BioMarine Conference Report

January | February 2013

BioMarine Conference Report

The International magazine for the aquaculture feed industry

International Aquafeed is published six times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom.All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published. ©Copyright 2013 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1464-0058

INCORPORAT ING f I sh fARm ING TeChNOlOGy

http://www.aquafeed.co.uk

BioMarineisaninternationalplatformdedicatedtothesafe,environmentally-friendlydevelopmentofproducts frommarinebioresources includingallthosetodowithaquaculture.

Becauseofitsimportanceinthedevelopmentofamoreprofessionally-run and consumer-aware aquaculture indus-try, International Aquafeed co-hosted the 2012 BioMarineBusiness Convention, held in London from October 24-25lastyear.Itattractedsome150delegatesandparticipantsandwas supported by the following companies: Novus, Olmix,Pronova Biopharma, Sofiproteol and Marine Genomics 4Users.

IAFisproudtocarryafullreportfromtheevent’suniqueThinkTanksthatdealtwithissuesconfrontingthevarioussec-torsundertheBioMarineumbrellainthisissue.Theycoveredsixintotalincluding:AlgaeinAquafeeds;MarineBiotechforHealth;Nutraceuticals;Aquaculture;MarineBiotech for theEnvironment and Marine Micro-algae and Nutrition. Eachforumgaveparticipants,mostlyseniorpersonnelandindustryleaders, theopportunity to express theiropinions and sug-gestions on how the biomarine sector might identify andovercomeobstaclesthatthatconfronteditsdevelopmentinasustainableandenvironmentally-friendlymanner.

Morefromthiseventwillbepublishedaswegothroughtheyearintheformofinterviews,newsreportsandfollow-upaction.Manyoftheissuesraisedwillbepickedupbythe4th BioMarine Business Convention – which is expectedto attractover 800participants –when it is held inNorthAmericafromSeptember9-12,2013(attheHalifaxWorldTrade and Convention Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia,Canada).

The VenueProfessor Simon Davies, Editor of the International

Aquafeed magazine, secured the venue for the BioMarine2012eventatFishmongers’HallintheheartofLondon–ahistoricalsiteintermsofwhatwasdiscussedandhighlighted–fromwhichmanyoftheindustriesattendinghadfirstevolved.

TheHall,sittingalongsidetheRiverThames,datesbacktoNeolithictimeswiththeBritishMuseumhavingadecoratedbowl(3300–2700BC),foundintheriver.

The river has supported human activity from its sourceto its mouth for thousands of years providing habitation,waterpower, food anddrink and acted as amajor highway

for international trade. The river has been recorded withmore than100 fish species in theestuaryover thepast30years,manyofthesearewithinthestretchofwaterthroughLondon.

Fishmongers’Hallsitsat1LondonBridge,wheretheriverstretches to awidthof 265meters, it is the homeof TheWorshipfulCompanyofFishmongers,oneofthe108LiveryCompaniesoftheCityofLondon.Beingaguildofthesellersof fishandseafood inthecity, thecompanyranks fourth intheorderofprecedenceofLiveryCompanies,makingitoneoftheGreat12CityLiveryCompanies.

Originallybuiltin1310,theHallhashadacheckeredpast.Anewhall,on thepresent site,wasbequeathed to the

companyin1434.Togetherwith43othercompanyhalls,thisonewasdestroyedintheGreatFireofLondonin1666andareplacementhalldesignedbythearchitectEdwardJermanopened in 1671. Jerman's Hall was taken down when thenewLondonBridgewasconstructedin1827.

The next hall, opened in 1834, was designed by HenryRoberts although his assistant Gilbert Scott made thedrawings for the new building and built by William Cubitt& Company. After severe bomb damage during the Blitz,Fishmongers'HallwasrestoredbyAustenHallandreopenedin1951.

The Hall contains many treasures, including: the daggerwithwhichLordMayorWalworthkilledWatTylerin1381;PietroAnnigoni'sfirstportraitofHerMajestyTheQueen;acollectionof17th-and18th-century silver; anembroidered15th-century funeral pall; twoportraits byGeorgeRomneyandriverscenesbySamuelScott.

Amemorableandappropriatevenuefromwhichtohostsuch a forward thinkingmeeting, representing a numberofkeyindustriesfromawidevarietyofsectors,allwhichhaveaninterestinsafeguardingthefutureofourbiomarineresources.

www.biomarine.org

Conference Report

including reviews of Think Tanks from the event

24 -25 October 2012 Fishmongers' Hall, LondonUnited Kingdom

99999999

http://www.alltech.com

30 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | January-February 2013

FEATURE

January-February 2013 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | 31

The incorporation of algae intoaquafeed has come in and out offashionover thepast fewdecadesso the aim of the session was

to discuss all aspects of this growing andnot well-understood industry and to agreeon four critical areas which will enhanceimprovementintothefuture.

It became clear during the discussions ofthe vast differences on this subject betweenEU/Westwheremajority iswildharvest andused as hydrocolloids whereas in Asia themajorityisfarmedandusedforfood/feed.

The need to concentrate in this Think-Tank on macro as against micro was alsoestablished however there was a completeunderstanding that both were immenselyimportant and commonalities can be found

betweenthetwo.Comparedtoother typesof aquaculture, the production of seaweed(macroalgae)isonlysurpassedbyfreshwaterfishesandrepresentsover30percentoftheworldwideindustry.

Unicellularalgaeisaheterogeneousprod-uct;amixofproteins,carbohydratesandlip-ids.Inunicellularalgaethereismuchvariationin composition between species/strains and

theproportionofthesecanevenbeaffectedbythegrowingconditions.

Algae(bothmacroandmicro)areexcel-lent sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, FolicAcid,AntioxidantsandCarotenoids.

Extracts from seaweed, in a similarfashion to terrestrial plant extracts, havebeen shown to have a wide range ofbiologicalactivities.Thetwomajorclassesof molecules in seaweeds that have themost potential as functional food ingredi-ents are polysaccharides and polypheno-lics.Polyphenolicshaveprovenantioxidantactivity,andhavebeensuccessfullyincorpo-ratedintodrinksandotherfoodconsuma-bles.Seaweedpolysaccharidesareunique,abundant,andcosteffectively isolatedbutneed to be partially hydrolyzed for inclu-sion in various foods due to their gelling

properties. Seaweedpolysaccharides havebeen shown to haveheparin-likeanticoagu-lationactivity,antiviral,immune-enhancingand anti-cancer activi-ties,cholesterollower-ingactivity,lipidlower-ing effects, and bloodpressure-loweringbenefitsamongstmanyotherthings.

Objectives and discussion points

The big question asked was “Can macro algae replace fishmeal and fish oil in aqua-feeds?”

Other issues were centered on globalissuesofregulations,spaceavailability,indus-tryactivities, sharingofknowledge,wastage,etc.

Where do we position algae in thefeed industry? Is it a fishmeal replace-ment? Is it a fishoil replacement? Is it a

functional feedadditive?The solutions tothisdependson:• Large-scaleproduction;requiredifused

forbothlipidandprotein• Nutritionalspaceinthediet;lowprotein/

lipid content may result in insufficientspaceinthefeedformulation

• Cost; if its more expensive that otherfeed additives it needs to differentiateitselffromotherproducts

Comments made by participants in thevariousbreakoutgroupsincluded:

• IntheEU“thebiggestmarketformacroalgae is hydrocolloids“. Whilst thatindustry produces many co-productsthat have the potential for aquafeedinclusionitdoesnotdothat.Whereas“in Asia algae is not a new product,theyareaheadoftheWest inutilisingalgae”. Algae is used, and advertisedwidely, in everything from foods andbeverages to body lotions and facepacks

• Currentlyproductionseemsuntargeted.More information on digestible proteinlevelsand lipid/Omega-3dataneedstobepromoted

• Itwassuggestedtoselectoptimalstrainsandthenrefineprocessesforthem

Questions of functionality were raised:• Addingflavour;alotofworkneedsdoingto

makesuretheendproductistherightflavour• Functionality will be different for each

fish species; therefore, which are themainspeciestotarget?

• Manyproductscouldprovidefunctional-ity in the diet of salmonids. There isstill space in the market for functionalingredientsintropicalspecies

• “We need industry to lead and tellacademics what they need from theproducts” and this should include thepriceoftheproductandhowitrelatestothepriceofothercommodities"

Think Tank 1 on: Algae and aquafeedmacro algae valorization– from the sea to aquaculture markets

Moderators

Roy Palmer, Seafood Experience Australia Ltd (SEA), Australia

Professor Simon Davies, IAF and Plymouth University, UK

Sponsor

Olmix, France

Note Taking

Dan Leeming, PhD student, Plymouth University, UK

ThinkTank1onalgaeandaquafeedsetaboutestablishingfourcriticalactionpointsthatwillassistintheongoingexploitationofalgaeproductsforuseinaquaculturediets.Thereportcoversallthekeypointsraisedinthediscussion.

