World Aquaculture Magazine - June 2021

38 JUNE 2021 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG an exclusive economic zone in the Atlantic Ocean of 4,500 km 2 . Most of the Brazilian territory has year-round warm temperatures. Brazil also has a large consumer market and a solid scientific community to support the sustainable exploitation of aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, Brazil has exceptional conditions to develop the production of aquatic organisms. The number of aquaculture farms in 2017 in Brazil was estimated at ~233,000 (IBGE 2020). Freshwater fish, followed by marine shrimp, are the main species produced. National production represents about US$ 1 billion of gross revenue (US$ 1.00 = ~R$ 5.50 in November 2020), with an average value of US$ 1.25/kg of aquaculture product. There are more than 60 species of edible aquatic organisms and ~250 species of ornamental fish, invertebrates and aquatic plants that have been cultured in Brazil (Fig. 1). Nevertheless, the exotic Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus and the native round-shaped fishes, mainly the tambaqui Colossoma macropomum , pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus and their hybrids, dominate the commercial production of foodfish. The productive chain and organization of farmers in Brazilian aquaculture are divided into five main groups: freshwater fish, freshwater prawns Macrobrachium rosenbergii , frogs Lithobates catesbeianus , marine shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei , and marine bivalve mollusks (mussels Perna perna and Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas and C. gasar = C. tulipa ). There are big differences in technological maturity and investments in innovations in the various production chains of aquatic organisms in Brazil. For example, although the production of freshwater fish and marine shrimp represents more than 80 percent of production volume, systems, investments and farms, marine aquaculture represents less than 5 percent. Brazil could be today the second largest producer of aquatic protein in the world if 10 percent of the area available in artificial dams and water reservoirs and coastline were used for aquaculture. Companies and investors find many challenges in Brazilian aquaculture but also great opportunities. Initiatives That Can Inspire Entrepreneurs to Innovate in Brazilian Aquaculture Aquaculture 4.0 will reduce the major dependence on water, feed and human labor. Farmers will minimize the use of essential resources and focus on efficiency and control of production. It will be possible to carry out aquaculture activities in arid areas, new urban farms will be intensified and areas and resources will be used under the logic of the circular economy. Other innovations such as the 3D printing of foods (e.g., Finless Food © ), cultured meat, genetic modification (e.g., Watergenics © ), new vaccines and probiotics could play major roles in the global economy in the next decade. Commercial aquaculture farms operations must be run differently, given advancements in technology such as sensors. The Tellspec startup developed a proprietary AI-based food analysis engine and built an extensive food database of reference spectral scans. Third-party sensors can take advantage of Tellspec’s cloud-based spectroscopy solution by availing themselves of the extensive database or computational analysis, which could provide the knowledge of the quality of seafood in seconds with the use of a portable device. The same principle is being used to detect parasites, diseases and to assess the welfare and meat quality of aquatic organisms (e.g., startups OnCyt and Gaskiya Diagnostics, MonitorFish GmbH, Biotecon Diagnostics). Other innovations are coming from the feed and ingredients industry. New nutrients and processes of plant ingredients for aquafeeds, such algal biomass (e.g., Inalve startup) and powdered insect meal have become a more permanent and sustainable alternative to obtaining fishmeal from natural fisheries. The market for human food is an emerging segment that demands rawmaterials with high nutritional value and from sustainable sources. In this context, seaweed and microalgae are highlighted due to high productivity, protein and amino acids content, fatty acid profile and low sugar and calorie content. Brazilian consumption of these organisms is still mainly restricted to Asian cuisine. However, the expansion of the market for plant-based products makes it possible to include algae produced from aquaculture in processed products that mimic conventional foods (e.g., vegetable hamburgers such as Impossible Foods™). The natural taste of algae is normally associated with limitations, as they are related to off-flavor, but can be alternatives to obtain sensory experience for plant-based fish. The production of algae and microalgae can be adapted to different conditions of technological availability and training of labor. The approach in Aquaculture 4.0 for algae production has been developed nationally by technological companies like d’Algas, which introduced the concept of urban aquaculture for the production of macroalgae in integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems. These opportunities make a profitable ecosystem for scientist-entrepreneurs. Among these is Pluralgae, a startup FIGURE 2. Laboratory production of Hypnea pseudomusciformis seedlings from Algrow startup (Photos: São Paulo State University - UNESP). FIGURE 3. Seaweed washed ashore on beaches (a-d) and examples of seaweed aquaculture (e and f) (Photos: Levi Pompermayer Machado).