The European Patent Organisation (EPO) has issued an ‘Intention to Grant’ relating to the smoltification feed known as SuperSmolt FeedOnly, developed by Europharma.
Launched in 2014, SuperSmolt FeedOnly offers feed-based smoltification of salmon, eliminating the need for the growth-inhibiting winter photo period associated with traditional hatchery smoltification.
Paal Christian Kruger of Europharma said: “The EPO have now signalled its approval of our first and most important patent application on this product. After a nearly four year long process we are of course very happy about that”
“The decision will not change much in terms of our daily work and focus but we are pleased to have achieved the recognition from the EPO for our innovation.”
Faster smoltification
SuperSmolt FeedOnly is designed to make smoltification faster and more predictable, at the same time preventing the problem of desmoltification. These qualities make it easy to produce homogenous fish groups where every fish has good seawater tolerance at the time of transfer, contributing to less mortality and faster growth.
Kruger added that the company will continue to focus on providing a better way of smoltification for salmon producers around the world.
“Compared to traditional smoltification methods, SuperSmolt FeedOnly is undoubtedly a giant leap in the right direction regarding both fish health and welfare, production efficiency and predictability as well as increased earnings for the salmon producers themselves,” he said.
“At a time where fish farmers increasingly demand bigger smolts, and the significance of low mortality and growth performance is ever more important, SuperSmolt FeedOnly has a big role to play.”
