A one-day seminar hosted by leading companies in functional feed additives for aquaculture -- ADDCON, Biorigin and Phytobiotics – was held as part of the "Aquatic Asia at VIV" programme during the VIV Asia 2015 trade show held at BITEC in Bangkok, Thailand, recently.
The event had for a theme: "Safe Fish! Consumer demand drives sustainable aquaculture".
In his opening presentation, Kurt Wegleitner, managing director of Addcon, said the FAO Fish 2030 report's findings that over the next 15 years, growing demand for seafood will require aquaculture production to grow at the expense of fish caught in the wild.
Professor Wing-Keong Ng of the Universiti Sains Malaysia spoke about the use of functional feed additives in sustainable shrimp aquaculture, especially in the light of the challenges posed by emerging shrimp diseases like EMS and the misuse of antibiotics, highlighting research already done on the use of organic acids, β-glucans and phytogenics.
Dr. Tobias Steiner further explained in more detail the use of such phytogenic feed additives in aquaculture. In particular, he drew sharp distinctions between various phytogenic classes such as herbs, extracts and secondary plant metabolites. After explaining how their respective modes of action impacted an array of animal performance measures, Steiner gave a detailed explanation of the biochemical processes by which supplement types improved the performance of species such as Nile tilapia.
Dr. Malou Cuvin-Aralar of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center - Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC-AQD) in the Philippines, who also guided the seminar's proceedings, talked about sustainable formulations in aqua diets. She also discussed trade-offs involved between factors such as stocking density and animal performance, or that of scarce inputs such as fishmeal versus nutritional alternatives.
With growing demand for aquaculture products driving the industry towards intensification, it is even more necessary to produce nutritionally complete feeds sustainably as laid out, for example, in the Regional Guidelines for Responsible Aquaculture in Southeast Asia (Article 9.4.3). Feed additives, Cuvin-Aralar explained, have a valuable role to play in the economic efficiency of feeds.
Taking the customer's perspective, Dr. Prakan Chiarahkhongman of CP Thailand discussed the role of BAP (Best Aquaculture Practice) in producing safe, economically viable products for the market. He discussed how feed additives, including β-glucans can, as part of a BAP system, help manage healthy growth in fish and shrimp.
To grow health fish and shrimp, it is essential to supply them with safe feed, said Eng. D. Bulanhagui, an independent consultant from the Philippines, who provided a comprehensive lecture on the of techniques of producing safe aqua feed.
Highlighting a crucial correlation between temperature and humidity, Bulanhagui explained how this physical relationship can be used to predict feed pelleting and storage outcomes, relative to the potential danger of microbial contamination. Due to Southeast Asia's warm, humid climate, this topic was particularly relevant to the region's aquaculture stakeholders.
Finally, Dr. Christian Lückstädt, the newly appointed technical director of ADDCON, shared with the audience his experience in the use of dietary acidifiers in tropical aquaculture to produce safe feeds for healthy fish and shrimp.
The seminar closed with a podium discussion and a reception.
Presentations of all the speakers in the seminar can be downloaded from ADDCON's website: www.addcon.com/en/addcon/addcon-news/single-news/article/addcon-organises-aquatic-asia-seminar-at-viv-in-bangkok/.
