December 07, 2007

 

Aquaculture conference in Bangkok sheds light on latest developments

 

 

The adoption of new technologies has become even more critical as smaller shrimp farms were muscled off the market by larger competitors through economies of scale and pressure to comply with stringent demands for food safety and sustainability, an industry expert said.

 

Dr Chalor Limsuwan of Kasetsart University was speaking at the opening address at the  13th Aquaculture Conference Asia Pacific in Bangkok. The event, hosted by DSM Nutritional Products, was to act as a conduit for the transfer of scientific and technological research to the fish and shrimp farming industry.

 

A line-up of international speakers covered a range of new technologies.

 

Dr Sadasivam Kaushik of INRA, France spoke on nutritional genomics, a new approach to the nutrition and feeding of aqua species. Although the interaction of individual genes with specific nutrients is as yet not well understood, studies have started to yield clues as to the consequences at the cellular level of changes in diet composition when converting to diets suited to sustainable aquaculture.

 

At the conference, a new rapid detection method for shrimp pathogens involving a novel gene amplification technique was also unveiled by Wansika Kiatpathomchai from the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) at Mahidol University, Thailand.

 

Dr Kallaya Sritunyalucksana, also from BIOTEC, discussed alternate strategies for the control of shrimp viral pathogens using recombinant virus-encoded proteins, inactivated viruses and double stranded RNA. Studies by her team have discovered a new shrimp white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) binding protein called PmRab7 that has some ability to protect shrimp from WSSV infection. 

 

"Such basic work can lead to novel applications for the control of viral diseases in commercially important penaeid shrimp", said Dr Kallaya.

 

Dr Ronald Hardy from the University of Idaho, USA espoused on the potential of DDGS as an ingredient for aquafeeds, pointing out limitations of conventional DDGS, such as relatively high fibre content and poor protein digestibility.

 

However, he added that new technology has been developed to lower fibre, improve protein digestibility and increase protein content in DDGS, making some DDGS products attractive feed ingredients for shrimp, tilapia, catfish and carp species.

 

Thomas Landert from the engineering firm Buhler of Switzerland presented on the latest developments in extrusion technology. He said state of the art process technology, combined with the latest automation controls, now allows for the optimisation of the degree of cooking and product density, as well as online adjustments during operation. These developments ensure the best quality feed, irrespective of changes in raw materials or ambient conditions.

 

Ms Styliani Adamidu from the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Helliniko, Greece talked about sustainable and cost efficient feeds for marine fish species. She reviewed the potential for alternative animal proteins, plant proteins, vegetable oils and cereal grains to replace fishmeal and fish oil in carnivorous fish. 

 

Alternative feedstuffs was also the subject of the final presentation by Elizabeth Cruz-Suarez from the University of Nuevo Leon, Mexico but in relation to the nutrition of L. Vannamei in Latin America. She focused on the importance of amino acid balance, the effect of binders on feed consumption and the use of seaweed meal, poultry byproduct meal and legumes. 

 

The annual DSM Aquaculture Conference has grown each year since its inception and this year's event was attended by more than 300 delegates from across Asia.

 

Left to right: Dr Kallaya Sritunyalucksana;  Styliani Adamidu;  Thomas Landert;  Dr Jacques Gabaudan;  Dr Elizabeth Cruz;  Dr Ronald Hardy;   Wansika Kiatpathomchai;  Dr Sadasivam Kaushik