore, you need to take cybersecurity seriously. Very seriously.

There are a number of aspects of cybersecurity that are useful to know.

Malware refers to malicious software variants, such as worms, viruses, Trojans, and spyware. These provide unauthorised access to your computer and can harm it. Malware is getting increasingly sophisticated and “file-less”, leaving few or no traces, and thus becomes very difficult to detect or fight.

Ransomware is a type of malware that basically demands a ransom to remove the lockdown they have imposed on your files. Typically, somebody (usually very difficult to trace) will demand payment to let you off the hook and open your system again.

Phishing is a form of social engineering that tricks users into providing their own individual or sensitive information (name, address, bank account numbers, credit card numbers,

passwords, etc) often by sending you what looks like legitimate e-mails where you are asked to click on a link to get some more information or for some other reason. If you do click, they have got you and can get access to your information, your bank accounts, your operational routines, etc.

DDoS – Distributed denial-of-service attacks attempt to crash a server, website, or network by overloading it with traffic, usually from multiple coordinated systems. If you are targeted by such an attack, it can be extremely expensive and time-consuming to bring your system back into operation.

There are several more types of cyber-attacks. But fortunately, there are companies that can help you protect your system against it. At a price, of course, but the price for protection is less than the price of getting hacked. And you had better be prepared to pay the price. To think that “this happens to others, not to me” is a dangerous pitfall. So how do you go about protecting yourself? PwC and the software company Maritech have suggested a few simple, initial steps.

First, you must do a risk assessment. Look at which digital events that can inflict damage to your operations. Will the smolt die? Will your logistics be hurt? What are the effects of a power shutdown? Etc.

Secondly, get in touch with your suppliers and ask them how they work with security. Make sure they take it seriously, and demand certifications and other guarantees from them.

Thirdly, practice what you learn and train your staff to think cybersecurity at every step. Train them in handling incidents that could be particularly serious, such as fraud, attacks on operating facilities, ransomware attacks that shut down all systems, or theft of sensitive information.

Personally, I am extreme about cybersecurity. I store my data on external drives that are not connected to the internet, I frequently update my backups, and I never click on a link that someone sends me.

But I do still long for the good old days when we did not have to worry about all this. When we wrote to each other using a fountain pen rather than a sophisticated machine with autocorrect functions and built-in, Artificial Intelligence that is supposed to learn and get better. But what if the computer itself takes over? I am sure that those of you who are old enough to have seen the movie ‘2001 – A Space Odyssey’ will remember that when the computer took over, the astronaut had to resort to the ‘final solution’: he pulled the plug on the computer. But what if the system finds a way to get around that threat, too?

Erik

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International

Editors

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Editorial Advisory Panel

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• Dr Pedro Encarnação

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IN THIS ISSUE

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

REGULAR ITEMS

8 Industry News

The Aquaculture case study

COLUMNS

The Aquafeed Journal

Aquafeed Journal is a new online publication by Perendale Publishers Ltd, United Kingdom, with a distinguished track record of technical and trade magazines in the agricultural and aquaculture sectors. This new peer-reviewed scientific journal will serve academia and the commercial aquaculture industry with high-quality papers relating to aquafeed science and technology for different species of farmed fish and crustaceans. It is envisaged to address fundamental nutritional requirements for effective and optimal production and applications to advanced feed formulations. This will include essential amino acids, proteins and energy sources as well as key vitamins and minerals pertaining to fish and shrimp growth, feed efficiency and health. A major area will be studies that focus on feed ingredient assessment and in particular those that are sustainable alternatives to marine derived materials like fishmeal and fish oil. Therefore investigations directed towards plant and next generation proteins like insect meal, algae and microbial sources would be desirable areas. Novel oils and lipids that provide essential fatty acids would be of considerable importance. Studies on functional ingredients affecting the health and immune function of fish and shrimp are very topical and of much interest to the commercial aquafeed sector. We would welcome papers researching the role of prebiotics, probiotics and phytobiotics on gut health, mucosal immunity and their interaction and modulation of the intestinal microbiota.

The journal recognises that fish farming technology plays a vital role in aquafeeds and their efficiency in production so related technologies associated with fish behaviour, feed management and environmental impact of diets in tanks, ponds and cages and RAS facilities are pertinent.

In essence, Aquaculture Journal will appeal to the aquaculture practitioner, scientist, technician, feed manufacturer and at various levels in academia such as undergraduate, masters, PhD students and post-doctoral researcher as both an invaluable source of validated information and a potential location for their own research findings.

The manuscripts will be fully peer-reviewed by appropriate members of our editorial board and approved finally by the Editor-in-Chief.

These OA papers will be available on our official website aquafeed.co.uk and in print as well as being downloadable. Links will be provided within our existing International Aquafeed magazine. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your queries at journal@perendale.co.uk.

Cleaner fish trial looks to AI and imaging technology to help pick best delousers

Anew video tool will reveal the best candidates for one of the most important jobs in salmon aquaculture, as researchers in Scotland explore how to pick out the bold and brave cleaner fish from the bashful.

The project, led by the University of Stirling's Institute of Aquaculture, Swansea University and Otter Ferry Seafish, will look at the best ways to identify high-performing ballan wrasse and lumpfish using artificial intelligence (AI) and imaging technology. The consortium has received funding from the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) and will be supported by Loch Duart, Bakkafrost Scotland, Ocean Matters and Visifish – a machine vision company.

A previous SAIC-funded study proved that bolder ballan wrasse are likely to be a better fit for the job of picking sea lice from salmon. The bolder fish showed no hesitation when presented with foreign objects in their tanks, and the research team is now exploring how to use this type of test at a commercial scale.

The first stage of the project involves categorising the different traits – such as boldness, shyness, social interaction and even aggression – and seeing how the range of personalities perform at picking sea lice from salmon. Insights will then be integrated with imaging technology, which could be widely used by seafood producers to routinely monitor behaviour and welfare of cleaner fish.

Like some job interviews, there will also be a group challenge with researchers monitoring how ballan wrasse and lumpfish with different personalities respond in social groups.

Dr Adam Brooker, research fellow in aquatic animal behaviour at the University of Stirling's Institute of Aquaculture, says, “We produce cleaner fish for a specific job, so it makes sense to develop an appropriate selection process based on the different personality traits we know can influence delousing. With this new information, we can modify the rearing environment to encourage delousing behaviour and select good delousers for breeding future generations.

“Being able to identify the best delousers, based on

behaviour, could lead to significant improvements in the health and welfare of salmon and a reduction in the number of cleaner fish used. Seeing how cleaner fish behave when cohabiting will also help us understand how these fish interact with each other so we can account for this once they are integrated into producers' sites.”

With a new standardised personality test, the fish most likely to be the best at removing sea lice from salmon can be identified for future breeding programmes. The results of the project will also be used to adapt hatchery procedures and the rearing environment to encourage juvenile cleaner fish develop the desired traits.

Field trials are expected to take place next year with the camera system tested with current cleaner fish populations at Loch Duart and Bakkafrost Scotland sites.

Dr Eduardo Jimenez Fernandez, R&D manager at Otter Ferry Seafish, says, 'So far, the research points towards bold cleaner fish being better delousers. However, the data is limited and a more robust model is needed for categorising and identifying such personality traits. This project combines global behavioural expertise and will provide valuable information that could guide future selective breeding programmes.'

Heather Jones, CEO at SAIC, adds, “Studying the behaviour of cleaner fish is providing a new and interesting take on how the sector cares for and uses ballan wrasse and lumpfish to the best of their abilities. Different personalities are naturally better suited to different jobs among humans, so it is fascinating to see the same is true of these species. Building on previous SAIC-backed research and further combining academic and sector expertise, the development of new camerabased technology could be transformational for the sector's approach to using cleaner fish.”

Sanford announces purchase of first-of-its-kind fishing vessel

New Zealand seafood company Sanford Limited has announced it has signed a contract with Netherland's based Damen Shipbuilding Maaskant for the design and build of a new scampi vessel for operation in the Southern Ocean. The vessel will contribute to Sanford's target of reducing the carbon footprint from its direct operations by 25 percent between 2020 and 2030.

Sanford Chairman Sir Robert McLeod says, 'this exciting new vessel build signals our intention to invest in our core business, to improve our efficiency and environmental performance of our fleet. It strengthens our ability to supply exceptional New Zealand seafood both domestically and to the rest of the world.'

Sanford CEO Peter Reidie says, 'the introduction of this modern vessel is a significant milestone in Sanford's strategy for our Wild catch business. It will be a major step forward in resilient vessel design, which will give us the ability to fish in more challenging conditions. This investment of circa US$30 million shows a strong commitment by Sanford and its

Board, to sustaining our core business and our fishing fleet.'

The vessel will be built in the Netherlands at Damen Maaskant, the home of Damen fishing vessel build and repair since 1948, with an expected delivery in 2025.

To contribute to Sanford's target of reducing scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 25 percent from 2020 to 2030, this vessel will employ low emission diesel/ electric power as well as a number of other innovations which make it greener and safer.

More engineering facts about Sanford's new vessel:

The new vessel will have a new dieselelectric system which works a little bit like a hybrid. It drives the main shaft and propellor with electric motors during normal operations, which allows the diesel generator to operate at maximum efficiency for longer periods of time, as well as sending the electrical energy generated to where it is needed throughout the vessel.

It will also have electric trawl winches which interact with the diesel electric system and generate power when they are working, helping keep our carbon footprint down.

The fans and large motors are on variable speed drives. In colder climates in or near the Southern Ocean, the fans can slow down to reduce energy usage.

Sanford has focused on using a robust longlasting paint and anti-fouling coating system, which will reduce our paint consumption and reduce solvent release to the atmosphere.

The diesel electric propulsion system has an emergency 'come home' motor for safety. This means that if the main propulsion motor breaks down, the emergency motor will get the vessel home.

The advantage with its diesel electric motor is it starts and stops diesel generators as required. There is a selector switch on the bridge that can change how the electrical generation is set up, essentially it will use the least power required at any given time and for any given function.

The refrigeration gas used is CO2, still a greenhouse gas, but far better than the chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HFC's) alternatives.

A scale model of the new vessel design has been extensively tank tested by Marin, to maximise seakeeping and vessel safety.

Everyone is seeking sustainability in food production systems around the world presently. However, to make effective decisions, and manage our various options you need to compare those options. This also means you need to measure things, which is commonly referred to as establishing “metrics”. This process of measuring and comparing things is a central part of the role of science in providing a basis for establishing relevant goals and measuring progress against them. In effect, you cannot manage something if you cannot measure it.

Sustainable choices in feed and food have led to the evolution of a range of metrics over the past forty years or more, however the format gaining most support over recent decades has been that of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The LCA approach allows us to make sustainability choice management based on a comparison of the full range of environmental effects assignable to different products and services. It does this using a system that quantifies all the inputs and outputs associated with the various processes, material, and energy flows involved in producing a product or service. It then quantifies the associated environmental impactors that occur due to those flows. It has been described as something of an environmental accounting system, but it goes a long way beyond that.

Lifecycle assessment has a range of advantages in that it provides a framework for the development of a series of holistic sustainability metrics with traceability across the value chain. Arguably just as important is that it allows for greater cross sector harmonisation of metrics. For example, the variety of environmental impact categories that LCA examines can be equally applied to fishmeal, soybean meal and insect meal production systems, so that effective direct comparisons between each can be made. Within those impact categories, individual impact categories, such as global warming potential (a.k.a. carbon footprint), assessment can be applied to any feed ingredient, thereby underpinning the basis for the assessment of the full lifecycle impact of feed-production and allow the avoidance of trade-offs or cross-subsidisations of sectors through incomplete sustainability assessments.

Importantly, LCA is increasingly seen as the “mainstream” way to establish environmental credentials. Notably, the process of undertaking an LCA analysis though requires lots of planning and data, and how you plan and how you collect the data can have important effects on the interpretation. Because of these constraints, there have been various attempts to set some standards on this; the International

Standardisation Organisation (ISO) initiated this (ISO 14040 series), but for the feed sector the EU have taken a lead with the establishment of the Product Environmental Footprint Categorisation Rules (PEFCR) approach. More recently the Global Feed Lifecyle-Assessment Institute (GFLI) was established to be an independent repository with freely available database and tools, that also provides overarching guidelines that all who input into the database need to follow.

