In the MAXIPLAN project, the overall aim is to efficiently produce barnacle eggs/nauplii by cultivation in extensive growth systems, and to demonstrate the resulting feed products in the MAXIPLAN line at a sea bream and a shrimp hatchery.
Two main products are produced in the MAXIPLAN project, SteriMax and CryoMax. Both SteriMax and CryoMax are produced in two sizes, small and large. The small size is based on raw material from the subtidal species Balanus crenatus, whereas the large size is based on raw material from the intertidal species Semibalanus balanoides.
Several prototypes for cultivating barnacles were tested, and we have identified the two most promising growth systems which now have been deployed in the sea as pilot systems. One of the pilot systems are Vertical Substrate Modules (VSM) for the intertidal species S. balanoides, and the other is submerged web-bands for the subtidal species B. crenatus.
A transportable processing unit were explored in the project. The intention of a transportable processing unit is to semi-process the MAXIPLAN products close to the cultivation site. A transport container was modified, with liftable roof and sidewalls, and fitted the needed processing equipment for extracting eggs/nauplii from adult barnacles. We managed to reduce the foot-print of our processing equipment so it could be fitted inside the transportable container.
Trials were made on the most efficient storage methods for producing the SteriMax product, and we found that producing it in the transportable processing container was ideal. Semi-processed eggs/nauplii from the two species that makes SteriMax Small and Large could be produced close to the cultivation site in the 40’ container and stored up to 10 days before a need for transportation to the factory for full sterilization. CryoMax Large can also be produced in the transportable container, but with limited storage time to obtain maximum vitality. It turned out that CryoMax Small was unsuitable for being produced in the transportable container, as the species which constitutes this diet, are more fragile and has to be cryopreserved when as fresh as possible.
A production unit developed in the project plan, based on new filtering/sedimentation technology, resulted in far better purity of the MAXIPLAN product. The yield of eggs/nauplii from the adult barnacles more than doubled, going from 5% in 2019 to almost 12% in 2020. Thus, we can extract far more eggs/nauplii than before from the same amount of raw material of adult barnacles.
In the project plan, the first feeding trials on sea bream should have been accomplished in Spring 2020. However, due to the Covid19 situation, we have not been able to go to our subcontractors in the project for performing the trials. Hopefully, we will be able to do start feeding on sea bream using the MAXIPLAN diets fall 2020. We have successfully tested CryoMax Small and CryoMax Large at two commercial hatcheries which are producing ballan wrasse in Norway. Ballan wrasse is not a volume species as sea bream in aquaculture, but it has a more complex start feeding cycle than sea bream. As we have succeeded replacing rotifers and artemia at ballan wrasse hatcheries, we are quite confident that we also will succeed using CryoMax as a live feed diet for sea bream.
