FAO expert briefs on improvement potential in aquaculture at St. Petersburg forum

Today, almost half (45%) of all fish and seafood consumed in the world are products of aquaculture. Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing sectors in many national economies. According to forecasts, global growth of this sector will total 4.46% by 2022.

Discourse and debate on successful international experiences in the development of this booming sector was the talk of the town at the three-day IV International Conference “Fish-2019. Aquaculture”, held 13-15 February in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The forum brought together experts and practitioners in fish farming, businesspeople from fish and seafood processing companies, logistics companies, and retail chains, as well as representatives of specialized agencies, R&D institutions and industry associations.

Since aquaculture is a relative newcomer in Russia’s fishing industry, and given the inevitable limitations that come with its young age (underdeveloped legal framework, tax incentives, logistics exacerbated by the sheer vastness of the Russian Federation, issues with modern equipment procurement and quality control monitoring, etc.), the audience was eager to learn and absorb the lessons that global best practices offer. 

In this context, Eva Kovacs, FAO expert on Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture from the Regional Office in Budapest, who delivered two keynote presentations devoted to “Improvement potential in aquaculture” and “Fish meal - challenges and alternatives”, received a warm welcome.

Development of aquaculture is very dynamic in global production in comparison with beef and veal, lamb, pork, poultry, and with fish in capture. However, there is no reason to underestimate the challenges, underlined Eva Kovacs in her first presentation. The FAO expert summed all the existing hurdles related either to environmental sustainability (climate change, pollution, biodiversity) or to technical issues (water for production, good quality fish seed, fish health, feeds and feeding, food safety and health issues, fish welfare), or to marketing (finding markets, value for price, value addition – processing and packaging).

One of the efficient answers to these hurdles is “precision farming” based on novel production systems (sensors, robots), Internet, artificial intelligence (AI), and data collection. Yet, “there is no one solution for all”, noted Eva Kovacs.

The industry faces specific problems linked to endemic species, and to the task of restocking, and the particular needs of certain categories of consumers, and the duty of recreation, and the mission of taking good care for small traditional farms and fish earmarked explicitly for local consumption.

“The quality of fish feed is of paramount importance for the producers”, highlighted FAO’s expert in her second presentation. The cost of feed and feeding process in industrial fish farming, as calculated, constitutes up to 70% in the overall costs (50-70% in pond farms).

The first-grade fishmeal looking like brown flour is an “excellent source of highly digestible protein and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA) and essential vitamins and minerals”, Kovacs said. Although its “limited availability” and high prices are usually referred to as the main reasons for the need of replacement, there are many other collateral complications.

Eva Kovacs named them:  

• Fluctuating state of fishery resources in fishing zones
• Overexploitation or exploitation of fish stocks
• Environmental phenomena like El-Niño
• Introduction of fishing quotas
• Increasing pressure from other markets (health, food supplements, cosmetics)
• Transport costs having environmental impacts
• High levels of heavy metals, dioxins and PCBs in fish

These factors have already stimulated the search for alternative sources of raw materials. Eva Kovacs highlighted the stream of investments in basic and applied R&D to find new nutrient sources, from animals, plants, insects and microbes.

Moreover, current research focuses on innovation to optimize processing methods and equipment for ingredients and feed, as well as achieving a higher level of accuracy in diet formulation and kick-starting breeding programs to improve fish tolerance to new ingredients, Eva Kovacs stressed.

Ensuring quality of fish feed is one of the many challenges facing the sector of agriculture which has a key role to play in the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 2 “Zero Hunger” aiming to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.

The keynote speakers of the conference – coming from a number of European countries, China, Vietnam, Russia and international organizations – covered a wide range of topical issues: 

• Aquaculture as one of the main drivers of sustainable development of coastal areas
• Modern methods to cultivate fish, shellfish, algae and other non-fish objects
• Zonal aquatechnoparks
• Quality control of planting material, feed, environmental conditions
• Modern methods and techniques for extending the quality of fresh fish products (bleeding, liquid ice, thermal protection, transportation)
• “Smart fish farms”, and software for organizing automated production processes for growing fish in sea and fresh waters
• Equipment for advanced processing of aquaculture products
• Diagnosis, prevention and elimination of fish, shellfish and algae diseases.

The conference was capped by a field trip to the Federal Fish Breeding and Genetics Center in Ropsha, a Saint Petersburg suburb.

13-14 February 2019, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation