Green solutions on the menu

AQUA 2024 brought together different stakeholders in aquaculture to share the latest knowledge and insights. Robert Outram reports.

Watch our video from the show here: https://youtu.be/dFCYnrAQ1ho

Scandinavia is famous for the dish of savoury treats known as smorgasbord – the Danes call it “smørrebrød” – and Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, is one of the best places to try it.

AQUA 2024, the joint event hosted in Copenhagen last month by the European Aquaculture Society (EAS) and the World Aquaculture Society (WAS), also offered a mixed platter of insights, shared scientific knowledge and networking.

Bella Sky Hotel and Conference Centre

The theme of the event was “Blue Food, Green Solutions”. It took place at the Marriott Bella Sky hotel and conference centre.

It included presentations of scientific research on topics ranging from climate change and alternative feeds to aquaponics and the aquaculture industry’s need to establish a “social licence” for its operations.

Dag Sletmo

‘The Force is with us’
Addressing the conference in the first plenary session was Dag Sletmo, Senior Vice President Seafood Division, DNB Bank.

He started on an upbeat note – “the Force is with us” – but he did not gloss over the many challenges for aquaculture.

The reason he gave for optimism was quite simply the sheer necessity for growth in aquaculture.

With a projected world population of 10 billion by 2050, it is a well-worn statistic that the world will need to produce 50% more food.
But – despite his background in the sector – Sletmo stressed “salmon farming cannot save the world”.

In fact, for Norway, he said, the supply by volume of salmon has been trending downwards since 1982 – even though demand for this premium fish is growing.

Aquaculture worldwide – of which salmon accounts for a relatively small share – is growing, however, by around 2% a year.

What are the barriers for salmon? One is profitability – Sletmo pointed out that profit in NOK per fish put out to sea in Norway varies very widely with location, from as low as NOK 41 in western Norway to NOK 170 in one region, Helgeland til Bodø.

Productivity in the salmon sector, unlike in many industries, is declining. In fact the industry’s wealth in recent years has come, he said, not from higher productivity but from higher prices.

There is spatial conflict over limited marine resources, insufficient know-how and increasing expectations on the part of society regarding issues like fish welfare and the environment.

How can all this be fixed? Sletmo advised: “Don’t build your house on sand.”

In other words, the industry needs a framework for growth that is science-based. He called for stronger cooperation between regulators, researchers and the industry.

New technology opens the possibility of growth that is “new and different”, not just “bigger and better”, he said, but it is expensive in terms of capital expenditure.

Fish farming, he said, has a smaller carbon footprint than other forms of animal protein, but “sustainability is a double-edged sword”.
The aquaculture sector must have answers to the charges that it has negative impacts on the environment and on the welfare of its farmed animals.

Sustained growth, Sletmo said will need: at least “okay” prices; building customer preferences and establishing sustainability; building distribution channels; producing consistent volumes every week; and avoiding a boom and bust cycle of over- and under-production.

He finished with a selection of research topics which, in his view, would help pave the way to sustainable growth in aquaculture:
• Insights on how the fish and the environment function and interact;
• Technology
• Value chain perspective
• Farming practices
• Institutional framework and social licence
• Economics – how to build markets;
• Innovation; and
• Training, education and sharing best practice.

Bente Torstensen and Bjørn Myrseth

Honouring achievement
The opening morning of AQUA 2024 also saw the EAS announce an Honorary Life Membership Award for Bjørn Myrseth, one of the sector’s pioneers.

A biologist, Myrseth was co-founder and CEO at Stolt Sea Farms between 1972 and 1987. He was CEO of Marine Farms 1987-2011, operating in several locations including Greece, the UK, Chile and Spain.

He was a founding member of the EAS’ predecessor body and was EAS President for two non-consecutive terms, in 1992-94 and 2016-18.

When Marine Farms was acquired by Morpol ASA, he became Morpol Chairman 2012-2013. He has been a board member of several companies and is Chairman of Rendalsfiskand Fjord Aqua. He is currently Vice President of the EAS and Chair of AQUA 2024.

WAS awards were presented by the society’s President, Humberto Villareal. An honorary fellowship was awarded to Dr Delbert Gatlin of Texas A&M University System, a former Editor-in-Chief of Elsevier’s journal Aquaculture.

Exemplary service awards went to John Ewart, Coordinator of the WAS Employment Service; and Maria Célia Portella, Associate Professor at the Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) and at the Aquaculture Centre of UNESP, Brazil.

The conference was the last official engagement for Bente Torstensen as EAS President and for Umberto Villarreal as WAS President. Their successors are, respectively, Marc Vandeputte (EAS) and Dave Klein (WAS).

