The President and CEO of wellboat producer Ocea said his company is floating on the rising tide of the industry.

"The industry now has the capacity to invest," Bjorn Arve Ofstad told IntraFish.

Chile in particular is lifting the company up, Ofstad said. He noted his company just landed a deal for 20 new feeding systems.

"It's really booming," Ofstad said.

--Drew Cherry

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Aug. 18, 6.00 p.m. CET

Green machine

The owner of the largest algae factory in the world says algae as an ingredient in aquaculture feeds have promise for radically improving the sector -- but fish farmers need to embrace the industry now to be on the forefront of developments.

"When you think of algae, you're thinking of an industry in the embryo stage," Dr. Pearse Lyons told IntraFish.

Lyons was the keynote speaker at the IntraFish Seafood Leadership Series in AquaNor, where he challenged the salmon farming industry to think outside the box on its feed inputs.

The focus initially in the algae sector, by companies such as Proctor & Gamble and Merck, was on food supplements, Lyons said.

Alltech studied those developments early on, then watched while major oil companies began looking at algae for biofuel. "So everyone is asking, 'How do we use it?'" Lyons said. "What better industry than aquaculture, where there is a shortage of substitutes for fishmeal and fish oil." The aquaculture industry will see their fish will do well embracing algae as a part of a fish's diet, Lyons said, and his company is putting it's money where it's mouth is by investing in the Kentucky-based algae facility. "Algae is phenomenal," he said. Alltech is one of the largest animal nutrition, health and feed supplements. --Drew Cherry -------------------------------------------------------- Aug. 18, 5.00 p.m. CET Looking for a mass-market fish The aquaculture industry needs to find farmed fish that can economically serve a growing population. "We have 1 billion people hungry," Rohana Subasinghe, senior aquaculture officer at the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said at the SEA2011 conference at AquaNor. Those numbers are increasing, and the question is how to feed them. Aquaculture has the promise to answer that need, Subasinghe said. Diversity of aquaculture is a benefit for helping the sector develop on a range of scales, from farmers working on less than one hectare to major global conglomerates. But for aquaculture to meet the growing demand for food, more cost-effective fish needs to be produced. "We have to feed for the masses," he said. With nine billion people projected for the planet in 2050, "it's extremely important that we produce a fish for a social purpose," Subasinghe said. Countries that have resources, know-how and technology will be key in helping less-developed countries grow their aquaculture industry. --Drew Cherry --------------------------------------------------- Aug. 18, 4.30 p.m. CET Faster fillets<object style="height: 390px; width: 420px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/itFaZkxRGzo?version=3"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/itFaZkxRGzo?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" width="420" height="390"/></object> Marel's Finn Nikolajsen showed off his company's latest salmon processing machine, which is increasing output and allowing producers to efficiently run mixed sizes of product through. Nikolajsen said Marel sees big promise for the wild fish industry in Alaska, where sizes vary dramatically. The product will launch in the U.S. in September. --Drew Cherry --------------------------------------------- Aug. 18, 4.25 p.m. CET Pew finally repositions on aquaculture Pew's Chris Mann came under attack from Marine Harvest communications director Jorgen Christiansen this afternoon at an open panel session. "I have a hard time understanding Pew," Christiansen began. "We have a number of NGOs who understand the aquaculture industry is here to stay and would like to help improve it. "We have seem a different approach from Pew, funding activist activities and not really doing anything aside from polarizing the debate, which doesn't really make anything better. Is this still Pew's agenda?" he asked. Mann's answer indicated Pew is changing it's position. "What's done is done," he said. "I thought a more productive dialogue would be what we're doing now. I know things went on in the past, the funding of which has now ended." -- Rachel Mutter ---------------------------------------------------- Aug. 18, 4.15 p.m. CET Pew: Cumulative impact should be measured "Endless growth is in itself unsustainable," said Chris Mann of the Pew Environment Trust. Mann was speaking about the cumulative effect of aquaculture as an important measure of the sustainability of the industry. A system being used by Pew to quantify the environmental impact of aquaculture industries shows particularly that newly domesticated species fare particularly badly in terms of their sustainability. Many of these such species are being produced in Asia. "There is a big problem coming there as that industry scales up," said Mann. -- Rachel Mutter --------------------------------------------------- Aug. 18, 2.33 p.m. CET Brazil aiming for top five "We want to be one of the top five