Thursday, Aug. 18, 4.25 pm CET

Danish firm winning big on land-based salmon farming 'revolution'

Land-based fish farm designer and builder Billund Aqua expects its turnover -- of which 90 percent comes from contracts within the salmon industry -- to grow 20 percent annually -- and if its most exciting contract succeeds, “the growth will be incredible.”

Billund will provide the technology to Atlantic Sapphire’s ambitious land-based salmon farming project in Miami.

Construction will kick off in October this year, “and it is so big that the construction will take two years,” Bjarn Hald Olsen, CEO of Billund Aquaculture, told IntraFish.

The company has just built a land-based smolt facility for SalMar in Tromso, with an annual capacity of 15 million smolt of up to 120 grams weight.

This facility has two hatchery systems, two start-feeding systems, two fry systems and two smolt systems, with water treatment divisions, oxygen generators and temperature regulators.

“It is very exciting, a very interesting project,” Hald Olsen said.

However, the Atlantic Sapphire full-size salmon farm will mark the biggest facility in the history of land-based farming, he said.

“It is the first project of this kind, we have already worked with the owners of the plant in a smaller, land-based farm we built in Denmark in 2012, so we are very confident about their knowledge and how they operate,” Hald Olsen said.

“It is important for us that our clients have experience and are educated in this sector, it’s a win-win if they are successful.”

The land-based farming revolution is coming, he said, especially in countries with limited water resources, to which exports are expensive but consumption is high.

--Lola Navarro

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Thursday, Aug. 18, 2.47 pm CET

Remote farming an increasing trend

There is a growing interest, especially in Norway, to communicate with different farming centers far away from each other in order to centralize and concentrate control of all operations.

This trend goes hand-in-hand with staff specialization, especially in the feeding process.

“Right now, companies are stepping away from having people feeding in a site and moving on to another task as part of their daily routine,” Oscar Proessel, former sales manager of Steinsvik and now managing director of Steinsvik Mediterranean, told IntraFish.

“It is becoming more normal that a specialized member of staff arrives in the office, and from his control room feeds many sites at the same time, in some cases up to 16 sites are being fed by one person remotely."

The idea is that the operator follows closely and records any changes in any center, without the distraction of other activities, allowing him to gain behavioural knowledge of the fish, and to swiftly react to factors such as oxygen reduction, temperature changes or proximity of predators.

“Salmon has the best feed conversion in the farming industry, but unlike beef, or chicken or pork, whatever feed is not eaten immediately goes to the bottom and is wasted,” Proessel said.

“It is important that a person is solely focused on these changes and reduces feed doses whenever a factor is likely to affect the appetite of the fish, this is more and more common in Norway, and it will be soon implemented in Chile.”

--Lola Navarro

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Thursday, Aug. 18, 1.30 pm CET

Good times for land-based operations

AquaMaof Aquaculture Technologies, an indoor aquaculture technology company with production, systems and operations solutions for fish farming around the world, has had the highest interest ever this year at AquaNor.

“There were not people just browsing, passing by, there were investors actually willing to make business, to enter the industry, to put money in, it’s been a very, very successful show,” Yoav Dagan, vice president at the company, told IntraFish.

The technology is ready, and AquaMaof offers farmers around the world knowledge and advice and is putting much effort in showing that fish can be farmed and grown at lower costs at full-size and without altering its taste.

Among the projects the group is working on is Per Grieg's planned massive salmon farming operation in Placentia Bay in Eastern Canada, though the project has been the subject of a recent court battle.

It's not just AquaMaof -- the stands of companies such as Pentair, Billund, Akva and Veolia were all buzzing as investors increasingly vie for a slice of the land-based aquaculture revolution.

--Lola Navarro

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Thursday, Aug. 18, 12.47 pm CET

Pentair launches new oxygen sensor tech

Equipment manufacturer Pentair will soon be launching an oxygen sensor system for hatcheries based on a technology not commonly used in aquaculture.

“Normally oxygen sensors use a galvanic cell to produce a flow that helps determine the proportion of oxygen, but we are launching an optical system, another example of how we implement innovation to improve the current tools available,” Joe McElwee, North American sales manager of commercial aquaculture at Pentair, told IntraFish.

