AquaVision 2012: aquaculture offers oceans of opportunities
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Kofi Annan asks aquaculture industry to accelerate progress
The maximum number of delegates, 430 from 33 countries, filled the conference
hall at AquaVision 2012 to hear Kofi Annan give his endorsement and
encouragement to the aquaculture industry. Twice Secretary General of the United
Nations and active ambassador, he delivered the keynote speech at the multi-
stakeholder conference on aquaculture organised by Nutreco and its global fish
feed company Skretting on 11-13 June in Stavanger, Norway. Kofi Annan spoke in
the opening session about the great potential for aquaculture to expand to help
feed the growing global population. Subsequent sessions covered the present and
predicted status of aquaculture in Asia, where it is expanding rapidly, and
current developments to overcome the challenges facing aquaculture.
Knut Nesse, Nutreco COO Aquaculture and soon to be Nutreco CEO, opened the
conference. "Meeting tomorrow today is the theme we chose for AquaVision 2012.
It is what we, the people here today, must do if aquaculture is to fulfil its
potential. If we are to feed the world of tomorrow with healthy nutritious food,
including fish and the other products of aquaculture such as shrimp, we must
succeed. At the same time, the possibilities are tremendous and aquaculture
really does offer oceans of opportunities."
Kofi Annan stated that aquaculture has a strong potential to contribute to
reducing hunger in the world but at the same time he asked the major aquaculture
companies represented at the global conference to continue to look beyond their
bottom line and share knowledge and partner with the small fish farmers in
developing countries. He congratulated the industry for its focus on improving
sustainability and reviewing the industry's current approach to improving
productivity and sustainability he commented; "I do not ask you to change
direction, but I ask you to accelerate progress. We need to work together if we
are to overcome world hunger."
Wout Dekker, Nutreco CEO due to step down in August 2012, gave the closing
remarks on the second day. "Aquaculture has great fundamentals but to realise
the potential of the blue revolution requires full commitment from all
stakeholders. The issues around aquaculture have not changed greatly since the
first AquaVision in 1996. At that time we felt the greatest threat to
aquaculture was its reputation, which is why we organised AquaVision as a forum
for all stakeholders to meet and discuss their issues. AquaVision and the
alternating Agri Vision conferences continue to provide that forum. I have great
confidence in the future of the aquaculture industry that I have been privileged
to work in over these 30 years." As Wout Dekker finished his last AquaVision
closing remarks, delegates around the hall stood to give him a standing ovation.
Food challenges
Árni Mathiesen, Assistant Director General at FAO-the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, described the emerging food security
challenges with the growing world population and increasing incomes. FAO views
aquaculture as a vital part of addressing this challenge in a sustainable
manner. In the session delegates also heard that aquaculture has the potential
to meet the protein needs of 500 million more people. This is an opportunity for
aquaculture because it matches the preferences of middle class consumers for
high standards of food safety and quality coupled with environmental
consciousness. Enabling factors include political will, research, innovation and
training.
Beyond tomorrow
Discussing developments to address the challenges facing aquaculture, Dr Alex
Obach, Managing Director of Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC)
described ARC advances. MicroBalance(TM) technology is enabling Skretting to
reduce levels of fishmeal in feed for several species. ARC is now working on an
equivalent for shrimp feed. Equivalent developments already led to significant
reductions in fish oil contents of the feed and there is good potential to go
further. "These are excellent and sustainable raw materials but the supply is
limited. We need to identify alternatives for aquaculture to expand." This
includes finding new sources for the polyunsaturated fatty acids EPA and DHA and
optimising their retention in the fish. Other speakers covered more precise
preparation of raw materials, the value of integrated pest management, the role
of genomics and advances in fish vaccines.
AquaVision 2012 was the ninth in the biennial series of multi-stakeholder
aquaculture conferences organised by Nutreco and Skretting. Nutreco has
organised alternating multi stakeholder business conferences AquaVision and Agri
Vision since 1996. AquaVision is now established as a world-class conference
that attracts a diverse range of stakeholders to Stavanger every two years.
AquaVision 2012 was sponsored by DNB Bank, Norway's largest financial services
group.
* * * * *
Nutreco
Nutreco is a global leader in animal nutrition and fish feed. Our advanced feed
solutions are at the origin of food for millions of consumers worldwide.
Quality, innovation and sustainability are guiding principles, embedded in the
Nutreco culture from research and raw material procurement to products and
services for agriculture and aquaculture. Experience across 100 years brings
Nutreco a rich heritage of knowledge and experience for building its future.
Nutreco employs approximately 10,000 people in 30 countries, with sales in 80
countries. Nutreco is listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam
and had an annual revenue of EUR 4.7 billion in 2011.
www.nutreco.com
For more information:
Jurgen Pullens, Director Investor Relations and Corporate Communications,
Nutreco
Telephone: +31 (0)33 422 6134
Mobile: +31 (0)6 515 99483
E-mail: jurgen.pullens(at)nutreco.com
AquaVision 2012: aquaculture offers oceans of opportunities:
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Source: Nutreco via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1621173]
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Datum: 21.06.2012 - 11:00 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 158597
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