This whole issue of sustainability and carbon footprint was recently summarised in an excellent paper by Richard Newton and colleagues (Newton et al., 2022. Aquaculture, 739096), who compiled a summary of the lifecycle inventories of a wide range of marine ingredients. In that study, key alternative ingredients like soybean protein concentrate, wheat gluten and pea protein concentrate were also included, and when compared against various fishmeals, showed that the marine ingredients had very low environmental impacts in things like global warming potential (carbon footprint) and that there was significant variability among the various fishmeals that were assessed. It can further be seen from that study that marine ingredients across the board have very favourable environmental impact characteristics. So, another facet of what this study brings to light is a series of points on what constitutes a “sustainable” ingredient. The study shows that all ingredients have strengths and weaknesses, but arguably on balance it shows that the marine ingredients have a lower environmental impact than most, which could be argued as making them more sustainable than the alternatives.

Irrespective of what ingredient is actually more sustainable, there remains a growing demand for protein to underpin the growth of aquaculture. The growing reality is that it is not an either/or scenario, but rather we need more of everything. With a looming shortage of protein resources, the need for an approach with increasing circularity in resource use, may be what is required to fill that future gap However, the challenge here remains as to how we can effectively implement these technologies at a scale to sustain the rate needed to provide those nutrients and to deliver this at a cost-point competitive in the marketplace based on their nutrient density. While there has been a boom in new initiatives promoting protein resources like insects, single-cell, and microalgae, among others. Notably the only circular ingredients with any scale (pardon the pun) have been the production of fishmeal and oil from trimmings and by-products. In 2021, this sector of the marine ingredients industry produced close to two million tonnes, around a third of total production, clearly putting it in a different league to the newer emerging “novel” ingredients sector. In fact, if we combine the existing low carbon aspects of marine ingredient production with the “circular” protein strategy we take something that has a pretty good environmental credentials already; low carbon footprint, low energy use, and little to no reliance land or freshwater, and make it into something super special, an ingredient with superb nutritional properties and an even lower carbon footprint.

By embracing an approach using a shared, and open metrics system, based on the LCA approach to assessing sustainability, the marine ingredient industry plans to ensure that they remain accountable on a more holistic and widely accepted path for environmental footprint assessment moving into the future. Additionally, through the growing role of by-product use and its ultra-low footprint, it is all certainly foodfor-thought as to why the marine ingredients sector going forward is very much working on a basis of by measuring things better, being able to manage things better.

Antonio Garza de Yta, Ph.D. Vicepresident, CIDEEA / Senior Fisheries & Aquaculture Advisor, AWJ Innovation

Brett Glencross

Singapore Food Agency and INVE Aquaculture sign Memorandum of Understanding to develop SFA-INVE Hatchery Technology Centre

On November 30, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and INVE Aquaculture, a Benchmark Company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly set up SFA-INE Hatchery Technology Centre at SFA's Marine Aquaculture Centre (MAC).

The proposed Centre will bring together SFA's expertise in hatchery design and production for tropical marine species (e.g. Asian seabass and red snapper), as well as INVE's in-depth knowledge of specialised fish nutrition for early developmental stages, including their patented technologies for live feed. SFA and INVE scientists will jointly conduct research to develop advanced hatchery technologies (such as automated hatchery systems for rotifer and artemia production) compatible with tropical marine species and environments.

The Centre will also serve as a training hub for farmers from Singapore and the region for knowledge transfer, to help build up a consistent supply of good quality fish fry for production. This will also contribute to Singapore's '30 by 30' food security goal, which aims to build the agri-food industry's capability and capacity to sustainably produce 30 percent of Singapore's nutritional needs by 2030.

The MOU was jointly signed by Mr Chan Hian Lim, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Corporate, Industry, and

Technology) of SFA and Mr. Patrick Waty, Chief Executive Officer of INVE. It demonstrates the shared commitment of SFA and INVE in R&D collaboration, and knowledge exchanges to level up tropical marine hatchery technology to achieve sustainable aquaculture production in Singapore and the region.

Mr Chan Hian Lim says, 'This strategic collaboration brings together local and INVE's leading hatchery experts, to develop solutions and technologies for the tropical marine hatchery. This a significant step towards our ambition of making Singapore a leading innovation and research hub for sustainable tropical marine aquaculture, bringing us closer to our '30 by 30' food security goal.'

Mr Patrick Waty says, 'This cooperation is an excellent opportunity for synergizing mutual skills to benefit aquaculture in the region. SFA's MAC in Singapore is a perfect location for accelerating and unlocking the high potential of developments in a still young but fast-growing aquaculture industry.

Product Spotlight - The Samplex CS90 Bulk Truck Sampling Probe

Samplex is the UK's leading brand on the truck probe market, with many of the originally manufactured machines still in use worldwide today The Samplex CS90 is robust, reliable, highly adaptable, and able to provide a truly representative sample of a bulk load.

The entire Samplex range of bulk samplers uses time proven electro-mechanical technology, completely eliminating the use of hydraulics and the associated risks of pressure hoses splitting, which could contaminate valuable loads.

Wide Range of Products

The C S90 and Unispear system is unique in its ability of being able to accurately sample, without modification, a range of dry powders including meal and flour, small seeds such as oilseed rape and linseed, plus cereals, maize, sorghum, soya beans, rice, pulses and animal feed pellets up to 16mm x 30mm. Due to the clever design of the spear, it is possible to vary the amount of product sampled to help to prevent excess product building up in the laboratory

More representative Sample

Samplex truck probes deliberately don't use the more common and potentially flawed method of suction to collect product, as this has been demonstrated to possibly bias the collected sample with dust. Instead, they use positive air in conjunction with cyclonic action, and the design of the Unispear probe allows the product to fall directly into the airflow under gravity, and therefore provide a smaller, but importantly, more representative sample. Uniquely, Samplex fit all their probes with a twin variable aperture, to allow more or less product to be sampled as required.

The 340° rotation and telescopic arm allows for the variable sampling patterns required to meet ISO 24333:2009(E) standards.

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In partnership with LetSea and Nofima, Aker BioMarine submitted its application to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries to conduct research within salmon farming and aquafeed. The goal is to increase the share of krill and other raw materials used in fish feed formulations today, and shed light on new opportunities within the ingredients, aquafeed, and aquaculture industry.

Norway has an ambition to more than triple the production of salmon and trout by 2050, at the same time the government has set a target that all fish feed in Norway must be from sustainable sources by 2030.To achieve sustainable growth in seafood production, the Norwegian aquaculture industry must quickly ramp up the use of new raw materials in aquafeed. Currently, Aker BioMarine is one of few global players that has successfully introduced and scaled a new raw material, Antarctic krill, from idea to more than 50,000 tonnes of ingredients produced annually.

Aker BioMarine aims to bring its knowledge and experience to a new, large-scale research trial, to be conducted in collaboration with LetSea, the experimental and research centre for aquaculture, along with the research institution Nofima. Their joint project has been named the "Raw Material Revolution", a name that signifies the urgent need for more sustainable ingredients in a rapidly growing aquaculture industry.

Together, the three companies plan to evaluate the performance of krill, as well as other, new raw material ingredients, when included in the fish feed.

'If we receive approval, we plan to test seven new raw materials within seven years, with the goal of increasing the

combination of new raw materials in fish feed from 0.4 percent to 25 percent by 2030," says Matts Johansen, CEO Aker BioMarine, during a panel discussion at the Bellona 'Raw Materials Pledge' event on Tuesday, November 29.

The Raw Materials Pledge is a movement within the Norwegian seafood industry to stimulate greater diversity and sustainability in aquafeed raw materials. The companies that have pledged support include Aker BioMarine, Skretting, Lerøy and Sjømat Norway – headed by Bellona. The shared ambition is to increase knowledge and awareness about new raw materials. Together, the group presented their report on this topic to the Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Bjørnar Skjæran, during the Bellona event.

From a passive to an active role

By applying for research permits, Aker BioMarine will help pave the way for new, sustainable raw materials.

"The role of the raw material suppliers, including Aker BioMarine, has been passive until now, especially during large-scale trials conducted under real farming conditions, even when our own raw materials have been used in fish feed. This project differs from other studies in that we want to focus on the importance of raw materials in the final feed formulation and evaluate a combination of new raw materials. With this project, we are now taking a much more active role by running our own large-scale research," adds Mr Johansen.

Since 2006, Aker BioMarine has harvested, processed, marketed, and sold krill products as an ingredient in fish and animal feed, in addition to omega-3 supplements for humans. Today the company has a separate department dedicated to research and development

which consists of 15 employees with PhDs who have published more than 200 scientific articles.

"Refining a new ingredient and introducing it to the market is both expensive and time-consuming. Aker BioMarine spent 15 years researching and documenting the effects of krill alone. The aquaculture industry needs to see much faster development,' explains Mr Johansen.

'With research permits from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, it is possible to carry out necessary and important research that will help us mitigate future risk related to sustainability within aquaculture. The approval for this research is a green light for us to increase our knowledge and stimulate greater sustainable growth across the industry,' he adds.

"We need to move quickly."

As part of the research collaboration, Aker BioMarine, Nofima and LetSea will each contribute with their own expertise and experience, stemming from across the industry and through previous studies. Together, the companies aim to produce robust documentation of new and sustainable feed.

Nofima, who will hold the scientific responsibility within this research project, has a long track record of conducting research within the aquaculture and fisheries industries, among other areas. For several years, Nofima has worked to document new, sustainable ingredients for salmon feed on both a small and large scale.

"The industry wants to use a greater amount of new, sustainable ingredients, and we need to move quickly to do so. Large-scale research is a necessary tool for success, and we have the knowledge and set-up required to contribute to the development of new raw materials for feed," says Bente Torstensen, Division Director at Nofima.

UK£2 million water quality project to protect river ecosystems

New research led by the University of Stirling is to explore how pollution and climate change are impacting freshwater ecosystems for the first time.

The study, which has been awarded funding of £2million from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), will investigate how pollutants interact with rivers and ecosystems, and devise a system to monitor and measure pollution.

Professor Andrew Tyler, the Scotland Hydro Nation Chair and project lead, says, “Our rivers and freshwater species are being challenged by a bewildering combination of pollutant cocktails including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, illicit drugs and micro plastics – the effects of which are poorly understood.

“Now more than ever, climate change is warming waters, increasing flooding and changing rainfall intensity, coupled with increased urbanisation.

“This research will transform our knowledge in this area and use innovative technologies and transformative data analytics to improve our understanding of how climate and evolving mixtures of pollutants interact and ultimately impact on freshwater ecosystems.”

Using next generation sensors and satellite monitoring, experts will assess water pathways, follow pollutants and monitor the impact of contaminants on freshwater environments. The team will also call on existing national data to investigate the impacts of longer-term exposure

to pollutant cocktails across the UK on water quality and ecosystems health whilst also identifying effective solutions.

The project, MOT4Rivers, also includes experts from the James Hutton Institute, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, The School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow and is supported by Scottish Water.

Professor Marian Scott, of the University of Glasgow's School of Mathematics & Statistics, is one of the leaders of MOT4Rivers' analytics team. Professor Scott says, 'MOT4Rivers has the potential to make a real impact on the quality of UK freshwaters.

'New sensor technology, supported by high-quality analysis, gives us the chance to tackle pollution in our rivers and their supporting ecosystems. I'm looking forward to working with colleagues to develop our understanding of the impact of environmental changes on microbial form and function.'

George Ponton, Head of Research and Innovation at Scottish Water, says, “This project tackles key questions on the impact of both individual climate extreme events on releasing an increasingly complex cocktail of pollutants from society to aquatic ecosystems and the longer term climate change implications on water quality management across the UK.

“Finding effective solutions to these challenges is part of our strategy to deliver net zero across the water sector.”

The study's findings will be reported in mid-2025, with the research team hopeful the results will inform priorities for policy, regulation and investment in measures to promote sustainable freshwater ecosystems under a changing climate.

Offshore fish farm technology could quadruple Scottish production

New technology to support seafood production in exposed offshore locations could unlock an additional UK£4.2 billion in turnover for Scotland's aquaculture sector, following the results of a pioneering research project led by start-up Impact-9.

The company's Net9 system – a submersible, floating structure which utilises the ocean's natural ecosystem and conditions – is one step closer to becoming a commercial reality, with a proven design concept now ready to be tested at scale.

