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Pelagia has launched Pro-Allo – a new type of fishmeal that the company claims helps to improve fish health and growth rates.
Pro-Allo is formulated and manufactured to support allostasis – the biological process of fighting stress caused by factors such as changes in environment and handling. Trials commissioned by Pelagia in seabass found that the inclusion of Pro-Allo in feed reduced the number of vulnerable fish by up to 86 percent compared with feed made using Group 1 fishmeal. Pro-Allo was also shown to improve the specific growth rate by up to 19 percent and feed efficiency by as much as 30 percent.
Pro-Allo is produced in Norway from sustainably-sourced fish and to the same strict standards as high-quality Group 1 fishmeal. However, according to Pelagia, it offers incremental benefits in three key areas:
- Improved raw material freshness – Pelagia is sourcing the freshest raw materials from a dedicated supply chain incorporating new quality parameters in relation to storage time, temperature, handling and distribution. Increased freshness in fishmeal is associated with higher growth rates in fish.
- Optimised protein digestibility – Pelagia is applying gentle methods to dry raw materials, which preserves a higher level of protein digestibility, which has been shown to result in greater specific growth rates and lower feed conversion ratios.
- Increased levels of water-soluble components – The water-soluble protein fraction in fishmeal is important for fish growth and wellbeing. Levels of such components in conventional fishmeal vary between 18 percent and 32 percent, in line with industry quality parameters. By contrast, Pro-Allo contains more than 32 percent water-soluble protein. This represents a completely new approach. Until now, high levels of water-soluble components in fishmeal have been considered a sign of poor microbiological quality. However, Pro-Allo is formulated and manufactured in such a way to maximise the presence of beneficial water-soluble components and reduce the presence of the undesirable growth-retarding components that are usually associated with a lack of freshness.
Pro-Allo is the result of extensive scientific research and was developed in collaboration with fishmeal expert Dr Anders Aksnes. He commented in a press release: “Pro-Allo delivers superior fish wellbeing, growth and robustness by increasing the level of beneficial water-soluble components that appear to support the allostasis phase in fish during challenging periods in their lifecycle. The development of Pelagia’s Pro-Allo has the potential to take the fishmeal sector to a new level.”
Arnt-Ove Blytt-Tøsdal Kolås, Pelagia’s chief operating officer, added: “For many years now, we’ve seen very little that’s new in fishmeal, but Pro-Allo changes that. By optimising the level of beneficial water-soluble components supporting allostasis, it represents a genuine breakthrough – and one that we believe will be warmly welcomed in the world of aquaculture. We’re also delighted to say that Pro-Allo is just the start, and there will be more innovations to come from Pelagia’s science-based innovation pipeline in the future.”
