Deakin Ridley Aquaculture Research Initiative (DRARI)
Deakin’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences NuSea.Lab has teamed up with Australia’s largest commercial provider of high-performance animal nutrition solutions, Ridley Corporation, to improve the quality of food available to fish in commercial farms, while reducing their impact on the marine environment. The six year DRARI program was setup to foster the collaborative spirt between the researchers and the commercial reality to provide a platform for commercially relevant R&D and training opportunities for the aquaculture industry in Australia and abroad. Throughout the project so far, the NuSea.Lab researchers have delivered on projects relating to:
- Reduction of marine derived ingredients in feed
- Fatty acid metabolism and modelling in Atlantic salmon
- Rapid raw material screening
- Innovative lab-based models
- Seasonal environmental impact on farmed Atlantic salmon
- Assessing different dietary additives
- Developing new and novel raw materials
In addition to the key research areas, the DRARI program has delivered on 2 x PhDs as well as countless nutritional intervention trials and extended laboratory support. Several published manuscripts have arisen from the collaboration and the highlights of this have been presented at international conferences.