In 2015, Egypt’s aquaculture industry produced 1.3 million metric tons (MMT) of fish, consuming approximately 1 million tons of soybean meal. As the industry grows, the Egyptian economy faces new challenges.

In November 2016, the Egyptian pound, which was traditionally pegged to the U.S. dollar, was floated; that move has reduced the value of the pound by almost 50 percent, impacting the price of ingredients for the aqua industry and, consequently, the price of aqua feed.

To assist the Egyptian aqua industry, USSEC consultant Tim O’Keefe of Aqua-Food Technologies, traveled to Egypt to meet with top aquafeed producers to provide insights on least cost formulations as a means to control the soaring prices of feed.

USSEC Aquaculture Contractor – Egypt Salah Taher accompanied Mr. O’Keefe during his visit. The two met with representatives from Skretting, Aller Aqua, Cairo Poultry Group, and Koudjis Kapo.

Hussein Mansour, CEO of Aller Aqua Egypt, meets with USSEC consultant Tim O’Keefe

Through these meetings, the team learned that the prices of fish have increased to meet the increasing cost production. The Egyptian aquaculture market is expected to continue growing at 8 to 10 percent each year as Egyptians continue to favor the consumption of fish over poultry and beef.

The Egyptian per capita consumption of fish in 2015 accounted for 21 kilograms (kg) per capita higher than the world average, which is approximately 19 kg per capita.

A second visit is scheduled in May 2017 to deliver training on least cost formulations for aqua feeds.

Despite a budget reduction that took effect in 2017, Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) has continued to support the development of offshore mariculture in Indonesia. In addition to rehabilitating 1,000 cages, the ministry, in cooperation with state-owned company Perindo Management, will build offshore marine cages operation in three different locations in Indonesia to promote the offshore mariculture system as well optimizing resources and improving seafood production, technology dissemination, and business diversifications (nursery), in addition to improving community income.

The locations selected for offshore mariculture farming are marine waters around Karimun Jawa in the Java Sea, marine waters around Cilacap and Pangandaran in the Indian Ocean, and Sabang Island in Aceh. The cages are expected to support the development of sea bass, pompano and cobia.

Each of the 6 cages, which are 50 meters in diameter, is expected to produce 500 metric tons (MT) per crop, thus targeting an additional 1500 MT in fish production from the three locations. Continued support from the government on mariculture development is in line with USSEC’s policy to support offshore mariculture. Mariculture production will increase the utilization of quality feed, including potential use of U.S. soybean meal in aquafeed.

Ms. Tham, farm owner in Hung Yen province of Vietnam, shows the pond where she will construct more IPA raceways

Last August, USSEC and Cargill teamed up to conduct a seminar that introduced intensive pond aquaculture (IPA) technology to Cargill farm customers in Hưng Yên, a province of Vietnam. Based on the knowledge they gained from the seminar and with the support of Nguyen Huu Tho, Cargill technical manager, farmers started to construct IPA systems on their own land with equipment available locally.

Nguyễn Thị Thắm is among the first IPA adopters in northern Vietnam. She learned the IPA concept at the August seminar and constructed an IPA fixed floor raceway. She has a 3 ha farm, managed by her son, Vũ Duy Hào. At the same time, she ran a hub to collect fish from other farms to supply the market. After stocking tilapia for one month, she was very satisfied with the high survival rate compared to the same source of fingerlings stock to the traditional pond. She already plans to construct more raceways without waiting for the first IPA trial to finish.

There are currently six IPA sites in northern Vietnam: Mr. Phú in Bắc Giang, Mr. Trung in Bắc Ninh, Mr. Lừng in Hà Tây, Mr. Thao in Hà Tây, Mr. Hải in Hà Tây and Mr. Sơn in Thanh Hóa.

In November, USSEC Aquaculture Technical Director – Southeast Asia Lukas Manomaitis and USSEC Aquaculture Technical Manager – Vietnam Võ Hoàng Nguyên paid a visit to the IPA sites in Hưng Yên, Bắc Ninh and Thanh Hóa. They decided to conduct more visits to each IPA site and to organize training for farmers who are constructing and running IPAs by themselves in order to help them do it properly.

