Microbial-derived nutrients have been drawing attention because some fishmeal alternatives, such as plant meal, may not be entirely suitable for certain aquatic species. The presence of anti-nutritional factors and amino acid restrictions, for example, can also limit the use of plant meal or lead to additional processing and costs. \"Different microbe species offer nutritional characteristics that are just as good as, or even better than, plant-derived products. Thanks to novel production methods, it\'s also possible to predict high production of single cell proteins, and a concomitant reduction of retail prices.\"

The survival rate of fertilized salmon eggs became as high as 80 per cent in New England aquaculture industry, but since 2000, salmon embryos began to die in large numbers and the average survival rate fell to about 50 per cent. Previous studies showed that a range of factors could negatively impact egg quality and production, including nutrition, stress, temperature and the endocrine status of the female. A study conducted by the University of Maine (UMaine) has found that two hormones may play significant roles in achieving an 80 percent embryo survival rate.

NemiNatura, a producer of farmed trout in Mexico, announced this week that they will begin trials of aquafeed that is free of fishmeal, fish oil and animal products. The feed trials will investigate different products and formulations presented by contestants during the F3 Challenge meeting, which took place in early January 2017 in the San Francisco Bay Area. According to NemiNatura CEO, “using alternative ingredients for feed opens new possibilities for ecosystem restoration and for producing better trout in rural aquaculture operations. With better fish we can also encourage forest conservation and water management to support rural communities.” F3 organizers added that they “are thrilled by NemiNatura’s commitment to support the efforts of the fish-free feed innovators that are participating in the F3 Challenge.”

Nutriad has announced the appointment of Anand Srivastava and Thiyagarajan Rajaram as Area Managers covering the Indian subcontinent. “Asia Pacific is a focus region in Nutriad’s strategic growth plans. With the hiring of Anand and Raja we will seek to further increase our presence in India as we will provide increased support to our customers and partners in providing practical answers for their production challenges.” Both Anand and Thiyagarajan bring 20+ years of experience in the feed additive business.

A total of 87 organizations and companies from the food and agriculture sector, which supports more than 15 million jobs nationally, recently sent President Donald J. Trump a letter highlighting the importance of trade with countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the industry’s interest in working with the administration to build strong trade relationships with the world’s largest market for food and agriculture. “Reducing and eliminating tariffs and other restrictive agricultural policies in this region will help American workers in our sector compete, creating an opportunity to supply Asian markets with high-quality food and agricultural goods.”

Results from the latest Biomin Mycotixin Survey found that 90% of 387 corn samples and 100% of 79 distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) samples tested positive for at least one mycotoxin. “The mycotoxin threat was higher in 2016 than in 2015. Deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisins (FUM) and zearalenone (ZEN) in particular present a potential risk to livestock animal production. This gives greater importance to regular monitoring of feed, crops, and silages.”

As traditional commercial fishing is threatening fish populations worldwide, U.S. officials are working on a plan to expand fish farming into federal waters around the Pacific Ocean. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is creating a plan to manage commercial fish farms in federal waters, the area of ocean from three to 200 miles offshore, around Hawaii and other Pacific islands.

The second anchovy fishing season officially ended at midnight last Friday in the north-central area of Peru, which generated a revenue of about USD 1 billion to the sector, according to the Ministry of Production. Minister Bruno Giuffra stressed that the implementation of a policy of responsible management of the sector during this fishing season allowed the preservation of around 300,000 tonnes of juvenile anchovy for future fishing seasons.

With support from the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture (CTSA) and other agencies, the government of Rongelap atoll started a commercial aquaculture project to raise and harvest rabbitfish and moi, two popular fish throughout the region. One of the main aspects of the project is local production of feed using locally available ingredients, including cassava, marine bycatch, and fishmeal from a tuna cannery on the island. The feed is made on a regular basis by Marshallese technicians trained under the project.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Saadia Sohail on Wednesday submitted an adjournment motion demanding a debate on the usage of pork fat (pig fat) in the feed of fish imported from Vietnam. Saadia Sohail in the adjournment motion submitted that according to a report published in a section of media, the fish imported from Vietnam which is later used as ‘finger fish’ was fed on pig fat due to which it has become difficult for Muslim population of Pakistan to differentiate whether it was Halal or Haram.