30 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | January-February 2013 January-February 2013 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | 31

FEATURE

Other comments• How will the development and possible

futureacceptanceofGMOterrestrialprod-uctsaffectneedformacroalgalproducts?

• It was agreed that a big issue was towork out how to process the baseproducttobeleftwithsomethingusable

• We need to use low molecular weightmolecules.Iftoohighmolecularweightmol-eculesareusedtheproductisunpalatable

• Nutrition is the best market forantioxidants

• The issuewithproductionwasraised:with the exception of Ascophyllumspp. (which can be harvested) onlythegatheringof ‘washups’ isallowed.The possibility of land-based tankproductionwasraised,butonlyviablefor certain species. Offshore produc-tion requires overcoming engineeringchallenges. InNorway therehasbeenworkcarriedoutforthepast60yearsin collaboration with the authoritiesthatallowsharvestingofotherspecies

• A goal of the EU dossier technologyinnovation platform, was to investigatemulti-trophic aquaculture, i.e. plantingalgal beds around seafarm sites. Issuesraisedwiththiswerethatthedispersionof nutrients in the water column wasvery rapid (within a few metres) andthat it is also very site specific, not allsiteswouldbesuitable

Outcomes and recommendations

1. Functional feed propertiesConstruct abenefit:cost analysis (andpos-

sibly environmental analysis) that highlightsthe benefits of macro algae and comparewith competitive ingredients to promote theimportanceoftheindustry.Buildatemplateontheusesandbenefitsofmacroalgaetoensureit is seen and understood. Bring the industryclosertogethertoensuretheyshareandbuildcooperation.Areasofconcernincluded:

• Reviseddefinition–Bioactivecharacteristics/supra-nutritional

• Proteinhydrolyzates• Essentialfattyacids• Highvaluemolecules–Antioxidants–Pigments

• Prebiotics• Traceelements• Endproductquality

2. CapacityCreatecase studies thathighlightbenefitsof

holisticapproachtobuildcapacityandminimisewastage in industry, which will show the wayforwardintermsofbestpractice.Promotenewtechnologiesinprocessingandconnectharvesterswithenduserstoensuremaximisationofchain.Build education platforms based on increased

knowledgeand“promotethesea,whichisthegreatestfieldontheplanet.”(Olmix)

1.Currently an un-holistic approach inwesternprocessing

2.Driverforthefuture3.Asian approach100percent foodwith

productionalmostallfarmed4.Outside Asia 90 percent for hydrocol-

loidswithproductioncenteredonwildharvestcreating35-50percentwaste

5.Planforintegratedprocessingcycle

3. Marketing strategyAssembling market knowledge and infor-

mationona globalwebsite topromoteandassisttheindustryinternationallytofosterbestpractices and build capabilities in this area.Training and education actions needed toimproveinternalandexternalknowledgeandunderstandinganddevelopment.

• Understand the product and define,documentandvalidateallclaimsbetheyin science,private research, regulations,certification (standards - food safety,environmental,sustainable,welfare,etc)

• Understand the market and define cli-ents,marketandcompetition

• Survey,explainWIFMandotherbenefitsandgetfeedback

• Marketing plan should include brand,logo, product statements, communica-tion/PRstrategyandteamorganisation

• Define andeducateyourmar-keting team andbeyond

• Continuousimprovementprocessof reviewessential

4. Legislation/Regulation

Structure theindustry around aninternational organi-sationthatcouldfos-ter the emergenceof best practices,improve internation-al regulatory aspect,help IP protectionand work globallyon environmentalconflicts to assistdevelopment andpossiblecertification.Thisorganisationwillalso foster innova-tive approaches andhelp the funding,prioritising research,communication andnurturing of newtechniques.

• Lackofglobalalgaefederationorregu-latingbody

• Protecttechnology–patents/IP• Newproductsneedtobeproposedas

‘seavegetableextracts’orthelegislationinvolved in developing a new foodsourcewouldbeamajorhindrance.

• Environmental legislation issues withopenwaterculturingandharvesting.

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Special themes

Companies attending the Think Tank included:

ADM-Alltech-AlgaeLink-Algopack-A-SparkGoodVentures-BioMar-Cargill-CyberColloids-EuropeanAquacultureSociety-EWOSInnovation-Fermentalg-Financonsult-FMCBioPolymer-INVEaquaculture-Invivo-NSA-Marelife-NovozymesA/S-NovusInternational-OlmixGroup-PlymouthMarineLaboratory-PlymouthUniversity-PolytechnicInstituteofLeiria-PrinceEdwardIslandBioAlliance-ScrippsInstitutionofOceanographyUCSD-Setubio-SeventurePartners-ShannonAppliedBiotechnologyCentre-SkrettingARC-Sofiproteol-SPF-DianaAquativ-TanergyLtd.-TechnopoleMaritimeduQuébec-Thalocea-VariconAquaSolutionsandXanthella

The offshore aquacultureindustr y has requestedthatUnitedNations’ FAO

conduct an assessment of theaccess and operational frame-works for open ocean maricul-ture in theHigh Seas, andmakerecommendations as to how tobetter encourage work towardsmaricultureinwatersbeyondanyone nation’s EEZs.A statementto this effectwasdrafted atTheOffshoreMaricultureConference,held in Izmir,Turkey, over threedays from October 17-19, 2012and the Turkish governmentoffered to formally convey therequesttoFAO.

The statement adopted at theconclusionoftheconferencedrewfromanumberofprecedingdecla-rations–includingthe2010GlobalConference onAquaculture, thePhuketConsensusof2010,andtheColomboDeclarationof2011,allofwhichhaveemphasised thecriticalrole for aquaculture in feeding theworld, stimulatingeconomicdevel-opment, providing employmentand reducing existing negativeimpactsonthemarineenvironment.Most recently, the BremerhavenDeclaration of 2012 spoke spe-cifically of the need for increasedresearch, development, investmentand policy frameworks for openoceanaquaculture.

Deeper, and further offshore“Thereisgrowinginterestfrom

theprivatesectorinexploringthepotentialforaquacultureinwatersthat are increasingly deeper, andfurtheroffshore” says conferencechairman, NeilAnthony Sims, ofKampachiFarms,LLC.“Giventhatmany nations – such as those inthe Mediterranean – still onlyexert national authority as far as12 miles offshore, then there isa looming question about whathappens in the ‘Areas BeyondNational Jurisdiction’ (ABNJ).Weneed to start to address this inanticipation of, and in order

to encourage these develop-ments.”

The conference heard keynotepresentations from AlessandroLovatelli, FAOAquacultureOfficer;Paul Holthus of World OceanCouncil;andHaraldRosenthalwhohad Chaired the BremerhavenConference. Each spoke of theopportunityandtheimperativeforaquaculture’s rightsandresponsibil-ities tobebetterdefined inABNJ.MrHolthus describedhowmanyinternationalconventionsandagree-ments regardingABNJ are eitheralreadyestablished,orareunderdis-cussion,without any real consider-ationof thepotential for aquacul-ture,andwithminimalconsultationwithindustry.

The conference was officiallyopened by Dr Durali Kocak, theDirector-General of FisheriesandAquacultureattheTurkishMinistry of Food,AgricultureandLivestock,whodescribedhow theTurkish governmenthad prioritised aquaculturedevelopment.The industry inTurkey isexpandingat aphe-nomenalrate,asitindeedmust,tomeet thegrowingdemand,but care is being taken toensure that such growth iswithinthesea’secologicallimits,hesaid.

Othe r p re sen t a t i on sexplored a rangeof planningandmanagementtoolsthatarebeingsetuparoundtheworldto better integrate aquacul-ture intocoastalplanning initi-atives.New species develop-ment, provisionof seed (fishfingerlings or bivalve spat)and feed developments foroffshoremariculturewerealsoreviewed.

Michael Ebeling, of theWegner Institute inGermany,and Dr Amir Neori of theIsraeliOceanographic Institute(togetherwithGamzeTuranofEgeUniversity) spokeon thepotential to co-locate aquac-

ultureandoffshoreenergyprojectssuchaswindfarms,andtheprospectsandneed formacroalgaeculture inoffshorelocations.

Ontheseconddayof thecon-ference, a number of presen-tations highlighted engineeringimprovementstooffshorenetpensystems, including dramatic videofootageofsharkstryinginvaintobreakthroughDyneema’sPred-X,andAKVA’s Econet / Kikkonet,along with data demonstratingtheantifoulingpropertiesofbrassalloymeshes

Thedayalso includedreviewsofnewdevelopments in single-pointmooringsystemsforself-submergingsurfacepensandforshrimpcultureinAquapods,tension legcagesandtestingofmorerobustsurfacepensandunanchored‘driftercages’.New

advances in net pens and servicevessels for exposed Norwegiansalmon farm siteswerepresentedbyFinnWillumsenofAquaCultureEngineeringAS,andMatsHeideofSINTEFFisheries andAquaculture,respectively.