(L-R) Ronaldo Cruz, aqua product manager, CJ Philippines, USSEC RP-TM Levy Manalac and Chang Ku Yoon, president & CEO, CJ Philippines, Inc. after the USSEC presentation of USSEC SEA and Philippines Soy in Aquaculture Program in CJ Philippines Inc. Feedmill in San Rafael, Bulacan, Philippines

USSEC met with Chang Ku Yoon, president & CEO, CJ Philippines, Inc., and Ronaldo Cruz, aqua product manager, CJ Philippines, to present the USSEC Southeast Asia (SEA) and Philippines Soy in Aquaculture program and to discuss the Philippine Aquaculture Industry in CJ Phils Inc. Feedmill in San Rafael, Bulacan, Philippines.

USSEC discussed the ongoing programs in feedmill and nutrition where aquafeed nutritionists are guided in optimizing U.S. soybean meal in aquafeed formulation and other U.S. Soy products in a least cost formulation. The Low Volume High Density (LVHD) cage aquaculture and pond feed based technologies were also discussed to improve aquaculture production through sustainable and environmentally friendly practices using extruded floating feeds.

CJ Philippines Inc. is planning to revive their aquafeeds production and be present in the aquaculture feed industry. USSEC suggested that it is better for CJ Aqua Feeds to produce high quality feeds that will give farmers faster growth for fish and better feed conversion rates (FCR).

Myanmar is a growing market for America’s food and agricultural products. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. agricultural exports to Myanmar reached a record $15.3 million USD in FY14, up 24 percent from the previous year.

The opening of the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) office in August 2016 at the U.S embassy in Yangon helps build activities and services in Myanmar. USSEC Technical Consultant, Aquaculture – Myanmar May Myat Noe Lwin says, “I believe that this will strengthen importing U.S. soybeans and soybean products to Myanmar as well.”

With the team effort of USSEC and various U.S. agriculture projects and programs, sales are expected to increase significantly. But there is still need of more input from the government body, and the opening of the FAS office with a permanent Agriculture Attaché will fill the gap, especially with the rules and regulations from the government bodies importing U.S. agriculture products.

USSEC’s aquaculture program will work with the FAS program to support the increase of sales of U.S. soybeans and soybean meal sales to Myanmar for its livestock and aquaculture industries.

USSEC conducted a cage aquaculture production cost management seminar for the Chinese staff and managers of Sahara Feeds Corp. Milkfish Cage Farm in Taal Lake, Talisay, Batangas, Philippines on December 7.

USSEC Philippines Technical Manager – Aquaculture Levy Manalac discussed how to manage and save on cage aquaculture production cost with the proper use of extruded floating feed and good feeding management with extruded floating feeds in cage culture, as USSEC Asia Marine Aquaculture Specialist Hsiang Pin Lan translated. USSEC also talked about proper feed storage and handling, the importance of sampling and proper recording, the use of quality fry/fingerlings and size grading, and proper fish health management that will help milkfish cage farmers to lower their production cost for better production and profitability.

Managing cage aquaculture production costs will also help improve water quality in the area by having lower feed conversion rates (FCR), thus helping continuous fish farming in the area. This will ensure continuous and possibly increasing demand in U.S. Soy products in local aquaculture feed manufacturing.

Thirteen area managers and technicians of Sahara Feeds Corp. Milkfish Cage Farm attended the seminar.

Hsiang Pin Lan, USSEC Asia Marine Aquaculture Specialist, and Levy Loreto L. Manalac, USSEC Philippines Technical Manager – Aquaculture present the USSEC Cage Aquaculture Production Cost Management seminar to Chinese staff and managers of Sahara Feeds Corp. Milkfish Cage Farm in Taal Lake, Talisay, Batangas, Philippines on December 7

The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, through the Directorate General of Aquaculture of Indonesia, signed an agreement last month with the Norwegian government and a private Norwegian mariculture enterprise to develop a mariculture industry of Asian sea bass or barramundi (Lates calcarifer) in offshore floating cages in Aceh (Sumatra), West Java, Sulawesi, and Papua provinces in Indonesia.

