AquaGen Scotland appointed Martin Haberfield as their new technical sales manager.
Haberfield is the first employee to join the company’s new Scottish office, based on the Stirling University Innovation Park.
“Martin brings with him knowledge and experience gained from several years working in the aquaculture industry, following completion of an MSc in aquatic pathobiology at Stirling Institute of Aquaculture. This, combined with previous sales roles at AquaScot, Biomar, Novartis and EWOS, means that he brings a wealth of expertise to the company,” said Andrew Reeve, head of sales & marketing for the UK and Ireland.
Genomic selection
AquaGen is the world’s leading supplier of fertilized Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout eggs to the global salmonid aquaculture sector. The company is a specialist in genomic selection.
Martin Haberfield will help customers ongrow AquaGen eggs for optimum results and collect performance data from smolt and seawater operations.
“Trials with both salmon and trout are currently underway in Scotland. Documentation of effects in the field is an important part of our work, because the results help to shape the direction of future research activity,” said Haberfield.
Resistance to sealice
An equally important role of Haberfield is to help share the latest developments in the field of genomic selection with fish farmers, and to help them understand the benefits that using AquaGen eggs can bring. For instance, AquaGen eggs are now available with a strong resistance to sealice and amoebic gill disease, as well as being optimised for growth. Sealice in particular is a major issue in all salmon producing countries, causing global losses estimated to be around €300 million per year.
AquaGen is part of the German EW Group and employs more than 200 people in Norway and Chile.
Genomics involves selection using 55,000 gene markers for salmon and enables AquaGen to identify the best individuals from the best families, to give faster genetic progression.
AquaGen’s sister company, Vaxxinova, based in Bergen, Norway, produces specialist vaccines to the fish farming industry.
