AQUACULTURE MAGAZINE February-March 2019_VOL 45 NUM 1 by Aquaculture Magazine

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INDEX

Aquaculture Magazine Volume 45 Number 1 February - March 2019

EDITOR´S COMMENTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

10 NEWS FROM THE NAA

News from the National Aquaculture Association. Overview Available of an International Survey on Marine Aquaculture Outreach.

ARTICLE

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture (FDACS) hosted workshop for shellfish farmers in Florida.

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Bacterial abundance and community composition in pond water from Shrimp aquaculture systems with different stocking densities.

on the

cover Small-Scale,

Year-Round Shrimp Farming in Temperate Climates

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Responses of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides L., to the supplementation of glycine, GroBiotic®-A, and nucleotides in SBM-based feed formulations.

28 AFRICA REPORT

Recent News and Events

Volume 45 Number 1 February - March 2019

Editor and Publisher Salvador Meza info@dpinternationalinc.com

Editor in Chief Greg Lutz editorinchief@dpinternationalinc.com

Editorial Assistant Nancy Jones Nava editorial@dpinternationalinc.com

42 LATIN AMERICA REPORT Recent News and Events.

Editorial Design Francisco Cibrián

Designer Perla Neri design@design-publications.com

46 NOTE

Consortium for Ocean Leadership, Meridian Institute Convene 2018 Industry Forum U.S. Offshore Aquaculture: Will We Fish or Cut Bait?

URNER BARRY SALMON. SHRIMP.

Marketing & Sales Manager Christian Criollos crm@dpinternationalinc.com

Business Operations Manager Adriana Zayas administracion@design-publications.com

Subscriptions: iwantasubscription@dpinternationalinc.com Design Publications International Inc. 203 S. St. Mary’s St. Ste. 160 San Antonio, TX 78205, USA Office: +210 5043642 Office in Mexico: (+52) (33) 8000 0578 - Ext: 8578 Aquaculture Magazine (ISSN 0199-1388) is published bimontly, by Design Publications International Inc. All rights reserved. www.aquaculturemag.com

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UPCOMING EVENTS ADVERTISERS INDEX

COLUMNS

AQUACULTURE WITHOUT FRONTIERS

AQUACULTURE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL

Aquaculture without Frontiers: Update.

News from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council. European consumers believe responsible farmed seafood should be supermarket priority. By ASC Staff

FISH HEALTH, ETC.

AQUAFEED

Currents and Amberjacks. By Hugh Mitchell, MSc, DVM

Recent news from around the globe by Aquafeed.com Developments in alternative feeds. By Suzi Dominy

TECHNICAL GURU

Friction, Smiction…Pressure and friction loss, a big waste of money… By Amy Stone

AQUAPONICS

Solving for Value: Challenging problems in Aquaponics. By George B. Brooks, Jr. Ph.D.

THE FISHMONGER

THE LONG VIEW

Trust in the food System.

Revisiting Credible Certification and the Prospects for Supply Chain Oversight into the Future By Aaron McNevin, PhD

Generational Differences By C. Greg Lutz

This whole Editor gig has taught me to pay more attention to details

realized recently that I can make some assumptions about an author’s age by the number of spaces they use after a period at the end of a sentence. And, that I was doing this sub-consciously. When past generations used mechanical typewriters, these machines used fixed-width fonts like “Courier New.” Because all the letters occupied the same space on the page, the convention was to put two spaces between sentences to make it easier for readers to note the flow of words and ideas. My mother was a typist in the Pentagon during World War II. She typed a lot of extra spaces in her day. 4 »

Then came the first “word processors” in the 1970’s, with their bulky CRT displays and floppy disks! Word wrapping became automatic, and it was like magic in a little (or not so little) metal-and-plastic box. As word

processing was adapted to the burgeoning personal computer market, the adoption of variable-width fonts within computer software (like Helvetica and Calibri) meant that those extra spaces between sentences were no longer needed. I suppose this is just one example of the generational differences that provide context in our modern-day lives. Something as simple as the number of spaces between sentences provides an analogy for all the other changes that have taken place for different people at different times over the past 5 decades. An industry is people. Especially an industry like aquaculture. And our customers are people. And so are policy makers and regulators. People reflect their own unique stories… stories that are intertwined within the context of the times they take place in. Within our industry we see generational differences in our own perceptions of things like prebiotics, probiotics, genomics and biofloc, to name just a few. Consider the “generations” that currently make up the U.S. workforce, and the stories their lives have incorporated: • The Silent Generation (born 1925–1946): Most saw the Great Depression and/or World War II as

An industry is people.

Especially an industry like aquaculture. And our customers are people. And so are policy makers and regulators.

youngsters. Thrifty and hard-working, they are rapidly leaving the workforce. • Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964): Most grew up in a time of economic growth. And, most witnessed war, the civil rights movement, the space race, the cold war and Woodstock. Many are on-line today. • Generation X (born 1965–1980): The children of baby boomers, for the most part. Most saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the launch of the Hubble telescope. Seen as more independent free thinkers, geeks and artists. This is possibly due to 1) increased divorce rates and 2) more women working outside the home among their parents’ generation. • Millennials, or Generation Y (born 1980–1995): Earning less than their parents, they are more pragmatic in many ways. They are well educated and measure success in ways other than simple economic returns. Many were influenced by the attacks on 9/11 and by the election of Barack Obama in 2008.

• Generation Z (born 1995–2016): They are into their smart phones (spending some 15.4 hours per week on average) and YouTube. They prefer products over experiences, but this may change as they mature. They have grown up with advanced technology. What does all this demographic babbling have to do with aquaculture? Random day-to-day experiences will continue to have tremendous influence on the public’s perception of what we do. Fake news about tilapia circulating on social media is one example. Imagined harms caused by salmon farming also come to mind. Our children and grandchildren will have to deal with limited resources, climate change and other environmental concerns in ways that never impacted our world view (at least, not until very recently). We must keep defining the advantages of aquaculture within this framework of things that will matter to them. There is hope in the fact that people tend to figure things out over time (read: generations). Reliance on objective facts and science may become more prevalent in the coming years…

but don’t take that as a given. Consider trends like the negative perceptions certain people have promoted regarding GMO’s and childhood vaccines. Sadly, those that perpetuate these misconceptions are generally well off, well-educated people. (One wonders if they could actually be convinced that seat-belts are harmful to their children). Join me in paying more attention to the details. Where consumers get their information about aquaculture matters, and it will matter even more for Generations Y and Z. The little things will add up as we promote and advance all things “aquacultured.” Trust will be crucial – because as is the case so often in other aspects of our personal stories, once it’s lost it rarely returns. Every industry stakeholder should strive to have fact-based responses ready when confronted with false or misleading criticisms about our industry. Certification programs must constantly instill and reinforce trust among not only consumers but also policy makers. Much more is at stake than the viability of any given program if we are to contribute to sustainable food production across this planet. Dr. C. Greg Lutz has a B.A. in Biology and Spanish by the Earlham College at Richmond, Indiana, a M.S. in Fisheries and a Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science by the Louisiana State University. His interests include recirculating system technology and population dynamics, quantitative genetics and multivariate analyses and the use of web based technology for result-demonstration methods.

RESEARCHNEWS REPORT INDUSTRY

Scottish Sea Farms to receive £1.28 million in R&D support from Scottish Enterprise

cottish Sea Farms is to receive £1.28 million in R&D support from Scottish Enterprise towards its pioneering work to further enhance fish welfare and go beyond compliance with regards to protecting the environment. The funds will assist Scottish Sea Farms in its latest R&D drive – worth a total of £18.3 million – helping to accelerate both the innovative work itself and the anticipated benefits.

The R&D spans five key areas: • Establishing the conditions for optimum fish health and welfare at Scottish Sea Farms’ new £48m RAS hatchery at Barcaldine in Argyll, set to open in 2019 • Developing humane slaughter processes at the company’s processing facilities in Oban and at Scalloway on Shetland • Harvesting wind and wave energy at more exposed farms to reduce reliance on fuel • Recycling a greater proportion of by-products to minimise waste • Capturing and analysing data in the ongoing drive to increase knowledge and understanding. The investment was welcomed by Minister for Public Finance and Digital Economy Kate Forbes MSP during a visit to the new hatchery. She said: “Scotland has a thriving food and drink sector with salmon exports alone growing by 35 per cent during 2017, recognising the global reputation for our quality produce. “Ensuring that the sector grows in a sustainable way remains a priority for us. It is great to see an ambitious and respected company like Scottish Sea Farms investing in innovation to improve environmental control, health issues and production efficiencies. I’d like to congratu6 »

late the company on raising the bar, and wish them every success on their sustainable growth journey.” Kirsteen Binnie, who leads Scottish Enterprise’s engagement with the salmon farmer, added: “Scottish Sea Farms is already a national success story, employing more than 430 people across the country. Its hunger to farm evermore responsibly is driving forward this latest project – the first of its kind in the sector – which will not only create a state-ofthe-art new hatchery in Barcaldine and create new jobs in Scotland, but also reinforces our strong, innovative and forward-thinking food and drink sector. “We have worked intensively with the company since 2010, helping it deliver innovation, business improvements and international activity. During this time, we’ve seen it grow to become the second largest salmon producer in the UK. With this latest support, Scottish Sea Farms can continue to go from strength to strength and deliver its future ambition.” Commented Scottish Sea Farms’ Managing Director, Jim Gallagher: “Researching and developing new approaches and technologies is key to ensuring that we continue raising the healthiest fish in the most responsible but also the most environmentally sustainable way, and this

latest £18.3 million investment aims to advance our work in both areas. “The £1.28 million support from Scottish Enterprise means that we will be able to do more of this planned R&D even sooner, accelerating both the innovation and the anticipated benefits for fish health and welfare and for the environment.” Working closely with Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Sea Farms to deliver this project, Highlands and Islands Enterprise area manager for Argyll and the Islands, Jennifer Nicoll said: “We very much welcome this considerable inward investment project to our region and the jobs it will create. Aquaculture is a major employer in Scotland and of growing significance, particularly in rural areas where it supports local economies and community resilience. “The R&D work at the new hatchery will complement Oban’s status as a university town, and the commercial, research and educational activities at the nearby European Marine Science Park at Dunstaffnage. There will also be wider benefits across the region, as Scottish Sea Farms has operations up the west coast and in Orkney and Shetland. We look forward to working with the company as the new facility takes shape.”

2018 Census of Aquaculture Deadline Extended to March 22, 2019

he U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistic Service, has extended the deadline to submit completed 2018 Census of Aquaculture surveys to March 22, 2019. Farmers that have not participated in prior Censuses may call 1-888-424-7828 to acquire a Census survey. Farmers that have not yet submitted survey forms or have not participated in prior Censuses are encouraged to please do so. Every five years the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) surveys aquaculture farmers for production, sales, labor, land use and other information to inform national and state programs that benefit U.S. agriculture. The aquaculture community has been

very fortunate in that USDA has conducted an aquaculture-specific census that includes information specific to aquaculture like water sources, production systems, water acres, or submerged land leases for shellfish production. Participation in the Census helps to document the need for U.S. aquaculture to be included in agriculture programs (research, insurance, water conservation, disaster assistance, etc.). Federal and state agencies, legislators and the public often lack an understanding of the scope and breadth of U.S. aquaculture. By taking the time to complete your Census form, the data collected will more completely convey the national, state and local importance of U.S. aqua-

culture. National aquaculture associations such as the NAA as well as state associations that advocate for industry concerns with regulatory agencies and with elected officials use these data to justify the types of reforms and changes that are necessary. Please do your part to assist your industry by participating in the 2018 Census of Aquaculture. Individual farm data collected by USDA is not shared with federal or state agencies and is only made available as compiled data. For more information about the 2018 Census of Aquaculture, please visit: https:// www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_ to_NASS_Sur veys/Census_of_ Aquaculture/ index.php

Auburn University’s Aquaponics Workshop

uburn University’s Aquaculture and Fisheries Business Institute is putting together a Commercial Aquaponics Workshop to be held in Auburn Alabama from April 8th through the 11th. According to Amy Riedel Stone, one of the workshop’s organizers and a columnist for Aquaculture Magazine, “Aquaponics is finally getting to the commercial levels that we all know that it can become. There are many groups promoting aquaponics, but what’s most important in deciding where to go for your information is whether they have commercial experience and success. That list is actually very short.” With one day of hands-on activities as well as three days of lectures, attendees will have the opportunity to see and hear all about commercial systems and their operations. Presenters will include Dr. James Rako-

Amy Riedel Stone is the author of the column “Technical Guru” for Aquaculture Magazine.

cy, Huy Tran, Dr. Jesse Chappell, Dr. Terry Hanson and others. For more

information contact Amy Riedel Stone at info@aquaticed.com. »

RESEARCHNEWS REPORT INDUSTRY

2019 Alltech Global Feed Survey Estimates World Feed Production Increased by 3 Percent to 1.103 Billion Metric Tons

he 2019 Alltech Global Feed Survey, released on January 29, estimates that international feed tonnage has increased by a strong 3 percent to 1.103 billion metric tons of feed produced in 2018, exceeding 1 billion metric tons for the third consecutive year. The eighth edition of the annual survey includes data from 144 countries and nearly 30,000 feed mills. The feed industry has seen 14.6 percent growth over the past five years, equating to an average of 2.76 percent per annum. As the population grows, so does the middle class, which is well reflected in an increase in overall protein consumption. The top eight countries are China, the U.S., Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, Spain and Turkey. Together, they produce 55 percent of the world’s feed production and contain 59 percent of the world’s feed mills, and they can be viewed as an indicator of the trends in agriculture. Predominant growth

came from the layer, broiler and dairy feed sectors. Overall, aquaculture feeds showed growth of 4 percent over the previous year. This was primarily attributed to strong increases in the AsiaPacific and European regions. The traditional Asia-Pacific leaders in aquaculture, Vietnam, India and Indonesia, combined for an additional 1.58 million metric tons of feed in the region. China, the region’s leader,

also saw an increase of 1 percent over last year. The primary European leaders either experienced strong growth or remained relatively flat. Those that did grow included Norway and Turkey, both at 7 percent, and Spain at a substantial 31 percent. The other regions remained relatively flat or saw only a 1 percent increase or decrease in feed production, demonstrating the continuity of the industry as a whole.