The mariculture scenario will be based on Norway’s successful salmon industry. The offshore cage culture areas, however, will be only about 1 to 3 kilometers from the beach line using round cages with a diameter of 10 to 30 meters and a depth of 4 to 6 meters with full extruded slow-sinking (slinking) pellet feeds with initial production target of around 15,000 tons per year.

There are currently only four big barramundi aquaculture companies in Indonesia: PT. Indomarind (Batam, near Singapore); PT. Lucky Samudra (Seribu Islands, Jakarta Bay); PT. Phillips Seafoods Indonesia; and PT. Bali Barramundi (both are in North Bali) with an estimated production of less than 1,500 tons per year. A long-established barramundi aquaculture company of PT. Fega Mariculture (Seribu Islands, Jakarta Bay) recently collapsed in early 2016 and another newly-built large barramundi aquaculture company PT. Paramount Barramundi (North Bali) was terminated before it started last year due to insufficient cash flow.

A sample of Asian sea bass or barramundi (Picture taken during USSEC’s feed trial with PT. Phillips Seafoods Indonesia in FY 2011)

While the market for filleted barramundi has been confirmed, more technical considerations have been raised to strengthen the industry, as Indonesia’s aquaculture industry is weak in the following areas. First, the genetics and selective breeding of the brooders in hatcheries need to supply premium seeds. Second, fish health (vaccination) is a must during the culture period (16 to 24 months to reach 1.8 to 2.2 kg fillet size) (currently vaccination is a “luxury” procedure in Indonesia’s aquaculture industry) and the last is to provide the industry with premium feeds (with premium ingredients) with the correct feeding method.

(L to R) Group photo of USSEC SEA Aquaculture Team at an aquaculture farm in Cambodia: Dr. Gede S.Sumiarsa (ID LTS), Mr. Vo Hoang Nguyen (VM TM), Mr. Levy L. Manalac (RP TM), Mr. Lukas Manomaitis (APTC), Mr.Pamudi (ID TM), Ms. May Myat Noe Lwin (MM TM), Mr. Hsiang Pin Lan (Asia Marine Specialist)

The USSEC Southeast Asian Aquaculture Team met in mid-November to summarize the FY16 project year and plan the FY17 and FY18 project approaches.

“We have a strong and long-term team that has been working on behalf of U.S. soybean farmers and the U.S. Soy industry in general to promote the use of U.S. Soy products in the Southeast Asian region,” states Lukas Manomaitis, USSEC Aquaculture Program Lead Technical Consultant – SEA.

The focus for FY17 in particular is to move several initiatives to more advanced stages with continued work on the International Aquaculture Feed Formulation Database (IAFFD) and the marine fish program. Both of these initiatives are supported strongly by qualified state soybean boards (QSSB) with Nebraska, South Dakota, Michigan, and other QSSBs providing support to supplement United Soybean Board (USB), Market Access Program (MAP), and Foreign Market Development (FMD) funds.

“We are very thankful for the trust and support by the QSSBs particularly, as we meet with farmers from these areas on a regular basis,” says Mr. Manomaitis.

The USSEC SEA Aquaculture Program project year runs from November 1, 2016 to October 31, 2017 with four primary target nations and several secondary target nations. There are three main SEA projects (with several activities in each) and there is also overlap with at least three other worldwide projects/activities. The SEA aquaculture team expects to continue to drive the message of the value, utility and quality of U.S. Soy to SEA’s aquaculture industry.

USSEC – Philippines hosted the Myanmar aquaculture team led by USSEC Myanmar Technical Manager-Aquaculture May Myat Noe Lwin to observe and learn the Philippines’ aquaculture industry July 3-9.

Myanmar’s aquaculture team was able to learn and increase its knowledge on a feed-based culture system in tilapia culture and milkfish and pompano culture by visiting tilapia ponds and cage farms, milkfish cage farms, and a pompano cage farm.

The members of the Myanmar aquaculture team, together with the staff of Santeh Feeds Corp., during the visit to a feedmill plant on July 4

The team also visited tilapia breeding stations and research facilities to learn about tilapia breeding practices and techniques. They visited the Freshwater Aquaculture Center – Central Luzon State University (FAC-CLSU), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – National Freshwater Fisheries Technology Center (BFAR-NFFTC), and GenoMar Supreme Philippines, Inc., all located in Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.

