The Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture (CTSA) requests pre-proposals for applied research and extension that addresses problems and opportunities in the regional aquaculture industry. CTSA stakeholders have identified specific strategic areas and species as the top aquaculture development priorities. Pre-proposals that target these strategic areas and priority species will receive highest preference. However, pre-proposals that do not fall under specific priority areas but address CTSA’s mission will be considered.

A team of researchers from Germany is carrying out a project to develop insect-based feed using the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens). In an attempt to achieve the economic large-scale production of insect-based feed, IGB researchers are developing the exploratory phase of \"InProSol (Innovative Protein Solutions) project, which is now funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

One national chain is a low-key secret, affordable salmon purveyor. Ikea, that Swedish furniture factory and veritable maze of a store, sells salmon that\'s sustainable both for the planet and your bank account. Three different smoked salmon packs are priced at $8 for a pack of 7 ounces, meaning they\'re all around $18 a pound. Ikea, which sells fish in 47 countries, only sources seafood that is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

The Founder of the Mushroom Development Foundation (MDF) Nigeria said that a well-cultured Oyster mushroom could adequately replace maize in fish feed production. She said that researches conducted showed that graded levels of oyster mushroom of between 0 to 100 per cent of Cultured Dried Whole Mushroom (DCM) supported growth of fingerling, O.niloticus.

CSIRO has published an article about how their research, specifically in the field of genetics, is helping to combat Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome. “Managing POMS is not just about genetics, although that will underpin the recovery of the Australian oyster industry, but about management, site selection, when to stock. Different growers are experimenting with different strategies.”

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has approved the use of camelina oil as a feed ingredient for farmed salmon and trout. A recently completed large-scale study of camelina oil managed by Genome Atlantic found camelina to be an excellent match to the fatty acid composition required in the diets of farmed fish. \"Among the oils that can be used to replace fish oil in aquafeeds, camelina is one of the few with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. While these omega-3 fatty acids are different to those present in fish oils, they enhance the ability of fish to synthesize the healthful long-chain omega-3 fatty acids that are needed for their optimal growth.\"

IFFO, The Marine Ingredients Organization, has published the first ever Annual Report for the organization. The report gives succinct summaries of IFFO’s core areas of work including stakeholder engagement, technical projects and market research. IFFO will present the report to members at this week’s annual meeting in Barcelona, which will be attended by 157 members from 27 countries. “This report is intended to give an overview of who we are, what we have delivered in 2016 and what we are trying to achieve in future. We look forward to producing more reports of this kind in the future to draw together all IFFO’s important work.”

Multinational feed additive producer Nutriad has appointed Dr. Wei Wang as Technical Manager for China. \"China is the main growth engine within APAC and the appointment of Dr. Wang will enable increased technical support for our applications in mycotoxin management and gut health.”

The Galician fleet integrated in the Organization of Producers of Fresh Fisheries of Marin (OPROMAR) progresses in the search of formulas to give value to and to obtain economic yield from species that have been discarded so far due to their low profitability. A marine protein, called mince, is formed with the chopped fish muscle \"that can serve as a base or raw material for many industry elaborations such as fish sticks, wands or delicacies.\"

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has announced the construction of a new feed-premix facility in Xiangtan, in Hunan Province, central China, and the addition of aquaculture feed production lines at its existing Nanjing complex in Jiangsu Province, eastern China. “Our new Xiangtan feed-premix facility—our fifth animal feed plant in the country—will position us to continue meeting this increased demand...\"

Research on salmon’s needs is the key to creating sustainable production in closed-containment aquaculture systems CCS. This can reduce problems with sea lice and escape. In CtrlAQUA, a Norwegian center for research-based innovation, 21 research and industry partners are working to make closed systems off-the-shelf products by 2023. Some of the partners are now engaged in long-term development projects with leading research and development institutions in Japan, the USA, and Canada.

Using the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Salmon Standard as a framework, the GSI 2016 Sustainability Report documents members’ environmental and social performance across 14 key sustainability indicators, and highlights improvements in responsible business practices. Among the findings, the report notes continuing improvements in the responsible use of feed ingredients, with the average feed conversion ratio for farmed salmon now at 1.3:1. “Setting ambitious sustainability goals remains a crucial factor for every individual company. However, sector-wide transformation can only happen through collective sustainability initiatives such as the GSI, which represents almost 50% of the global salmon industry.\"

The American Feed Industry Association released a statement in response to former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue\'s confirmation as secretary of agriculture. \"The feed industry looks forward to working closely with Sec. Perdue, assisting him and his staff on animal food-related topics, and how our industry relates to other agriculture sectors and to consumers. We expect Sec. Perdue\'s government and agriculture experience to align with the industry\'s initiatives, and plan to provide our industry\'s input and support on various issues including trade and the impending farm bill.\"

Mycotoxin-related threats to livestock production have risen in most regions of the world over the first quarter of 2017. More than 14000 analyses were conducted on 3715 finished feed and raw commodity samples sourced from 54 countries from January to March 2017 as part of the Biomin Mycotoxin Survey. The survey found a recent rise in mycotoxin contamination levels observed for corn, finished feed and soy. Deoxynivalenol (DON) was detected in 80% of samples, and is the most prevalent mycotoxin worldwide, followed by fumonisins (FUM), found in 71% of samples. 76% of feed and raw commodity samples contained two or more mycotoxins.

The current public consultation on the ASC-MSC Seaweed Standard and Certification and Accreditation Requirements will close on April 30, 2017.

In January 2017, Aprosoja-MT, ABIOVE, FEDIOL, FEFAC and IDH signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to stimulate the production and trade of Brazilian responsible soy. As a follow-up to this agreement, a 1st steering group meeting with approximately 20 people was held in São Paolo on April 6-7 2017 to discuss and evaluate individual actions and projects that can feed into a joint strategic working plan for the Brazilian and European soy supply chain partners.

The benefits of probiotics keep adding up for livestock producers. Research shows that including probiotics in rations can improve producers’ return-on-investment through better feed efficiency, increased production or even more robust immune responses. “There are four keys to obtaining a positive result from probiotic use. They are simple steps that may seem very intuitive but when applied to probiotics, they release the power within these little microorganisms to improve animal well-being and productivity.”

Perspectives on Marine Aquaculture in California and the U.S. is a short film produced by the Aquarium of the Pacific and its Seafood for the Future program that features prominent scientists and experts on the topic of marine aquaculture in California and the U.S. In this film the experts discuss marine aquaculture’s role in the global food supply and as a conservation tool, the state of domestic marine aquaculture, and the future of marine aquaculture in the U.S. and California.

Boosting dietary tryptophan amounts also bumps weight gain, amino acid retention for Nile tilapia eating cornsoy diet, say researchers. “The objective of this study was to determine the dietary tryptophan (Trp) requirements to optimize growth performance of juvenile Nile tilapia,” said the researchers.

Scotland’s salmon farming sector generated more money than the entire UK fishing industry for the first time ever last year. So reported Gilpin Bradley, interim Chair of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organization (SSPO), in a keynote speech delivered at a conference on careers in aquaculture which took place at the University of Stirling\'s Institute of Aquaculture today.