Nexus SKRETTING. Commitment to Feed-to-Food Quality & Safety Latest on summer feeds Halo for abalone.

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1 No Summer The magazine of Skretting Australia Nexus Commitment to Feed-to-Food Quality & Safety Latest on summer feeds Halo for abalone

2 CONTENTS HT - THE PROVEN CHOICE FOR SUMMER page 3 HALO - OPTIMISING PERFORMANCE FOR ABALONE page 6 FEED TO FOOD SAFETY page 9 SNIPPETS page 13 About this issue DR JENNA BOWYER SUSTAINABILITY & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER We assisted Tassal in fulfilling their aspiration of becoming the world s first salmon company to achieve full ASC certification for all its operations In this issue of Nexus, we are highlighting our summer feed concept, HT. Our HT products have become an integral part of Tasmania s Atlantic salmon diet strategy, and local R&D has led to the upgrade of our HT feeds. On the merit of the positive results from recently completed trial work, we have expanded our HT product range to include a HT feed for abalone, Halo HT. A strong focus over the past year has been on our Nutrace quality system and on sustainability certifications. In July, our factory was certified to the Global G.A.P Compound Feed Manufacturer s standard to support our customers certified to the Global G.A.P Aquaculture standard. We have also demonstrated our commitment to supply fish feeds approved by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). Through a close working relationship, we assisted Tassal in fulfilling their aspiration of becoming the world s first salmon company to achieve full ASC certification for all its operations, as announced on 15th November It has been a great achievement by all involved. In the past three months we have supported and been involved in a variety of activities within the community. These included the Beach to Bay fun run in Strahan, the Aquaculture without Frontiers fundraiser dinner, the New Zealand Aquaculture Conference, and most significantly, our involvement in the planning and development of the Experimental Aquaculture Facility in Taroona, Tasmania. HT - the proven choice for summer DR NICOLE RUFF PRODUCT MANAGER Jenna Bowyer, Sustainability & Communications Officer Skretting Australia Here at Skretting Australia, we are looking forward to the new developments we will bring to the local market this year and into the future. Contact Information: 26 Maxwells Road Cambridge Tasmania Australia 7170 PO Box 117 Rosny Park Tasmania Australia 7018 Telephone: jenna.bowyer@skretting.com 2 Nexus is published by Skretting Australia and is distributed free to all our customers involved in the Australian and New Zealand Fish Farming Industry. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission of the publishers. This publication is not intended to remove the need to take advice when dealing with specific situations and readers should contact the editor before taking any action in reliance on the articles in Nexus. Skretting Australia launched its high temperature (HT) feed for Atlantic salmon in Since then, the HT products have become an integral part of the Atlantic salmon industries diet strategy. HT DEVELOPMENT The HT journey began with research on the effects of high water temperatures on fish performance and health. Skretting joined Marine Harvest, the Norwegian Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES) and the Institute of Marine Research (NOFIMA) to investigate this issue. The results demonstrated that the gut wall is more permeable at higher temperatures, making the fish more vulnerable to invasion by pathogens. It also showed that higher temperatures led to a faster metabolism of antioxidants and that disruption of the gut wall led to a loss of appetite. That prompted the team at the Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC) to consider ways of counteracting these temperature-induced effects through a modification of the diet. 3

3 AST (U/L) HT HT+ -67% Compared to the conventional summer grower feed, fish fed Optiline HT showed improvement in growth, reduced FCR and increased feed intake David Kiemele Head of Farming Tassal After a long series of tests and fish trials, microingredients which stabilised the gut were identified and a blend of these, with the appropriate antioxidants, proved to be effective against high temperature. Using advanced digitised histology equipment, the ARC Fish Health team revealed that this blend reduced inflammation. In fish held at 18 o C water temperature, the eosinophilic granular cells (indicators of inflammation) in the fish s gut wall were significantly reduced down to levels seen in fish held at 12 o C (Figure 1). This blend of ingredients became the basis for the HT feeds. % relative change compared to Control at 12 o C HT COMMERCIAL For Skretting s Atlantic salmon customers, Optiline HT has become the standard summer grower feed formulation. The HT