Iranian Researchers Produce 4 New Aquatic Animal Foods

Researchers at the Department of Fisheries at the Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment of Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch in Tehran, have produced and introduced four new food supplements to aquatic feed industry to improve the growth and health of rainbow trout and Siberian taimen.

Head of the research team Mehdi Shamsaei Mehrjan and Seyyed Pejman Hosseini Shekarabi said in an interview with ANA that they have developed the new aquatic animal feed in collaboration with the Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch, the German company Evonik and the Iranian company Kimiagaran-e Taghzieh as well as the Center for Research and Educating Agriculture and Natural Resources in Tehran.

 “During this research, the effects of several plant products on the growth, improvement of antioxidant capacity and strengthening of the innate immune system of experimental fishes were studied, and the results showed that the use of these inexpensive substances in the fishes’ diet can be used to increase fish breeding time by more than 50 percent and reduce their fatality rate in the face of some diseases by about 70 percent,” Mehdi Shamsaei Mehrjan added.  

He stated that the eye-catching achievement of these findings for the aquaculture industry is a significant reduction in both the length of the fish breeding period and water used to keep them, adding, “Given the droughts in our country in recent years and the significant need of the aquaculture industry to water, the use of such supplements in the feeding of aquatic animals can significantly reduce the fresh water waste in this industry by reducing the length of the breeding period.”

Shamsaei, who is a faculty member of the IAU Science and Research Branch, added that they have produced five articles published in highly prestigious journals such as Aquaculture and Fish and Shellfish Immunology out of the research.

According to him, what is unique about their research is that it was done in close cooperation among the university with the private, government and international institutions. Moreover, he said that their research resulted in the production of new aquatic food in one of the largest aquatic feed company in the country, namely Kimiagaran Thagzieh Company.

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