Cargill Aqua Nutrition has invested USD 1 million (EUR 844,000) into a laboratory in Dirdal, Norway, specifically focused on researching and producing high-quality feed for recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).
The money will go to upgrade the lab’s independent recirculation units, enabling Cargill’s scientists “to conduct continuous concept testing of new feed solutions covering all aspects of RAS production,” the company said in a press release.
“Recirculating aquaculture systems continue to grow in popularity as the global salmon farming industry invests in larger RAS facilities. However, with larger facilities, growing post-smolt on land comes with increased complexity, driving a need for more innovation and research,” the company said. “To help meet that need, Cargill [has] announced it has invested in and established a new lab focused on RAS and the nutritional and welfare needs of salmon farmers now and in the future.”
Cargill Aqua Nutrition also announced it has partnered with Marineholmen RAS lab, a research and development firm that will trial Cargill feeds through its own affiliation with Industrial and Aquatic Laboratory (ILAB) in Bergen, Norway.
“This new lab offers state-of-the-art RAS research facilities and replicate systems that allow proof of performance trials to compare how different feeds affect both the fish and the system. This will lead to new RAS feed diets that deliver a more robust fish,” Cargill said. “The facility recently opened for business and is already running its first trial on Cargill feeds.
Cargill said the partnership with Marineholmen RAS would function similarly to its collaborative relationship with The Conservation Fund's Freshwater Institute, which conducts RAS research in North America. The Freshwater Institute provides Cargill with a range of RAS platforms from replicated experimental systems to commercial-scale systems, and shares operational and technical RAS expertise with Cargill, including a 2018 study that “resulted in Cargill developing its most successful grower feeds for RAS to date.”
"We've seen a tremendous increase in RAS investments in the recent years. With advances in this technology and limitations on growth in conventional salmon farming, there are long-term opportunities for growth in RAS and we will make the next generation of RAS feeds to support that growth,” Cargill Aqua Nutrition Regional Managing Director Dan Burke said. “Our RAS feeds take a holistic approach with focus on feed quality, digestibility, fecal stability and mineral availability. Our nutritional knowledge and ability to learn quickly allowed us to meet the salmon’s needs through variable farming conditions and health challenges. Still, RAS is complex and requires expertise, so expanding our research capabilities is an important step to us for the future as leaders within RAS nutrition.”
According to the company, work on Cargill’s new iteration of its highest-quality RAS feed is currently under development, “and will build on the success of the existing EWOS CLEAR feed design principles,” according to Burke.
“These investments and partnerships underpin our efforts to make our customers more successful,” Burke said. “We believe RAS will be a critical part of aquaculture production in the future and so we continue to lead by expanding our expertise and capabilities in RAS nutrition to better support our customers.”
Photo courtesy of Cargill Aqua Nutrition