The breakthrough marks the end of the latest phase of the £200,000 Inflatable Marine Products for Aquaculture Containment Technology project (IMPACT), which was funded by the UK Seafood Innovation Fund (SIF) with additional support from the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC).

Engineers from Tension Technology International (TTI) and blue economy project developer Simply Blue Group were also involved in the development work, looking at regulatory issues and fish health and welfare as well as the cost challenges associated with bringing aquaculture into open ocean environments.

Once at full scale, a single Net9 pen could be used to produce up to 2,500 tonnes of salmon per annum,with oxygen-rich waters and conditions that mimic the wild helping the fish to thrive. Impact-9 has identified an opportunity to use the new technology within existing and planned offshore wind energy zones, where a small portion of these zones – around 12 x 12 km – would be enough to house 280 pens and quadruple Scottish production.

The position of wind turbines is typically determined by water depths, currents, and the need to avoid shipping lanes, which are also factors that would influence the suitability of a location for offshore aquaculture.

John Fitzgerald, CEO of Impact-9, says, 'A move further offshore can pave the way for a new sustainable seafood industry of scale, worth billions of pounds in the UK alone. The economic potential is similar to that of offshore wind; however, it will occupy a relatively small amount of ocean real estate and could fit in with existing and planned offshore wind turbine arrays.

'In the same way that lithium-ion batteries are the key to green transport, we believe that smart flexible structural elements like those used in Net9 will be the enabler of offshore seafood production.

'The most exciting part of this phase of work was to see the positive cross-over between fish welfare and structural engineering. The potential for stormy weather is of course unavoidable in these environments, but the design of the system allows the net and the fish contained in it to move together with much more flexibility than a rigid structure.'

Impact-9's system uses a flexible structure which is designed to move with the waves and weather any storms, rather than fighting against the water, reducing the potential stress on fish.

Next year, the research team plans to begin building a unit suitable for technical demonstration at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, which will also provide interested producers with an opportunity to see a model of the system in operation.

Tom Mackay, engineering manager at TTI, says, “This is part of a systematic engineering approach to address technical novelty and undergo carefully managed tests to qualify that new features will perform as desired. The process is similar to offshore renewable systems development, and we have brought to bear expertise from that sector to help Impact-9 manage the risk of adopting their novel structures in the Net9 application."

ABT

Monitoring Microbial Water Quality in Near Real-Time BactiQuant’s Contribution to an Optimal and Stable Production Environment

Aquaculture is a growing industry worldwide, with farmed fish production increasing steadily in recent years. The most crucial element influencing fish performance and health is water quality.

To provide the best conditions for the fish being raised, the fish farmer must be able to monitor water quality parameters. Most operations seek to keep these water quality variables within ranges that promote maximum growth while utilizing less water and reducing waste. Nutrient inputs stimulate microbes and phytoplankton, which may lead to poor water quality. The amount of nutrients in the effluent is directly correlated with water retention time and hydraulic turnover rate (Tucker et al. 2005). As a result, the intensity and type of aquaculture systems being used directly affect the water quality.

Modern aquaculture production facilities like RAS operate at or close to maximum carrying capacity and have relatively complex circulation, aeration, and biofilter systems. Because of the high biological risk factors in these systems, vigilance in monitoring and prompt action are required to reduce mortality rates (Helfrich and Libey, 1991).

On the one hand, in RAS systems, a biological risk element is the continuous, high concentration of bacteria that surrounds the fish. Some of them are slow-growing bacteria that commonly inhabit the intestines, gills, and skin's mucus (A.L. Aam, 2015), while detrimental and pathogenic species can be found among

the fast-growing opportunistic bacteria (Allen et al., 2004). According to Rojas and Tirado (2019), changes in water quality may lead to increased bacterial abundance and activity, reduce biological stability (Attramadal et al., 2012), and cause stress in the fish population (Harmin, T.D., 2009). Stressed individuals are more vulnerable to infection by dangerous, fast-growing pathogens (Raman et al., 2013). Yet, in aquafarm systems like RAS, monitoring microbiological water quality indicators has been impeded by time-consuming, ineffective, and/or complex tests (Rojas-Tirado, 2018). Today, there is a growing demand for operational technologies that may be applied to RAS management to quickly monitor microbiological water quality and improve process effect understanding (L. Pedersen and P.B. Pedersen, 2016). On the other hand, hatcheries of catfish, salmon, and trout species face challenges from various fungi responsible for devastating infections on fish in aquaculture, fish farms, and

Table 1. Assay parameters for the BactiQuant products

Assay parameter Value

Limit of detection (LOD) 10 FLU

Limit of quantification (LOQ) 30 FLU

Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) < 7%*

Inter Assay Reproducibility (RPD) < 7%*

hobby fish tanks. The most significant cause of economic losses in aquaculture is diseased fish, and oomycete (water molds) infections are second only to bacterial diseases in their impact (Meyer 1991).

Bactiquant-water – A new Microbial Water Quality Parameter:

The Danish company BactiQuant has created and patented a new microbiological water quality parameter called Bactiquantwater (BQW). The BQW method is a quick field test for fluorometric detection of a specific bacterial hydrolase enzyme activity. Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, representing all of the major bacterial taxonomic groups, exhibit enzyme activity. The process is easy, rapid, and highly reproducible (McKernan et al., 2012). The measurement can be performed on the spot, even under rugged conditions, and requires no extraction procedures. The US-EPA verified the BactiQuant method in 2012 in collaboration with Batelle (McKernan et al., 2012), and the technology was awarded the seal of excellence by the EU in 2018. The technology has been used in research studies on RAS to monitor bacterial dynamics in the water phase, the impact of feed loading on microbial water quality, and bacterial activity on particles (Rojas-Tirado et al., 2019). Additionally, it has been used to monitor bacterial activity and conduct studies in the wetlands of a German trout farm (C. Naas, 2014).

Measurement principle

BactiQuant is based on a very sensitive fluorescence technology. The assay consists of three simple steps: The bacteria in a water sample are concentrated using a Millex

bacterial hydrolase activity is transferred to the filter unit using a syringe. The filter is saturated with the enzyme substrate, and the enzyme reaction is initiated.

Following the reaction step, the fluorophore produced from the reaction between the bacterial hydrolase activity and the enzyme

The fluorescence output from a water sample is linear with the time and volume of the sample. The result of a Bactiquant analysis is calculated based on standard conditions: Fluorescence output (FLU) per 250 ml of the water sample, reacted at 23oC for 30 minutes. This is defined as the BactiQuant-Water value. The BQW value is a proxy for the total bacterial presence in the analyzed water sample. The technology can detect particleassociated bacteria (PAB´s), slough of biofilm, and planktonic bacteria, providing a relevant and comprehensive measure of the total bacterial exposure in RAS, compared to the limited capabilities of the traditional methods. The sensitivity to bacterial concentration can be readily adjusted by changing the water volume filtrated and/or the reaction time. A typical protocol for an aquaculture water analysis is the filtration of a 50 ml water sample reacted for five minutes at ambient temperature. The enzyme activity is calculated according to the formula shown in table 1.

Why rapid microbial biomass assessment is a necessity and not a luxury

One of the key factors in reducing microbial risk in RAS systems is providing stable water microbiology. Opportunistic microorganisms have a lower risk of taking over a system in which all parameters are maintained at steady levels, including water quality. Microbial water quality is essential not only for larvae and juvenile performance in hatcheries, which are the most vulnerable stages of fish development but also for identifying problems in the later stages of the water cycle in a RAS system, such as the impact and optimization of sanitizing agents, the impact of feed on water quality, the effect of biofilter maintenance, etc. With the help of BactiQuant-water (for

bacterial measurement) and FungiCount (for fungal measurement – able to measure micro fragments, spores, and hyphae), producers can generate their unique baseline of data and compare it to operational practices or altered assumptions (such as a new feed, feed spill, changes in operating practices for sludge drainage or recycling biofilters).

The baseline data will change throughout the course of production. They will represent various fish species, growth phases (hatching, start feed), fish size, densities, feeding schedules, seasonal variations in source water quality, and operational routines like cleaning schedules for biofilters and tanks.

In RAS systems, all components are equally crucial in ensuring the efficiency and safety of the system and the cultured species, like gears in a mechanical watch. BactiQuant allows the user to monitor each gear potentially and decide if changes need to be made since each gear contributes to fish welfare. Providing stable microbial water quality is an essential starting point that significantly contributes to better performance, increased growth, and reduced mortality. By optimizing processes, adjusting routines, and constantly monitoring microbial water quality, the user can increase proactivity and verify stable water quality.

Applications in Aquaculture systems

While microbial biomass is a critical process parameter for water quality, the ability to do measurements in near real-time allows early detection of deviations in water quality. This enables the operator to quickly adjust production processes and operational routines to maintain a stable production environment. Secondly, BactiQuant enables users to optimise their water treatment processes by monitoring the microbial activity in Critical Control Points (CCP’s), such as before and after the water treatment chain. This will result in a deeper understanding of the efficiency of the installed water treatment technologies and allow for adjustments of the treatment steps in near realtime. Thirdly, BactiQuant’s products can be utilised to evaluate the impact different operating and handling processes have on the microbiome. Unsanitary handling of fish (i.e., during vaccination), movement of fish in grow-out tanks, changing of equipment, feed type, feed frequency, etc., are critical examples of operational routines that can significantly disrupt the balance of the microbiome around the fish and allow for opportunistic microbes to proliferate out of control. Last but not least, as bigger RAS systems have multiple hatcheries and grow-out tanks, the technology can be used to benchmark production systems and, thus, assist operators in selecting and develop better production system designs.

IoT

Protecting seagrass habitats with

satellite enabled IoT

Although often overlooked in favour of the more famous and visible tropical rain forests, seagrass meadows are an important ecosystem that play a vital role in combating climate change.

Made up of flowering plants that go through their life cycles underwater, seagrass meadows grow in sheltered coastal areas across six continents and can be found offshore in 159 countries. Potentially covering over 300,000 km2, over a billion people live within 100 km of a seagrass meadow. As well as supplying food, oxygen and shelter to many species of marine animals, they also protect coastlines from erosion by absorbing the energy of the waves and also filter man made polluting nutrients from the water. Seagrass meadows also help support commercial fisheries worth as much as US$3500 per hectare per year.

Possibly their most vital contribution is in capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. Although taking up only a very minute portion of the seafloor, they are responsible for an estimated 10 percent of the atmospheric CO2 absorbed by the oceans and capture it 35 times faster than the rate achieved by tropical rainforests.

Seagrasses face a number of threats, including costal development, degraded water quality and climate change. The latter causes phenomena such as rising sea levels, increased extreme weather events and elevated water temperatures, all of which affect seagrass meadows.

One of the major threats is the increased nutrient load flowing into the sea from sewage and the runoff of fertilizers like nitrogen and phosphorus. This in turn stimulates the growth of algae, causing algal blooms, leading to a reduced level of oxygen in the seawater. This oxygen depletion, known as hypoxia, can eventually cause seagrass die off, leading to decaying organic matter that further decreases the amount of oxygen in the water.

These pressures and stresses have led to a marked decline in

of Things (IoT). The IoT consists of physical objects that have “smart” capabilities to collect data about their physical world. This data is transmitted through communication networks to computer servers that process, store and analyse the gathered data and produce information that can be acted on.

Most often used to report on the status and condition of electrical transformers and vehicle fleets or gather data on pressures and temperatures in a process plant, IoT can also be a powerful tool to track the condition of natural ecosystems such as seagrass meadows. As such, IoT devices give researchers insight into exactly what is happening in these meadows and the threats they face. This knowledge can allow legislators to take appropriate action to ensure that fishing and aquaculture is conducted sustainably to ensure the continued health of seagrass meadows.

LoRa fits the bill

The monitoring of seagrasses using IoT devices would involve taking frequent sensor readings over extended periods of time. Small amounts of data would be sent from sensors distributed over a wide area – by the very nature of seagrass meadows, they could be in difficult to reach or remote areas.

This makes accessing this data a challenge. The IoT devices need a connectivity system that is both robust and offers constant access, while also needing little maintenance or very few or no manual visits.

An ideal connectivity method to fulfil these requirements is LoRa®, short for Long Range. This a low power, terrestrial wireless platform for IoT, based on a series of integrated circuits developed by Semtech.

Transceivers configured with these LoRa devices are embedded into end nodes, or sensor devices, such as temperature or oxygen sensors. These sensors capture data on the environment in the seagrass meadows and transmit it to gateways, which in turn send it over the air to the network.

