February 24, 2015
NZ''s King Salmon to develop specific fish feed
New Zealand''s King Salmon has gathered a research group to conduct a project to improve aquaculture feed for King salmon.
The US$3.9-million project brings in researchers from Seafood Innovations Ltd (SIL), Nelson''s Cawthron Institute, the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology and Danish feed producer BioMar.
The research aims to fully understand the specific dietary requirements of King salmon and to develop a high-quality, species-specific feed that significantly improves on the generic products currently available.
The study will be supported by commercial companies that provide half the funding for the four-year project with SIL, while a research partnership supported by New Zealand''s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment will provide the balance.
NZ King Salmon is the world''s largest producer of farmed King salmon.
Its general manager of marketing Jemma McCowan, said, "We produce 55% of New Zealand''s salmon and supply around 40% of the world''s King salmon which is renowned for its high levels of healthy Omega-3s and superior culinary attributes."
SIL general manager Mike Mandeno, added, "While New Zealand salmon farming is already widely acknowledged as the world''s most sustainable, we would expect the research to deliver even greater advantages in this area. A King salmon-specific feed would also have commercial benefits for New Zealand producers in terms of exports, job creation and ultimately the profitability of the industry."
Danish company BioMar is a leading supplier of high performance fish feed to the aquaculture industry supplying products to around 60 countries and for more than 30 different fish species.
For Cawthron Institute, a private research organisation, its chief executive Professor Charles Eason said that they had managed to build a strong team that includes international experts from Europe and South America. According to him, their combined knowledge in fish nutrition, fish health and food development expertise will bring together the best scientific team to work alongside New Zealand King Salmon.
Source: www.cnchemicals.com/