Finfish.org » salmon

Reducing Fishmeal in Aquaculture Feeds

Michelle — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:28:31 +0000

Fishmeal (Source: www.nofima.no)

According to the Nofima website, salmon can grow well on feeds utilising far less fishmeal than is currently standard.

Whilst fishmeal is a valuable source of protein, a combination of price, sustainability and flexibility factors are leading feed producers to source alternatives. Plant proteins cannot completely replace marine ingredients without affecting the performance of the farmed fish. Therefore, Nofima is investigating the issue from a different perspective – by increasing the nutritional value of the fishmeal, less product is required.

Some of the substances that make raw marine ingredients valuable are separated with water in the production of fishmeal. The water is referred to as ’stickwater’ and in order to exploit it, the stickwater is highly concentrated and returned to the fishmeal. Examples of substances in the stickwater include: free amino acids, peptides, small proteins, minerals and soluble vitamins. The production of low value fishmeal for non-aquaculture feed purposes does not include the transfer of the stickwater back to the fishmeal. This creates a surplus of stickwater that Nofima believe can be utilised in fish feed for the aquaculture industry.

For further information, please click here.

World salmon aquaculture standards to be established

Andrew — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:12:12 +0000

More than 80 of the world’s salmon aquaculture industry stakeholders – including producers, NGO representatives, retailers, government representatives and scientists – met in Edinburgh this week to move forward with developing global standards for salmon aquaculture

The aim of the standards is to minimise or eliminate the salmon farming industry’s key impacts on the environment and society.

From the innovation perspecitve, this could spell openings for solutions that directly address priority areas identified at the ‘Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue’

More details are available on fishupdate.com

Warming threatens Australian fisheries

Andrew — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:00:44 +0000

Changes in sea temperatures, currents, winds, rainfall, sea levels and extreme weather events threaten to adversely affect fish and shellfish numbers, said a report by the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Australia’s A$220 million salmon industry off the southern island state of Tasmania could be the hardest hit as salmon are already cultivated close to their upper thermal limit.

By 2030 sea surface temperatures in the South Tasman Sea are expected to rise by 0.6 to 0.9 degrees Celsius and along the northwest coast of Australia between 0.3 and 0.6 degrees Celsius, says Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.

“This report is yet another reminder that climate change imposes costs on this nation — costs not only in terms of our way of life, but in terms of the economic costs to our industries and to our communities,” said Climate Change Minister Penny Wong.

Australia’s aquaculture industries would have to adapt to climate change through selective breeding and by regulating their marine environments, said the CSIRO report.

“Australian fisheries and aquaculture management policies do not currently incorporate the effects of climate variability or climate change in setting harvest levels or developing future strategies,” said the report.

Click here to read the report

Chile Aquaculture Issues

Andrew — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:39:25 +0000

Does anyone have any information on the recent crisis in the last couple of years where fish in Chile are dieing at a very young age due to some disease. I have only heard it second hand, but am keen to understand what the real issue is and when and if it can be solved.

Sea lice and Anemia problems with Farmed Finfish

Andrew — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:56:50 +0000

Chilean Salmon farmers are under increasing pressure to manage the health of their salmon farms.

Firstly, the parasitic bacteria Rickettsia which is carried by sea lice infect the cells of Salmon. Chilean salmon ventures use a variety of antibiotics to treat this bacteria in fish farms however, at least one of these antibiotics, ivermectin, has been ban by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, the FDA tests less than 2% of salmon imported by Chile.

Secondly, Chilean Salmon farms are under siege by Infectious Salmon Anemia which is a contagious viral disease that kills up to 2% of Chilean farmed salmon. The disease is so contagious that often the whole farm population is needed to be eradicated to remove the viral disease. This disease is also prevalent in Scotland and Norway.

Supermarket chain Safeway’s reduced Chilean salmon purchases after a New York Times article about Chilean salmon sanitary conditions. Considering that the US is the biggest export market for Chile’s third biggest export, it is imperative to find solutions to these two problems.

Research into protecting salmon from climate change

Andrew — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 08:20:06 +0000

I heard a brief article on ABC News Radio on 16 September regarding a project at the University of the Sunshine Coast and Griffith University to better understand the effects of climate change on the salmon farming industry in Tasmania.

Tasmanian salmon are already reared in water temperatures approaching the upper limit of salmons’ natural range – so even minor shifts in sea temperatures due to global warming could have a dramatic effect on the local aquaculture industry.

In particular, hatching rates are predicted to drop off steeply.

Further information about the project is available from http://www.usc.edu.au/University/MediaPublications/News/MoreNews/SalmonProject.htm

The same professor is leading this project as is involved in the EU’s Reprofish project – perhaps she is a key contact for the Finfish community?

Integrated ecosystem approach to aquaculture

Andrew — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:10:29 +0000

Clearly there is concern associated with the impact of aquaculture on the ecoysystems where they are
located. 

While it is obvious that normal fishing practice removes mature fish from the ecosystem and
therefor disrupts the natural food chain, the effect of aquaculture on the ecosystem is mainly
associated with the generation of extra nutrients from waste products of the cultivated fish.
These excess nutrients can accumulate and promote microbial growth and other problems
for the fish as well causing detriment to the environment.

As an alternative to the build up of nutrients from these waste products, it is possible to
incorporate two species that can exist together in aquaculture system. For example, salmon and poryphyra
(edible seaweed such as nori) can be grown side by side, and it has actually been demonstrated
that the waste produced by the salmon can be used to meet the high nutrients need of the seaweed for optimal growth and pigmentation.

This is potentially a great solution to the waste nutrient problem as the seaweed filters the water and uses the
nutrients for growth and both the fish and seaweed can be farmed for income. Similarly, other marine creatures
 like mussels can be farmed alongside salmon. 

But how far could the integrated multi trophic aquaculture approach be taken?

Is it possible to incorporate a whole food chain of marine creatures that have economic value?

The advantages of such an approach are wide reaching and include reducing the effect on the natural ecosystem and
potentially significant reduction in costs associated with filtration and feeding and possibly labor.

Scotland Aquaculture Footprint

Andrew — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:48:14 +0000

Scotland is the second largest producer of farmed Atlantic Salmon in Europe. It has over 450 registered active finfish sites according to a July 2008 census of the Scottish Aquaculture industry. A map showing the distribution of the registered farms may be viewed here.

Salmon Farming Industry Handbook

Andrew — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:03:09 +0000

Marine Harvest web published a salmon farming industry handbook dated March 2008.

Marine Harvest states that the document has been produced to give financial analysts, investors and others an insight into the salmon farming industry and Marine Harvest’s view of the most important value drivers.

In overview the document covers:

global overview on salmon
salmon biology
salmon farming
key inputs
key global geographies
processing
supply and demand
comparisons with other protein sources
research and development

At eighty pages filled with explanatory data, tables and images I certainly found it a great introduction to the key issues in the Salmon Industry from a global perspective. It is a valuable contribution to aquaculture knowledge.

The report may be downloaded here.

National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center

Michelle — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:56:22 +0000

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service has established a National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center in Franklin, Maine. The Center is currently focusing it’s efforts on genetic improvement of Atlantic Salmon.

Form more information on the Center’s research efforts, please follow the link here.