Upload
others
View
1
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
No. 25 - Summer 2016/2017 - The magazine of Skretting Australia
NUTERRA
OILS FOR FISH AND HUMAN HEALTH
Our global sustainability programme
SKRETTING
www.skrett ing.com.au
Nexus
™ Skretting Australia is holding its second AquaScience forum this July. Our ambition is to share with you the latest global knowledge available from our researchers at Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre, guest scientists and industry professionals to help you to continue to grow an economic and sustainable aquaculture business.AquaScience will be held in Hobart on Tuesday 25th July, and Christchurch on Thursday 27th July.
2 SKRETTING NEXUS
SUMMER DIET DEVELOPMENT
page 3
NUTERRA - GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMME
page 5
FISH OIL AND AQUACULTURE GROWTH
page 8
WHAT ARE YOU GROWING?
page 10
CONTENTS
Email: [email protected]
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.
Contact Information:26 Maxwells Road Cambridge Tasmania Australia 7170PO Box 117 Rosny Park Tasmania Australia 7018Telephone: +61 3 6216 1201
Welcome to the first Nexus edition of 2017.
Our last Nexus focussed closely on the details of our R&D portfolio. We announced that our long
wait to run controlled experiments using large salmon at high temperature was over and we were
gearing up to run our first experiment at the new Experimental Aquaculture Facility (EAF) at Taroona.
We are following this up in the current issue and have some really exciting results to share from
the first trial. While we are currently experiencing a cooler summer in the salmon farming regions of
Australasia, we are working hard to bring new innovations to the table for next summer.
With such a focus on R&D in the last edition, we thought it appropriate that this edition takes a step
back and we look at some of our bigger picture issues and activities.
We have been closely following the future supplies of fish oil and we feature the need and future
sources of the nutrients that we currently get from fish oil. We are discussing the science behind
growing fish for optimal growth and that a better understanding of what happens to feed nutrients
after they are eaten can give a better understanding of the nutrient balance in the feed.
Lastly, this edition is introducing Skretting’s new global sustainability programme, Nuterra. Skretting
will be re-branding the existing SEA program to Nuterra, but the core principals remain the same.
The Nuterra programme provides the tools required to implement our sustainability strategy
throughout the company. Sustainability - It’s not just what we aspire to do, it’s what we do. n
Skretting Australia will be releasing some new publications in the coming months, including our 2016 Sustainability Report and the 2016 Residue Report. Keep an eye on our website for more information.
While we are currently experiencing a cooler summer in the salmon farming regions of Australasia, we are working hard to bring new innovations to the table for next summerLeo Nankervis Marketing ManagerSkretting Australia
DR LEO NANKERVIS MARKETING MANAGER
About this issue
3 SKRETTING
NEXUS
TRIAL RESULTS
At the conclusion of the trial late in 2016, salmon
performance was assessed. Fish size over the
experimental period increased by an average of ~1.2
kg. Over the trial period, fish fed Diets C and D had
a significantly better feed rate compared to fish fed
the control Diet A. For Diet C, this translated into
significantly improved growth compared to the control
feed, whilst all feeds resulted in similar feed conversion
ratios (Figure 2, over page).
“The outcome of our first trial in the EAF is very
pleasing” says Nicole Ruff, Product Manager for
Skretting Australia. “The fish performed well and
both growth and feed conversion exceeded typical
commercial expectations for fish of similar size under
prolonged high temperature exposure.”
This would partly be a reflection of the experimental
system wherein fish are slightly overfed and all
uneaten food is captured, which means performance
parameters can be calculated very accurately.
However, it may also be an indication of the true
potential of these fish at higher temperatures.
AN EXCELLENT START
In our last edition of Nexus we proudly showcased the
newly built Experimental Aquaculture Facility (EAF) at
the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS),
Taroona. Since then we have run our first trial, which
investigated several new feed concepts designed to
improve the growth of large Atlantic salmon at high
temperature. We have been eagerly awaiting the
opportunity to test new diet concepts, so we spread
the net wide to get a broad feel for what feed can do
to improve salmon production during summer.
The fish for the experiment were received from
SALTAS in October 2015 and had been on-grown
successfully in the EAF stock tanks from smolt size
to approximately 1.4 kg. In April 2016, the fish were
stocked into the 7,000 L tanks. Following stocking
and acclimation, the groups of salmon were fed 3 test
diets (Diet B, C and D), which were compared against
a control feed (Diet A). Initially the fish were held at
15°C for four weeks, followed by a temperature
increase to 19°C, which was maintained for a further
10 weeks.
