INDUSTRY NEWS
The latest Food and Agriculture Organization survey on seafood consumption has found South Korea as the most voracious consumer of fish and other seafood products in the world. The average South Korean ate an average 58.4 kilogrammes of seafood a year during the period 2013-2015, according to the study.
FAO REPORT
South Korea world's No. 1 seafood consumer
A Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) survey showed that South Korea is the top seafood consumer in the world, Yonyap News Agency has reported.
The survey, entitled "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture", found that the average South Korean consumed an average 58.4 kilogrammes of seafood a year during the period 2013-2015, followed by the average Norwegian with 53.3 kg, Japanese with 50.2 kg, Chinese 39.5 kg and Vietnamese 35.4 kg.
The study included 24 countries whose demand for seafood products was high.
The US' average yearly consumption was 23.7 kg, and that of the EU was 22 kg.
The average consumption for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development was 24.7 kg.
In the 1960s, the global average was 9.9 kg.
According to the report, the volume of fisheries demand will rise 18.4% from 39.15 million tonnes in 2014 to 46.36 million tonnes in 2025.
Asia will be the biggest seafood seller, accounting for about 67% of total exports, the report said.
IMPORTANCE OF FEED ADDITIVES STRESSED
BIOMIN paper explores profitable, sustainable aquaculture
A new white paper published by BIOMIN stresses the growing importance of feed additives in the aquaculture industry in the face of shifting consumer trends, market competition, regulation and environmental factors.
The study explores key industry trends that will accompany significant growth, as aquaculture is projected to account for nearly two-thirds of global seafood consumption by 2030.
"Fish and seafood are in prime position in terms of the battle for affordable meat protein," said Prof. David Hughes of Imperial College London, in his remarks at the 2016 World Nutrition Forum. "Farmed fish such as tilapia and pangasius are highly efficient in converting fish feed into fish meat," he said.
However, efficient production alone does not guarantee market success, as the recent decision by retailers in France, Spain, Belgium and Italy to stop selling pangasius from Vietnam shows.
"In the white paper, we explore a similar scenario in 2013-14 when the pangasius market encountered a similar rough patch", Rui Gonçalves, scientist at BIOMIN and author of the paper, stated. "These events serve as a reminder that sustainable production methods are increasingly becoming a basic requirement for exporters".
The sustainability trend is likely to continue. "By 2020, the overall quantity of fishmeal used in aquafeeds is projected to fall to levels last seen two decades ago. The number of sustainable certifications issued for aquaculture has risen from basically zero in 2004 to more than 1100 last year. At the same time, the use of chemicals and medicines has come under greater scrutiny from consumers, particularly for export to Western markets," Gonçalves said.
"Feed additives are a tool in sustainable aquaculture production that can be used to make aquaculture production more efficient, reduce the need for medicated treatments and reduce waste discharges while improving fillet quality," Gonçalves added.
BIOMIN has been at the forefront of research on the impacts of mycotoxins in aquaculture species in recent years.
VIETNAM AQUACULTURE ON THE GO!
Vietnam PM: Aim for US$10B shrimp exports in 2025…
Vietnam's shrimp sector should aim for an export value of US$10 billion in eight years' time, or by 2025, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said.
The Vietnamese leader told a recent press conference in the shrimp-producing province of Ca Mau that the shrimp industry should account for 10% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the Viet Nam News reported.
He urged commercial banks to provide sufficient capital for the industry, especially for high-tech breeding.
Vietnam has reportedly become the third-largest shrimp exporter and No. 1 exporter of giant tiger prawn in the world.
Last year, shrimp accounted for 44% of total seafood exports. It reached the highest export value of nearly $4 billion in 2014.
Giant tiger prawn and white-legged shrimp are being farmed in 30 provinces and cities including the southcentral provinces of Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and Khanh Hoa and the southwestern provinces of Ca Mau and Bac Lieu. Ca Mau hosts the largest shrimp breeding areas.