BAP Program Grows 29 Percent in 2018 The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program closed out 2018 on a high note, finishing up the year with 2,287 BAP-certified facilities worldwide. Of the 2,287 BAP-certified facilities, 1,534 are farms, 370 are processing plants, 45 are re-processing plants, 220 are hatcheries and 118 are feed mills. Additionally, there are 245 farms that were previously BAP-certified but are currently in fallow. The 1,500-plus farms represent more than 1.5 million metric tons of production annually. Demonstrating the industry’s long-term commitment to responsible aquaculture, the BAP program 8 »

has more than tripled in size in the past four years, growing from about 700 BAP-certified facilities by the end of 2014 to 1,500-plus facilities by the end of 2016 to 1,778 facilities by the end of 2017. As far as geographical reach, the has certified facilities in 33 countries on six continents, representing an impressive 29 species (abalone, barramundi, bream, carp, catfish, char, clams, cobia, crab, crawfish, grouper, milkfish, mussels, oysters, pangasius, pomfret, pompano, red drum, salmon, scallops, seabass, seriola, shrimp, snapper, striped bass, sturgeon, tilapia, trout and turbot).

InnovaSea Systems Announces Acquisitions

nnovaSea Systems announced November 30 that it had acquired Canada-based Amirix Systems. Amirix is the parent company of Bedford, Nova Scotiabased Vemco and Realtime Aquaculture, and Seattle, Washington-based HTI-Vemco. Vemco and HTI-Vemco are leaders in fish tracking and monitoring solutions for fisheries researchers worldwide, while Realtime Aquaculture specializes in real time environmental monitoring of fish farms. Both product lines are based on using acoustic telemetry to communicate wirelessly underwater. InnovaSea has specialized in the design and manufacture of innovative, fully integrated commercial open-ocean aquaculture systems. InnovaSea Systems CEO and CTO David Kelly stated, “Amirix Systems has been a pioneer in low power underwater acoustic telemetry with its fish tracking technology and wireless environmental monitoring solu-

tions. The combination of InnovaSea’s aquaculture instrumentation and Amirix’s sensors, architecture and established products will provide a complete integrated solution for monitoring aquaculture farms. With Amirix joining the InnovaSea family, we have increased talent, products and capabilities to meet the needs of our customers; and we look forward to creating technology that will radically change the conversation around aquaculture, ocean conservancy and food security.” Amirix CEO Mark Jollymore stated, “Given our strong reputation in fish-tracking technology and our recent expansion into the aquaculture marketplace, InnovaSea is a natural partner for us. Our operations in Bedford and Seattle will continue to grow as hubs of innovation for aquaculture and fish tracking.” Robert Orr, CEO of Cuna del Mar, a US based impact investment fund which is the majority owner of InnovaSea, com-

mented, “I look forward to what the companies’ combined resources can bring in our quest to advance ocean conservancy and food security.” On February 1, it was announced that InnovaSea had acquired all outstanding shares of Baton Rouge-based aquaculture equipment and design firm Water Management Technologies, Inc. InnovaSea indicated it will operate the company as a new land systems business unit. WMT has supplied aquaculture systems to fish farms, research entities and government hatcheries for 25 years. “With the vigorous growth underway within the recirculating aquaculture systems sector, becoming part of the InnovaSea team will significantly broaden our capability and also provide the needed resources to grow and capitalize on the opportunities presently in the marketplace,” said WMT President Terry McCarthy, who will stay on with the company as vice president and general manager.

NEWS FROM THE NAA

News from the National Aquaculture Association Overview Available of an International Survey on Marine Aquaculture Outreach

cean Literacy and Aquaculture (North Atlantic and Arctic) are two of the priority themes identified in the transatlantic cooperation established by the Galway Statement and operationalized through the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance (AORA) among Canada, the European Union, and the United States of America. The Galway Statement Implementation Committee’s Ocean Literacy Working Group and Aquaculture Working Group are working together to address public perception of aquaculture by examining the current state of aquaculture outreach and recommendations to encourage more consistent messaging about aquaculture across diverse stakeholder groups. A brief survey was developed for educators and institutions that specialize in ocean literacy and seafood businesses that provide information to their customers. The objective of the survey was to create a landscape overview of efforts to communicate about marine aquaculture across diverse networks. Specifically, this survey was created to determine: 1. Who is sharing information about aquaculture? 2. In what context are they sharing information about aquaculture? 3. How are they sharing information? What channels are they using? 4. What tools and resources are most useful to various stakeholder groups to share information about aquaculture to their audiences?

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Key Takeaways: • Information about aquaculture is being presented to the public by diverse stakeholder groups. • The general trend in terms of tone is positive or neutral across stakeholder groups for the various types of aquaculture production. • Most respondents believe they have access to adequate information to educate their audiences about aquaculture and its potential as a conservation tool. • There are real and perceived information gaps among some stakeholder groups that may impact an organization’s confidence in terms of public engagement about marine aquaculture. • Images and video, summary reports from multi-stakeholder workshops, and the ability to tour farms were cumulatively identified as the most helpful communication tools for those who do not believe there are real or perceived information gaps. • Among those who do believe there are information gaps, communications toolkits that translate the science for educators was the most se-

lected as a helpful communications tool. • Connections to producers and university and government scientists also ranked high as communication resources across stakeholder groups. To access the overview, please visit: http://www.aquariumofpacific. org/seafoodfuture/aquaculture_outreach_survey

National Program Available to Help Minority-Owned Businesses Enter Aquaculture A new Aquaculture program funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency, is available to advance U.S. marine aquaculture. The Aquaculture program is to identify minority-owned businesses (MBEs) around the nation that are already engaged; and/or increase their presence by providing a gateway to doing business in the world’s fastest-growing form of food production. The Minority Business Enterprise Aquaculture Program is administered by the Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council, in partnership

with the Southern Region Minority Supplier Development Council. The University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, one of the leading academic oceanographic and atmospheric research institutions in the world, is the subconsultant on the project. The program’s funds will also be used to provide the MBEs with a combination of technical assistance, outreach, education and one-on-one consultations through live events, targeted educational information, individual in-person counseling and digital support. To be eligible for the MBE Aquaculture Program, a business must be 51% owned or controlled by African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Asians or Pacific Islanders, Native Americans (including Alaska Natives, Alaska Native Corporations and Tribal entities), Asian Indian

Americans, or Hasidic Jewish Americans. For additional information, please visit their website: www.mbeaquaculture.com, or contact the program director, Ms. Myrtha Wroy at (305) 762-6151 or myrtha@mbeaquaculture.com

An Invitation to Participate in a Seafood Market Building Effort The National Aquaculture Association and New York Sea Grant are collaborating with you to tell the interesting and exciting story of U.S. aquaculture to the culinary community. Chefs and restaurants are a critical and important audience. Over 60% of seafood in the United States is consumed away from home. To tell your story effectively, we need your help in supplying interesting photos and videos, sharing anecdotes and expertise, and identifying

chefs and restaurants that use your products and are willing to share recipes and experiences. We are excited about aquaculture and want to create a cadre of food professionals who can carry that message to the general public. By creating a positive public perception of American aquaculture and an increased demand for its products, we can help ensure that the industry grows and prospers. As a first step, please complete our short survey at https://bit. ly/2RgiHmE to provide a more complete picture of our industry. If you have questions, please contact Linda O’Dierno at linda@thenaa.net or the NAA Office at 850-216-2400 or naa@thenaa.net .

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Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture (FDACS) -hosted workshop for shellfish farmers in Florida.

ne item presented at the workshop was a technical memo addressing BMPs for shellfish aquaculture gear management and severe-storm preparation strategies. Although the workshop was focused on Florida, the recommendations are applicable to shellfish growers in most parts of the world. Some key considerations taken directly from the manual are included here.

Shellfish Aquaculture Gear Management From an economic and ecological perspective, it is important for shellfish farmers to properly utilize, maintain and secure culture gear. Due to the nature of operating in coastal waters with ever changing conditions, erosive forces and severe weather events, it is not possible to prevent all gear loss. However, diligently managing farm gear and following key management considerations can greatly reduce the likelihood of gear becoming dislodged and lost to the natural environment. Regardless of the shellfish species produced or the type of gear one prefers to utilize, the following practices can prevent the loss of production gear and reduce the need for time consuming retrieval efforts. 12 Âť

A recently held workshop discussed the importance of environmental stewardship and provided practical management techniques to farmers, such as proper gear anchoring methods and severe-storm preparation strategies.

Key Management Considerations • Appropriate anchoring: Step one in preventing gear loss is ensuring that anchoring systems are secure, properly sized and in good condition. Whether you use steel auger anchors for floating gear or one-inch PVC stakes for bottom bags, anchors and attachment points wear out over time and may become loose or broken. Make anchor inspections a routine part of your farm maintenance. • Reduce gear chafing: Tide, wave and wind action in coastal waters means that gear is in constant motion. Given enough time and movement, gear made from any material will wear thin and break if it is rubbing on a harder surface. Rope, plastic materials and even thinner metals will chafe and break if rubbing or in a bind against wood or metal stakes, poles or anchors. Make sure gear is laid-out and secured in a way that reduces contact points and rubbing.

• Knot and attachment point inspections: Just as chafing may wear and break gear overtime, knots, lines and attachment points should be inspected routinely to make sure they are secure, in good condition and functioning properly. PVC stakes on clam bag belts and predator protection wire or nets should be affixed to the outer edge or through several mesh openings to increase durability. Oyster-gear line knots at anchor pilings should be checked regularly as this is a high tension attachment point and is prone to fail.

From an economic and ecological perspective, it is important for shellfish farmers to properly utilize, maintain and secure culture gear.

• Gear overloading: No matter how robust an anchoring and line system is, if gear is loaded beyond design specifications it will not perform as intended. While it may be tempting to put 5 percent more product in a cage, it will not pay off if an overloaded line breaks and 100 percent of your valuable product is lost. Do not overstock baskets or cages, and follow manufacturer specifications. Preparing for Severe Storms Regardless of where your shellfish farm is located, it will be impacted by severe weather events. It is not a matter of if but when, and planning and preparing for severe weather can mitigate economic damage to your gear and product. Not only will routinely inspecting, adjusting and replacing farm gear prevent typical annual losses, it will reduce the labor and time required to prepare your farm for a severe storm in the critical days prior to impact. Consider the following methods when developing a storm plan for your farm. Components of a Storm Plan • Prepare a written plan. A few days before a major hurricane impact is not the time to determine how to prepare your gear and farm, it is the time to take planned action. Before

a hurricane, most people are worried about family and personal properly, not their business needs. Knowing how to prepare and when to make critical decisions will save precious time and resources when they matter most. • Determine how to prepare all of the farm gear, facilities and equipment. • Evaluate risks. Typical wind direction and storm surge in your area? Gear weaknesses? At what intensi» 13

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Regardless of where your shellfish farm is located, it will be impacted by severe weather events. It is not a matter of if but when, and planning and preparing for severe weather can mitigate economic damage to your gear and product. ty storm does the decision to sink, reinforce or move gear need to be made? • Conduct a storm drill with staff in order to be familiar with preparation methods and to estimate how long it will take to prepare all leases, sites and upland facilities prior to impact. • Determine when to prepare based off the practice drill. How many days ahead of impact does the decision to sink cages or anchor bags need to be made? • Provide a copy of the storm plan to all staff and include pertinent contact information. • Have a recovery plan. There will be many immediate priorities following a severe storm. Make sure you and your staff know how to recover gear and product back to working order. • Be prepared to cleanup and retrieve lost gear and product.

Key Considerations for Different Gear Types Floating Gear: • Lines should be inspected for wear on cages and anchor attachment points. • Check knots to make sure they are secure and in good condition. • If wave and tidal surge are predicted to be high, provide extra slack in anchor lines. 14 »

• Make sure floats and float caps are in good condition and sealable. • If cages are sunk, sink them so that the floats rest on the bottom. This will prevent product from becoming buried and suffocated. • After sinking gear, secure the caps to prevent floats from filling with sand.

Suspended Gear: • Lines and clips should be checked at the pilings for wear and to make sure they are secure. • Set lines to the lowest clip position on the pilings. • Basket doors should be checked to be certain they are firmly closed. • Baskets should not be overstocked; split overly dense baskets if possible.

• Be sure that the baskets are correctly clipped to the lines.

Bottom Gear: • Inspect bag and net anchors to make sure they are secure and in good condition. • Newly planted bags are the most vulnerable to being dislodged, consider placing additional stakes on these bags. • In hurricane conditions, add an additional, crisscrossed anchor line over your bags and nets.

FDACS Staff.

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Bacterial abundance and community composition in pond water

from Shrimp aquaculture systems with different stocking densities By: Yustian Rovi Alfiansah, Christiane HassenrĂźck, Andreas Kunzmann, Arief Taslihan, Jens Harder and Astrid GĂ¤rdes

In shrimp aquaculture, farming systems are carefully managed to avoid rearing failure due to stress, disease, or mass mortality, and to achieve optimum shrimp production. However, little is known about how shrimp farming systems affect biogeochemical parameters and bacterial communities in rearing water.

he intensification of the shrimp industry has resulted in changes in farming systems and sustainability. Until the year 2000, 70% of shrimp farming in Indonesia was conducted in extensive pond systems, but this has recently changed to semi-intensive or intensive systems. Different shrimp stocking densities affect rearing processes, including a defined nutritional input and shrimp production. Although shrimp growth rate increases progressively as feeding frequency increases, only a portion of the nutrients in the feed is consumed, assimilated, and retained as shrimp

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biomass. Shrimp may only incorporate 24 to 37% of nitrogen and 11 to 20% of phosphorus from the feed into their bodies. In addition, 15% of nitrogen losses can occur during the first 2 h of immersion of feed pellets into the pond water. These unused nutrients will lead to a change of pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water column and pond sediment, eutrophication, proliferation of bacteria and plankton, and an increase of particulate organic matter. Free-living (FL) and particle-associated (PA) bacterial communities from the same water sample can be distinct. Due to water movement in

ponds, organic matter agglomerates and forms large flocs or aggregates which may facilitate bacterial settlement and proliferation. As organicrich particles, aggregates provide a suitable habitat for microorganisms to take up nutrients and shelter from predators, as well as from destructive physical factors. In addition, aggregates can accommodate higher bacterial abundance and diversity than the adjacent water column. Previous studies about bacterial community composition (BCC) in shrimp pond waters have yet to analyze FL and PA fractions separately, resulting in a paucity of information on BCC in both fractions. Although causative agents for bacterial diseases in shrimp have been identified, preventive efforts to minimize disease outbreaks seem to still be ineffective. In studies in temperate ecosystems, pathogenic bacteria have been found in aggregates. Based on that evidence, we propose that particle abundance can be used

to estimate the potential proliferation of pathogenic bacteria in shrimp farming, and that controlling aggregates may become an effective tool to manage the spread and survival of pathogens. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate water quality parameters, bacterial abundance, and BCC from different shrimp farming systems for both FL and PA fractions, over the shrimp cultivation cycle.

