November 3, 2006

Zagro's worm culture

An eFeedLink Exclusive

 

After obtaining exclusive rights for the distribution of Seabait produced polychaete worms, Zagro is looking to feed the shrimp industry worldwide.

Zagro is an animal and crop nutrition supplier while Seabait is a supplier of marine worms for shrimp maturation facilities. After a successful year of partnership with Seabait, distributing their cultured polychaete worms in Asia, Zagro achieved a new high recently when it was bestowed with exclusive distribution rights to sell the same product across the globe.

"After working with us for a year, Seabait was willing to continue the relationship to the extent that they wanted to have a global distribution network with us", begins Poh. "We now cater to Mexico, Greece, Spain and many more countries", he shares proudly.

"But Asia has the highest aquaculture potential", he adds citing India, China, Vietnam and Thailand as some of the major aquaculture regions.

With biosecurity attaining a crucial place in today's shrimp and fish broodstock breeding, there is a constant fear of shrimps contracting "white spot"  disease. Not all know that this disease can be transmitted through worms, the latter being a food supplement for the maturation period of shrimp and fish broodstocks.

Wild caught marine worms are increasingly being viewed as vectors of shrimp diseases.

Seabait cultured worms, on the other hand are grown in intensive, controlled environments from individually selected broodstock and are blast frozen at the site to retain maximum nutrients and maintain the highest level of bio-security, explains Poh.

The polychaete process

Seabait's blast-frozen maturation diet starts with the polychaete Nereis virens. It is a free-living marine polychaete found on the Atlantic shores of North America and northern Europe.

The worms are grown under bio-secure conditions that optimise their production. Tonnes of juvenile worms are produced each year from individually selected broodstock of known parentage. 

Worms are then raised to market size in equally well controlled conditions, feeding on a plant and cereal-based food that is guaranteed to be free of any terrestrial animal and crustacean material.

As production and harvesting are not affected by tide, weather or season in the specially designed breeding beds, the bait produced is of uniform size and quality.
 

Poh believes Seabait's polychaetes are unique in that they have a higher lipid content, at 18.6 percent, and a higher saturated and polyunsaturated acid (PUFA) level. This, according to Zagro, ensures enhanced ovarian development leading to increased reproductive function, better broodstock fertility and remarkable improvement of egg quality

 

Another advantage of Seabait produced cultured marine worms, according to Poh, is that, "they supply true SPF (specific pathogen free) polychaete production". Zagro then distributes the polychaete worms to shrimp and finfish hatcheries in more than 35 countries.   Supply of polychaete worms, till recently was met by nature. Poh says such a process takes a longer time besides carrying the risk of spreading disease. Lately, South-east Asian counties like Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, which have seen major expansion in shrimp farming, are incidentally experiencing problems with shrimp diseases.

 SPF certification, Poh emphasises, covers all notifiable shrimp diseases. Some of these include WSV, (White Spot Virus Syndrome), TSV (Taura Syndrome virus), YHV (yellow head virus) and IHHNV (infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis virus). The worms Zagro obtains for distribution in Asia are the same as that meant for distribution elsewhere. "It's a cold marine water worm, with high lipid content, which is bred and grown in UK's Newcastle University", he tells eFeedLink.

Currently, the worms are shipped to Asia from the Seabait plant. Poh however, does not rule out the possibility of getting the technology in Asia for breeding polychaete worms.