Germany-based Evonik Industries and China’s Qingdao Vland Biotech Group (Vland) announced the development of AQUAVI ProPond, a product for improving water quality in aquaculture.
Two years in the making, AQUAVI has a planned launch for the end of the year in China. The product is part of “a system solution from Evonik Animal Nutrition for shrimp in aquaculture that can reduce the need for marine feed sources and significantly improve water quality and animal health,” the companies said in a press release.
AQUAVI ProPond is one of four components comprising the system, joined by AQUAVI Met-Met, omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA from Veramaris algae oil, and AMINOShrimp.
“AQUAVI Met-Met is a methionine product specially developed for shrimp, which makes it possible to feed these animals almost without fish meal. Veramaris algae oil provides the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA necessary for healthy shrimp development, replacing fish oil in the feed. Both products thus help to protect marine fish stocks and preserve marine biodiversity. The AMINOShrimp software helps to adjust the optimal amino acid composition of the feed to the respective developmental stage of the animals,” Evonik said of the other system components.
Three strains of bacteria operate within AQUAVI ProPond, Evonik said. Together, the strains work to remove ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite from the water.
“Ammonia arises from the excretions of the animals. It can have acute and chronic toxic effects and is therefore a critical parameter for water quality. Nitrate and nitrite are also harmful to animals in higher concentrations,” the company said.
While Evonik will be responsible for AQUAVI ProPond’s marketing, Vland will be in charge of production, according to the companies’ press release. The two firms have been cooperating on probiotics since 2015, they said.
"Our common goal is to make global aquaculture, which we need to feed the world's growing population in a healthy way, more sustainable," Emmanuel Auer, who heads Evonik’s animal nutrition business line, said. "Strategic partnerships will move us forward faster in doing so."
Vland CEO Aron Chen said water quality is a high priority in aquaculture, one that the companies are looking to assist with AQUAVI ProPond.
“When it comes to sustainability in aquaculture, water quality and the way it is realized play a critical role,” Chen said.
The product, which has been “extensively tested for safety and efficacy in both laboratory and field trials,” will be piloted in China beginning this summer, the companies confirmed.
"Our new additive is suitable for improving the animals' living conditions by breaking down toxic compounds, for keeping animals healthy, and for reducing environmental impact caused by too frequent water exchanges," Evonik Animal Nutrition Head of RD&I Christoph Kobler said.
Qingdao, China-based technology company Vland in enzymes, probiotics, and animal health. Evonik's Gut Health Solutions program also focuses on probiotics, and both partner companies have their own bacterial strain libraries, “which served as a starting point for joint work on a probiotic solution for improving water quality in shrimp farming,” they said.
Photo courtesy of Evonik
