MAAVi Lab

Kimitec, New Biotechnology Partner Of Nueva Pescanova For The Improvement Of Animal Welfare In Aquaculture

17/05/2022

The Spanish Nueva Pescanova Group and its R&D&I team of the Pescanova Biomarine Center will develop, in collaboration with the MAAVi Innovation Center, new food and probiotic solutions for aquaculture species.

The agreement will promote research and development of fully biological and innovative solutions, designed to improve the health, nutrition and welfare of aquaculture species from a natural and environmentally friendly perspective.

Nueva Pescanova, a leading multinational company focused on the commercialization of sea products, has officially announced its agreement with Kimitec’s MAAVi Innovation Center to continue making progress in the search of biological and healthy products that will improve the quality of aquaculture species and their habitat.

Both companies unite to promote research and development of innovative solutions, designed to improve the health, nutrition and welfare of those species.

The research lines covered by this partnership are, among others, the development of natural probiotics capable of enhancing the animal defense system, thus passively increasing their protection against diseases, and the development of new foods for species raised in fishfarms, which will be mainly produced through the revaluation of industrial by-products, such as fish parts that are not suitable for human consumption and normally end up being thrown away. An additional line of research will pursue the creation of new natural products for the protection of farmed species against possible diseases, apart from the passive protection obtained thanks to the aforementioned natural probiotics developed through this collaboration.

Félix García, Kimitec’s CEO and Founder of the MAAVi Innovation Center, explains: “Through this agreement, we join Nueva Pescanova in their commitment to animal welfare, which we will help them guarantee with our knowledge of biological and innovative solutions and technologies, gained over the last 15 years.”

On the other hand, David Chavarrías, the managing director of the Pescanova Biomarine Center, the R&D&I Center for aquaculture of the Nueva Pescanova Group, commented the following about the agreement: “We are strongly committed to animal welfare throughout the entire aquaculture process. This collaboration with KIMITEC for the development of healthy products will allow us to improve the well-being of animals and the conditions of their habitats, as well as to promote research on how to keep producing in a more sustainable, safe and healthy way”.

Both the MAAVi Innovation Center and Nueva Pescanova Group are multinational companies operating in over 80 countries and are embarking on this new alliance that will imply the first incursion of the MAAVi in the world of aquaculture. Their goal will be to ensure the minimum amount of food resources to cover current and future global demands, while protecting wild fishing areas and all the species and ecosystems present within them. In fact, 50% of all sea products that are consumed globally already comes from aquaculture; that is why this agreement is so important, and almost necessary for the future of marine ecosystems and their sustainability.

Furthermore, the agreement not only implies the participation of the MAAVi Innovation Center, but also the use of novel techniques based on LINNA®, MAAVi’s Artificial Intelligence platform, which, through the use of Big Data, will improve our understanding of both marine species and ecosystems, as well as our knowledge of the microorganisms, molecules and natural compounds that participate in them, 99% of which are currently unknown.

 

About Nueva Pescanova Group

Nueva Pescanova Group is a leading Spanish company in the aquaculture sector, specializing in the fishing, raising, processing and commercialization of sea products, both fresh, refrigerated and frozen.

With over 10,000 employees, it operates in 19 countries from 4 different continents, and its products are sold in over 80 countries worldwide.