Grieg Seafood BC says that a new investment in feed barges is proof that the industry has a future in B.C.’s coastal waters at a time when fish farming is coming under increased scrutiny. The $2.1 million barge at Grieg Seafood BC operations northwest of Campbell River includes housing for workers and a remote feeding system with underwater video cameras that allow technicians to observe fish behavior and adjust the flow of food accordingly.

The Nordic project NoVAqua has shown the potential of extracting important nutrients from waters used during the processing of herring, shrimps and mussels. The research team measured the composition of process waters and found them to contain up to 7 percent protein and 2.5 percent fat. Using a two-step process, the research team managed to recover up to 98 percent of the protein and 99 percent of the omega 3-rich fats. The process resulted in a semi-solid biomass and a nutrient-rich liquid. After dehydration, biomass from shrimp boiling water was shown to contain 66 percent protein and 25 percent fat. Two tests were made together with the University of Gothenburg and Skretting ARC, which used the new biomass as an ingredient in feed for salmon with encouraging results.

After an intensive ten-month training period, 18 experts on feed technology have been awarded the diploma from the renowned Swiss Institute of Feed Technology (SFT). Alongside the growing demand for efficient feed technologies, the demands presented by customers and end consumers, as well as legal regulations, are constantly presenting feed millers with new challenges. "The training at the School of Feed technology provides the best possible basis to surmount these challenges in the future."

Perstorp has appointed Jimmy Paulakuhn as Vice President for North and Central America, responsible for the Feed & Food Business Area. Paulakuhn will join Perstorp on November 1. "Organic acids and especially our esters of organic acids are a prime candidate to help facilitate reduction of antibiotics without compromising on performance. A bigger more independent team led by an experienced specialist like Jimmy will make sure we can meet those demands."

New York Sea Grant (NYSG) in collaboration with the National Aquaculture Association received $182,108 in funding for a project to increase end-user confidence in United States farm-raised seafood, and to increase demand for U.S. farm-raised seafood in the foodservice sector. The intent of the project is to develop a communications strategy to effectively and cost-efficiently reach the U.S. foodservice industry with a consistent message about U.S. farm-raised seafood and reduce user conflicts by providing science-based information about the U.S. environmental and food safety regulatory framework. 

Unibio and various European-based partners, including the Municipality of Kalundborg, are launching the VALUEWASTE project to create biobased products out of urban waste streams. The consortium will implement three new value chains that will use urban biowaste as raw material for its valorization into high-value end-products in a cascading process, generating economic, social and environmental benefits: food & feed proteins, other food & feed ingredients and biobased fertilizer. The aim of the project, which is financially supported by the EU under Horizon 2020, is to lay the foundation for a circular economy model that has the potential to be copied by many European municipalities in the years to come.

A recent study found that adding krill meal to the diets of juvenile gilhead seabream resulted in improved growth performance. The 12-week grow out trial was conducted at ECOAQUA in Spain, and directed by researchers from the Aquaculture Research Group (GIA) and Aker BioMarine. Results of the 12-week feeding trial showed that the juveniles fed a diet containing 9% krill meal had significantly higher body weight compared with fish fed a control diet. In addition, the fish fed 9% krill meal also displayed a reduction in the accumulation of lipid droplets in the hepatocytes and around the pancreatic islets, showing a better feed utilization and therefore, promoting fish growth.

Skretting Norway’s factory in Averøy has produced commercial salmon feed with insect meal for the first time. Skretting believes insect meal will be an important raw material in the future and is helping producers scale up production. The company envisions that by 2022 there will be at least five different European suppliers, each producing 20,000 tonnes of insect meal per year. That amount equates to two thirds of the amount of soybean concentrate Skretting Norway uses today. "Our goal is that in the future, ingredients used for aquaculture feed do not compete with food for human consumption. For us it's important to invest in alternatives like insect meal. We are also currently testing the plankton Calanus, which is a natural part of the wild salmon diet.”

A new video highlights salmon producers in New Zealand who are hoping to reduce the impact of fish farming on the environment by changing how they feed their fish. It's part of research being undertaken in Nelson where thousands of king salmon are being carefully monitored by scientists.

Evonik is inviting feed and feed additive producers to utilize a new state-of-the-art feed mill in Vietnam, which was designed to produce pelleted trial feeds. The feed mill, a scientific collaboration between Evonik and Nong Lam University, is dedicated to research trials and provides a valuable resource to foster technological advancement of a more sustainable feed industry in the country. “The feed mill is also open to other companies that wish to test their products. Evonik alone will not be able to provide all of the solutions. We have, to a certain extent, specialized and concentrated on probiotics while other companies specialize in organic acids and alternative products. These need to be tested, compared and checked, and this is why we are looking for partners.”

More than 90 percent of the fish used for fishmeal and fish oil from the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific now come from fisheries that can be classified as “reasonably well-managed (or better),” according to the latest annual report on reduction fisheries from Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP). Of the stocks listed in “very good condition,” the report once again singled out the Antarctic krill fishery in the Atlantic Southern Ocean as being particularly well-managed. “The positive trend in this year's report demonstrates the power of the multi-stakeholder approach to "greening" value chains through responsible sourcing.”

Omega Protein has released a response to a recent essay titled "Trouble Comes To Town," published by the Marine Fish Conservation Network. In the essay, author Paul Eidman makes claims about the menhaden fishery and Omega Protein's operations. "The hysteria created by Mr. Eidman and others as a result of negligible fishing and menhaden removals from the New York/New Jersey Bight is unfounded and takes away from the real story. We are experiencing favorable environmental conditions right now, and, as a result, large menhaden schools have been observed from Maine to Florida."

The Pincoy Project has been recognized for its contribution to the environment at AquaSur 2018. The project was initiated by Skretting and six other partners in 2016 as a collaborative response to reduce the use of antibiotics in the Chilean salmon industry. "The project delivers a collaborative and holistic approach to combat the use of antibiotics, through an initiative that defines high standards of animal welfare and operational excellence throughout the value chain, considering selective breeding, high quality hatchery diets, smolt selection, vaccines and the implementation of best-practice protocols and monitoring throughout the production cycle, as well as the use of functional diets."

The fishing company Camanchaca will expand its facility in Coronel to increase its production of fishmeal and frozen products. The company plans to invest $23 million to achieve a more efficient operation and consolidate its operations. Processing capacity will be increased from 180 tons per day to 1,000 tons per day, with the implementation of a total of 9 production lines and 8 freezing tunnels.

Cargill has opened a new shrimp feed plant in Guayaquil, Ecuador. With this plant, Cargill will produce 165,000 tons of feed per year in Ecuador, which accounts for around 20 percent of the 800,000 tons of feed that the Ecuadorian market currently demands. Cargill’s investment of approximately $65 million creates 150 new jobs and enables the creation of 500 related positions. “The plant we are opening today offers the most leading-edge technology currently available for the production of shrimp feed.”

Scientists in Israel have unearthed the oldest known example of intensive fish farming. By studying chemical traits in the bones of gilthead seabream found in Israeli archaeological sites, a team led by researchers from Haifa University has concluded that intensive cultivation of the popular fish took place as early as 3,500 years ago. At about 1,500 BCE, they discovered, the farming of seabream at Bardawil took off and became the chief source of the beloved fish not only for inland cities, but even for coastal ones, possibly replacing their own domestic fishing industry. That period also saw a stabilization in the size of the seabream being consumed in the land of Israel, a finding that further strengthens the case for the start of wide-scale aquaculture in the period.

The acquisition represents De Heus’ entry in the Indonesian animal feed market.

BioMar Group has increased its shrimp research capabilities with the opening of its Aquaculture Technology Center in Ecuador. The ATC is a state-of-the-art trial facility dedicated to researching the full lifecycle of shrimp. It houses multiple water recirculation systems to ensure full control of the parameters during trials, and is capable of evaluating more than 150 diets per year. “Our new research facilities will help us continue to evolve our shrimp feed range while allowing us to respond faster to market and customer needs. In BioMar, we have for many years been contributing to minimizing the environmental footprint of the industry, enhancing efficiency and strengthening the health of the fish. Now, we are ready to conduct local product test supporting our global research within raw materials, process technology, health and nutrition.”

The UK Government’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) has launched two International Centers of Excellence for Aquatic Animal Health and Seafood Safety. “As the Government’s marine and freshwater science experts, our mission is to help keep our seas and oceans healthy and productive and our seafood safe and sustainable. We do this by providing the best data and advice to the UK Government and our overseas partners. Innovative, world-class science is central to this mission and that of our International Centers, which aim to ensure that our science capability continues to develop and keep step with UK and global science challenges."

The SERIOLA project in Spain is making progress in improving the larvae stage and optimizing fattening of greater amberjack. In addition to launching a series of validation trials for fattening of greater amberjack juveniles, the project is also carrying out tests on nutritional profiles and diet performance. Thus far, researchers have established the optimum levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids Omega-3 (n-3 PUFA) to add to fattening diets; a new test has been launched to assess the addition of different functional ingredients in feed.