Sampling and Analysis Water samples were collected between 9–10 am from no water-exchange plastic lined ponds (square shape in size 2700–3000 m2, water depth 1.3–1.5 m) of semi-intensive (40 post-larvae per m3, three ponds) and intensive (90 post-larvae per m3, three ponds) systems, during a shrimp rearing cycle at day 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70. Water samples were taken from 5 points of each pond at 1 m depth, and then mixed. Mixed water was prepared for bacterial abundance and community

analysis and separately for SPM, inorganic nutrient and physical parameter measurements. Total harvest of each pond was recorded at the end of shrimp rearing. To obtain cultivable heterotrophic bacterial number, 100 mL of water samples (dilution factor 10-2 –10-5) were plated onto Marine Agar 2216 (Difco, United States) and incubated at 28oC (room temperature) for 48 h. Potentially pathogenic Vibrio were isolated by inoculating 100 mL of undiluted to 10-4 diluted water sample onto selective Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Salts Sucrose(TCBS) medium (Roth, Karlsruhe, Germany), followed by incubation at 35oC for 24 h. Samples for total bacterial cell counts were prepared by fixing 50 mL water with 4% v/v paraformaldehyde and stored at 4oC for 24 h. At 10 day intervals, fixed samples of various dilutions were subsequently filtered through 3.0 and 0.2 mm polycarbonate filters (ø 47 mm and 25 mm, respectively, Whatman, Das-

sel, Germany) to determine bacterial cells in the particle-attached (PA) and the free-living (FL) fractions, respectively. Filters were air dried and stored at -20oC for further staining. Stained filters were air dried in the dark for 30 min, and then mounted with 10 mL of mounting solution. Bacterial cells, as well as size and number of aggregates were observed under a fluorescence microscope

Until the year 2000, 70% of shrimp farming in Indonesia was conducted in extensive pond systems, but this has recently changed to semi-intensive or intensive systems.

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Axio Imager.D2 (Zeiss, Jena, Germany) at 1000Xmagnification. Bacterial cell abundance in FL filters was calculated from 30 photos per filter, using the free software ImageJ. Bacterial cells in PA filters were manually counted from 10 aggregates per filter of similar size. Sizes of aggregates were determined using a net micrometer grid (12.5 mm X 12.5 mm, divided into 10 X 10 fields, which is equal to 15,625 mm2 at 1000X magnification). The cell average per filter was then divided by volume of filtered samples multiplied by dilution and factor of effective filter area (which was 31888 at magnification 1000X, for a filtration funnel with a diameter 25 mm, Millipore, Darmstadt, Germany) and number of aggregates (4 aggregate sizes per filter), for the FL and the PA fractions, respectively. Five hundred milliliters of water samples were filtered subsequently through 3.0 and 0.2 mm polycarbonate filters (ø 47 mm, Whatman, Dassel, Germany) for PA and FL bacterial fractions, respectively. Genomic DNA was extracted and DNA pellets were dissolved in TE buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.5). DNA concentrations were measured photometrically and checked for purity (ratio of light absorption at 260–280 nm) using a nanoquant plate reader (Infinite M200 Pro, Tecan, Germany). 16S rRNA gene amplification was performed from genomic DNA extracts from days 10, 40, 50, 60, and 70, considering cultivable bacterial abundance information (heterotrophic bacteria and

Total bacterial cell numbers in the free-living (FL) and the particle attached (PA) fractions.

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Physical parameters, inorganic nutrient concentrations, and cultivable heterotrophic bacteria abundances over 70 rearing days in the semi-intensive and intensive farming system.

potential pathogenic Vibrio) and bacterial disease evidence (white feces disease), which occurred at previous rearing cycles between 50 and 65 days of rearing (personal communication with shrimp farm owners). DNA sequences of the V3–V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene were obtained from amplicon sequencing. Detection of toxin genes, i.e., transcriptional regulator (toxR), thermolabile haemolysin (tlh), thermostable direct haemolysin (tdh), Photorhabdus insect-related (pirA and pirB) was performed. As these genes are common genes in several representative of the genus Vibrio (i.e., V. cholera, V. vulnificus, V. parahaemolyticus, V. alginolyticus, and V. owensii), we designed specific primer pairs which only amplify DNA sequences belonging to V. parahaemolyticus as this bacterium causes most bacterial diseases in shrimp.

Data Analysis To examine differences in environmental parameters and bacterial abundances between culturing intensity (intensive and semi-intensive systems), and among days, as well as the interaction between culturing system and sampling day, general linear mixed models (GLMM)

were performed with shrimp pond as a random factor. Data were logtransformed to achieve normal distribution prior to statistical testing. Tukey’s post hoc tests were applied in cases where there were significant differences among sampling days and/or an interaction between sampling day and shrimp farming system. Akaike information criterion (AIC), considering collinearity of the variables and variance inflation values, was used to determine environmental parameters which best explained observed counts of cultivable heterotrophic bacteria and potential pathogenic Vibrio. Total

Principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to examine the relationship among environmental parameters, as well as cultivable bacterial abundances, and to characterize ponds of the different farming systems over time.

shrimp harvest was tested with oneway ANOVA and total bacterial cell numbers from DAPI counting of FL and PA bacterial communities were analyzed using MANOVA. Principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to examine the relationship among environmental parameters, as well as cultivable bacterial abundances, and to characterize ponds of the different farming systems over time. Population turnover, which occurred in the FL and PA fractions, was estimated for certain interesting operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of the genera Salegentibacter, Psychrobacter, Halomonas, and Vibrio, using the fraction of read abundance times cells method (FRAxC), where bacterial cell numbers in the FL and PA of each se-

lected sampling day were multiplied with the relative sequence proportion of 16S rRNA genes. All statistical analyses, as well as figure visualizations were performed in R (R version 3.4.2, using R Studio v.0.98.1056).

Results The intensive system showed a twofold higher production than semiintensive system, which were 3,950 + 284 kg and 1,990 + 151 kg, for intensive and semi-intensive final harvest (mean + SD, n = 3 per system). There was high variability among ponds within each system for turbidity, chlorophyll a, pH, salinity, DO, and inorganic nutrients during rearing time, which increased over time. Physical parameters such as salinity, pH, DO, chlorophyll a, and SPM

Principal Component Analysis of environmental parameters and bacterial abundances in intensive (T) and semi intensive (S) systems. Point shape indicates replicate pond of the same system. Increasing color intensity indicates rearing time. SPM, suspended particulate matter; THB, total heterotrophic bacteria; TPPV, total potential pathogenic Vibrio; NH4+, ammonium; Turb, turbidity; Temp, temperature; SiO44-, silicate; Sal, salinity; PO43+, phosphate; NO2-, nitrite; DO, dissolved oxygen; NO3-, nitrate; Chl a, chlorophyll a.

Most abundant bacterial OTUs in both systems belonged to the classes Acidimicrobiia, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Bacilli, Cyanobacteria, Flavobacteriia, and Gammaproteobacteria.

were significantly different between the two systems (GLMM, p < 0.05). Among sampling days, we detected differences in temperature, salinity, pH, turbidity, chlorophyll a, SPM, cultivable heterotrophic bacteria and potential pathogenic Vibrio (GLMM, p < 0.05). The interaction between day and farming system was also significant for temperature, salinity, and turbidity. However, there were no significant differences between semiintensive and intensive systems for dissolved inorganic nutrients, temperature, and turbidity (GLMM, p < 0.05). The abundances of cultivable heterotrophic bacteria (THB) and potential pathogenic Vibrio (TPPV) in semi-intensive and intensive systems increased with rearing time, and peaked at day 60. Forward model selection showed that SPM, salinity, turbidity, temperature, and phosphate were major determinants for THB, while the determinants for TPPV were SPM, salinity, turbidity, pH, temperature, nitrite, and silicate. According to water parameters and cultivable bacterial abundances, there was a clear separation by shrimp farming systems based on rearing time. At the beginning of rearing (days 10 and 20), ponds of intensive and semi-intensive systems were clustered with high values of the first principal component, Âť 19

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which was driven mainly by high salinity. Afterward, they were separated by the second principal component with ponds of the intensive system characterized by high concentrations of chlorophyll a. The abundances of THB and TPPV were highly correlated to SPM. Aggregates containing bacterial cells were found in different sizes. At day 10, small aggregates appeared which were formed by bacte-

The abundances of cultivable heterotrophic bacteria (THB) and potential pathogenic Vibrio (TPPV) in semi-intensive and intensive systems increased with rearing time, and peaked at day 60.

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rial cells and their exudates. After 40 days, aggregates were composed of plankton, bacterial cells and bacterial exudates, causing the increase of aggregate sizes in both systems, as well as bacterial cell numbers. Aggregates of sizes between 0.9375 and 1.4065 mm2 were most abundant in both systems over time, with the highest aggregate number at day 10 (511 + 63 aggregates mL-1) and at day 40 (494 + 27 aggregates mL-1), containing 86 + 3 and 72 + 6 bacterial cells per individual aggregate for semiintensive and intensive pond waters, respectively. Free-living (FL) bacterial cells of both systems increased and peaked at day 60 in concentration 3.8 X 107 cells mL-1 and 5.0 X 107 cells mL1 , for semi-intensive and intensive systems, respectively. Total particleattached (PA) bacterial cell numbers were steady after day 40, with 6.8 X 105 cells mL-1 and 6.4 X 105 cells mL1 , for semi-intensive and intensive systems, respectively. The FL cell numbers were positively correlated to the PA cell numbers.

Most abundant bacterial OTUs in both systems belonged to the classes Acidimicrobiia, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Bacilli, Cyanobacteria, Flavobacteriia, and Gammaproteobacteria. Among them, the genera Alteromonas, Erythrobacteraceae, Exiguobacterium, Halomonas, Vibrio, Pseudoalteromonas, Psychrobacter, Salegentibacter, and Sulfitobacter were present in every sample. Cyanobacteria, such as Synechococcus and Cobetia, were frequently present in the semi-intensive system. The highest sequence proportion in the FL fraction of both systems belonged to Salegentibacter, Sulfitobacter, and Halomonas, while in the PA fraction Psychrobacter, Vibrio, and Halomonas were dominant, where the latter comprised up to 80% of the sequences in samples from the semi-intensive system after 40 and 50 days. Free-living and particle-associated bacterial communities from the same water sample were very different from each other as indicated by dissimilarity coefficients. In addition, there was high variability in BCC within the same frac-

tion among replicate ponds, which lead to a wide range in dissimilarity coefficients (0.27-0.97 and 0.33-0.83 for PA and FL fractions, respectively) between intensive and semi-intensive

systems. Composition of the bacterial communities in the FL and the PA fraction for both systems was highly heterogenous. Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) confirmed that there was

no detectable pattern in FL or PA for the BCC between system and day. Environmental variables explained 20.53 and 36.77% of the BCC in the FL and the PA fractions, respectively. Among

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the observed environmental parameters, salinity was best suited to explain patterns in the composition of both FL and PA bacterial communities (R2 > 10%). Furthermore, chlorophyll a and nitrate had minor effects on BCC in the FL fractions. The estimated abundance (FRAxC) of the dominant Vibrio OTU differed strikingly from that of the other dominant OTUs, such as Halomonas, Psychrobacter, and Salegentibacter, suggesting an inverse relationship. When FRAxCs of Vibrio were overly high, the proportions of the other genera were low. In the PA fraction, FRAxCs of Vibrio were negatively correlated to FRAxCs Halomonas. All tested samples were negative for toxR, tlh, and tdh. These results indicate that no common pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus occurred in either system, even though the given samples displayed high sequence proportions of Vibrio. FRAxCs of Vibrio in both fractions were positively correlated to SPM, temperature, ammonium, NP ratio, and TPPV, but they were negatively correlated to pH and salinity. In addition, Vibrio was negatively correlated to inorganic nitrite and phosphate in the FL fraction, although in the PA fraction the opposite trend was observed. In general, correlation coefficients did not suggest strong correlations.

Contribution of the most abundant bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the semi-intensive (light gray to black) and the intensive systems (yellow to dark red). Taxonomic affiliation for OTUs is provided for genus (Right) and class (Left) levels. S1–3 and T1–3: replicate pond for the semi-intensive and intensive ponds, respectively. Days of rearing are indicated below the pond symbols. FL, free-living fraction; PA, particle-attached fraction.