concept is fed as water temperatures climb above 15 o C and then all the way through the summer months. Compared to the conventional summer grower feed, fish fed Optiline HT showed improvement in growth, reduced FCR and increased feed intake. We are pleased with the results we are getting through summer since we have incorporated the HT feeds into our fish performance strategy during summer, says David Kiemele, Head of Farming at Tassal. HT EVOLUTION Control (12 o C) Control (18 o C) HT (18 o C) Figure 1. Percentage change in eosinophilic granular cells (% of total tissue area) in the gastrointestinal tract of Atlantic salmon held at 12 or 18 o C and fed either Control or HT feeds. *denotes a significant difference With the introduction of Optiline HT, Atlantic salmon now perform at previously challenging water temperatures of 16 o C and above. * Baseline However, prolonged periods of water temperatures >18 o C still present a major challenge. With this in mind, Skretting, together with its largest customer Tassal, embarked on a trial in November 2013 to test the standard Optiline HT against Optiline HT+. Optiline HT+ was the trial feed further fortified with the original Optiline HT functional ingredients. Fish performance was monitored throughout the duration of the summer trial. Fish were also periodically tested for flesh quality characteristics and biochemical parameters. Measuring biochemical parameters in the blood, such as aspartate transaminase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK) can provide useful clues about the health status of the fish. Aspartate transaminase is a blood enzyme, which when elevated, is an indicator of liver damage and heart damage. Similarly, creatine kinase, also a blood enzyme, can indicate muscle tissue damage. In March, after fish had spent over 6 weeks at water temperatures >18 o C, fish were again sampled for blood enzymes. Results found that the levels of circulating blood enzymes (AST and CK) had increased between 5 and 10-fold, respectively, from levels measured in November and January (Figure 3). Elevated levels are strong indicators of clinical organ damage. Compared to the standard Optiline HT feed, fish fed the trial feed Optiline HT+ had over 60% reduction in these enzymes. Moreover, the fish fed the Optiline HT+ feed had a better survival rate through the summer months compared to fish fed the standard Optiline HT. HT UPGRADE These very compelling results have led Skretting Australia to now use the Optiline HT+ formula as the standard in all HT feeds since October However, there is always more work to be done and with the upcoming hot summer season, more trial work is currently underway. We will of course post updates on these in future Nexus issues Jan Jul Jan Jul Jan Figure 2. Typical water temperature profile in SE Tasmania. The yellow band highlights the summer temperature range of o C. The trial period is marked in pink HT FOR OTHER AQUACULTURE SPECIES What started as a high temperature feed for Atlantic salmon has since been developed for other species such as rainbow trout, Chinook salmon and sea bass. Another important aquaculture species farmed in Australian waters that suffers from the ill effects of high water temperatures is abalone. Recent Australian research has shown that high summer temperatures (>22 o C) place the mollusc under increased oxidative stress and leads to impaired performance, organ damage and elevated mortality. Building on the very positive experience with the HT feeds for finfish, Skretting Australia had embarked on testing the concept in a high temperature challenge trial with abalone at the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) in Adelaide. HALO HT FOR ABALONE In this particular trial, greenlip abalone (Haliotis laevigata) were fed the standard Skretting Halo diet or the high temperature variant, Halo HT, for several weeks prior to getting subjected to 25 o C water temperature. Over a seven week period at the high water temperature, both groups of animals (Halo and Halo HT fed) experienced a significant increase in mortality compared to abalone fed standard Halo at 22 o C. CK (U/L) HT HT+ However, abalone fed Halo HT had 14% improved survival relative to animals fed standard Halo at the high temperature (Figure 4), a massive advantage in commercial terms. On the back of those results, Skretting Australia is pleased to launch Halo HT into the local abalone market, ready for the coming summer. Cumulative survival Sample period Halo (22 o C) Halo (25 o C) Halo HT (25 o C) November 2013 January 2014 March 2014 Untitled 1 Untitled 2 Untitled 3-66% November 2013 January 2014 March 2014 Untitled 1 Untitled 2 Untitled 3 Figure 3. Asparate transaminase (AST, U/L) and creatine kinase (CK, U/L) measured in Atlantic salmon at different time points during the summer of 2013/ Time (days) Figure 4. Kaplan Meier survival curves of greenlip abalone fed the commercial control diet, Skretting Halo or Skretting Halo HT diets at 22 and 25 C (n = 30 for each line) For more information about our range of HT feeds, please contact Nicole Ruff, Skretting Australia s Product Manager. 4 5

