EFSA’s Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) has launched an open consultation on a draft guidance on the assessment of the efficacy of feed additives. This document proposes guidance to applicants for the preparation and the presentation of an application for authorization of a feed additive. Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by January 28, 2018.

EFSA’s Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) has launched an open consultation on a draft guidance on the assessment of the efficacy of feed additives. This document proposes guidance to applicants for the preparation and the presentation of an application for authorization of a feed additive. Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by January 28, 2018.

BioMar Australia has released plans to develop a $56 million aquafeed production facility in the state’s north west, providing a significant boost to the local economy, job creation and the state’s growing aquaculture industry. At present, one in every three farmed salmon in Tasmania is fed BioMar fish feed products, which are currently being exported from Scotland. “We are very grateful for the Tasmania Liberal Government’s commitment of $2.3 million towards this project. Once operational, the facility will produce up to 110,000 tonnes per annum of aqua feed product to support the aquaculture industry, expecting to create 55 full time jobs and an additional 30 jobs across the region.\"

Preliminary trials and analyses of omega-3-rich oil from genetically modified rape seed indicate that it is safe to use in salmon feed. Nofima is currently testing omega-3 Canola, a rapeseed oil rich in the marine fatty acid DHA. The salmon given feed containing omega-3 Canola were analyzed for growth, composition and health, and found to have the same fillet omega-3 levels as salmon fed with fish oil. Gene expression analyses showed that effects depended on the amount of oil, not the type of oil. “Thorough analyses of these results have not shown any differences in health and growth between fish fed the two oils.”

NOAA Fisheries has announced it will provide $1.5 million in funding to support aquaculture pilot projects through the nation\'s Interstate Marine Fisheries Commissions. These competitive grants will be managed through the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commissions. Through these pilot projects, emphasis is being placed on promising but less commercially developed technologies for finfish, shellfish, seaweed, and other relative newcomers to the domestic aquaculture industry. The deadline for proposals is February 1, 2018.

AgriProtein has been named a top 10 Virgin Media Business Disruptor to Watch in the Fast Track 2017. The company has fly farm projects under development in several countries to produce its flagship product MagMeal™ for the aquafeed market. “We are delighted to name AgriProtein as one of the UK’s most disruptive businesses. They have seen an opportunity and made it their purpose to disrupt long-established markets and practices, creating an entirely new industry to great success.”

The government in Ghana is seeking to increase the local fish supply by 100,000 metric tonnes by 2018, and will do so through increased fish farming and local feed production. “Fish feed is the single most important cost component for the fish farming business, and to improve the fish feed supply situation, the Ministry has facilitated the construction of 40,000 metric tonne feed mill at Akuse; this will bring the total national production of fish feed to 100,000 metric tonnes annually.\"

The Global Aquaculture Alliance announced that Jeff Fort has agreed to take on the role of chief operating officer, effectively immediately, in addition to his existing role as chief financial officer, a position he has held with the organization since 2012. “Jeff has supported GAA since its inception in many capacities and has been instrumental recently with the consolidation of operations and staffing in our Portsmouth, N.H., headquarters. The professionalism and performance of our associates is what distinguishes GAA, and Jeff can rightly take a good deal of credit for getting us to where we are today.”

Globally, the past year has seen many changes at feed company Skretting. The latest is that Erlend Sodal now has widened responsibility and takes over Skretting UK and Australia, in addition to Norway. “Yes, this is a change of course. (Owner) Nutreco wants to let Skretting rein in its portfolio. They want Skretting to concentrate on the feed market and to strengthen its position in it. A number of positions in The Netherlands have been moved to Norway.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine has launched Phase III of the redesigned Animal Drugs @ FDA website. As before, the new Animal Drugs @ FDA website provides a searchable database for veterinarians, pet owners, animal producers and others to get information about approved animal drugs by application number, sponsor name, proprietary name, ingredient, application status, dosage form, route of administration, indication and species.

The Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture (CTSA) has produced a video highlighting aquaculture activities in Palau. In an effort to keep this small island nation pristine, the government is switching focus from commercial fishing to local aquaculture production. CTSA interviewed several aquaculture stakeholders from the local community, including researchers, farmers, conservation officials, and more to produce a series of short films, the first of which is now online.

Aller Aqua has won the Entrepreneur of the Year award in Denmark, as well as a Globalization Award. An independent jury awarded Aller Aqua the two prizes during a ceremony held in Copenhagen. The award is given out by Ernst & Young as part of the world\'s largest competition for growth companies. \"The opening of two new factories this year as well as our approach to sustainable production and knowledge sharing in new challenging markets are some of the reasons we have received these awards. We place a big emphasis on education of fish farmers in new markets as well as our CSR activities. It is certainly possible to achieve growth in a responsible way.”

Philippe de Lapérouse, managing director of HighQuest Partners, sees feed as one of the most promising investment opportunities in aquaculture. De Lapérouse cites as a promising area new feeds utilizing fermented soybeans. Several companies have developed proprietary formulas for processing soybean meal into fermented soy protein that is easily digested by fish. “Feeds have been considered a safe field.”

AquiNovo Ltd., a portfolio company of The Trendlines Group, announced that it signed an agreement with Neovia for an aggregate investment of $1.5 million. AquiNovo\'s offers a non-genetically modified, non-hormonal, easy-to-use solution that may be incorporated into fish feed to offer hatcheries and fish farms a shorter time to market and additional growth cycles within their existing infrastructure.

Two months after confirming the acquisition of Ecuadorian feed manufacturer Alimentsa, BioMar has announced the establishment of a new trial facility for shrimp, the ATC Aquaculture Technology Center, in Ecuador. \"We are moving into several new geographies and new species, and this requires an increase in R&D activities. Our global set-up based in Trondheim is complemented with our ATC (Aquaculture Technology Centre) innovation network, which includes ATC Patagonia in Chile, ATC Nordic with facilities in Denmark and Norway as well as now our ATC in Ecuador. Here we will mainly focus on shrimp, strengthening our set-up and allowing a faster take to market.\"

Scotland’s leading salmon and trout producers have united in a bid to extend the usage and efficacy of the two most environmentally-friendly sea lice treatments, determine what happens when freshwater and hydrogen peroxide-based treatment Paramove® are combined. The anticipated benefits of the 12-month, £242,985 project include even better control of sea lice, reduced use of medicines and shorter treatment times – all of which will further enhance fish health and welfare, and help deliver higher production volumes.

Nutriad has released the results of its 2017 Mycotoxin Survey, which provided insight into the incidences of aflatoxin B1 (AfB1), zearalenone (ZEN), deoxynivalenol (DON), T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2 (FB2) and ochratoxin A (OTA). The results showed that 83% of the wheat samples were contaminated with DON. None of the samples contained AfB1, FB1, FB2, T-2 toxin and HT-2 toxin. Only 2,3 % of samples contained ZEN. The survey concluded that the year’s harvest of wheat in Poland was of medium quality in terms of mycotoxin contamination, and that the 2017 crop should not automatically be considered safe for inclusion into finished feed rations for all animal species and a degree of vigilance is prudent.

New research from WorldFish undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Fish Agri-food Systems (FISH) has identified means to lessen the use of antimicrobials in aquaculture. The study notes that antimicrobial use can be mitigated through farmer training, spatial planning, assistance with disease identification, applying better management practices at farm level and stricter regulations.

The ASC-MSC Seaweed (Algae) Standard has been approved for release on November 22, 2017. The joint standard marks a first for the two certification programs, bringing together expertise in sustainable fishing and responsible aquaculture. The ASC-MSC Seaweed (Algae) Standard applies globally to all locations and scales of seaweed operations, including both harvesting of wild population and cultured seaweed production on farms. The Seaweed Standard will be effective from March 1st, 2018.

Avanti Feeds has generated high growth and returns with its customer-focussed approach to manufacturing shrimp feed. Over the last 10 years, the share price of Avanti Feeds has grown from ₹10 to ₹2,860—an annual growth of 76 percent.