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Plant-based shrimp feed promotes healthy gut

Every three to five years, the shrimp industry is decimated by disease.

After speaking to shrimp farmers and learning more about the shrimp industry, Cargill’s Aqua Product line lead, Evan Bell, decided to go back to his team to develop a new shrimp feed ingredient for their customers.

Last October, Cargill announced Motiv at the Aqua Expo 2019 in Ecuador. Motiv is a new bioactive protein feed ingredient by Cargill to help reduce stress and minimize disease impact on shrimp.

This fermented feed is plant-based and promises to create a healthier gut environment for shrimp which will result in improved nutrient uptake and feed conversion.

“When you really challenge those shrimp with disease, we saw in some cases those shrimp survive the disease which oftentimes would cause 90 percent shrimp mortality,” said Keith Mertz, feed research and development leader, about Cargill’s field trials. “The shrimp we were having in our systems would have 30 to 40 percent survivability.”

Bell said another advantage of Motiv is the enhanced color for the shrimp, which drives a premium in the marketplace.

“This uptake of nutrition is allowing the shrimp to express more color,” he said.

www.motivshrimp.com