Discussion In this study, shrimp pond water parameters and respective BCC in intensive and semi-intensive systems were compared. Contrary to our expectations, higher shrimp density in intensive farming systems did not significantly increase inorganic nutrients in the water column. We suggest that excessive nutrients were rapidly taken up by bacteria and phytoplankton as their abundance increased more strongly in the intensive system. This was also reflected in high SPM values in the intensive system due to the aggregation of phytoplankton cells. Phytoplankton 22 »

Correlation between estimated proportion of cells of the most-abundant OTUs in the FL and PA fractions and the dominant Vibrio OTU. The axes show log-transformed estimated bacterial numbers. rho, Spearman correlation coefficient

can take up total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), while heterotrophic bacteria perform nitrification and nitrogen assimilation. Even though the intensive system resulted in higher abundances of phytoplankton and cultivable heterotrophic bacteria, we could show that the concentrations of harmful inorganic nutrients, such as ammonium and nitrite, DO, and pH were still far from lethal values for shrimp. We propose that in our study the dominance of particular heterotrophic halophilic bacteria may result

in higher uptake of inorganic nutrient such as ammonium and nitrite. Therefore, even in the intensive pond waters inorganic nutrients remained low. In our study, BCC changed over time, following a “resilience scenario” in which a replacement of bacterial taxa occurred due to environmental change, followed by a quick return to its pre-disturbance composition. This phenomenon was clearly seen in the particle-attached fraction of the intensive system. When pH decreased below 8 at day 40 and 50, Vibrio replaced Halomonas

as the most abundant OTU, but the sequence proportions of Halomonas recovered, after the pH increased at day 60 and 70. In contrast, BCC in the FL and the PA fractions of the semi-intensive system during the same period was similar while experiencing stable pH (above 8). We propose that pH was a disturbing factor for heterotrophic halophilic bacteria in our shrimp systems and lead to the change of BCC only in the intensive system. Vibrio, a potential opportunistic pathogen for L. vannamei, was found in higher proportions in the PA fractions of the intensive system. This might indicate that the particulate fraction, specifically marine aggregates, can accumulate potentially pathogenic bacteria, as suggested by other studies. Our hypothesis that the intensive system seemed to be more vulnerable to Vibrio outbreaks is supported by high abundance and recurrent presence of Vibrio spp. only in the intensive system. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain SPM and aggregate abundance and to avoid massive Vibrio growth due to the fact that Vibrio can convert from non-virulent to virulent under certain cell density threshold or if dramatic environmental changes occur. We hypothesize that the presence of Halomonas in both systems might have inhibited Vibrio. Recently, Halomonas aquamarina has been applied as probiotic in L. vannamei culture to oxidize ammonium and to prevent Vibrio growth, which then leads to an increase of survival rates of L. vannamei. However, other unobserved microorganisms, such as bacteriophage, Bdellovibrio, Saccharomyces, Streptococcus, Streptomyces, and protists might also suppress Vibrio.

Adapted from: Alfiansah YR, Hassenrück C, Kunzmann A, Taslihan A, Harder J and Gärdes A (2018) Bacterial Abundance and Community Composition in Pond Water From Shrimp Aquaculture Systems With Different Stocking Densities. Front. Microbiol. 9:2457. doi: 10.3389/ fmicb.2018.02457

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Responses of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides L., to the supplementation of glycine, GroBiotic®-A, and nucleotides in SBM-based feed formulations

Largemouth bass (LMB), Micropterus salmoides L., is a predator fish whose production for food-fish markets has received increasingly more attention in North America and in Asia.

By: Waldemar Rossi Jr, PhD

n the United States, feeds for LMB typically contain relatively high concentrations of marine fish meal and fish oil. However, nutrition studies evaluating alternative feedstuffs in diet formulations have shown that LMB display a high tolerance to plant-protein feedstuffs, with the optimization of cost-effective plant-based feeds representing an important step forward in the expansion of LMB production. This article summarizes findings of a recent study conducted by the Aquatic Animal Nutrition Group at Kentucky State University evaluating the applicability of different dietary supplements in LMB.

Study setup A feeding experiment was designed to evaluate the responses of largemouth bass (LMB) to the dietary supplementation of glycine, the prebiotic GroBiotic®-A (GBA), and a nucleotide mixture in low-fish meal, soybean meal (SBM)-based diets. The nucleotide mixture contained 5’-monophosphates of adenosine (5’-AMP), cytidine (5’-CMP), guanosine (5’-GMP), inosine (5’-IMP), and uridine (5’UMP) in equal proportions. A total of six diets formulated to contain 42% Fingerlings in Culture Aquarium.

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crude protein (CP) and 12% lipid were evaluated in the study (Table 1). One of the diets (FM-C) contained 44% FM (as menhaden meal) and 0% SBM and was used as the overall control for the other five diets containing 4% FM and 50% SBM. One of the SBM-based diets (SBMC) was not supplemented with any of the test ingredients and served as the control for the remaining diets (GLY, GBA, NCTDs, and COMB) that were supplemented either with glycine (2%), GBA (2%), the nucleotide mixture (0.15%), or all three supplements combined, respectively. The diets were produced in the Aquatic Animal Nutrition laboratory of Kentucky State University following standard procedures and consisted of 3.2 mm sinking pellets. Finished diets were stored at – 20 ºC until used. Analyzed CP and lipid levels of the experimental diets were close to formulation levels and very similar across diets. The levels of lysine, methionine, and threonine - the three essential amino acids most likely

Largemouth bass.

to be limiting in SBM-based formulations - were similar across diets and in excess of requirement values for LMB and/or other freshwater, carnivorous teleost species. The study followed a completely randomized experimental design. Groups of 20 feed-trained LMB (6.0 g/fish) were stocked in each of 24, 110-L glass aquaria operating as a recirculating aquaculture system with propeller-washed bead filter, biological filter, UV sterilization unit, and constant aeration provided by a central regenerative air blower through air diffusers in each aquarium. Each diet was randomly assigned to four aquaria and the fish were fed twice daily to apparent satiation for 10 weeks. A photoperiod of 12h was provided

using fluorescent lighting controlled by a timer and water quality parameters were maintained within adequate ranges for LMB throughout the study.

Results After a three-day conditioning period to the culture system and FM-C diet, active feeding was observed in all aquaria. Survival of LMB in the study averaged 98.8% and no treatment effects were observed for survival (P = 0.907), indicating that all diets supported adequate health of the fish. Treatment effects on growth performance of LMB were observed. Final weight of the fish ranged from 48 to 61g and weight gain from 712 to 913% of initial weight. Within the SBM treatments, growth of LMB fed

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Recirculating System Used in the Feeding Experiment.

Table 1 Formulation and analyzed composition of the experimental diets.

Ingredients Glycine GroBiotic®-A Nucleotides Menhaden fish meal Poultry by-product meal Soybean meal Wheat flour Menhaden oil Soybean oil Vitamin premix Mineral premix Aspartate Others Composition Crude protein Crude fat Crude fiber Ash Lysine Methionine Threonine

FM-C

SBM-C

GLY

GBA

0.0 0.0 0.0 44.0 8.0 0.0 29.0 1.4 5.0 0.6 2.0 0.0 10.0

0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 8.0 50.0 13.8 4.6 5.0 0.6 2.0 2.5 9.5

%, dry matter basis 0.0 2.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 8.0 50.0 50.0 12.4 13.8 4.5 4.6 5.0 5.0 0.6 0.6 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.5 9.5 9.5

42.6 12.7 2.2 14.1 2.8 1.0 1.6

40.7 12.3 2.1 9.8 2.4 0.9 1.4

41.7 12.4 2.1 9.9 2.5 0.9 1.4

40.5 12.4 2.4 9.9 2.5 0.9 1.4

NCTDs

COMB

0.0 0.0 0.15 4.0 8.0 50.0 13.9 4.5 5.0 0.6 2.0 2.4 9.5

2.0 2.0 0.15 4.0 8.0 50.0 12.2 4.5 5.0 0.6 2.0 0.0 9.6

40.5 12.1 2.5 9.8 2.4 0.9 1.4

41.8 12.4 2.7 9.7 2.5 0.9 1.4

FM = fish meal; SBM = soybean meal; Gly = glycine; GBA = GroBiotic®-A; NCTDs = nucleotides.

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the GBA, NCTDs and COMB diets was surpassed by that of fish fed the GLY diet (P < 0.05) (Fig. 1A, 1B). While a similar (P > 0.05) growth performance of LMB was observed between GLY and SBM-C fed groups, GLY was the only dietary treatment that did not differ (P > 0.05) from FMC, thereby showing a positive effect of supplemental glycine in improving the growth performance of LMB when dietary FM is almost completely replaced by SBM. An effect of supplemental glycine was also observed on the feed efficiency (FE) of LMB. Although no improvements in FE were observed within SBM-based treatments in response to the test ingredients (P > 0.05) (Fig. 1C), likewise no statistically significant differences were found among GLY and FM-C fed groups. The substantial improvement in FE with the additional inclusion of glycine in the SBM-based diet appears to have driven the higher growth rates of

LMB fed the GLY diet to a level similar to the FM-C fed groups. Within the SBM-based diets, the observed responses of LMB to the various supplementations occurred independently of feeding rate, as no differences in feeding rate were observed (P > 0.05) (Fig. 1D). On the other hand, the feeding rate of LMB in all SBM-based treatments was higher (P < 0.05) compared to fish fed the FMC. This increase in feeding rate possibly reflects a compensatory response of the fish to differences in digestible energy between diets.

Summary Any conclusions drawn based on the presented results can be considered preliminary as physiological and nutrigenomic analyses from this study are still underway. Nevertheless, the crunched production performance data presented here indicate that the supplementation of glycine to lowFM, SBM-based diets can improve

growth and FE of LMB as demonstrated in other species (Shimizu et al., 1990; McGoogan and Gatlin III, 1997). On the other hand, responses to supplemental nucleotides and prebiotics have been inconsistent in the literature. For GBA in particular, the negative effects observed in this study contradict the findings of Yu et al. (2018), wherein improved production performance of LMB resulting from GBA supplementation was observed. Such discrepancies between the two studies may relate to factors including dietary levels of soy products and/ or GBA. Furthermore, the relatively strong negative effect of GBA might have precluded positive effects of supplemental glycine in the COMB diet evaluated here. In closing, good production numbers were obtained for most SBMbased diets evaluated in this study, particularly the glycine supplemented diet. Based on the steep reduction of dietary FM from 44 to 4% with the in-

clusion of SBM, which entailed only small adjustments in dietary ingredients, a reduction in feed cost can be assumed. This, allied with the overall high survival and FE supported by the best-performing SBM-based diets evaluated, can represent higher profit margins for LMB producers. Dr. Waldemar Rossi is Assistant Research Professor of Aquatic Animal Nutrition in the School of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences of Kentucky State University. Dr. Rossi earned his Master’s degree at Auburn University and his PhD at Texas A&M. He has served as a reviewer for a number of internationally recognized peer reviewed journals and is a member of the World Aquaculture Society. waldemar.rossi@kysu.edu References: McGoogan B.B. and Gatlin III D.M. (1997) Effects of replacing fish meal with soybean meal in diets for red drum Sciaenops ocellatus and potential for palatability enhancement. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 28, 374-385. Shimizu C., Ibrahim A., Tokoro T., and Shirakawa Y. (1990). Feeding stimulation in sea bream, Pagrus major, fed diets supplemented with Antarctic krill meals. Aquaculture 89, 43-53. Yu H.H., Liang X.F., Chen P., Wu X.F., Zheng Y.H., Luo L., Qin Y.C., Long X.C., and Xue M. (2019). Dietary supplementation of GroBiotic®-A increases short-term inflammatory responses and improves long-term growth performance and liver health in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Aquaculture 500, 327-337.

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Africa Report: Recent News and Events By: Staff / Aquaculture Magazine

Charting a course towards a profitable inclusive Kenyan aquaculture sector To mark the opening of the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi, Farm Africa’s Kenya Market-led Aquaculture Programme (KMAP) has launched a policy brief that maps out how the Kenyan National Government can build a sustainable and inclusive aquaculture sector. The policy report, titled “Aquaculture for jobs, incomes and food security”, uses credible statistics to reveal alarming low levels of fish production in Kenya. The country’s annual supply gap of 50,000 MT of fish is projected to increase to 75,000 MT by 2030 if annual per capita fish consumption remains constant at 4.3 kg. If Kenya’s annual per person fish consumption grows to 9.7 kg, in line with other African countries’ consumption, the supply gap will grow

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to 436,000 MT. These projections spotlight the need to boost private sector aquaculture investment and small-scale fish farmers’ production. The report goes on to provide evidence-based recommendations on the interventions needed to mitigate the situation so as to create jobs, increase incomes and contribute to the government’s food security component of the Big Four agenda. To stimulate Kenya’s aquaculture industry to meet growing demand, Farm Africa recommends lowering the cost of raw materials, honing the skills of farmers and extension officers, and supporting Kenyan feed millers to produce affordable high-quality feed. Reviewing the East African Community Common External Tariff (EAC CET) on imported Chinese fish in the country features prominently as one of the measures needed to make local fish products competitive and attract domestic and foreign investment in the Kenyan aquaculture sector. This is reinforced by a proposal to eliminate the existing EAC import duty of 10% and fisheries levy of 5% on imported feed and aquaculture equipment. “Increasing the East African Community Common External Tar-

iff for imported tilapia is necessary to boost the production of Kenyan farmers as they are currently unable to compete with the subsidised cheap imports that have flooded the market. This will also attract domestic and foreign investment to provide the expertise and capital needed to develop the sector,” said Arnoud Meijberg, Farm Africa, Team Leader KMAP.

FAO, Government of Uganda launch new Technical Cooperation Project to support alternative livelihood activities for fishing communities around Lake Victoria The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with the Ministry of Agriculture, have launched a Technical Cooperation Project to support women and youth groups in fishing communities around Lake Victoria. The pilot project, dubbed Integrated Livelihood Support to Fishing Communities around Lake Victoria will benefit groups of women and youths in rural poor fishing communities in Kalangala, Kalungu and Masaka districts, with an aim of empowering them to diversify their income sources in fishing and fishing–related activities. The two-year

Project, worth USD 277,000, will provide training and inputs to help beneficiaries to manage economically viable and sustainable interventions in their interest, including aquaculture. The project comes on the heels of MAAIF’s recognition of the enormous challenges affecting fishing dependent communities, especially women and youth. The latter groups have remained marginalized, poor and with limited sustainable sources of income, because of overfishing, decline in fish stocks, illegal fishing, poor fish handling facilities and increased post-harvest losses. Unfavorably high competition for fishing grounds, brought about by overcapitalization of fishing has also contributed to this dire situation. To address some of these challenges, the Government of Ugan-

da instituted management reforms aimed at boosting fish stocks. The Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Honorable Vincent Ssempijja, stressed the need for alternative livelihoods for fishing-dependent communities in the most-affected district of Mayuge, Namayingo, Masaka and Kalangala, where the majority of the affected are women and youth. The fisheries sub-sector contributes about 12 and 3 percent to Uganda’s agricultural and national incomes respectively, demonstrating its huge potential to provide employment, income and food security. Overall, the sub-sector contributes to the livelihood of nearly 5.3 million people while about one million people are engaged in capture fisheries and about half a million people are engaged in aquaculture.

