04/06/14: U.S. West Coast groundfish achieves MSC certification

Fishery leaders calls it: “A renewal of the social contract we have with the public”

The most diverse, complex fishery ever to enter assessment against the MSC standard anywhere in the world today was awarded MSC certification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery, following an independent, scientific assessment and significant stakeholder involvement. 

The U.S. West Coast limited entry groundfish trawl fishery occurs in the waters off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. This is a predominantly federally managed fishery, but the State of Oregon also has management responsibility for the portion of the fishery within state managed waters.  Fishing occurs year round, but is most active in the first six months, with fish landed to designated ports in each of the three states.

The certification of this fishery includes the first MSC certified rockfish species: Chilipepper rockfish (sebastes goodei); Longspine Thornyheads (sebastolobus altivelis); Shortspine thornyheads (sebastolobus alascanus); Splitnose rockfish (sebastes diploproa); Widow rockfish (sebastes entomelas); and, Yellowtail rockfish (sebastes flavidus).  It also includes the first MSC certified skate species: Longnose Skates (raja rhina).  The remaining of the 13 certified species include:  Arrowtooth flounder (atheresthes stomias), Dover sole (microstomus pacificus); English sole (parophrys vetulus); Ling cod (ophiodon elongatus); Petrale sole (eopsetta jordani); and Sablefish (anoplopoma fimbria). About 100 vessels participate in the fishery in a given year and the average annual total catch for the five year period ending in 2013 was more than 41 million pounds.

Speaking on behalf of the client group that entered the fisheries into assessment, Brad Pettinger, Director of the Oregon Trawl Commission, said: “MSC certification of this fishery is really a renewal of the social contract that we have with the public, providing assurance that we are fishing sustainably and in a manner that is consistent with the public’s high expectation.”

Dan Averill, MSC fishery outreach manager, said MSC certification is: “A proud day for fishermen in Oregon, Washington and California.” Averill noted that the fishery is managed under a catch share program that utilizes Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQ) and 100% observer coverage to better manage the multi-species fishery and said, “MSC certification confirms the rigorous management of the fishery and assures a steady and stable supply of seafood long into the future.”  Under the catch share program, all vessels fishing are required to have a federal license and are 100% accountable for their catch, which ensures that fish stocks are not overfished. 

Environmental Defense Fund worked with fishermen, fishery managers and federal officials over a seven-year period to develop the catch share program. Shems Jud, EDF’s Oceans Program Pacific Regional Director, said: “All credit goes to the trawl fishermen. In adapting to catch shares they dramatically reduced their bycatch and established the foundation for MSC certification. This announcement reinforces what a growing number of U.S. fishermen have experienced firsthand – that a system of full accountability creates the potential for a fishery to succeed both economically and environmentally.”

During the assessment, the team noted that there is an ongoing and systematic approach to reducing bycatch, and a September, 2013 West Coast groundfish IFQ progress report from 2012 by NOAA confirmed that there has been a substantial reduction in bycatch as a result of the implementation of catch shares. This is a management tool in the U.S. Magnuson Stevens Act, whereby the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) is divided into shares controlled by fishermen that results in a more efficient and flexible harvest.  The Pacific Fishery Management Council manages the fishery under the auspices of The National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Products from the West Coast groundfish complex are supplied fresh and frozen to markets along the U.S. west coast and to markets throughout the world, with Japan being the largest export market, followed by China and Canada.  Consumers enjoy these species every day in seafood dishes and recipes are available here: http://www.ortrawl.org/category/recipes/. 

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.

03/06/14: Samherji Norwegian & Icelandic herring trawl and seine fishery MSC certified

Icelandic companies, Samherji  hf and Síldarvinnslan hf (part owned Samherji hf) have been awarded MSC certificates for  both of their herring fisheries. The Norwegian spring-spawning herring and Icelandic summer-spawning herring fisheries together land just under 91,000 tonnes per year representing 24.95% of the Icelandic quota for Norwegian spring-spawning herring and 28.84% or the quota for Icelandic summer-spawning herring.

The certification includes six pelagic trawlers and one processing vessel that catches and processes fish at sea. Under Icelandic fishing law, the processing vessel carries a scientific observer at all times. All of the herring catches included in the assessment are used for human consumption, with trimmings being used for fishmeal production. Sildarvinnslan hf is the country's largest catcher and processor of pelagic species and largest producer of fishmeal and oil.

