Nexus. New freshwater and smolt feeds. Skretting. Nutra XP. Southern Star Aquaculture. Global tuna research. no.8 - Winter

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1 Nexus Skretting no.8 - Winter 2010 New freshwater and smolt feeds Nutra XP Southern Star Aquaculture Global tuna research

2 Nexus Contact Information: 26 Maxwells Road Cambridge Tasmania Australia 7170 PO Box 117 Rosny Park Tasmania Australia 7018 Telephone: sophie.noonan@skretting.com Cover photograph: Southern Star Aquaculture, Fitzgerald Bay, South Australia Nexus is published by Skretting and is distributed free to all our customers involved in the Australian and New Zealand Fish Farming Industry. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission of the publishers. This publication is not intended to remove the need to take advice when dealing with specific situations and readers should contact the editor before taking any action in reliance on the articles in Nexus. About this issue Stephen Scott Sales & Marketing Manager - Skretting Australia Welcome to the winter edition of Nexus. This edition provides informative articles on subjects such as our latest hatchery and transfer diets and tuna feed developments locally and around the globe. We also feature Southern Star Aquaculture, one of our customers involved in yellowtail kingfish farming in South Australia. During May our beautiful city of Hobart hosted the 2010 Australiasian Aquaculture Conference. The conference was a great success and congratulations must go to the organisors for their efforts. Skretting Australia hosted international visitors from Skretting Norway, who presented our new hatchery range. Thank all those who attended and took interest in the session. Skretting also hosted 2 mill tours at our Cambridge feed manufacturing plant. These were well attended and we received positive feedback. No conference of course would be complete without the usual Skretting social outing and we thank all those who joined us to make the night a memorable and enjoyable one. Skretting tuna research Skretting Australia has been involved with southern bluefin tuna (SBT) feed research since In the early years the feasibility of formulating moist pellets accepted by SBT was demonstrated successfully. Whilst these early diets were consumed by SBT, the pellets were not ideal. Acceptability was not high, manufacture was difficult and the moist pellets required refrigeration/freezing and were not easy to handle. Furthermore, the early trials were undertaken on a smallscale research farm with results not readily transferable to commercial farming situations. In 2001, Skretting Australia increased its efforts to manufacture a SBT diet and started the world s first commercial scale trial of a commercially manufactured feed in collaboration with Australian Tuna Fisheries Pty Ltd (ATF) and latter Blaslov Fishing Pty Ltd. Trials continued from 2001 until 2003 and investigated a number of extruded moist and dry pellet options. In general the results indicated that SBT fed manufactured pellet had growth rates that were comparable with SBT fed bait fish, FCR s that were significantly lower than SBT fed bait fish, an increase in condition index that was equivalent to SBT fed bait fish and improved flesh quality The prices paid for SBT fed commercial pellets were at least as high as for SBT fed bait fish. During 2009 Skretting Australia commenced manufacture of a new tuna diet named Aurora Gel. The new diet met the following criteria: Shelf stable product that does not require freezing/refrigeration More robust Easy to manufacture Build on the existing nutrient formulation of previous diets Maintain high energy density r e s u from this tr seen increase improved FCR of shelf life, imp quality and increase in c The new diet was produced on a trial-scale plant at Cambridge, Tasmania and shipped weekly to Port Lincoln in South Australia. Aurora Gel was packaged in bags that had all oxygen removed. Thus, shelf life was extended beyond one month without the need for refrigeration. Results from this trial have previously been reported in Nexus, with increased growth, improved FCR, a doubling of shelf life, improved flesh quality and a greater increase in condition index. index 2 Skretting Nexus Winter 2010