…Vietnam aiming to export fish worth US$7.1B in 2017…
The Vietnamese fisheries sector targets to export products worth US$ 7.1 billion this year, despite challenges facing it including draught, salt intrusion, trade barriers and strict requirements on quality from import markets. Last year's seafood exports were valued at US$7 billion, up 6.5% from 2015.
Agriculture and Rural Development Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam said that to attain this goal, the fisheries sector should fully tap the potentials for development of aquaculture and fishing.
He said production was still low and that therefore, the average production per hectare should be enhanced.
In 2016, Vietnam's seafood item structure remained unchanged, with shrimp still accounting for 44% of total seafood exports, tra fish 24%, marine fish 16% and tuna 7%. The country's blackish water shrimp farming area stood at 700,000 hectares, including 95,000 ha of industrial shrimp farming and over 600,000 ha for extensive farming.
The deputy minister also recommended that a development strategy be formulated for tra fish that should aim to supply markets with high-quality fish and products on which a tra fish brand name will be built.
Besides developing tra fish fillet, other value-added tra fish products should be produced, he said. Also, this sector should be more focused on the domestic market as it has many opportunities to expand in a country with a population of 90 million.
He moreover said that tra fish businesses should be proactive in selling tra fish products in supermarkets and online since Vietnamese tra fish is favored by consumers due to its quality and reasonable price.
…Vietnamese seafood exports face barriers in int'l market
Vietnam seafood exporters faces several barriers in 2017 that range from protectionism to bad media coverage, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep), vietnamnet.vn reported.
Vietnamese seafood exports last year is estimated to have reached US$7.1 billion, an increase of 8% compared with 2015, despite drought, saline intrusion and environmental disaster in four central provinces caused by Formosa's untreated waste water discharge.
The drought and saline intrusion are expected to continue to have effects on fresh-water fish breeding and have a big impact on the cultivation area and material output, the news report said.
Vietnam will also have to contend with non-tariff barriers set up by importing countries to prevent them from penetrating the markets.
An example is the importing countries' regulations on inspecting import quality. Japan, for one, examines shrimp import consignments from Vietnam to detect furazolidone, enrofloxacin and sulfadiazine.
Australia has also said it would impose stricter examination of Vietnamese seafood for biological toxins and microorganisms after reports that 11 seafood consignments from Vietnam to the EU were found to have had heavy metal concentration (cadmium and mercury) higher than the permitted level during the nine-month period from January to September 2016.
The anti-dumping duties and catfish inspection programme also remain barriers to Vietnam's catfish in the US market. With high anti-dumping duties, only two or three Vietnamese companies would be able to export products to the market, according to the report.
Bad publicity was also cited as posing a risk to Vietnamese seafood exports. Last Jan. 5, a video clip on Spanish television gave allegedly incorrect information about Vietnamese catfish.
'QUITE UNUSUAL NUMBER'
US rejects 8 shrimp shipments from Thailand, Vietnam, China in Jan.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused eight shrimp entry lines due to banned drug residues during the first month of 2017, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance.
The January figure was the highest in a month since August 2016. The eight shrimp entry lines were from Thailand, Vietnam and China.
Narong Seafood Co., Ltd. (Thailand), a company that has been on import alert for nitrofurans in its shrimp since June 13, 2016, had five entry lines refused for shrimp products contaminated with nitrofurans and veterinary drug residues—three of "shrimp and prawns", one of "shrimp chow mein dinners, mixed fishery/seafood products" and one of "stuffed pasta with shrimp (NEC), mixed fishery/seafood products".
Minh Phu Seafood Corp. (Vietnam), a company not currently on any import alert, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues.
Ca Mau Seafood Processing & Service Joint Stock (Vietnam), a company that has been on Import Alert 16-124 for enrofloxacin in its shrimp since Dec. 8, 2016, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues.