Figure 1. Schematic of trial design. 7000L triplicate tanks were stocked with 50 fish per tank. Fish were fed 4 different diets
1380 - 2620 g
4 weeks 10 days 10 weeks
15 - 19˚C15˚C 19˚C
DR RHYS HAULER COMMERCIAL MANAGER
Summer diet development at the EAF
Continued over page
4 SKRETTING NEXUS
A NEW SUMMER DIET ON THE HORIZON
Apart from this overall positive outcome it is even
more pleasing to see that diet can further improve
the performance of fish held under these challenging
conditions. The improved growth of salmon fed two
of the experimental feeds, particularly Diet C, is very
promising.
“We are very excited by the result and are looking
forward to offering a new feed solution for our
customers’ summer feeding strategies going forward”,
says Nicole. “Final diet validation and further refinement
will be tested in our next high temperature trial at the
EAF which will commence in a couple of months. Solid
documentation will put us in an excellent position to
launch a new summer feed in the last quarter of 2017.”
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
“As the manager of the EAF, I am very happy with how
the first full scale trial in the large experimental system
went”, explains Polly Hilder. “Fish behaviour was
excellent and apart from some minor teething problems,
the system performed very well”.
The system has the ability to tightly control environmental
parameters, particularly temperture and oxygen. This,
combined with strict feed management protocols and
accurate feed intake data, allows for great confidence in
the experimental outcomes.
“Research, as displayed in Skretting’s first trial, provides
important information to the Atlantic salmon industry
tackling climate change and culture of fish in warmer
summer waters”, says Polly. “We look forward to ongoing
trials and the continued expansion of knowledge that will
assist the production of Atlantic salmon in Tasmania.” n
5 SKRETTING
NEXUS
0.50
0.54
0.58
0.62
A B C D
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
A B C D
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
A B C D
SGR
(%bw
/day
)FC
R (g
/g)
SFR
(%)
a
*
* *
b
c
Figure 2. (a) specific growth rate (SGR, %bw/day), (b) feed conversion ratio (FCR, g/g) and (c) specific feed rate (SFR, %) of 2.6 kg Atlantic salmon at the end of the high temperature feed trial. * Denotes a significant difference compared to the control Diet A (t-test, p<0.05)
Solid documentation will put us in an
excellent position to launch a new summer feed in the last quarter
of 2017Dr Nicole Ruff
Product ManagerSkretting Australia
Facilities at the EAF
6 SKRETTING NEXUS
Through our insight as a global leader in the animal nutrition and aquaculture feed sectors, Nutreco has long held the opinion that using resources in increasingly efficient and innovative ways is the most sustainable approach to feeding the growing population. It is also apparent to us that integration of the latest technological developments into pioneering, practical nutritional solutions can have a significant impact on closing the gap between the current productivity of livestock and aquaculture species and their actual genetic potential. Equally, we support new farming practices that seek to optimise production rather than those methods that simply seek to maximise output to the detriment of the broader landscape. At the same time, to ensure that our innovations can reach their full potential, we believe it is essential that we maintain open communications with all stakeholders.
While these are very noble aspirations, we know they would be of no value and that we couldn’t hope to make an important contribution to solving the food production challenge without a strong company-wide focus on sustainable innovation.
Therefore, Nuterra – our new global sustainability programme – has been designed to live up to our responsibilities and considerable ambitions.
COMMON GOALS
With its crucial role in the aquaculture supply chain, Skretting has long put sustainability at the heart of its operations and has been heavily engaged in efforts designed to make the aquaculture industry as a whole become more sustainably viable. Indeed, right up to the point of launching Nuterra, this commitment to sustainability was successfully expressed through the Sustainable Economic Aquafeeds (SEA) programme, which identified the key sustainability issues facing the aquaculture industry and the actions Skretting was taking to address them.
“What Nuterra does is progress the sustainability agenda further still – not only within Skretting, but across the entire Nutreco business. Sustainability has been a common pillar for both the animal nutrition and aquaculture sides of the company for a long time, but most of the actual sustainability efforts in these fields have been independent actions. Even though some challenges are specific to animal nutrition and some to aquaculture, the core issues of food and feed production are the same. Essentially, Nuterra brings all our knowledge and expertise together and aligns our activities into a common, coordinated programme to move forward more efficiently and effectively,” says Trygve Berg-Lea, Sustainability Manager at Skretting.