The Northern Marianas College officially opened Monday its new aquaculture development center with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The center, which will teach CNMI farmers how to cultivate fish, will be under the college’s Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Service program, or CREES. The new center used to be the CREES main building. Its roof was torn off by Typhoon Soudelor in 2015.

AU - Australian feed producer Ridley is planning to make a significant investment in a new feed mill in Tasmania. The mill will run five days a week and have the capacity to produce roughly 50,000 tons per year. The mill will primarily supply the local salmon industry, in addition to other producers of different species on mainland Australia and New Zealand.

The Mexican Government has pledged an investment of US$50-70 million in mariculture and infrastructure development. The federal and regional governments of Mexico have partnered with the established Offshore Mariculture Conference, held in Ensenada, Baja California, to promote this investment and commitment to the industry. Key themes of the conference will cover a wide variety of topics, case studies and practical applications. This includes all recent developments in offshore mariculture, the farming of finfish in Mexico, opportunities for the Mexican market, studies into processes at the breeding and hatchery level, traditional and innovative fish nutrition, marketing and value added opportunities for sustainably raised offshore fish, and more.

The 10th IFRM organized by IFIF in cooperation with the FAO brought together feed industry representatives and government officials from around the world to discuss critical issues facing the feed sector. “This meeting, yet again, proved to be an important opportunity for the global feed industry and feed regulators to discuss key issues for the feed and food chain, including Feed Safety Risk Management Strategies, as well as programs on capacity development for feed safety to implement the Codex Alimentarius requirements.”

Kofi Annan will be the keynote speaker of this year\'s AgriVision conference, which takes place in The Netherlands from June 13 to 15. Calling on his vast experience as former Secretary-General of the UN, chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation, member of The Elders and many other roles, he will address close to 400 leaders in the agrifood industry. This year\'s conference will provide a platform to discuss developments in agricultural technology, the pressing global public health issue of antimicrobial resistance and the importance of agricultural development for feeding a growing world population.

Scientists at Australia’s CSIRO have developed a microbial feed additive for prawns containing marine microorganisms that have been bred in captivity. In a large-scale field test, the additive-consuming black tiger prawns grew an average of 30 percent faster than their regular-food-eating counterparts, and were also healthier. Meanwhile, scientists at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science have developed and tested an alternative feed that consists entirely of plant-based ingredients. Researchers found that flesh of the fish raised on the plant-based diet has polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and mercury levels that are a hundred times lower than those found in fish consuming regular pellets containing wild-caught fish.

The F3 Fish-Free Feed Challenge was launched in November 2015 to encourage innovation of alternative ingredients for aquaculture feeds, improve the industry\'s sustainability and to reduce pressure on wild-caught fish to supply fishfeed components. So far, eight multi-national teams from around the world have qualified to participate in the competition. Contestants range from companies with their own mills and farms with multinational sales and hundreds of employees to start-up farms and ingredient companies with just a dozen employees. One of these smaller companies is Belgium-based TomAlgae, a manufacturer of micro-algae for use as a shrimp feed.

A leading fishmeal analyst believes that while limited supply and increasing demand may eventually cause 'tight' markets, global prices are likely to exhibit 'softness' over the next two years. Speaking before an audience of producers of alternatives at the recent Fish-Free Feed Challenge, Rabobank senior analyst Gorjan Nikolik said that a confluence of factors are driving the fishmeal market, principally, a recent rise in Peruvian anchovy supply after years of depressed stocks due to El Nino. “We think that if the Peruvian industry starts to recover because the El Nino is no longer there, the next near term will probably be around $1,200 to $1,700/ton."

The Fish 2.0 2017 business competition for sustainable seafood enterprises launched yesterday with a new track structure that will build seafood innovation networks in coastal regions around the world and create global networks around key opportunities in the seafood industry. “This new structure will ensure diversity among finalists and give investors a global perspective on emerging innovations in the seafood industry. It also begins to create regional networks that can support growing businesses, as well as global networks for innovators working on seafood’s biggest challenges.”

Alltech has released the results of their sixth annual Global Feed Survey, and it appears 2016 was a major mile marker for the global feed industry. For the first time, the world produced more than 1 billion metric tons of feed in a single year, and, interestingly, it did so with a 7 percent reduction in feed mills. Survey data was obtained from more than 30,000 feed mills in 141 countries, making this year’s analysis the company’s most robust to date. The results show that the U.S. and China are the top two countries, producing one-third of all animal feed, and that predominant growth came from the aquaculture sector among others.