Over 150 aquaculture professionals participated in SustainED, sharing innovations for more responsible shrimp feed and nutrition.
Photo: Sustainable Shrimp Partnership.
The Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) and Ecuador's National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA) held a new edition of SustainED, their educational program to strengthen the efficiency and sustainability of the Ecuadorian shrimp industry, which on this occasion focused on nutritional innovation as a key tool to raise shrimp farming standards.
After holding its first edition in September last year - on that occasion the training was on 'Metabisulfite in Practice: Use, Regulations and Recommendations' - this new edition of SustainED, entitled 'Nutritional Innovation: How to Maximize Feed Efficiency at Every Stage of Shrimp Farming', took place last Thursday, May 22, again in Guayaquil.
While the September 2024 edition brought together more than 120 industry professionals, this new SustainED event - supported by Cargill, Vitapro and TerraMar Latam - had a 25% higher participation, with nearly 150 experts, academics and industry leaders meeting at the Hilton Colón Hotel in Guayaquil, the port city of Ecuador which is one of the main centers of the shrimp industry in the country.
SustainED was conceived as a continuous training program designed to connect the industry with experts. During last week's event, strategies, technological advances, and case studies were shared to demonstrate how optimized nutrition can improve operational efficiency, reduce production costs, and improve the environmental performance of shrimp farming.
In addition, as Sustainable Shrimp Partnership highlighted a few months ago on its seventh anniversary, leading by example has not only been a strategic foundation for SSP, but also its greatest source of learning.
Thus, the agenda prepared for the event, together with Ecuador's National Chamber of Aquaculture, included six technical sessions offering a comprehensive approach to the benefits of proper nutrition at each stage of farming.
Presentations were given by national and international experts, with representation from leading companies such as Inve Aquaculture, Skretting, or Vitapro, among others. They covered topics ranging from fundamentals of nutrition or larval nutrition to regulatory frameworks for input usage, including new ingredient sources, responsible feed formulations, or feeding technologies.
"Feed is one of the main factors determining the environmental impact of shrimp farming. But it is also an area where real solutions already exist that can make a significant difference," said Pamela Nath, Director of the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership.
"At SSP, we work to highlight those solutions and make them accessible to those who want to take the next step," she added, commenting on the theme chosen for this second edition of SustainED.
The Executive President of the CNA, José Antonio Camposano, spoke on the same vein. "SustainED represents a key platform for strengthening the shrimp sector by bringing together producers, technicians, and leaders from across the value chain around a shared goal," he stated.
"These types of spaces allow us to increase access to knowledge and promote a shared vision of sustainability, understanding that by raising farming standards, we are also increasing the value and competitiveness of the entire industry," CNA's Executive President concluded.