Do winter temperatures have a negative impact on fish growth and if so, what can farmers do about it? Why is stress the biggest enemy of aquaculture and what do producers have to look out for if they want to have their products certified? Trade visitors can find out the answers to these questions and see the latest trends, techniques and products in aquaculture from February 25-27, 2024, at fish international in Bremen, Germany.
Over 300 exhibitors from Germany and abroad have announced their participation in Germany's only fish trade fair. Among them is AquaSyster. The Polish company manufactures systems for aquaculture, for example, drum filters (microsieves) as well as individually manufactured equipment such as complete plants for the production of feed pellets. In 2024, they will be presenting their latest products in Bremen, including Autofeed, an automatic feeding machine for trout and fish farming. Users can operate it conveniently and precisely via a specially developed app. “Normally, automatic feeders are operated manually, which is very time-consuming and imprecise. With our new automatic feeder, you can use your mobile phone to precisely set the feeding times, the doses and the feeding intervals and percentage feed additions,” said an AquaSyster representative.
Smart solutions are also available at the stand of Alltech Coppens from the Netherlands. They are presenting their new cold water fish feed. “The feed is tailored to the changed needs of trout in cold weather and promotes better nutrient utilization and growth,” said Thimo Schee from Alltech Coppens.
A platform for young companies
With the new joint stand Young Innovators, the fish trade fair offers young and innovative companies a promoted platform for marketing their products. For example, Frisch Gefischt from Hamburg will present how they shorten and digitalize the value chain and thus supply sustainable fish and seafood to the catering industry. Ordinary Seafood from Potsdam produces fish based on plant proteins with vegan salmon and tuna alternatives. Flexality from Bremen has developed an algorithm for cold storage processes that saves up to 15% in electricity costs and up to 14% in CO2 emissions.
Food production, sustainability and transparency
In addition to new techniques and products, there will be a forum for current topics on aquaculture, retail and food service in 2024. The main themes of the 19th edition of the fish trade fair are food production, sustainability and transparency.
“It is increasingly important to address key issues around the three main topics,” said Sabine Wedell, project manager of fish international. “That's why we want to promote dialogue between stakeholders on this and provide information on best practice examples in aquaculture.”
For example, the Initiative for Animal Welfare Standards in Aquaculture (ITA) actively campaigns for better farming conditions and more animal welfare in aquaculture. “Poor or incorrect husbandry stresses the animals and this has a negative impact on product quality,” said Stefan-Andreas Johnigk, project coordinator at the ITA. “Stress is the biggest enemy of aquaculture because it makes the fillet straw-like and simply reduces the quality.”
The ITA experts will offer a best-practice training course at fish international. Using a specially developed virtual training platform, they will show what is important in responsible fish farming and how operators can improve their livestock farming conditions.
The latest certification solutions for the aquaculture sector will be on display at the stand of the non-profit sustainability and certification organization ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) and at the stand of the quality assurance and certification system GLOBALG.A.P. "Our aim is to have even more products from certified production labeled in order to meet consumer demand for more transparency and to raise awareness for more sustainable and responsible aquaculture,” said Remko Oosterveld, key account manager aquaculture at GLOBALG.A.P.
For more information, visit fishinternational.de.
