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PROSPECTS IN AQUACULTURE Special Feature On Training And Education
US will miss ‘aquaculture revolution’ without skilled manpower, say experts
RESEARCH
New study finds farmed salmon has fewer environmental pollutants than wild salmon Low level of pollutants in farmed salmon due to changes in fish-feed content
F PROSPECTS IN AQUACULTURE Efforts needed to attract and retain the young to the industry BY AARON ORLOWSKI
he US aquaculture industry faces numerous hurdles: a negative image, a difficult regulatory environment and, crucially, a shortage of educated, skilled workers. That lack of professionals, in turn, threatens to hold back the industry even as demand for farmed seafood and fish is rising and Americans grow increasingly aware of the origin of the food on their plates. Well-trained workers with the necessary skills are hard to come by, Michael Schwarz, a past president of both the World and United States Aquaculture Societies, told Aquaculture North America (ANA). In the 25 years he’s been in the industry, Schwarz has seen only attrition. “As soon as you start looking for experience
Credit: VSAREC
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Students at Virginia Seafood and Agricultural Research and Extension Center. New generations of aquaculture professionals are needed to replace retiring ‘boomers’ and fill professional positions, a study says
Special Feature On Training And Education
armed salmon contains less environmental pollutants than its wild counterpart, according to a Norwegian study that’s been described as the biggest research of its kind so far. The study involved 100 samples of wild salmon caught The study involved 100 samples of in the sea in Northern wild salmon caught in the sea in Norway, and 100 samples Northern Norway, and 100 samples of farmed salmon. of farmed salmon “It was previously widely thought that farmed salmon contained more environmental pollutants than wild salmon, but this proves not to be the case,” Anne-Katrine Lundebye, study co-author and senior scientist at the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), said in a NIFES article. Lundebye explained that the differences between wild and farmed were due to their diets. “Fish are what they eat, both in terms of environmental pollutants and nutrients. This can be controlled in farmed fish, while what fish eat in the wild varies,” Lundebye was quoted as saying. The relatively low level of organic pollutants in farmed salmon has been attributed to changes in the composition of fish feed, among others. Today’s fish feed contains less fish oil, which was previously the main source of many of the undesirable substances in the feed, said the NIFES report. The study, Lower levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants, metals and the marine Omega 3-fatty acid DHA in farmed compared to wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), demonstrated that the concentrations of dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT, dieldrin, lindane, chlordane, Mirex, toxaphene and
PROSPECTS IN AQUACULTURE continued on page 22
PROFILE
Special Feature On Training And Education
Wisconsin’s new Atlantic salmon and trout RAS expects first harvest in 2018 Aquaponics facility will yield 120,000 lbs of salmon and 40,000 lbs of trout annually and 4,500 lbs of leafy greens per day
continued on page 9 BY TOM WALKER
he first commercial scale indoor Atlantic salmon RAS facility in the US is up and running in Northfield, Wisconsin. “Our initial cohort of year-old Atlantics are moving through the system,” says Superior Fresh COO Brandon Gottsacker. “We expect to harvest them in the second quarter of 2018 at a target weight of 4-5 kilograms.” Next door is a standalone glass greenhouse, where the company has just completed planting their first batch of leafy greens.
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Nick Zaccaria, Aquaculture Facility Manager, and Eric Brandt, Aquaculture Technician, stock Superior Fresh’s first group of Atlantic salmon into tanks. The facility also expects to harvest 40,000 lbs of trout annually