Jiachang Aquatic Product Co. Ltd. (China), a company that has not been exempted from an import alert, had one entry line refused for "seafood salad (shrimp, crab, etc.), mixed fishery/seafood products" contaminated with veterinary drug residues.
The number of entry lines refused in January for Thai-origin shrimp was quite unusual, according to the alliance of shrimp fishermen, shrimp processors and other members of the domestic industry in the eight warm-water shrimp-producing states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. Prior to that month, there had been only 17 entry lines of shrimp refused from Thailand due to banned antibiotics since 2002. Fifteen of those 17 refusals took place in 2003. "In other words, in the thirteen years between 2004 and 2016, just two entry lines of shrimp from Thailand were refused by the FDA for reasons related to banned antibiotics", the alliance noted.
All five entry line refusals from Thailand were shipped from Narong Seafood, which has been certified under the Global Aquaculture Alliance's (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) programme as a one-star shrimp processing plant. The GAA's website indicates that Narong Seafood Company's BAP certification is valid until April 20, 2017, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance.
"The entry line refusals for shrimp products shipped by Narong Seafood Co., Ltd. for reasons related to banned antibiotics are another unusual development for any Thai company", the alliance said.
Graphs from Southern Shrimp Alliance
PRICES TO REMAIN STABLE
Global octopus landings on the uptrend
Global octopus landings appear to be on an increasing trend, according to a FAO analysis.
FAO said that in 2015 landings increased by 6.7% compared with the previous year. Increases were registered in the major suppliers (Morocco, Mauritania and Mexico), while landings in Spain, Portugal and the Republic of Korea declined.
According to the Marine Affairs of Galicia, the value of octopus landings in Galicia, Spain, for the first half of 2016 exceeded €2.6 million (US$2.8 million), which is the highest level recorded since 2010. Even with significantly more product on the local market, prices have remained stable, FAO reported.
In 2015, Japan significantly increased its imports of octopus. Particularly in the first half of that year, imports increased 38.5%. However, during the first half of 2016, imports fell back by 15% to 24,500 tonnes. Main suppliers Morocco and Mauritania shipped less octopus to Japan during this period, while China increased shipments by almost 23%.
While Morocco reduced octopus shipments to Japan, it increased exports to another main market, Spain, whose octopus imports from Morocco went up by almost 17%. Imports from the second-largest supplier to Spain, Mauritania, went down by 12.5%. Total Spanish imports of octopus remained stable at 27,200 tonnes during the first half of 2016.
Octopus prices are expected to remain more stable, as the supply situation has improved, with some slight increases in global landings.
LOWER THAN HISTORICAL AVERAGES
Gulf of Mexico shrimp landings down in 2016
Some 5.8 million pounds of shrimp were landed in the Gulf of Mexico in December, roughly 34% below the prior 16-year historical average for the month (8.9 million pounds), the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) reported on Monday, Dec. 23.
"This was the lowest total of shrimp landed in the Gulf in the month of December in the years for which the Southern Shrimp Alliance has catalogued NOAA (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) data going back to 2000", it said.
For the whole year of 2016, 93.8 million pounds of shrimp were landed in the Gulf, 27.6% below the average landings for the prior 16 years (129.7 million pounds).
SSA noted some discrepancies in the volume of shrimp landed in the Gulf of Mexico, however.
For instance, the "shrimp statistics" reported by NOAA indicate that 2016 was the fourth straight year of declines in the volume of shrimp landed in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the volume reported of shrimp landed in the Gulf of Mexico in NOAA's annual publication "Fisheries of the United States" differs from the amounts reported in the "shrimp statistics."
NOAA's "shrimp statistics" report that 106.9 million pounds of shrimp were landed in the Gulf in 2015, down from 114.5 million pounds in 2014. However, the 2015 Fisheries of the United States reported that 123.9 million pounds of shrimp were landed in the Gulf in 2015 (HLSO-equivalent weight), up from 116.6 million pounds in 2014.