The Myanmar aquaculture team visited the USSEC Tilapia LVHD Cage demonstration project at Southeast Feeds Corp., Taal Lake, Talisay, Batangas, Philippines on July 8

The Myanmar aquaculture team was better able to understand the aquafeed industry through its visit to Santeh Feeds Corp. and other aquafeed distributors and aqua stores.

The Myanmar aquaculture team visited the USSEC Tilapia LVHD Cage demonstration project at Southeast Feeds Corp., Taal Lake, Talisay, Batangas, Philippines on July 8

This learning will help Myanmar’s aquaculture industry to improve its aquaculture production, in particular, tilapia production. These increased productions will translate to an increase in demand for formulated feeds, which will in turn increase demand for U.S. Soy products.

Myanmar’s aquaculture team visited the Santeh Pompano Cage Farm in Bataan, Philippines on July 7

USSEC hosted Filipino companies Finfish Hatcheries Inc. and Alsons Aquaculture Corp. on the Milkfish Hatcheries and High Value Marine Fish Hatcheries Study Tour in Gondol, Bali, Indonesia October 23 – 27.

The USSEC Milkfish Hatcheries and High Value Marine Fish Hatcheries Study Tour featured a presentation of Indonesia’s milkfish and high value marine fish industry and hatchery updates by the Institute for Mariculture Research and Development (IMRAD), and visits to different milkfish hatcheries and high value marine fish hatcheries in Indonesia.

The two companies from the Philippines were able to increase their knowledge and understanding of the Indonesian milkfish and high value marine fish hatcheries, including broodstock management; breeding techniques; larval rearing and production; natural food production, usage and application; and fry/fingerling production and management. They were also able to increase knowledge on the proper construction of hatchery structures.

The Philippines produced 384,425 metric tons (MT) of milkfish in 2015, with an estimated 900 million milkfish fry used. Finfish Hatcheries Inc. is hoping to increase its milkfish fry production after this trip. The estimated milkfish feed requirement is about 840,000 to 920,000 MT.

USSEC Technical Consultants – Aquaculture Levy Manalac and Pamudi, together with the staff of Finfish Hatcheries Inc., and Alsons Aquaculture Corp. from the Philippines pose with officers of Institute for Mariculture Research and Development (IMRAD) during a visit on October 24 to Gondol, Bali, Indonesia

Mr. Manalac and Mr. Pamudi, with the staff of Finfish Hatcheries Inc., and Alsons Aquaculture Corp. and with a technician of C.V. Dewata Laut hatchery on October 26

In Vietnam, there are large amount of renewable energy (RE) resources, which are distributed throughout the country. Energy from biogas is estimated of about 10 billion cubic meters (m³), with resources that can be collected from landfills, animal excrement, and agricultural residue. The ten largest Vietnamese pig producers, in 2015, can produce 308.789.465 kilowatts of electricity per day from 158,904 m³ of animal waste.

Biogas from fish farming is not yet technically feasible, because fishpond sludge can only be collected after harvest. With an Intensive Pond Aquaculture (IPA) system with a sludge collector set up at the quiescent zone, however, fish waste can be easily collected daily, even hourly, when the biomass became large in the raceway. These technical properties of IPA allow the consideration of producing biogas from fishpond culture.

Benefits from fish waste biogas include:

• Methane from fish waste biogas can be used to run the air blower in the IPA system, saving electricity cost
• Methane from fish waste biogas can be used to warm up water at the inlet of the raceway. This would greatly help farmers in Northern Vietnam, where there was six months of winter season of no culture due to low water temperature.

Today, Vietnam faces several natural resource issues (water, energy) as well as environmental issues in aquaculture (fish pond effluent treatment), which hold up development in the aquaculture industry. USSEC Vietnam is focusing on IPA with biogas technology to promote profitable and sustainable pond aquaculture production. The objectives are to push the use of commercial feed in high tech culture, which consequently increase the demand of soy in aquafeed, especially U.S. Soy products, to create an entire green value chain.

