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The QRILL™ Aqua team was in full swing in 2022, sharing new knowledge about krill, engaging with aquaculture customers and partners around the world, and even expanding its presence as QRILL Aqua demand grows around the world.
One of the most pivotal moments of the year was on June 10, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave its stamp of approval to QRILL Aqua and QRILL Hight Protein meal for salmon feeds. This milestone officially opened up the North American market for the company’s krill products. Another big win came in early December 2022, when QRILL Aqua was officially registered with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency – securing our strong position in the North American market.
Here are a few more of our major milestones from the past year.
What the aquaculture industry discovered about krill this year
- Salmon are healthier with krill: Researchers combed through a decade’s worth of research into krill and concluded that it does in fact have a positive impact on feed intake, growth performance, fillet quality and organ health in salmonids – thank to it being a sustainable source of protein, phospholipids, omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA, feed attractants and astaxanthin.
- Shrimp are bigger with krill: In India, ICAR researchers conducted a trial with Whiteleg shrimp to determine whether krill meal was effective in stimulating greater growth and survival. They found that just 4 to 6% krill meal in the diet leads to better outcomes for the shrimp producers, essentially larger and healthier shrimp.
- Krill performs best in digestibility test: Labomar in Brazil released a new study that tested the digestibility of various shrimp feed ingredients from aquatic sources, as compared to plant and animal byproducts. At the end of the experiment, scientists concluded that aquatic ingredients perform best in terms of highest crude protein and essential amino acid digestibility, and that krill meal was best-in-test overall.
- Krill boosts seabream larvae growth and survival: KAUST in Saudi Arabia released new findings that showed the impact of krill phospholipids on the growth and survival of seabream larvae. Just 7% krill phospholipids yield “significantly improved” results among the tested seabream.
- Krill meal key to cost effective shrimp feed formulations: Labomar in Brazil published a new review article which concluded that krill meal is an effective functional ingredient for shrimp feed, one that helps mitigate challenges related to a stagnating supply of fish meal.
How we engaged with the aquaculture industry in 2022
The aquaculture industry finally came together in 2022, after two long years apart, to partake in leading events where knowledge, ideas and inspiration were shared. QRILL Aqua team members could be found at conferences in Singapore, Indonesia, India, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Spain, Norway, and Italy, to name a few.
- At AquaSur Chile we exhibited for the first time ever and shared the findings from our new salmonid study, as mentioned above. It was also a chance for us to mark the opening of Aker BioMarine’s new Chile-based entity for QRILL AQUA.
- At Aquafuture Spain, we took the opportunity to engage in topics close to our hearts in the QRILL AQUA team, namely sustainability. This is a top priority for us, and we were excited to share our initiatives and discoveries, including studies on how krill improves growth and health of seabass, trout, and salmon, as well as our pride in once again achieving an A-rating from the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP).
- In June 2022, the QRILL Aqua team was truly on tour, attending the North Atlantic Seafood Forum and AquaVision, both in Norway, as well as the International Symposium on Fish Nutrition and Feeding Towards Precision Fish Nutrition and Feeding (ISFNF2022), in Italy. These were important arenas to cement krill’s role in the international marine ingredient market, share recent scientific findings, and engage on sustainability topics.
- At AQUA EXPO 2022 in Ecuador, we engaged with attendees on everything from innovation to sustainability and even product development. We’re on track to ramp up our presence in Ecuador, introducing new products and a new distributor in this market, so this expo was a milestone event for us.
- At the World Aquaculture Singapore conference, the QRILL AQUA had a chance to share its Asia-Pacific growth story and engage with industry experts on krill-related product innovation, sustainability and scientific research that proves its positive impact on fish growth and health.
The QRILL Aqua team grew in 2022, with new talents joining the company’s krill mission
In 2022, two new leaders joined the QRILL Aqua executive ranks: Bjørn Wallentin joined as the SVP for QRILL Aqua Sales, and Ragnhild Dragøy was promoted from Director of Sustainability to her new role as VP Product Management.
The QRILL Aqua team in Norway boosted its sales capacity, adding two talents to the team. Maja Bævre-Jensen joined the company as Business Development Director and Karen Kirstine Østerhus came on board as Business Development Manager.
QRILL Aqua is growing in Indonesia as well, a key strategic market for the company. Bawanta Widya Suta joined the team. He’s an aquaculture expert and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine who now serves as the company’s Aquaculture Sales Manger in Animal Health and Nutrition.