Aquaculture for Food and Jobs Programme initiated in Ghana Replicating the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Programme of the Agriculture Ministry, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministry has piloted its own Aquaculture for Food and Jobs Programme at the James Camp Prisons Fish Farm in Accra. The prison camp houses some of Ghana’s citizens found to have been in breach of the law. It serves as one of the oldest prison establishments in the country, having been set up in 1948. Working under its rehabilitation mandate, inmates have received training in landscaping, horticulture, fabric design, laundry services, tailoring, bead making, shoe making, canopy making, ceramics and carpentry to be able to be productive, and thus earn a decent living to resist the temptation of returning to crime.

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It is for this reason that the pilot project choosing the camp is most opportune even as government seeks to shore up the country’s depleted fish stock. Sector minister, Elizabeth Naa Afoley Quaye, revealed that aside from the prison camps, Senior High Schools are also being supported to rear fish for consumption and sale. She stated about GHc10 million is being injected in the programme. Programme observers are looking at generating value of GHc135 million from some 150 metric tonnes of fish. Fish pond farmers say fish feed prices constitute over 70 percent of the production cost in fish farming, and urge government to help set up mini-mills to produce fish feed in selected production zones. Mass deaths of pond tilapia on the Volta Lake have raised concern of outbreak of diseases which can derail the scheme but Hon. Quaye has ruled out the possibility of the Tilapia Lake Virus (TLV) in the death of tilapia recently; rather, she said the deaths were due to bacterial infection, coupled with environmental factors. Ghana consumes over 950,000 metric tons of fish annually but imports over 60 percent of its fish, and in 2016, imported US$135 million worth of fish because of the reduction in the country’s fish stock. The programme

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for the fishers is to arrest the country’s depleted fish stock, ensuring adequate fish supply all year round in addition to creating employment in coastal communities. To give the prison camp

a head start, they were offered 3000 fingerlings introduced to the fish pond while 235 sacks of fish feed were also donated with the support of RANAAN Fish Feed West Africa.

EAC officials to meet and discuss the implementation of US $11.5m True-Fish project East African Community (EAC) officials from Kenya Uganda and Tanzania met recently to discuss the grand five-year project -True Fish- that starts this year. According to media reports, the gathering of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sectoral Council of Ministers that began on February 1 was preceded by the Coordination Committee Session on January 31 and the Senior Officials Sessions on January 28 through 29, 2019. In a press statement from the EAC Secretariat, progress of implementation of the True-Fish project at Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) that covers the three countries was to be deliberated during the meetings. The five-year fish farming project runs from this year to 2024 under a US $11.5m budget that the European Development Fund will finance. The project will be executed in, particularly, the Lake Victoria Basin in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This is following the failure of measures of the riparian countries around the lake to successfully manage the capture of fisheries and the steady decline of Nile perch and tilapia resources. At the same time, aquaculture is yet to develop its potential and accounts for only 7-8% of the regional fish consumption. Considering population growth, increasing incomes and urbanization, overall demand for fish in the region is projected to increase substantially in the near future. Developing aquaculture to meet the demand for fish in the region is crucial, hence the European Union (EU) intervention to support EAC. In May last year, the EAC Secretary General Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko called for EAC member states to allocate more resources towards the development of fish farming in the region as a solution to mitigate the declining fish stocks in the water bodies in the community. Results of a study conducted by Farm Africa and WorldFish showed that to increase production in colder areas, strains suitable for such conditions should be developed through selective breeding. The brief underscores the need to support the development of highquality Kenyan tilapia strains that are suitable to both cold and warm regions. Farm Africa has analysed the increased gross margins that can be realised once the report’s recommended cost reduction measures are effected. When the fish feed price is lowered by 15%, the cost of production per kg reduces from the price from the current market rate of Kshs. 254 to Kshs. 239. When provided with training, fish farmers’ productivity improves by 21% from 0.33 to 0.4 kg/m², reducing the cost of production per kg from Kshs. 254 to Kshs. 207.

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Small-Scale, Year-Round Shrimp Farming in Temperate Climates By: Andrew J. Ray1, Robert Rode2

Interest in indoor shrimp aquaculture as a means of producing high-quality, fresh, never-frozen marine shrimp in practically any location is growing.

ndoor shrimp production allows farmers to tap into niche markets where consumers are willing to pay a higher price for top-quality, locally grown food products. Nonetheless, people interested in shrimp farming should do substantial research before making an investment; risk can be minimized by starting small.

System Design

Buildings: In temperate climates, the consistent environment of an insulated building facilitates faster growth rates in shrimp than greenhouses or ponds, even in the warmer months. The building should be ventilated to prevent buildup of carbon dioxide and excess moisture. Surfaces

in the building should be protected against moisture. Since it contains salt, moisture generated in a shrimp farm is especially corrosive to metal and damaging to wood. Tanks: Swimming pools make inexpensive tanks, and they are a favorite choice for many small-scale farmers. Their long-term durability is uncertain since liners can leak and metal supports can rust. Pool liners should not contain algaecides or other chemicals as these can be toxic. Liners must be protected from abrasion or punctures and should be rinsed before use. The normal water level in tanks should be about three feet. This depth allows adequate contact time for air bubbles moving through the water column. Pools should be covered with netting that has a mesh size small enough to prevent shrimp from escaping, but large enough to allow feed to pass through. Aeration: The simplest way to aerate the water

Figure 1. A regenerative blower with a cooling pipe. Two air filters prevent debris from entering the blower and should be examined regularly and cleaned if needed.

32 Âť

is with a regenerative blower. Generally, 3 CFM (cubic feet per minute) of air is needed per pound of feed per day. For adequate pressure, make sure to calculate the depth of the water and add at least another 15% to account for resistance in air lines and diffusers. A large diameter, thin-walled, metal cooling pipe is recommended between the blower outlet and the PVC airline piping (Fig. 1) to prevent damage from excessive heat. Valves should be installed so the amount of air to each diffuser can

Swimming pools make inexpensive tanks, and they are a favorite choice for many small-scale farmers. Their long-term durability is uncertain since liners can leak and metal supports can rust.

be adjusted, and diffusers should be evenly spaced on the tank bottom. Solids Filtration: Particles in the water should remain in suspension. If solids accumulate on the bottom they can generate ammonia and may become anaerobic, producing hydrogen sulfide, which is very toxic to shrimp. Excessive solids in the water can lead to gill clogging, low DO, and bacterial infections. Solids filtration is best achieved through the use of both a foam fractionator to remove small particles and a settling chamber for larger particles. Storebought fractionators can be costprohibitive but do-it-yourself (DIY) units can be just as effective (Figs. 2 and 3). Typically, the fractionator is plumbed separately so that the flow rate can be adjusted independently. Cone-bottom tanks work best as settling chambers, but a standard liquid storage drum is a suitable alternative (Figs. 4 and 5). The settling chamber should be about 1.25% of the volume of the shrimp tank it serves.

Figure 2. A diagram of a homemade foam fractionator. Inlet and outlet pipes go through the body via rubber gaskets or bulkheads. The outlet is a stand pipe; by turning it at the bulkhead, the water level inside the fractionator is adjusted.

Figure 3. A picture of a homemade foam fractionator. A valve near the inlet is used to adjust the flow rate. A submersible fountain pump delivers water to this filter.

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Sludge that forms in the settling chamber should be removed weekly. The most water-efficient way to remove the sludge is to pump the relatively clear water from the top of the chamber, allow the remaining water to settle for at least 30 minutes and then dump the remainder (the thick sludge) through a bottom drain. Fractionators and their diffusers also need to be cleaned and adjusted periodically. To measure solids, one liter of water from the shrimp tank is poured into an Imhoff cone and allowed to settle for one hour. Settleable solids should be kept below 15 ml/L, and in systems with an external biofilter, they should be kept as low as possible. With experience, managers can consider the clarity of the water as another indicator of solids levels.

Figure 4. A diagram of a simple settling chamber and biofilter combination. Water enters the settling chamber baffle (a larger diameter pipe or corrugated pipe) which causes velocity to slow and solids to settle. The water then flows through the biofilter and back to the shrimp tank.

Biofiltration: Operating an external biofilter is the simplest way to resolve the issue of ammonia accumulation although the â&#x20AC;&#x153;bioflocâ&#x20AC;? approach is an alternative that some farmers use. Due to the relative complexity of the biofloc approach, it has been difficult for new aquaculture farmers to implement, therefore the focus of this discussion is on external biofiltration to reduce risk. The purpose of the biofilter is to harbor a community of nitrifying bacteria that convert ammonia to

Particles in the water should remain in suspension. If solids accumulate on the bottom they can generate ammonia and may become anaerobic, producing hydrogen sulfide, which is very toxic to shrimp. Figure 5. A simple settling chamber and a biofilter. The settling chamber is higher to allow water to travel to the biofilter via gravity. The filters are supported by concrete blocks. Note the protected surfaces in the room and covered tank.

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Figure 6. A screened outflow in a biofilter. This can be placed on the tank bottom to allow water to pass through but not biomedia. Also note the small biomedia, most of which has turned brown, indicating a population of helpful bacteria is established.

The purpose of the biofilter is to harbor a community of nitrifying bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite (NO2) and subsequently convert nitrite to nitrate (NO3).

nitrite (NO) and subsequently convert nitrite to nitrate (NO3). Both ammonia and nitrite are toxic at relatively low concentrations (Table 1) but as long as the nitrifying bacteria are provided the correct environment, they should not accumulate. An external biofilter can be constructed from a 50-gallon storage drum (Figs. 3 and 4). The biofilter should contain specially designed plastic media (often referred to as biomedia), which provide surface area for bacterial colonization. Established media will have a brown slime growing on it. The media should be kept gently moving and aerated by placing a 12-inch diffuser on the bottom of the filter. A diffuser of this size delivers about 1 CFM of air, which is appropriate for a 50-gallon drum biofilter. If water mixing is too aggressive the bacteria may be dislodged from the biomedia. A screened outflow pipe should be used (Fig. 6). Biofilters should contain 1 cubic foot of biomedia for every 0.75 pounds of feed fed per day. Biomedia typically has a surface area of approximately 250-300 ft2/ft3, but manufacturers’ specifications may differ. Biomedia should take up 50-70% of the biofilter volume. Overfilling prevents media from moving in the water. Solids that accumulate on the bottom of biofilters should be removed weekly. If the biomedia appears to become clogged, it should be gently agitated to dislodge some bacterial biomass. The entire volume of the shrimp tank should pass through the filters at least three times daily.

Water Quality Factors

Temperature: Maintaining a temperature of 28.5°C will result in optimal growth. When shrimp are being handled or if there are problems with water quality, the temperature can be lowered gradually to reduce stress. A temperature of about 26°C will

Figure 7. A household water heater with a circulation pump which also has a timer so that it can be operated for a set period of time each day. The water travels to coils of PEX pipe in each shrimp tank, then back to the water heater.

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reduce the amount of stress considerably. Feed rate should likewise be lowered at this time. An economical approach to temperature control for small-scale operations is to use a water heater connected to cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) tubing with a circulation pump that circulates fresh, heated tap water through the tubing (Fig. 7). A coil of PEX tubing placed inside each shrimp tank will radiate heat to the water (Fig. 8). Temperature can be regulated by controlling water flow at each tank with a valve. During hot weather, the room should be well-ventilated to allow plenty of cooling capacity and bring necessary fresh air into the room. Dissolved Oxygen (DO): DO is the most critical factor in intensive shrimp farming. DO should be maintained above 5 mg/L;

Figure 8. A shrimp tank with PEX piping that carries hot water to heat the tank. A valve controls the flow rate of water. In this case the coil of pipe is loose in the water; however, it may also be bundled together to keep the coil more contained.

Table 1 The most important water quality parameters. Temperature, DO, and pH should be measured at least daily and must be measured in the tank. In other words, water should not be removed and tested elsewhere. Salinity, ammonia, nitrite, and solids should be measured at least weekly. Nitrate should be measured every other week. Parameters should be measured more frequently if problems are detected. Refer to Figs. 9, 10, and 11 for examples of water quality testing supplies. Parameter

Measurement

Ideal

Danger

Temperature DO pH Salinity Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate Solids

Probe or Thermometer Probe Probe Probe or Refractometer Color Change Test Color Change Test Color Change Test Settleable Solids Turbidity

28.5°C Over 5.0 mg/L 7.5 - 8.0 10 - 20 ppt Under 0.2 mg/L Under 1.0 mg/L Under 100 mg/L Under 15 ml/L Under 30 NTU

Under 18, Over 32 Under 3.5 Under 7.0, Over 8.5 under 5 Over 1.0 Over 5.0 Over 250 mg/L Over 25 ml/L Over 80 NTU

lower concentrations are acceptable for short periods of time, but levels below 3.5 mg/L are critical. It is important to note that temperature, feed rate, CO2 accumulation in the building, stocking density, solids concentration, and the addition of sugar all affect DO concentration negatively. Aeration must be maintained at all times in shrimp tanks. Short periods with no aeration in the biofilter

Table 2 An example feed sheet for the nursery phase. This is only one example of how a feed sheet may be structured. Day Stage Weight Survival Orig. # # Shrimp Biomass % (g) Biomass 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

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PL15 PL16 PL17 PL18 PL19 PL20 PL21 PL22 PL23 PL24

0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1

98.26 98.02 97.77 97.53 97.28 97.04 96.80 96.56 96.31 96.07

30000 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000

29479 29405 29332 29258 29185 29112 29039 28967 28894 28822

295 588 880 1170 1459 1747 2033 2317 2601 2882

0.15 0.15 0.14 0.13 0.13 0.14 0.135 0.135 0.135 0.134

Feed/Day (g)

Feed Size (μm)

44.2 88.2 123.2 152.1 189.7 244.5 274.4 312.8 351.1 386.2

50% 400-600, 50% <400 60% 400-600, 40% <400 70% 400-600, 30% <400 80% 400-600, 20% <400 90% 400-600, 10% <400 90% 400-600, 10% 600-850 80% 400-600, 20% 600-850 70% 400-600, 30% 600-850 60% 400-600, 40% 600-850 50% 400-600, 50% 600-850

When shrimp are being handled or if there are

problems with water quality, the temperature can be lowered gradually to reduce stress.

Table 3 Example of a grow-out phase feed sheet. Day Survival 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.000 0.900 0.899 0.898 0.897 0.896 0.896 0.895 0.894 0.893

# Shrimp

Ind. Wt.