The company has increased its client portfolio and received number of orders over the past two years in key markets. Chile, Europe, Norway, Canada and the United States, Tasmania and New Zealand are now strategic growing areas.

“It is not anymore about being everywhere blindly," McElwee said. "We have a strategy in these places, a more focused approach and with the aquaculture industry increasing we are establishing very well."

--Lola Navarro

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Thursday, Aug. 18, 11.08 am CET

Steinsvik opens Mediterranean branch

Norwegian aquaculture technology provider Steinsvik has landed in Spain with the long-term goal to serve other fish farming countries in the Mediterranean region, including Malta, Italy and Greece.

The company established an office in Spain and is focusing on implementing its systems at farms to clients such as Andromeda and Cooke Aquaculture's Culmarex in Spain, both bass and bream producers.

“I have found that the operations in Spanish farms are very different to what I’ve seen in other countries; different species of different sizes are farmed in one same center, something I struggled to understand at first,” Oscar Proessel, managing director of Steinsvik Spain, told IntraFish.

“It is down to demand, it is all driven by the different requirements a farmer has," he said. "Clients in Spain want fresh fish of different sizes, so I now understand how it’s done."

In Spain, there is room innovating, he said, especially in regards to feeding and monitoring systems.

Technologies used in Norway nowadays are not yet a reality in Spain, according to Proessel.

“But we are confident that we can contribute to the growth of the industry there,” he said.

--Lola Navarro

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Thursday, Aug. 17, 12.05 pm CET

Algae producer looking for breakthrough in feed

All algae is created equal, right? Not necessarily. While the feed industry is eager for non-fishmeal sources of omega-3s, algae has faced a range of hurdles from scale to high sugar prices to competition with fishmeal.

Danish group Aliga hopes it can find a place for itself in this growing -- but crowded -- market.

While major groups have focused on closed containment sugar fermentation for production, or photosynthesis in ponds, Aliga hopes to bring the best elements of the two productions together, according to the company's Sales Director David Erlandsson.

"To be really efficient and cost-effective you have to cultivate 24 hours per day," Erlandsson said.

The company's closed containment operation has just a 500-square-meter footprint, but with LED lights and biosecure facilities, the group thinks it can easily scale up to meet the needs of major clients.

The company is already supplying to some hatcheries, and was visited at its stands by two of world's three largest fish feed producers.

"The challenge has been to create large volumes of high-quality product on a consistent basis," Erlandsson said.

Major producers have to be sure the supply will not be disrupted or contaminated, he noted.

The company grows the nannochloropsis species of algae, which doubles in biomass in three days. That allows Aliga to harvest around 10 percent of its total continually.

Erlandsson is a part owner, and is backed by "very patient" investors that were looking for sustainable food opportunities.

--Drew Cherry

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Thursday, Aug. 17, 11:38 am CET

Japanese firm sees new opportunities in aquaculture

Furuno is a household name in the fisheries and maritime sectors, but when it comes to aquaculture, the company is a newbie.

Around four years ago, though, the Japanese-owned group saw a way to use its decades of expertise in the aquaculture sector.

Fish finding has been the group's stock and trade in fisheries, but the same technology can be applied to issues such as sea floor mapping -- a key issue when determining where to establish a site.

Furuno also saw another overlooked element in the sector: worker safety. The group is applying technology used in the fisheries industry to send out emergency notifications when a worker falls, Trond Strommen, managing director for Furuno Norway, said.

The more Furuno learns about aquaculture, Strommen said, the more it is realizing that the company can use its size to make a dent in the sector.

"We think we may have a lot of opportunities here," Strommen said.

--Drew Cherry

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Thursday, Aug. 17, 11.26 am CET

Scottish firms ready for growth

It is the first time Scotland has a stand at AquaNor -- a decision that was long overdue, Iain Sutherland, senior development manager at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, told IntraFish.

“We haven’t been able to build up our supply industry to a global scale," he said. "A lot of the equipment comes from Norway, and we didn’t have the feeling that there was enough interest [for Scottish equipment].

