The Aquaculturists

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The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the
magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd

For additional daily news from aquaculture around the world: aquaculture-news

The complex challenge of feeding the world's growing population can only be properly addressed when all stakeholders - commercial operations, governments and NGOs - find genuinely fair and practical ways of working together, Sir Bob Geldof told delegates at AquaVision 2014.

In his keynote address, the rock star turned poverty and environmental campaigner said he believes that aquaculture can play its part by bridging the gap between sustainable fisheries and the global demand for seafood but that the industry can only hope to achieve this when systems are responsibly implemented and managed.

http://issuu.com/international_aquafeed/docs/iaf1501_w1/8

"We need to get to the point whereby aquaculture is not only a viable business but also a viable methodology for keeping so many of us alive," said Sir Bob.
Stating that 20 percent of the world's population uses 80 percent of the earth's resources, he urged the aquaculture industry to strike the right balance between consumer and business demands together with the broader social and environmental needs of the planet.

"When you do this, and you will, you will have helped deal with the signature issue of our time, which is inequality and disequilibrium. That is worth fighting for and it is worth getting right. All of this is achievable; we just need the will, commitment and absolute understanding that we will implement that change," he said.

Read the magazine HERE.

A Singaporean national faces up to 10 years in jail if convicted of smuggling exotic fish worth more than AUS$300,000 into Australia, The Mail Online reports.

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) busted the plan to bring the fish into Adelaide when they inspected the traveller's luggage, uncovering up to 20 plastic bags.

The investigation began when officers apprehended the suspect at Adelaide Airport, on a flight from Singapore. Inside each bag they found a number of live and dead endangered fish listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2945835/Singapore-man-jailed-10-years-guilty-smuggling-300-000-worth-exotic-fish-Australia.html

Asian Arowana

According to The Adelaide Advertiser, Kuok Weai Alex Chang appeared in the local Magistrates Court by video link.

The publication reported that prosecutor Elim Chan told the court: "There are international investigations under way and the current charges may well not be the final ones."

A statement from Customs said that "officers referred the fish to officers from the Department of Agriculture, who valued the fish at over AUS$300,000".

A joint operation involving the local police and environmental authorities conducted further investigations, revealing that "the man had wider links to this trade".

Raids were undertaken at two more Adelaide premises, where more prohibited fish were uncovered, including one Asian Arowana, valued at almost AUS$30,000.

The owner was arrested and was bailed to also appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court.
ACBPS Regional Commander Central Region, James Watson, said illicit wildlife trafficking was a horrible trade, but that working together with partner agencies was the best way to stop it.

"These arrests should send a strong message to anyone involved in wildlife smuggling; Customs and Border Protection is serious about working with our law enforcement partners to target you," Mr Watson said.

Department of Agriculture’s Compliance Division head Raelene Vivian said any importation of live animals increased the bio-security risk that exotic pests and diseases could be introduced that would damage Australia’s environment, fisheries and economy.

"When Australia’s import rules aren’t followed then risks go unchecked and put our precious aquatic and marine life as well as our $2.3 billion fisheries industry in real jeopardy," Ms Vivian said.

"Our bio-security officers are always on the lookout for intentional non-compliance and when we detect it we work across government to put an end to it."

Read the article HERE.

Fish and chips has long been a cheap-and-cheerful treat for families across Britain, but the price of the traditional meal could rise steeply this year, The Telegraph reports.

Food industry experts have warned that cod prices are soaring,theDaily Mail has reported.

Analysts Mintec reported last week that the price per tonne for Norwegian cod has increased by 25.7 percent year on year to £1060.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/11401056/Is-the-price-of-fish-and-chips-set-to-soar.html

The rising prices are thought to be due to growing demand for the fish, especially from new markets such as China, and a slight drop in supply, due to a small reduction in the allowed fishing quotas.

Only around 20 per cent of cod eaten in the UK is Norwegian, but a spokesman for Mintec told trade magazine The Grocer:"Prices in Norway will indirectly influence cod prices from other producers."

Cod is one of Britain's favourite fish, with more than 60 per cent of fish and chip buyers choosing it. But overfishing in the North Sea for decades pushed cod stocks to dangerously low levels, and consumers have long been urged to opt for alternatives such as hake.

In 2013, however, the Martime Stewardship Council reported that North Sea cod stocks were on the road to sustainability once more.

Andrew Crook, from the National Federation of Fish Friers, said that although the price of cod was rising, “the prices are really only around where they were five years ago. The prices are just levelling out from last year, when more fish were caught.”

“This isn't something for fish and chip shops to worry about,” he added.

“Fish and chips is still a very cheap meal, compared to something like a pizza.”

Read the article HERE.

