Tag soy

The U.S. Soybean Export Council explores export opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa, finding the region holds “much potential” for aquaculture growth. 

As business leaders switch focus from biofuels and energy to food security, one convert dubs the aquafeed opportunity a needed “redeployment” of knowledge. 

At the Barcelona Seafood Summit, an expert panel discussed a sustainable future for aquafeeds. What stands between us and that future? 

Something must change if the U.S. government hopes to encourage rather than discourage aquaculture, particularly in federal “offshore” waters. Neil Sims says it’s time to stop exporting knowledge, innovation and investment. 

Aquaculture could be a sustainable alternative to fishing for tuna but achieving commercial-scale production has proven challenging. 

Research shows farmed fish fed diets heavy on vegetable oils have higher amounts of omega-6s and lower amounts of omega-3s, compared to fish fed diets heavy on fish oil. We take a deep dive into the relationship between the two fatty acids. 

Intensive pond aquaculture (IPA) technology, a floating, in-pond raceway system developed in the United States, is being adopted fast in China, just three years after its introduction, says Jim Zhang, aquaculture program manager for USSEC-China.  

The U.S. Soybean Export Council is a huge supporter of aquaculture growth globally, as so many aquafeed formulators rely on U.S. soy to create nutritious diets. The Southeast Asia senior technical advisor for USSEC’s aquaculture program talks about this symbiotic partnership. 

A cooperative feeding demonstration conducted by USSEC and Amazon Fish Products S.A. evaluated the use of soy to partially replace fishmeal in diets for paiche, or pirarucu, the largest freshwater fish species. 

Interest is growing in a two-year-long competition aimed at driving innovation in the aquafeed sector. The F3 prize for a demonstrably fish-free feed comes with a cash reward, and possibly a glimpse at the future. 

China, the world’s largest producer of farmed fish, represents a huge opportunity for the Global Aquaculture Alliance and its Best Aquaculture Practices certification scheme. GAA’s Steve Hart talks about the inroads the organization has already made and how he can leverage his background in the soy industry. 

Turbot are typically fed diets containing 45 to 65 percent fishmeal. In a study that gave turbot feed with 40 percent soy protein concentrate, the fish had decent growth and excellent survival. 

To help produce high-quality aquaculture feeds, the U.S. Soybean Export Council spearheaded the Asian Aquaculture Feed Formulation Database project, designed as a reference tool for individuals involved in feed formulation, ingredient purchasing, quality control and research. 

A feeding demonstration in Costa Rica evaluated the partial replacement of fishmeal in diets for spotted rose snappers with soy protein concentrate (SPC). It found no significant difference between the performance of fish fed an SPC-based diet and those that received commercial fishmeal-based diets. 

Reduced performance in fish fed high-soy feeds has been blamed on antinutrients, low methionine content and palatability issues. Pretreatment to inactivate anti-nutritional compounds and supplementation with amino acids improves soy-based feed performance, but not to control levels.