Gunnthor Ingvason the CEO of Sildarvinnslan says: “This MSC certification is an important milestone for the herring industry  as we now have both the fishery and our processing certified.   It will strengthen the herring position in overseas markets and it gives our customers verification that we are utilizing the herring stocks sustainably.  We look at this certification as a tool to strengthen our market position.” [1]

Varied markets

The main European markets for the herring are: Poland, France, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus  with Nigeria as biggest market in Africa. The fishmeal produced by Sildarvinnslan hf goes to feed producers, mainly in western Europe.

Gisli Gislason, MSC Manager for Iceland, Faroe Islands & Greenland said: “This is great news for the Icelandic pelagic industry. Samherji started and completed this assessment.  After this process started, the Icelandic Sustainable Fisheries (ISF) were founded and ISF is the main client for MSC.  Samherji is an ISF shareholder and intends to share the certificate with ISF. With wide and varied export markets, the globally-recognised MSC label will be a useful tool to market their herring as certified sustainable Icelandic fish.”

In the assessment, certifiers FCI praised the Icelandic management of the fishery which resulted in only two conditions of certification:

• A condition to develop formal harvest control rules during the certification
• A condition in relation to the management of the fishery's mackerel bycatch.

To find out more about the certification, visit http://www.msc.org/track-a-fishery/fisheries-in-the-program/certified/north-east-atlantic/samherji-norwegian-and-icelandic-herring-trawl-and-seine 

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.

03/06/14: No Time to Clam up About Oysters

‘The life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyster’ said David Hume (1711-76) a Scottish philosopher regarded as one of the most important figures in history of Western philosophy.

Some sections of the international oyster industry are being ravaged by a disease known as the Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome (POMS).  Following outbreaks in Europe and New Zealand, POMS was first detected in Australia in the Georges River near Sydney in 2010.

The opportunity to engage the world’s very best POMS experts and talk about the issue and the solutions will take place at World Aquaculture Adelaide 2014 at the Adelaide Convention Centre in South Australia, from 7 to 11 June 2014.

There are two main days of oyster farming activity at the conference plus networking and workshop events that will allow oyster farmers to engage with researchers, disease specialists and other growers. This is all aimed at supporting the business and husbandry decisions of the growers in the room.

The program on Sunday 8 June includes an Oyster Farmer’s Day session entitled ‘Survival in risky times’. There are many lessons to be learnt from the last four years of POMS and other Pacific Oyster related incidents in Australia.  This is forcing Australian growers to rethink how they proof themselves against significant business loss. The emphasis will be on looking at the business model of a US grower and their response in uncertain times, species diversification options, real time oyster stress monitors for the field, and growing methods for better survival rates.

On the morning of the second day (Monday June 9) the emphasis changes to ‘Climate change & survival’.  Disturbing patterns of water temperature and quality and severe weather have been very evident in the last two years.  This session concentrates on shellfish in a changing world, and the effect on reproduction.

Later that day the move is to look at ‘Effective production and husbandry’ which is significantly impacted by the growing environment and animal genetics. This session focuses on the impact of bacteria and algae on larval survival, the oyster's antiviral reaction and the potential to 'immunise' oysters at hatchery stage, the genetic diversity of Sydney Rock Oyster breeding lines and the effect of culture system on oysters.  The Oyster Farmer’s Day sessions are sponsored by the Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre.

World Aquaculture Adelaide 2014 is an opportunity for the international aquaculture community to present their research/work, exchange ideas and discuss a vision for the future of the aquaculture industry as they focus on the theme of ‘Create, Nurture, Grow’, reflecting the dynamic nature of aquaculture development in the region.

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.

03/06/14: FAMSUN debuts at VIV Europe

FAMSUN, the new brand of one of the famous feed machinery manufacturers--Muyang Co., Ltd., made its first public appearance outside China between May 20^thand 22^nd at VIV Europe 2014 in Utrecht, Netherlands.

As world’s demand for quality and safety foods grows, food supply chains have become more connected. Most players in agro-industry diversify their businesses and extend to upstream and downstream links in order to boost efficiency, safety and resources sustainability in operations.

