NaturalShrimp investigates effects of hydrogas on fish welfare and performance

NaturalShrimp announces second phase trial for freshwater salmon. In this study, the company will investigate the effects of hydrogas on fish welfare and performance in freshwater salmon production.

NaturalShrimp investigates effects of hydrogas on fish welfare and performanceNaturalShrimp, Inc., a biotechnology aquaculture company that has developed and patented the first shrimp-focused, commercially operational RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture System), announced the funding of a second freshwater salmon trial at the Marineholmen RASLab, in Bergen, Norway.

In September 2021, the company announced initial trial results of its short-term validation study at the Marineholmen RASLab to evaluate the effects of using hydrogas technology to increase fish health in a Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS). The positive results from that trial led to the initiation of a second phase trial during the first quarter of 2022 that will include not only Hydrogas technology, but also the company’s patented electrocoagulation (EC) technology. If successful, the second phase trial would provide independent scientifically validated confirmation of the use of these technologies to improve salmon production.

“Our initial validation study results demonstrated that fish grown using hydrogas technology had significantly improved welfare scores, fewer inflammatory gill lesions and reduced early maturation,” said Gerald Easterling, CEO of NaturalShrimp. “With these promising early results, we are now focused on proving that hydrogas and our EC technology together can reduce mortality and increase growth rates for our existing shrimp production. These platform technologies could be significant breakthroughs for NaturalShrimp because they will enable us to obtain a separate revenue stream through the licensing of these technologies to aquaculture producers of salmon, barramundi, and other freshwater fish. We look forward to sharing results later in the coming year as we continue to scale production of our land-based gourmet-grade shrimp.”

“In this study we will investigate the effects of hydrogas on fish welfare and performance in freshwater salmon production. The study will include smoltification and transfer into saltwater. We are also including some additional analyses on the microbiome to understand if the negative ORP environment influences the consortium of bacteria in RAS,” added Christine Huynh, DVM aquatic species consultant for NaturalShrimp.