VIV Asia is the one of the world’s largest, most comprehensive trade exhibitions for the food and feed industries
This year, the trade expo is being held in Bangkok, and in cooperation with VIV, Perendale Publishers Ltd. organised a conference focusing on Aquaculture.
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| www.vivasia.nl |
This year, the trade expo is being held in Bangkok, and in cooperation with VIV, Perendale Publishers Ltd. organised a conference focusing on Aquaculture.
The line up of speakers included a wide range of representatives from both academic and commercial backgrounds in biosecurity, feed security and water quality.
The event kicked off this morning, and I thought I would write a quick post to get things started for our coverage of VIV Asia.
Expect further updates as the next few days of conferences and events proceed!
The aquatic conference began with some excellent presentations detailing the latest developments in aquacultural biosecurity.
Algae, antibiotics and everything in between were discussed by academics and representatives from leading biosecurity organisations from around the world. A particularly good presentation was given by Dr Varin Tansomwang, outlining the way in which biosecurity is changing Thai aquaculture.
The impressive and thorough nature of Thai biosecurity measures on shrimp farms were the focus of her presentation. Every possible measure of biosecurity has been considered, from disinfection of car tires, right down to the eating utensils of farm workers.
Dr Tanasomwang made it clear that Thai fish farms are at the forefront of aquacultural biosecurity, though she emphasised the need for further research and development to continue the trend toward best-practice techniques.
Dr Tanasomwang has had experience in many management and research roles across many private and government research centres. Most recently, Dr Tanasomwang has taken on the role of Fisheries Management Expert at the Thai Department of Fisheries studying the development of coastal aquaculture.
Dr Tanasomwang’s academic background began with a BSc. in Fisheries, before moving on to a MSc. in Fish pathology and a Doctorate in Aquaculture.
She is one of the forefront researchers in these fields today, and provided an informing discussion that clearly demonstrated her expertise. The feed quality session began with Dr Chalor Limsuwang, who successfully transformed the gritty details of rearing shrimp in to a fascinating and engaging presentation.
His speech, entitled “Feed Quality and Feed Management in Shrimp Culture”, balanced the serious topic of maintaining healthy shrimp through good feed with occasional anecdotes involving the day-to-day lives of Thai shrimp farmers, even describing the way in which shrimp farmers enjoy smelling the water of their ponds!
Dr Chalor Limsuwan studied a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries before continuing with a Masters degree in Zoology and a Ph.D. in Fish Pathology.
He now works at the Department of Fishery Biology at Kasetsart University, continuing his research in to Fish Pathology. Over his career, Dr Limsuwan has had ample experience researching shrimp culture and disease prevention, becoming renowned as a forefront authority on the topic.
He has regularly been required to speak on his research at conferences around the world. At the aquatic conference, Dr Chalor’s presentation was extremely enlightening for those interested in growing shrimp in the healthiest conditions.
Despite also speaking over time and pushing back an already delayed schedule that we were struggling to keep under tabs, his enthusiastic manner of public speaking and evident expertise in the area were a highlight of the day.
Stephane Ralite gave us an excellent follow-up presentation on the protection of Shrimp from harmful bacteria through the fortification of feed. He also included the consideration of water quality to his analysis, blending nicely with the previous session.
Dr Hao of Empyreal continued this trend, giving a great presentation on improving the nutritional value of fish feed. His lively performance gave everyone the wake-up they needed after a full day of presentations.
The afternoon saw two more speakers deliver their message to an increasingly tired room, before all taking a well-deserved break. With the final coffee break out of the way and a room full of dwindling, increasingly tired attendees, the water quality session began with a presentation by Dr Putth Songsanjinda.
His presentation detailed the effects of climate change on shrimp farming and water recirculation. Each slide displayed the incredible attention to detail that this man clearly gives to his work, providing a comprehensive if sometimes confusing explanation of the dynamic between climate change and shrimps.
Despite the dense nature of Dr Songsansjinda’s work, the increalsed interest and attention in the room was tangible – perhaps fuelled by the new topic of discussion and the enticing light at the end of the tunnel symbolised by the second last presentation at the end of a long day.
Dr Yambot ended the day with a presentation on water quality and growth performance in Nile Tilapia. Being one of the only presentations of the day to cover the fish, audience attention remained strong throughout as Dr Yambot explained the benefits of using Addiseo’s Rovabio. He found the product to enhance growth and feed intake of cultured Nile Tilapia, when compared to a control group using conventional culture techniques.
In all, the VIV Aquatic Asia conference proved to be a rewarding experience for all, with almost 200 attendees and 13 speakers. As the VIV Asia continues, I will keep you updated through further posts on our activities. Also, stay tuned for further details and insights from our speakers.
Read more HERE.
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