3 Global Update More recently, Skretting Australia commissioned a tuna feed manufacturing plant in Port Lincoln, South Australia. The plant is currently producing a patent-protected feed, AquaSoft Tuna. Commercial trials involving full cages of SBT are underway. Elsewhere in the world Skretting is also investing in tuna research. In Japan, Pacific Bluefin Tuna that started out at 2kg have been feeding on AquaSoft Tuna since early These fish are currently >20 kg and doing very well. Further trials are planned in Japan for latter this year. Skretting Canada is also conducting research on Pacific Bluefin in Baja, California and investigations are underway on the possibility of feeding tuna in Mexico. In Cartagena, Skretting Spain are working in collaboration with the SELFDOTT project to produce feeds for broodstock and hatchery reared Northern Bluefin Tuna larvae. The first larval rearing trials were completed in 2009 with considerable success. More fertilised eggs are expected during 2010 when the next round of research trials will begin. Also in Europe, Skretting Italy are manufacturing AquaSoft Tuna for feed trials in Zadar and Dardanelles. In Turkey and Croatia, small scale trials of AquaSoft Tuna on larger Northern Bluefin Tuna have been completed and more are planned using an improved product based on production changes that were optimised in Australia. Skretting companies around the world are supported by the Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC) in Norway. This world renowned research institute focuses not only on nutrition but also on feed production technology, fish health, consumer safety and productivity. Skretting s u l t s trial have sed growth, R, a doubling mproved flesh a greater in condition x is committed to developing a successful tuna diet and concurrent research efforts around the globe are speeding up developments. Skretting Australia is taking a leading role in developing AquaSoft Tuna and is also actively involved with larval rearing trials currently being conducted by Clean Seas Tuna at the hatchery in Arno Bay, South Australia. Specialty larval tuna diets have been manufactured by Skretting France, these diets along with other specifically formulated feeds manufactured in Tasmania. During 2010 much more tuna research will be conducted. Further results will be published in future issues of Nexus. For more information on our tuna research, please contact Gavin Shaw (gavin.shaw@ skretting.com or ). Global tuna research Eyre Peninsula, Skretting Australia Commercial trial growing out 500 tuna fed Aurora Gel. Results showed improved growth, condition index increase, FCR and flesh quality when compared with baitfish-fed tuna. New trials with AquaSoft Tuna now underway. Baja California, Skretting Canada Hatchery work on yellowfin tuna using Skretting Gemma products Stavanger, Skretting ARC Developing innovative feed technologies and nutritional requirements for tuna - for example AquaSoft and Aurora Gel. Cartagena, Skretting Spain, Zadar, Skretting Italy, and Dardanelles, Skretting Italy Growout trials for northern bluefin tuna Nagasaki Prefecture, Skretting Japan Trial feeding 500g wild-caught Pacific bluefin tuna using AquaSoft. Trial ongoing with tuna feeding strongly. Skretting Nexus Winter

4 New freshwater and smolt feeds improve salmon profitability Skretting Australia is launching a new range of specialty feeds for freshwater salmonid hatcheries and a smolt feed. The new diets, which are sold globally, offer solutions for farmers from first-feeding fry until smolt input that will help improve profitability for salmon farmers. NUTRA XP The new series begins with Nutra XP, a feed available in sizes of 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0mm, which will eventually replace Nutra ST and HP. The feed is produced at Skretting s centre of excellence in Vervins, France, on an extruder specifically designed to produce high quality fry feeds. Roar Sandvik, Global Product Manager for freshwater and smolt feeds at Skretting, explains. We have been developing Nutra XP as our next generation fry feed over the last 12 months. We have made significant developments to the product, making for a very consistent pellet with superior sinking characteristics. Trials in hatcheries have been very encouraging and the feedback has only been positive. NUTRA RC Following on from Nutra XP is the new parr feed, Nutra RC, which comes in sizes of 1.2, 1.8 and 2.3mm. This feed will eventually replace the existing Nutra Alpha. RC refers to one of the key benefits of the feed. That is its use in modern recirculation hatcheries. Rhys Hauler, Product Manager at Skretting Australia expands. New Nutra RC generates less discharge so farms with recirculation and flow-through systems which have discharge restrictions can produce more fish. Nutra RC contains a faecal stabilizer, which increases faecal viscosity, elasticity and particle size. This means that more particles can be filtered thereby reducing soluble components and overall limiting discharge. Skretting is the first to launch this type of feed, Hauler says. Nutra RC gives more efficient removal of solid particles, as Hauler puts it. In other words, the fish faeces are more solid so that these are caught in the filter instead of passing through. The benefits to recirculation hatcheries is that the carrying capacity of farms can be increased as there is less stress on the systems designed to remove suspended and nitrogenous waste. Hauler continues. The benefits are not just for recirculation hatcheries. More conventional hatcheries have also seen improvements in water quality and fish health as the waste is bound up and more easily removed from the farm. Finally, rounding out the new feed range are diets designed to assist with seawater transfer. NUTRA SUPREME AND SPIRIT SUPREME Nutra allows farm recirculation through syst discharge re to produc fish Sandvik explains. Transfer diets are not new and their benefits have been known for some time. However through extensive research undertaken at the Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC) in Norway we have identified novel micronutrients that can further assist with this physiologically challenging time. In particular once salmon go to sea it is very common to see a decline in feed intake. Nutra Supreme and Spirit Supreme specifically target this problem. These new feeds will be available in 3 and 4mm sizes. Nutra Supreme, which is designed to be used in the hatchery 5-6 weeks prior to seawater transfer, and Spirit Supreme, designed to be used for 5-6 weeks Pellet size (mm) Fish size (g) Product name Nutra XP 0.5 Nutra XP 0.7 Nutra XP 1.0 Nutra RC 1.2 Nutra RC 1.8 Nutra RC Skretting Nexus Winter 2010