Student Spotlight finalists: (From left) Nataly Gómez Gómez, Valentina Romboli and Victoria Becker with EAS President Bente Torstensen

Student Spotlight Awards
Three students had been shortlisted to present their projects, and the delegates voted for the best presentation. The projects were:
• Assessing the role of heart morphology in determining cardiac functionality in Atlantic salmon, Victoria Becker, University of Oslo (winner);
• Influence of macroalgae inclusion in the feed on the growth performance and gut microbiome of Litopenaeus vannamei, Nataly Gómez Gómez, Ghent University (runner-up); and
• Nature’s arsenal unlocked: Next-generation screening of aquaculture-derived bacteria to prevent oyster diseases, Valentina Romboli, Wageningen University.

Kathrin Steinberg, Mariana Ferreira and Antonis Chalaris

Mariana Ferreira also received an award for Outstanding Student Representative on the EAS Board of Directors, as her two-year term concluded this year. She was replaced by Silvia Natale. The award was presented by Kathrin Steinberg and Antonis Chalaris, both previously involved in student activities.

Aquaculture Industry Forum: From left: Kristine Albrechtsen; Steffen Nielsen; Charlotte Jacobsen; Trevor Gent; Linn Indrestand.

Aquaculture Industry Forum: Turning waste to value
The Aquaculture Industry Forum covered several topics around the industry’s value chain, from efficient water use to measuring a farm’s environmental footprint. The panel on waste addressed the question of how to turn waste and “sidestreams” from fish farming and processing into something of value.

The panel was made up of: Kristine Albrechtsen, Pisco Group (Moderator); Steffen Nielsen, trout producer Danforel; Charlotte Jacobsen, Technical University of Denmark (DTU); Trevor Gent, Alumichem; Linn Indrestrand, Port of Hirtshals & Danish Ocean Cluster.

Steffen Nielsen said his company had had to focus on margins and look at costs in a different way, including the waste water and sludge from its farms. He said this had led to an effort to concentrate waste, so that sludge now takes up only around a sixth of its previous volume.

Already, around 10% of Danforel’s revenue already comes from sidestreams, he added, and it is growing. There is a double benefit in that, previously, the company had to pay to get it taken away.

DTU’s Charlotte Jacobsen said: “We have to treat the sidestreams from fish processing in the same way as the main product – don’t think of them as ‘waste’!”

Alumichem’s Trevor Gent noted that fish farmers need to consider whether they have the ability to process waste or whether they need a relationship with a specialist. He asked: “Do you want to be a biochar producer or a fish farmer?”

The panel noted that proximity, local infrastructure and the ease of transporting waste  across borders (which is heavily regulated) are all important factors.

Sidestreams from fish slaughter and processing could also be valuable, even blood which makes up 2% or more of the fish by weight.

Razzmatazz event

The panel talked about what is holding back investment in the “circular economy”. Money is an issue, but so also is regulation. Lawmakers need to realise that fish farm waste can be more than “toxic sludge”! Collaboration, between fish farmers, processors and others, will also be key.

As Linn Indrestrand put it: “Once you start connecting things, the magic happens.”

Other sessions in the Industry Forum covered water as a resource, measuring environmental footprint and optimising fish farm operations.

Meanwhile, other specialist sessions at AQUA 2024 included the Innovation Forum, focused on fostering and sharing innovation within Europe and between regions; the EURO Shrimp Forum; and the Quantitative Atlantic Salmon Health Assessment.

Following on from its introduction in Vienna last year, the Razzmatazz session returned, combining Happy Hour with a quickfire presentation of innovative ideas and bold concepts.

ASC workshop on aquafeed
The panel discussion hosted by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council addressed the theme: “Future aquafeed supply chains in a transitioning industry and a changing climate.”

Chaired by Ola Luthman, ASC Researcher, the panel included Max Troell of Stockholm University; Erik Olav Gracey, BioMar; Lisbeth Jess, Chief Adviser with forestry group HedeDanmark, which also farms mussels; and Douglas Martin, founder of MiAlgae, a feed supplement producer using by-products from the whisky industry.

As Max Troell explained in his introduction, “the window of opportunity is closing” if we are to put world food production on a sustainable footing. With more than 30% of cereal production and more than 20% of capture fisheries going to animal feed rather than human food, there is an urgent need to look for alternative feed sources.

The picture is a complex one – a pellet of aquafeed can include up to 50 separate ingredients.

As Group Sustainability Manager with BioMar, Erik Olav Gracey said sustainability was an important issue for the group, with five key indices including carbon footprint, eutrophication risk and land use. Nutritional benefit and palatability are also critical, and consumer perceptions cannot be ignored, as some feed ingredients might be seen as off-putting.

The panel discussed alternative aquafeed sources, but it was agreed that focusing on the sustainability of existing fisheries and agricultural crops is still the most important thing.

Gracey said: “It’s been a journey and it’s already changing the way we do business, especially the due diligence process. We are keen to learn as much as possible about our supply chain, which is the root of all sustainability.”