“Same with that you can find what you need here and all under one roof at VIV, Muyang is trying to cope with our customers’ growth and to become a one-stop solution supplier who shares knowledge, experience and resource, provides convenient, flexible and consistent technical supports to customers and helps them grow business.” Mr. Liu Guangdao, Vice President of Muyang Co., Ltd., explained:” The new brand FAMSUN therefore is launched. It originates from ‘famous, farm, family, sun and union’, implying that we are going to build a green and healthy supply chain from farm to table together with our customers and create sustainable development.”

FAMSUN well presented itself with the fresh, blue-and-white designed booth and vivid video clips that telling story about how FAMSUN serve the farm to table industry chain as an integrated solution provider. As usual, FAMSUN brought its innovative products to the show. The SWFP66X125D Hammermill is a high capacity machine made under European standards, the MY120X2I Extruder is specialized for aquafeed production, and the MUZL1210C Pellet Mill is characterized by stable production. The impressive stand attracted thousands of visitors over three days.

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.

02/06/14: Australian Seafood Industry Products to Take Centre Stage

The Australian Seafood Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) will be unveiling a number of  impressive new products at the World Aquaculture Society Conference in Adelaide this week as part of their major sponsorship of the international event. 

Since its inception in 2007, the Seafood CRC has supported over 500 projects, advancing the knowledge and capacity of Australian seafood, and producing over 70 tangible products to date. 

Len Stephens, Managing Director of the Seafood CRC said, "It was our goal to not only support scientific research in the Australian seafood industry, but to also develop physical, practical and accessible products that seafood businesses can use right now, today". 

On Sunday 8th June, to coincide with the Oysters Farmers Day, selective breeding company Australian Seafood Industries will talk about their breeding program and the progress they have made in achieving disease resistance in Pacific Oysters. 

Also on this day, a new Kakadu Plum extract will be introduced, which has the potential to maintain the freshness of seafood, and has been proven to extend the shelf life of cooked prawns. The CRC is currently looking for commercial partners to take the product to market. 

An event to launch the Safe Packaged Seafood Guide will be held on Monday 9th June, with a mini-masterclass presented by leading researchers from the South Australian Research and Development Institute. 

The Super Seafood initiative will also be showcased.  This research provided the most comprehensive nutritional analysis of the key 20 Australian seafood species that Australians love to eat, filling an important gap in our knowledge of commercial Australian seafood species. A comprehensive brochure and kit, available at the Seafood CRC Trade Booth, can be used by businesses through downloadable nutrition information panels and through a consumer focused guide allowing them to share the good news about Australian seafood with their customers. 

Seafood CRC sponsored guest speakers at this year's conference will include Ian Jefferds from the American-based Penn Cove Shellfish, an expert in oyster hatchery production, multi species growing techniques as well as vertically integrated business and marketing. Also joining the line- up of aquaculture superstars is Manabu Seoka, a leading authority on tuna propagation, and the Senior Researcher at the Japanese arm of the aquaculture feed company Skretting. 

A Product Catalogue, detailing the 75 products produced to date, will also be available at the Seafood CRC booth in the trade hall (booths 117 and 127). 

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.

02/06/14: New operation manager at Biorigin

Mr. Martins has 17 years of experience in process, production and development of products in large companies in the food and packing industries. He began his path at Zilor (Biorigin´s mother company) in 2004 as an Industrial Processes Specialist and in 2007 he has taken charge of the Operations Management of UBG Plant, specializing in sugar and ethanol.

At Biorigin he will be responsible for managing Biorigin’s Pure Culture Plant, as well as its Sugar and Ethanol Plant, both located at Quatá, Brazil. 

Aiming at promoting an even higher integration between its business units and keeping the commitment with total traceability all throughout the production chain, Biorigin now has a new Operations Manager for its Brazilian Unit, César Augusto Porto Martins

César has a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering focusing on Research and Development of Chemical Processes by Universidade Federal de São Carlos (Brazil) and International Executive MBA in Business Management by Fundação Getúlio Vargas (Brazil)

 César Augusto Porto Martins

César has 17 years of experience in process production and development of products in large companies within the food (sugar, ethanol, generation and exportation of energy) and packing industries. He began his work at Zilor in 2004 as an industrial processes specialist and in 2007 he had taken charge of the Operations Management of UBG Plant, specializing in sugar and ethanol.

At Biorigin he will be responsible for managing Biorigin’s Pure Culture Plan, as well as its Sugar and Ehanol Plant, both located at Quata, Brazil.