4 Halo is Skretting s innovative diet for abalone and paua, and is produced at Skretting Australia s Cambridge plant using advanced extrusion technology. Extrusion offers a number of benefits over other methods of feed manufactures as it creates a highly digestible and water-stable product. Combined with our formulation strategy it results in abalone displaying superior growth characteristics and reduced feed conversion ratios. SUPERIOR WATER STABILITY Abalone are grazing molluscs and consume their feed slowly. It is essential that any food has high water stability to maximise the opportunity for abalone to feed. Moreover, water stability is significant in reducing the likelihood of nutrients leaching from the feed. The extrusion process has specific benefits here as it creates a pellet with high structural integrity. To demonstrate this, Halo was recently benchmarked against two competitor diets using a water stability test. The water stability test mimics conditions that feeds may be subjected to in typical abalone farming environments. HALO: optimising Halo s water stability of 74% was far superior to that of the two competitor feeds. After 24 hours of soaking and stirring, almost three quarters of Halo remained intact and would therefore remain available for abalone to feed upon. Compared to the competitor feeds, Halo was 82 and 85% more water stable (Figure 1). performance and feeding efficiency THE DENSITY CHALLENGE Undoubtedly extrusion has specific benefits on water stability, but producing an extruded abalone feed that sinks and has a low oil content, which abalone require, pushes the technical limits of production. Additionally, as abalone are cultured in shallow slab tanks where a constant flow of ~5cm/sec occurs, means the product has to be sufficiently dense to keep it within the culture system. 80 a A typical slab tank for abalone growout (photo courtesy of Jade Tiger Abalone) in abalone aquaculture DR MATTHEW BRANSDEN TECHNICAL ACCOUNT MANAGER To overcome these challenges, researchers at the Feed Technology Department in the Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC) explored technical processes to perfect the product. This was a multifactorial approach, exploring combinations of screw speed configuration, throughput, expansion control systems, back pressure and die design to mention just a few. The combination of processes and extruder configurations resulted in products with varying water stability and density (expressed as sinking/floating). It also outlined that methods which resulted in excellent water stability don t necessarily provide a sinking product (Figure 2, over page). % water stability % 82% b HALO (extruded) Non-extruded A Non-extruded B Figure 1. Water stability of Halo compared to two competitor diets A and B after 24 hours of soaking and stirring. Values are the means + SD, n=3. Different superscripts denote significant differences (p<0.01) b 6 7

5 Using 40% less feed to produce the same biomass has dramatic implications on the cost of production and the farms bottom line Dr Matthew Bransden Technical Account Manager Skretting Australia Reducing risk by ensuring feed-to-food quality and Ultimately, however, the correct combination of process settings was identified and the developmental work led to a commercial process employed at Skretting Australia. The end result was Halo; a product with the desired >70% water stability and 100% sink. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIGESTIBLE ENERGY AND PERFORMANCE Extrusion - which is effectively cooking under pressure, moisture and elevated temperatures - gelatinises starches in the feed, in essence reducing complex carbohydrates to less complex ones which make them more biologically available. As abalone diets are largely made up of carbohydrate-rich raw materials, gelatinisation of the starches is of benefit to the herbivorous mollusc as it improves digestibility. In other words, the dietary energy is more digestible and readily available for growth or other physiological processes. Abalone diets that are not extruded have reduced starch gelatinisation and therefore a lower digestible energy component. Abalone fed non-extruded diets need to consume more feed in order to reach the same level of digestible energy intake, thus increasing the feed conversion ratio (FCR) and the cost of production. Water stability (increasing) Sinking Floating A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S Process Technologies Figure 2. The effect of different extrusion technologies and process conditions on water stability and buoyancy of Halo Numerous commercial trials have repeatedly demonstrated that Halo s enhanced digestible energy and vastly superior water