There’s plenty of discussion and research about this issue right now;

http://www.international.inra.fr/press/use_plant_raw_materials_fish_feed

Given the need for top quality aquaculture producers to differentiate lesser quality operations and from “every man and his dog” who are entering the industry with small scale operations, wouldn’t this be an ideal way for producers to differenciate their product in mainstream media/ on supermarket shelves?

Mainstream media has not yet begun to make an issue of these facts. Would it not be an opportunity for the industry leaders to go to market and begin to leverage customer preference and loyalty through highlighting this issue?

Sean

Taurine is found throughout key areas of the human body. It is mainly found in the muscles and the brain, in the heart and in the blood. White blood cells, too, have high concentrations of taurine. It is also known to be exteremely important for the development of the brain, the retina of the eye, and the liver of the newly born. 

Taurine is also important in other functions of the body. For example, taurine facilitates the passage of numerous substances into the bloodstream and enhances fat metabolism. Taurine also plays an important role during liver metabolism. Additionally,  taurine has a positive effect on the re-absorption of fat soluble vitamins and influences the serum cholesterol level. 

Taurine-enriched fish would be able to offer consumers significant additional health benefits. In much the same way as consumers are conscious of the benefits of seafood high in Omega-3 fatty acids, seafood producers would market the additional health value of taurine-enriched fish to differentiate their product and create a competitive advantage.

The complete article can be found here.

As per this project, it is mandatory for a fish farm to keep records of supplier and identity of raw materials, assigning a unique ID, and making records of which product go to which customer. Only identifiers of raw materials and finished product are sent to next level in the supply chain.

According to latest reports, ISO committee is commencing project to develop standards for “Traceability of captured Fish and Farmed Fish”, final version of which will be delivered by 2011.

The World Energy Council estimated that around 2 terawatts (2 million megawatts) could be produced from the oceans via wave power. This is figure is two times higher than the current world electricity production. It is also estimated that 1 million gigawatt hours of wave energy hits Australian shores annually [1]. Note that wave power is to be differentiated with tidal power [2], which is based on the tidal movement due to relative motion of moon and earth .

Wave energy generation is suitable to be implemented Western Australia, since our wave current is quite strong. Other part of Australia that has strong wave current is Tasmania and eastern side of South Australia. This is quite interesting, since most of the aquaculture industry are located around this area. 

There is one Western Australian company called CETO, which is having the technology to harvest the energy from the ocean’s wave for water purification and power generation.

http://www.ceto.com.au

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V27ZBODcv0c

Perhaps, CETO technology could be used to help aquaculture industry.

[1] CETO: http://www.ceto.com.au

[2] Tidal Power: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_power

The benefit of the water jet cutter is the ability to cut material without interfering with the material’s inherent structure as there is no “heat-affected zone” or HAZ [1]. Water jet cutters are also capable of producing rather small and intricate cuts in material. And it can potentially be used in fish processing industry to efficiently cut fish meat. 

The use of water jet cutting for fish processing offers some advantages compared to conventional method of slicing the fish using metal baldes/knives. First of all, there is minimal waste because of the highly accurate pin bone cut that can be achieved. The water jet cutting also optimises the shape of the final fillet. Water jet cutting also permits cutting of fish fillet with its skin on, speeding up the process, increasing labour efficiency and reduced manual input. Computer program and pattern recognition software could be used to automate the cutting of different type of fish in various size and shape.

To find out more about the technology, click the following links:

PATENTS:

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5162016.html

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5628680.html

Commercial companies that offer water jet cutters:

http://www.kmtgroup.com/

http://www.jetedge.com/

http://www.poseidonengineering.com/

http://www.iwmwaterjet.com/waterjet_pictures.html

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_jet_cutter

Could these GM fish  be grown along side food species as a means of targeting other markets in addition to the food industry?

For instance, current aquaculture practice could be used to farm GM fish for biotech companies.

The advantage of using fish for producing protein based drugs is that currently many of these types of protein are produced in expression systems called bioreactors.

Bioreactors are essentially suspensions of GM cells that produce the protein of interest.

The cells have to be kept under optimal conditions and constantly fed nutrients so that proteins are constantly produced. Using a whole organism like a fish to produce a protein drug is potentially an easier and cheaper approach.

What do I mean by corporate responsiblity? Check out the corporate responsibility reports of all the world’s leading retailers and food manufacturers and you’ll find slightly different definitions and practices (its well worth doing this, you’ll have your eyes opened).

The basics are pretty much the same though, its about trying to minimise your negative actions and maximise your positive actions. Create a positive impact from your business activities.

Examples of corporate responsibility might include product positioning, environmental impact of business activities, integrity of sourcing practices, impact on local communities etc.

Will this help your business? From my experiences working in the UK with Young’s Seafood and Sainsbury’s, and contact I have had with Wholefoods in the US. The answer is YES YES YES. See these examples:

• Youngs Seafood
• Sainsbury
• Wholefoods
• Marine Harvest

To capitalise on the market opportunity you have to give the customer what the consumer wants. Corporate responsibilty can give you a point of difference as you develop your aquaculture business.

Can anyone share any other examples of exemplary corporate responsibility amongst producers / suppliers or retailers inside or outside the seafood industry?

The Western Australian Aquaculture Development Council recently commissioned a feasibility study to determine the most practicable economic solutions for processing fish produced by aquaculture in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Although targeting the Kimberley region, this study provides information on processing options fundamental to aquaculture in any remote area globally. It provides an in-depth analysis of post-harvest processing, which can be applied as a key input to a comprehensive, bankable feasibility study for aquaculture production in remote regions generally.