aquaculture producers in the world [in the next 20 years]," said Brazilian fisheries minister Felipe Matias. Brazil has been in close talks with Norwegian officials about securing investment over the last few days to fulfill these aims. Brazilian aquaculture grew 43.8 percent in the last two years and as the country's beef production decreases and its swine and poultry production starts to level out aquaculture certainly looks like a good investment for Brazil. -- Rachel Mutter --------------------------------------------------- Aug. 18, 1.37 p.m. CET Marine Harvest: we must work together The CEO of the world's largest salmon farmer today called for change in the aquaculture industry. "We have to move out of the trenches," Marine Harvest's Alf Helge Aarskog told a hall full of AquaNor delegates. "Polarized debate does not foster sustainable development - we must not shoot at each other," he said. -- Rachel Mutter -------------------------------------------------- Aug. 18, 12.00 p.m. CET Investing abroad Having enough sites to allow for fallowing and site rotation is one of the key considerations when investing in aquaculture abroad. "It is something we've had a lot of problems with, particularly developing countries," said Marine Farms founder Bjorn Myrseth at a conference session this morning. Suitable feed supply, good quality labor, local markets and infrastructure were amongst the other considerations Myrseth outlined. -- Rachel Mutter -------------------------------------------------- Aug.18, 11.00 a.m. CET Feeding African demand A meeting this morning is discussing the potential of aquaculture in Mozambique. Traditionally a successful fishing nation, Mozambique is now looking for foreign investment to kick start it's aquaculture industry. "Aquaculture is not a tradition in Mozambique, but we have realized we are reaching the limit of our natural catch. We need other ways to supply the market," Gabriel Mathisse, deputy fisheries minister for Mozambique, told IntraFish. Mozambique has a per capita seafood consumption of almost 8 kilos per person, but the country also wishes to increase its exports. Shrimp, tilapia, carp and catfish are the species planned. --------------------------------------------------- Aug. 17, 4.30 p.m. CET Sablefish success A Vancouver, Canada sablefish farmer is supplying the lucrative Japanese sushi market with its very expensive fish. Bruce Morton of Sablefish Canada told IntraFish that sablefish prices have risen 40 percent this year alone, due to huge demand and decidely little supply. With wild stocks decimated, restaurants in Japan, China and Europe are crying out for the fish said Morton, but due to a very difficult farming process, very few others are successfully producing the fish, he said. "We are comparable to Kona Blue and Clean Seas, but we haven't invested $65 million," said Morton. -- Rachel Mutter ------------------------------------------------- Aug. 17, 4.00 p.m. CET Brazil looking for Norwegian investment Nativ, Geneseas and BR Fish - all tilapia producers - are the three Brazilian companies whose representatives are joining Brazilian fisheries ministry officials visiting AquaNor this year. The second year a Brazilian delegation has visited AquaNor, they have come looking for new technology and investment, Nativ's Marcelo Eiger told IntraFish. Following a meeting this afternoon with the Norwegian Fisheries ministry, it looks like they may just have been successful. -- Rachel Mutter ------------------------------------------------- Aug 17, 3.30 p.m. CET Oman ready for aquaculture industry Oman is being careful to learn from the mistakes of others as it readies itself for aquaculture production, the Oman minister for Agriculture and Fisheries told IntraFish. The country has been carefully planning sites and organizing regulation for the last four years and is set to launch its licencing program in December. Shrimp, grouper, seabass, seabream and abalone are all on the cards. "We are targeting high value niche markets," said Hamed Said Al-Oufi who is at AquaNor with an Omani delegation looking for investment, researchers and consultants. Why so long in the making? "We don't want to make the mistakes that other countries have made [in growing too quickly]," he said. <iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NkvMTsPvQbw" frameborder="0"/> -- Rachel Mutter ------------------------------------------------- Aug. 17, 2.30 p.m. CET The future's green More than 100 industry execs heard the vast possibilities for the future of their business at an IntraFish luncheon today. An inspirational presentation from Dr Pearse Lyons of privately owned animal health company Alltech outlined the massive possibilities for sustainable growth in the industry. One of the focuses of this was the possibities of algae in feed. Alltech recently invested in one of the world's largest algae production plants in Kentucky, United States, finally making large quantities of algae available to the world aquaculture industry. ------------------------------------------------- Aug.17, 9.30 a.m. CET Scottish salmon export growth continue Scottish farmed salmon is continuing to show record export growth, according to latest official figures. Exports leapt by 37 percent year-on-year in the first five months of 2011 