Brazil’s Aquaculture
Brazil is rapidly becoming one of the largest aquaculture producers worldwide. It has significant advantages such as its coastline of 8,500km, 12% of the global freshwater reserves, and the tropical and subtropical climates and the necessary grain resources. Technology development and technical assistance are also being developed to support Brazil’s modern fish farming. Brazil has great potential to be a major aquaculture player. The most popular in Brazil aquaculture are Shrimp farming and Tilapia. We will briefly discuss them.
1. Tilapia
Tilapia, which accounts for 40% of all aquaculture fish in Brazil, grew at an average of 14% per annum in 2010. It grew to over 150,000 t in 2010 and is currently the most popular fin fish in Brazil. Tilapia production is expected to increase in Brazil due to increased density in cage culture in larger water bodies, monosex culture and improved local feed.
2. Shrimp
The history of shrimp farming in Brazil is one of high productivity. From the late 1990s through 2003, shrimp farming has experienced rapid growth. In 2010, Brazil produced 80,000 tonnes of shrimp on 18,500 hectares. 98% of this production was consumed in Brazil, while 22% were consumed in 2003. Brazil produced 90,000 metric tonnes of farmed shrimp in 2014. Brazil’s shrimp farming industry will continue to grow.
Priority for Brazil Aquafeed Business
The aquafeed industry is growing in Brazil as the aquaculture industry expands. Chile is the largest aquafeed producer in Latin America, while Brazil is second. Ecuador is the largest shrimp feed producer in the region with approximately 3.2 millions metric tons per year. Mexico was second in the region, but Brazil now produces more.
Brazil is a major global producer of livestock and grains, which is good news for the aquafeed industry. These local commodities, such as soybean meal and corn, can provide the required protein sources for aquafeed production. Brazil is a large grain producer and has the potential to grow further. This gives Brazil the ability to produce aquafeed at around half the cost.
Aquafeed’s Important Role in Farming
Fish and shrimp are fed industrially-compound feeds for commercial aquaculture. Aquafeed accounts for 40-50% of total aquaculture production costs. This is why aquafeed is often used to increase farming productivity and reduce the cost. Aquafeed has a better water stability, higher floating property, and more energy than other diets. This contributes to increased fish growth and feed conversion.
Formulation of shrimp feed
To ensure that shrimp grow to their best potential, it is important to understand the ingredients. Major components include wheat flour, soybean meal, and fishmeal
* Fishmeal
Fishmeal is rich in high-quality protein and has a high-energy content. It also contains important minerals like phosphorus and B vitamins.
* Fish oil
Shrimps can get essential fatty acids from fish oil.
* Wheat
High gluten levels in wheat are used as a binder for shrimp and prawn food and as a source of carbohydrate. To improve water stability, aqua feeds must contain at least 20 percent starch from cereal grain cereals.
* Soybean meal
It is a major source of protein for commercial feeds. Large quantities of soybean meal with hulls (44% crude protein) or dehulled soy meal (48%) are readily available. These products can be used to make shrimp and prawn food.
* Premixes
Generally, shrimp feeds contain vitamin and mineral premixes.
Formulation of Tilapia feed
Tilapia feed formulation mostly contains the following ingredients: bran, chaff feeds, oil cake feeds, amphibious plants feed, pomace and Cereal feeds, animal feeds and compound feeds. This article, Tilapia Feed Formulation & Feeding Technique provides more information about Tilapia feed formulation.
Line for Feed Production
The Tilapia feed production is identical to shrimp. It generally involves grinding, mixing and drying, as well as packing.
- Grinding: In general, raw materials are ground into powders using a fish feed hammer mill. This increases the contact area between feed and improves the digestion of substance, energy, and nitrogen.
- Mixing: In the fish feed mixer, you will mix various ingredients. Mixing will ensure uniform distribution of nutrients in aquafeed.
- Extrusion with fish feed extruder: Under pressure, high-temperature material will be formed into pellets using a mould. Aquafeed production is dominated by dry type feed extruders.
- Drying: The final pellets of fish feed extruder are still moist at high temperatures. To remove moisture and heat, use a pellet dryer.
- Spraying and cooling: pellets can be sprayed to improve their smell and taste, and pellets can also be cooled to harden them.