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Listened to a television program on the ABC last night (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) which covered some of the themes being covered at the 2008 World Poultry Congress.  There are some interesting parallels in the issues that are being addressed in poultry and aquaculture - as aquaculture seeks to increase its scale and intensity of production.

One of the keynote speakers at the Conference, Professor David Farrell from the University of Queensland was interviewed about the key factors that have allowed the poultry industry to intensify its production so successfully. Professor Farrell identifies the following factors as key contributors:

• technology
• genetics
• feed
• management
• disease control

At the 4.20 minute mark in the video (see the link below) Professor Farrell reviews the conversion efficiency of the three major livestock industries.  He states the feed conversion ratios as:

• Poultry  - 1.7:1
• Pigs  - 2.2:1
• Cattle  - 7:1

This makes the peak feed conversion ratios in aquaculture of 0.8:1 look very good.

Can anyone help by pointing out the latest data on feed conversion ratio in aquaculture both in the lab and in the farm setting?

The video of the interview with Professor Farrell is available here. 

The World Poultry Congress site is here.

US scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) at Wood’s Hole, Massachusetts have trialled a system which uses sound as a means of controlling fish behaviour. Could this provide the beginnings of an ability to conduct aquaculture without cages or nets?

Is this likely to be feasible?

Is it desirable?

How can we take this initial thought and reshape it?

You can read more about the concept here.

Information about MBL is available here.

We have updated our summary of information about aquaculture problems right across the aquaculture value chain here. If you want to create world class productivity transforming innovations then read about problems to be solved first!

One of the key factors that has driven the long term trend of increasing per capita fish intake across the globe is that fish consumption is promoted by nutritionists as a very important component of a healthy diet. Current thinking has targeted the Omega-3 fatty acid content of fish oils as a major contributor to the healthy diet aspects of fish eating.

Farmed fish require feed with specific protein and oil components in order to grow. Traditionally, the lion’s share of this has been derived from wild stocks of ‘feed fish’. However, even a cursory appreciation of the numbers and what we know about today’s feed conversion ratios make it apparent that it will not be sustainable to overcome the fish production gap using wild caught fish to feed farmed fish. Does the pressure on feed fish stocks mean that there is a prospect that Omega-3 fatty acids will disappear from farmed fish? Does this mean that a fundamental limiter exists that will prevent us from ever bridging the fish production gap?

Significant efforts are being made now to overcome this limiter with efforts being put into developing high protein grain-based replacements for feed fish (soy, lupins, etc). Genetically engineered plants which produce essential omega-3 fish oils could offer a new way of improving people’s diets, scientists working on an EU project said at a conference on ‘Incorporating Omega 3 in the food chain’. Long-chain fatty acids called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found mainly in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and herring, provide protection against cardiovascular diseases, slow down mental decline in the elderly and are essential for the healthy development of a baby’s brain in the womb.

Whilst experts recommend a daily intake of 450mg of omega-3 fatty acids, most adults barely manage half that amount. Among teenagers, the figure drops to just 100mg a day, and intake in low-income families is around 50mg per day less than in other families.

There are no naturally occurring plant species that have the capacity to synthesise long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. EPA and DHA are normally made by microscopic marine algae which are then eaten by small fish, passing the fatty acids into the food chain. Research conducted as part of the Lipgene project took key genes from algae and inserted them into oil seed. The results show that the plants were able to synthesise omega-3 fatty acids in their seed oils.

These outcomes show promise that GM-enhanced plant sources may be suitable suppliers of both protein and Omega-3 oils in manufactured aquaculture feed and that a sustainable route to overcoming the fish gap is potentially feasible.

More information about the Lipgene Project is available here.

We provide more resources for identifying innovation components for significant aquaculture innovation. Some examples of relevant innovation components found from these sources may be reviewed here.

We are building a world wide community of innovators to help overcome the massive shortfall in global fish supply. Assist visitors to your site to explore a world wide community of aquaculture innovators.

Like the Aquaculture Council of Western Australia and the European Aquaculture Society you can help us to get the word out about the Finfish Aquaculture Innovation initiative. Include a finfish button and text on your website…..

Please use these buttons:

You may also care to use some of this text to help explain the finfish initiative:

The finfish.org web site provides a communication platform for a significant global effort in aquaculture innovation. The focus of this effort is to produce industrial quantities of premium quality table fish for the world’s most competitive markets. One of the key steps in the process will be the development of a Finfish Innovation Roadmap.

The Roadmap will define productivity-transforming innovations. Through the Roadmap, appropriate entrepreneurial, corporate and innovation capabilities will be assembled to enable the innovations to be developed and applied in the marketplace.

The need has emerged due to a fish supply gap. The FAO project that the gap will be 37 million tonnes per annum by 2030.

The finfish project is seeking participants. Please visit http://finfish.org to find out more about the project and how to participate.