Skretting’s new Aquaculture Research Center in Southern Chile is slated for launch in the first half of 2018, and will focus on developing new sustainable feed inputs, especially from plant sources.
The new research center will expand the company’s research capacity, and allow it to adapt each solution to the specific realities of different markets.
“In the last few years we have achieved important advances with inputs that offer the same nutrients present in fishmeal and oil, but we must keep working to deepen this knowledge,” said Alex Obach, executive director of Skretting ARC.
The center, located in Pargua, Chile, will include research for both freshwater and seawater solutions, using a system that controls the input and output of water into the research system, and study the impact on fish up to five kilograms in size.
“This will allow us to study production alternatives that have not been explored much in Chile and in the world, and also gives us better sanitary control.” Obach said
The project required an investment of USD 4 million (EUR 3.4 million), and has received support from a Corfo, a development agency of the Chilean government.
“The global demand for marine sourced proteins is a trend that will keep growing in time, therefore it is fundamental that Chilean aquaculture works on initiatives that allow new raw materials to grow sustainably,” Adolfo Alvial, the regional director of Corfo’s Lakes Region office, said.
The ARC Pargua unit will also build relations with Chilean and foreign universities in order to create collaborative opportunities between the academic world and private industry, as well as with local communities and governments.
The new unit will also seek feed solutions of high nutritional value for aquaculture. The center will also validate supplements, additives, and elements that can be incorporated into functional and commercial diets, according to a company press release.
The unit will join the firm’s network of research and development centers located in Norway, Italy, China, Japan, Australia, Egypt, and Ecuador.
Skretting said that salmon farms have put increased demand on marine-sourced inputs, such as fish oil and meal, creating a challenge for the sustainable development of the industry. Therefore, the firm has sought to position itself as an innovator and find new solutions and alternatives that could replace the use of marine resources in fish feed.