"It is likely that the '2016 Fisheries of the United States,' when published by NOAA, will report a higher volume of shrimp landed in the Gulf of Mexico than that reported by the 'shrimp statistics'", SSA said.
While volumes have remained significantly lower than historical averages, ex-vessel prices reported by NOAA strengthened. Western and Northern Gulf ex-vessel prices for U15 count shrimp were the highest ever reported for a December ($9.92/lb. and $9.50/lb., respectively).
The most significant price increases were again seen in 41-50 count shrimp, with ex-vessel prices in December reported as being significantly higher than in December 2015 in all regions of the Gulf and prices in the Western Gulf up to $3.15/lb. compared with $1.40/lb. in December 2015.
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
US$12.8M available for Irish fisheries strategies projects
Irish Agriculture, Food and Marine Minister Michael Creed T.D. has made the first call for applications for the €12-million (US$12.825-million) funding available under the recently launched local development strategies for the seven Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs), which were established under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Operational Programme.
"I am delighted to announce the publication of the new Local Development Strategies for our 7 FLAGs. These strategies will guide the FLAGs in best using the €12 million funding available to them under the EMFF Operational Programme", Creed said.
He said the strategies would promote and support innovative projects in their regions that foster economic growth and jobs, by adding value to seafood products and diversifying the local economies of these coastal areas toward new economic activities, particularly in the broader maritime sector.
"These new strategies have been developed by the 7 FLAGs over the course of 2016 and are the culmination of much analysis and consultation on the needs of their coastal regions and of their potential opportunities for growth and development", the minister said.
"I am also delighted to announce that the 7 FLAGs are now inviting applications within their regions to fund projects that contribute to the objectives of their Local Development Strategy", he added.
He said he had made available €2.4 million to Bord Iascaigh Mhara (Ireland's Seafood Development Agency) in 2017 and that this will be dispersed in full to the projects selected by the FLAGs in 2017 for support.
"Overall, €12 million will be available over the course of the EMFF Programme", he said.
| Shown in photo at the launch of the Local Development Strategies for the seven Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) are (from left): Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine Michael Creed TD; Jerry Gallagher, chair of North FLAG; Paddy Crowe, chair of West FLAG; Kieran Calnan, BIM chairman; Kevin Flannery, acting chair of Southwest FLAG; Finnian O'Sullivan, chair of South FLAG; Garrett O'Brien, chair of Northeast FLAG; Mary Gavin, vice chair of Northwest FLAG; Eibhlin O'Shea of South FLAG; and Noel McDonagh, chair of Southeast FLAG. |
BOOTH DOUBLE LAST YEAR'S SIZE
GAA gearing up for larger presence at Boston seafood expo
The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) will be making its presence more felt at Seafood Expo North America (SENA) this year with a larger exhibit.
SENA, North America's largest seafood trade show, with more than 1,000 exhibiting companies from over 40 countries, takes place at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from March 19 to 21.
GAA said it will exhibit at booth No. 481, which is the same as last year. However, the 400-square-foot exhibit is brand-new and double in size.
The GAA exhibit will have information on the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification programme, as well as information on GAA's pre-competitive activities including GAA membership, GOAL 2017 conference, Global Aquaculture Advocate website, Responsible Aquaculture Foundation e-learning program, MyGAA online community and GAA Films. Both MyGAA and GAA Films are new to the GAA family.
Among the events taking place are the GAA membership meeting and board of directors' meeting on March 18, BAP dialogue meeting on March 19 and premiere of GAA Films on March 19.
In addition to the exhibit, GAA has reserved Room 205C for meetings; the room is located at the west side of the BCEC, facing downtown Boston.
Following is the schedule of events released by GAA:
Saturday, March 18
10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.—GAA membership meeting, Room 205C; open only to GAA members.
12:30 p.m.—GAA board of directors' meeting and discussion, Room 205C; open only to GAA board members. Light lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 19
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.—BAP dialogue meeting, Room 205C: GAA's annual update on the BAP third-party certification programme. Among the topics on the meeting agenda are new facility growth and development, iBAP programme, market development, biosecurity area management, programme integrity and the new online portal.