“But over the past years we have been targeting new goals," he said. "Our intention is to double salmon output by 2030. There are new opportunities, and Scottish businesses coming along so we felt it was the right time.”

The idea is to find potential international clients.

This year, a delegation of around 26 Scottish enterprises came to the event either as exhibitors or visitors, which is expected to increase further at the next AquaNor show.

--Lola Navarro

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Thursday, Aug. 17 11:01 am CET

Norway starts thinking beyond whole salmon

Tradition is a stubborn thing. Norway has, from the beginning, focused primarily on shipping whole salmon to its key markets, relying on processors to take on the next step of adding value.

That's changed somewhat over the years with the growing downstream consolidation on the part of companies such as Marine Harvest, but the country by and large hasn't seen the need to embrace simple forms such as fillets, which Chile used to build the US market.

But that could be changing, according to Kjell Arthur Lind-Olsen, sales manager at German equipment manufacturer Baader.

"There is huge interest taking place among the Norwegian salmon industry for value-added equipment, but on the other hand, when salmon prices are this high, there is a barrier," he said.

That said, Lind-Olsen predicts many more companies will make the shift toward in-country value-adding.

"Why should we send our products to foreign countries to take that additional margin?"

--Drew Cherry

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Thursday, Aug. 17, 10:48 am CET

Pharmaq to open new facility near Oslo

Zoetis-owned Pharmaq is opening a new manufacturing facility to develop virus antigens near Oslo that will help the company complement its current operations and take over new projects targeting PD, ISA and other challenging viral diseases in aquaculture.

“It will be a high-tech facility where we will develop antigens to ship them to our current facilities to create vaccines,” Morten Nardstad, managing director of Pharmaq, told IntraFish.

“It’s near our R&D facility in Oslo, and it will allow us to work on separate viral diseases," he said. "You can’t develop antigens for bacteria and for viruses in the same environment, so it’s a very important step."

The facility will be running within two months. It is a unique center and the first of its kind in the aquaculture industry.

Pharmaq plans to work with farmers in different parts of the world, and already got approval according to EU and US standards for the plant.

--Lola Navarro

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Thursday, Aug. 17, 10:42 am CET

From offshore to aquaculture

Norwegian ship manufacturer Vard saw hard times coming in the oil offshore sector, and decided to make a move into a sector that was booming: salmon, of course.

"We saw the opportunity, and a way we could use our expertise in offshore for aquaculture," said Hege Anita Akselvoll, senior vice president for corporate communications at Vard.

Vard, owned by stock-listed Italian group Fincantieri, began with a treatment vessel for Marine Harvest, which Akselvoll said the group has been very pleased with.

The company is now moving into advanced feeding systems, and using its tech know-how to link up feed barges and silos to deliver real-time information on feed levels, a job that currently is done by hand.

Vard has built a handful of other custom vessels for the aquaculture sector, and in addition constructed Havfisk's Gadus Poseidon factory trawler, which came online in 2013.

Vard is listed on the Singapore stock exchange.

--Drew Cherry

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Wednesday, Aug. 16, 4.36 pm CET

The next big sustainable vannamei producer?

The Sri Lankan government is opening up some 3,000 acres of land for farming vannamei in the north, putting a potentially major new player onto the shrimp farming map.

While the country has small volumes of shrimp production -- around 6,000-7,000 metric tons in total -- the majority of that stays domestic, and doesn’t offer the export and growth potential of vannamei, according to Taprobane Seafood Group Managing Director Timothy O’Reilly, the first company to invest in the newly opened region.

O’Reilly, together with a partner and one notable overseas minority investor he declined to disclose at this time, said the industry is now poised for growth -- if it’s done the right way.

The Sri Lankan government has resisted opening up more acreage for vannamei farming, noting the experience of Thailand and other countries that have struggled with disease and other production issues.

With the industry now green-lit for growth, O’Reilly’s group plans on using its 500 acres of allocated farming ponds to craft a sustainable sector from the bottom up.

“We want to make it a model development,” he said.

O’Reilly has traveled around the world identifying which key elements the company and its contract growers will need to have in place to achieve key certifications, starting with Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), with an eye toward Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification eventually as well.

From mangroves protection to labor conditions, the group is targeting high-end stores such as Whole Foods with its products.