to reach almost 35,000 metric tons. The figures were released as Environment Minister Stewart Stevenson attended AquaNor. Stevenson is due to meet fisheries ministers from Norway and Chile during his visit. The Scottish delegation at Aqua Nor, which includes Scottish Development International (SDI), Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organization (SSPO), is aiming to encourage investment in the industry. "Last year salmon accounted for 36 percent of the value of Scottish food exports, while the industry also provides much-needed employment opportunities in our fragile rural communities,” said Stevenson. "It's important that we continue to promote this key product and encourage further investment in the industry, as well as working with others internationally on ways to continue improving the environmental sustainability of aquaculture." "These are areas I will be discussing with my Norwegian and Chilean counterparts, while also sharing successes Scotland has had in the development of our industry," he said. SSPO chief executive Scott Landsburgh said his organization welcomed the "joined-up approach" to attracting further investment in the sector. "The salmon farming sector has made around £150 million (€171.1 million/$246.4 million) in capital investment during the last five years - the vast majority of this has been in the Highlands and Islands. "Salmon farming is capital intensive and this initiative will help to inform future investment strategies in remote, rural economies in Scotland." --------------------------------------------------------- Aug.16, 1.30 p.m. CET Health giant expands in aquaculture Multi-billion dollar pharmaceuticals company Novartis has announced a $2.8 million (€1.9 million) expansion of its Prince Edward Island, Canada aquaculture facility. The company is consciously expanding its stake in the aquaculture industry, a sector it has been active in for 10 years. "It's a fascinating segment. It is so new and there is so much going on," Novartis Animal Health COO Folkert Kamphuis told IntraFish. While the company has a long term vision for other species, its current focus is on the salmon industry. "There are still a lot of opportunities in salmon," he said. "Tackling sealice is a phenomenal problem. It could almost stop salmon farming," said Kamphuis. <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bxGk824VtX4" frameborder="0"/> Novartis was the first company to commercialize an infectious salmon anemia (ISA) vaccine in Chile, just two years after the disease crisis hit and has since had involvement in that sector. So has Chile learned a lesson when it comes to health management of its salmon, IntraFish asked. "Yes. I think so. They have been forced to look closely at their practices and have come put stronger than they went in," he said. On which farming system is best for disease and parasite management Kamphuis said that closed containment was probably much better. "But can it be done economically?" he said. He gave IntraFish the example of Danish closed containment pig farmers who have had to export to the Japanese market to obtain the premium price needed to sustain the system. -- Rachel Mutter ------------------------------------------------------------------- Aug.16, 11.55 a.m. CET Stinkbomb A nasty smell is hanging around the show this morning. Security are busy trying to track down Norwegian environmentalist Kurt Oddekalv, who is spraying what smells like rotten fish around the halls. Not pleasant! -- Rachel Mutter ------------------------------------------------- Aug.16, 10.30 a.m. CET World needs more fish "The world needs more fish" was the message with which this year's AquaNor was opened in a ceremony attended by Norway's King Harald. Some 460 exhibitors are attending the show -- now in its 17th year -- from 26 countries. Official government delegations from Chile, Brazil, Scotland, Oman and Mozambique are amongst these international visitors. Government agency representative Lisbeth Holmefjord described the development of the Norwegian aquaculture industry as being "like a fairytale," and that future discussion will now centre on whether further growth is possible, how to ensure sustainability and how it can be developed in other ways outside of mere volumes. The mayor of Trondheim mentioned the big growth in demand for sushi in the country and how this is extending markets for Norwegian aquaculture products. With the launch of a new seaweed centre in Trondheim and further research grants in the area it is clear aquaculture is still well and truly high on the agenda for the Norwegian government. "Aquaculture will only become more important," said fisheries minister Lisbeth Berg Hansen. -- Rachel Mutter ----------------------------------------------- <a id="bpc" name="bpc">Aug. 15, 9.52 p.m. CET</a> A rainy day in Trondheim has seen delegates arriving from all over the world to discuss the latest advances and challenges in the aquaculture industry. Taking place in arguably the world's most advanced aquaculture nation, it looks set to be a busy few days, with hotels at capacity and meeting rooms chocka block. -------------------------------------------------</field><field name="notes">null</field></content></escenic>

AquaNor 2011 round-up: Aquaculture industry remains bullish