Life in the Caribbean islands is an idyllic bliss. You can picture it, right? The sparkling clear water. The pristine coral reefs. The perfect amount of fish pee …

It turns out that the proper amount of fish excretion – and the proper ratios of chemicals emitted in the waste – is key to keeping these Caribbean ecosystems healthy, Phys.org reports.

http://phys.org/news/2015-02-fish-pee-coastal-ecosystems-healthy.html

Jake Allgeier, a post-doctoral researcher currently working at the University of Washington, studies fish pee. After studying 172 different fish communities in the northern Caribbean, Allgeier shows – in two recent papers co-authored with NC State applied ecologist Craig Layman – how the ecosystem relies on a delicate balance of factors, including fish waste.

In a paper just published in the February edition of Ecological Monographs, Allgeier, Layman and colleagues examine the potential implications of different levels of fish biodiversity and scenarios of species loss for the amounts of nutrients supplied to the entire ecosystem through fish excretion.

It shows, specifically, that species richness – the diversity of fish – and the size of fish are the most important factors for maintaining healthy biogeochemical conditions in coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove ecosystems in the Caribbean. Loss of fish diversity – and the nutrients supplied by their excretion – would create less healthy coral reef environments.

In a paper published in Global Change Biology in August, Allgeier, Layman and colleagues show that the ratio of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water of healthy fish communities matches the ratio at which coral tend to optimally thrive – suggesting that fish excretion essentially fertilizes the coral at the optimal level of nitrogen to phosphorus.

"These two studies represent the first comprehensive exploration of fish excretion for coral reef, seagrass and mangrove ecosystems and highlight the clear importance of this nutrient source for these ecosystems – as it is among, if not the, greatest source of nutrients to these ecosystems," Allgeier says.

"These studies also underscore the need to increase our resolution of understanding about these pathways if we are to help restore them from their current states of disrepair."

Allgeier's work with Layman in the Caribbean will expand to rebuilding coastal fisheries. In the meantime, he will take advantage of his Pacific Northwest surroundings and study the potential role of salmon excretion in different strategies of river restoration.
 

Read the article HERE.

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Read the article HERE.

Fishery improvement projects (FIPs) are based on the premise that the seafood industry itself is the strongest force for driving improvements in fisheries, and a group of shrimp suppliers from the Gulf of Mexico has shown us how it’s done, National Geographic reports.

Cox’s Wholesale Seafood, Katie’s Seafood Market, National Fish and Seafood, and Philly Seafood worked with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) on shrimp FIPs in Texas and Florida to evaluate the status of bycatch species in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the 1970s, shrimp bycatch in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated at over 10 pounds of bycatch (unwanted species) for every one pound of shrimp caught. But those numbers have been significantly reduced. In fact, bycatch has decreased by 75 percent to about two-and-a-half pounds of bycatch for every one pound of shrimp. This decrease is primarily due to mandated net modifications such as turtle excluder devices and fish bycatch reduction devices.

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/02/09/155264/

While this is a substantial decrease in bycatch, one meaningful question remained: what is the status of those bycatch species? Even with the impressive reduction, are any of those bycatch populations being pushed to the point of serious or irreversible harm?

Research on these questions has not been a high priority because most of these bycatch species are not commercially or recreationally important. The general consensus of scientists and managers in the Gulf of Mexico has been that these species are unlikely to be seriously affected by the shrimp fishery because they are fast growing fish that mature at an early age and have many offspring, making them more resilient to fishing pressure. But until now, there had been no specific studies focused on verifying this.

In early 2014, Cox’s Wholesale Seafood, Katie’s Seafood Market, National Fish and Seafood, and Philly Seafood hired LGL Ecological Research Associates to investigate the status of the main shrimp bycatch species in the Gulf of Mexico. The study showed that the main bycatch species are Atlantic croaker, longspine porgy, sea trouts, and inshore lizardfish.

Abundance data indicate that all of these populations are either stable or increasing, and comparison with fishing effort suggests that the shrimp fishery may affect only Atlantic croaker and sea trout. But both populations appear to have been increasing since shrimp effort began declining in the early 2000s.

The overall conclusion of the study was that none of these bycatch species exhibited trends that would warrant concern. While further studies, especially full-fledged stock assessments, would be helpful, we believe this study indicates that the shrimp fishery does not pose a risk of serious or irreversible harm to the main bycatch species.

It demonstrates that while trawl fisheries in diverse ecosystems like the Gulf of Mexico will inevitably result in relatively large amounts of bycatch, these fisheries can still be sustainable as long as the viability of the bycatch species populations is not threatened. Read the full study here.

Read the article HERE.

Killer shrimp, creatures that indiscriminately slay other animals without eating them, may soon join the list of invasive species living in the Great Lakes, according to a new study, CBS News reports.

But government regulations for the exotic pet trade and commercial shipping may impede the shrimp's arrival, the researchers said.

More than 180 invasive species have made the Great Lakes basin their home in the past 200 years. Government regulations have curbed the introduction of new invasive threats, but the lakes are still vulnerable, the researchers said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/killer-shrimp-could-invade-the-great-lakes/

To help protect the Great Lakes, the researchers came up with three future scenarios that show other researchers and government regulators how invasive species may affect the lakes in the next 50 years.