stability results in improved growth and FCR. In fact, abalone fed Halo have been found to have FCR improvements of 35-45% compared to abalone fed non-extruded feeds. Using 40% less feed to produce the same biomass has dramatic implications on the cost of production and the farms bottom line! FUNCTIONAL FEEDS - COMBATING HOT SUMMER CONDITIONS Recent Australian research has shown that high summer temperatures are very stressful for abalone. High temperatures place the mollusc under increased oxidative stress and leads to impaired performance, organ damage and elevated mortality. Building on the very positive experience with Skretting s global high temperature (HT) concept for salmonids and other aquaculture species, Skretting Australia had embarked on testing the concept in a high temperature challenge trial with abalone at the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) in Adelaide. For details, please refer to our HT article in this edition of Nexus. security TRINE KARLSRUD FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY SYSTEMS MANAGER Consumers demand safe, healthy and delicious seafood, which means that trustworthy, high-quality fish and shrimp feeds are a prerequisite for the aquaculture industry. As a leading global supplier of these feeds, Skretting has embedded strong quality assurances and controls into its organisational structure. Dynamic and robust quality control systems are in place at every stage of Skretting s operations in order to minimise customer exposure to risks and to preserve its leadership in the fish and shrimp feed market. In aquaculture production, considerable attention is appropriately placed at the first step of the feed-to-food chain, which is the supply of premium-quality, renewable and responsibly managed resources. It is therefore vital that each supplier undergoes a comprehensive evaluation and approval process. The necessary control and monitoring programmes are then put in place based upon the risk evaluation. These vary from ingredient to ingredient. Skretting categorises global suppliers as companies who send raw materials to more than one of its Operating Companies (OpCos) and each must pass Skretting s evaluation system and visit or audit, conducted by at least two of Skretting s quality managers, before approval is granted by its system. High risk local raw material suppliers are audited by Skretting Australia s Food Safety & Quality Systems Manager, Trine Karlsrud, and Regional Purchasing Manager, Chieko Sasaki, according to a Local Audit Plan. We travel to each installation to check the quality systems and monitoring programmes are in place. It is very in depth. We audit all the technical aspects of quality control, checking everything, including Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP) which is very important in feed and food safety, says Trine. In addition to Skretting s group-wide common procedures and systems, it has a Global Audit Plan, which is revised at least once a year and even more regularly if required, based upon the latest focus, such as risks and non-conformities in the business. 8 9

6 ROBUST ANALYSIS Analysis is conducted with the help of Near- Infrared Reflectance (NIR) calibrations, which are centrally coordinated by Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC) and exist for almost all the raw materials globally sourced by the business. We are able to check each raw material against many different parameters. This information is available to our formulator, who takes these values into account when establishing the best formulation recipes. The next step in the supply chain is the feed production process. In recent years, as a result of robust early control steps, Skretting has been able to introduce greater quality controls mid-process, whereby it can correct some of the parameters that are not aligned, including moisture, fat and protein content. In Australia, all the operators in the manufacturing area take a pellet sample every 10 tonnes and analyse it using NIR to give us a complete picture of the nutritional aspects. They have the reference giving the target values and can correct them if they are not correctly aligned with the parameters. It is a very good quality control process. The operators also take note of the pellets physical parameters, which is crucial in Skretting because our product ranges include fully floating, semi-floating and sinking pellets as well as large pellets for broodstock and small pellets for starters. We manufacture a lot of different products and the physical parameters of each are very important says Frances James, Skretting Australia s Process Technician. In addition to producing feeds at a consistently high physical and nutritional quality, behind the scenes, Skretting operates a global food safety monitoring program for all raw materials and finished products according to a targeted list of undesirable substances. Samples from all