Skretting: Upgraded Gemma Diamond enhances marine nursery production

Processing developments at the hatchery feed plant of Skretting have enabled it to upgrade its Gemma Diamond feed by producing highly uniform micro pellets, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to Skretting.

The new feed, available in five pellet sizes from 0.8 to 1.8 mm, is aimed at marine nursery production with fry from 0.5 g to 25 g. Key benefits of the even-sized pellets are more uniform growth in batches of fish and far less impact on water quality compared with feeds that contain a proportion of outsize particles and dust.

Skretting has designated the feed plant in Vervins, France, as its centre of excellence in marine hatchery feeds. One of the unusual features is a unique low temperature extrusion process that avoids denaturation of heat sensitive raw materials in the feed, preserving their nutritional value. Gemma Diamond is formulated with a high protein/lipid ratio; the high protein content is designed to support the potential for rapid growth during the nursery period. The new feed also has Skretting's proprietary marine algal blend that has proved successful in the other hatchery feeds, Gemma Micro and Gemma Wean, making the feeds notably more attractive. In addition, Gemma Diamond is fortified with essential oils and immunostimulants that support the vitality of the fry in sensitive periods such as grading and transfer to sea.

Skretting has adjusted the physical properties of the micro pellets so that they sink slowly, giving the fry more time to feed. Being free of over and undersized particles, Gemma Diamond is equally suited to maintaining water quality in land based nurseries, recirculation systems and cage systems.