Norway - Leading aquaculture feed manufacturer, Skretting have recently launched a new transfer concept which will help improve profitability for Norwegian salmon farmers.
The new transfer concept, which includes the new diets Nutra Supreme and Spirit Supreme, give seawater fish farms faster growing fish and larger fish at harvest.
The company says that feeding salmon Nutra Supreme in the last five to six weeks before transferring smolts to sea, and new Spirit Supreme in the first five to six weeks in the sea will help salmon reach full appetite much faster.
"This will have an important compound interest effect on growth, which means that each fish is a little bit bigger by the time it is ready for harvesting. Calculations show that from 500,000 smolt you can expect over €125,000 in improved sales revenues and at the same time lower production costs," explains Roar Sandvik, Product Manager in Skretting Norway.
He continued: "Following transfer to sea, there is always a critical period before the fish reach full appetite. The length of this period has a significant impact on the end result.
"With the new transfer feeds the RGI (Relative Growth Index) goes from 0 to 100 in around 20 days. The days gained here have a positive impact on the bottom-line result," he adds.
Nutra Supreme and Spirit Supreme take transfer feeds one step further with a concept that involves strengthening the fish with betain, nucleotides and beta-glucans - active substances which affect organs and processes so that the fish cope with the transfer from freshwater to saltwater even better are also included. Also included is Lice Protection consisting of active substances that makes it difficult for lice to attach themselves to the salmon.
"The new transfer feeds have been developed for use both in freshwater and saltwater. In freshwater, the growth is the same, but after transfer to sea growth improves significantly. We have measured a 12 per cent improvement in growth after two months in the sea," Sandvik says.
