Public Funding for World Feeds Limited

Salmon farmers consider sea lice as the biggest threat to their industry. Over the last decade, salmon producers in Norway and Scotland have lost ~260,000T/yr (10%) from parasitic sea lice infestation, costing ~£275m/year. Wholesale cost of farmed and wild salmon rose 50% from 2016, as fish farmers from Scotland to Norway and Chile tried to tackle sea lice. Anti-parasitic vaccines help control sea lice but, treatments are environmentally toxic and reduce quality of fish for consumers. The preferred alternative is to use cleaner-fish (e.g. wrasse and lumpfish) which opportunistically graze on salmon feed pellets (every 2-hours) and supplement their diets by eating the sea lice off the salmon; there are no diets currently available which meet the nutritional needs of cleaner-fish. As a result, cleaner-fish develop diet-related cataracts, reducing sea-lice consumption - sea lice continue to proliferate. Presently there is no feed which specifically meets the nutritional needs of cleaner-fish. World Feeds aims to engineer a bespoke cleaner-fish diet and feeding-station, which will allow salmon farmers to autonomously feed cleaner-fish

Salmon farms across the world are being devastated by infestations of sea lice that target salmon. There is an undeniable need for greater volumes of healthy cleaner-fish to control (eat) sea‐lice off farmed salmon. However, the current approach is to extract cleaner-fish from the 'wild' and breeding them in captivity on feeds that are nutritionally deficient. As a result, mortality rates are significant, and sea lice numbers continue to proliferate within salmon farms. Salmon production in Norway and Scotland combined has been falling by about 10% a year and costing the salmon industry hundreds of millions a year in lost revenues. Anti-parasitic medicines to control sea-lice are adopted but, treatments are environmentally toxic and can impact upon water quality, affect local wildlife and reduce the quality of the fish for consumers. Using cleaner-fish (larvae extracted from the wild) is an established alternative, but mortality rate is extremely high due to nutritional deficiencies and inefficient feeding mechanisms; 'wild' stocks are dwindling as a result. World Feeds presents herein a new approach on breeding cleaner-fish sustainably in captivity within hatcheries. The approach will significantly reduce the need to harvest cleaner-fish from the 'wild' (allowing stocks to recover) and will afford salmon farmers an unbroken supply of disease-free cleaner-fish.

No change from original scope apart from that we cannot conduct the necessary field testing due to Covid-19 restrictions. Therefore we wish to use the remaining funds to further refine our prototype device based on recent feedback. We will conduct the field testing next year April-Sept 2021 at our own cost. The projected impact of our proposed technology still remains valid as is the business opportunity.

To develop and embed bespoke manufacturing processes to produce high volumes of a high value novel flake product.

According to the UN, the world’s population is projected to reach 9.3 billion by 2050 and the present per capita availability of protein cannot be met by livestock and dairy farming sectors alone. Conservation International states that “the low environmental impact of aquaculture should be expanded to alleviate the growing global food crisis”. Expansion in aquaculture however is prohibited due to the high cost and limited availability of live feed e.g. Artemia. Similarly, salmon production is affected due to the low volumes of wrasse cleaner fish available to delouse salmon from parasitic sea lice - this is a major problem in the sector and is affecting Scotland, Norway, Ireland and Chile. WFL wish to develop new aqua-feed formulations as well as a new high-throughput processes capable of manufacturing high quality micro-aquafeed pellets. The proposed aqua-feed will allow for sustainable and cost effective rearing of fish species at substantially reduced cost compared to using live feed. WFL estimate savings could be as high as 55-60% since the proposed nutritionally rich aqua-feed will necessitate the need for reduced quantities to be utilised as feed. Nutritionalists have evaluated cheaper feeds based on vegetable proteins but are associated with decreased growth rates and therefore yields [FAO].

More than 20 million seahorses are and traded worldwide each year and there is every indication that seahorses and members of Syngnathidae, the family also encompassing pipefish and seadragons could be extinct in as little as 10 years. Over fishing as by-catch in trawler nets and loss of habitat are seen as the main culprits. Although the vast majority of these are destined for use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat a variety of disorders, substantial numbers are also taken for the aquarium, curio and food industries. Seahorses prefer to feed on ‘live’ Mysid shrimp for its balanced nutritional profile. Captive breed Mysid is expensive and unsustainable and the use of cheaper frozen Mysid needs to be supplemented with synthetic chemical nutrients. Success in terms of growth, reproduction and health (including vitality and colouration) has not been observed. A new feed and delivery mechanism needs to be developed promptly to improve cultivation success and re-wild natural stocks. New Era Aquaculture (NEA) wishes to prove the technical feasibility and commercial potential of developing a complete dietary feed system for seahorses. NEA proposes formulating naturally derived ingredients within an agglomerate 3D gel matrix. The feed system will have the correct bioavailability and nutritional profile - lipids, vitamins, minerals, fats and free amino acids required by seahorses. Further, seahorses are reserved creatures and there are challenges in stimulating them to the feed, ensuring attraction and consumption with minimal bi-waste. This project is seen as cutting edge innovation by NEA and the aquatic conservation community. Seahorse cultivation is the key to the long term survival of the species in the wild, if demand can be met with cultivated specimens, this would alleviate the huge pressures that are felt by wild populations which are currently being threatened.