DR JENNA BOWYER SUSTAINABILITY & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
The sustainability of food production is one of the greatest global challenges of our time. In the coming decades, the world will need to produce as much as 70% more food than at present to feed a population that is forecast to exceed 9 billion people by 2050, while we – as a population – are currently using the equivalent of 1.5 planets to support our way of life.
Nuterra: a united approach to sustainability
7 SKRETTING
NEXUS
THREE-PRONGED STRATEGY
The Nuterra Programme sets out Nutreco’s sustainability strategy and provides the tools required to implement this throughout the company. Made up of three distinct components: the Nuterra Roadmap, the Nuterra Standard and the Nuterra Product Assessment, the programme provides a more holistic approach to sustainability than Nutreco has had previously, explains Berg-Lea.
“It is designed to show us collectively where we need to put more emphasis in terms of common sustainability challenges such as climate change, and protecting life on land and in the water. It also indicates where we need to get stronger commitments both in the wider value chain and from our own teams,” he says. “Whereas historically, one of our main focuses was on the responsible use of finite marine resources, Nuterra is a more balanced programme requiring that we fully evaluate the bigger picture of such a challenge.”
The Nuterra Roadmap sets clear ambitions regarding people, planet and profit. It is an aspirational tool designed to align the company’s actions and initiatives over a period of several years. These objectives are allied with the long-term strategy goals and are built on the
programme’s four pillars: Nutritional Solutions, Ingredients, Operations and Commitment.
The Nuterra Standard is an internal tool that clearly outlines the actions needed to realise the Nuterra Roadmap, as well as to measure and score progress over time. Nutreco companies are to undertake this assessment biannually to ensure accountability in sustainability aspirations and targets.
“Having a system where you can clearly express your policies and your goals makes it much more tangible for all our teams. It encourages engagement, which leads to the identification of any ‘sustainability gaps’ and then to efforts to close those gaps. The Nuterra Standard enables our organisation to work with sustainability in much more structured and efficient ways. It also makes a major contribution to governance in this area,” says Berg-Lea.
Last but not least, the Nuterra Product Assessment is a tool that helps measure the environmental impacts and attributes of Nutreco’s nutritional solutions. It uses Life Cycle Assessment methodology to systematically evaluate the environmental aspects of using these products and services. The process of identifying what the most important sustainability attributes will be for aquaculture feeds is underway.
™
Nuterra brings all our knowledge and expertise together
and aligns our activities into a
common, coordinated programme to
move forward more efficiently and
effectively Trygve Berg-LeaSustainability Manager
Skretting
8 SKRETTING NEXUS
UNITED NATIONS ALIGNMENT
Nutreco’s Nuterra Programme is also a good fit with many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030 that were adopted by 193 United Nations (UN) member states in September 2015, highlights Berg-Lea.
“The second SDG – ‘End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’ – is very much aligned with our mission of ‘Feeding the Future’. Looking ahead, we will continue with our commitments to develop nutritional solutions and contribute to feeding a growing global population, while also reducing our environmental impact.”
Within the Nuterra Roadmap, Nutritional Solutions focuses on helping animal and farmer to perform better. Through the development of nutritional solutions, Nutreco expects to make a significant contribution to making aquaculture production more sustainable. In this regard, the focus is on four innovation areas: LifeStart, Feed Efficiency, Animal Health & Welfare, and Models & Services.
LifeStart covers specific hatchery and nursery nutrition, nutritional solutions for challenging first life stages, transition diets and broodstock nutrition.
Feed Efficiency focuses on having the knowledge and competence to meet all of the nutritional requirements of aquaculture species in order to fully utilise its growth potential. This will enable us to maximise the output of body mass (food) for a given input of feed.
Animal Health & Welfare concentrates on supporting fish and shrimp stocks against stresses such as extreme temperatures, handling and a range of parasites and diseases that can lead to negative health impacts.
Models & Services support our customers to choose feeds that best suit their unique situations and to provide advice to deliver optimum on-farm performance and maximise return on investment.