For remote monitoring of seagrass meadows over extended areas, LoRa® offers a number of advantages over terrestrial connectivity technologies such as 4G and fibre.

LoRa® offers rapid deployment over a wide area, without the need for fixed mobile cells, reducing both capital and operational costs. It also offers advantages over cellular technologies such as Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT). These devices consume a lot of power, and therefore need frequent battery replacement, an aspect that rules them out for deployment in remote areas.

LoRaWAN® (Long Range Wide Area Network) is the opensource network architecture standardized for LoRa devices and developed by the LoRa Alliance. It becomes even more useful when combined with satellite access.

Satellite access adds a whole new dimension

Connectivity by terrestrial networks covers less than 20 percent of the Earth’s surface. With few users in remote areas, it is unlikely that terrestrial services will be greatly expanded beyond their current coverage. Many seagrass meadows may be out of range of terrestrial networks. This means that connectivity for IoT monitoring in remote locations is best served by satellite.

The technique has been demonstrated by a solution that offers LoRa coverage across Europe using a large, high capacity satellite. IoT sensors sited in seagrass meadows would measure parameters such as water levels, salinity, temperature and dissolved oxygen, and then send data to a LoRa module. The module would then employ licensed S-band frequencies to send the data to the satellite. This data is then retransmitted to the Internet via an Earth station and a LoRaWAN® compatible network infrastructure.

This satellite solution uses S band radio frequencies. For environmental monitoring, this offers great advantages over other bands. The major one is its significant resistance to signal fading caused by rain, allowing it to continue to provide access to data from seagrass monitoring sensors during changing atmospheric conditions, such as high rainfall.

Research across continents

One of the major attractions for researchers investigating the changes happening to seagrass meadows is that satellites can cover a whole continent. This contrasts with terrestrial connections that are optimised to cover short to medium distances. This offers the opportunity of continent wide

Satellites in a Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) are best placed to offer this continent wide access. Because GEO satellites travel at the same angular velocity as the Earth, they appear fixed above the same point. Satellite antennas on the ground therefore do not have to track the satellite and can remain pointed at a fixed place in the sky. This helps simplify the design of ground equipment and thus reduces costs.

Another technique to improve this satellite access still further is LoRa® Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum [LR-FHSS] in licensed S-Band. LR-FHSS allows direct to satellite data links from IoT devices, offering even greater reliability, a higher performance, a lower power consumption and improved resistance to interference.

Information on the decline of seagrass meadows is vital, not only to protect these ecosystems but also to protect aquaculture in these areas and the livelihoods of people who depend on it.

Satellite enabled IoT offers great advantages in the struggle to understand and protect seagrass meadows and help achieve sustainable aquaculture. With anytime, anywhere access to current field data, researchers have a powerful tool with which to protect these vital natural resources.

Dynamic salmon production through nutritional programming

by Dr Stuart McMillan, University of Stirling, UK

Fishmeal (FM) and fish oil (FO) are finite resources and demand for them is increasing, with new applications and growth in current markets stretching these valuable commodities. Thus, the continued expansion of the Atlantic Salmon farming industry runs simultaneously with the continued drive to reduce FM and FO inclusion in their diets, whilst still producing healthy fish as efficientl y and sustainably as possible using alternative ingredients. Alternative feed ingredients come from a variety of sources, but it is plant-based ingredients that the industry, particularly in Europe, relies on most as sources of protein and lipid in fish feeds. However, high vegetable inclusion in aquaculture feeds comes with its own problems, including poor uptake, digestion & utilisation of nutrients of these diets, and a substandard nutritional profile, especially when we consider their omega-3 composition.

Bioconversion of omega-3 fatty acid in salmon

Within the aquaculture industry, we all know the importance of omega-3 fatty acids to fish health, notably n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Correspondingly fish, and especially Atlantic salmon, are a crucial source of omega-3 in the human diet. Traditionally, salmon obtained EPA and DHA from the FM and FO included in their diet, but neither fatty acid is present at satisfactory levels in vegetable sources.

Thus, as the FM and FO content of salmon feed goes down so, to some extent, will the EPA and DHA content of fish be consuming that feed. However, many fish, including Atlantic salmon, have the capacity to biosynthesise their own EPA and DHA with the help of enzymes. This pathway requires omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) as the starting substrate, and it has been demonstrated that salmon can be a net producer of DHA (Sanden et al. 2011). Luckily, ALA is a component in most vegetable-based oils. Yet, the rate of bioconversion is typically quite low, leading to a need to boost this mechanism.

What is nutritional programming?

Nutritional programming (NP) is a dietary intervention or stimulus, either delivered maternally or direct to the target animal, which can lead to various changes later in development. When delivered directly, this will be during a period of high morphological plasticity when the animal is able to change in response to external stimuli, usually during early development. Nutrition is one of many external, or exogenous, triggers that can activate changes in organisms, including metabolic flux, epigenetic changes (altering gene function rather than changing the gene itself) and changing microbiota associated with that organism. One powerful example of nutritional programming comes from bees. Future queens feed on royal jelly that triggers their metamorphosis, whilst future workers eat beebread (nectar and pollen) that contains specific molecules to slow their development and activate sterilisation (Zhu et al. 2017). Thus, in this case, it’s not just what you eat, but what you don’t eat as well!

Whilst NP has been studied in humans and mammals for decades, it has only become a key area of research in aquaculture nutrition more recently. This is predominantly as part of the momentum to help various species to assimilate diets with a high vegetable inclusion more efficiently. Recently, a group at the University of Stirling demonstrated a nutritional programming response in salmon after a 3-week vegetablebased stimulus (Clarkson et al. 2017). Compared to a group fed a standard marine based diet at first feeding, fish on the experimental low FM/ FO stimulus diet displayed higher growth, feed efficiency and net production of both EPA and DHA when challenged with a low FM/ FO vegetable-based diet later in freshwater development. However, it is not known what the long-term response will be to nutritional programming, specifically whether the effects will continue post seawater transfer? Colleagues and I at the University of Aberdeen, Biomar and the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture are investigating this question to establish whether nutritional programming is a feasible mechanism to optimize the efficient use of nutrients and retention of n-3 LC-PUFA in Atlantic salmon long term.

Trial format and analysis

The experimental trial began with a three-week

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Can we harness nutritional programming in aquaculture?

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“stimulus” from first feeding where two groups each of Atlantic salmon fry were fed either a vegetable-based diet (V) or a standard marine (M) formulation (Figure 1). The V diet was low in EPA and DHA, with a 9-fold decrease in combined percentage compared to the M diet. In an effort to stimulate salmon to produce their own n-3 LC-PUFA, V diets were formulated with higher levels of precursor ALA. Following the dietary “stimulus”, groups fed the V diet were transferred to the M diet so that all fish were fed this diet for a 33 week grow out “intermediate” phase.

For the final four weeks prior to smolt relocation to seawater (Sw), two treatment groups (one each fed the V “stimulus” and M “stimulus”) were transferred back to V diet, while remaining tanks continued on M diet. This Fw “challenge” was to investigate whether a secondary period of feeding on a V diet would bestow any additional benefit to fish in Sw. Following a two-week acclimatization post-Sw transfer, when fish were fed the M diet, all fish were transferred to a V diet for a 14-week Sw “challenge”. Within both “stimulus” of Fw “challenge” phases, V and corresponding M diets were formulated with equal calorific levels and proportion of crude lipid and protein. Samples were collected (red arrows in Figure 1) at key points for biometrics and body & tissue composition, which enabled calculation of nutrient retention efficiency.

Results and interpretation

Our hypothesis was that fish subjected to a vegetable-based (V) “stimulus” diet would better utilize dietary nutrients in later development. Our primary focus was on whether retentions of n-3 LC-PUFAs, EPA and DHA would increase. Greater positive retention and/or a net increase of EPA and DHA accumulation and deposition during Sw challenge, by treatment fish fed a V “stimulus”, would be a key indicator of successful and sustained nutritional programming.

Intriguingly, the group exposed to a V diet for the first time during Sw “challenge” phase generated the highest retentions of EPA and DHA. Thus, the group fed an M diet exclusively until the start of Sw “challenge” (MMV) outperformed other groups and demonstrated a clear net production of DHA far outstripping retention by any other group during that phase. Although this was not the result we had expected, it can perhaps be explained by the significant physiological and environmental changes fish are experiencing relating to smoltification and Sw transfer. These influences could indicate a period of greater general morphological plasticity leading to a positive reaction to other external stimuli, including different diets.

Despite differences in retentions, at the end of Fw & Sw “challenges” there was no difference in the size of fish proximate

composition or growth rates. During Sw “challenge”, one explanation for this appears to be the increased feed intake of groups fed the V “stimulus” diet. While not a sign of nutritional programming per se, this suggests a greater appetence for the V diet from the V “stimulus” groups (VVV and VMV). Subsequently, this has countered the inferior retentions, resulting in fish in all groups being a similar size at the trial end.

Conclusion and future perspectives

We observed no conclusive evidence from growth and retention to suggest vegetable-based dietary stimulus and/or Fw “challenge” boost has any positive long lasting nutritional programming effect on Atlantic salmon post-Sw transfer. Although this was not the outcome we expected, there are still many positive aspects to our results that we can use moving forward. For instance, groups fed a combination of both diets in Fw adapted to the Sw environment more rapidly.

Ongoing analysis from the same trial will look at tissue gene expression and condition, the latter using histology to identify any adverse effects relating to the vegetable-based diets and whether this correlates with their digestion and assimilation of nutrients. Gene expression data will give further insight into activity of the n-3 LC-PUFA biosynthesis pathway and reveal potential targets for enhancing this mechanism. Furthermore, researchers at the University of Aberdeen are looking at the microbial communities of fish associated with the different diets during Fw “challenge” and how this relates to gut health and gene expression. Endogenous production of essential EPA and DHA could determine how we formulate more resource-efficient feeding scenarios and aquafeeds for Atlantic salmon in the future. These strategies could well require nutritional programming to trigger and optimise processes long term. Finally, it is unlikely that n-3 LC-PUFA biosynthesis alone will entirely bridge the gap between tissue EPA and DHA levels when fed marine versus vegetable oils. Thus, implementation of optimised nutrition programming procedures needs to be incorporated with other novel feeding strategies and ingredients for continued sustainable industry growth, whilst maintaining the product quality and nutritional benefits to the human diet.

Dr Stuart McMillan is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture, in the UK. His interests include sustainable food production and microbial populations in fish and shellfish.

This work was completed as part of the biotechnology and biological sciences research council (BBSRC) funded project NUTRIPROG “Investigating the potential of nutritional programming to improve the utilisation of sustainable feeds in aquaculture” in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Aberdeen and BioMar.

Three

themes to shape Scottish aquaculture in 2023

by Heather Jones, CEO of the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), UK

Over the past 12 months, uncertainty in the form of inflation, energy prices and the cost-of-living crisis have brought the need for change into focus across many sectors. For aquaculture the collective goal of sustainability and futureproofing remains top of the agenda.

With high salmon prices per kilogram throughout 2022, we hope this will unlock further investment to fuel innovation and research next year. Local, national and international cooperation and collaboration will be central to this, with global action needed to help tackle some of the challenges faced across all seafood producing nations.

Seafood and finfish farming continues to play an integral role in the world’s food system, providing a high-quality, sustainable source of protein while supporting economies and rural communities. As we look ahead to the new year, there are three key areas which we expect will shape the direction of travel for producers, the supply chain, academics and public bodies with an interest in Scottish aquaculture.

1. Mitigation of natural threats

Warmer waters causing algal plant or zooplankton blooms has been one of the biggest emerging challenges this year, and global warming makes it an ongoing concern. Harmful blooms can impact all animals and plants in the natural ecosystem – not just seafood – but we want to further support the sector with developing new tools and systems to better understand these threats.

Early warning technology, as well as increased knowledge to help spot trends and patterns, will enable seafood farmers to respond as quickly as possible to protect the health and welfare of their fish. Upskilling is also key to this across all areas of the sector. If more people are trained to look for patterns, the more likely we are to be able to introduce measures at the right time to deal with the potential impact.

2. Putting technology developments into action

We know that a progressive, modern mindset is needed to help future-proof the sector. Emerging technology and the greater use of data has been on the agenda for some time, but in 2023 we have the opportunity to shift from development to adoption.