O’Reilly’s group currently focuses on blue swimming crab and some vertically integrated shrimp production in its five Sri Lankan plants, and feedback from its customers encouraged him that there is indeed a demand for the product.

“A lot of buyers big in India want to take part,” he said. “We only have to look to the left and see where the vannamei revolution started.”

Taprobane will operate on a contract growing structure, providing individual buyers with stock and feed, and management help to grow to required standards.

The company expects pond construction to take place in January 2018, and the first product to come to market early in the year.

--Drew Cherry

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Wednesday, Aug. 16, 4.13 pm CET

Sri Lanka welcomes the world

The Sri Lankan aquaculture sector is on the hunt for investment, and the country’s “investor friendly” policies -- including low duties, and easy residence visas for investors and qualified employees -- have the country’s fisheries and aquaculture officials in Norway seeking companies to bring their businesses to the island country, said Nimal Chandrarathne, director general of the National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka.

Officials highlighted the country’s huge coastline, 103 rivers and 160,000 hectares of brackish water lagoons and estuaries primed for shrimp production. The country also produces small volumes of sea bass, mud crab and other novel species as well.

“If someone can come up with the technology and a good proposal, we want to hear it,” Chandrarathne said.

--Drew Cherry

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Wednesday, Aug. 16 3.06 pm CET

Investment interest growing among Chile's salmon producers

Jon Hindar, former CEO of Cermaq, addressed Chilean producers during his presentation at the IntraFish Salmon Summit.

“There are many producers from Chile at the show, and I’m sure you agree this [ the Hav Line wellboat/slaughtering vessel concept] is a great idea for the industry there,” Hindar said, referring to the long distances between farming sites and slaughtering plants in the country.

In the crowd, top executives from Chilean companies Blumar and AquaChile listened to the ideas presented.

“This is a different show, very equipment-heavy, but it’s very important for us to see what is being implemented in other countries," Victor Hugo Puchi, president of AquaChile, told IntraFish. "I am surprised by many of the ideas, and by the value some of these innovations can add to the industry.

“Any new technologies here will reach Chile soon enough, of course, always considering the differences in technological capital in both countries, but it is a great point of encounter that reinforces the industry’s ability to grow,” Puchi said.

--Lola Navarro

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Wednesday, Aug. 16, 1.48 pm CET

Salmon's harvesting revolution?

The “Hav Line Method” may not mean anything to the salmon industry right now, but when former Cermaq CEO Jon Hindar was approached to take over the role of chairman by Haugland Group and salmon exporter Sekkingstad, he jumped at the opportunity, he told attendees at the IntraFish Salmon Summit.

“My first reaction was to ask, ‘Why hasn’t anyone done this before?’” he said.

By combining harvesting, processing and transportation, the salmon farming sector could dramatically shorten the value chain to improve quality, reduce waste and make a huge positive impact on the environment.

The conventional flow of salmon farming in Norway goes from the farm to the wellboat to a processing facility to ground transportation to -- in some cases -- across a ferry.

With Hav Line, the new vessel -- designed by Warstila and under construction in the Balenciaga shipyard for delivery in July 2018 -- will be able to simply pick up, chill, harvest and move to market.

By removing Styrofoam boxes and ice, the vessel -- when used at capacity -- will remove 7,500 trailers from Norwegian roads.

The vessel will be able to process 1,000 metric tons in one trip, and equipment being developed by Optimar, Cflow and Baader should put capacity at 100 metric tons per hour.

The group is constructing a facility in Hirtshals, Denmark where grading and packing will take place. That operation will be fully built in time for the vessel to delivery.

Though the 94-meter-long vessel is not yet completed, it’s not a pipe dream. Norwegian bank DnB is financing the vessel, and Hindar and the group are confident it will work, not only in Norway, but in Chile and other regions.

--Drew Cherry

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Wednesday, Aug. 16, 1.39 pm CET

Want to reduce costs? Go digital

Digital technologies will play a big part in future salmon farming, especially when it comes to 'doing the right thing.'

Data collection will increase, which will help salmon farmers to become more efficient. Water temperature and oxygen levels can be closely monitored, and will help to predict biological or health risks or even algae blooms.