On the final day, conferenceattendeesweregiveafirst-handlookat theboomingTurkishaquacultureindustry, as theywerehostedonatouroffishprocessingfacilities;aboattripout toexposed farmsites forseabass, seabreamand tuna; andawalk-throughofmarinefishhatcheryfacilitiesintheIzmirarea.

Thedatesandvenueforthe2014OffshoreMaricultureConferencewillbereleasedshortly.

More InforMatIon:www.offshoremariculture.com

Offshore mariculture industry looks to high seas opportunities


Aqua News

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Bio-discoveryfrommarinemicrobes,invertebrates, microalgae andmacroalgaeisnotasimplematter.The BioMarine ‘Think Tank for

health’emphasisedtheimportanceofjoiningup the value chain, by creating clustersand public-private partnerships, improvingandstreamliningknowledgeandtechnologytransferandintegratingsmallerplayersmuchbetter into the commercial and investmentcommunitiestheyaretargeting.

The global market for products frommarine biotechnology is forecast to reachover US$4 billion by 2015. But a successfulpharmaceuticalproductcancostUS$5billionfordiscovery,developmentandmarket(takingintoaccountthecostofallthefailedleads.

Marinebio-resourceshavealottooffertohealthandwellbeing,buttheyfeedintomanyother sectors, making marine bio-businessquitecomplex.

In addition to heavy investment in USAon algal biofuels, the OECD has a newinitiative in marine biotechnology and theEU’snewHorizon2020strategyandsupportprogrammespecificallymentionsbluebiotechand marine biomass as contributors to theeconomyofthefuture.

Investorsalsoneedmoreinformationandeducation about marine bio-resources andhowtheyfeedintocommercialopportunities.Thisisnotnew,butthechallengesofmarinebiotechnology come from the origins of theopportunities and the costs and resourcesneeded to exploit them. This immediatelyindicatestheimportanceofpublicfunding,forexample, throughpublic-privatepartnerships,to make biotech for health a reality in thefuture.

In the discussion, key topics emergedincluded:• Lack of thinking at the research stage

aboutdownstreamissuesforexploitation• How to validate the many molecules

for thedownstream intendeduses andtherapeuticopportunities

• Howtobuildpipelinessocompaniesarenot‘single-product’

• Howto linkbasicandappliedresearchmoreeffectively

• Howtotakecareoftheproductregula-toryneedsfromtheearliestpointinthevaluechain

• Howtojoinupthesupplychainefficiently• Businessmodelsandhowtomanagethe

costexplosioninpharmadevelopment• If a company begins with one type of

product eg cosmetic ingredients, howto manage business conversion to egpharmaceuticals

• Communication of messages aboutmarine biotechnology prospects toinvestors and the public, specificallysustainability,‘naturalness’

Workgroups therefore addressed threetopics:• Clusters, networks, public-private part-

nerships('joiningupthechain')• Science,technologyandinfrastructures• The commercial context and invest-

ment,regulation&IPOutcomesandrecommendations

Joiningupthevaluechain:• There is a need for better analysis

of each sector’s value-chains and theprospectswithinthesectors,toidentifythereallow-hangingopportunities

• Casestudiesshowthatclusterswork• For more complex topics with longer

value chains, Public-PrivatePartnerships


FEATURE


Think Tank 2 Marine biotechnology and health

Moderator

Meredith Lloyd-Evans, Managing Director Biobridge Ltd, UK

Sponsor

Marine Genomics 4 Users

Note taker:

Mark Rawling, PhD student at Plymouth University, UK

ThinkTank2focusedonMarinebiotechnologyandhealth.ItwasledbyMeredithLloyd-Evans,anindependentbioscienceinnova-tionconsultantwhoiscurrentlymanageroftheCSAMarineBiotech,anEU-fundedprojectpreparingthewayforanERA-NETinMarineBiotechnologyandapartnerforcommunicationandIPmattersinPharmaSea,anEUFP7projectfocusedonstreamliningdeliveryofnewmarinenaturalproductstoend-usercompanies.Theco-moderatorwasDrJohannaWesnigkofEMPA.

Threeattendeesoffered theirexperiencesandviewsonwhatwerebottlenecksandchallengesforthefutureonbiotechnologyforhealth:

Russell KerrRussellKerr,NautilusBiosciencesCanada,focusesoncosmeceuticalandnutraceutical

usesofmarinebioproductsbecausetheseareeasiertogettomarket.Whenthecompanyhassufficientresources,attentionmayturntopharmaceuticals.

Hepointedoutthateventhoughmaybe20,000newMNPshadbeendiscoveredoverthepast40years,onlyfourhadmadeitintoclinicaluseaspharmaceuticals.Hechallengedattendeestoexplainwhysuccessratesweresolowandwhat,ifanything,couldbedone.

Onefactorimpedingprogressisthateachcompanyinthisareahaditsownculturecol-lectionanditsownscreens.Theimplicationisthatcollaborationmighthelpmovethewholesectorforward,thoughIPissuescanposeproblems.However,onebenefithasbeenthatthehighcostofinitialscreeninghasstimulateddevelopmentofbetter-targetedreceptorscreens.

Patricia Calado PatriciaCalado,BioAlvoPortugalworksonproductsfrommarinemicroorganismsfrom

Portugal’scontinentalshelf,includingextremophiles.Keyissuesforthecompanyincludethelegalaspectsofaccessandbenefit-sharing,IP

issues,howtoensuresustainablesupply,scale-upandbetterintegrationofinfrastructuresfor collection, screening and validation and increasing thebasic knowledgeofmicrobialphysiologyandtaxonomy.IntegratedGovernmentpoliciesarealsoneeded.

Tage Skotvold Tage Skotvold , ScandiDerma Norway represents a newer company, established in

2010.The challenges are access to soft funding - not just risk capital, usingmarineby-productsaswellasmarinelife,buildingin-houseresearchcapability,establishingappropri-ateprocessingtechniquesthatarescaleable,managingregulationsanddetermininghowtogetproductiveinteractionswithestablishedindustryforexample,throughclusters,whichareveryuseful.

Acceptancebytheconsumerisveryimportantforby-productuseaswell.

couldbeeffectivewaysofprovidingthe‘researcharm’ forpartneringwith ‘largepharma’

• Technology Centers for marinebiotechnology, with specialised infra-structure might provide ‘one-stopshops’forchainconnection

Science,technologyandinfrastructures:• Marine biotech is not being well-

servedbylackofknowledgeamongsttechnology-transferoffices

• More fora for meeting of scientistsandindustrialplayerswouldgeneratebetter understanding and sharing ofneedsandpossibilities

• A global source of ‘soft’ fundingwould promote the transition fromproof of concept to demonstrationandcommercial-scaleforinnovations

• Specific incubatorprogrammes couldberecommended

• Discouragetheuseofnon-sustainablesourcesofMBtlibraries

Commercial context – investment, regu-lation,IP• Theneedforlong-termstabilitymeans

that VC and short-term investmentstrategies are not appropriate eitherat set-up or for longer survival ofnewbusinesses;encouragingbusinessangel groups and raising awarenessand knowledge-levels amongst thesewouldbefruitful

• Smaller players in innovation shouldconsidermorecollaborationsbetweenthem,andsellingskillsandknowledge,rather than pushing molecules atbig pharma or trying to go too fardownthevalue-chain;itisusuallytoodifficultforsmallcompaniestohandlethe cost and stresses of regulatoryprocesses

• Nevertheless, the existence of smallcompanies willing to take part inbiodiscovery de-risks this activityfor big companies and justifies theperceived need for entrepreneurialcompanies to supply into biggerpharma (and equivalent ‘big’ compa-nies – food/nutraceutical, cosmetics/cosmeceutical)

• Better and more efficient recogni-tion, development and transfer ofacademicIPinthisareaisneeded

• The attributes and benefits of MBtcould be better communicated. IntermsofgivingMBtadifferentimage,thehigherhitratecouldbeastartingpoint

Someof the points raised abovewerediscussed further in Think Tank 5 in thecontext of Marine Biotechnology and theEnvironment.


FEATURE

Companies attending this Think Tank:AquaBioTechnologyASA-A-SparkGoodVentures-AlgalBioenergySpecialInterestGroup-Bioalvo-BioNova-BioTechNorth-

BretagneDeveloppementInnovation-CCMar-EMPA-EuropeanMarineBiologicalResourceCentre(EMBRC)-GovernmentofPortugal-GretteLaw-innoVactiv-InnovationNorway-JPIOceans-TheResearchCouncilofNorway-KielCenterformarinenaturalproducts-Marealis-MarineBiotechnologyProgrammeofIreland-MaxPlanckInstitute-NationalResearchCouncilofCanada-NautilusBiosciencesCanada-NovagraafTechnologies-NovusInternational-Soliance-MarineBio-TechnologiesCenterofInnovation-NationalUniversityofIreland,Galway-OceanGate,Inc.-Oceanomicsproject,Roscoff-Polaris-PolytechnicInstituteofLeiria-PwC-RoscoffMarineBiologicalStation-SaintMaloAgglomeration-ScandiDermaAS-UniveristyCollegeCork-UniversityofAveiro

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To address key challenges facinginternational marine ingredientscompanies, this session aimed atexaminingbioactive, functionaland

nutritional ingredients for use in food, sup-plementsandasnutraceuticalingredients.

