Aller Aqua Egypt and the AquaBioTech Group have been presented with AgraMe awards in Dubai. Aller Aqua Egypt\'s ALLER PARVO EX has been named the “Best New Product for the Middle East Market – Aquaculture” and the AquaBioTech Group was awarded the Aquaculture Farm Innovation Award for the development of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Centre for Marine Research (Phase 2). “Congratulations to AquaBioTech Group and all the companies that have been selected, they play an important part in creating a stronger aquaculture industry in the Middle East.”

Skretting Africa has constructed what it describes as the first dedicated fish feed plant in Zambia, to assist the country’s fast-growing aquaculture industry reach its full potential.

US aquaculture producers should be able to transport live fish across state boundaries without the prospect of inadvertently triggering draconian penalties, following a ruling by a Court of Appeal last week.

A new species of shrimp has been named after Pink Floyd thanks to a pact between prog rock-loving scientists. The synalpheus pinkfloydi uses its large pink claw to create a noise so loud it can kill small fish.

An aquaculture hatchery in far north Queensland has sent 2,500 free fish to farms affected by the outbreak of white spot disease, in what has been described as a \\\"small ray of sunshine\\\" for shrimp farmers and is a step towards growing the market for giant groper.

Dr. John Tinsley to become Technical Director and head of product development for BioMar in Central America from June 1st.

The possibility of truly sustainable tuna aquaculture is now closer to reality due to a recent breakthrough in feed formulation research, which was presented at the Offshore Mariculture Conference in Ensenada, Mexico last month by Dr. Alejandro Buentello of Ichthus Unlimited, LLC.

The use of protein and fats of vegetable origin has potential negative effects on the environment, as most of the fishmeal alternatives are cultivated in highly bio-diverse tropical and equatorial regions and could derive from unsustainable deforestation practices...

A Memorial University researcher is working with local and international industry partners on a new approach to consistent urchin roe production, with the hope of creating a green sea urchin farming industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. He is conducting a research project to determine the suitability of a revolutionary feed on local green sea urchins. The feed is known for the quick production of large volumes of high-quality roe in other parts of the world, but has never been tested in a cold-water system like Newfoundland and Labrador’s. The global right holders for the feed, Kaston International AS, a Norwegian company operating under the venture name Urchinomics, is also a project partner.

Scottish salmon will soon be fed with proteins recovered from the whisky production process after a biotechnology firm revealed it is close to building its first processing facility. After two successful large-scale proof of concept trials at a distillery in Dufftown, Horizon Proteins is finalising venture capital investment to set up a production hub in the North East of Scotland. “That has allowed us to start talking to investors and we can now go to the next stage where we can start building.”

The Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Partnership (AADAP) program wants to expand the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved label for Halamid Aqua (100% chloramine-T). In order to do this, they need to generate field effectiveness studies that will be both acceptable to FDA and help support expanding the label. Studies can focus on use of chloramine-T to control mortality in any species of freshwater-reared salmonid due to columnaris disease, or use of chloramine-T to control mortality in any species on freshwater-reared non-salmonids due to bacterial gill disease.

Stakeholders are being asked to participate in the dialogue on a new tool for assessing the \"farmability\" of fish species, developed by the research group of FishEthoBase, the fish ethology database. The main intent of FishEthoBase is to improve fish welfare by checking if and to which extent the practice in farming of a species withstands the needs and behavior patterns observed in the wild, and which ethologically based recommendations for improvement could be given to practitioners. The deadline for participation is April 15.

Aquaculture is a key contributor to Scotland’s rural economy. It is estimated to generate economic activity in Scotland worth £1.86 billion every year, supporting 8,300 jobs. In an effort to support the growing industry, the Scottish Government recently released a policy statement on aquaculture, as well as the first set of policy guidelines for the commercial cultivation of seaweed in the country. “We are starting to see the growth in seaweed as a commercial product, used in a huge range of items including food, cosmetics and fertilizers. We know the west coast of Scotland is the perfect environment for seaweed cultivation and, although the industry is still in its infancy, indications suggest that there may be significant economic opportunities ready to be developed in this area.”

New research published in the journal Fisheries Research finds that fishing of forage species likely has a lower impact on predators than previously thought, challenging previous studies that argued forage fish are more valuable left in the ocean. “It is vital that we manage our fisheries to balance the needs of the ecosystem, human nutrition and coastal communities. These findings give fishery managers guidance based on science, and update some of the inaccurate conclusions of previous reports.”

Avanti Feeds started its commercial operations more than two decades ago under the leadership of late Alluri Venkateswara Rao in technical collaboration with Pingtai Enterpries, Taiwan. Over the years, the company has developed shrimp culture and processing by bringing-in latest technology in feed manufacture. Avanti Feeds is heavily focusing on the overseas markets such as the US, Europe and even parts of Africa. The organization is betting big on other Asian markets such as Thailand and Vietnam.

Seaweed harvests in Zanzibar are being threatened by warming waters, degrading the quality of the seaweed and threatening the livelihood of 10,000 or more of these farmers. But one company has an idea that will help grow more seaweed and reinvigorate the ocean’s natural circulatory system using a series of polyethylene tubes that make it easier for the colder, denser, more nutritious water from the ocean’s depths to reach the surface and feed plants and fish.

Commercially produced microalgae could become a sustainable fish feed ingredient, a project from the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, has shown. In the project concepts have been developed to grow, harvest, dry and store two types of algae that are rich in protein, antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids.

Ningbo Tech-Bank, which recently acquired Texas-based shrimp broodstock company Primo Broodstock, has acquired Qingdao Great Seven Bio-Technology Co. for CNY 75 million ($10.9m), as it looks to expand in northeast China and the market for coldwater fish feed. “Prior to the deal we didn’t have a production base in north Shandong [Province]. With the acquisition, Great Seven will become our main production base serving the Bohai region.”

A new farmed Pacific coho brand launched this week at Seafood Expo North America, called Silverside™, claims a forage fish dependency ratio (FFDR) of just 0.5 kilograms, a level that would make it a leader in farmed salmon sustainability. With the farmed salmon industry using an average FFDR of 1.5 kilograms, the super-low feed used to make the product makes it the industry’s “first net salmon producer.\"

Several of the world’s leading aquafeed manufacturers and seafood producers announced their interest to trial fish-free aquafeeds developed by the winner or a finalist of the F3 (Fish-Free Feed) Challenge. The companies include Marine Harvest, Alpha Feed, Guangdong Yuehai Feed Group, and Dainichi. “This is the first time that so many large established companies have committed to offering fish-free feed trials, which signals a turning point toward viable and cost-effective alternatives to fishmeal and fish oil.”