A training course for professionals from the aquafeed industry was recently organized at INRA Aquapôle of Saint Pée sur Nivelle, France. The course, entitled “Fish Nutrition & Feeding,” was designed by the aquaculture infrastructures for excellence in European fish research towards 2020 (AquaExcel).
It was organized by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique UMR1419 NUMEA, with the assistance and expertise of Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Wageningen University and University of Stirling.
Thirty attendees from dozens of countries were selected for this hard-working week. After two intensive days of lectures on physiology, digestibility, raw material and nutritional requirements, trainees had the opportunity to apply their recent knowledge on Allix3 Formulation Software. This software was selected for ease with which it is taken in hand. Allix3 was provided for free by A-Systems. The two-hour tutorial was a good opportunity to understand the job and constraints of aquafeed manufacturers. The impact of new raw material, such as insect meal, on feed composition and price was also tested. The tutorial was made by Stéphanie Fontagné and supervised by Guillaume Le Reste from HALIEUTICA.
