Technology from Novozymes Biologicals makes it possible to transport 140 million tons of live fish - caviar-producing sturgeons - from Germany to Abu Dhabi in a sustainable and animal-friendly way.
The first two-million-ton shipment of live sturgeons reached its final destination safely to a caviar production facility in Abu Dhabi. Novozymes, headquartered in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, supplied the key microorganisms that allowed the fish to be transported safely during their 30-day journey by sea freight in what may be the largest-scale transport of live fish ever.
Aqualife, Horsholm, Denmark, has developed special containers to transport the live fish and shellfish by sea instead of air freight, which equates to a 90 percent reduction in CO2released into the environment.
Transporting live fish is difficult because they are susceptible to external stress factors such as handling, temperature changes and the buildup of toxic waste products in the water. In nature, animal waste products are broken down by a complex web of biological processes. In containers, if left untreated, the conditions would kill the fish within a few days, Patterson says. The Novozymes’ solution uses live bacteria to control accumulation of the water's toxic waste products by converting them into nitrate, which is harmless to the fish.
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