“We will see a more mature salmon industry as technologies grow,” said Dag Sletmo, senior corporate analyst at DNB.

Doing things right with improved efficiency and a better understanding of genetics and fish biology, but also knowledge on farming in relation to the environment, will improve production, sustainability and costs, Sletmo said.

--Lola Navarro

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Wednesday, Aug. 16, 1.10 pm CET

DNB: No limits to demand for salmon

The salmon industry is well positioned for the future, said Dag Sletmo, senior corporate analyst at DNB, at Wednesday's IntraFish Salmon Summit.

The growth in demand is almost seeing no limits, and he predicts this to continue for the rest of our lifetimes and beyond.

While dated technology and biological challenges stand in the way of aquaculture development, and operational costs continue to climb, new technology and digitalization will be key for the growth of the industry, he said.

There are three key technology areas in salmon farming: Internet, computing and artificial intelligence.

Sensors at farming sites sending data to the cloud, and computers analyzing and interpreting data are the key elements for data collection and efficiency in the industry, Sletmo said.

Although there are still gaps in the use of technology, digitalization will eventually help production, sustainability, and with efficiency will help the reduction of costs.

--Lola Navarro

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Wednesday, Aug. 16, 1.05 pm CET

Innovation on the fly

Jon Hindar, former CEO of Cermaq, was tasked with discussing innovation in salmon farming at the IntraFish Salmon Summit in Trondheim on Wednesday.

“That’s difficult with just five minutes -- there’s a tremendous amount of innovation going on,” Hindar said.

A surge of development on DNA, combating sea lice and incentives for sustainable growth have in large part been prompted by limits on global production and the historically high salmon prices that accompany it, Hindar noted.

“When prices go up, a lot of people in this room make tons of money, and have reason to make investments,” he said.

From land-based salmon farming to RAS in salt water to new areas such as the East Coast of Canada opening up, the result of the industry’s high fortunes have resulted in more than just richer shareholders, but in overall industry improvement.

“But do we believe innovation will continue at the same pace?” he asked. “I would argue innovation will continue to increase at this speed.”

The caveat? In Norway in particular there’s one key challenge that needs more immediate attention on the innovation front: sea lice.

“Assuming we’re solving the lice situation will be to develop new products for customers and to have better distribution systems,” he said.

--Drew Cherry

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Wednesday, Aug. 16, 11:04 am CET

Scottish equipment supplier goes international

Aquaculture supply manufacturer Gael Force is looking for potential international clients after developing what it says the right product for industry leaders.

The company unveiled its latest product at AquaNor, the SeaFeed Offshore Feeding System, developed with months-long input from salmon farmers.

The new product integrates improvements in safety for farm operators, maintenance and easy use.

“They are important improvements," Jamie Young, sales director at Gael Force, told IntraFish. "We are listening to our clients and other industry experts and introducing small changes that can up efficiency and improve operations as a whole."

Gael Force is currently evaluating potential new markets, and is willing to target “one, two, or many” salmon farming countries.

By 2018, it expects to have identified important patterns in these markets and to start developing its expansion plans.

Tuesday this week, Gael Force announced its largest single contract to date with farming giant Marine Harvest in Scotland for the supply of SeaMate 400T concrete feed barges that include the recently launched SeaFeed offshore system.

“We are taking this step and looking at international markets now because we feel that we have the right product to target them,” Young said.

--Lola Navarro

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Wednesday, Aug. 16, 10:48 am CET

Pharmaq SRS vaccine falls short on expectations

Pharmaq’s SRS live attenuated vaccine Livac was administered to 70 million Atlantic salmon in Chile in 2016, but the results were not as good as expected.

Although the first harvests of the treated salmon are starting now, there have been a few occasions of SRS infection in vaccinated fish. Infections did not reach concerning levels but led the pharmaceutical giant to continue its effort in the same line of investigation.

“The vaccine has the best results available on the market today but industry expectations were too high,” Bernard Werge, managing director of Pharmaq Chile, told IntraFish.

“We also had high expectations because the lab results were very promising but we have faced some challenges in real life," he said. "It is not the same to test it in a lab and to use in actual farming.”