According to Biorigin’s Director, Mario Steinmetz, “by joining in one signle management the entire productive produces, from raw materials to the final product, takes Biorigin to a distinguished market position. Through this integration we emphasize even more our commitment with 100% traceability and we keep our transparent relationship and our quality deliveries to our customers. 

 The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.

02/06/14: BioMar to make major investment in Norway

The Danish company BioMar has resolved to invest more than EUR 50 million in a new production line that will expand the company's capacity in Norway by 30%. The move consolidates BioMar's prominent position in what is the world's most advanced fish farming country.  

BioMar has resolved to expand the company's output capacity in Norway by 140,000 tonnes of fish feed per year, or by more than 30% relative to its current production capacity of about 430,000 tonnes. The company, which is owned by Danish industrial conglomerate Schouw & Co., is the world's third-largest producer of feed for salmon and generates annual revenue of more than EUR 1.2 billion. 

“Expanding our capacity is a major strategic move intended to consolidate our position in Norway. TheNorwegian market is the most advanced of its kind in the world, and it's extremely important for us to have a strong position there. The overall Norwegian market is 1.7 million tonnes today, so our capacity expansion equals just over 8% of the total market consumption. Considering the attractive historic and expected market growth, this year projected at 6% or about 100,000 tonnes, there is an ongoing need for capacity expansion,” explains BioMar CEO Torben Svejgård. 

The new production line is expected to be operational in 2016. Based on preliminary analysis, the expansion is expected to take place at the existing plant at Karmøy, but the further planning process may lead to a different conclusion. 

“We completed a major expansion of our large plant at Myre in northern Norway only three years ago, and current considerations involve the pros and cons of having an independent new unit as opposed to optimising overall operations at an existing plant. We constantly focus on process enhancement, and our new production facilities will be among the most advanced in the world complete with state-of-the-art  technology,” he continued. 

The investment will be the biggest capacity expansion ever in Schouw & Co. company history: 

“BioMar is one of the world's largest players in the fish feed market, and the company has developed very well in recent years. Aquaculture is a EUR 50 billion global market growing at stable rates of 5–7% annually. 

While Norway makes up only a relatively small part of the global market, it is the world's most advanced market and one that is essential for us. We are determined to share in the growth of the Norwegian market and see this investment a natural next step of our journey with BioMar,” Schouw CEO Jens Bjerg Sørensen emphasised. 

The 140,000 tonne capacity increase corresponds to a revenue increase of EUR 130-150 million. The decision will not influence the revenue and earnings guidance for 2014.

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.

02/06/14: Major Breakthrough Announced In Battle Against Sea Lice

Salmon eggs with improved resistance to sea lice will be made available for sale later this year by leading aquaculture firm Landcatch in a major advance for the industry.

Landcatch and its scientific partners have applied a technique known as genomic selection - a method of screening the DNA of individual fish - to identify those that are most resistant to sea lice infection, one of the biggest problems facing the aquaculture industry.

The company announced to the UK industry’s annual conference Aquaculture UK in Aviemore that several million selected eggs will be commercially available by December, in Landcatch’s next spawning, to improve the resistance of the next generation of Atlantic salmon.

Landcatch, which has its headquarters in Ormsary in Argyll, and a genetics team based in Stirling, is pioneering work in the development of genetic and genomic selection tools for improving farmed salmon.

The latest development – another first for the Scottish company - is seen as a significant step in a long road that aims to reduce sea lice numbers to such an extent that they will no longer be a problem.

Dr Alan Tinch, director of genetics at Landcatch, told delegates at the conference that the industry may never get to the stage where farmed salmon are completely resistant to sea lice, but this development is a major advance in tackling the issue.

He said: “We are excited to bring this advance in technology to market and to take a step forward in reducing the impact of sea lice on welfare and performance of salmon.”As part of a strategic initiative to improve robustness, Landcatch was the first aquaculture company to pinpoint a QTL, or major gene, controlling the resistance of salmon to Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis (IPN).

Sea lice resistance featured as high priority in this strategy. The firm’s scientists also demonstrated that sea lice resistance is inherited and can be predicted using DNA markers. The latest advance shows that sea lice resistance is controlled by a handful of DNA regions with large effects, a hundred or so regions with small effects and thousands of regions with very small effects.

The Landcatch team takes a small fin sample from each fish and use a recently-developed SNP Chip to analyse more than 100,000 markers, known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). These SNPs help scientists locate genes associated with disease and, subsequently, predict the sea lice resistance of individual fish to be used in breeding.

