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NEWS AQUACULTURE TO BENEFIT FROM FUNDING Five important projects focusing on aquaculture will benefit from the latest round of Sustainable Farming Fund grants. "New Zealand seafood is a premium product and it's great to see groups looking to improve their production and value by developing aquaculture," says Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy. Koura Aquaculture, by Wai-Koura South received $119,420. Farming Premium Salmon, by the Salmon Improvement Group was given $600,000. Management of the GLM9 Green-lipped Mussel Spat Resource, by GML9 Advisory Group was awarded $20,000. Tuna (shortfin-eel) Aquacultaure, by Te Ohu Tiaki o Rangitane Te Ika a Mauri Trust received $600,000 and Aquaculture custom bacterial vaccines, by Aquaculture New Zealand was given $115,686. The focus for four of the projects is addressing information gaps, these projects will investigate how to reduce skeletal deformities in farmed salmon, develop best practice guides for raising freshwater crayfish and manage the wild green-lipped mussel spat resource. The eel project will focus on learning more about young glass short-fin eels so that they can be raised successfully and sustainably. The other will focus on developing New Zealand's capability, in this case to manufacture vaccines for chinook salmon. The projects will commence on July 1, 2013 and run for one to three years. LOCAL FISH FARMERS GAIN FROM NORWEGIAN INNOVATION CENTRE Local fish farmers stand to benefit following the launch of an Innovation Centre of Aquaculture opened by BOC's parent company The Linde Group in Ålesund, Norway in September last year. Australian and New Zealand fish farm operators are hooking into the oxygenation technology of BOC to optimise production volume and meat quality while reducing their environmental footprint. In addition to the laboratories, the centre will feature a number of test and demonstration aquaculture tanks, the largest of which is 55 cubic metres. A highlight of the centre, the tank will allow both aquaculture technologists and customers alike to observe how the latest oxygenation technologies impact fish development within an optimal on-land farming enclosure. "Both the research and development and the subsequent testing of the latest oxygenation technologies is unquestionably needed to ensure the future success of land-based aquaculture,'' says Merv Ogston, BOC's Technical Support Engineer for Aquaculture Application Technologies. Linde's aquaculture technology has been developed in response to a trend that is seeing aquaculture production being transferred from sea cages to land-based sites for the full duration of a marine fish's life. It is this change that has confronted the fish farming industry with the challenge of efficiently oxygenating large fish tanks to accommodate fish stock from infancy to maturity. In particular, the Ålesund centre features Linde's fish farming oxygenation technology, a low-pressure oxygenation system which aims to increase fish production Demonstration tanks at the Linde Innovation Centre, Norway 4 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■ JULY/AUGUST 2013 volume, optimise fish meat quality and considerably improve fish farming operations from an environmental standpoint. The ability to produce fish from infancy to maturity in on-land tanks has significant environmental benefits. The water flowing through fish tanks can be recycled to a high extent and pollution to the marine environment and the possible spread of disease to wild fish is prevented. NINE BILLION MOUTHS TO FEED With the prospect that by 2050 the world will have nine billion mouths to feed, the aquaculture industry is expected to play a big role. Fish has long been part of the regular diet for some populations of the world and in other countries across the globe eating fish is becoming more common, with both developed and less developed countries consuming this source of protein. The increasing affluence of some populations means an increase in per capita protein needs. Fish stands out as a protein source that has the ability to manage the resources and environmental issues, said Dr Rick Sibbel director of Merck Animal Health. The importance of fish for food in the future is also related to its conversion capacity; fish has one of the best conversion capacities, meaning it can convert nutrients to protein much better than other animals. YELLOWTAIL KINGFISH SURVEILLANCE LAUNCHED Two diseases that affect the yellowtail kingfish are to be monitored by The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) of Chile. The nation is aiming to diversify its aquaculture industry with a targeted programme of yellowtail kingfish farming in the Atacama region and investigation of the adaptation of the fish to captivity. Sernapesca has launched its Active Surveillance Programme to monitor the two diseases that affect the yellowtail kingfish; the sea bream iridovirus and the viral haemorrhagic septicemia. "Today, it is essential to have new monitoring and tracking tools such as PVA [Active Surveillance Programme]," says Jose Pablo Irribarra, Sernapesca Fish Health veterinarian doctor in Atacama. "A similar programme is performed for monitoring and tracking salmon, but it is the first time it has been conducted for Seriola species, so it is extremely important, as it is an innovative culture within the country." The Diversification Programme of Chilean Aquaculture, under which Sernapesca is active, has plans to consolidate its onshore production and initiate future export prospects. Sernapesca hopes that