Temperature Adapted Feeds

WINTER EDITION

1.Mitigation of natural threats Warmer waters causing algal plant or zooplankton blooms has been one of the biggest emerging challenges this year

2.

Putting technology developments into action

Examples like Tritonia’s 3D mapping of the hard-to-reach seabed can provide an extra level of confidence and reassurance when it comes to the environmental impact of fish farming.

3.Connecting the dots between Government strategies

In spring 2022, the Scottish Government published its Blue Economy Vision for Scotland and, in the first quarter of next year, we expect to see a new Vision for Aquaculture as well as a new Innovation Strategy.

SAIC has supported innovation projects over the year covering a range of areas, from the environment to fish health. Next year we want to see the knowledge gained through research being applied by all involved in seafood production – including regulators.

Examples like Tritonia’s 3D mapping of the hard-to-reach seabed can provide an extra level of confidence and reassurance when it comes to the environmental impact of fish farming.

3. Connecting the dots between Government strategies

In spring 2022, the Scottish Government published its Blue Economy Vision for Scotland and, in the first quarter of next year, we expect to see a new Vision for Aquaculture as well as a new Innovation Strategy. Proposals for highly protected marine areas are also out for consultation.

All of these provide a framework for Scotland’s future, but we also need government to join up the dots between each strategy and work with the sector to create a thriving economy.

A good example of where this has worked before is the blue economy. Scotland’s energy sector has modernised in a big way, transitioning to renewable tidal and wind-powered energy source. We should see seafood in the same way – moving from the old ways of doing things, catching wild fish, to cultivating the sea the same way we have the land through modern agricultural practices.

Scotland’s geography, natural resources, expertise and history of innovation are all at play within aquaculture and, next year, we can be at the forefront of sustainable economic development in line with the Government’s ambitions.

The Art of Nutrition & Growth

Dibaq Solutions are specific programs designed to offer customers a range of services that only a leader in aquaculture can: nutrition for every need, continuous follow-up of fish quality not to mention technical and commercial assessment. All of this is the outcome of our international experience.

Dibaq AquaSafe® - an internal quality seal for high-value products

By only using the highest quality raw materials, micronutrients and functional components, Dibaq Aquaculture is a well respected company that specialises in the manufacture of specifically tailored products.

As a result, we have managed to go further and improve the quality of these products with this new seal, which will help our clients to achieve the maximum performance in their own production.

The AquaSafe concept also prioritises sustainability and the water safety of planet earth, as well as the health of the fish fed, stimulating their immune system, improving growth performance and protecting them against internal and external parasites.

Therefore, Dibaq AquaSafe is not only supporting and focusing on the safety of the planet - but on the health of its fish too.

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

Tech update

Trident Hybrid Sea Cage System by Poseidon Ocean Sytems

This cage system is one of the world’s most advanced aquaculture steel cage system, offering a near boatless environment.

Its forward-thinking design delivers exceptional wave handling capabilities while allowing for a seamless transition to advanced technologies, such as rigid nets, a near boatless environment, and floating closed containment, without the need to invest in new infrastructures. It has a Strong integrated design with max wave tolerance in excess of 6m and fatigue resistance exceeds 20 years with limited lifetime warranty. Meets highest certification requirements of the aquaculture industry for prevention of escapes. Unlike traditional steel cage systems, the Trident system also creates a closed topside environment, reducing the amount of floating seaweed or other debris from entering the grow-out environment. All aspects of modern farm operations can be integrated into the Trident structure, including allowing farmers to recess feed pipes and other supply lines below the walkway –eliminating trip hazards and reducing wear and chafing issues for these ancillary components.

Organoid technology platform is taking seafood meat cultivation to the next level

by Roee Nir, CEO and Co-Founder of Forsea, Israel

The Essential Benefits of Organoid Technology

By avoiding a complex scaffolding stage and depending on fewer bioreactors and growth factors, Forsea's novel approach aims to create products that rely on a simplified cell cultivation process. Our organoid technology aims to solve the major cell cultivation industry challenges, including scalability and high production costs.

The meat and seafood cultivation industries are on the rise, as more than a hundred innovative foodtech companies are busy perfecting their technologies in hopes of limiting the damages caused by traditional meat and fishing industries, while also providing the world's growing population with a stable, highquality protein source.

The majority of meat and seafood cultivation companies cultivate different tissue types separately – for example fat or muscle – and then use a process called scaffolding to bind the tissues together. To ensure efficient and correct cell growth, the cells must be enriched by different growth factors.

Forsea's approach to cell cultivation is radically different. The non-GMO organoid technology, which was developed by Dr. Iftach Nachman, cultivates fish cells by allowing them to grow as three-dimensional tissue structures, without separation – via a process that is similar to natural cell growth.

Organoids are three-dimensional tissue structures developed from stem cells. These structures have significantly impacted a range of biomedical fields including disease modelling, drug screening and basic developmental biology research. When used as a platform for cultivating seafood muscle and fat cells, organoid technology mimics natural cell development. The cells are able to generate most of their own growth factors, and thereby require minimal external intervention.

"The majority of cell cultivation systems focus on a directed differentiation processes that direct cells to differentiate into a specific cell type, prior to being integrated on a scaffold," explains Dr. Nachman, one of Forsea's co-founders and a principal investigator at Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Life Sciences. "However, our system is different because it takes its cue from nature. We create an ideal environment for fish cells to spontaneously organize and form natural three-dimensional tissue structures. This is the same way cells grow in a living fish."

Forsea's simplified cell cultivation process addresses high manufacturing costs. Our process is more cost-effective than common practices that rely on scaffolding or microcarriers. By significantly reducing growth factor use – highly expensive components – manufacturing costs are minimised and the final product can be sold to consumers at price parity.

Regarding taste and texture, Forsea's technology can produce cultured seafood that is similar to ocean-caught seafood. As for nutritional value, customised cell nourishment will ensure that our products exhibit a similar nutritional profile to natural fish.

Foreseeing the Future

Founded in 2021 by Dr. Iftach Nachman, Dr. Yaniv Elkouby and myself, in collaboration with The Kitchen Hub Incubator, Forsea's mission is to help preserve the global fish population, which suffers from acute overfishing. We understand that curbing the demand for fish is impossible; therefore, we aim to create an alternative to wild-caught seafood and help enhance the natural resiliency of the world's marine ecosystems.

Forsea's technology platform will allow us to produce all types of seafood and fish meat. Strategically, we are targeting IUCN red-listed species with great market demand. As an initial step, we will attempt to solve the supply gaps that exist in the eel meat market. Eel meat is in very high demand and has a very high

An innovative foodtech start-up from Israel, Forsea group, aims to curb overfishing and destructive aquaculture by offering

price point, and because it cannot be bred in captivity, supply cannot keep up. Unfortunately, as a result, eel has become an endangered species in the US, Europe and Asia. In addition, we are currently expanding our seafood product portfolio and cultivating additional fish species.

On the Horizon: A Cultured Revolution

The cultivated meat industry is poised to create a true revolution that will impact global meat and seafood consumption. Out of all the barriers that are currently impeding this change, regulation is probably the one making the most headlines.

Until recently, Singapore was the only country to provide regulatory approval for a cultivated meat product. But in November of 2022, the FDA acknowledged that chicken cultivated by Upside Foods is safe for consumption – a milestone that brings the entire industry closer to bridging the regulations barrier.

The entire cultivated meat industry has joined hands to cooperate with local and global authorities as they conduct their regulatory research. The overall assumption is that numerous countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific will deem cultivated products as safe for consumption in the coming years.

AQuACuLTuRE ENGINEERING

How to choose pumps for the large ponds, pump is simple!

by M. E. Esmaeili,

Pumps are the most popular machine in aquaculture. The smallest for transferring water to a small tank to the biggest of several m3/ sec are widely used in aquaculture. We are not going to go on deep technical terms of pumps to show our intelligence!!! But as a shrimp farmer, a brief introduction to pumps is given here to be useful for my colleagues in the aquaculture family.

Large Ponds

Ponds over 5000 m2 are considered as large ponds. If the depth is assumed as two metres, then the volume will be 10.000 m3. To fill water or daily water exchange of a farm consisting of such ponds, we need large pumps, over 10” in the outlet pipe diameter.

Pump types

There are two main pumps for such ponds:

1- Centrifugal pumps

Centrifugal pumps are the most commonly used pumps not only in aquaculture but also for other uses (Fig. No.1). It is simple, cheap, and easy to install and run. The general specification of centrifugal pumps are as follows:

- A wide range of Head and Discharge

- A wide range of manufacturers

- Head from several meters to several hundred meters

- Good efficiency

- Low weight, easy installation, easy operation, and easy maintenance

This pump is not a good choice for a very low head site with several meters. Besides, it needs a foot valve to fill the suction pipe for starting. Sometimes, leakage in the foot valve creates

Figure 2: General terms of Centrifugal pump

Figure 1: Centrifugal pump

aquaculture engineer and shrimp farmer, AFTM Ltd, Iran

problems for the farmers and they have to use a small pump to fill the suction pipe. The general terms of a centrifugal pump are shown in Fig.No.2.

2- Axial flow pumps

Axial flow pumps are the best solution for very low head sites as much as several meters with large discharge and a nearby water source (Fig. No.3). For the ponds with a very low head and high discharge, over 200 lit/sec, the centrifugal pumps are not so suitable, but axial pumps have much better performance and efficiency. The main characteristics are as follows:

- The best choice for very low head and high discharge

- High efficiency in low head

- No need to suction pipe and foot valve

- Lower energy consumption

Axial pumps are normally more expensive in compare with centrifugal pumps. This pump must install at the water intake location and if the sloop of the water source is low or a muddy site, it is difficult to install this pump. In such conditions, we better use a centrifugal pump with a long suction pipe, but not so high in the suction head.

What is Head?

The head is the most important parameter for pump selection. Pumps have two types of heads: static head and dynamic head. Static head means the vertical difference between the elevation of intake water surface and discharge outlet as shown in Fig. No.2. Dynamic head is static head plus head loss. Head loss means energy loss in the water conduit from intake to the outlet. To choose a pump, we have to consider the dynamic head, as this is the real head that a pump works for water transmission. There is a

set of calculations to find the head loss, but we avoid entering. A simple equation for the calculation of head loss is as follows:

Hl= Q1.852/ (C1.852 x D4.87)

Hl: Head loss (m)

Q: Discharge (m3/sec)

C: Softness factor (for HDPE pipe: 130, for new steel pipe: 120)

D: Pipe internal diameter (m)

The unit of the head is meter. We have another head loss for junctions and others that can be assumed as 10 percent of Hl. Then add the static head based on fig.2, and you will have the total head of the pump:

Pump Head= Hs (static head) + Hl (main head loss) + Hl2(minor loss, can be assumed as 10% of Hl))

Figure 3 &4: Axial flow pump

FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY

What is Discharge?

Discharge is the second important parameter for a pump. Discharge means how much water in a specific time is transferred by the pump. The unit is normally lit/sec or m3/ sec or m3/hr.

Data Calculation

To calculate the pump head, refer to Fig. No.2 and find the static head, then add the head losses as mentioned before and find the pump head. When we say head, we mean dynamic head.

To calculate the pump discharge, you have to calculate how much water in an hour/second is needed by you to be transferred by the pump. By having Head and Discharge, you can choose the right pump model for your site. There are different curves for pump choosing submitted by the manufacturers; one is shown in Fig. No.5 for centrifugal pump: Sample: for 60 lit/sec and 15 m head, pump model 125-250 is suitable. Always consult with a technical pump seller before finalizing a pump model.

Unit Exchange

There are different units for head and discharge. These equations are useful:

- 1 feet = 30.5 Cm

- 1 In = 2.54 Cm

- 1 lit/sec means one liter per second

- 1 m3/sec = 1000 lit/sec

- 1 m3/sec means one cubic meter per second

- 1 m3/hr = 3600 m3/sec

- 1 m3/hr = 3.6 lit/sec

Figure 5: A sample of centrifugal pump performance curve Get a trial subscription to our digital editions for FREE! Simply visit: https://store.magstand.com/Aquafeed and use the promo code: IAF2205 42 | January 2023 - International Aquafeed

EXTRUDER AND EXPANDER TECHNOLOGY YOU CAN TRUST

The Extruder AXT 220

The Almex AXT 220 Single screw extruder consists of a robust base frame that supports the main motor, gearbox, and extruder barrel. This frame can be executed in mild steel or stainless steel for extended lifetime. The direct coupled inline geared motor ensures the optimal energy efficiency.

