Advanced BioNutrition Corp. (ABN), a Columbia, Maryland, USA-based company that develops sustainable technology to improve animal health and functional nutrition, has announced the launch of AquaGrow for Shrimp.
The company says this new product now makes it possible for shrimp feed manufacturers to produce feeds for the first time that comprise ingredients that are 100 percent sustainable in origin.
Although U.S. and European retailers are pressuring the industry to offer sustainably raised seafood, shrimp farmers and feed manufacturers have had to rely on non-sustainable marine ingredients like fish meal and fish oil to provide optimal growth of shrimp. ABN’s AquaGrow for Shrimp provides a balance of key omega-3 fatty acids from natural sources, including microalgae, that are essential for the optimal growth and development of the shrimp.
For the first time this enables the production of feeds to meet the needs of consumers worldwide who desire sustainable farmed seafood products.
According to Robert A. Bullis, an aquatic veterinarian and ABN’s Director of Animal Health and Regulatory Affairs, “AquaGrow for Shrimp has been has been developed and field-tested over several years under a number of different conditions in tanks and ponds, both in the United States and Thailand. We have now developed the correct blend of natural components that, in combination with lower cost vegetable proteins, enables the total replacement of fishmeal and fish oil in shrimp feeds, while providing equivalent growth and health in the farm-raised shrimp.”
Dr. David Kyle, President of ABN, said, “Because the microalgae are grown in a clean, traceable, and sustainable fashion using conventional fermentation, AquaGrow® for Shrimp can be produced at a scale that meets the needs of the entire world’s shrimp farming industry and farmers and manufacturers who are focusing on the sustainable seafood market now have a tool that enables them to meet market demands.”
“We are proud to launch this first in a series of new generation ingredients for aquafeeds that provide ecologically responsible solutions to the rapidly-growing global aquaculture industry,” added William F. Kirk, CEO and Chairman of ABN.