As Skretting’s aquaculture diets comprise a wide variety of ingredients sourced from all over the world, the Ingredients component of the Nuterra Roadmap creates a sustainable base for feeds and includes responsible sourcing as well as the progression of sustainable partnerships between value chain partners, says Berg-Lea.
The Nutreco Supplier Code of Conduct enables engagement with suppliers on material issues relating to their operations and to set minimum criteria relating to environmental, social and legal aspects. Based on spend, over 90% of suppliers have signed-off on their agreement to comply with the code, and it is mandatory for all new suppliers to sign. Supplier sustainability audits are performed, with an extra focus on countries and ingredients that have been identified as ‘high-risk’.
At the same time, because cooperation between value chain partners (business, government, science and NGOs) is a prerequisite to successfully addressing the sustainability challenges of the industry, Nutreco participates in various sustainable partnerships such as the Round Table on Responsible Soy, the ProTerra Network, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council and the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Responsible Supply Standard.
Meanwhile, the three goals: SDG 13 ‘Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’; SDG 14 ‘Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development’; and SDG 15 ‘Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss’ are comparable with Nuterra’s ambition to protect life on land and in the water, he says.
“The higher ambitions in the Nuterra Roadmap aim to ensure that responsible ingredients can be sourced without damaging life in the water or on the land, while still enabling Nutreco to
9 SKRETTING
NEXUS
The Operations area ensures Nutreco has its own house in order by focusing on reducing the environmental impact of operations as well as improvements within the working environment. Under the Nuterra Programme, the focus is on the monitoring and recording of five sustainability KPIs. Targets are set for each of these and results are discussed as efforts progress.
Energy – Make smarter decisions about using newer, more energy efficient equipment and processes in our factories.
CO2 Emissions – Continuously investigate options to change our energy sources to more sustainable options.
Waste – Aim to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by recycling and reusing as much as possible. Also focus on reducing the amount of products we purchase that cannot be reused or recycled.
Water – Lower withdrawals from local water sources by increasing productivity per water input, reducing wastewater discharges and their pollutant load, and reducing thermal energy consumption.
Health & Safety – Monitor our health and safety performance by registering work accidents and by continuously improving the safety of our work environment.
While innovations and operational best practice are hugely important elements in the progress of sustainability, Nutreco believes the agenda can only be meaningfully progressed through communication and dialogue with stakeholders.
As well as hosting the two biennial conferences, AgriVision and AquaVision, that bring together key stakeholders from the international feed-to-food chain to discuss global feed, food and business related topics, Nutreco is also heavily involved in community development. This is through the recognition that many farmers in developing markets are smallholders, using basic agriculture and aquaculture methods.
The company has also identified that an important component in the global challenge of sustainably feeding a growing population is to improve the productivity and sustainability of these farms’ farming methods. Therefore, through local community development programmes and partnerships with local governments, NGOs, universities and other companies, Nutreco is sharing its knowledge and expertise. Current programmes include a project in Nigeria helping to raise the livelihoods of as many as 1,000 small catfish farmers.
continue to play a key role in the expansion of sustainable food production for many years to come.”
Over the coming months, the team at Skretting Australia will be communicating more about our Nuterra programme, including the pending publication of our 2016 Skretting Australia
Sustainability Report. n
For more information now, please visit our website
www.skretting.com/en-AU/sustainability
10 SKRETTING NEXUS
Fish oil: is this the
limit to industry growth?
For many people the compelling argument to eat fish is its health benefits. From brain and eye development to anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular health, the benefits of the oils ingested through eating fish are many. One of the greatest ironies is that this could also be one of the limits to the growth of the aquaculture industry.DR LEO NANKERVIS MARKETING MANAGER
11 SKRETTING
NEXUS
CURRENT STATUS
Global fish oil production has not increased for the last 15
years, while farmed fish volumes have increased by more
than 25% over the same period (IFFO/FAO). This growth
has been possible by firstly taking up a larger proportion of
global fish oil supply and secondly by reducing the amount
of fish oil in aquaculture feeds.
Skretting is proud to have been at the forefront of oil
nutrition research for more than 20 years, without which fish
oil would have already imposed a ceiling on aquaculture
growth. Alternative oils have production benefits for fish,
many of them providing valuable energy in a more digestible
form than fish oil, which increases growth and improves the
conversion of feed into fish.