To help people envision the future, the researchers first delved into the lakes' history. The Great Lakes act as a waterway for commercial ships. Many of these ships take in ballast water from their home ports to help stabilize the vessel, and release the water when they reach their destination. Ballast water, as well as solid ballast and marine algae on ship hulls, can carry invasive species, the researchers said.

Shipping has introduced about 60 percent of the Great Lakes' invasive species since the St. Lawrence Seaway, a waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes, opened in 1959, they said.

The 'live trade' has also allowed non-native species to establish themselves in the lakes. For example, ornamental plants, aquarium pets, baitfish and fish intended for eating, research and recreation have found their way into the Great Lakes.

Overall, about 20 percent of invasive species in the Great Lakes are considered ecologically and economically damaging, and pose threats to the native biodiversity and multibillion-dollar fishing industry, the study found.

Climate change is another threat, the researchers said. Warmer temperatures may help disease organisms complete life cycles faster, they said. A temperature increase may also make the lakes more hospitable to non-native fish, such as rainbow smelt and sea lamprey, that prefer warmer waters. Fish in the lower Great Lakes may extend their range, and encroach on the normally cold waters of the upper lakes, the researchers added.

But several measures are keeping invasive species in check. In 2006 and 2008, regulations began mandating that ships release freshwater ballast water and fill their tanks with salt water before they enter the St. Lawrence Seaway. Creatures caught in the salt water aren't able to survive in the freshwater Great Lakes, the researchers said.

"No new species have been recorded since 2006," Katie Pagnucco, a doctoral student at McGill University in Montreal and lead author of the study, said in a statement.

"We may have closed the door on ballast-water-mediated invasions. That remains to be seen. But other doors are still open."

The researchers proposed three scenarios: pessimistic, status quo and optimistic. In the worst-case scenario, the Great Lakes would be flooded with invasive species, which could happen if ballast-water regulations are ineffective in the long term and the live trade continues to go unregulated.

In that scenario, new invaders, such as killer shrimp and the monkey goby - both of which are invading European waters - would likely take up residence in the Great Lakes and alter the ecosystem, the researchers said. In fact, many of today's invaders, such as the zebra mussel, come from waterways where Europe meets Asia, such as regions around the Black Sea.

In the status-quo scenario, government officials wouldn't introduce any new protective measures. But ballast-water measures would remain effective, making live trade the prime source of invasive species. The main live-trade threats would be Asian carp species, fish that adapt well to the cold waters of the Great Lakes, the researchers said. Asian carp would eat so much plankton that they could disrupt the food web and take energy away from other creatures, such as commercially fished animals, they added.

In the final view -- the optimistic scenario -- the Canadian and U.S. governments would work together to create regulations to minimize invasive-species risks, the researchers said.

"Invasions are a transboundary issue," said McGill University professor Anthony Ricciardi, an invasive-species biologist who supervised the study.

"In addition to harmonized regulations on live trade, the two countries must coordinate early detection and rapid response to new threats -- before an invasion has progressed beyond control."

The findings were published on December 3 in the Journal of Great Lakes Research.

Read the article HERE.

After record production of farmed vannamei shrimps, which helped boost India's seafood exports in the current fiscal year, the industry is expecting a shortfall next year because of the risks from a disease that some farms have reported in recent weeks, The Economic Times reports.

Seafood exports for the nine months through December 2014 grew 14 percent in value, said industry executives though official figures are yet to be out. India's marine products exports between April and December are estimated to be close to Rs 250 billion (US$4 billion). In the fiscal year ended March 2014, export totaled at Rs 302.13 billion (US$4.85 billion).

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/food/rms-disease-may-lead-to-shortfall-in-the-seafood-industry-next-year/articleshow/46180448.cms

Apart from a drop in prices due to slackening of demand, what is worrying the industry is the stray incidents of the disease - running mortality syndrome (RMS) - in the shrimp farms in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, which are the major producers of this variety of shrimp, one of the top earners in the seafood export basket.

"Though we may be able to harvest the crop, the survival rate will be affected. We will be able to assess the damage only in the harvest for 2015-16," said Muthukaruppan, president of the Society of Aquaculture Professionals.

"This year's harvest has already been over and the production of shrimps could be near 350,000 tonnes, an all-time-high," he said.

The disease is apparently not as destructive as early mortality syndrome (EMS), which devastated shrimp farms in Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia last year, triggering a global shortage of shrimps. That, however, had benefited Indian exporters.

The disease was observed in local farms only in the past few months, said Muthukaruppan.

"We export a lot of farmed shrimps. We have heard about RMS but the details of the disease are not known yet," said Premachandra Bhat, MD of Mangala Marine Exim.

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has yet to assess the impact of the disease, since it is a comparatively new occurrence. It is the seeding time in the farms now and the cleaning of the ponds and filling will take some time.

