August 5, 2013

 

Australian researchers develop Novacq™ to replace fishmeal, oil for shrimp

 

 

Australian researchers, after 10 years of research, have developed Novacq™ prawn feed additive that will grow prawns on average 30% faster, are healthier and can be produced with no fish products in their diet.

 

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO) Nigel Preston has been working with the AUD75 million (US$67 million) Australian prawn farming industry for over 25 years, and says this is a game changer for the industry.

 

"This is a major achievement for the sustainability of Australia's aquaculture industry as prawns fed this diet are not only a top quality product and reach market size faster, they also no longer need to be fed with any products from wild fishery resources. This means that Australian prawn aquaculture, already a world leader in sustainability and environmental management, is now set to become even better, and really solidifies aquaculture as a sustainable source of protein to help meet the ever growing demand for food," Preston said.

 

Until now, Australian prawn farmers needed to feed their prawns with a pellet that includes some sustainably sourced fish meal or fish oil, in order to ensure that the prawns grew fast, and healthy and high quality product for consumers.

 

CSIRO and Australian owned and based Ridley AgriProducts have announced that Ridley AgriProducts has taken a licence to produce and distribute Novacq in Australia and several South-East Asian countries. Bob Harvey, General Manager Aquafeed from Ridley AgriProducts said this means the Australian industry will soon have the opportunity to use the Novacq feed additive to boost domestic prawn farm productivity.

 

"We've seen this product in action and we know how great it is. We've conducted multiple laboratory-based trials, and in conjunction with CSIRO and a great customer of ours, Australian Prawn Farms, we have proven the effects of Novacq when commercially grown, added into a commercial prawn feed and fed to black tiger prawns in multiple full-scale commercial sized ponds," Harvey said.

 

"We are really excited to now be able to start the process of commercialising Novacq, so that Australian prawn farmers will soon be able to benefit from it. Over the next twelve months we will be up scaling production, performing additional tests and further farm-scale trials, and then to move into full-scale commercial production," Harvey added.

 

Novacq is an entirely natural food source based on the smallest organisms in the marine environment, the marine microbes which are the foundation of the marine food pyramid. It is based on over 10 years of CSIRO research to understand the natural marine microbial processes that occur in prawn farm ponds and natural marine estuaries, and the role of microbes in prawn nutrition.

 

Production of Novacq relies on the controlled production of these marine microbes. CSIRO researchers have discovered how to feed and harvest them, and convert them into a product that can then be added to feeds as a bioactive ingredient, like a dietary supplement for prawns.

 

Including Novacq in the diet of farmed prawns has shown for the first time that fish meal and fish oil can be completely replaced in the prawn diet, potentially freeing the prawn aquaculture industry from reliance on wild fishery resources. CSIRO has substantiated this through dozens of tests over the past five years, both in Australia and throughout Asia.