30000 27000 26973 26946 26919 26892 26865 26838 26812 26785

1.270 1.413 1.556 1.699 1.841 1.984 2.127 2.270 2.413 2.556

Biomass (g) 38100 38147 41962 45770 49570 53362 57146 60923 64692 68454

are fine if the media remains wet. As little as 15 minutes without aeration can cause shrimp mortality. It is important to have backup blowers and an emergency generator with a power transfer switch to operate blowers and other equipment during power outages. Another good investment is one or two large tanks of pressurized oxygen that can be connected to a regulator and diffuser(s) to deliver pure oxygen to tanks if needed. pH The pH should be maintained at 7.5 - 8.0 to ensure that shrimp are healthy and have firm exoskeletons. CO2 produced by shrimp, bacteria and the nitrification process decreases pH. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is widely used to buffer against decreasing pH. Depending on building ventilation and solids concentration, baking soda may need to be added at a rate of up to 50% of the weight of the feed. Monitor pH and add incrementally larger amounts of baking soda until the pH is stable.

Figure 9. A multi-parameter water quality instrument. This unit measures temperature, pH, DO, salinity, conductivity, and barometric pressure. This type of device is expensive but it measures some of the most critical life-sustaining parameters.

Salinity: Salinity should be maintained at 1520 parts per thousand (ppt). Lower salinity levels can be used but ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are generally more toxic at lower salinity. Most hatcheries ship young shrimp in full-strength seawater (about 35 ppt); but they can be slowly adjusted to lower salinity over one week. Âť 37

FCR:1 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3

Growth/wk 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Feed/shrimp Feed (g)/wk 1.300 1.300 1.300 1.300 1.300 1.300 1.300 1.300 1.300 1.300

39000 35100 35065 35030 34995 34960 34925 34890 34855 34820

Recent research conducted at Kentucky State University (KSU) suggests that home-made salt mixtures may be just as effective as off-theshelf complete sea salt formulations and 60% less expensive. Ammonia and Nitrite: Ammonia is the most toxic nitrogen-based compound and should be maintained at less than 0.2 mg/L

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Figure 11. A common type of test for parameters such as ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. This particular test measures nitrite. Drops of a chemical are added to the water sample and the resulting water color is compared to the chart. Water should be filtered to remove solids if possible before these tests are conducted. If concentrations are out of range, dilutions should be made with deionized water; the results of a 50/50% dilution would need to be multiplied by two for instance.

Figure 10. A pH and temperature meter. This type of meter is much less expensive than a multi-parameter style unit. Similar instruments can measure DO and salinity.

38 Âť

while nitrite should be maintained at less than 1 mg/L although short periods of elevated concentrations should not pose much risk. Lower salinity makes these compounds more toxic. Higher temperature and pH both make ammonia more toxic. If ammonia or nitrite reach high concentrations, feeding rate can be reduced, lowering the amount of nitrogen entering the system. Slowly reducing the water temperature (approximately 5Â°C per day maximum) will lower the feed consumption rate and reduce ammonia toxicity and overall stress. In some cases, system water can be exchanged with clean water; however, this is expensive and less effective than solving the cause of the problems. Adding sugar stimulates bacteria to take up nitrogen compounds, reducing ammonia and nitrite. Household white sucrose can be added at up to 50% of the weight of feed or slightly more to quickly drive down ammonia and nitrite. Using sugar will reduce the DO concentration and increase the amount of solids in the water. A small amount of sugar, around 100 grams (3.5 oz.)

for a 4,000-gallon pool, should be added at first. This amount can be increased incrementally as needed. Sugar should not be added within an hour of feeding since feed also lowers DO. Nitrate: Nitrate is the end result of the nitrification process, accumulating as the biofilter works. It is much less toxic than ammonia or nitrite, but may start to depress growth at 250 mg/L, depending on salinity. Deni-

DO is the most critical factor in intensive shrimp farming. DO should be maintained above 5 mg/L; lower concentrations are acceptable for short periods of time, but levels below 3.5 mg/L are critical.

Figure 12. This shrimp has a partially empty gut, indicating the animal is slightly underfed. Broken antennae can be the result of high density culture. Red appendages can be a sign of bacterial activity; solids concentration may be high in the culture tank. The exoskeleton is firm though and the overall appearance is acceptable for harvest and sale.

trification can reduce nitrate levels by essentially performing nitrification in reverse. In an oxygen limited environment, nitrate can be converted to harmless nitrogen gas. However, denitrification has potentially serious risks, including production of hydrogen sulfide. Water should ideally be moved to a separate container for denitrification. A 50-gallon drum filled with biomedia without aeration is suitable. A small submersible pump may be used to stir the biomedia without introducing air or disturbing the water surface. Flow-through rate should be limited so that the bacteria on the biomedia can maintain the DO below 1 mg/L. Feeding and Health Indoor shrimp farming is commonly conducted in nursery and grow-out phases. An appropriate starting density for the nursery phase is 2,500 shrimp/m3 or about 11.4 shrimp/ gallon. Higher densities can be used as managers become more familiar with production systems. During the nursery phase, shrimp are normally fed based on percentage of

biomass. The initial feeding rate can be as high as 15% of the shrimp biomass per day. Through the nursery phase, this should be gradually reduced to about 3% biomass per day (Table 2). Depending on density and management, shrimp will be in the nursery phase for about 40 days before producing a one-gram animal. Providing some freshly hatched Artemia (about 1,800/gallon/day) for the first week after the shrimp are received will improve survival. Through the initial nursery phase, shrimp should be provided a highquality crumbled feed with about 50% protein. Transition them to larger crumble sizes as they grow, and to a pelleted diet with approximately 35% protein in the late nursery and grow-out phases. During grow-out, feeding is based on estimates of feed conversion rate (FCR), survival, and growth rate (Table 3). If the FCR is assumed to be 1.5: 1, growth rate is 1.5 g/week, and the tank contains 4,000 shrimp, the calculation is 1.5 x 1.5 x 4,000 which equals 9,000 grams per week. Feed should be applied Âť 39

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Figure 13. Sales of shrimp at a farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; market. Direct sales to consumers are typically the most lucrative way to distribute shrimp.

frequently and automatic feeders are often used. A farmer may check water quality parameters and feed 10% of the calculated feed ration by hand in the morning and place 30% of the daily feed ration on a 12-hour belt feeder. The farmer may repeat this process in the evening, adding more feed for the nighttime hours.

Ammonia is the most toxic nitrogen-based compound and should be maintained at less than 0.2 mg/L while nitrite should be maintained at less than 1 mg/L although short periods of elevated concentrations should not pose much risk. 40 Âť

Feed calculations are estimates. Managers must monitor feed consumption periodically using a net with appropriately sized mesh to collect uneaten feed. All food should be consumed between feedings. Shrimp should normally have a full hind gut, indicating they are eating and in good health (Fig. 12). An occasional shrimp with a soft exoskeleton is not concerning, but finding multiple soft shrimp indicates that the tank may be stressed. The rostrum should also generally be intact and there should not be many lesions or scars on the shrimp.

Economic Considerations The importance of key economic factors varies considerably between farms. One of the major capital costs can be the building housing the operation. A simple pole barn structure with spray foam insulation on the interior makes a practical

space for indoor shrimp production. Packed gravel makes an adequate floor, although sand may be needed under each tank to protect pool liners. Other major capital investments include a generator, heating system, electrical circuitry, pools, air blowers, water quality meters, air diffusers, biofilter media, feeders, nets and netting, and plumbing supplies. Major operating and variable costs include feeds, labor, post larvae, energy, artificial salt, water, and transportation costs. Overhead may include maintenance, insurance, and professional services (such as consulting fees). It may be possible to reduce some of these costs.

Marketing Shrimp At a stocking density of 250 shrimp/ m3 in the grow-out phase, farmers with good management can expect to have approximately 80% survival. If shrimp are grown to an average

be implemented to reduce biomass, but care should be taken to limit stress on the remaining animals. Most farmers target niche markets and attempt to supply shrimp directly to the consumer whole (usually on-ice) to optimize the sale price (Fig. 13). Onion sackstyle bags are useful for packaging shrimp, as the animals can be buried in ice and easily recovered (Fig. 14). Selling to restaurants or distributors usually reduces the sale price and processing the animals adds to certification issues and labor costs. Check with local health department officials before freezing or de-heading shrimp since most areas have specific guidelines that must be followed.

Figure 14. Shrimp packaged in a small onion sack-style bag. This makes them easy to retrieve when buried in ice. Shrimp should be chilled in ice water for about 10 minutes immediately after harvest to euthanize them and cool the meat temperature, then stored on drained ice.

of 24 grams, total harvest can be 4 - 5 kg shrimp/m3. With practice, farmers should be able to consistently attain 6 kg/m3. Higher harvest rates may be possible, but are not generally repeatable. Shrimp is one of the few products that can command a higher price for greater unit weights. Most farmers find it worthwhile to grow a larger animal and 24 grams is the routine target weight at KSU. To produce larger shrimp, the length of the grow-out phase will need to be extended. As biomass in a tank increases, the oxygen demand will also increase. Partial tank harvests can Âť 41

Assistant Professor of Aquaculture Production, Kentucky State University College of Agriculture, Communities, and the Environment, School of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences. 2 Manager, Aquaculture Research Lab, Purdue University. The authors do not endorse any particular products or companies. Thank you to Rolling Blue Farm, Lexington, Kentucky, USA for allowing the use of images of their property. Research that contributed to this publication in the Kentucky State University Land Grant Program is funded by the United States Department of Agricultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This article is based on publication number KYSU-000069 from the Kentucky State University Land Grant Program.

LATIN AMERICA REPORT

Latin America Report: Recent News and Events By: Staff / Aquaculture Magazine

Costa Rica to host World Aquaculture meeting Costa Rica- LACQUA19 is the designation for the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Latin American & Caribbean Chapter (LACC) of the World Aquaculture Society. Following upon previous successful LACQUA meetings, LACQUA19 will bring international attention to the aquaculture industry of Costa Rica and Central America. Costa Rica should make a great venue for LACQUA19. The meeting will be held in San José, the nation’s capital. It is the safest country in the region and it has an enviable biodiversity. Aquaculture in Costa Rica is characterized mainly by tilapia, shrimp and other marine species. The conference will be held in three languages for both presentations and written materials, and will cover all major aquatic species cultured in Costa Rica and the other LACC countries with a special focus on tilapia, trout, shrimp and marine species. There will be an exhibition of aquaculture suppliers from around the world, displaying the latest in equipment, supplies and services, as well as national entities and organizations. Marinazul will strengthen the production of prawns Peru- Marinazul is in the process of integrating La Fragata, the shrimp ex42 »

porting company that was bought by the group in November. Marinazul, a subsidiary of the Camposol Group, will strengthen its shrimp production after buying 100% of the shares of La Fragata, a shrimp exporting company that made shipments of US $1.23 million in FOB value. The Camposol Group has been growing, largely due to the higher volume of shrimp sales, which grew by 18% in the third quarter of 2018.

“We have been focusing on the production of shrimp with intensive technology. Our growth is due to our focus on converting hectares from extensive production fields to intensive production systems where 20 times more are produced per hectare,” explained Camposol Group, after indicating that production grew approximately 20% over all of 2018. “Marinazul has been making strategic acquisitions since 2010. The

previous one was in 2014 when we acquired Iny SA and Cofresac and previously in 2010, Domingo Rodas,” the Group stated. It should be noted that in previous reports the group had already indicated that shrimp production will represent “an increasingly important part of its portfolio.” In the first quarter of 2018, shrimp harvests in Marinazul totaled 13,688

tons, representing a growth of 5% compared to 2017 and 144% compared to 2015. In addition, total shrimp sales were US $77 million in that period, representing an expansion of 4% year-on-year. The Foreign Trade Center (CCEX) of the Chamber of Commerce of Lima estimated that at the end of 2018, aquaculture exports registered a positive performance with projections valued at US $300 million due to higher shipments of shrimp and trout to international markets. The Asian market is the main destination for aquaculture exports.

The Alltech 2019 Global Balanced Food Survey estimates for Latin America. The Global Survey on Balanced Food conducted by Alltech evaluates the production and prices of compound feed through informa-

tion collected during the last three months of 2018 by the Alltech global sales team and in partnership with local feed associations. This is an estimate and is intended to serve as an information resource for decision makers and industry stakeholders. As a region, Latin America was relatively stagnant this past year. Brazil continued to lead the production of balanced feed for the region and is the third largest producer worldwide. Brazil, Mexico and Argentina continue to produce most of the balanced food in Latin America, with 76 percent of regional balanced feed production. Brazil remained stable, while Mexico and Argentina recorded growth of 1 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Several countries registered a decrease in the production of balanced feed, such as Venezuela (-27 percent), El Salvador (-16 percent) and Chile (-8 percent). » 43

LATIN AMERICA REPORT

46 thousand croaker juveniles were planted in cages in Iquique Chile- In an operation that took ten days to complete in Iquique, 46 thousand juvenile croaker were transferred from pre-fattening ponds to two cages in the sea, located opposite the Ex-Whaling area. This collaboration was associated with the Corvina Program, an initiative promoted by Corfo, led by the Chile Foundation, and executed by the Arturo Prat University and the Corporation for the Development of the Unap (Cordunap) in Puerto Nortino, with the support of Pesquera Friosur. “The behavior has been optimal. They have adapted well, and on the second day of entering the cages, they already showed an appetite to be fed,” said Avelino Muñoz, director of the sub-chapter of Cordunap. The croaker will remain in their new habitat until the crop reaches an average size of 2 to 3 kilos. “The objectives of the program are to diversify national aquaculture, both in species and in territories. It is a scientific project of technology transfer, which is acquiring greater

44 »

advancement with successful results in reproduction in captivity through this program. It has also allowed us to generate a technology of production of the species for future scaling up of the commercial crop,” said Cristóbal Cobo Labarca, director of the Corvina Program. An additional goal of the program is to generate an environmentally and socially sustainable production activity, highlighting the attributes of the croaker as a native species of high nutritional and gastronomic value. It also seeks to promote this type of crop in the north, where there is currently no finfish aquaculture. The croaker in question

(Cilus gilberti) is a native fish with wide distribution on the coasts of Peru and Chile. It is highly valued in the domestic market.

