The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved taurine for use in fish feed. NOAA released a ‘Q & A’ interview with Michael Rust, science advisor for NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Aquaculture, to discuss why taurine approval is such good news for U.S. fish farmers and seafood lovers.

NOAA has released a Request for Proposals for integrated projects to increase aquaculture production and projects to address impediments to aquaculture opportunities. Depending on appropriations, NOAA Sea Grant expects to have available a total of $10,000,000-$12,000,000 across fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019 for a national initiative to increase aquaculture production in the short-term (2-4 years), and a total of $3,000,000 between fiscal years 2017 and 2018 for a national initiative focused on answering key questions impeding the development and expansion of sustainable United States marine, coastal, and Great Lakes aquaculture.

Last week, IFFO released a response to a series of media articles focusing on the marine ingredients and aquaculture industries. \"The information presented on fishmeal production completely misses the point that the (fishmeal) industry is highly regulated, heavily engaged with sustainability agenda, and is a sector where annual volumes of certification of the product is at a high level relative to other feed ingredients.\"

Evonik has released the “Europe Raw Material Crop Report 2016,” which contains information about the nutrient content of major feed ingredients, as well as regional variation for the 2016 harvest. The fifth issue of Evonik’s Crop Report includes analyses of 4,364 samples of common European crops such as barley, rapeseed, corn, sunflower and wheat. The samples were collected in 14 countries across the continent.

NorFeed plans to bring plantbased, antibiotic alternatives to the US market. “NorFeed is still a small company so we have to focus commercially on some territories more than others. We have the ambition to create a few NorFeed [branches]. Not to cover the world, but to make the NorFeed flag be visible.”

Major salmon farmer Marine Harvest has expressed concern about the use of chemicals to combat fish diseases, after data from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) show that about 20 million liters of hydrogen were dumped in Scottish waters. This chemical compound is frequently used to treat topical skin and gill infections. According to SEPA, more than 160 farms resorted to the chemical in 2015 to tackle parasites such as sea lice. However, there is evidence that the chemical harms fish.

Aquaculture is a fast growing industry along the Mekong River, offering locals new opportunities to earn income and improve their standards of living. The River was once home to abundant fisheries, which have been affected by overfishing, illegal fishing, and drought, among other issues. This article dives into the emergence of fish farming in the region.

The 2016 Biomin Mycotoxin Survey found that mycotoxin-related threats to livestock production are higher this year than in the past. Globally, the average risk level was 62%—meaning that nearly two-thirds of samples had at least one mycotoxin above the threshold levels. On a regional basis, risk levels ranged from a low of 46% in the Middle East to a high of 80% in Asia. “Risk levels reflect the probability that producers confront mycotoxin contamination in their operations. These results suggest that producers everywhere should be vigilant in monitoring raw commodities and feed for mycotoxin contamination, and consider implementing a robust mycotoxin risk management program.”

Two different bills have been introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives that prohibit aquaculture under specific but significant circumstances. The Ban Aquaculture in the Great Lakes Act (HR 961) intends to authorize the Department of Interior to prohibit aquaculture in the Great Lakes. The Preserve Fishing on Wild and Scenic River Act (HR 962) intends to authorize the Department of the Interior to prohibit operation of aquaculture facilities that contribute to pollution of wild and scenic rivers “unless the Secretary of the Interior has certified that such operation will not discharge a pollutant into a river any segment of which is a wild and scenic river.”

Enterra Feed Corporation has received approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to sell its Whole Dried Black Soldier Fly Larvae as a feed ingredient for salmonids, including farmed salmon, trout and arctic char. This is the first Canadian approval of an insect-based aquaculture feed ingredient, and follows the CFIA\'s approval using this same product in feed for chicken broilers last year. Enterra received a similar U.S. approval for use in salmonid feeds in 2016. \"Aquaculture feed producers have been keenly awaiting this approval and we look forward to supplying their needs immediately. Fish eat insects in their natural environment and our product is a healthy, digestible and renewable source of protein and fat that can replace less sustainable ingredients, including fish meal and soybean meal.\"

Using a high-tech blueprint developed with Christof Industries, AgriProtein plans to roll out 100 factories by 2024 and a further 100 by 2027 (200 in total). The USD 10 million partnership will help bring insect protein into the mainstream of feeds used in aquaculture, poultry farming and petfood.
 
“Waste-to-nutrient technology is starting to get traction and price per tonne is key in the fight to replace fishmeal. Christof’s expertise has enabled us to boost output and reduce costs, making us even more competitive and giving us a sound model for rapid global expansion.”
 


Last month, Dr. Arun Dhar moved to Tucson to begin his duties as an Associate Professor in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences and as Director of the Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory. The Arizona Aquaculture Pathology lab serves as the OIE Reference lab for crustacean diseases and was developed and led by Dr. Donald Lightner for many years before his recent retirement. As Director, Dr. Dhar leads a world class research and development team with expertise in diagnostics, treatment and biosecurity against virtually all classes of pathogens and parasites of shrimp and other crustaceans.

The pangasius industry finds itself in the media spotlight, and the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) has released a message to extend support for the industry. \"Any fish species, whether in a natural or a farm setting, will interact with its environment. Pangasius is no exception and the interactions arising from production systems in Southeast Asia do have the potential to generate localized negative impacts. For this very reason, organizations such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and BAP have established production and environmental standards for farmed fish to recognize those producers who mitigate against those potential negative impacts.\\\"

The Aquafeed Market Report, published by Allied Market Research, forecasts that the global market is expected to garner $156 billion by 2022, registering a CAGR of 13.3% during the period 2016-2022. Fish and molluscs accounted for more than three fourths of the total aquafeed consumption. Amino acids and vitamins segments accounted over one third of the aquafeed additive market in 2015.

A few dynamical model forecasts anticipate an onset of El Niño as soon as the Northern Hemisphere spring. Because of typically high uncertainty in forecasts made at this time of the year for the upcoming spring and summer, and the lingering La Niña-like tropical convection patterns, the forecaster consensus favors ENSO-neutral during the spring with a ~60% chance. Thereafter, there are increasing odds for El Niño toward the second half of 2017.

According the researchers in Brazil, additive essential oils can boost farmed catfish survival in the face of a challenge from Aeromonas hydrophila. \"EOs affect the host in a number of ways, mainly modulating blood/immune and other physiological responses, showing potential to be applied as new generation compounds for animal health and nutrition.”

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.