5 Product Update post-transfer. Following transfer to sea, there is always a critical period before the fish reach full appetite. The length of this period has a significant impact on the profitability of growing salmon. Encouraging smolt to quickly adapt to their new seawater home and improving their feed intake has an important compound interest effect on growth. This means each fish is bigger by the time it is ready for harvesting. We can demonstrate that this ra RC rms with n and flowstems with restrictions ce more h improvement has significant cost-benefits at harvest, Sandvik explains. The feeds have been developed for use both in freshwater and saltwater. In freshwater, the growth is the same, but after transfer to sea growth improves significantly. We have measured a 12 per cent improvement in growth after two months in the sea, Sandvik says. ACTIVE NUTRITION Nutra Supreme and Spirit Supreme take transfer feeds one step further with a concept that involves strengthening the fish with health modulators including beta-glucans. Also included are active substances that affect organs and processes so that the fish are more readily able to cope with the transfer from freshwater to saltwater. Profile: Roar Sandvik Roar is 43 years old, and is a qualified marine biologist from NTNU in Trondheim (Norwegian University of Technology and Science), where he became a research assistant at the Trondheim Biologiske Stasjon. He started at Skretting in 1999, joining the team as a sales consultant. In 2001 he was promoted to product manager fresh water (hatchery), in 2002 he became product manager for specialties, in 2007 he became senior product manager Global Operations. His current title is Sales Manager fresh water. Roar is extremely competetive in a various range of sports. Last year he ran a half marathon in Stavanger and a relay race in Oslo (together with a team from Skretting). The new feeds will be launched at the Australasian Aquaculture Conference in Hobart in May this year, and will be available in the second half of Roar Sandvik will present the latest findings during the conference, and Skretting will also host a workshop for freshwater hatchery farmers that will provide a range of practical solutions and the latest developments in freshwater hatchery technology, including these exciting new feeds. For further information about these diets, please contact Matthew Bransden (matthew.bransden@skretting. com or ) Normal smolt Large smolt Nutra RC 3.0 Nutra RC 4.0 Nutra Supreme 3.0 (freshwater) Spirit Supreme 3.0 (seawater) Nutra Supreme 4.0 (freshwater) Spirit Supreme 4.0 (seawater) Skretting Nexus Winter

6 Customer Profile Southern Star Aquaculture Southern Star Aquaculture commenced operation on the Feb 1st 2001 in the Spencer Gulf, South Australia. Nine years later and the company is now one of only two yellowtail kingfish producers in South Australia and produces high quality yellowtail kingfish year round. We caught up with director, Lyndon Giles, to talk about kingfish farming and developments over the last 9 years. FAMILY BEGINNINGS Southern Star was founded by 4 family members with a background in both commercial fishing and mixed farming. In the early years, fish were stocked and grown through to harvest in 80 metre sea cages serviced by 1 boat The first fish were harvested in May 2002 at an average weight of 2.7kg. Today SSA grows around kingfish per year, supplying markets throughout Australia. The kingfish juveniles are sourced from third party hatcheries and stocked into sea cages at around 4g. The fish grow quickly and are harvest at 3.5-4kg and the lease site allows harvest of up to 300 tonnes per annum. The farm has recently had a 2 boats purpose built, the first a 12 metre aluminium feeding and Lyndon Giles, director of Southern Star Aquaculture 6 Skretting Nexus Winter 2010