"Since it is the stocking time, we will know about the results only one or two months later. It (occurrence of the disease) could be possibly because of use of cheaper locally- produced broodstock instead of the imported ones. The farms mainly depend on imported vannamei broodstock, which is pathogen free," said Anwar Hashim, managing director of Abad Exports.

Meanwhile, because of the fall in shrimp prices, exporters say the country's total seafood export may fall short of the targeted US$6 billion despite an increase in volume.

"It could be near last year's figure. The prices of shrimp of 40 count have dropped from a level of Rs530 (US$8.51) a kg to Rs370 (US$5.94). Indonesia is our chief competitor," Bhat said.

Muthukaruppan said more farmers are evincing interest in black tiger shrimp, which fetches premium price in the world market, because of the disease threat and the low price of vannamei.
Read the article HERE.

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by Sandra de Bruin, project coordinator of GMP+ International

First published in International Aquafeed, January 2015

All over the world consumers are setting strict requirements on the safety and quality of their food. In order to gain and retain their confidence, suppliers of meat, dairy products and eggs are demanding that feed companies create a perfect basis for this.

GMP+ International manages the unique GMP+ Feed Certification scheme in a continuous process of innovation to ensure the safety of feed. This makes the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme a well accepted certification scheme, and it is in many countries and markets even a license to sell. Currently over 13,000 companies in all links in the feed chain are certified.

http://issuu.com/international_aquafeed/docs/iaf1501_w1/10

GMP+ certified companies are more and more confronted with questions to demonstrate that feed is not only safe but also responsibly produced and traded. These questions refer, for example, to the use of responsible feed ingredients. Within the GMP+ Feed Certification scheme, useful tools are available for the assurance of both feed safety and feed responsibility in the daily operations of a feed company.

Therefore, GMP+ International provides the possibility for certification of both feed safety and feed responsibility within one certification scheme. This creates a so-called ‘one-stop-shop multiple certification’ opportunity where one auditor can certify a company for both aspects in one audit. This saves both time and money and makes it more interesting for companies to be active in responsible feed production and trade.

GMP+ International doesn’t have the intention to play a leading role in defining feed responsibility, because various market segments or regions have different wishes and opinions about feed responsibility. Therefore, GMP+ International created a plugin model in which certification of various market initiatives can be facilitated.

GMP+ International provides a basic GMP+ FRA (Feed Responsibility Assurance) Framework in which various market initiatives can be plugged in. This GMP+ FRA Framework consists of the GMP+ B100 Feed Responsibility Management System standard and a certification system. In this GMP+ FRA Framework, various market initiatives can be plugged in to provide certification for responsible feed production and/or trade.

With the publication of the first market initiatives documents in November 2014, GMP+ International launched the option to certify the production and/or trade of responsible feed. All current market initiative documents refer to the use of responsible soy, defined as RTRS or equivalent.

Both SMK (manager of the Dutch ‘Milieukeur’ certification scheme for pork, eggs and poultry meat) and the Dutch dairy industry (via the Responsible Dairy Chain – Duurzame Zuivelketen) requested a certification option for feed companies to demonstrate the use of responsible soy in the feed supplied to pigs, poultry and dairy cows. For the supply chain of RTRS soy, a combined certification is provided for the production and trade of RTRS soy.

This certification is approved by RTRS as equivalent to their RTRS Chain of Custody certification. These first market initiatives are an example on how market parties in the animal production chain collaborate on providing responsible food to the consumer.

Read the magazine HERE.

Aquaculture’s important role in the Asian animal proteins market will receive special recognition at the VIV Asia 2015trade show in Thailand from March 11 - 13. Aquatic is a Special Event at VIV Asia for the aquaculture sector, featuring exhibitors who have developed innovative products for the sustainable farming of fish and shrimp. The Aquatic Conference highlights sustainable aquaculture.

The Aquatic Pavilion will be prominently located in the Welcome Hall of VIV Asia. Feeds, feed ingredients and health management will be leading topics. Sustainable aquaculture, driven by consumer demand, is a central topic in the Aquatic Conference. Blue Aqua International will organize a conference on March 11, ADDCON is hosting a topical program on March 12.

INVE Aquaculture will promote its principle of the Best Balance between live feed and dry diets in rearing Pangasius, based on research and experience with large commercial runs of Vannamei shrimp in countries such as Vietnam. It demonstrated a significantly reduced larval production cost without adversely affecting the quality of the larvae at harvest. Among aqua feed products processed from brewer’s yeast that will be on Leiber’s display in Aquatic is Leiber Beta-S, described as a highly purified beta-glucan for strong, immunocompetent fish.

The Aliphos feed ingredients division of Ecophos Group is bringing details of Windmill Monamphos, a feed phosphate promoted to be especially suitable for aqua feed production. Darling Ingredients reports that its Sonac brand will present Phosterol, a natural source of cholesterol and phospholipids for aqua feed.

Norel Animal Nutrition brings Gustor BP70 alongside commercial shrimp farm results from using the protected sodium butyrate feed additive, showing enhanced performance when supplementing butyric acid in its sodium salt form. Included in the Soleval feed ingredients from rendered animal by-products being highlighted by the Akiolis subsidiary of Tessenderlo is Hypro, a special hydrolysed feather meal with very high digestibility.

GeneReach Biotechnology is introducing new diagnostic products for industries such as aquaculture to manage health by the application of nucleic acid detection technology in detecting diseases. Also on managing health, Axcentive is presenting its Halamid universal disinfectant for shrimp and fish farming applications which, in Asia, include high value fish such as grouper, sea bass and barramundi; usage can be at concentrations that kill vibrio and other pathogens and the disinfectant has a prolonged activity, even in waters rich in organic matter.

Additionally, aquaculture operators visiting VIV Asia can find details of other technology such as the patented Mixotrophic system from Blue Aqua International. The protocol provides guidelines on how to successfully manage and balance of nutrient cycles and micro-organisms in the pond in different stages during the culture for super-intensive and intensive culture.

The natural emulsifier Verolec HE-60 from Lasenor Charbhuja Foods gives polyunsaturated fatty acids, choline, inositol, and organic phosphorus in feeds for shrimp and tilapia. Guabi Nutrition & Animal Health offers a wide range of floating and sinking extruded aqua feeds. IDAH presents advanced shrimp feed pelleting equipment.

Visit the VIV website HERE.

Craig Kasberg, an Alaskan angler, has already spent 8 summers on the ocean by his 23rd birthday, so if he were to talk to you about the sea and life on board a boat, you would want to sit up straight and start listening, Ubergizmo reports.

In fact, Kasberg is witness to how crucial sustainable fishing is to a coastal town from where he hails from, and has decided to help out the environmentally minded fishermen – while making a living out of it, too. His idea? Salmon-skin wallets and crab shell shirts.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2015/02/recycled-fish-for-fashion/

Fish leather wallet

Yes sir, Kasberg fully intends to make use of and recycle discarded fish skins by transforming them into leather, which would not be too far off the mark where cow hides are concerned. Kasberg has a vision of the future where fish-skin wallets, belts and others would end up being ‘normal’.

Don’t worry about the smell, either, as Kasberg claims that it is nonexistent, and hence should not be a factor at all as all smelly fish oils have been removed beforehand, having been replaced with vegetable oils throughout the tanning process. As for the Alaskan salmon samples that Kasberg has been testing out, they happen to be jut about as durable as cow leather, although its texture would border on that of snake skin.

Read the article HERE.

Illegal “pirate” fishing damages the environment and human rights, and leads to economic losses of as much as US$23.5bn (UK£15.3 bn) a year, according to fresh guidance which aims to help British businesses keep illegal fish products out of the supply chain and stamp the practice out, The Guardian reports.

A briefing published by retailers, conservation and human rights groups sets out in full how retailers and suppliers should act to end the long-term threat to the oceans, while building up legal and sustainable fisheries.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/09/illegal-fish-products-uk-supply-chain-conservation-human-rights-pirate-sustainable

It offers advice on risk-assessment and mitigation, and encourages action to prevent illegal fishery products entering UK supply chains. As much as 26 million tonnes of illegal fish products is involved annually.

The briefing by the British Retail Consortium, Environmental Justice Foundation and WWF UK is to inform UK industry, retailers and brands of the risks associated with illegal, unreported and unregulated or pirate fishing.

Retailers were last year urged to do more to stamp out human rights abuses by their suppliers after a Guardian investigation found Thai prawns sold in UK supermarkets were produced with the help of slaves. A six-month investigation showed how slaves, forced to work years at a time under threat of extreme violence, were being used in Asia to produce seafood sold by the likes of Walmart, Carrefour, Costco, Tesco, Aldi, Morrisons, the Co-operative and Iceland. Many men were bought, sold and held on fishing boats off Thailand.

Eight key recommendations in the document relate to increased transparency and traceability of fish supplies. They include all large fishing vessels being required to have a unique identification to enable satellite tracking, improvement of port controls to prevent influx of pirate fish supply, and an EU centrally coordinated database of fish-catches and fisheries. Retailers will also be urged to demand more detailed information about suppliers’ working conditions for staff.

Steve Trent, executive director of EJF, which is set to produce new and detailed evidence of ongoing bad practice by prawn farmers in Asia, said more “decisive” action by major companies and retailers was needed to bring about long-term change. He said: “Knowing where, under what conditions and by which vessel seafood is caught, is a fundamental step towards building legal, sustainable fisheries. It is time for major retailers, brands, importers and suppliers to take determined, decisive action.

“Companies have the power and the right to demand accountability and require suppliers to provide information on where products come from. What is needed now is the full engagement of the corporate sector, alongside government and other key stakeholders.”

Tracy Cambridge, fisheries and seafood manager of WWF UK, said: “This joint advisory note can empower UK importers, processors and retailers to play an increasingly leading role in bringing this destructive trade to an end.”