At the biogas in IPA seminar with Cargill farmers in Hung Yen province – Vietnam,
USSEC Vietnam Technical Manager – Aquaculture, Vo Hoang Nguyen, introduces USSEC’s activities to the audience

USSEC held the U.S. Soy in International Aquaculture Marketing Mission in Guayaquil, Ecuador from October 19-26.

14 participants, including U.S. grower leaders and USSEC aquaculture staff, took part in this mission in order to better understand the Ecuadorian aquaculture industry, particularly the shrimp industry, and the importance of this market for U.S. Soy. This trip took the team to much of the shrimp aquaculture production chain, including hatchery-growout-processing operations and feedmill operations, along with providing a chance to take part in the annual AquaExpo that brings the commercial industry together for discussions and a trade show.

Participants included Belinda Burrier, United Soybean Board (USB) director; Jerry Bambauer, American Soybean Association (ASA) director; RJ Campbell, Nebraska Soybean Board; Tony Johanson, Nebraska Soybean Board; Diana Beitelspacher, North Dakota Soybean Council; Andy Tauer, Indiana Soybean Alliance; Tom Griffith, Indiana Soybean Alliance; Kary Claghorn, Iowa Soybean Association; Rolland Schnell, Iowa Soybean Association; USSEC Marketing Director – International Aquaculture and Customer Focus Colby Sutter; and USSEC Project Manager Aquaculture/ Customer Focus Dena Hensel.

During this trip, there was also an opportunity for Aquaculture Program Lead Technical Consultant – SEA Lukas Manomaitis to discuss the updated International Aquaculture Feed Formulation Database (IAFFD) with the grower leaders to show them how USSEC is trying to directly influence the industry to use U.S. Soy.

Group photo of grower leader team and local industry cooperators

Inspecting soy quality at Skretting Feedmill with U.S. Soy farmers

In October, USSEC supported the implementation of an offshore mariculture industrial tour to Malta and Italy. The program is expected to allow participants from both government and industry to be exposed to the current status of mariculture in the Mediterranean.

Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Turkey, Italy and Malta are key producers of sea bream and sea bass for the EU market. Those producing countries have established offshore mariculture development for the last decade to improve sustainability.

The tour is expected to improve the policies and practices to support offshore mariculture development in Indonesia. Offshore mariculture would allow the establishment of industrial scale, consistent volume, and quality to meet global seafood market demand. More farmed seafoods would mean more quality aquafeed to produce.

In September, USSEC supported two national level seminars in Surabaya and Jakarta, Indonesia, which were aimed to support the development of a sustainable mariculture development roadmap and shrimp certification policies. The support is expected to guide Indonesian aquaculture industry development to be more competitive, productive, efficient, and sustainable.

The seminars involved the active participation of key stakeholder elements, including government senior officials, the Shrimp Club and shrimp producers, feed mills, and processors/packers, as well as relevant industry stakeholders. A task force will be established to work on improving Indonesia’s shrimp aquaculture industry.

Recent developments have shown that customers and buyers are becoming more aware of the importance of sustainability. Shrimp certification will lead to the use of certified feed and ingredients, which will be highly beneficial to USSEC’s commitment to the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP).

USSEC’s aquaculture program sponsored 17 participants to attend the Progressus Aquaculture Nutrition AgriSchool, a five-day intensive short course on aquaculture nutrition. Readers may recall that USSEC “declared victory” on the topic of basic training in aquaculture nutrition with Progressus’ decision to create a commercial training program on this topic.

USSEC sponsored 17 of the 55 course participants

This program allows USSEC to focus the limited time of its feed nutritionists on more intensive training of key U.S. Soy-using stakeholders. Additionally this event allowed Aquaculture Program Lead Technical Consultant – SEA Lukas Manomaitis to introduce the USSEC-supported International Aquaculture Feed Formulation Database (IAFFD) to the participants, as well as allow them to use the database in a commercial feed formulation program (Bestmix).

It is hoped that a similar course to this, the Aquaculture Feedmilling AgriSchool, may further help USSEC to better use its time for focused events rather than general training of industry. The Aquaculture Feedmilling AgriSchool will be vetted in November of this year.

In support of the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program, USSEC Aquaculture Consultant – Americas Jairo Amezquita recently presented BAP certificates to Colombian small farmers selected to receive training and financial support.