Skretting companies are sent to the same laboratories, approved for the methods, to be analysed and compared like-for-like. Each OpCo, including Australia has a local list of products and raw materials required to be tested to ensure that all local legal limits are met. 10 HAVING OUR OWN HOUSE IN ORDER Skretting introduced Nutrace, its groupwide quality management program, more than a decade ago. It has been developed and continuously refined in such a way that all the risks associated with feed production are minimised and that any irregularities are quickly found and acted upon, no matter where in the world they are discovered. Today, the program s five component standards (see page 12) are the bedrock upon which the manufacture of high-quality feeds, produced from safe and sustainable raw materials, are ensured. This unique concept allows our customers and end consumers to have full confidence with regards to the feeds used in aquaculture, says Nina Flem, Skretting s FS&QA manager. Risks are greatly reduced when you have your own house in order, which is very important when it comes to food safety. At the outset, monitoring food safety was the main focus for Nutrace, but Skretting has built it up step-by-step to incorporate more detailed procedures and systems, including a comprehensive traceability system with very specific requirements and procedures. These aspects are constantly being improved to make them clearer for users. At the same time, the tools at their disposal are standardised, says Flem. Nutrace also acts as the guiding principle for new OpCos as they join what Flem refers to as the bigger Skretting family. New OpCos coming into the family understandably have different procedures and different levels of competence, but Nutrace details the good practices that the entire group adheres to, no matter where the OpCo is located. GROWING THE FAMILY Also core to the effectiveness of Nutrace are the internal audits conducted by Skretting s Food Safety and Quality Network, led by Flem. These audits were initiated in autumn 2011 with Vietnam and were followed by assessments of all the other established Skretting companies around the world, including Australia in Skretting s unique Nutrace concept allows our customers and end consumers to have full confidence with regards to the feeds used in aquaculture Nina Flem FS&QA Manager Skretting Global The assessments are essentially a combination of audit and training; it s a very good learning process. Of course, if non-conformities are identified they will be included in the audit report, but part of the process is to guide the business and show solutions ways in which the requirements can be fulfilled. And because all of the Skretting OpCo s work very closely together, we have a very good idea of where the challenges are with each country before the audit takes place. The main goal for us is to reduce risks, raise the general competence and share good practices to contribute towards our aim of being our customers preferred supplier says Flem. Moving forward, she says there will be even more cooperation on quality control throughout Skretting and parent company Nutreco, putting more common requirements in place throughout the organisation. We will benefit from having a bigger family to learn from. We will ensure there an even greater exchange of information and competences, which will allow us to build more efficient quality assurance tools in the future. Through increased collaboration, the Nutreco family will come closer and closer together, which will make us more efficient and progress us even further. And our customers benefit from that too because we are bringing all that expertise and collaboration together for the benefit of the supply chain. As a demonstration of our commitment to safe and sustainable aquaculture, in July 2014, Skretting Australia became certified to the Global G.A.P. Compound Feed Manufacturing v2.1 standard (GGN: ). We have a strong responsibility to support our local industry to deliver the most sustainable economic aquafeeds. The Global G.A.P. feed standard plays an important role in the process of ensuring food safety along the whole supply chain. Through certification to this standard we are able to provide even greater assurance to our customers, and to consumers, that the production and distribution of feed and sourcing of raw materials meet internationally recognised control and compliance criteria. Frances James, Skretting Australia s Process Technician AUSTRALIA CERTIFIED TO GLOBAL G.A.P STANDARD Global G.A.P certification strengthens our other long-standing feed-to-food quality and safety certifications ISO9001, HACCP and FeedSafe and the global Skretting Nutrace standard. 11

7 Snippets DR JENNA BOWYER SUSTAINABILITY & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER THE FIVE PILLARS OF NUTRACE 1. CERTIFIED QUALITY & FOOD SAFETY Guarantees the consistent formulation and production of high-quality, reliable feeds. Skretting has implemented several international certifications, systems and internal procedures at its plants. Third-party independent bodies, Skretting s customers and its parent company Nutreco check and audit these standards on a regular basis. Most of the plants are certified to the ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS) and ISO Environmental Management Standard (EMS). Facilities that are not yet certified are preparing for the introduction of these programmes. A number of Skretting plants are GlobalG.A.P. and/or Best Aquaculture Practice (BAP) certified while some of our laboratories are also ISO accredited. Further certifications at some Skretting plants include ISO (food safety) or the HACCP standard and OHSAS (Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems). 4. RISK MANAGEMENT Ensures professional crisis handling, should an emergency arise. It covers Food Safety and Crisis Management for correct decisions to be taken in order to minimise risks and for unwanted situations to be handled in a correct manner. This pillar also includes media management and a product recall procedure. Regular training and tests are undertaken by OpCos to ensure they are well prepared to handle a crisis in an effective and appropriate manner. 3. MONITORING & CONTROL 2. INGREDIENT & SUPPLIER ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT Ensures only healthy, safe and sustainable raw materials are used for the production of fish and shrimp feeds. It includes common standards for assessing and managing ingredients and suppliers. All the information related to feed ingredients and major suppliers is then stored in global databases, which are shared throughout the Nutreco and/or Skretting organisation. Only approved feed ingredients and suppliers are used by Skretting companies. Any new supplier must be evaluated and approved before being considered an official Skretting supplier. Ensures Skretting s feeds are safe. Since 2000, most of our companies have followed a harmonised, detailed and comprehensive global monitoring programme, which covers undesirable substances from raw materials to finished feeds. Raw materials are monitored according to a targeted list of undesirable substances and each ingredient follows an approved analytical procedure. Only approved laboratories are allowed to conduct the analyses. All analytical data is stored in Skretting s global Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) and is shared among the OpCos. This pillar also includes a standardised internal rapid alert and follow-up system as well as an external notification procedure. 5. TRACKING & TRACING Ensures the efficient flow of information between Skretting, its suppliers, fish farmers and fish buyers. Most Skretting OpCos have an electronic system in place that precisely traces feed batches back to their raw materials. It provides accurate and accessible records of all ingredients, production processes and feed deliveries. This system delivers rapid upstream and downstream information, which is essential for an efficient recall programme. The Tracking & Tracing system ensures current and pending legal requirements are in place and also takes into account specifications from food processors as well as from retailers and foodservice companies. COMMITMENT TO ASC SALMON STANDARD This year Skretting Australia has demonstrated our commitment to supply fish feeds approved by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). Through a close working relationship, we assisted Tassal in fulfilling their aspiration of becoming the world s first salmon company to achieve full ASC-certification for all its operations, as announced on 15th November We have ensured that the information provided regarding our feeds are compliant to the level of detail that the standard demands. The internationally-recognised ASC Standard is the most rigorous and responsible standard that the salmon industry can currently adhere to. We are encouraged by this important move in the Asia Pacific region by a large feed company within the aquaculture supply chain. TASMANIAN EXPERIMENTAL AQUACULTURE FACILITY It was officially announced on 20th September that a $6 million Experimental Aquaculture Facility will be built by the University of Tasmania at its Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Taroona campus. The facility, specialising in researching all aspects of finfish production, but with an immediate focus on Atlantic salmon, is expected to be fully operational by late It will include a series of new tanks, monitoring equipment, laboratory space, and associated building and earthworks. Research at the centre will focus on fish health, more effective use of marine resources in fish feeds, climate change effects and food security. It will provide the ability to work on large Atlantic salmon under controlled conditions up to harvest, which