Agrosuper successfully acquires 99.71% of AquaChile’s shares Chile- The process of Public Offer of Shares began in December 2018 and ended successfully with the acquisition of 99.71% of the shares of AquaChile by Agrosuper. This is expected to strengthen the aquaculture business and the company’s development. The company highlights this process as successful, since most of the shareholders valued and accepted the conditions. The acquisition will allow a highly qualified team with vast experience in the business to be integrated into the company’s aquaculture segment, with high-standard facilities and a great productive potential. With this move, Agrosuper becomes an important player in the salmon industry nationally and internationally, which -according to the company- requires them to redouble their efforts to continue making products of the highest quality, always hand in hand with responsible production for the environment and nearby neighboring communities. The news of the takeover of AquaChile, one of the largest salmon producers in Chile, occurs at a time of consolidation in the local industry and high demand for raw materials in international markets. Chile is the second largest producer of salmon in the world, after Norway.

Â» 45

NOTE

Consortium for Ocean Leadership, Meridian Institute Convene 2018 Industry Forum U.S. Offshore Aquaculture:

Will We Fish or Cut Bait?

n October 26, the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL) and the Meridian Institute convened a forum to address benefits and challenges of potential development of an offshore aquaculture industry in the United States. This topic was selected, according to COL, “because of the potential benefits of an environmentally responsible and sustainable domestic aquaculture industry to society, the industry’s potential for growth, the political salience of the issue, and the need for development of any emerging industry to be grounded in science and technology.” The forum “aimed to identify information gaps and needs for development of the offshore aquaculture industry in the U.S.” A total of 115 participants (including two of this magazine’s columnists and several of our contributors) represented over 60 stakeholder institutions in the sci-

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entific community, government (executive and legislative branches), the aquaculture industry, and environmental and conservation interests. Specific objectives of the forum were to “develop a clear, shared understanding of the current state of offshore finfish aquaculture globally and the present opportunities and challenges for establishing such an industry in the United States, to illuminate the scientific and technical capacities, environmental safeguards, and investment opportunities needed for responsible offshore finfish aquaculture to be deployed in the U.S. and to identify specific areas of action that the science and technology community, government, aquaculture industry, and civil society organizations can implement to advance informed decision making in this emerging industry.” Some key ideas, challenges and outcomes developed through the dialogues include the following: • Globally, offshore aquaculture is growing rapidly and will likely continue to grow significantly in many countries, but its development in the U.S. remains uncertain. • It is uncertain whether the U.S. can be a competitive offshore producer, though there may be competitive advantages for the U.S. in niche mar-

kets like sashimi-grade fish. On the one hand, U.S.-based production would benefit from proximity to a large market, high-quality research institutes, investor interest and a large, productive Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). On the other hand, shoreside infrastructure (e.g., labs, hatcheries, specialized logistics industries, etc.) is almost inexistent, and specialized skillsets would have to be built nearly from scratch. • The United States is competing with countries that have a decadeslong technological head start (Norway); are making large investments in the sector (China); and are operating with lower capital requirements, labor costs, and environmental standards (Southeast Asia and Latin America). • Development of the industry in the U.S. could serve as a driver for further innovation leading to lowered costs, increased sustainability, more jobs (especially in coastal communities), increased local seafood supply, enhanced seafood security, and a reduced seafood trade deficit (currently $15 billion per year). Proceedings from the forum were recently published and made available on-line at https://oceanleadership.org/industry-forum/2018-industry-forum/

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AQUACULTURE WITHOUT FRONTIERS

Aquaculture without Frontiers: Update

or some time, the organisation has been thinking of updating the logo to represent our modern-day values and direction. This new logo design was launched at the Gender in Aquaculture & Fisheries (GAF7) Conference in Bangkok 2018 by Australian Directors Dr Meryl Williams and Dr Janine Pierce and represents: • Our name – we are regularly referred as AwF so that is dominant; however, the longer version is also mentioned in lowercase

Christine Crawford with UTMart in the Mangroves.

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• The circle design highlights that we are a global organisation operating in the Circular Economy (an approach to environmental sustainability characterized by the creation of economic models where no negative environmental impact is generated) • The three (3) circles represent the three organisations that form the group as it stands today (USA, Australia & Latin America) • The colours: gold characterizes our fantastic volunteers’ investment of their time, effort, skills and knowledge in all our projects; and purple

depicts creativity, innovation and peace. It has been amazing how the creation of a new logo has been met – maybe it will be our lucky charm as we move forward helping the poor and hungry engage in aquaculture. Along with the logo several other changes have been implemented amongst which is the appointment of Paul van der Heijden as AwF EU Ambassador. Paul has a wealth of knowledge and strong networks involved in all aspects of aquaculture in EU. He is the founder of MatureDevelopment BV, an organisation that believes that in order to work in a sustainable manner one must be conscious of the global economy. Through his Dutch enterprise he and his team work actively with the development of innovative and sustainable ideas. And with many of the innovations in which they are involved, they also engage in implementation and further commercialisation. Paul’s strong ties to universities such as Wageningen University (NL), Rotterdam University (NL), Bergen University (NO) and University of Algarve (PT) and his major role in the North Atlantic Seafood Forum organisation highlight that he will be an important asset to AwF as we continue to grow.

Along with the logo several other changes have been implemented amongst which is the appointment of Paul van der Heijden as AwF EU Ambassador. Christine Crawford Antonio Garza d’Yta Tamaulipas Govt at media event.

Paul has a belief that we need to engage the young and pass on our knowledge sooner rather than later, and insists on the need to contribute to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

GAF7 Bangkok Dr Janine Pierce (Director AwF Australia) presented at Gender Aquaculture & Fisheries (GAF7) in Bangkok – the title ‘Photovoice: Researching Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries through the Camera Lens’. This was the first opportunity to promote the new Aquaculture with-

Christine Crawford, Derek Cropp in La Pesca.

out Frontiers (AwF) logo and importantly offer the opportunity to hear firsthand about Janine’s work in telling a story through PhotoVoice. Anyone can now download the PhotoVoice Manual that Janine has prepared for AwF at http://www. aquaculturewithoutfrontiers.org/digital-stories/articles/ and we encourage you to do this and start selling your stories about your projects and work. Noting that a picture is worth a thousand words, this is a great way. Janine has been engaged with some ACIAR activities in Vietnam

and the opportunity to avoid language barriers and reams of paperwork by getting the activities in photos has been a great initiative. As tweeted by Kate Bevitt “ #Photovoice: A fast, low-cost, high-impact research method that can create a powerful impact on policymakers & others to influence them for positive change. Janine Pierce from @UniversitySA and @AwFComms speaking @ #GAF7 ”. Dr Meryl Williams, another AwF Australia Director, played a major role in putting this important conference together. For more information on GAF7 see https://www.gafconference.org/program.htm

Creating a long-term sustainable Oyster industry in Tamaulipas, Mexico Under the auspices of the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR) awarded a grant to Aquaculture without Frontiers (Australia) Limited to bring together seafood educators/professionals in Australia and Mexico to strengthen links in business, education, sustainability and applied research creating a long-term sustainable Oyster industry in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Drs Christine Crawford and Derek Cropp, bi-valve mollusc experts » 49

AQUACULTURE WITHOUT FRONTIERS

from University of Tasmania were selected to travel under the grant to Mexico during July/August last year. The aim was to plan for a hatchery and create a model for extension to other suitably located areas in Mexico and more Latin American countries and for additional seafood species. Partners Aquaculture without Frontiers (Australia) Limited and Universidad Tecnológica del Mar de Tamaulipas Bicentenario (UTMarT) which specialises in aquaculture, tourism, and information and communication technology were extremely happy for the work of Christine and Derek and are both grateful to COALAR for the support. Timing is everything and our project has moved into a full-blown application for funding as we gained incredible support as people and organisations could start to visualise the opportunities that this would create in poor, rural Tamaulipas. Our project plans to create a longterm sustainable shellfish industry in Tamaulipas, Mexico with the initial emphasis on the native oyster (American Oyster, Crassostrea virginica). Conducting sustainable aquaculture practices is beneficial to the environment, cost-effective, and is becoming a requirement of many

UTMarT, being the specialist educational centre of the area, is keen to establish a centre of excellence for oysters and other similar shellfish as part of a new plan with the Tamaulipas State Government in creating an ecocoastal area based on long-term, resilient and sustainable activities.

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Derek Cropp and Christine Crawford at UTMarT.

buyers and consumers, both domestic and international. By cultivating the native species of oyster, repopulation in areas where the natural population has been depleted can also occur. As an extension to the Aquaculture Learning Centre, an Aquaculture Park will be developed. A Strategic Plan has been written, in which the State Government will create the necessary conditions for the development of the Aquaculture Park, together with the Federal and Municipal Governments, the University (UTMarT), the State Aquaculture Health and Safety Committee, the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries (CONAPESCA), private investors and the rural sector. We recognise that women play a critical role in family economic stability, and AwF supports gender equality by assisting women to not only manage family finances, but also establish fulfilling livelihood activities. Women have played an important role in the “desconche” or “cleaning” of the shellfish. Our aim is to expand on that, as well as offer opportunities in other aspects of the industry where women have been underrepresented. We will also assist in fostering the development of local leaders and mentoring local professionals.

The Aquaculture Park will ultimately facilitate the development of all additional activities necessary to support the farmers and grow the industry, including research, the certification of grow-out areas, purification (purging systems for taste improvement and verification on food safety), value-added processes, transport and logistics, marketing, supporting co-operatives, and expanding access to microfinance services. The production of a high nutritional value food source will contribute to the reduction of food and nutrition insecurity in the communities in general. With value-added products potential, a wide variety of presentations will be available to meet the local, regional, national, and tourist demand for oysters. UTMarT, being the specialist educational centre of the area, is keen to establish a centre of excellence for oysters and other similar shellfish as part of a new plan with the Tamaulipas State Government in creating an eco-coastal area based on long-term, resilient and sustainable activities. With any luck this will be up and running in 2019.

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AQUACULTURE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL

News from the

Aquaculture Stewardship Council European consumers believe responsible farmed seafood should be supermarket priority

quaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) conducted research in France, Germany and The Netherlands to understand consumer perspectives on seafood and sustainability. In France 88 per cent of consumers agree that it is important that supermarkets provide responsibly sourced farmed seafood, with 80 per cent and 79 per cent of consumers doing so in Germany and The Netherlands respectively. “Our strong relationships with retailers in these countries indicate that many supermarkets have already realised the importance of offering responsibly sourced seafood, and these figures demonstrate the wisdom of this approach,” said Contessa Kellogg-Winters, ASC Communications Director. “It’s clear that consumers value the option of minimizing their social and environmental impacts and we hope that retailers continue to respond to this demand.” Consumers in all three countries also indicated the importance of a number of environmental and social issues when deciding which fish to buy. Over 80 per cent of consumers in every country said that preventing pollution in the area around the farm is an important factor when they’re choosing farmed fish. Good working conditions for staff was also important for those choosing farmed fish (82 per cent in Germany; 80 per cent in France; 78 per cent The Netherlands).

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The majority of consumers across Europe believe that selling

responsibly farmed seafood should be a top priority for supermarkets, according to survey findings published in December.

Products which are certified against ASC standards can display the ASC logo on packaging to indicate to consumers that the fish has been farmed in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible way. The potential benefits of having this logo on packaging was underlined by European consumers – In France and The Netherlands packaging was the main way consumers get information about seafood products (46 per cent and 43 per cent respectively). In Germany packaging was the second most important way that consumers get their information (40 per cent) after television. In a sign of the growing importance of responsibly sourced seafood, consumers are buying more seafood that is certified than just 12 months ago. In Germany and France 12 per cent of shoppers are buying certified seafood more often, with 11 per cent doing so in The Netherlands.

important – and 74 per cent want to see the trace back to source on the packaging • 61 per cent express a preference for fish with a label for sustainability •The ASC logo on packaging gives over half (52 per cent) of consumers more confidence in seafood

Germany: • 57 per cent think a logo for farmed fish on packaging is important when they are choosing fish in a supermarket • 87 per cent believe that regular independent checks of farms are important • 76 per cent say that traceability of the fish back to the producer is important – and 75 per cent want to see the trace back to source on the packaging • 63 per cent believe that eating more farmed seafood is important to save the oceans • 58 per cent express a preference for products with a sustainability label • The proportion of shoppers who More results believe it is important that superFrance: • 56 per cent think a logo for farmed markets sell responsibly farmed fish fish on packaging is important when has increased 11 per cent since 2014 they are choosing fish in a supermar- (69 – 80 per cent) ket • 82 per cent believe that regular in- The Netherlands: dependent checks of farms are im- • 64 per cent say that the traceability portant of the fish back to the producer is • 79 per cent say that the traceability important of the fish back to the producer is • 78 per cent believe that regular independent checks of farms are important • 82 per cent of consumers who recognise the ASC logo have much or Over 80 per cent of consumers very much trust in it • The proportion of shoppers who in every country said that believe it is important that supermarkets sell responsibly farmed fish preventing pollution in the area has increased 10 per cent since 2014 around the farm is an important (69 – 79 per cent) • Over a third (35 per cent) of shopfactor when they’re choosing pers say that the ASC logo makes farmed fish. their choice for fish easier

Survey information France: Online survey carried out by GfK on behalf of ASC. 506 French shoppers aged 18+ who had bought fish in a supermarket responded, and are representative for the French shopper population on gender, age and education level. Survey carried out between February 22 and March 6. Germany: Online survey carried out by GfK on behalf of ASC. 507 German shoppers aged 18+ who had bought fish in a supermarket responded, and are representative for the German shopper population on gender, age and education level. Survey carried out between February 22 and March 6. The Netherlands: Online survey carried out by GfK on behalf of ASC. 501 Dutch shoppers aged 18+ who had bought fish in a supermarket responded, and are representative for the Dutch shopper population on gender, age and education level. Survey carried out between February 22 and March 2.

ASC Staff http://www.asc-aqua.org/

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FISH HEALTH, ETC.

Currents and Amberjacks Hugh Mitchell, MSc, DVM

Note: After some intense political articles over the past few months,

some lighter fare is in order (meant to be read with a French accent as per that famous oceanographic explorer/popularizer.)

