The station has been established to support the growing need for sustainable feeds in Asia and is ideally positioned to contribute towards the global growth of best-practice aquaculture production.
Driven by growing demand from Asia and Latin America, the global shrimp feed market is expanding at a rate of approximately five per cent each year (from an estimated 3.9 million tonnes in 2012). ARC China will use Skretting’s worldwide R&D knowledge to help shrimp farmers increase their production in a more sustainable manner.
Speaking at the official launch ceremony, Dr Alex Obach, Managing Director of Skretting ARC said: “The opening of the Hezhoubei Research Station is a very important milestone for ARC. This investment demonstrates our considerable commitment to helping build a more sustainable shrimp farming industry through world-class research and innovation.”
Dr Obach also paid tribute to Dr Eva Zhou, Manager of Skretting ARC China, and her team for overseeing the construction of the research station, both in terms of extensive upgrades to existing research facilities and the building of new research laboratories.
“Eva’s diligence and attention to detail has resulted in a state-of-the-art research station, which will enable Skretting to develop more high-performance aquafeeds that are proven to deliver faster growth and improved feed efficiency to our customers throughout Asia and beyond.”
Occupying a land area of 20,000 square metres, the Hezhoubei Research Station comprises indoor facilities for conducting trials on shrimp and fish growth and nutrient digestibility. There are also outdoor tanks and ponds for fish trials. In total, more than 250 experimental units (tanks and cages) are available to run research trials with both shrimp and fish in different environmental conditions.
The species currently targeted at ARC China include whiteleg shrimp, Asian seabass, snakehead, yellow catfish and tilapia. The station will conduct trials throughout the year and currently has a workforce of 18 employees.