Marketingofingredientswasalsodiscussedalongwithstepsrequiredtoensurethepurityandefficacyoftheproduct.

The Think Tank agreed that there areconcernsandunansweredquestionsregardingadverse effects associated with consumptionofn-3LCPUFAintermsofsafeintakelevels,which,mayberelatedtoregulationregardingthepresenceofpollutants.

Furthermore, there is a need to informand educate consumers about differences inthe quality of marine oils that are producedandsafetechnologiesthatsuccessfullyremovepollutantsfromtheseproducts.

Positive growthDetails regarding the numerous

good studies that exist proving theefficacyofOmega-3swerediscussed.ThereisapositivegrowthforOmega3 products globally due mainly toconsumer willingness to purchaseOmega-3products.

Furthermore, there isanexpand-ing public awareness of Omega-3sandtheirhealthbenefits.

A limiting factor in thecontinued successofOmega-3productsisthemediaperceptionwhichissometimesorientedtosensationaliseneutral studies regarding the efficacy andpurityofOmega-3products.

These meta analysis are often done onpoor scientific grounds, comparing incompa-rable groups, and that the neutral outcomeisdue to this andnot lackofefficacyof theOmega-3.

Despitethisthemediaattentioncanoftenbe perceived by consumers and can impactonmarketsalessignificantly.

In Norway there was a case involving atwo-part documentary that looked at the

production of Omega-3s in South America.Thenegativemediaattention forthisactivityresultedina30percentdecreaseinOmega-3productsalesinNorway.

IntermsofOmega-3productpuritythereis a perception that “natural” (non- proc-essed)productsarebetterfortheconsumerthanchemicallyprocessedOmega-3products.Thisisoftennotthecase.Infact,processingisoftenrequiredtoensurethesafetyandpurityofOmega-3products.ThegroupconcludedthatthereisaneedtoeducatetheconsumerregardingprocessingtechnologiesusedforthepurificationofOmega-3products.

With respect to this, several membersof the group mentioned GOED (GlobalAssociationofEPAandDHA)effortaroundinformationandeducationonOmega3.Theyaim to educate consumers about the healthbenefits of EPA and DHA by working with

government groups, the healthcare com-munity and the industry, while setting highstandardsfortheOmega-3businesssector.

The latter is done by having a volun-tary monograph with very strict limits forpollutants far surpassing the requirementsin European and US official monographas.GOED is committed to personal integrity,ethical corporate behavior, sustainability ofthe raw materials, public safety and qualityassurance.GOEDsupportapetitiontoestab-lish clear intake recommendations in NorthAmericaandadvancerecognitionoftheroletheseimportantnutrientsplayinnutrition.

The group also concluded that there isa need to educate the medical community,

specifically medical doctors and pharmacistswith information concerning the positivehealth effects and preventative healthcarerole that Omega-3s can play in the diet oftheconsumer.ThegrouprecommendedthatGovernmentsshouldbeenticedtofinanciallysupport “drives” to educate consumers andthe medical profession in particular. This, itwasfeltbythegroup,couldplayamajorroleconcerning consumer uptake of Omega-3supplementproducts,inparticular.

EfficacyIn termsof theefficacyofOmega-3sand

scientific studies, the group felt that there isa need todefine theuser group in scientificstudies concerning the impact of Omega-3productsonconsumers.Mainly it isdepend-ent on professionally designed trials withrelevantpatientorusergroups.EFSAsefforts

tocontroltheclaimsthataremadeandtheirscientific foundation isthereforeaverygoodinitiative.Atthemoment it ishassomestartup difficulties and undesired effects, but forthe future stringent control of and high sci-entificstandardstoclaimsbeingmadeonanysupplementsbothprotectstheconsumeraswellasdisciplinestheindustry.

Genetics can play a role in the effect ofOmega-3onindividuals.

However, the group felt going down therouteofpersonalisednutritionforOmega-3swaswayoutofscope,whiletheuseofgenet-ics is more relevant in clinical applications,where personalised medicine is a growingsegment.


FEATURE


Think Tank 3 Nutraceuticals – ‘Omega-3s efficacy and purity’

Moderator

Dr Maria Hayes, Natural Products Chemist, Teagasc Food Research Centre,Ashton, Ireland

Sponsor

Pronova Pharma

Note taker:

Benedict Standen, PhD student at Plymouth University, UK

TheobjectiveofThinkTank3wasaimedtoprovideanswersandguidelinesforthedeterminationofgoodqualityoilsfrompooreroilsandwaystoensuretheefficacyandpurityofOmega-3productsglobally.

Members of the group felt that a goodwaytoensurethatconsumersgottheirdailyrecommended dose of Omega-3s was toeducate medical doctors regarding the pre-ventativehealthcarefunctionOmega-3scouldplay(asmentionedearlier)andtoimplementanOmega-3indexasadiagnostictoolcouldbeveryuseful, this tool isnowavailable, seefootnote.

Thiswouldprovideapatientandapoten-tial consumerofOmega-3swouldbeawareif theywerehigh/low inOmega-3sand theywould hear this from somebody they trusti.e.,amedicaldoctor.ConsumersanddoctorsshouldalsobeeducatedregardingtheefficacyofOmega-3s(whatlevelsareactiveandwhatdose is required) and thiswould ensure theconsumerobtainedthecorrectinformationtoensureapositivehealtheffect.

TheProposition65caseinCaliforniahigh-lighted the need for standardised, effectivelabelling regarding the level of contaminants,in particular, heavy metals, Doxines, andPCBs present in Omega-3 products. The

entiregroupconcludedthatasimilarstandardshouldbe implemented inEuropeandRoWto be sure that the purity and quality ofOmega3productsisensured.Thiswouldalsogoalongwaytowardnegativemediapublic-ity.TheaudiencemembersstatedthatGOEDOmega3wasmovingtowards implementinga purity standardised label globally. GOEDwas viewed by the attendants at the thinktankasatransparencytoolthatwouldenableconsumerstodetermineifanOmega-3prod-uctwasgoodorbad.PurityisabigissueforGOED but the attendants at this think tankfeltthatGOEDshouldincludelabelclaims.

The participants felt also that thewhole area of stability regarding Omega3productsand inparticularEPA/DHA insupplement products was a future areaof research that needs financial input.Stabilityeffects tasteandsensoryaspectsof the final product so improved, con-sumer friendly formulations are required.It is also necessary to educate the con-sumer regarding oxidized products or at

least,tohaveinformationavailabletotheconsumer.

FairtradewasdiscussedbrieflyandagainMSC labelling forsustainableresourceman-agement should be in place and will gotowardsensuringfairtrade.

Outcomesandrecommendations• Education of consumers, medical doc-

tors and pharmacists regarding thepreventative healthcare potential ofOmega-3products

• Standard similar to Proposition 65worldwide, declaration of pollutants ifoverrecommendedlevel

• Implementation of GOED certificationonOmega-3products

• Financial input by companies and gov-ernments regarding research that dealswith the stabilisation and generationof consumer friendly Omega-3 (EPA/DHA)formulas/products

• Documentation of scientific claims sothat consumers trust in products arestrengthened(EFSA)


FEATURE

Companies attending this Think Tank:AscentaHealth-BiosciencesKTN-B.BraunMelsungen-ChitinMarineProductsLtd-ConcordiaCapitalLLC-DelhiNutraceuticals

-DSMNutritionalProducts-Eurofins-GretteLaw-InnovationPEI-MaastrichtUniversity-MatahariTechnologyConsulting-NationalResearchCouncilofCanada-NorwegianSeafoodResearchFund-PolytechnicInstituteofLeiria-PronovaBioPharma-RoquetteGroup-SPF-DianaAquativ-UniversityofAveiro-VariconAquaSolutions

http://www.novusint.com/aqua

Althoughaquaculturegrowthisslowingin some areas of the world, theactivityisgoingtoplayapivotalroleinfacilitating global consumer require-

mentsofbiosecurityandsustainableseafood.

Byfarthegreatestworldgrowthofaquacultureiscurrentlydependentonfreshwaterspecies,suchas carp and tilapia. Marine aquaculture is morerecent and still in its early development. Bothactivitiesshouldnotbeopposedunder‘simplistic’debates, such as the opposition of herbivorousand carnivorous species, but appreciated globallyaspositiveactivities.

Spacetogrowandutilisationofwaterresourc-esarecrucialissueswhichneedtobeplannedwithsomecertainty.

Maximising potentialThis Think Tank was designed to come up

with practical recommendations that could beimplementedwithinathree-yearplan.