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Our practical guidance will help all retailers and manufacturers ensure this fish does not enter our supply chains. This is a great example of British retailers using our expertise to influence global sourcing for the benefit of all and hope the principles will be adopted by other food companies abroad.”

Read the article HERE.

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by Dominique P Bureau, member of the IAF Editorial Panel

First published in International Aquafeed, January - February 2015

Meaningfully comparing the efficiency of different animal productions?

Back in October 2014, I attended the World Nutrition Forum (WNF) organised by Biomin in Munich, Germany. Several times during this very interesting forum, the different speakers and participants raised the issue of efficiency in animal food production. One of the keynote speakers, Jørgen Randers from BI Norwegian Business School, told the audience that the broiler chicken would most probably emerge as the “global winner” among all other animal productions with the increasing scarcity of global feed/food resources in sight.

http://issuu.com/international_aquafeed/docs/iaf1501_w1/12

Other experts at the WNF contended that aquaculture species due to their low feed conversion ratio (FCR, feed: gain) and low energy requirements, should not be discounted and could well win the ‘efficiency game’, if there was ever one.
We, in the field of aquaculture, are not at our first exposure with this type of debate. My favorite debates are those raised by small (and rich) interest groups based in the USA: “Are we farming the tigers of the sea? Shouldn’t we cultivate thriftier herbivorous or omnivorous fish species (tilapia and carps) rather than wasteful carnivorous species, such as Atlantic salmon?”

Having received academic training in agronomy and livestock production, taught agriculture and animal nutrition courses and studied quite extensively the bioenergetics, nutrient mass balances and macronutrient nutrition of different aquaculture species for the better part of past three decades, I enjoy watching and occasionally contributing to this debate.

How does fish production compare with cattle, pig or chicken production? How do different aquaculture productions compare? We are often tempted to compare things on the basis of feed conversion ratio (FCR), ie. kg of feed used vs. kg of biomass obtained. However, feeds for different species have different nutritional composition. In general, feeds for aquaculture species are of significantly higher nutritional density (e.g., higher digestible protein, higher lipids, higher digestible energy) than feeds for terrestrial livestock species (beef, dairy, swine, poultry, etc.). Animals also have different market weights and efficiency generally changes quite significant with live weight.

On what basis should we compare different productions then? Energy, macronutrients, carbon footprint? Per kg of live weight or kg of edible product? At a common weight? Over the entire life of the animal or just the productive periods (in the case of a laying hen or dairy cow for example)? Only the edible products or all the waste and by-products properly accounted for?

A few years ago, Dr Katheline Hua (Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany) and I carried out an analysis of the efficiency of a few terrestrial animal and aquaculture species. We tried to base our analysis on values from published scientific studies that we deemed credible and fairly representative. We also tried to gather data that were representative of the normal market weight of the animals. Some part of this analysis was already presented in a review paper we wrote with “sustainability” researchers and some industry critics (Reference : Naylor et al., 2009. PNAS, 106, 15103-15110).

Our findings were that of the animals we selected, pigs were less efficient. However, their market weight is also considerably greater than of fish and birds species cultivated today. Protein and energy-wise today, the broiler chicken does win the efficiency game today.

However, interestingly most aquaculture species are really not far behind. Genetic improvement played a big role in the efficiency of poultry production. Today, a broiler chicken reaches its market weight (2 kg?) in about 6-7 weeks. With a few minor exceptions, we’ve barely started any meaningful genetic selection efforts for aquaculture species.

Overall, differences between different aquaculture species were not that large. The great differences in FCR we are seeing between species are often a reflection of different digestible nutrient density of the diet, the energy-yielding nutrients used (lipids vs. protein vs. starch) and difference in harvest weights. However, differences do exist and we need to explore the basis of these differences to make progress. We clearly need to invest more efforts in genetic selection. And I forgot, no Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout are not “less efficient” than “omnivorous” species!

In the big scheme of things, is it at all meaningful to compare efficiency of different animal productions? Do we debate endlessly about the efficiency of traveling to work on foot or by bicycle, motorcycle, smaller or larger car, 4x4 minivan, bus, tramway or train? Our homes and landfills are full of appliances, furniture, clothes, and nick-nacks that all required resources and energy to produce and transport and to operate?

We travel hundreds of kilometers for rest and recreation (R&R) on weekends or to visit a single client during the workdays. I do not pretend to know the truth or what’s best. To me this is all much too complicated. However, it does worry me a little when the liveliest debate is which of the broiler chicken, Atlantic salmon, common carp or Nile tilapia is the most efficient! I think we have got bigger things to worry about.

Agree or disagree? Always happy to hear from you. dbureau@uoguelph.ca

Read the magazine HERE.

Dive into opportunities for the protein of the future at Alltech REBELation Week

Now selling pound for pound more than beef and with entrepreneurs casting a wider net into the inland fishing trade, the global aqua industry may soon be larger than the worldwide poultry market and, in Norway, could generate more revenue than oil by 2050. But will there be enough water? Can we find a substitute for a depleting valuable fish oil industry? How can fish farmers tap into the multibillion potential of seaweed? These questions and more will be explored during Aqua: Protein of the Future at the Alltech REBELation Week, May 17-20.