Host resistance to sea lice
One of the key events of the conference was an all-day presentation, hosted jointly by Nofima, Benchmark Genetics and the Roslin Institute, on sea lice and the differing responses to these parasites seen in Atlantic salmon and a related species, coho salmon.

It is already known that coho appear to have much greater resistance to sea lice. Now, a study carried out by an international team of researchers has identified the mechanism behind this, pinpointing the changes in coho skin cells when a sea louse attaches.

They found that keratinocytes in the three outermost layers of coho salmon’s skin play a central role in their response to infection, swelling and hardening to ensure the louse eventually drops off.

Using state-of-the-art genomic analysis, the scientists were able to analyse what was happening genetically at the level of an individual cell.

Their findings open up the possibility that genes could be identified in Atlantic salmon that, with gene editing, could be used to breed strains of farmed fish with a high level of resistance to sea lice, reducing the need for delousing measures that often harm the fish.

Signe Riemer-Sørensen

Plenary 2: AI with knowledge
The final plenary session of AQUA 2024 was given by Signe Riemer-Sørensen of Norwegian research establishment SINTEF. Her theme was “AI with knowledge” and she took the audience inside what is, to most of us, a “black box” which few fully understand.

As she pointed out, while fish farmers are above all interested in health, growth and safety, none of those things can be measured in themselves. We need to measure and interpret other data as proxies for those key issues.

Artificial intelligence refers to any system that mimics human intelligence through machine learning, but as Riemer-Sørensen explained, that learning can be set up to work in several very different ways. For example, the system can be provided with a lot of pre-supplied knowledge, or none.

AI is not a “free” resource – digital applications in total use around a quarter of the world’s energy output – but it represents a huge opportunity. As Riemer-Sørensen put it: “AI alone will not save the world, or aquaculture, but it can help humans to make better decisions.”

The lead sponsor for AQUA 2024 was BioMar. Silver sponsors were: Biorigin, University of Stavanger, Stiim, Blue Planet Academy and US Soy. WAS premier sponsors were: Zeigler, SyAqua, Blue Aqua and Blue Genetics. Session sponsor was Aquasoja.
The next EAS conference takes place in Valencia 22-25 September 2025. Next year’s World Aquaculture Society will be held in Qingdao, China, on 24-27 April 2025. 

INTERVIEW:
HUMBERTO VILLARREAL

Watch our interview with Humberto Villarreal on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y0d86tG9oDU

As AQUA 2024 got under way, Fish Farmer caught up with Humberto Villarreal, outgoing President of the World Aquaculture Society. He has held senior roles at CIBNOR, the Northwest Biological Research Centre based in La Paz, Mexico, and is Chairman of the Advisory Board of Singapore-based aquaculture analysts Shrimpl.

Humberto Villareal

Fish Farmer: “What are you hoping for, from AQUA 2024?”
Humberto Villarreal: “The conference brings an opportunity to bring the stakeholders together so that we can establish better networking.
“You will see scientists, producers, government officials, students and investors. We need to bring them together to help them understand each other better.”

FF: “You have mentioned the need for better communication between industry, politicians and the scientists in this sector. What needs to happen to improve that communication?”
HV: “The first thing we need to realise is that every group of stakeholders has a particular set of qualifications and interests. Scientists want to develop knowledge, investors want to make money, a producer wants to optimise production. And a politician wants to do the right thing for their country.
“The languages are not the same, so we need to be able to translate, so there is a common language for aquaculture.
“Communication is the biggest challenge, in that regard.
“The different stakeholders are working to different time scales – a producer needs a solution for tomorrow and a scientist needs funding to provide a solution in five to 10 years’ time.
“So we need to work together – if there is a problem, can we start solving it with the information we have, and then can we optimise with the new knowledge that research will produce?
“Who is going to action that knowledge in the industry? That is where students, for example, come in.
“We need to be talking to each other all the time.”

FF: ”How optimistic are you about the target of growing aquaculture production by half again to meet the 2050 target?”
HV: “The good news is that we have technologies available that would allow us to do that, if we put that technology to use, at the right time, in the right place.
“We need national programmes for aquaculture development, you will not develop something unless you have a programme for development.
“We need to understand that aquaculture is not a part of other industries, it is not a part of agriculture or fisheries.
“We don’t know where to put aquaculture… we need a set of rules that prevents over-regulation, which is causing a lack of development in many countries… we do not understand the dynamics of the new technologies in aquaculture.
“That’s where we are failing. We need to send a clear message, give better information to the policymakers.
“We need about seven million more people in the sector and we need 50%, 60%, 70% more feed by 2050.
“Am I optimistic? Yes, because we know we can do it. There are technologies, there are human resources, there is interest from new students.
“We need to communicate these things in a very easy way, so society understands that aquaculture is not an enemy. It’s an enabler of better times.”