FranciscoGomes, ExecutiveManager,NovusAquaculture Business Unit, USA, introduced thedebate by talking of aquaculture as a dynamicindustry andoutlining themain issueswhich thediscussions should be based around: addressingand improvingpublic acceptance: financial capital:human resources and regulations and legislation.Francisco’sintroductionendedwithasimpleques-tion,“Howdoweachievethis?”

Theattendeesthenbrokeoutintofourgroupstodiscusstheseissues.

After each group had their discussions theywere specifically asked to address one of theseissuesandpresentitbacktothefloor

Public acceptanceItwasacceptedearlyonthatcurrentthepublic

perceptionsofaquacultureactivitiesaregenerallynegativeyetasconsumableproductsgenerallywellaccepted.Thiscouldbeduetothemediaseizinguponnegativestorieswhilstdisregardingthemainlypositivestoriesaquaculturehastooffer.ThismaybeparticularlytrueforsomeactivistsandNGOswhomisinformthepublicwithincorrectfactsandfigures preventing growth of the industry. Thegroups noted that the NGO businesses, whilst

at times canbehelpful, have theirownagendasand funding tosupport.This is thecase inUSA,AustraliaandEuropewhereaquacultureisstillseenas‘notnormal’andthattheoceansshouldbekept‘natural’ andnot ‘tamed’.Yet in countrieswhereseafoodconsumptionishigh,itwasfeltthatsuchactivitieswereacceptedasnormal.

This could be solved through effective andefficientcommunicationbetweenalllevelsofsoci-ety:frompolicymakerstothegeneralpublic.Thiscommunicationshouldbeproactiveasopposedtoreactive,educationalandinformativeprovidingthepublicwithreliableandaccuratefacts/datawhichfocusonthepositiveattributesoftheaquacultureindustry. These messages should be targeted atall generations, but particularly younger childrenwhoarearguablymoremouldableandwhomaygrowupwithabetterunderstandingoftheactivity.Thereshouldbeapro-activeagendatopromotepositive aspects and tell the 'good stories' on aregularbasis.

Currently the consumer is receiving mixedinformationfromarangeofsourcessotheindustryshould be better organized to provide a clearsimplemessagewithoutconflictingmessageswhichresultinconfusionandnegativethinking.Toimple-mentthisthereisaclearneedforaninternationalgrouptoprovidetheseclearmessagesandgivetheindustrya‘brand’.Butwhoisthatgroup?

A popular choice amongst the majority ofattendees was the Global Aquaculture Alliance(GAA). However, it was noted that currentlythisbodyispredominantlycentredonitsgoalsofaquaculturecertificationsomaynotbethevehiclerequiredascouldbeaperceivedconflictofinterest.PerhapsthisisBioMarine?

The average time a consumer looks at aproductislessthanfourseconds.Consumersarelikelythentogreatlybenefitfromahallmarkwhichisinstantlyidentifiableasareliableandsustainablesource. The Aquaculture Stewardship Councilprogramme through its strong WWF connec-tionsanddialoguesaimstotransformtheworld'sseafood markets and promote farming practicesthat minimise their impact on the environmentandcommunities.Otherscertificationgroupssuchas GAA and Global GAP, etc. do similar. Thestandardstheyallhave(whichvaryfromgroupto

group)seektoincreasetheavailabilityofcertifiedresponsible seafoodbyprovidingacrediblecon-sumerlogowhichassurescomplianceandindustryresponsibility. Insomegroupsthis labelcomesata cost.Does the cost andproliferationof labelsenhanceorconfusetheconsumer?

A‘two-a-week’campaignwhichcouldmonop-olise on the success of the ‘five-a-day’ fruit andvegetableschemewassuggestedasanidea.Thiscould be endorsed and supported by celebritychefs,etc.increasingawarenessandpromotingtheindustryandincorporatedinaworldwidevideo.

A positive conclusion was reached that ispossible to turnpublicopinionthroughpressure,education, lobbying and the correct marketing iftheindustryworkedgloballyandinunison.Therewas general agreement thatpublic acceptance isthedriverofallthemes.

Financial CapitalOneofthegroupsopenedupthisdiscussion

bylookingattheUK.Thereisafutureaquacultureplan for England but currently there is a lack ofinvestmentwithfewinitiativesavailable.Itappearsthat England is not alone, for example NorthAmerican investmentcompaniesseeaquacultureas a ‘hot topic’, howeverwhen it comes to thecrunchlittleisdone.

• Investment isbecomingmorewidely avail-able but banks/investors must go throughalearningphase.Somearguedthattheriskwas different for a potential investor dueto money, disease, survival, etc.; howeverothersdisputedthisstatingthattoinvestorsthismadenodifferencesincethereisriskinmost investments. The important action istransparencywhichcreatesconfidence

• There are three types of capital; invest-ment, financialand insurance.Thequestionproposedishowdoweincreaseallthree?Generally banks do not like fluctuations,especially in profits. This identifies a clearneed for the industry to manage variableswhichcausethisvariationmakingconsistencyakeyfactorforfutureinvestment

• Yetaquaculture facesaCatch22scenario;toattractinvestmentandgrowtheindustryneedstobehealthybuttobehealthycapital


FEATURE


Moderator

Roy Palmer, CEO, Sea Food Experience (SEA), Australia

Yves Harache, 2010-2012 Past -President European Aquaculture Society

Sponsor

Pronova Pharma

Note taker:

Benedict Standen, PhD student at Plymouth University, UK

ThinkTank4saysaquacultureisanimportantsourceofincomeandlivelihoodformillionsofpeopleworldwideaswellasacrucialproductionsectorforhigh-proteinfood.Indeed,aquaculturecontinuestobethefastestgrowingfoodproductionsectorwithanaverageannualgrowthrateof6.6percentbetween1970and2008.

Think Tank 4 Aquaculture – 2030 The Aquaculture platform - facilitating significant growth in global aquaculture

is urgently required. Perhaps the industryneeds to observe the economic aspectseducating the financial sector with reliableinformationwhichinvestorscanthenuseasatool

• The industry needs to be self-sustaining.This could be done through consolidationachieving a larger scale and also limit theriskby investing indifferentmarketsacrossgeographical regions and different species.An interesting idea was the formation ofan ‘Aquaculture Bank’ which could thenprovide micro-financing for global projectsandinitiatives

Human resourcesThe first priority when discussing this topic

wasto identifythehumanresourcesneededasthe industry requires adiverse rangeof specificskillssets.Thisgivesrisetojobareabottlenecks.Forexampletherearenumerousresearchersinfishnutrition,howeverinareassuchasfishhealthandgeneticsthisisnotthecase.Thiskindofjoblogjamemphasisestheneedforstrongcommuni-cationandpossiblybottleneckfundingandinvest-mentinordertomaximisethesecapabilities.

We need to ensure the development ofhighquality aquacultureat all levels, and this canonly be achieved through education. This couldbeaccomplished throughvocationalcoursesandindustry sponsored internships, scholarships orprojects which should be adequately advertisedthroughdirectories.

The industry should also work with govern-ments on the replacement opportunity frompeople employed in fisheries to engagement inaquacultureasthereareseveralwinsinthis.Peopleare used to the products and the value chainsystem;theyhaveaseafoodcultureandencouragebothindustriestoworkclosertogetheraswellassolvinglabourissues.

Regulation and legislationWhilesomeseeregulationsand legislationas

themain limit of innovation, others see it as anopportunity to get out of the cyclic nature thataquaculture presents by evening out productionmaking the industry a lot more attractive forinvestment.

Perhapsoneofthemainlimitationsisaccesstositesandissueswithspace,especiallyonthemarinecoastlinewhereaquaculturemustsharespace which is also used for coastal fisheries,maritime transport, tourism, renewableenergy,etc.

Another important issue is bringing products

tomarketwhilstmaintainingfoodsafetyandtrace-abilityatthegloballevel.

TheEUandCanadahaveextremelystrictrulesandregulationsfornewproductsmakingitdifficulttomarketinnovativeproducts.Asiatakesamorerelaxed approach so who is right, Europe andCanadaorAsia?

Oneof thebenefitsof a strict approach is itencourages responsible sourcing and processing,reduction inenvironmental impactandenablesageneralbaselineamongstmemberstates.

But those in Europe, for example, reclaim alevelplaying field,where importedproduct fromthirdcountries shouldmatch thehigh safetyandenvironmental standards that European produc-ersareconstrainedtocomplywith?Infactitwasqueried that EU Standards are not reached bymany countries in EU creating unfair situation intheirownjurisdiction.

Future plans could include the developmentof aquaculture parks associated with renewableenergyprojectsandoffshore,orzoningforaqua-culture purposes either within the EEZ or onthe high seas. This kindof regulationmust haveenforcementthough.Donesuccessfullythiswouldenable certification schemes that aim to achievemaximumenvironmental responsibility toaidtheconsumerinapractical,positivemanner.

Aquestionwasraisedrelatingtoaquaculturevsoccer!Socceristheworld’sgameandiscontrol-ledbyFIFAandnomatterintheworldwherethegameisplayeditisplayedconsistentlybythesamerules and regulations. Why cannot that systembe the goal for aquaculture? The world needsaquacultureasmuch,ifnotmore,thansocceryetweplayonunevenplayingfields,todifferentrulesandregulationsandthensufferfurtherwithtradebarrierissues.Surelywecandobetterthanthis?