Mr. Amezquita has been a key player in ensuring that Colombia’s farmers receive the training and financial support necessary to apply for the BAP certification to comply with local and international market requirements since USSEC and the Federación Colombiana De Acuicultores (FEDEACUA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) early this year.

The USSEC consultant presented a number of tilapia and trout producers with BAP certificates for attaining BAP certification at a celebration of responsible aquaculture organized by FEDEACUA in Bogota, Colombia, on October 11.

“The MoU signed by USSEC, FEDEACUA and GAA to train Colombia’s small farmers to achieve BAP certification represents an effective demonstration of responsible aquaculture in Latin America,” said Marcos Moya, manager of BAP supply development for GAA.

USSEC participated in the 7th Aquatech Philippines:  Aquaculture Expo & Convention in Tagaytay City on July 21. This year’s theme was “Exploring the Latest Innovations for Higher Production, Best Alternatives and Strategies for Global Marketability.”

Aquatech Philippines, for the past six years, has been gathering experts and stakeholders from the aquaculture sector. This sole technical event in the Philippines focusing in aquaculture recognizes the importance of the collection and sharing of knowledge in aquaculture activities by facilitating a comprehensive trade exhibition, technical conference, free livelihood seminars, and fellowship activities. The event aims to develop sustainable aquaculture in the country and contribute to the alleviation of poverty and was attended by nearly 150 participants from different aquaculture stakeholders in the Philippines.

USSEC Technical Manager – Philippines and Southeast Asia Demonstration Coordinator Levy Loreto Manalac presented and discussed “The USSEC Soy In Aquaculture Program’s Work on Improvement of the Philippines Milkfish Chanos chanos Industry Through Better Feed and Feeding Approaches.” USSEC Marine Fish Aquaculture Specialist Hsiang Pin Lan presented and discussed “Milkfish Disease and Health Management: Observations and Findings in Philippines.”

Hsiang Pin Lan, USSEC Marine Fish Aquaculture Specialist, discusses “Milkfish Disease & Health Management: Observations & Findings in Philippines” in Tagaytay City, Philippines on July 21

Levy Loreto L. Manalac, USSEC Philippines Technical Manager and Southeast Asia Demonstration Coordinator, presents “The USSEC Soy In Aquaculture Program’s Work on Improvement of the Philippines Milkfish Chanos chanos Industry Through Better Feed and Feeding Approaches” at the 7th Aquatech: Aquaculture Expo & Convention Philippines 2016

USSEC’s aquaculture program recently welcomed an experienced marine fish broodstock expert, Dr. Robert Vassallo Agius, to Thailand to speak primarily to the Asian sea bass hatchery industry. The target of the presentation was to highlight the importance of formulated broodstock feeds as both a biosecurity measure and for better production. Originally intended for an audience of about 40 participants, the final number swelled to over 60 as industry learned of the seminar’s content, with both commercial and government interest as well as commercial feed firms.

This topic, and another on larval nutrition and rearing, benefited from the fact that Dr. Agius is one of the leading individuals working on broodstock nutrition in Japan and Europe. It is also an important one as Thailand is a major producer of large numbers of Asian sea bass fingerlings for domestic and regional use, but not particularly high quality ones.

High quantities of high quality marine fish fingerlings are an important step to moving to industrial-scale production of marine fish in Southeast Asia and will lead to a requirement for high quality and consistent feeds for growout operations. It is in that area that USSEC expects expanded promotion of U.S. Soy products in the marine fish aquaculture industry.

Dr. Robert Vassallo Agius, broodstock nutrition expert from Malta

Photo from rear of meeting room shows a packed hall with over 60 participants, not including USSEC staff or contractors

USSEC held its second regional aquaculture investment conference in Dead Sea, Jordan from September 23 – 26. More than 70 aquaculture professionals attended the conference from 7 different countries, including Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. Participants represented major aquaculture producers and aquaculture feed millers.

American Soybean Association (ASA) director Mark Jackson and United Soybean Board (USB) director Bob Metz represented U.S. soybean farmers at the event.