Monday, March 20
1 p.m.-2 p.m.—cooking demonstration featuring four-star BAP tilapia from China, Cooking Demonstration Theatre, Show Floor, 3300 Aisle. Chef Rut of Sunnyvale Seafood/Guangdong Gourmet Products will be preparing a variety of Asian-inspired dishes featuring four-star BAP tilapia from China. Learn more about sourcing tilapia from China, responsible aquaculture and the BAP third-party certification programme. The cooking demonstration is sponsored by the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance. Chef Rut (Panurat Poladitmontri) has 30 years of culinary experience as a restaurateur, cookbook author, developer of Thai food product lines and foodservice consultant. Together with Judy Lew, he penned "Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook" to commemorate the Queen of Thailand's 60th birthday. He owns Harbor Café in Seattle.
4 p.m.-5 p.m.—Premiere of GAA Films, GAA booth No. 481. Join GAA for the premiere of GAA Films' first short film. GAA Films is a short film initiative setting out to highlight the untold stories of the different stakeholders in aquaculture. This first film features the life of a second-generation, women-owned farm raising trout in rural Mexico. Complimentary beer and wine will be served.
Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE
Online courses on shrimp diseases offered in Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish
The Responsible Aquaculture Foundation (RAF) is offering courses on managing major shrimp diseases at aquaculture farms and hatcheries in Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish.
The courses are translated versions of "Managing Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei at Shrimp Farms", "Managing Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei at Shrimp Hatcheries", "Managing Early Mortality Syndrome at Shrimp Farms" and "Managing Early Mortality Syndrome at Shrimp Hatcheries. They are available at http://edu.responsibleaqua.orgat no charge.
From the homepage, users can select translated versions of the page that include links to the new courses. After choosing a course, users must create an account to continue. This initial registration provides access to all available courses.
"Users around the world have already taken the RAF courses in English," RAF President George Chamberlain said. "These translations will now deliver this important information to additional regions hit by these diseases. That's our goal—to get the courses to those who need them, both online and through regional coordination with partner groups".
Hanaqua Tech Inc. recently became the first licensed supporter of the RAF Education Programme. The Taiwan-based aquafeed and technical service company has been incorporating RAF material in its customer workshops.
"RAF invites other companies to join us in supporting this programme to extend the much-needed information to affected farms", Chamberlain said.
RAF is developing additional courses to help the global aquaculture industry better manage animal and system health. Its goal is to create educational materials that address a full range of aquaculture topics.
For more information on the courses, you may contact Steve Hart at steve.hart@responsibleaqua.org.
'AN IDEAL FISH'
GAA responds to pangasius issues
The recent media spotlight on the pangasius industry has spurred the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) to address several related issues in a public statement released in February.
According to GAA, pangasius can be produced responsibly and to rigorous food-safety standards and therefore can be purchased with confidence on these grounds. Pangasius producers certified to Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standards are subject to rigorous food-safety inspection and environmental production controls. These producers have invested in their businesses to meet these requirements and should be respected for their leadership in doing so, the organisation said.
"There have been anti-pangasius campaigns, often promoted by competing seafood interests and spread on social media, that can easily misrepresent the realities. However, the claims made in these campaigns have been successfully challenged by scientific studies and published science literature...", the statement said.
Simon Bush, professor of environmental policy at Wageningen University, responded to recent developments, commenting: "Pangasius has been the subject of food scares and environmental scares, but on closer inspection the claims lack substance. Our analysis shows that the vigorous claims made about pangasius do not match the very limited safety risk and limited environmental impact observed in scientific studies. In reality, pangasius, a relatively new product in Western markets, has found an important niche in retail and foodservice outlets and is perhaps a victim of its own success".