Recommendations

1. Public acceptanceStructurethe industryaroundan international

thatcouldfosterthepromotionofbestpracticesand build a global education platform coveringinternalandexternalactivitiesensuringconsistentmessages are locked in right through from farmtofork.• Formulationofglobalgroupwiththeability

topromoteandspeakonindustryissues• Be proactive, positive and promote all

aspectsofaquacultureinconsistentfashion• Invest in early education for children, both

internalandexternal training/educationandindustryworkforcedevelopment

• Supportaccreditationandbestpractice

2. Financial capitalBuild the industry by encouraging consoli-

dation and cooperation through all sectors toincrease scale and minimise risk. Encourage andassistBioMarine tobeacatalyst forengagementbetweeninvestmentandindustrywiththeaimtofosterinnovativeapproachesandhelpthefundingandnurturingofnewconceptsandtechnology.

• Consolidate industry to achieve scale andlimitrisk

• Bring industry and investment together inorder to educate and engage the financialsectorsandinvestors

• Promotespecificinnovationinfunding• Buildonthecurrentlimitationoffinancingat

alllevels

3. Human resourcesCreate the industry around a professional

approach that encourages the best peopleavailable to be determined to enter andengage.Workgloballyonskillsshortagesensur-ingthatgapsareidentifiedandcommunicated.Build a framework of human resources thatenables the industry to have solid foundationforthefuture.

• Identify and promote the shortages in skillsets;e.g.vets,geneticsreproduction,process-ing,production,etc

• Create a directory of education resourcesandindustryinternships

• Considerpromotionofpeoplemovingfromfishingtoaquaculture.

• Developmentofeducationatalllevels

4. Regulation and legislationThroughBioMarinecontinuetoinvitepeo-

pleandorganisationsto‘stretchtheenvelope’on regulation and legislation building on suc-cessesandhighlightingfailuresinordertobuilda trulyglobal industry thatdeliversexcellencefortheglobalpopulation.Continuetoimproveinternationalregulatoryaspects,adoptinginno-vativeapproachesandensuringsufficientspaceis made available for sustainable aquaculturegrowth.• Buildonstrongimagethroughfoodsafety–

aconsistentsafeproduct• Space is important – engage in marine

planning andmaximise innovation inusageofspace

• Use environmental modelling to supportdecisions

• Promoteexamplesofgoodlegislation• Be aware of access and benefit sharing –

relatestoNagoyaProtocol


FEATURE

Companies attending this Think Tank:ADM-Alltech-AquaBioTechnologyASA-A-SparkGoodVentures-BioMar-Cargill-CCMar-CyberColloids-DSMNutritional

Products -Eurofins -EuropeanCommission -GovernmentofPortugal -Grette Law - ImperialCollege,London - INVEaquaculture -InnovationPEI-Invivo-NSA-JPIOceans-TheResearchCouncilofNorway-Marelife-Mitsui&Co.-NovusInternational-OlmixGroup-PlymouthUniversity-PolytechnicInstituteofLeiria-PrinceEdwardIslandBioAlliance-PwC-RoquetteGroup-RoscoffMarineStationFrance-ScrippsInstitutionofOceanographyUCSD-SeventurePartners-SkrettingARC-SPF-DianaAquativ-UKParliament-UniveristyCollegeCork-UniversityofAveiro

TiagodePittaeCunha:Whatarethestrategicguidelines for aquaculture and how do theyrelatetofunding?

BernardFriess:Generallythereisagrowthinjobopportunities.

However, thismay be stagnating and the EUis highly segregated and regional differencesarelarge.TheEUhasgoodanimalhealthandfoodstandardsgenerallyandhasmanypromis-ingassets for industries tobecomesuccessful.ThisisshownthroughthelargeEUfundingforresearch.

Theadministrationandregulationsarepropor-tionatetobusinesses.Adminpoliciesoperatingtoday are fair and we strive to work closelywith businesses to finely balance the growthandsuccessofbusinessesononehand,whilstmaking sure thehealth and safety/regulations/environmentally friendly products etc on theotherhandareinplacetokeeptheEU’shighstandards.

Furthermore,innovationisanimportantpartofgrowthandsuccessthusactingasacatalystforbusinessestoprosper.

Tiago:Aquacultureisgrowingandispredictedtosupply65percentofproteinby2030,whatneeds to be done to ensure sustainability,overcomingbarriers,regulationsetc?

Francisco Gomes: First, governments mustreachout tobusinessesandreallydiscuss thepossibility of removing some of the red tapehinderingprogress.

ThereisnoclearregulatoryframeworkintheUS in my experience. To set up projects ittakesanaverageofperhapsthreeyears.IcouldsetoneupinjustafewmonthsinVietnam,forexample.Thereareobviousproblemsrelatingtopoliciesandregulationsforstart-upprojectsatthemoment.

The industry - consolidation is a key aspect.Weneedmoreflexibilityinfundingfromfund-ingbodies.Asiacouldprovidealotofanswersandpotentialways forward regardingpolicies,fundingetc.Innovation,asanindustrywemustinnovatefasterandmoreefficiently.

Global barriers - important market protec-tion. Trade of products must progress faster.Accelerate and differentiate between indus-tries. There are many different species usedand theyarealldifferent, shrimparedifferentfrom salmon, etc. What can we learn from

otherestablishedindustriessuchassalmontopushthroughfasternewspecies?

Tosummarise,thethreemainareasforactionareregulation,consolidation,innovation.

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: Aquaculture oftenfaces criticism about sustainability. Is this thecase?

Torben Svejgaard: People are always talkingaboutfishin–fishoutratio.Itisimportanttocontinually show research regarding aquacul-tures sustainability promise and create closedialog between researchers, industries andstakeholdersalike.Makesurewecommunicateto thewider publicwhat actually aquacultureandaquacultureresearchdoes.

The aquaculture industrymust not hide fromtheissuessuchasproblemswithsustainability.

For example, we use soya as a major com-ponentofmanyaqua feeds,but isusing soyasustainable?Ifresearchsuggestsotherwise,thenlet’s look at the other options. We need tocontinuously evolve as an industry and try toalwaysimprovethewayinwhichwecarryoutprocessing,researchandmarketingetc.

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: More investment isneedforaquaculture,howcanthisoccur?

Mike Velings: There are only a few privatevinvestorsglobally.Publicandinvestorsdonotknowenough about the aquaculture industry.Forinvestorsthiscanmeanrisksandthereforetheyarereluctanttoputmoneyintoaquacul-tureinnovations.

Communication is getting better but needsto progress quicker in order to make futureinvestors and thegeneralpublicmoreknowl-edgeable about aquaculture. Long-term goals

for sustainability are amust for futureprivateinvestors and the aqua industry must makeit easier for both investors and the public toaccessthesegoals.

TorbenSvejgaard:Goingbacktothecriticismthataquaculture isunsustainable,wehereareall talking about long-term goals. If this is notsustainability,thenwhatis?

TiagodePittaeCunha:Howcanaquaculturegrow through governmental policy? How dowesortoutthebottlenecks?

Bernard Friess: It is well known that wildfisherieshavebeenexploitedandtheneedforaquaculturetoalleviatethesestocksisessential.Moreaquacultureequals lesspressureon theoceansandofcoursethisisagoodthing.

Wemustgobackandlookintotheobstacleswhich hinder the growth of aquaculture andreviewthemmoreclosely.

Alsoweneed to identify the levers for inno-vation and find out how they work in orderto support them which will in turn help the

Moderator - Dr Tiago de Pitta e Cunha, Advisor to the Portuguese President on Maritime Affairs

Francisco Gomes, Executive Manager of Novus Aquaculture Business Unit, USA

Bernhard Friess, Director ‘Atlantic, Outermost Regions and Arctic’ in DG Mare, European Commission

Torben Svejgaard, CEO, BioMar Group, Denmark

Mike Velings, Founder A-Spark Good Ventures, The Netherlands


FEATURE


The Big Aquaculture Debateby David Peggs, Research Masters Student, Plymouth University, UK

growth of the aquaculture industry. It is alsoveryimportanttosetupregionaladvisories.

TiagodePittaeCunha:Howdowesupportinnovation in aquaculture. What is the futureforintegratedmulti-trophicaquaculture(IMTA),renewableenergyandoff-shoreaquaculture?

FranciscoGomes:There isdefinitelya lackoffundingforinnovation.Wemustlookatfunda-mental research through universities and thenapplythisresearchappropriately.

Andwemustlookmorecloselyatthemecha-nismsofhowaproductworksnot just sittingbackon the knowledge that itworks. Butwemust ask howdoes itwork and how canwethereforeimproveitinthefuture.

Off-shoreandrecirculationinlandsystemshavepotentialbutit’sallaboutefficiency.Thisneedstogrowinordertomaketheseareasprofitable.