Dr Tinch added: “Salmon breeding takes a leap forward with the successful implementation of genomic selection for sea lice resistance.  We now have a high resolution digital quality image of the genetic value of each of our broodstock and predict with high accuracy which males and females are the most resistant to sea lice.”

Landcatch is part of Hendrix Genetics, the global, multi-species animal breeding organisation.

Collaborators in the project are the universities of Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh, (including The Roslin Institute and Edinburgh Genomics) and Affymetrix UK Ltd. The work was funded by the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.

02/06/14: Gills Creating, Nurturing, Growing

During Australian Healthcare Week 2014 recently GILLS highlighted that we should all be asking ‘Why are we not promoting good nutrition at all levels of healthcare? Pills and drugs are not necessarily the solution - education on good nutrition (especially fish & seafood) would have much greater impact.’

In the USA, 75% of the health care dollars goes to treatment of chronic diseases. These persistent conditions—the nation’s leading causes of death and disability—leave in their wake deaths that could have been prevented, lifelong disability, compromised quality of life, and burgeoning health care costs. The situation is no different in Australia.

To enhance this discussion the Seafood & Health Session of the World Aquaculture Adelaide Conference will be held on Monday 9 June and will hear from a range of researchers and commentators on this important subject.

GILLS is extremely pleased that research information only made available last week will be presented by researchers from the University of Adelaide's Robinson Research Institute who investigated the dietary patterns of more than 300 South Australian women to better understand their eating habits before pregnancy. The information confirms the importance of nutrition.

Vicki Clifton and Jessica Grieger will present on that information and will be joined by keynote speaker, Martin Bowerman (author of ‘Lean Forever’), José Fernández-Polanco and Roy Palmer. One of the presentations will also be delivered from the Committee on World Food Security High Level Panel of Experts (FAO) based on its ‘Report on Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture for food security and nutrition’.

“Seafood harvested from aquaculture is a complete nutrient package being the major source of animal proteins and micronutrients for many coastal populations and is a renewable and sustainable source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (DHA, EPA) for optimal brain development and the prevention of coronary heart disease. Additionally it is a unique and complete source of micronutrients (calcium, iodine, zinc, iron, selenium, etc.) and an important source of Vitamins (A, D, B group) generally scarce in rural diets. These are essential benefits which families should consume weekly to ensure a happy, healthy life and comply with dietary guidelines,” said GILLS Executive Director, Roy Palmer.

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.

02/06/14: Creating & Nurturing AwF for Growth

Aquaculture without Frontiers is pleased to announce its program for World Aquaculture Adelaide 2014 (WAA14) which will be taking place at the new Adelaide Convention Centre between 7 & 11 June 2014.

A Silent Auction will be held during the period of the WAA14 Trade Show and that will be our main focus for promotion and fund raising during the event. AwF volunteers will be encouraging people and companies to bid on a range of products, services and vouchers which will be detailed just prior to the event.

The session, Development, Welfare and Poverty Alleviation (AwF), has been sponsored by World Aquaculture Society (WAS) Premier Sponsor, Tyson Foods Inc., one of the world’s largest food suppliers as well as a leader in hunger and disaster relief. It will be held on Wednesday 11 June from 11.10am in Room 6 and will conclude with a meeting session before the ‘Goodbye Adelaide’ event at 5.30pm.

The session has speakers from Nigeria, India, Brazil, Seychelles, USA, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Australia and promises to cover a myriad of issues and case studies across the continents.

Of course Brazil is very much in the spotlight this month so it good to see that we will have four presentations covering small scale fish farming, the development of producers co-ops, production of Native Oysters and an overview of aquatic solutions to hunger and malnutrition in that country.

Solutions to poverty alleviation do not necessarily have to focus on creating food but can be about jobs, livelihoods and hope and the Indian presentations will take us down this path.

All together it should be a fascinating session, as AwF sessions tend to be, highlighting how many good people there are trying to solve these monumental problems. AwF Executive Director, Roy Palmer, will conclude the program by updating people with the latest information on AwF, including the promotion of the new Corporate Social Responsibility platform, and will invite people to stay to have a general meeting where we discuss the future directions of AwF.

Everyone is invited to come along and be absorbed by the goodwill, listen to the amazing stories of aquaculture activities which are making a difference in the world, and then share their ideas and concepts before we all make our way to the final event at WAA14.   

The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd.