NEW STUDY INTO NUTRITIONAL NEEDS OF FARMED HALIBUT

New study into nutritional needs of farmed halibut. Norwegian body, FHF, has announced up to NOK 7 million to acquire new knowledge about the nutritional needs of aquaculture farmers, which can contribute to improving growth, fish health and production efficiency.
FHF is a state-owned limited company owned by the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries, which is financed 100% by the seafood industry through a R&D tax on all seafood exports of 0.3%.
A FHF statement said:
“Halibut farming is an industry that is growing strongly and with significant growth potential because the markets demand more than what is produced today. At the same time, the industry has identified several areas where today’s knowledge is deficient and represents an unresolved potential that can yield major benefits in terms of growth and feed utilization, fish health / welfare, production costs and value creation.
“One such area is the understanding of the halibut’s real demands for nutrition in later life stages. In general, existing knowledge about halibut nutrition and feed prescriptions is outdated and based on the experience of other aquaculture species, and there is therefore a great need to obtain new and updated knowledge in this field.
“With increased efforts from the industry, the objective is to provide new knowledge about the halibut’s requirements for nutrition in later life stages of farming (approx. 0.5-5 kg) which can form the basis for optimized feed composition and improved feeding regimes. Farmers will then achieve better growth, fish health and production efficiency. The results should be relevant to the production of both female and male livestock.
“The aim is to establish up to one project, which will provide generic knowledge for the benefit of all stakeholders in halibut farming, and where the results must be open and disseminated continuously so that the knowledge can be used quickly.”