Wemustlookatotherspeciesoffishespeciallyherbivorousspecies.Innutritionandalternativeproteins,weneedtoaskthequestionaboutthesources we use now, are these the right/onlyalternativesandwhataretheotheroptions.

In termsofdisease,wehaveonly large vac-cinecompanies for theaquaculture industry.Weneedmorespecialisedveterinarypeoplefor aquaculture. We need more herbivo-rous species. What can we learn from Asiaof alternative species. In terms of IMTAmore research is needed into the dynamicsinvolvedandwhetherornot theprofits canbehighenough.

TiagodePittaeCunha:Fishfeeds,wherearewenow?

TorbenSvejgaard:The last10-15yearswe’veseena largedecrease intheuseoffishmeal infeedsbyreplacingthemwithplantbasedalter-nativessuchassoybeanmeal.Thefishmealcon-tentcouldperhapsgodowntozeropercentinthenearfuture,forsomespeciesatleast.

However,fishoilismoreofanissueandneedstobeaddressed.Approvalofnewproducts inthe EU takes much more time than it shouldand this is hindering the process of creatingnew alternative feed ingredients. We needmore innovation with regards to functionalityofproducts.

TiagodePittaeCunha:Redtape,whatcomesnext? Do regulations need to change beforeinvestors investordoinvestorsneedto investinchange?

MikeVelings:Asinvestorswelookattheglobalperspective,wearenotgoingto investwherethere are toomany regulations, in theEU forexample,whenwecangetmuchmoreforourmoney and faster returns in places with lessstringentregulations.

The EU needs to change their regulations inordertogrowandkeepupwithothermarketsinaquaculture.

From audience Manuel Pinto de Abreu,Secretary of State of the Sea, Portugalstated: Investment, innovation and regula-tions need to be looked at in more detail.A new legal framework is needed so thatapplicants need only apply once speedingup the process. Regions need to focus onrelevant species andexplorenewopportu-nitiesininnovation.

In Portugal we import 600,000 tonnes of fishand a lot of which we could farm ourselves.Withinone year the regulations and red tapewillbereformedtomakethispossible.

Torben Svejgaard: We as an industry cannotsitbackandhopethat theregulationschange,weneedtobeinnovativeinresearchandkeepmovingforwardasanindustry.

Bernard Friess: We must make investmentsandcreateinnovationandworktochangethepublicperceptionthatfarmedfisharebadandwildfishgood.

Commentfromaudience:

• “We need to consider the possibility oftaking advantage of species from lowertrophiclevelsastheeffectsofsuchwouldbenegligible.”

• “The industry needs novel innovation inordertocreatefastermovingresearch.”

Inresponse:

FranciscoGomes:Farmersarethebasisfortheaquacultureindustry.Mostareconserva-tiveandareofthemind-setthatifmethodswork then why change them. Think biggerand perhaps focus on the next generationaswellasthecurrentgeneration.Thereisagenerallackoftrustduetopastmismanage-mentof fisheries, soweneed to look afterthe resources and it is paramount that weprove that the business of aquaculture issustainable.

Tiago de Pitta e Cunha: Closing thoughts- It seems the aquaculture industry has along way to go in terms of changing poli-cies and changing public perceptions. Butwhat is clear is thatweneed tohave longterm plans for sustainability and at leastthree of the main areas are as Franciscomentionedearlierconsolidation,innovationandregulationandtheaspectstowhichareencompassed.


FEATURE

With the world’s populationcontinuing to grow byabout60millionpeopleperyear, demand for sustain-

able, efficient food production continuesto grow. Ever increasing strain is beingplaced on agricultural systems’ capacityto deliver affordable food and nutritionalproducts.Notsurprisingly,theWorldHealthOrganisationhasidentifieddiminishingfoodsecurityasamajorthreat tomankindovercomingdecades.

Theoceansmayprovide a solution.Thatwasthepremisethatthistaskforcesetoutitsdiscussion on micro algae and its nutritionalopportunities.

Seaweedfarmsalonehavethecapacitytogrowmassive amountsof nutrient-rich food.Andwhileseaweedsarenotamajorsourceoffoodatpresent,theyareoneofthefastestgrowing plants in the world. Seaweed cangrow 9-12 feet in three months. This ThinkTankdiscussedanumberoftopicsincluding:

• Environmental and economicopportunities

• Algal biomass suited to production ofanimalfeedandhighvaluehumanfoodsandadditives

• Both micro algae and macro algae arewellestablishedsourcesofsuchnutrition

• Increasing algae food and feed pro-duction, by expanding upon existingmarketsandbycreatingnewones,tobesignificant

• Useofproteinsfrommicroandmacro-algaeandassociateddrawbacksregard-ing their use which include harvesting.The group decided that aquaculturecouldprovideasolution

• Transfer of seaweed proteins/oils to

human consumers through dietary inter-vention in animalproducts. Forexample,feeding a pig/chicken/cow/hen seaweed/seaweedingredientsto increasethe levelof fatty acids (EPA/DHA) or bioactiveprotein in meat/milk/egg products thatare more acceptable to the consumer,particularly in countries such as Francewherenutraceuticalsarenotfullyaccepted

DiscussionThe group discussed the importance of

discoveringnovel anduniqueuses formicroand macroalgal products and resources tojustify the economic costs associated withharvesting and processing marine derivedingredients.

This will be necessary if industry playerswanttocompetewithothersources/compa-nies producing nutraceuticals and functionalfoods from non marine resources such asdairycompanies.

Think Tank participants agreed that afuture area of growth for macro-algal and

micro-algal producers is the area of animalnutrition. Protein resources are in demandgloballyandmarinealgaemayprovideanew,novel and alternative protein source to thecurrently available dairy and terrestrial plantproteinresources.

However,thegroupconcludedthatfutureresearch into theuseofmarinemacro-algal/micro-algal protein sources is required asmacro-algae in particular, can contain antin-utritionalfactorsandplantlectins.

Anadvantageformicro-algalderivedpro-teinisthattheymaynothaveanti-nutritionalfactorssuchasphlorotanninsandplantlectinsassociated with them and, therefore, wouldbesuitableforuseinanimalfeedandanimalnutrition.

The group decided however that insome instances macro-algal protein is suit-able for animal nutrition. For example,sheepintheOrkneyIslandsofScotlandareknown to graze on seaweed and in fact,seaweed is theprimary sourceofnutritionfor these animals. Furthermore, there are


FEATURE


Think Tank 5 Marine Ingredients – Marine micro algae and nutrition

Moderator

Dr Maria Hayes, Natural Products Chemist, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashton, Ireland

Sponsor

Sofiproteol

Note taker:

Mark Rawling, PhD student at Plymouth University, UK

TheobjectiveofthisThinkTankwastodiscusstheuseofmicroalgaeandmacroalgaeinnutritionandasnutraceuticals.

reports in Tasmania where farmers havereduced their farm veterinary bills throughfeeding seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) tocattle and farmers have not observed anynegativesideeffects.

Health benefits for livestockThe group also discussed how feeding

microalgae/macroalgae to farm animals inordertoprovidethehealthbenefitofmicro-algae in human food is a good approach asusing the animal as a nutraceutical/functionalfood vehicle ismore acceptable to the con-sumer.

However, if this approach is used, fur-ther scientific evidencemust beprovided toensure that the health benefit and correctdoseofthenutraceuticalisbeingdeliveredtothehumanconsumer.

The group alsodiscussed the importanceof ensuring that the sensory and functionalquality of the animal product, be it an egg,steak,milkproduct isnotnegatively affectedbytheanimalconsumingtheseaweed/micro-algalbioactivesortheseaweed/microalgalrawmaterial.

ThegroupalsodiscussedhowOmega-3s

in eggs in the USA was a good example ofhowthisapproachwasverysuccessful.

Thegroupalsodiscussedhowproductioncostsareabottlenecktowardsdevelopingtheuseofmicroalgae/seaweedsasfunctionalfoodingredients.Thegroupdiscussedhowproduc-tioncostscouldbedrivendownbyintegratingtechnologywithgoodresourcemanagementandtotalresourceutilisation.

Further research is required to ensurethat amino acids/bioactive peptides/lipidsfrommacro/microalgae arebioavailable andcontain an amino acid content that is favo-rable to the consumer.This is necessary tojustifyapricepremiumifmarinenutraceuti-calsfromalgalsourcesaretocompetewithothernutraceuticalsofterrestrialorigin.Thedigestibilityofmarinederivedproteins/lipidsisalsoofgreatimportanceandcouldprovidetheresourcewithanadvantageoveritsdairycompetitors.

Thegroupalsodiscussedhowstrictregula-tionsregardingthecontaminationofseaweedresourceswithheavymetalsarerequiredandshould be implemented. GOED agreementismovingtowardsdeliveringthisinthefuture(2013).

