8 DECEMBER 2013 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG A symposium organized by the AsianPacific Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society on HighValue Aquaculture Finfish was held in Kagoshima, Japan from 15-18 October. The event was supported enthusiastically and meaningfully by the Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University, the National Sushi Association of Japan and the Japanese Aquaculture Society. Shunsuke Koshio of Kagoshima University was the key local organizer. The meeting was sponsored by the US Soybean Export Council, Ajinomoto Co Inc., Hayashikane Sangyo Co Ltd and Skretting Japan. Events such as this attract a small and specialized audience, enabling participants to network and openly discuss issues of mutual importance. Day 1 The beginning of the event coincided with International Rural Women’s Day and the participation of women in the conference was noteworthy. Setting the scene for the event, there were six speakers from six countries on the first day. I spoke about standards and certification and the importance and relevance of them in the area of high-value aquaculture. Dave Ellis is Research Manager for the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) Industry Association and manages the ASBTIA/FRDC SBT Research program. Dave outlined the work that has been done in Australia on training to ensure that the sector is producing premium seafood. This stimulated discussion on training and education which, frankly speaking, is not discussed enough at seafood events. There is clear interest in vocational educational training and how it connects with higher level university opportunities. Atsushi Hagiwara, Marine Life Science and Biochemistry at Nagasaki University, spoke about the biology of zooplankton and applications to aquaculture. He raised the issue of freshwater versus saltwater rotifers and the inclusion of selenium as a booster. Much debate took place about private versus public hatcheries and the cost of fingerlings. Kim Changseob of Fishvil Company in Korea gave a lively talk about recirculating aquaculture systems, especially for eels, and this led to a discussion about the costs of establishing High-Value Aquaculture Finfish Symposium Roy Palmer a business based on this model and the comparative costs of various production systems. Tongjun Ren from the Key Laboratory of Mariculture and Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Dalian Ocean University, gave an excellent update on the eel and turbot sectors in China. The enormity of the Chinese aquaculture industry is impressive. What has the rest of the world been doing while China has been working hard to establish such valuable aquaculture industries and products? Farshad Shishehchian, President and CEO of Blue Aqua International in Singapore and President-Elect of the WAS Asian-Pacific Chapter, closed the day’s proceedings with an excellent overview of high-value aquaculture and its challenges and opportunities. Day 2 On World Food Day, the skills and knowledge of sushi masters were on display at the International Sushi and Sashimi Festival in the Kagoshima Arena. Aiko Yamauchi of WWF introduced the Seriola and Cobia Aquaculture Dialogue, with the meeting in Kagoshima as one of the final steps in the standards development process. Daniel Benetti, University of Miami, talked of visiting the ‘Temple of Aquaculture’ in Japan and explained the status of research on high-value species in the Americas, especially in Panama. (The world-renowned Kinki University is now engaged in Panama to expand their knowledge on the propagation of Pacific tunas.) Dan also gave good insight into the future by describing operation of a cobia farm in Panama, which is highly automated and in submerged (SeaStation) cages. Serge Coneillie, Regional Manager for Alltech Japan, Korea and Philippines, highlighted the importance of global nutrition and commented that the world needs 650,000 t of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to ensure the recommended daily minimum requirement (250 g/capita). Serge added that feed for marine finfish without fishmeal and fish oil is possible. He estimates that replacing fishmeal with soybean and or cottonseed meal reduces cost by about 20 percent, but this would be offset ABOVE. Shunsuke Koshio of Kagoshima University was a key organizer of the symposium.
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