The vaccine has proven to reduce mortality and to help reduce the use of antibiotics, he said. It also gives the company great hope, however, one vaccine alone won't be the solution to the problem.

“There are many factors that can cause infection, such as feed, stocking density, water temperature," Werge said. "One vaccine alone will not stop SRS."

Livac costs $0.60 per unit, compared with conventional, inactivated vaccines that sell at around $0.25 per fish.

“The big task now is to expand and get more fish vaccinated, that will be the only way to ensure mass immunity,” Werge said.

“Producers were a bit reluctant to the price at first, but they see that the vaccine in general works well and it is the best compared to other vaccines.”

--Lola Navarro

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Tuesday, Aug. 15, 3.27 pm CET

Chile, Norway hold talks on biological challenges

In the run-up to AquaNor 2017, Chilean and Norwegian aquaculture authorities held a meeting on the current biological situation of salmon farming in both countries.

Alicia Gallardo, deputy director of Aquaculture at Chile’s National Service of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Sernapesca), said collaboration and knowledge sharing is key.

On the upside, both countries are progressing in the fight against their most problematic diseases, SRS in Chile and PD in Norway, especially due higher knowledge and focus on genetic management, one of the main lines of study.

On the downside, challenges remain, viral diseases continue to be in the way of aquaculture and both countries are spending much money and making great investments in finding a cure of diseases that are more resistant than any of the treatments found to date.

--Lola Navarro

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Tuesday, Aug. 15, 3.17 pm CET

Elanco gets green light for PD vaccine in Norway

After 10 years of developing and two generations of scientists working on the treatment, pharmaceutical firm Elanco nabbed approval to sell its Clinav vaccine in Norway, the first vaccine based on nucleic acid approved in Europe for use in animal health.

The treatment has proven effective against Salmon Alpha Virus 3 (SAV 3), the virus behind the pancreas disease (PD), which is still costing south Norwegian salmon farmers millions.

Until now, other inactive vaccines have been quite effective against the disease but they have many, damaging side effects.

“This vaccine is harmless, and it has a very little impact on salmon feeding behavior, with an after-effect of mild loss of appetite of up to seven days, which is much lower than the effects other drugs have,” Antonio Ramiro, head of marketing at Elanco's Aqua Global division, told IntraFish.

The company is waiting for Norwegian authorities hand out the registration use, and salmon producers are already showing interest in it.

“They’re excited to have a new tool to fight this disease, it is unusual because they are calling us to know more about it, and not the other way around.”

Elanco expects the vaccine to have the effect that its Apex treatment has had in Canada against the Infectious Haematopoietic Necrosis (IHN) virus.

“It is based in the same technology, in Canada, there had been no reports of the virus in any of the vaccinated fish, we’re hoping to get the same results now,” Ramiro said.

--Lola Navarro

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Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2.04 pm CET

RAS demand spiking

No doubt, the interest in turnkey land-based recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS) is spiking, as evidenced by the orders stacking up for French giant Veolia.

The group today officially handed over SalMar's Follafoss smolt facility, one of several the group completed this year.

The pick up in demand for turnkey systems began around five years ago, when companies began tiring of coordinating the dozens of suppliers required to build a new operation.

"They're good at growing fish," Veolia Sales Director for Aquaculture Heidi Kyvik said. "But it's so demanding to bring these projects together."

Requests for full grow-out RAS systems are also growing, particularly from investors, Kyvik said.

But given the risks and investment required to get the systems up and running, Kyvik said the company is selective with its clients.

"There's a lot of interest, but we want to make sure it's done right," she said.

--Drew Cherry

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Tuesday, Aug. 15, 1.25 pm CET

Alltech's move into feed gives platform for salmon

Alltech's move downstream to acquire Dutch feed producer Coppens is a first step in expanding the group's footprint into new species, and in particular the salmon sector.

The group is building new R&D operations at its Germany-based facility, both to grow its capabilities in species such as sturgeon, eel and carp, but primarily to aid in growing demand among salmon companies, particularly in Norway.

Though it's early days, the Coppens acquisition shows the the company is interested in growing downstream -- at least as a means of doing hands-on testing for feed using its ingredients, according to New Aqua Division Manager Oystein Larsen.