is unique in Australia. Skretting Australia s commitment to ASC salmon standard requirements has strongly supported our aquaculture partner, Tassal to achieve ASC certification, says Peter Trott, Policy Manager Fisheries Markets, WWF Australia. James Rose, Managing Director of Skretting Australia, says: Skretting firmly believes the ASC will play an increasingly important role in the future of the aquaculture industry. We are committed to delivering sustainable feeds compliant to the ASC s strict criteria, starting with our salmon feeds. By committing to this standard, Skretting Australia is bringing global best practice to the Tasmanian salmon farming industry. We welcome the opportunity to continue to work with our local customers and ASC to further improve our sustainability position. The facility will be jointly-funded by the Australian Government Department of Industry, the University of Tasmania, the State Government, the Seafood Cooperative Research Centre, Huon Aquaculture and Skretting

8 BEACH TO BAY FUN RUN AND WALK FAQ S ON AUSTRALIA S WEBSITE Skretting Australia and Petuna team members On the 2nd November 2014, Skretting s Marketing Manager Rhys Hauler, Product Manager Nicole Ruff and Sustainability and Communications Officer Jenna Bowyer sponsored and participated in the annual Strahan Beach to Bay Fun Run and Walk. The weather conditions were perfect for running (freezing cold, drizzling, then raining plus swirling winds), but despite this, we all had a good time supporting this local event where our Tasmanian salmon customers, and therefore Skretting, have a very strong presence in the community. Our Tasmania customers, Petuna, Tassal and Huon also sponsored the event and provided some delicious salmon dishes for lunch, which was a perfect way to refuel after the run. The sponsorship money raised will go towards enhancing the health and wellbeing of the Strahan community. A recent addition to our Skretting Australia website has been the development of some Frequently Asked Questions. We often receive requests for general information from our customers (aquaculture producers) and from their customers (general public, etc) about what s in fish feed, is the feed safe, etc. The FAQ s are an easily accessible resource that contains specific information about all things feed. So please visit our site and have a look SUPPORTING LOCAL ORGANISATIONS - AWF FUNDRAISING DINNER AQUACULTURE NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE FEEDING THE FUTURE BEN WYBOURNE TECHNICAL ACCOUNT MANAGER FOR NEW ZEALAND On the evening of the 22nd October, Skretting s James Rose and Jenna Bowyer travelled to the Huon Valley Trade Training Centre (HVTTC) to support Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF), a not-for-profit organisation, to launch its Global Schools & Students Network in Australia. AwF was formed to assist in the alleviation of poverty in developing countries, specifically with the purpose of promoting and supporting responsible and sustainable aquaculture. The AwF fundraising dinner was great opportunity for the industry and the community to get together for a common cause and support young people in the seafood industry to take a lead role in raising the awareness of aquaculture. A range of delicious Tasmanian seafood was prepared by the Commercial Cookery students from HVTTC, specifically featuring aquaculture produce from Tasmanian salmon producers Tassal, Huon, and Petuna, as well as from local shellfish producers. For more information about the organisation, click on the link below The New Zealand Aquaculture Conference was held in Nelson on 23-24th October, preceded by a technical day on the 22nd of October. Rhys Hauler and Ben Wybourne attended the Salmon Stream of the technical day and presented on High Performance Diets for Oncorhynchus species. While the benefits to feed efficiency and growth from Skretting s high performance Premium product is well established for Atlantic salmon, we have only recently obtained results for Premium in rainbow trout. This is of particular relevance to New Zealand Chinook salmon farmers because Chinook salmon and rainbow trout are both Oncorhynchus species with a number of biological similarities. We were pleased to report that the performance of Premium in rainbow trout has been extremely encouraging, in both experimental and commercial settings in Australia and Norway. The conference went very well and the standard of the speakers was high. Most attendees commented that it was the best NZ Aquaculture conference to date. Social Licence to Operate, a major topic in NZ, was a recurring theme. A presentation by Sanford s new CEO, Volker Kuntzsch, gave an insight into his extensive past experience and his vision for Sanford s future. James Rose and Steve Harrison (HVTTC staff) Presentation by Year 9 students to the group on what is AwF 14 15

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