Better feed conversion means a more sustainable use of
feed resources, which combines with improved measures
such as fish in to fish out ratio (FIFO) to further support the
environmental credentials of aquaculture. Despite a more
rational use of fish oil, strong industry growth dictates that
fish feeds are currently the direct destination for the majority
of the world’s fish oil supply. With little prospect of increasing
fish oil volumes into the future we must ask ourselves how
we expect our industry to continue to grow while maintaining
current levels of the health promoting fatty acids EPA and
DHA in fish flesh. The answer may be found by looking
further down the food chain.
ALGAE OILS
We could be forgiven for thinking that fish oil is the source of
omega-3 fatty acids in the marine food chain, but the reality
is that fish and other vertebrates are incapable of producing
large amounts of these fatty acids. The actual source is from
marine microalgae, and it is the tendency of fish to mimic
the fatty acid profile of its diet that leads to fish oil being
such a rich source of the marine omega-3 fatty acids EPA
and DHA. Fish oil is really a reflection of the microalgae oil
content at the base of the food web.
The technology to grow microalgae to produce omega-3
fatty acids has been available for some time, but it has
not been until recently that the continued expansion of
the aquaculture industry and concurrent demands on
fish oil have prompted increased interest in its large-scale
production. While this technology may never produce
the fatty acids that we need at today’s fish oil prices, our
increasing demand on fish oil as a limited commodity is likely
to force its price upwards.
If we are to remove fish oil supply as a limitation to
aquaculture growth, while still maintaining the human health
benefits of eating fish, marine algae present an appealing
opportunity. This opportunity is fast becoming a reality, with
our aquaculture customers having the opportunity to invest
in the future of fish feeds and incorporating algae oil in fish
feed formulations in 2017.
Very low
Low
Moderate
High
Figure 1: Blood EPA and DHA levels were compiled from published literature and used to map status by country (Stark et al. (2016) Progress in Lipid Research, 63: 132-152).
12 SKRETTING NEXUS
ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF EPA AND DHA
While algae oils are closing on commercial reality, the
future may hold further choices in marine omega-3 fatty
acid supply. The alternative approach to growing algae
directly comes through identifying the genes responsible
for production of EPA and DHA from non-marine oils and
their translocation into existing oil crops. This approach
was pioneered by the CSIRO and is being commercialised
through their collaboration with NuSeed and the Grains
Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).
When commercialised, the resultant canola crop has the
potential to produce high quality oil, rich in the essential
omega-3 fatty acid DHA, and at a large scale. While
genetically modified (GM) products continue to polarise
consumer populations, published consumer surveys
indicate that the consumer health benefits of additional
marine omega-3 in fish could positively influence the
discussion against the negative implications of GM.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF EATING FISH
The health benefits of eating fish are broader than its fatty
acid composition alone. The FAO consider that vitamins A
and D, selenium, iodine, phosphorous, magnesium are all
additional benefits of fish consumption, in addition to being
an easily digestible source of protein.
Despite this, it is the fatty acid profile that receives the
most attention and is best documented in terms of human
health benefits. Despite conjecture about relative merits of
total omega-3 fatty acids or omega-3:omega-6 ratios, the
fact remains that it is EPA and DHA that have been well
documented to deliver health benefits and suboptimal intake
of these fatty acids is linked to decreased cardiovascular
health and cognitive decline.
Consumption of fish or fish oil supplements provides
humans with the majority of EPA and DHA in our diets, yet
we still do not get enough. A large proportion of the world’s
population, including Australia and New Zealand, tend to
consume low levels of EPA and DHA, as highlighted by
a recent review of blood analysis data (Stark et al. 2016;
Figure 1). This is a compelling argument to eat more fish,
but possibly also to supply the market with fish containing
higher levels of EPA and DHA.
THE FUTURE
Last year, Skretting announced the world’s first commercial
salmon feeds that were completely free of fish meal or other
marine proteins. Now, with the addition of algae oil, we
take one step closer to total independence from fish raw
materials. Fish meal and oil are likely to remain important
ingredients into the future, but the ability to make feeds
independent of their use gives us the freedom to grow. n
Sources ofEPA +DHA
Algae
Fish oil
GM crops
Alternative oils have production benefits for fish, many of them providing valuable energy in a more digestible form than fish oil, which increases growth and improves the conversion of feed into fishDr Leo NankervisMarketing ManagerSkretting Australia
13 SKRETTING
NEXUS
From its very first mouthful of food, it is critical that fish receive an optimal balance
of nutrients in order to meet their growth potential and
maintain optimal health. We deliver these nutrients in the
form of extruded fish feed pellets. The path from feed
to growth is not direct, and a better understanding of what
happens to feed nutrients after they are eaten can give a better understanding of the nutrient balance in the feed.