Several speakers from different parts of the world gave talks on processing quality aquafeed, least cost formulation, small scale aqua operation, soy global supply and demand, aquafeed safety and extrusion, advancement in preconditioning and drying of aqua feed, aquaculture systems innovation, and the aqua industry from the Middle East and other regions.

Speakers included: Jesse Chappell, Associate Professor, School of Fisheries, Aquaculture & Sciences, Auburn University; Ramesh G, Technical Sales Advisor, Aqua Feed Division –Worldwide, Wenger Manufacturing Inc.; Michael Martin, Regional Sales Director, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Insta-Pro International; Colby Sutter, USSEC Marketing Director – International Aquaculture / Customer Focus; Suleiman Al Qura’an, Senior Communication Officer, Jordan Investment Commission; Mian Riaz, Director, Food Protein R&D Center, Texas A&M University; John C. Baize, President, John C. Baize and Associates; Tony Freiji, Group President and CEO, Wadi Group; and Sirri Kayhan, USSEC Consultant.

The high level of audience participation and networking was a measure of the success of the event, which comes at a time when countries throughout the region are expanding their seafood production in response to consumer demand and food security concerns.

USSEC has developed long-term relationships with Texas A&M University, Auburn University, Insta-Pro International, and Wenger Manufacturing Inc., where they cooperate to develop international soybean and soybean product markets.

Dr. Riaz gave two talks titled, “How to Make Quality Feed Using Extrusion Technology” and “Aquafeed Safety and Extrusion Processing.” In the past, Dr. Riaz has spoken on soybean processing and aquafeed extrusion at other USSEC conferences in the MENA region. USSEC has sent participants from all over the world to attend aquafeed extrusion short courses offered by the Food Protein Research and Development Center at Texas A&M.

Mr. Martin commented, “As an industry member of USSEC, Insta-Pro appreciates USSEC’s continuing commitment to grow the aquaculture market in the MENA region and is grateful for the opportunity to participate in this highly effective event. Soybeans are critical to the success of aquafeed production [here] and this is clearly understood by the conference participants.”

After the conference, the USSEC delegation visited two fish farms in the Jordan Valley.

USSEC provided technical support to commercial shrimp growers in Peru by holding multiple discussions with a feedmill representative and fish and shrimp producers about modifying diet formulations for fish and shrimp by incorporating more soybean meal derived from U.S.-grown soybeans.

Visits to fish and shrimp farms and facilities by USSEC consultants Dr. John Hargreaves and Jairo Amezquita consisted of six one-on-one or small-group direct technical consultations and presentations to farm groups about pond preparation and water management of shrimp ponds to improve productivity and technical capacity. The presentation consisted of sections on sediment removal, pond drying, soil liming, fertilization, managing water transparency through water exchange, and the use of probiotics in fish and shrimp farming. Six large and prominent fish and shrimp farms in Huacho, Piura and Tumbes were visited. The presentations were made to personnel at two of the six farms visited. Mr. Amezquita also talked about USSEC’s role in the development of global aquaculture, emphasizing the advantages of using U.S. Soy in shrimp diets.

Dr. Hargreaves´s presentation focused on pond preparation and water management of fish and shrimp ponds to improve productivity. The lecture consisted of sections on sediment removal, pond drying, soil liming, fertilization, managing water transparency through water exchange, and the use of probiotics in shrimp farming. A few points were emphasized to shrimp farmers as recommendations:

1) The importance of pond drying was emphasized to oxidize accumulated organic matter. It was recommended that farmers have a production cycle with a 15-day interval between harvesting one crop and stocking juveniles for the next crop. Within this 15-day interval, there should be 7 days of bright sunshine with the pond completely exposed.

2) Ponds should be routinely tested to evaluate soil pH. This is especially true for ponds located in former mangrove wetlands, which are known to have soils with low pH and a very high lime requirement. The point was emphasized that ponds will not respond well to fertilization unless soil pH is greater than 7.

3) Perhaps the most important point emphasized was that the best way to manage dissolved oxygen in ponds without aeration is to manage water transparency. By maintaining a water transparency (as indicated by Secchi disk visibility) of 30-50 cm, there should be no problems with dissolved oxygen concentration. This can be problematic in shrimp farming areas where source water is already highly eutrophic, as indicated in at least one farm visited.