
Sustainable aquaculture and functional brewer’s yeast products – industry guest lecture at University of Plymouth and scholarship
Aquaculture significantly contributes to food and protein supplies around the globe. Aquaculture production now exceeds capture fisheries landings as a source of food for human consumption, accounting for 53 % of total global fish production (FAO, 2018). Aquaculture is often already a sustainable production system but more can be done to help underpin the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015.
At the University of Plymouth, students on the MSc Sustainable Aquaculture course are offered an excellent training programme on the sustainable use of resources for aquaculture production, aquatic animal health, reduction of environmental impacts and addressing socio-economic factors. As part of the programme a series of industry guest lectures is delivered by representatives from leading companies and organisations along the value chain in order to give students first-hand insights from a commercial perspective.
This year’s initial lecture of 25
th February was given by Dr. Holger Kühlwein, Global Key Account Manager Aquaculture at Leiber GmbH. He presented an overview of the wide brewer’s yeast product range using different fractions of the yeast cell, their quality aspects and applications in aquafeeds and aquatic animal health, and how these products can contribute to overall sustainable aquaculture. The focus however was on highly-purified ß-glucans extracted from the yeast cell wall. These are fed prophylactically via functional feeds, and they are capable of increasing immune competence of animals leading to higher stress and disease resistance. Core markets for these purified ß-glucans are salmon and rainbow trout, sea bass and sea bream as well as the shrimp production.
Industry Scholarship ProgrammeAs part of the extended collaboration and commitment to sustainable aquaculture Leiber GmbH is also investing in the Aquaculture Sustainability Industry Scholarship Programme by providing funding for two of the students. Each of them will be able to apply and further develop acquired knowledge and lab skills by being part of the testing of two selected brewer’s yeast products. Their specific functionalities require scientific evaluation across various species and their life stages, as well as a constant (re)adjustment according to scientific developments and changing requirements in the aquafeed industry as a whole. “This, in combination with the predicted high annual growth rates of the aquaculture industry and the consequential increasing need for a highly-skilled workforce, is the incentive for us to contribute to the education in and the development of the aquaculture industry” says Dr. Kühlwein. “This MSc programme, backed by the extensive scientific experience of the programme leaders and the research group in the field of functional feed ingredients for aquaculture, offers great opportunities in that direction.”
Dr. Daniel Merrifield, Associate Professor of Fish Health and Nutrition and Programme Lead on the MSc Sustainable Aquaculture course, adds: “one of the key strengths of our programme is the diversity and depth of industry engagement through the curriculum. Leading figures from across various sectors of the industry contribute to the programme by providing guest lectures, resources, hosting placements, supporting projects and providing scholarships. Over a number of years, our students have benefited from our long standing relationship with Leiber GmbH which provides a fascinating insight into current innovations and industry requirements.”
For Leiber, sustainability is the business model for already more than six decades. By-products from breweries, brewers' yeast and spent grains, are refined into high-quality products for animal nutrition, food industry and biotechnology. Just through its business model alone, Leiber is therefore already making its contribution to sustainability. In addition, economical use of electrical energy and heat energy, for example, form an integral part of the corporate strategy. With its own biogas plant and 2 turbines, Leiber generates around 35% of electricity and around 10% of its thermal energy needs itself.
For more than 65 years, Leiber GmbH has been one of the leading manufacturers of specialist yeast products "Made in Germany". At two sites in Germany and additional sites in Poland and Russia, Leiber, with its more than 250 committed employees, produces top quality brewer's yeast products and yeast extracts.
Leiber GmbH
Hafenstraße 24
49565 Bramsche
Telephone: +49 (0) 5461 / 9303-0
Fax: +49 (0) 5461 / 9303-29
info@leibergmbh.de
leibergmbh.de

From left to right: Dr. Holger Kühlwein (Leiber GmbH) and Dr. Daniel Merrifield (University of Plymouth) congratulate the two recipients of the scholarships, James McKay and Tim Herring.