Senior Sales Manager for Aqua Bjarne Ravnoy said while interest in feed with algae can fluctuate with fishmeal pricing, long-term the trend is on the rise for algae-based feed, in part due to consumer demand.

"The interest level is high, and it may be downstream demand that makes it really take off," he said.

--Drew Cherry

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Tuesday, Aug. 15, 1.16 pm CET

Competition keeps feed giant on their toes

Competition is the biggest challenge for feed producers. There much at stake and producers have to maintain costumers and prove their feed is the best option. Unique selling points (USPs) are needed.

“There is a trend in salmon farming to create unique salmon, to differentiate your fish, and although there are many ways to do this, feed is an important one,” Reidar Heggdal, sales manager at BioMar Norway, told IntraFish.

Products such as BioMar’s krill-based feed, or its AlgaPrime production, are two strong USPs which are seeing increasing interest.

“We knew when we started with krill that it would increase the appetite of salmon because of its similarity with copepods, and that this would improve salmon growth. But along the way we discovered further advantages for slaughter quality and fish health” Heggdal said.

“It is about improving and the high level of competition pushes you to have a strong selling point," he said. "Feed fish companies are always improving and that brings the feed industry further ahead every time.”

For feed producers, it’s not only about quality and prices, it’s also about benchmarking, a race they need to keep up with at all times.

--Lola Navarro

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Tuesday, Aug. 15 1.13 pm CET

Innovation in feed lures North American farmers

Aquaculture feed giant Skretting is celebrating the 25th year of health fish at AquaNor, and this year the company has the biggest ever portfolio of North American clients visiting the show, Trevor Stanley, managing director of Skretting in Canada, told IntraFish.

The biggest focus for salmon farmers in North America is operational efficiency, new technology for feed efficiency and growing biomass, Stanley said.

And interest is higher than ever before.

“We’ve seen our customers take advantage of new feed and operational technology, with the results that higher feed control through innovation can bring in terms of yield and biomass growth," he said.

--Lola Navarro

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Tuesday, Aug. 15, 10.29 am, CET

Cargill launches new tech for salmon quality sampling

Aquafeed giant Cargill is launching a new technology -- SalmoNIR -- for fat and color sampling of salmon.

Salmon farmers are now able to scan live fish and get results right away, saving a lot of fish, time and money, the company said.

The technology is available to all salmon farmers, and will not be tied to feed contracts.

The hardware in SalmoNIR is a hand-held device connected to a tablet PC. The system can measure fat content, chemical pigment, Salmofan and omega-3, on live salmon.

Results are "visible immediately, and the equipment accuracy is on par with expensive wet chemical analysis," Cargill said.

"This technology gives a quick and precise result, on sites," said Ketil Christensen, sales operations manager at Cargill Aqua Nutrtion Norway. "If farmers scan their fish frequently, for instance when they are counting sea lice, they will have a very good control with their quality."

SalmoNIR was developed by Cargill Innovation Center in Dirdal (formerly known as Ewos Innovation) and has been tested in the lab as well as in the field.

"We are happy to launch this product now," said Christensen. "The development has taken time, but the results are excellent. With this, our industry will save a lot of money, and enable a better quality management of the end product."

--IntraFish Media

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Tuesday, Aug. 15, 9.45 am, CET

Calysta touts breakthrough in shrimp feed fishmeal replacement

Feed ingredients producer Calysta will announce the results of a trial at AquaNor, which show shrimp fed on a diet including its FeedKind protein -- a fishmeal replacement -- have equivalent or higher survival and growth when compared to a standard fishmeal-based diet.

Click here to read the full story.

--IntraFish Media

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Tuesday, Aug. 15, 8.30 am, CET

AquaNor kicks off in Trondheim

With more than 600 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors, the AquaNor trade show in Trondheim, Norway this week will bring together not only the aquaculture powerhouses' top

Dozens of seminars will be held during the conference, but none more exclusive than our own IntraFish Salmon Summit, which will bring together top executives from the sector for a networking lunch and presentations on critical issues facing the sector.

You can register for this free event here.

--IntraFish Media

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