“While there is a sea of opportunities for the aqua industry to grow, we must also stay ahead of challenges such as wild stock overfishing, fish oil shortages and dead zones in the world’s oceans and lakes,” said Becky Timmons, global technical director of Alltech Algae and chairperson of the aqua symposium, part of REBELation Week.

“In addition to this, we must also embrace new business enterprises in marketing and branding this functional food to a growing, health-conscious consumer market.”

A comprehensive colloquium, Aqua: Protein of the Future will present attendees with the opportunity to discuss topics ranging from algae and fish health to nutrition and crisis management. Aqua symposium topics will include:

Replacing Fish Oil: One company’s bold plan to find a substitute for the ‘Holy Grail’ of the industry.
The Ocean- The Garbage Pail of the World: What can we do about dead spots in the ocean, some of which are larger than Western Europe?
The Mediterranean Diet: Why does this diet lead to better health and general quality of life? What part does seafood play? How can we replicate this model in other areas?
Fish- The Ultimate Functional Food: Can we eat our way to better heart health?
Bigger than Beef: Now selling more than beef, fish are produced more efficiently than any other animal. Is it sustainable?
Seaweed: China’s Fujian coast produces 12 million tonnes of food each year from aquatic seaweed fields. What are the implications?
Is there Enough Water? How does the US state of Idaho support potatoes, dairy and trout production?
The Norwegian Experiment: Fish farming is projected to generate more revenue than oil by 2050.
Sea Change: How to successfully launch inland fishing in the heart of the American Midwest.
The Scandal of Thailand’s Seafood Supply Chain: What lessons can be learned? How can we solve this supply chain problem?
Pacific Rim: Contrasting the Ecuadorian and Vietnamese experiences with shrimp.
Sale on the Seven Seas: A supermarket’s perspective on branding fish.
The Ecuador Case Study: How shrimp has surpassed bananas as Ecuador’s number one export.
The Big Blue Ocean: Looking at open ocean aquaculture techniques. What is feasible? What are the challenges?

This aqua symposium is part of Alltech REBELation Week of innovation, inspiration and world-changing ideas in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, from May 16-20. Aqua: Protein of the Future sessions begin on May 18, but pre-conference events include an opportunity to savour the best in brews from across the Bluegrass and around the world at the second annual Alltech Craft Brews and Food Fest on Saturday, May 16.

Registration for Alltech REBELation Week is open now for a discounted rate until midnight March 7. One-day access passes are available, as are special partner rates. Delegates who are members of ARPAS and AAVSB can also earn CEUs.

For more information, or to request an invitation, contact a local Alltech representative, visit www.alltech.com/REBELation or email symposium@alltech.com. Join the conversation on Twitter with #REBELation.

Visit the website HERE.

As families around China prepare for Lunar New Year celebrations next week, shoppers in one southeastern city can add another delicacy to their shopping list: ‘patriotic fish,’ the New York Times reports.

Photos of shoppers in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province, thronging around cases of frozen fish and sea urchins circulated in China on Wednesday. This was no ordinary seafood, however. It was from Mischief Reef, which has been controlled by China since 1994 but is part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea also claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/patriotic-fish-sell-out-in-southern-china/?_r=0

Protest in the Philippines against China's actions in the Spratlys

“You can steam it, make soup, braise, slice or fry it — it’s all possible!” Lin Zailiang, 82, a former government official who heads the fish-farming program, told the gathered shoppers.

Behind him, a blue billboard advertised the products as “South China Sea ‘Patriotic Fish’ — the Third Season.”

The entire 8300 pounds of seafood sold out in two hours, according to the state-run China News Service.

But Mr Lin, white-haired and wearing a garland of orchids around his neck, also made it clear that the program was about more than just providing delicacies for the table.

Cultivating fish at Mischief Reef, called Meiji Reef by the Chinese, is equivalent to “safeguarding national sovereignty,” Mr. Lin was quoted as saying.

“Because once there are residents there — us — it becomes our territory, according to international ocean law.”

“It is very important, whether from a political, military or economic standpoint,” Mr Lin said. “So we must persist.”

According to China News Service, Mr Lin once served as deputy director of Hainan Province’s fisheries bureau and now receives a special subsidy from the State Council, China’s cabinet. Mr Lin began cultivating fish at Mischief Reef in 2007. Teams of 11 or 12 fishermen from Mr Lin’s home county, Pingtan, manage the project, spending three months at a time at the reef on a boat equipped with a video player but no television.

The report provided no further details about the relationship between Mr. Lin and the Chinese government, nor did it give information about sources of funding for the fish-farming program.

However, the transportation costs alone would suggest that this is no mere commercial undertaking. A relative of Mr Lin’s told China News Service that it takes three days to ship the fish from Mischief Reef to the southern city of Sanya, where it is frozen and processed, before being sent 1240 miles to Fuzhou. Mr Lin has sold fish cultivated at the reef for the past three years, the report said.