7 Southern Star s picturesque site at Fitzgerald Bay in South Australia harvest boat built called the Southern Star and the second a 7 metre aluminium work boat. All fish are farmed on an aquaculture lease situated in Fitzgerald Bay which is 20 km north east of Whyalla. Southern Star also have a further 4 leases available to them, giving them potential to expand in the future with the aim of producing 1250 tonnes per year. All on-shore operations occur in Whyalla. WINTER CHALLENGES Kingfish produced in Fitzgerald bay are renowned for their high quality and the lease site aids this greatly. The lease is situated on the edge of a strong consistent current line, ensuring excellent water exchange and high dissolved oxygen levels year round. Water temperatures at the site are ideal throughout summer, autumn and spring, however, winter poses production problems. During winter water temperatures drop to as low as 11 C and yellowtail kingfish do not like water temperatures below 15 C. Good management is the key to nursing the fish through this difficult period. Research is also underway to improve feeding during periods of low water temperatures. The company employs eight staff that are all kept busy operating in all facets of the business from feeding, net changes, bathing and harvest, right though to packaging and distribution to their customers. PASSIONATE PEOPLE There is no doubt the quality of the fish produced is in part due to the enthusiasm and commitment of Southern Star s staff. Many of their customers have been purchasing fish from them for the last 8 years. Sydney fine dinning restaurants account for 70% of Southern Star s produce with the remainer Spring onion Red capsicum Spanish onion Vine ripened tomatoes Kingfish sold domestically around Australia. More recently some fish has been sent to export markets and this will be a growth area in the coming years. In the future Lyndon would like to close the full cycle of kingfish farming in Fitzgerald Bay and that means developing a hatchery capable of supplying the juveniles that they require each year. One thing that hasn t changed since the first days of operation is the marina, or lack thereof, that Southern Star uses to load feed, nets and all other operating equipment. Southern Star launch all boats and equipment from a rocky beach launch directly adjacent to their farming lease. The launch is close to the site but makes moving heavy equipment to sea very challenging and dependent on favourable weather and tides. Plans are underway for the development of a marina to service the area but until then the beach launch will be used. There is no doubt that the fish produced by Southern Star are farmed with much pride and passion. Visit their website for more information. Coriander Sea salt Pepper Olive oil Lime juice Finely dice spring onion, red capsicum, Spanish onion, tomato and Kingfish. Mix and season with salt, pepper, limejuice and olive oil. Arrange ingredients on a plate with caramelised balsamic. Place spring onion curls on top. Enjoy! Kingfish Tartare Skretting Nexus Winter

8 Product in focus Nutra XP Specialised extruder delivers superior salmon starter feed A newly-installed twin-screw Clextral extruder at the Skretting plant in Vervins, France, is producing an advanced salmon starter feed with extremely regular pellets, even down to the smallest size. The Nutra XP micro-pellets, which are available from 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm, exhibit slow sinking speed with high water stability and are now available in Norway, the UK and Australia. Roar Sandvik of the Skretting Norway freshwater team introduced the first batches of Nutra XP to Norwegian customers in March this year. Although well into the season, many of our customers were keen to try Nutra XP. They say the slow sinking and high water stability gave the salmon fry have more time to feed on the pellets and the water quality stayed good throughout. Combined with the homogeneity in pellet size, these features led to more uniform growth rates among groups of fish. Now our customers know Nutra XP works well, we expect a strong demand this winter. Mark Weir of Skretting UK took a road show around freshwater customers in Scotland to present the benefits of the Nutra XP ready for its arrival in the UK at the beginning of He explains, The improved physical characteristics in Nutra XP result from the precisely controlled extrusion technology at Vervins, which is Skretting s centre of excellence for starter feeds. Heating starches in the raw materials gives the pellets their water stability while the twin extrusion technique provides greater control over physical properties for the slower sinking speed. As a specially designed small-scale extruder, it produces very small pellets with high quality and consistent precision in size. We believe Nutra XP represents an important advance in starter feeds for salmon, offering efficient use of feed resources and good growth with uniform sized fish in each batch. Snippets AquaVision 2010 Demand for food from an expanding world population is good news for the aquaculture industry. Growth in production may be outpacing the other food sectors but there are important issues and challenges for aquaculture as it gears up to meet this demand. AquaVision 2010 is an opportunity to meet industry leaders and other stakeholders, from NGOs and legislators to processors and retailers, and debate the way ahead. talking on new technologies for aquaculture. Online registration for AquaVision 2010 is now operational and early-bird registrations gain a useful discount. Further information, the conference programme and registration is available at AquaVision 2010 will focus on ways to Enable Sustainable Growth, What Drives Perception and Driving Innovation in three half-day sessions packed with fact and opinion. Leading speakers include Albert Tacon on alternative feed raw materials, Andrew Jackson of IFFO on responsible sourcing of marine raw materials, Phillip Smith on the new Aquaculture Stewardship Council and Karl Rose, the chief strategist at Shell, on scenario planning for sustainable growth, and that is just in the first session. Other sessions feature speakers such as Dr Jingjie Chu, an expert on aquaculture perception at the World Bank Group, and Knut Molaug, CEO of the AKVA Group, When 7 9 June 2010 Where Stavanger, Norway 8 Skretting Nexus Winter 2010