Capacity: 10,0 - 12,0 t/h (indication only)

TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE

Innovations this month

January 2023

In this month’s Product Showcase we address water quality in aquaculture, which is particularly crucial in RAS facilities, including a drain waste collection system, a smart monitoring system and a UV disinfection system, all to improve water quality in fish farming.

If you would like your product or service to appear in this section in a future edition of International Aquafeed and Fish Farming Technology magazine, then please contact us at editorial@perendale.co.uk

SealFence by OTAQ

This is an intelligent acoustic deterrent system designed to deter seals and sea lions from fisheries. It’s proven effective worldwide, with more than 600 systems deployed since 2014 to protect sites in Scotland, Chile, Finland and Russia.

SealFence uses a unique soundwave delivered through a network of projectors placed around each site. These work together to create an acoustic fence of protection that often completely eliminates seal and sea lion attacks.

Many of OTAQ’s innovative technologies are incorporated into Sealfence, including Active Condition Monitoring (ACM). This constantly monitors and records performance, with full control available via a touchscreen located on a barge or boat.

Despite integrating incredibly advanced technology, Sealfence is also tough and has been designed to cope with permanent installation on even the most exposed fisheries. You can trust in SealFence: it’s proven reliable with a negligible breakdown record backed up by industry-leading levels of support from OTAQ.

https://aquaculture.otaq.com

Clextral flexible TWIN SCREW EXTRUSION systems

Clextral extrusion units efficiently produce high-energy feed, with a precise balance of proteins, oils and carbohydrates, processed for optimum digestibility with reduced waste. The twin screw systems are particularly suited for processing a wide range of raw materials and recipes.

Clextral twin screw extruders also accurately control pellet density for specific product attributes, such as sinking properties and water stability. Processors can manufacture granulates adapted to the nutritional requirements of different shrimp species with dimensions perfectly calibrated from 0.50 to 3.00 mm.

Clextral extrusion units efficiently produce high-energy feed, with a precise balance of proteins, oils and carbohydrates, processed for optimum digestibility with reduced waste. The twin screw systems are particularly suited for processing a wide range of raw materials and recipes.

Clextral twin screw extruders also accurately control pellet density for specific product attributes, such as sinking properties and water stability. Processors can manufacture granulates adapted to the nutritional requirements of different shrimp species with dimensions perfectly calibrated from 0.50 to 3.00 mm.

www.clextral.com

ULTIMA II bio-mechanical aqua filter by Aqua ultraviolet Ultima II Aqua ultraviolet pond & pool filters - UV bio filters designed for extreme loads and elevated rates. The patent cyclonic backwash system does the dirty work for you. Bio-Mechanical, ultraviolet pond & pool filters depend on establishing a colony of bacteria on the surface of the media that converts dissolved toxic nitrogenous waste to harmless compounds. When the bacteria are given the proper environment, they grow in a thin biofilm on the surface of each piece of media. The larger the surface area, the larger the bacterial colony. This UV bio filter surpasses the competition in this area with four to seven times the surface area of any other media available. Biological and mechanical filtration are essential to every pond. Mechanical filtration picks up any debris in the pond, keeping your pond healthier and your fish happier.

https://aquaultraviolet.com

SHOWCASE

FaunaGuard by AceAquatec

If the proper precautions are taken, marine construction activities need not cause deafness or other serious physical harm to local wildlife.

FaunaGuard is a modular system that uses academically validated sound patterns with awardwinning acoustic transducer technology to create temporary exclusion zones around a project site.

FaunaGuard is an innovative suite of devices that use modern acoustic techniques to remove marine fauna from active construction zones. Each module is purpose-built for a target species to create temporary clear zones around a project site.

FaunaGuard's modular design means that it can be tailored to the specific needs of each target species - fish, seals, porpoises, or turtles. Its state-of-the-art acoustic technology makes optimal use of an animal's hearing range and sensitivity.

The remote monitoring and control portal provides an easy-to-use interface for checking the effectiveness of the system.

https://aceaquatec.com

www.onlinemillingschool.com

A well proved design based on more than 30 years of experience. Innovative solutions have made this filter type the preferred choice of filters in most fish farms, especially in RAS where reliability and low maintenance requirements are vital for the performance of the fish farm. With Direct Driven Gear Wheels, the HEX Drum is very robust with no sudden stops and 95 percent efficiency due to cone wheels. It is built for seawater with corrosion resistant materials and comes with a PE sludge tray with dual slope to ensure sludge slides easily to the exit pipe. Ceramic nozzles for back-wash cover the full length of the filter, resulting in no moving parts and no wear out compared to steel.

https://cmaqua.dk

HEX Drum Filter Model F by CM Aqua

Aquaculture case study

New study finds that krill improves larvae seabream survival

According to a new study, by supplementing with seven percent of krill phospholipids in a seabream diet, larvae exhibited enhanced growth and survival, along with significantly less lipid (or fat) deposits in the intestine and liver, as compared to fish consuming the soybean lecithin diet.

“The high survival rates and greater growth in the larvae fed seven percent krill oil phospholipids shows that inclusion of krill in the feed ensures more of the important fatty acids are being absorbed and utilized by the fish. This is in line with previous research that shows that the phospholipid source is important, and krill oil phospholipids are consistently more effective in terms of health, growth and overall survival in fish,” said Reda Saleh Azam, Senior Scientist at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia.

Key study findings:

The supplementation of dietary krill oil phospholipids 'significantly improved' the larval survival and growth as compared to the larvae fed the soybean lecithin and control diets.

The overall omega-3 fatty acid composition in the body was highest in the larvae fed 7 percent and 9 percent krill oil phospholipids.

The larvae fed the soybean lecithin and control diets exhibited significantly higher presence of large vacuoles of lipid droplets

in the liver and intestine, indicating poor utilisation of the dietary lipids.

The inclusion of just 7 percent krill oil phospholipids resulted in a significant decrease in intestinal and hepatic steatosis, leading to better larval performance in terms of survival and length.

Dr Reda Saleh, with researchers from the Institute of Aquaculture at Stirling University, Scotland, and Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, led this study with the goal of analysing the effects of krill oil- and soybean lecithinbased micro diets on the intestine and liver in seabream larvae. The larvae received one of the five formulated test diets during the one-month experiment, after which they were evaluated for performance related to survival and growth rates.

'The researchers found that by including just seven percent krill oil phospholipids in the seabream diet, the larvae exhibited enhanced growth and survival, along with significantly less lipid (or fat) deposits in the intestine and liver, as compared to fish consuming the soybean lecithin diet,' said Andras Ziener, VP Business Development, Animal Health & Nutrition, Aker BioMarine.

Phospholipids are an important energy source for fish development

Both krill oil and soybean lecithin are dietary sources of phospholipids, which is an important source of energy in fish, particularly during embryonic and early larval development. Phospholipids possess a high content of omega-3 fatty acids that are easier to absorb and digest, in addition to its feed attractant properties that support better diet quality in fish. Previous studies have also show that phospholipids provide inositol and choline, which are important for increasing the absorption of nutrients.

About the experiment

The experimental diets used in the study contained increasing phospholipid contents (from seven to nine percent) derived from either krill phospholipids, provided by Aker BioMarine, or soybean lecithin. The diets were manually delivered to the fish 14 times per day over the course of one month. The larval sampling, to measure the effects of the five microdiets, was conducted on day 45 of the experiment.

About the study

The study, titled 'Different phosphatidylcholine and n-3 HUFA contents in microdiets for gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) larvae: effects on histological changes in intestine and liver', was authored Reda Saleh, Monica Betancor, Asaad Hassan Mohamed, Tamer El-Sayed Ali and Marisol Izquierdo. It was published in the Aquaculture International in its entirety, and it is available upon request.

www.akerbiomarine.com

Industry Events

Status updates for industry events amidst global effects of COVID-19

2023

2023 January

24-26

IPPE Atlanta, USA www.ippexpo.org

2023 February

8-9

Seagriculture Conference Asia-Pacific Online https://seagriculture-asiapacific.com 15-16

AQuAFARM Pordenone, Italy www.aquafarm.show

7 Aquatic Asia Bangkok, Thailand

https://aquafeed.co.uk/events/ aquatic-asia-2023/ 8-10 VIV Asia 2023 Nonthaburi, Thailand www.vivasia.nl

10

23-26

Aquaculture America 2023 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA www.was.org 28-1

5th Algae World Europe Rotterdam, The Netherlands www.cmtevents.com 2023 March

7

7th Annual Aquafeed Extrusion Conference Bangkok, Thailand https://aqfeed.info/e/1697

The 7th Annual Aquafeed Extrusion conference has returned for another year partnering with VIV and Texas University. Mark the calendars for the 7th of March at VIV Asia as the one-day conference will be held the day before the event begins in the IMPACT Arena. This rendition of the conference will specialise in extrusion and the related equipment for aquatic feeds. The one-day conference will feature a variety of industry expert speakers delivering innovative presentations on how users can make the best use of their extrusion machinery and aqua feed systems. It is an excellent educational opportunity so take advantage and register here- https://aqfeed.info/e/1713

2023 April 18-21

LAQuA 23 Panama City, Panama www.was.org 20-21

RASTech Lord, USA www.ras-tec.com

RASTECH is an international conference and trade fair that serves owners and operators of Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) technology. Whether it’s raising fish juveniles, smolt or full harvest size, this event covers the latest developments, innovations, and research in landbased fish farming. Learn more from global RAS experts, such as operators, designers, engineers, contractors, consultants, researchers, and investors.

All RASTECH exhibitors and sponsors offer relevant products and services to the RAS sector. Meet and discuss your next RAS project with our exhibitors, who will be showcasing the latest in RAS project design, technology, equipment, feeds, genetics and more.

2023 May 29-1

World Aquaculture 2023 Darwin, Australia www.was.org 2023 June 21-22

Seagriculture Conference Eu 2023 Trondheim, Norway https://seagriculture.eu

Build My Feedmill Conference Bangkok, Thailand mymag.info/e/1326

28 - 30

AquaFuture Santiago, Spain https://en.aquafuturespain.com/

2023 July 8-10

VIV Turkey Istanbul, Turkey www.vivturkey.com

2023 August 23-25

Aqua Nor Trondheim, Norway https://aquanor.no

International Aquafeed team at this event

Five-times delayed a highlight of 2022 WAS SINGAPORE

It was clear from opening presentations at the long-awaited World Aquaculture Singapore 2022 ‘Next Generation Aquaculture’ - which ran from November 29 to December 2, 2022 - that the attitude of the Singapore’s Government is positive towards aquaculture.

It has integrated aquaculture production as a key provider of food in its 30-30 vision of producing 30 percent of its population’s nutritional needs by 2030.

Despite of the delay in hosting the event - brought about by the restrictions surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic - WAS President Dr Jennifer Cobcroft Blair - a hatchery and research and development manager at Ornatas in Townville, Queenstown, Australia - said the event planned over five years had its dates changed five time.

Abstracts had been submitted as early as 2018.

She called on attendees to meet three challenges while at the threeday event, hosted in Singapore’s Convention and Exp Centre Max Atria: 1) Connect - meet someone new and ask them about their passion; 2) Discover - something new and 3) Encourage - students and young people attending the conferences.

“We are not just here for the next generation in technology and science but in people,” she says.

Dr Farshad Shishehchian, one of the conferences co-chairs, and CEO of Blue Aqua Group, shared his insights saying that the first idea of hosting the conference in Singapore dated back to 2015. He thanked the Government of Singapore and its agencies for the support received, especially the Singapore Tourist Board and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

Dr Leong Hon Keong, also a co-chair, welcomed everyone on behalf of SFA.

“For Singapore having enough food is an ongoing concern,” he says.

“To achieve this, we want to transform our traditional net cage way of farming into high tech and highly productive fish farms where we can make use of the latest technology and farming methods to increase output.

“We hope to increase our production by two times or three times by 2030. Therefore, it is with this background that we are happy to host World Aquaculture 2022 in Singapore.”

Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding

Ms Grace Fu, the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment for the Republic of Singapore

Dr Jennifer Blair Dr Leong Hon Keong

Matthias Halwart

The third co-chair, Dr Guillaume Drillet of SGS Singapore’s Environment Health and Safety Team, complimented the Steering Committee for its work and its adjustment to a changing situation in recent years.

Keynote presentations

The first to two keynote presentations was made by Matthias Halwart a UN Officer at FAO. He covered the topic of ‘Aquaculture for Food Security and Sustainable Development’ and IAF will review his presentation in a subsequent edition.

The opening keynote presentation was delivered by Ms Grace Fu, the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment for the Republic of Singapore. She acknowledged that this was the first time Singapore has hosted a major aquaculture conference.

She spoke of climate change, geo-political tensions and food security facing Singapore. Of the later point she said her country had set a ‘30-by-30’ goal to build the capabilities and capacity for the country to produce and meet 30 percent of its nutritional needs by 2030.

“Given our resources and space constraints we must find ways to grow more with less in a highly productive, balanced and resource-efficient manner.

“The aquaculture sector will play a critical role in achieving our ‘30-by30’ goal. We have identified seafood as a priority area, and this is one of the more carbon and resource efficient sectors. We are uplifting the aquaculture sector with a Singapore Aquaculture Plan, SAP, she added.

“First, we will define a new status for aquaculture, we will transform the industry with technology and better farm practices and third we will invest in research and innovation for sustainable, tropical aquaculture.”

She says the SFA has committed $60 million in an Agri-food transformation fund to bring about efficiencies and support industry in developing the technologies needed. She highlighted this by outlining the support being given to one company that is working to introduce technologies to feed farmed fish more effectively. This co-funding is in

Ms Grace Fu, Singapore's Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Leicester Liu, Alexandros Samartzis and Alfredo Bonfa

Benoit Chesnais

Mark Campet, Thomas Raynaud and Delphine Weissman

Dr Farshad Shishehchian -Winner of the Industry Impact Award

Dr Richard Chong and Lawrence Brown

Lewis Martin

The Future Awaits

Built on partnership and innovation, Wenger is providing more opportunities for client success.

For almost a century, Wenger has delivered extrusion-based innovations to our partners. We’ve worked alongside you to develop new processing solutions and better products, providing our industry-leading expertise and ongoing support every step of the way.

We don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

Wenger’s global food processing family is growing, and we look forward to the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. We will continue to deliver even more innovations and technologies to benefit companies that share our vision of tomorrow.

Wenger.com

Our

In addition to our headquarters in Diepholz, GEPRO has other locations around the world for your best possible service. Consistency and a high degree of reliability are essential.

Already some years ago our logo appeared in a new design. This is now also incorporated in our product portfolio. Consistency, innovation and a high degree of reliability are essential.

AQUAFEED

GEPRO has developed into a constant and successful player in the aquafeed and the petfood industry for more than 50-year history and always meet challenges with innovative solutions.

head office and production site is located in Diepholz, Lower Saxony - in the immediate vicinity of the largest poultry production and processing facilities in Germany.

addition to the $300 million being invested in other areas of food production.

Aspirations for aquaculture

Singapore aspires to become a centre for aquaculture research and innovation by building closer government, institute and commercial links that were enshrined in a memorandum of understanding signed on the opening day of the opening day of WAS Singapore2022.

The SFA, National University of Singapore, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL) and seven industry partners, including the Barramundi Group, International Blue Aqua, Singapore Aquaculture Technologies, Swee Chioh Fishery, The Fish Farmer, Universal Aquaculture and Vertical Oceans, all signed the Memorandum of Understanding to develop the AquaPolis Programme.

The AquaPolis Programme is an initiative under Singapore Food Story R&D Programme 2.0 and envisions Singapore to be a leading research and innovation cluster for sustainable tropical aquaculture. It brings together local and overseas aquaculture researchers and industry partners to create strategic synergies in developing innovative and sustainable solutions, while cultivating talent for the industry’s workforce.

She also launched the Singapore’s ‘Specification for Clean and Green Urban Farms - Aquaculture’ with the aim of guiding local aquaculture farms to produce food in a clean, safe and resource efficient manner through the adoption of smart farming techniques, the reducing of farm waste, conservation of resources and raising operational efficiencies.

“Our aquaculture industry needs to be far sighted, future ready to stay relevant and sustainable,” she concluded.

Jens Skjolstrup

Gary McGuire and Louie Owens

Dr Saglv Kolkovski and Miguel Arostegul

Satoru Onoda

DSM - Akm Ruhul Sarker, two colleagues, Evelyn Feliciana, Benedict Standen, Darien Ng and colleague Adrian Feiler and Weryuan Teo

Albert Faivre

Peter Coutteau, Lucas Borel, Alexander van Hulven, Waldo Nuez, Lanh van Huymh, Dhanunjaya Goud and i-Tung Chen

insights

A busy year

2022 has been an eventful year for VICTAM. Looking back at the year there many key events that are worth mentioning.

Victam EMEA and IDMA:

First edition of the cooperation opened their doors in Istanbul one year later as planned. Although we were very enthusiastic about the cooperation between IDMA and Victam, we had a challenging first edition with international situations like travel restrictions, fear of Covid, and war in Ukraine along with the national crisis of high depreciation of the Turkish Lira and bad weather conditions during the event. At the moment we have not made a decision about the future yet, as first we would like to see how the Turkish market develops. As soon as we believe the market is ready for this international event again, we will be there, but we are not in a rush as the interests of our exhibitors is our priority.

Victam International

After our event in Turkey, we were confident that this event would take place as well. Although there were limitations to enter Utrecht both by visitors and exhibitors, we were very happy with how the event was carried out.

Back in Utrecht, we had 3 editions in Cologne, in co-location with VIV Europe. Despite the travel restrictions from several parts of the world we attracted significantly more visitors than 2019.

The show was a little smaller because of the many cancelations from Russia, China, and the USA, among others, however we welcomed a higher number of exhibitors and visitors.

Victam Asia

This event was originally planned for March 2020, and after 3

postponements we finally considered our first co-location with Animal Health and Nutrition by VIV. First of all, the situation was good as it was a better time to reopen the business in Asia. From several countries in the region, visitors could not travel to Thailand, so from this perspective the event could not reach its potential. Despite this, it was indeed a good event, and we are confident that in March 2024 the market situation will be back to normal, so that we can continue our success in Asia.

Victam LatAm 2023

The first edition of our event, Victam LatAm, in Sao Paulo is in October 2023. On one hand, we would like to have events in parts of the world that are interesting for our exhibitors, but we also want to achieve the right balance in terms of the number o f exhibitions to allow our exhibitors to utilize the full potenti al of each event.

At our September 2022 event in Asia, we launched this event, and we are happy to see that many companies already confirmed participation. With over 70 companies confirmed both local companies and international companies we are ahead of schedule. Also, we have market support from several institutions and associations, and with a draft conference program we are positive about attracting the right visitors.

The visitor campaigns will be started in the beginning of 2023, but for part of the campaign there will be buyers’ missions from other countries of Latin America and the milling school to attract the technical people from feed mills.

Story of one of our exhibitors

PLP Systems is a family-based company founded in 1980 and is situated in the Province of Piacenza in Northern Italy.

Through-out the years, PLP has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in dosing applications, focusing on the weighing, dosing, mixing, spraying and coating of both powders and liquids.

PLP Systems has grown and progressed and is now a leading company specializing also in the research and development of technical machinery and systems for the food, pet food, aquafeed, animal feed and chemical industry.

Some of their machinery includes micro dosing of powder additives, post pelleting coating and liquid applications.

PREMIX MICRO DOSING SYSTEM BOLIVIA

For many years, PLP has participated at events and conferences for animal feed, pet food and aqua feed sectors which have been organised by the Victam Corporation, both in Europe and in Asia.

The contacts gained from these events have always been positive and many have led to PLP developing projects worldwide. We were therefore delighted to hear that in 2023

Victam Latam will be launched in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

At the present moment, Latin America is an important market for PLP as in recent years PLP has invested greatly in this area with the scope of developing and creating a strong network of regional agents and local contacts. The reward has been great as today PLP has now a significant presence in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.

Latin America makes up for 16 percent of the total worldwide compound feed production and Brazil is classified as the third highest producer of animal feed globally. It’s an important and constantly evolving market and for this reason participating at the Latam Exhibition will be able to provide PLP with the opportunity to expand our presence within this territory as we are constantly working to consolidate our markets in order to strengthen and expand in new areas.

Words from VICTAM’s patrons and exhibitors

GEAPS

“Our mission at GEAPS is to advance industry knowledge and information through our global network of agricultural professionals. We see our mission come to life each year at our GEAPS Exchange but realise that many outside of North America cannot take advantage of this event. We believe that partnering with VICTAM to launch an expo in South America will leverage the strength of both organizations and bring immense value to GEAPS members and the industry as a whole in a new geography.”

Steve Records, Executive Director, GEAPS

CPM Worldwide

As a global leader in animal feed processing solutions, delighted to become a Founder of Victam LatAm. The last two years have challenged us all and we look forward to using VICTAM to continue to demonstrate our commitment to innovation and productivity on behalf of our partners

Dave Webster, CEO, CPM Worldwide

FAMSUN International

“As an integrated solution provider and a technology partner of global agri-food, FAMSUN known pretty well about the importance of the feed and food supply chain in Latin America to global food security and quality life. We also clear that rising grain cost, climate change, and the revolution of digital and sustainable development are the most pressing challenges for this area to recover and growth. That’s why we shift more of our resources to focus on setting tailored solutions to the Latin America market and that is why we are a founding company for Victam LatAm.”

Greg Liu President of FAMSUN International

ANDRITZ Feed & Biofuel

GMP + International

“We all know that Latin America is one the largest exporting region of feed materials and ingredients in the world—and still huge potential. We see an increase in GMP+ participation in the region, specifically in Brazil, Argentina and Peru. Companies are aware how important feed safety is and the certification and we are glad that many companies trust GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance (FSA) scheme. GMP+ International and VICTAM has more than a decade of collaboration. Indeed, if you share the same passion and commitment, the cooperation will last long and strong. We appreciate how VICTAM would like to bring each and every event closer to their stakeholder may it be in Europe, Asia or Middle East. We are looking forward to VICTAM’s first event in Latin America. GMP+ International will organise a seminar with some of our partners.”

Olyn San Miguel, Business Development Manager, GMP + International

“The University of Wageningen will organize their scientific feed technology conference in parallel to the Victam LatAm. For us this is a way to expand our horizons and get new insights and to learn from each other. We are very happy that we can use the Victam Events to organize our conferences”.

Thomas van der Poel, Professor Animal Nutrition, Wageningen University

Wenger

“Wenger is pleased to be a founding member of VICTAM LatAm, and happy to host it in our Brazilian home state of São Paulo. The development of pet food and aqua feed in Latin America will no doubt place this region at the top of the world within the next decade. VICTAM LatAm is an example of the importance of these markets on the world stage. Únete a nosotros! Junte-se a nós!”

Jesse Mitchell, Wenger

ABPA

“Stimulating sectorial development, promoting business and exchanging information are among the purposes of ABPA. It is in this sense that the entity supports Victam Latam 2023, an important initiative that comes in line with events that promote the production value chain, with business opportunities and technical improvement.”

Ricardo Santin, President, ABPA (Brazilian Association for Animal Proteins)

Zhengchang Group

“We see Brazil as the core agricultural market in Latin America and is the bridgehead of Zhengchang Latin American market. VICTAM is the most influential global exhibition in the industry and Zhengchang, as a long-term partner of VICTAM, is very honored to be one of the founding companies for this event.”

Ms HAO YUN Chairman of

the Zhengchang Group

AMANDUS KAHL

“AMANDUS KAHL sees great potential in business matchmaking with customers in Latin America. The animal feed processing industry is a growing market. Our know-how in technical solutions will support the needs of the Latin American market. For us Victam LatAm is the place where our markets come together”.

Nils Minow, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, AMANDUS KAHL

“The importance of the LATAM Region for our business and our wish to be as close to the market as possible, makes our decision to participate in Victam LATAM an obvious one.”