Mischief Reef has also been identified as the testing site for what would be China’s first mobile fish production base.

Last August, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture, told China Science Daily that the country was in the process of putting together the project.

The idea was to convert an old oil tanker into an industrial complex to farm, process and store fish. The researcher, Lei Jilin, said the development of long-distance fishing should be just as important a priority as developing maritime energy and mineral resources.

The China News Service article noted that Mischief Reef has an “extremely important strategic position.”

This is perhaps evident to no one more than the Philippines, which lies about 150 miles east of the reef, which the Philippines calls Panganiban. China surprised the Philippines by taking control of the reef in late 1994.

Concerns that China is taking steps to strengthen its foothold in the Spratly Islands increased last year as satellite images revealed that China was artificially enlarging several reefs to build what some said appeared to be military facilities.

Despite concerns voiced by the Philippines, the United States and Vietnam, China has reportedly continued its island-building activities.

On Tuesday, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs announced that it had summoned Chinese diplomats last week to convey its “strong protest” at what it said were increased reclamation activities by China at Mischief Reef.

The Philippines has the “exclusive right to authorize construction of artificial islands, installations or other structures in the vicinity of Panganiban Reef,” said a ministry spokesman, Charles Jose, according to the Philippine news outlet GMA Network.

The Philippines has asked the United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to rule on the legality of China’s claim to nearly all of the South China Sea. China has rejected the process.

Read the article HERE.

Manually draining ditches to catch fish is a long-standing practice in several Mekong Delta provinces in Vietnam and if tourists are lucky enough, they might find themselves in such an intriguing sight during Tet (Lunar New Year) tours, Toi Tre News reports.

Tours to such Mekong Delta places as Dong Thap, Can Tho, An Giang, Ben Tre, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, and Kien Giang are offered throughout the year and is an attraction for foreign tourists.

http://tuoitrenews.vn/lifestyle/26079/draining-ditches-for-fish-a-highlight-in-mekong-delta-tours

Those organized before, during, and after Tet also appeal to a large number of local and international holidaymakers.

Tet begins on February 19 this year, with festive activities lingering on around one week after that.

Apart from the crisscrossing rivers, fruit-laden orchards, architecturally unique pagodas, and stunning seas such as those off Kien Giang Province’s Phu Quoc and Ha Tien Districts, the delta provinces allure both natives and tourists with one of their rustic delights: manually bailing water out of ditches to catch fish and cooking them right away.

Hoai Vu, a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper contributor, said he “relived” a priceless experience of his childhood’s memorable activity during a recent trip to his hometown.

The activity would particularly burgeon in his neighborhood around the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, when tides begin to retreat.

Their bumper catches would be enough for meals for several months following Tet.

During the trip to his hometown, Vu observed that though fish were no longer found in abundance in ditches as in the past, the activity still brought a festive atmosphere just as in the good old days.

His neighbors and relatives divided the tasks among themselves, including clearing the surrounding vegetation and weeds and dividing the ditches into two sections.

The people then began bailing water out of the ditches either with buckets or “gau” (large wooden scoops) for the entire morning.

Though they were all sweating, they beamed radiantly with hopes for a good catch and cracked jokes all the time.

As the water was half bailed out, fish, lobsters, shrimp, and even turtles began to emerge.

Young men dipped their arms into the knee-deep mud and pulled out large trout in the roaring applause and laughter of the spectators, particularly kids.

The people’s sweaty work finally paid off: most of them caught dozens of fish.

Then came the most appealing part, when they prepared the fish and grilled them right there.

Everyone then gathered around to relish the appetizing food. Some even sang a few ‘ca co’ (traditional southern Vietnamese music) songs and recited poems.

In recent years, fewer fish have been seen in ditches and rivers, while a large number are raised on farms and in ponds throughout the delta.

The practice of manually bailing water out of ditches for fish has thus been on the wane.

Even in the localities where the practice lingers, people tend to use pumps or fishing nets instead of buckets or wooden scoops and their bare hands to drain water off ditches and catch fish.

Read the article and see the pictures HERE.

http://www.ge-pro.de/english/uberuns.htm

GePro Gefluegel-Protein Vertriebs- gesellschaft mbH & Co KG is a member of the PHW group, one of the largest producers of poultry products in Europe.

As a member of PHW, GePro is part of a completely integrated poultry production organisation.

GePro’s headquarters are in Diepholz, Germany, with global sales offices located in Bangkok, Thailand, and Moscow, Russian Federation.

GePro transforms poultry slaughterhouse byproducts into valuable ingredients for animal nutrition and biofuel (SP-Power).

With state-of-the-art production systems, our products are of extremely high quality and are regarded as benchmarks in the industry.

The entire process is under strict veterinarian control leading to consistently flawless quality and great value for our customers.

Visit the website HERE.

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