Another scientist, Ghent University professor emeritus Patrick Sorgeloos, who has studied the life cycle impacts of pangasius, said that pangasius was healthy. He told VTM news: "In the media, the fish has wrongly been given a bad image. Research of Dutch scientists has showed that the contribution of the pangasius industry to pollution in the Mekong River is negligible."
Professor Sorgeloos also challenged the notion that pangasius undermined the market for seafood. "When pangasius made its entrance in Europe, the local fishing industry was afraid of cheap farmed fish from Asia, as they thought that consumers would buy less fish from local sources", he said. "This proved to be wrong. Pangasius is an ideal fish to start with and is very popular among families with children: it is odorless (no smell in the kitchen upon preparation), has no distinct fishy taste and few bones. The fish lowers the threshold for fish consumption, and at a later age, the same children will be interested to expand their range of fish".
Responding to claims of negative environmental impacts, GAA's BAP coordinator Dan Lee said: "Any fish species, whether in a natural or a farm setting, will interact with its environment. Pangasius is no exception and the interactions arising from production systems in Southeast Asia do have the potential to generate localised negative impacts. For this very reason, organisations such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and BAP have established production and environmental standards for farmed fish to recognise those producers who mitigate against those potential negative impacts. The standards specify the controls that need to be applied to contain the risks of biodiversity impacts, wildlife interactions, pollution and the indirect impacts associated with providing marine ingredients for feeds".
Additionally, the standards developed by GAA and ASC set controls on the use of chemicals and antibiotics to prevent any risks to the health of either the environment or the consumer. The standards have been developed following extensive stakeholder and public consultation including retailers and conservation NGOs. To verify compliance with BAP and ASC standards, independent certification bodies conduct annual inspections, with teams of trained auditors that have specialist knowledge of aquaculture and its potential impacts.
"Given the combined forces of science-based standards and rigorous, independent auditing, it is clear that certified pangasius is a responsible sourcing choice," GAA said. "As an industry, our focus can move on from questioning the environmental credentials of this product and instead be concentrating on how collaboratively we can engage to ensure the correct message is received and accepted by consumers."
FROM 1,058 TO 1,559
BAP-certified facilities increase by 47% in 2016
The number of Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified facilities jumped 47% in 2016, the Global Aquaculture Alliance has said.
The third-party aquaculture certification programme concluded 2016 with 1,559 BAP-certified processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills, up from 1,058 BAP-certified facilities at the end of 2015.
The BAP programme has more than doubled in size in the past two years, surpassing the 1,500-facility milestone at the end of November, a testament to the industry's commitment to responsible aquaculture.
At the end of 2016, there were 358 BAP-certified processing plants, up from 308 at the end of 2015. Collectively, they produce 2.27 million tonnes of shrimp, salmon, tilapia, pangasius and other farmed seafood species annually.
There were 967 BAP-certified farms at the end of 2016, up from 606 at the end of 2015. The number of BAP-certified hatcheries and feed mills stands at 162 and 72, respectively.
FOOD PRODUCTION TO DOUBLE BY 2050
MSD Animal Health joins initiative for sustainable salmon farming
MSD Animal Health (known as Merck Animal Health in the US and Canada) has announced its membership with the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI), a leadership programme by global farmed salmon producers that is focused on accelerating sustainability for salmon farming.
"The global salmon business has a very bright future with strong demand and healthy growth," Dr. Chris Beattie, MSD's head of global aquaculture, said. "We align very closely with GSI's vision of providing a highly sustainable source of healthy protein to feed a growing global population, while minimising its environmental footprint. With fish health and welfare central to the future success of salmon farming, we see a natural fit between MSD Animal Health and GSI."
By 2050, it is estimated that the world's population will increase by 34% to 9.1 billion people—doubling the demand for global food production, including fish protein. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations also estimates that about one billion people worldwide rely on fish as their primary source of animal protein. A healthy source of protein and essential fatty acids, farmed salmon is vital to balancing the needs of feeding the growing global population, and meeting the demand for healthy and sustainable protein production.