Recommendations• Further research into the delivery of

nutraceutical/functional food benefitsis required where seaweed extractsor micro-algal extracts are fed to theanimal. The dose response should bereported

• Further research is required regardingthe effects on sensory attributes ofseaweed functional foodson final foodproducts

• Further funding and research isrequired regarding aquaculture toovercome the problems associ-ated with raw material supply. Thisrelates inparticular to theseaweedresource for use in molecular gas-tronomy and as a food product initself. Individual governments mustbe made aware of this issue andhowwecanproducefoodproductsfrom seaweeds that can competewithAsia

• The safety and quality of the sea-weed/micro-algal product must beensured and GOED regulationsimplemented


FEATURE

Companies attending this Think Tank:AlgaeLink-AscentaHealth-B.BraunMelsungen-Bioalvo-BiosciencesKTN-ChitinMarineProductsLtd-DelhiNutraceuticals-

EWOSInnovation-Fermentalg- innoVactiv- InnovationNorway-MaastrichtUniversity-Marealis-MatahariTechnologyConsulting-NationalResearchCouncilofCanada-NationalUniversityofIreland,Galway-NorwegianSeafoodResearchFund-Oceanomicsproject,Roscoff-Polaris-PolytechnicInstituteofLeiria-PronovaBioPharma-RoquetteGroup-RoscoffMarineBiologicalStation-SaintMaloAgglomeration-ScandiDermaAS-Setubio-ShannonAppliedBiotechnologyCentre-Sofiproteol-Soliance-TanergyLtd.-UniversityofAveiro-VariconAquaSolutions-Xanthella

This Think Tank followed in thefootsteps of Think Tank 2 whichfocused on health issues. Manyparticipantswereidenticalenabling

morein-depthdiscussionsandtopromisingrecommendations.

Dr J. Wesnigk and Prof F.O. Glöckner -representingtheMG4UandtheMicroB3EUprojects-setthescenewhatstate-of-the-artmarine research and dissemination can pro-vide. A plethora of techniques, methodolo-gies and knowledge outputs are available toindustry, especially in the field of genomics,bioinformatics and proteomics, or ‘omicsas these interrelated disciplines are increas-ingly called.Two industry interventionsweremade, to identify bottlenecks from a smallSMEandlargeend-user industryperspective.To promote new marine biotech productsthe market push needs to be strengthened.Larger industry should define their generalareasofinterestforacademiaandSMEs,whothentargettheenablingresearchanddevelopspecific applications of new marine biotechproductsandservices.Itwasemphasisedthattechnologyscoutsshouldknowwhattheyarelooking for, but be prepared to find some-thingelse.Thisattitudewill facilitatebridgingthe gap between the research potential andmarinebiotechapplications,byinformingandinspiringdecisionsbyend-userrepresentativesonwhichapproachesareworthdeveloping.

Bringing about and facilitating dialoguebetween end-users and academia as wellas SMEs is one of the core tasks of clusterrepresentatives, to overcome bottlenecks incommunication and kick-start collaborations.Theinternet,socialmediaandemergingnewinfrastructures will help but facilitation ofcontactsandsafeguardingIPRarestillneeded.Clusters can help with successful up-scalingof lab-scaleproductionandprovidingmarketintelligence.A public-private partnershipwasrecommended as a supra-national tool toadvancemarinebiotechnologywithinEurope.

Further recommendations focused onseveral issues of which three will be furtherillustrated.

1) How to better understand and make use of beneficial microbes

Thereisalackofunderstandingofmicro-bial marine diversity and their habitats, inshort:Whoisoutthere,wherearethey,howmanyandwhataretheydoing?

We need more academia-industryknowledgeexchangeontheoptimumcon-ditionsforsampling,processingandcultiva-tion,basedonthediversemarinehabitatsofmicrobes includingmanyextremeenvi-ronments.Thengenomicscanbeutilisedtospeed-uptheapplicationprocessandavoidover harvesting. Sequencing can assesspotential,helpwithinsilicoactivitypredic-tion and selection. Promising case studies

wererecentlypublished,(MAMBAproject,lead University. Bangor) in which severallargeindustrypartnershaveidentifiednewbiocatalyticalactivities.Compoundscreen-ingstillneedsahighthroughputapproach,which is only funded if very close toindustry.A case study fromGeomar, Kiel,inwhichmarinecompoundswerefedintoexisting downstream processing pipelines,showedhighhitrates.

2) Human resources and infrastructures needed for SMEs and large industry to benefit from marine data

Large gap(s) still exist between proof-of-principle, i.e. an enzyme is identified andexpressed, and proof of concept, i.e. anenzymecanbeproducedcosteffectivelyandin largequantity.Theperceivedgaps canbeaddressed first throughareviewandanalysisof what is working for an improved knowl-edge flow between industry and academia.Examples/case studies for best practice andknowledge transfer can be used. The needfor new expertise can then be addressedthrough intelligently combined teams, withmorebiochemicalknowhow,abletohandlesub-setsofgenomicsdatafortargetedpredic-tionsandtotargetmarket-drivenapplications.These teams will work best in conjunctionwithprovisionofinfrastructure,likemid-scalefermenter-,orproteomics facilitiesanddedi-

by Dr Johanna B. Wesnigk, Mg4U and Micro B3 project


FEATURE


Think Tank 6 Marine biotech for the environment

Moderator

Dr Johanna Wesnigk, Managing Director, EMPA, Germany

Note taker:

Dan Leeming, PhD student at Plymouth University, UK

Tocomplementresearchperspectives,twocontributionsweremadeinThinkTank6,onebyJ.RauofromMarealisASandtheotherbyH.Bisgaard-FrantzenfromNovozymes,toidentifybottlenecksfromasmallSMEandlargeend-userindustryperspec-tiveinhowtogetmorenewmarinebiotechproductstomarket.

cated service-oriented staff, if possible withpartialgovernmentfunding.

Scientistsarenotawareofmarketinterestsandpressures;theyneedtobeinformedandtrained.Weneedtomouldthethinkingofanextgenerationofscientistsinamoreentre-preneurial way. In the medium-term trainingand education should encompass business-relevant skills. The experiences from EUfunded PhD networks with two mandatoryindustrystagesarepositive.Localcontestsforstudent-writtenbusinessplansformarinebio-techbusinesscouldhelp,forexamplefundingimplementationofthewinningbusinessplan.

Efficientup-scalingofproductionisneces-sary, but who is responsible for differentup-scaling stages, how to get it funded?Hereexpectationsofacademia, industryandfundersdivergestrongly: ifproductioncondi-

tions are not economically viable SMEs willnotbeable toofferanewproduct tobusi-nessend-usersorconsumers.Thenextstepsin the value chain for new concepts, e.g. analgal biorefinery, can still be partially fundedas demonstration/pilot projects, via EU sup-port.Thereafterproof-of-conceptandfurtherproduct development has to be driven byend-users.

3) Reaching policy makers - Visibility is key!

Urgently an excellent analysis is need-ed to develop a roadmap with consist-ent, harmonised and easy to understandmessage(s)onpromisingmarineandenvi-ronmental biotech options. Groupings ofinterests can help to present cases forpolicy changes and for gap-based funding.

The application areas of marine-originproductsincludemarketslikeenvironmen-tal monitoring, diagnostics or biocatalysis,and specialty chemicals. Consumer-facingstandardsandcertificationtocreateaposi-tive image and motivation for increaseddemand forproducts ‘from the sea’ couldbeintroduced.

Different ways of reaching and moti-vating the decision-makers for policy andinvestment need to be developed as partof the roadmap implementation plan. Thisincludes using media, associations, clustersand public opinion, inter alia through tar-getedeventstopromotestrategicmessagesor roadmap elements garnishedwith suc-cessstories.

At BioMarine 2013 the unique featuresand benefits of using marine diversity forenvironmental biotechnology applicationswill be further explored. In the meantimeindustry-academia workshops focusing onsingle issues will be offered by the MicroB3andMG4Uprojectstocompanyexperts/representatives to discuss and developthemesidentifiedfurtherandfine-tunejointstrategies topromotemarineandenviron-mentalapplications.

More InforMatIon: http://www.microb3.eu/news/biomarine-think-tanks-embrace-omics-input


FEATURE

Companies attending this Think Tank:A-Spark Good Ventures - Algopack - Bioalvo - BioBridge - BioNova - BioTech

North-BretagneDeveloppementInnovation-ConcordiaCapitalLLC-EuropeanMarineBiologicalResourceCentre(EMBRC)-Financonsult-FMCBioPolymer-GretteLaw-KielCenterformarinenaturalproducts-MarineBiotechnologyProgrammeofIreland-MarineBio-TechnologiesCenterof Innovation -MaxPlanck Institute -NovagraafTechnologies-NautilusBiosciencesCanada -NovozymesA/S -OceanGate, Inc. - PlymouthMarineLaboratory-PolytechnicInstituteofLeiria-PronovaBioPharma-RoscoffMarineStationFrance -TechnopoleMaritimeduQuébec -Thalocea -UniversityofAveiro -VariconAquaSolutions

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