Feed to fish: the path to optimal growth
First, let’s start at the end product. The composition of the whole fish
at harvest size is the growth target in aquaculture. It may be the fillet
or flesh that the end consumer is interested in, but when we grow
fish we need to take into account the whole body and what each
component of the fish requires for optimal growth. All of the fish organ
systems are critical for growth and require nutrient input for optimal
growth, health and quality.
The frame for growth comes in the form of a skeleton, which sets
the potential for fish length (Figure 1). Healthy bones require the
correct balance of minerals, which has been a focus of our research
for decades, optimising the scope for growth, but also minimising
rates of malformation. The skeleton also forms a structure for muscle
attachment, and is therefore literally the architecture upon which the
fillet forms.
It is easy to assume that we are growing protein, since fish are
considered to be a meat product. In actual fact fatty fish such as
salmon have considerably more whole body fat than protein (Figure
2). Even relatively lean fish such as yellowtail contain a similar
proportion of fat and protein. Given these figures, it may come as
a surprise that fish feeds generally contain much more protein than
fat. After all, the body composition should represent the nutrients
used for growth. The simple fact is that protein growth is an inefficient
process and utilisation of proteins for energy even more so.
DR LEO NANKERVIS MARKETING MANAGER
14 SKRETTING NEXUS
Proteins are complex molecules and require several digestive steps
to release the amino acids that are absorbed from the gut into fish
blood. These are referred to as absorbed nutrients, while those that
are not absorbed are lost as faecal nutrients (Figure 3).
Absorbed amino acids are reconstructed according to the genetic
code of the proteins that the fish needs to grow, contributing to
growth or retained nutrients. Those that are not retained are broken
down for energy and result in dissolved losses of ammonia. Both of
these processes consume significant energy, in fact protein growth
is estimated to consume 15% of the energy contained within those
proteins (Blaxter 1989).
Deriving energy from protein is even less efficient, resulting in 35%
losses when converted into body fat. In contrast, the fat component
of feeds is not only very digestible, but the conversion of dietary fat
to body fat is approximately 96% energy efficient. This means that
dietary fat is a much more efficient means of delivering the energy
that is so important in optimising growth and feed conversion, while
excess protein results in elevated energy losses and less efficient
production.
If fish are consuming more energy they also consume more oxygen.
We tested this theory recently with our feed and showed that fish
consume considerably more oxygen when given a high protein feed
when compared to fish given an optimally balanced protein diet,
despite being fed the same amount and growing at a similar rate
(Figure 4).
It is important to provide fish with enough digestible protein to
support optimal growth, but above this level, energy is more
efficiently provided by dietary fat. Skretting feeds are optimised
according to extensive research into nutrient requirements at various
stages of fish growth, providing an optimal balance of protein, fat
and energy in order to grow fish most efficiently at the least cost of
production. n
Figure 1. X-ray image of a fish skeleton. Image courtesy Professor Eckhard Witten
Blaxter, K., 1989. Energy metabolism in animals and man. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Dietary fat is a much more efficient means of delivering the energy that is so important in optimising growth and feed conversion, while excess protein results in elevated energy losses and less efficient productionLeo NankervisMarketing ManagerSkretting Australia
15 SKRETTING
NEXUS
Figure 2. Harvest size Atlantic salmon (left) and yellowtail kingfish (right) whole body composition
Figure 3. Nutrient balance in fish nutrition
Ash
Protein
Fat
Moisture
Figure 4. Oxygen demand of trout fed iso-energetic feeds with different protein content
(mg/
h)
Our sustainability programmeIt’s not just what we aspire to do, it’s what we do
The sustainability challenges of food production are both significant and intensifying. In the coming decades, the world will need to produce as much as 70% more food to feed a growing world population. At the same time, farmers face ever-greater consumer demands. Through our focus on sustainable innovation we aspire to be part of the solution. As an aqua feed company with a global presence, we are ideally positioned to contribute towards the development of more sustainable food production. Nuterra, our global sustainability programme, is designed to live up to our responsibilities
and ambitions. Read more at www.skretting.com.au-en/sustainability
™