MSD Animal Health said it was committed to supporting global farmed salmon producers through a wide range of products and services for the environmentally and economically sustainable control of major aquaculture diseases around the world.
SUPPORTING MEMBER
Nutriad joins European Association of Fish Pathologists
Multinational feed additives producer Nutriad has become a supporting member of the European Association of Fish Pathologists (EAFP). The EAFP, established in 1979, is an interdisciplinary society, embracing all aspects of aquatic disease in fish and shellfish, in aquaculture and in wild stocks. It recognises the importance of direct contact between research workers and the need for rapid dissemination of information, promoting the exchange of knowledge, and assistance in the coordination of research related to fish and shellfish pathology.
The biannual conference of the EAFP is one of the most important events on fish and shellfish pathology research globally. Gathering specialists from around the world, this event is popular for both researchers and industrial partners.
Nutriad, through its specialised business unit Aquaculture, recently increased its focus on the development and commercialisation of natural health-promoting additives for fish and shrimp.
"Aquaculture producers are increasingly suffering economic losses from a wide variety of diseases and parasites which affect productivity in all regions and species. There is a growing interest in prevention strategies based on natural solutions and we are increasing our efforts in developing more specialised feed additives in this area", said Dr. Peter Coutteau, business unit director, Aquaculture.
"Recent trial results under lab and field conditions have shown promising results in critical diseases in aquaculture such as protozoan gut parasites in marine fish and white faeces syndrome in shrimp. Some of the results will be published in the coming months and will be submitted for presentation at the upcoming EAFP meeting in Belfast during September 4-7", said Dr. Mercè Isern Subich, business development manager, Aquaculture Health.
Nutriad delivers products and services to over 80 countries through a network of own sales offices and distributors. It is supported by four application laboratories and five manufacturing facilities in three continents. Find out more at www.nutriad.com.
SEAFOOD INTELLIGENCE REPORT
Cermaq most transparent seafood firm
Cermaq is once more rated as the most transparent company in the seafood business, providing customers with insight and building trust based on its leadership in sustainability, the company said.
Seafood Intelligence has released its report where the 100 largest seafood companies are scrutinised in the aspect of transparency.
"We are pleased to comment on Cermaq's performance as the firm has consistently displayed an outstanding level of transparency, since we started monitoring the salmon farming industry's performance seven years ago", said Bertrand Charron, editor of Seafood Intelligence and author of the yearly "Top 100' Seafood Sustainability Reporting & Transparency Benchmark".
Cermaq CEO Geir Molvik said sustainability, transparency and comprehensive reporting were key parts of Cermaq's operations. "Our customers show a growing attention and interest in the transparency about the products and our production. Our comprehensive and audited reporting provides customers insight and trust which is key for building partnerships".
Cermaq has been a driver for industry sustainability as one of the founding members of the "game-changing" Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) in 2013.
In the past months, Cermaq has selected a few key engagements to actively contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly "Goal 14, Life Below Water". Key partnerships include the Keystone Dialogues together with seven of the largest global seafood companies including Cargill and Thai Union. The partner companies are committed to lead the way on ocean sustainability through concrete commitments to transparency and sustainable practices in their operations and in their supply chains.
In January, Cermaq also joined the FReSH initiative to integrate sustainable aquaculture in the ongoing work to define healthy and sustainable diets, and road maps for responsible food production. This initiative is led by EAT and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and includes 25 companies including Danone and Unilever.
"These initiatives, and several others, are a clear demonstration of the firm's dedication to sustainability issues in the realm of aquaculture and fisheries. Furthermore, the seafood industry and its stakeholders – from suppliers to retailers and consumers – should take stock of the fact that Cermaq is currently the world's only seafood company to have embarked upon, not only annual but also, quarterly sustainability reporting" Bertrand Charron says.
Cermaq will publish its quarterly results for Q4 2016 shortly and the full GRI sustainability report for 2016 in April.
