IFFO has announced the appointment of Petter Martin Johannessen as the new Director General. Johannessen was previously Global Business Director for Risk and Management Sourcing at Cargill Aqua Nutrition and before that Supply Chain Director and Global Sourcing and Purchasing lead at EWOS Group. \"IFFO’s in a unique position by representing a diverse cross section of businesses from the aquaculture and animal feed industries. I look forward to continuing Andrew’s legacy, focusing on IFFO’s evidence based approach in communicating the vital importance of marine ingredients and the responsible practices of the industry.\" 

Coppens International, which joined the Alltech family of companies in 2016, has been rebranded as Alltech Coppens. “This rebrand to Alltech Coppens is very much a natural progression. Since 2016, our teams have worked together, combining our respective specialist skills to deliver the very latest innovative aquaculture feeds directly to producers across the globe. This mission shall very much continue under the Alltech Coppens brand.” 

A new study has found that making sensible changes in aquaculture and agriculture feed production would avoid reaching a threshold of overextending forage fisheries. The study authors found that eliminating use of forage fish in food for farmed carp and other freshwater fishes produced the most savings over time. Also beneficial was a scenario that removed forage fish from feed for pigs and poultry. Additionally, their projections indicated that salvaging the unused parts from farmed and wild fish in China and processing these trimmings into fishmeal and oil would help sustainably stretch, but not completely solve, the protein content of forage fish.

A regional agriculture development project in Nigeria has begun producing local fishmeal. Their new processing plant is capable of producing 500Kg per day and will also be used as a training center for any individuals, groups or organizations interested in fish farming. \"The knowledge which the participants will acquire in the training centre will equip them with the wherewithal that will enable them to contribute to the state’s fishery production. In spite our challenges, if we maximize our resources and opportunities, we are bound to succeed.”

An international team of researchers recently concluded a life cycle assessment of current and emerging protein ingredients for aquafeeds in an effort to evaluate the nutritional value, scalability, and environmental performance of each ingredient. The study examined a representative subset of aquafeed protein ingredients from different sources, including Peruvian anchoveta meal, BC herring byproduct meal, soybean meal and soy protein concentrate from both the United States and Brazil, U.S. poultry by-product meal and feather meal, krill meal, and black soldier fly meal.

EUMOFA reports that in 2017, there was an increase in the global production of fishmeal and fish oil, mainly in Peru, Chile, and the Nordic countries, particularly Denmark, Iceland and Norway, where landings of the small pelagics used for production of fishmeal and fish oil have gone up. Peru is the main producer and exporter, whereas China is the main market of fishmeal and fish oil, followed by Norway. The monthly report also includes a case study on the growing aquaculture industries in Bulgaria and Romania.

According to the latest report from the Climate Prediction Center, ENSO-neutral is favored through Northern Hemisphere summer 2018, with the chance for El Niño increasing to 50% during fall, and ~65% during winter 2018-19.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued draft guidance to help animal food facilities in need of a supply-chain program meet the requirements under the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals rule (PC Animal Food rule).

The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program is currently beta testing a blockchain traceability application that will be made available to BAP-certified facilities. The app allows certified facilities to prove their BAP star status to major marketplace endorsers by using chain-of-custody and mass-balancing techniques. All of the data about their products — location, volume, species, etc. — is securely stored in the blockchain, which enables them to prove the amount of product moving from one point to another within the supply chain.

Researchers studying the effects of dietary shrimp protein hydrolysate (SPH) on sea bass have found that its inclusion in diets can promote health and provide protection against outbreaks of Vibrio pelagius. Researchers found “no statistically significant differences in somatic growth parameters nor proximate composition in fish fed different experimental diets, while the humoral non-specific immune responses (lysozyme, bacteriolytic and complement activities) were significantly enhanced by the inclusion of SPH in diets.”

Researchers investigating the environmental impacts of fish farm effluents on freshwater streams have found that feed-pellet-derived materials significantly contribute to the benthic food chain. “Feed pellets from each farm were significantly 13C-enriched compared to the isotopic backgrounds of the receiving streams. Benthic invertebrates and small-bodied fish were consistently 13C-enriched downstream the fish farm effluents.”

The Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University has developed a new feed called Nutrifloc to aid in the growth of vannamei shrimp and tilapia. The team has applied for a patent for the technology. “This feed would cost less per kg than the commercial fish-meal based feed and would evidently help farmers.”

Zeigler Bros., Inc. announced that Dr. Scott Snyder has been hired as Nutritional Technology Manager. In his role, Scott will provide nutritional and technical support for domestic aquaculture production and customers as well as international licensees.

Researchers in the Philippines are looking at using copra meal as an ingredient in feeds for tilapia, milkfish, and shrimp. Copra meal, while often considered a waste product, is beneficial when it is processed and enriched with protein and mixed in animal feeds. “I really want to boost the technology for our livestock and aquaculture industries. We can sell cheaper products with higher protein, and we can compete with other countries. This can be used by farmers all over the Philippines, so their products will become better too.”

The company has appointed Investec to explore options to accelerate the growth of its Novacq feed ingredient, which has been shown to increase prawn biomass andis also entering into an agreement with Tasmanian salmon producer to conduct two salmon feed trials. 

WAS completed its yearly election and announced that new officers have been elected to its Board for 2018. The new President-elect is Dr. Jimmy Avery, and the new Secretary is Dr. Kathleen Hartman. Dr. Noe Noe Lwin and Dr. Albert Tacon also joined the Board. \"I am sure they will do a splendid job to further promote the objectives of WAS.\"

MiAlgae announced that it has received £500,000 from investors to expand its team and build a pilot plant for its technology at a whisky distillery. The company grows algae rich in omega-3 and other nutrients using co-products from the whisky distillation process. The microalgae produced can be used as a raw material for agricultural food products, with the company initially targeting the aquaculture industry.

Only one year after opening its flagship aquaponics facility specializing in leafy greens, Atlantic salmon, and Steelhead trout, Superior Fresh is on schedule to harvest its first fish next month. The flagship facility, located in Wisconsin, is the first Atlantic salmon recirculating aquaculture system in the United States. The facility contains a 40,000 sq. ft. fish house with the capacity to produce 160,000 lbs. of fish, and plans to harvest salmon and steelhead on a weekly basis.

Fishpond farmers in Ghana are calling on the government to partner with them to set up mini feed mills to produce fish feed in selected production zones. Officials of the Ghana National Association of Fish Pond Farmers say fish feed prices constitute over 70 percent of the production cost in fish farming, and the cost of feed coupled with other challenges is impeding the local industry’s progress.

Bayer completed the acquisition of Monsanto today following the receipt of all required approvals from regulatory authorities. Bayer is now the sole owner of Monsanto Company. According to the conditional approval from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the integration of Monsanto into Bayer can take place as soon the divestments to BASF have been completed. This integration process is expected to commence in approximately two months.