New fishmeal ‘is a genuine breakthrough’
Pelagia says fresher, more digestible product helps produce bigger, healthier fish
Wild-caught fish products heavyweight Pelagia has launched a new fishmeal for aquafeed which it says delivers major benefits in the form of significantly bigger and healthier fish.
Norwegian-owned Pelagia, a leading producer of pelagic fish products for human consumption, and a major supplier of ingredients in fish- and animal feed, says its Pro-Allo fishmeal is formulated and manufactured to create the optimal conditions in fish to support allostasis – the biological process of fighting stress caused by factors such as changes in environment and handling.
Trials commissioned by Pelagia in seabass found that the inclusion of Pro-Allo in feed reduced the number of vulnerable fish by up to 86% compared with feed made using high quality Group 1 fishmeal. Pro-Allo was also shown to improve the specific growth rate by up to 19% and feed efficiency by as much as 30%.
Salmon trials soon
Pelagia said Pro-Allo has not yet been studied in salmon or trout, but it expects similar effects to those seen in seabass. The company intends to verify with trials with salmon as soon as possible.
Pro-Allo offers incremental benefits over Group 1 fishmeal in three key areas, said Pelagia. Pro-Allo has improved raw material freshness, optimised protein digestibility, and increased levels of water-soluble components.
“The water-soluble protein fraction in fishmeal is important for fish growth and wellbeing,” Pelagia said in a press release.
“Levels of such components in conventional fishmeal vary between 18% and 32%, in line with industry quality parameters. By contrast, Pro-Allo contains more than 32% water-soluble protein. This represents a completely new approach. Until now, high levels of water-soluble components in fishmeal have been considered a sign of poor microbiological quality. However, Pro-Allo is formulated and manufactured in such a way to maximise the presence of beneficial water-soluble components and reduce the presence of the undesirable growth-retarding components that are usually associated with a lack of freshness.”
'A new level'
Pro-Allo was developed in collaboration with fishmeal expert Dr Anders Aksnes.
He said: “Pro-Allo delivers superior fish wellbeing, growth and robustness by increasing the level of beneficial water-soluble components that appear to support the allostasis phase in fish during challenging periods in their lifecycle. The development of Pelagia’s Pro-Allo has the potential to take the fishmeal sector to a new level.”
Pelagia’s chief operating officer, Arnt-Ove Blytt-Tøsdal Kolås, said: “For many years now, we’ve seen very little that’s new in fishmeal, but Pro-Allo changes that. By optimising the level of beneficial water-soluble components supporting allostasis, it represents a genuine breakthrough – and one that we believe will be warmly welcomed in the world of aquaculture.
“We’re also delighted to say that Pro-Allo is just the start, and there will be more innovations to come from Pelagia’s science-based innovation pipeline in the future.”
White paper
In a white paper about the science behind Pro-Allo, Pelagia says that incorporating Pro-Allo in commercial feed may be especially useful when fish are facing the following challenges:
- The larvae and smolt stage
- Disease
- Unfamiliar temperatures
- Physical handling
- A feed regime with high levels of plant protein
The white paper can be downloaded here.
A big player
Pelagia’s feed division produces fishmeal, protein concentrates and fish oil in Norway, UK and Ireland. It has eight production facilities for fishmeal and fish oil, and three facilities for production of protein concentrates and oil, and employs 209 full-time equivalent staff.
Another division, Pelagia Hordafor, produces protein concentrates and oil from salmon processing trimmings.
Pelagia is owned 50/50 by Austevoll Seafood ASA and Kvefi AS, both of which are connected to the salmon farming sector.
Austevoll Seafood ASA is the majority shareholder in both Norway’s third-largest salmon farmer Lerøy Seafood Group, which owns half of Scottish Sea Farms, and Birkeland Farming AS, which operates seven salmon and trout farming and production licences in Vestland, Norway.
Kvefi AS is owned majority owned by Kverva Industries, a holding company for the Witzøe family that controls SalMar, the world’s second largest Atlantic salmon farmer. SalMar also owns 50% of Scottish Sea Farms.
