Aquatic contract research organization, Onda, opened a satellite location in Brazil to expand services to include work with whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). This expansion of services will be conducted in collaboration with an aquaculture facility in Brazil, marking a pivotal step in advancing sustainable shrimp farming research globally.
Shrimp is the fastest-growing aquaculture sector and is becoming a significant part of the blue economy. Onda’s expansion in this area through an external partner stems from a market push to provide innovative trials and testing for whiteleg shrimp. These trials aim to evaluate key performance indicators such as hatch success, growth rate, feed efficiency, survival rate and disease resistance helping the aquaculture industry build more resilient stock and sustainable practices to enhance food security and meet the growing demand for reliable seafood sources worldwide.
By partnering with an external facility, Onda can leverage its expertise in aquaculture research while benefiting from its partner's advanced infrastructure. This collaboration allows Onda to design and execute trials with a species challenging to import into Canada, maintaining the quality, integrity and reliability that Onda’s clients are accustomed to. Through this partnership, the service standards that clients equate to working with Onda, such as quality customizable shrimp research trials and Onda-designed models, remain available.
Onda is offering this new service focused on nutrition, with growth, digestibility and palatability being the first phase of challenges available. These trials will focus on evaluating different feed formulations and ingredients to determine the impact on shrimp performance and growth rates to allow clients to enhance shrimp survival, reduce environmental impact, and improve profitability in aquaculture operations. Onda has intentions to expand into health trials at the new facility in the very near future.
"After many years of development and securing reliable supply, we are very excited to expand our services in health and nutrition to include shrimp, the largest category by production in aquaculture," said Myrna Gillis, CEO of Onda.