Stefan de Roo, Global MarCom Manager at ANDRITZ Feed & Biofuel

Aerators

Faivre + 33 3idah 81 84 01 32 www.faivre.fr PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1603 Air

Kaeser Kompressoren +49 9561 6400 www.kaeser.com

PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1035

Additives

Dibaq +34 921 574 286 https://dibaqacuicultura.es PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1604 DSM +43 2782 8030 www.dsm.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1605 Evonik +49 618 1596785 www.evonik.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1606 Jefo +1 450 799 2000 https://jefo.ca PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1607

Liptosa +34 902 157711 www.liptosa.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1608

ORFFA +32 479 50 09 08 https://orffa.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1278

Phibro +972 4 629 1833 www.phibro-aqua.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1609

Analysis

SAS Laboratories Phode +33 5 63 77 80 60 www.phode.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1644

R-Biopharm +44 141 945 2924 www.r-biopharm.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1645 Romer Labs +43 2272 6153310 www.romerlabs.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1610

Evonik +49 618 1596785 www.evonik.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1606

+32 51723128 www.sce.be PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1611

Faivre is a French company, and one of the world leaders in the conception, manufacture and production of aquaculture machines. Since 1958, thanks to their knowledge of the market and strong experience in aquaculture, Faivre has developed high quality products to satisfy all of your needs, from one product to the full installation. Strength, effectiveness and simplicity are the qualities of their production. aqfeed.info/e/1603

Ottevanger +31 79 593 22 21 www.ottevanger.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1621

Wenger Manufacturing +1 785-284-2133 www.wenger.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1616

Yemmak +90 266 733 83 63 www.yemmak.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1617

Zheng Chang +86 2164184200 www.zhengchang.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1623

Feed and ingredients

Adisseo +33 1 46 747104 www.adisseo.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1624

Aller Aqua +45 70 22 19 10 www.aller-aqua.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/961

Alltech +44 1780 764512 www.alltechcoppens.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1625

Anpario +44 1909 537 380 www.anpario.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1626

Biorigin www.biorigin.net PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1627

GePro +49 54415 925252 www.ge-pro.de aqfeed.info/e/1656

Grupo Dibaq +34 921 574 286 www.dibaqacuicultura.es PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1604

Grand Fish Feed +202 20 650018 www.grand-aqua.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1628

Jefo +1 450 799 2000 https://jefo.ca PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1607

Liptosa +34 902 15 77 11 www.liptoaqua.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1608

Phileo (Lesaffre animal care) +33 3 20 81 61 00 www.lesaffre.fr PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1629

Feed Mill

TekPro +44 1692 403403 www.tekpro.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1631

Van Aarsen International +31 475 579 444

www.aarsen.com

PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1632

Fish counters

Faivre

+ 33 3 81 84 01 32 www.faivre.fr PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1603

Fish Graders

Fish pumps

Faivre + 33 3 81 84 01 32 www.faivre.fr PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1603

Faivre + 33 3 81 84 01 32 www.faivre.fr PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1603

Pulverisers

Dinnissen BV

+31 77 467 3555 www.dinnissen.nl

PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1633

FAMSUN +86 514 87848880 www.muyang.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1034

Ottevanger +31 79 593 22 21 www.ottevanger.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1621

Yemmak +90 266 733 83 63 www.yemmak.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1617

Yemtar +90 266 733 8550 www.yemtar.com aqfeed.info/e/1657

Zheng Chang +86 2164184200 www.zhengchang.com

PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1623

IDAH +866 39 902701 www.idah.com

PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1615

Probiotics

DSM +43 2782 8030 www.dsm.com

PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1605

Royal DSM is a global, purpose-led company in Health, Nutrition & Bioscience, applying science to improve the health of people, animals and the planet. DSM’s purpose is to create brighter lives for all. DSM’s products and solutions address some of the world’s biggest challenges while simultaneously creating economic, environmental and societal value for all its stakeholders - customers, employees, shareholders, and society at large. DSM and its associated companies employ approximately 23,000 people around the world and deliver annual net sales of about €10 billion.

DSM use their bright science to deliver positive transformations at scale for as many people as possible today and for generations to come, operating within the constraints of the world’s finite resources. DSM aim to redefine how they live and work in order to create a fairer, more prosperous and more sustainable society.

In Animal Nutrition and Health

The DSM Animal Nutrition and Health business group offers customers a true end-to-end portfolio of products, solutions and services for sustainable and profitable animal farming. The company’s three dedicated business lines cover Precision Services, Performance Solutions + Biomin® and Essential Products.

Precision Services

Greater precision in animal farming is key to a more sustainable and profitable future. Their Precision Services use the latest data analytics and diagnostics to improve animal health, lifetime performance, resource use and environmental footprint — while mitigating risks and unlocking more value. Improving the sustainability and profitability of animal farming is secured with

Performance Solutions + Biomin® Their broad portfolio delivers the level of functional nutrition needed for the industry to meet the challenges of sustainability, animal welfare and feed quality.

aqfeed.info/e/1605

Phytogenics

Delacon +43 732 640 531 414 www.delacon.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1637

RAS Equipment

Fish Farm Feeder

+34 886 317 600

www.fishfarmfeeder.com PROFILE: aqfeed.info/e/1638

FishFarmFeeder is a company founded in 2008 that manufactures feeding systems for aquaculture with a complete catalog of feeders that cover all stages of the fish's life: hatchery, pre-grower and grow-out, both on land and at sea.

FishFarmFeeder’s mission is to:

• Offer globally specialized solutions only in the field of feed automation for aquaculture.

• Contribute to a sustainable aquaculture helping to optimize production and improving fish welfare.

Respond to the needs of automation in the feeding of all stages of the fish's life.

• Develope a profitable, reliable, accurate and safe technology.

• Facilitate integration with other existing technologies in aquaculture such as sensors, software aqfeed.info/e/1603

RAS system

the interview

Helene Ziv-Douki, President and Group Leader, Aqua Nutrition, Cargill, Switzerland

Helene Ziv-Douki is President and Group Leader for Cargill’s global Aqua Nutrition business within the Animal Nutrition & Health Enterprise (ANH). With 2,000 employees in more than 19 countries and 40 plants, Cargill Aqua Nutrition is one of the largest suppliers of aqua feed in the world.

Helene holds a master’s degree from the Neoma Business School in France. She joined Cargill in 2003 and has served in numerous leadership roles in a variety of businesses, including ocean transportation, dry bulk and tankers, as well as in coal and petroleum. Prior to Cargill, Helene was a grain trader for Louis Dreyfus Commodities based in Paris.

In recent years what are the most critical technological developments that you have witnessed in the Aquafeed sector?

A focus on innovation in aqua nutrition is critical in addressing global challenges especially when they empower farmers to make their operations more sustainable and productive - and profitable.

From the replacement of fish meal with alternatives such as insect meal and algae oil, to the digital progresses that are making possible to take the right decisions for the specific conditions of each farm, the answers to this question could be many.

Cargill’s SeaFurther program aim to reduce carbon footprints by 30 percent by 2030? How do you plan to achieve this target?

To meet the 30 percent reduction of GHG emissions by 2030, we are focusing on the three key areas where we can have the most impact, enabling us to create the best solutions for individual customers according to their unique requirements. The first would be transforming raw materials. Feed ingredients are a key part of the overall footprint of aquaculture. Changing raw materials from one source to another with a lower footprint can provide an immediate solution. But we believe it is best to work with our suppliers to find ways for them to reduce their emissions, dealing directly with the issue. We collaborate with them to implement regenerative agriculture practices, optimizing processing and streamlining logistics. Introducing novel ingredients and increase our use of by-products – where possible are also contributing to achieve our goals. The second key area is optimising production. Energy use and logistics are key areas where we have most direct control. We play our part in our own operations, but the collaborative nature of SeaFurther allows us to work with our suppliers and our customers to share learnings and leverage each other’s footprint-reducing progress. We focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and carefully planning inbound and outbound transportation of materials, people, and feed. We can also optimize the nutrition provided to our customers, reducing the amount of feed needed for the farmed fish –the feed conversion ratio. Through formulation, we can blend our ingredients differently to deliver the same great nutrition, but with a lower total footprint. Our focus will also be on safeguarding animal health. Providing optimal nutrition for the fish we feed will keep them healthier and reduce mortality. Lowering the feed conversion ratio through reducing losses and sick fish has an immediate impact on aquaculture’s footprint.

We are concerned that many salmon farming companies will halt investments and cancel the purchase of increased capacity. It is important for the businesses to have stability, and for the industry to have a predictable framework that do not hinder future, sustainable growth. We believe that everyone benefits from the aquaculture industry receiving an overall tax level that makes it attractive to continue investments and develop the business, so that we can achieve ambitious future growth goals.

Cargill has established its business in Norway since 2015. How do you think the recent changes in taxation affected salmon farming in Norway?

THE INDUSTRY FACES

BioMar appoints Andrew Campbell as CEO for AQ1 AKVA executive Andrew Campbell assumes the position of CEO for one of the world's leading aqua feeding technology companies, AQ1, from January 1, 2023. Founder Ross Dodd stays in an executive role, contributing to the company's future growth.

After a period of extensive growth as the world leading provider of intelligent feeding control systems for shrimp aquaculture, Mr Dodd has decided to hand over the position of CEO of AQ1 to the experienced technology leader Andrew Campbell, who has been directing the AKVA Group's International operations in the Americas, Austrasia, Mediterranean and UK for the last 20 years.

New leadership for Marel Fish

Marel Fish are very pleased to announce the appointment of Olafur Karl Sigurdarson as Executive Vice President Marel Fish, replacing Gudbjorg Heida Gudmundsdottir effective immediately.

As EVP of Marel Fish, Mr Sigurdarson will be instrumental in driving the strategy of Fish to partner with the customers and grow their position as the global leader in solutions, service and software for the seafood processing industry.

Mr Sigurdarson will report to Arni Sigurdsson, Chief Business Officer and deputy CEO, and Ms Gudmundsdottir, who has accepted another position outside Marel, will support Mr Sigurdarson and the fish leadership team during the transition period.

Mr Sigurdarson has been with Marel since 2015, where he joined as a Product Manager for the Inspection product group. He has since held various positions in service and innovation, such as Service Director of Fish and most recently Innovation Director for Fish. Before joining Marel, Mr Sigurdarson worked in the financial industry. He holds a BSc degree in Business Administration from Bifröst University and an MBA from Reykjavik University.

Arni Sigurdsson, Chief Business Officer and deputy CEO, says, “I am very excited to welcome Olafur into the position as EVP Fish. Olafur has demonstrated excellent leadership skills and business acumen within Marel and grown fast with every role and responsibility given. I am confident that Olafur will be successful in leading and driving the strategy and business of Marel Fish. I also want to sincerely thank Gudbjorg for her dedication and valuable contribution to Marel over the years and wish her the very best in her new endeavours.”

Poseidon welcomes Jamie Gaskill as CEO

Poseidon Ocean Systems is proud to announce the appointment of Jamie Gaskill as Chief Executive Officer. Mr Gaskill has served as a Board Member of Poseidon for the past eighteen months and with this transition, will move into an active leadership role within the company.

Mr Gaskill brings to the Poseidon team over thirty years of experience across the entire salmon farming value chain—including smolt production, sea-farming, in-sea closed systems, harvesting and processing. Eighteen of those years were served as a Director with the world’s largest salmon farming company in leadership and management roles; including Managing Director and both Freshwater and Seawater Production Director roles.

When asked about what inspired Mr Gaskill to take on this new role, he stated “I’ve been impressed by the impact that Poseidon has had in the industry over the past 7 years, and I’m excited to contribute to the development of new technologies and make meaningful change in areas such as reducing carbon emissions and improving farmer’s yields. My family and I are also looking forward to returning to Campbell River.”

Cargill appoints Brian Sikes as President and Chief Executive Officer

Cargill has announced Brian Sikes has been elected President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective January 1, 2023.

Mr Sikes will be the 10th CEO in Cargill's 157-year history and brings a strong track record of business operational rigor to the role, having grown the company's global Protein and Salt enterprise into an industry leader. Mr Sikes currently serves as Cargill's Chief Operating Officer (COO), where he has been instrumental in constructing the company's long-term strategy. With broad experience across multiple businesses, cycles and geographies, Mr Sikes held leadership roles in the U.S., Canada and Europe, and served as the head of the company's Talent Center of Expertise. His relentless focus on people and culture, customers, and proven expertise in leading growth and transformation have earned him the trust and respect of Cargill's customers, employees and the Board.

Mr Sikes will succeed Mr MacLennan, who joined the company in 1991 and served in multiple executive roles, including CFO and COO, before becoming the company's Chairman and CEO in 2013.