Blue Ocean net pen site off of Kona, HI. Mauna Loa in the background.

he skiff rocks in the swells as Tyler pilots it out of the Kona harbor and up the coast towards the pens (Sounds something like: “Zee [sic] skeef rocked in dee swells azz Teeleur peelotted it owt of zee Kona harbor and up zee coast towards zee peens”). The broad-based Mauna Loa volcano looms in the background of the island with her 13,800-foot peak shrouded in clouds. From the sea floor, her height is 30,000 feet taller than Everest and 54 »

she is far younger and more temperamental. My dive buddy, Todd (Dr. Smithenson), a Seattle-based veterinary radiologist by day, but an avid scuba diver during off-hours, goes through a methodical check of his dive gear. This morning, we have an opportunity to dive some Amberjack (Seriola spp.) net pens but will need to take precautions. Tyler, the manager of Blue Ocean, tells us that there is a current today of almost 2 knots. “The

current IS stiff. Let go of the netting and you will end up in Alaska”, he teases. He also informs us that Tiger sharks like to hang around the pens. Todd and I look at each other and shrug. We are up for an adventurous plunge. As we approach the cluster of five submersible net pens, they are in various stages of being submerged or being brought up for feeding and/or repair by a crew in boats and skiffs. We moor down-current at a buoy near one of the pens, while a crew works another one across the cluster. Tyler quickly dons his suit, jumps into the current and takes a rope line from the boat to the pen. His speed and efficiency suggest that he has done this sort of thing a few times before. I put my regulator in my mouth, take a couple of breaths to make sure it’s on, and then jump into the water grabbing the guide rope so I don’t get transported from the Big Island to Kodiak. There certainly was no temperature shock. My gauge tells me that the water is a balmy 78ºF. Tyler wasn’t exaggerating the current. Turning my head sideways to the current for a look-around, I feel the tug on my mask. Todd is in next and follows me as we go hand over hand on the line towards the pen. We get there and grab onto the mesh netting, with our legs fluttering down current like a couple of neoprene flags. Our air bubbles exhaust horizontal instead of up. The market-size fish come up to the mesh and curiously pick at our knuckles. I peer past the mesh and the nearby fish into the pen and can see right across the central spar and support ring. Despite the current, water visibility is excellent at well over 100 feet. There are only about 30,000 fish left in this pen, from the stocking standard of 90,000. The majority have already been harvested. Thoughts go to the environmental concerns of the potential waste from the fish and its

This morning, we have an opportunity to dive some Amberjack (Seriola spp.) net pens but will need to take precautions. Tyler, the manager impact on the surrounding pristine waters but I know it wouldn’t even register as a blip on the nitrogen budget – the limiting nutrient in saltwater ecosystems. Studies in over-crowded low-flow fjords of net pens in Norwegian waters have shown that, even there, the net pen contribution to the nutrient needs of primary productivity is negligible. This is similar with net pens in the temperate oceans of Maine and Washington State. It is even more pronounced in the sub-

Approaching the cage and its 30 m outside support ring.

Gazing into the pen with its central spar.

tropics of Hawaii. Immersed in this nutrient-starved ecosystem, I am triggered to ponder my marine biology university days. Sub- and tropical oceans were considered “deserts.” That is why the water is so clear. Little nutrient input from run-off and permanent thermoclines trap what few nutrients there are in the depths. Any excess nitrogen is lapped up “instantaneously” by the sparse and hungry algae. No environmental impact whatsoever.

of Blue Ocean, tells us that there is a current today of almost 2 knots.

Amberjacks are members of the jack family. This particular species: Seriola rivoliana, or Alamaco or Longfin amberjack is in the same family as Amberjack and Yellowtail - very “tuna-like” flesh. As is the habit of a veterinarian, I put my mask against the mesh and scan for any skin parasites, or signs of infection or malformations. Bacteria, viruses and parasites are a natural part of the ecosystem and wild fish populations are constant carriers. In a past AquaMed course out of a marine lab on the Lousiana salt marsh, we used to take students fishing amongst the oil rigs in the Gulf. Bringing their catch back to the lab for analysis always was a great teaching tool, and the plethora of parasites in healthy fish was always astounding. Pathogen-free cultured hatchery fish will always “canary” what are carried by wild fish populations. Yellowtail are notably susceptible to a flatworm skin parasite, which is susceptible to a hydrogen peroxide bath – an extremely eco-friendly product that breaks down to water and oxygen (no residue). The fish are gorgeous in their shape, color and fin condition. All look healthy, happy (and tasty). Prior to the dive, we had an excellent overview of the near shore landbased broodstock holding and fry production operation. Kona-based Blue Ocean Mariculture is a familyowned “egg to fork” fish culture op» 55

FISH HEALTH, ETC.

Curious Seriola.

eration. It was founded in 2010 and at the time of publication it employs a staff of 30 and produces 600 metric tons annually. Currently, they are the only mariculture operation in open ocean waters in the U.S. Their product is called: “kanpachi”, a Japanese sushi term derived from a stage in the fish’s life. Blue Oceans produces “Kona Kanpachi” for delivery to high-end Japanese and fine dining restaurants in Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. It is a premium, sashimigrade fish with a light pink, translucent appearance, clean taste and crisp texture. High profile chefs appreciate it for its taste, versatility, sustainability and traceability. It is typically served as sashimi, nigiri sushi or crudo, as well as in several cooked recipes.

Amberjacks are members of the jack family. This particular species: Seriola rivoliana, or Alamaco or Longfin amberjack is in the same family as Amberjack and Yellowtail - very “tuna-like” flesh.

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Tyler greets us and signals for us to move around to the other side of the pen. We are downstream and so I wonder what it will be like to experience the opposite side where the water will be pushing instead of pulling. Hand-over-hand, with the relentless current trying to tear us off, we circumnavigate the structure. The fish seem to follow our fingers. Occasionally I gaze out into the blue hoping (?) to catch a glimpse of a tiger shark. The current seems too much even for them today. The pens are an ingenious design made of a central 30-meter hollow steel spar and a centrally suspended ring that is 30-meters in diameter. The netting is suspended from the frame to give the appearance of one multi-sided cone joined at the base to an inverted second one. This gives a total volume of water for the fish of 8000 cubic meters. Attaching a compressor to the central pole allows the cages to be submerged for storm protection and then brought up for feeding and maintenance. On the other side of the pen, the current pushes us up against the mesh. A little more comforting, but still uncomfortable as there is no relaxation from the constant push and muscles are continually working. Tyler signals that we should complete the circle and move back around to the

Navigating around the net pen in stiff currents.

Amberjack broodstock in on-shore tanks.

Kona-based Blue Ocean Mariculture is a family-owned “egg to fork” fish culture operation. It was founded in 2010 and at the time of publication it employs a staff of 30 and produces 600 metric tons annually. Currently, they are the only mariculture operation in open ocean waters in the U.S.

line from the boat. Todd and I both nod in agreement. I take one last look into the pen and a final survey of the fish happily swimming around the center pole and start the hand crawl back to the boat. An abbreviated but satisfying glimpse into this pioneering Amberjack growing facility. Back in the boat, Todd acknowledges that that was pretty cool. Great to see an American aquaculture success story. On the way back to the dock, we plot on where we are going to have dinner. On the menu will be kona kanpachi chased with one or two Kona microbrews.

Hugh Mitchell, MSc, DVM is an aquaculture veterinarian with more than 25 years of experience, who provides services and fish health tools to fish farmers across the US and Canada. His practice is AquaTactics Fish Health, out of Kirkland, Washington, specializing in bringing a comprehensive professional service/product package to aquaculture, including: vaccine solutions, immune stimulants, sedatives, antimicrobials and parasiticides. website: www.aquatactics.com; contact: hughm@aquatactics.com

» 57

AQUAFEED

Recent news from around the globe by Aquafeed.com

Developments in alternative feeds By Suzi Dominy*

Can algae-based salmon feed reduce sea lice infestations? Researchers

at Nofima and UiT The Arctic University of Norway have been tasked by the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund (FHF) to find out.

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“

We are testing whether sea lice infestations can be reduced if the fish are fed using selected Arctic microalgae, which are produced using residual heat and exhaust gas from a smeltery,” explained Nofima researcher Sten Siikavuopio and research director Ragnhild Dragøy Whitaker. “Based on growth data and observations in the nutrition, it is believed that oxylipins from omega-3 work as deterrents to sea lice and other closely related organisms. Algae are primary producers of omega-3.” In order to carry out the project, large quantities of biomass are produced from microalgae in a 300,000 liter reactor. “When you cultivate microalgae so densely, you need a lot of CO2,” said Professor Hans Christian Eilertsen of UiT. “The smeltery gives off a lot of CO2, NOx gases and residual heat, which we utilize to cultivate the microalgae.” Eilertsen says that the algae population remains completely uncontaminated despite gases being pumped directly into the algae tank from the smeltery located next door. Through controlled processing of algae and analysis of fish that have eaten on one of three feed types, researchers are able to control and test the effects of the microalgae. The three feed types contain algae oil, fish oil and plant oil. “While algae and fish oils are rich in marine omega-3, the plant oil contains fatty acids other than marine oils,” said Birthe Vang, Nofima researcher. “Hence, the feed containing plant oil produces other oxylipins that we don’t believe will provide the same protective effect. The research can thus give us answers as to whether it is the marine omega-3 in itself, or something special about the algae oil, that causes the fish to receive substances that function as a sort of “shield” against the lice.” It is still too early in the project period to conclude whether one feed type or the other works best. However, Eilertsen says that the salmon eat the feed comprised of algae biomass. “The salmon eat it, and it seems as

though they like it very much,” he said. The UiT professor sees significant industry potential in utilizing algae oil in fish feed, alternatively as an additional ingredient. “Considering the high omega-3 content in the algae, and the areas of land that are lost due to the production of for example soy beans, the industry should, in the long term, consider replacing soy with algae.” Elsewhere in Scandinavia, researchers at the University of Borås, Sweden, are developing methods to grow fungi on materials that would otherwise have become waste. The goal of the project Ways2Taste is to produce climate-smart materials, including a new source of protein. The university is home to a unique research environment that addresses two of the world’s major environmental challenges - a lack of resources and a growing amount of waste - using fungi that convert residuals and wastes from companies and households to food, feed and biofuels. “We usually say there is no waste— only resources. But our knowledge is not enough to utilize these resources. Ways2Taste is a new way of dealing with what would otherwise be waste,” said Mohammad Taherzadeh, project leader and Professor in Bioprocess Technology at the University of Borås. Another participant in the project is the Food & Nutrition Science department at Chalmers University of Technology, along with 18 regional companies. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The waste products used in Ways2Taste come from bakeries, ice cream factories, breweries, feed companies and food stores. They are divided into three categories: from relatively pure materials, such as day-old bread from bakeries, to really dirty ones, such as slaughterhouse by-products and fertilizers. The researchers will investigate how, via different processes, fungi can be grown on the waste to produce a fungal biomass. From this, several different end products can be created, including food.

A new player in the alternative protein space is Optimal Aquafeed, a 50/50 joint venture between Green Plains Inc. and Optimal Fish Food LLC. The joint venture brings together Green Plains’ production capabilities, commodity expertise, and back office knowledge with Optimal Fish Food’s intellectual property, industry expertise and customer relationships. Green Plains and Optimal Fish Food believe there is room for nutritional improvements in aquaculture feeds through research and understanding today’s rapidly changing availability of ingredients, especially next generation high-protein feed ingredients that will be produced at Green Plains’ ethanol plants in the future. By incorporating agricultural products along with plant-based proteins, algae,

and other single-cell protein ingredients, Optimal Aquafeed says it will be able to meet the growing needs of aquaculture producers globally. “This new partnership will help change the relationship between ingredient suppliers, feed manufacturers, and fish producers to bring a new approach to transparency, quality, and fish performance within the industry,” said Bill Harris, a Principal of Optimal Fish Food. “The market is moving away from traditional fishmeal diets, and the development of new highprotein products from Green Plains will not only enhance feed conversion in many species of fish, but also allow aquaculture producers to better serve a growing market of consumers looking for products that are not widely available in the market today.” » 59

AQUAFEED

First “insect fed” trout now available in France’s Auchan markets In a landmark moment, trout that has been produced and processed by Truite Service in France and fed Skretting feeds containing insect meal from InnovaFeed has now reached the French consumer. Auchan, a leading French retailer committed to responsible aquaculture, has made the insect-fed trout available in 52 supermarkets in the North and Ile-de-France, with plans to sell throughout France by the end of 2019. The trademark “insect fed” applies to farmed fish which respect two criteria: the fish were fed with a feed for which a minimum 50% of the fish meal has been replaced by insect protein (the feed fed to Auchan’s “insect fed” trout contains 8% insect); and the fish have at a minimum doubled in weight during the phase they have been feed with an insect protein based feed. Auchan is promoting the new “insect fed” trout product line with posters and a distinctive logo to inform customers.

High levels of mycotoxins detected across the U.S. Harvest samples from across the U.S. that have been submitted to the Alltech 37+® mycotoxin analytical services laboratory in 2018 show high levels of mycotoxins, particularly deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone, fusaric acid, fumonisin and HT-2. “Mycotoxins thrive in changeable conditions, with lack of rain, excessive rainfall or, sometimes, one after the other causing a perfect storm of contamination,” said Alexandra Weaver, global technical support with the Alltech® Mycotoxin Management team. “The extreme weather events that we’ve seen this year around the world have led to increased occurrence of mycotoxins in many countries.” Samples collected across the U.S. include corn grain containing multiple mycotoxins, with an average of 7.0 mycotoxins per sample — more than 3.9 mycotoxins more, on average, than what was seen during the same period in 2017. Mycotoxins in U.S. corn silage samples are also

showing an increase in occurrence this year, with an average of 6.8 mycotoxins per sample, compared to the 4.6 on average during the same time period last year. Mycotoxins are seldom found in isolation, and when multiple mycotoxins are consumed, they may have additive, or even synergistic, interactions that increase the overall risk to the animal’s performance and health. As a result, the animal may have a stronger response than what would be expected if it were only experiencing a single mycotoxin challenge. While the type B trichothecenes (DON group) harvests are similar from 2017 to 2018, the occurrence and concentrations of zearalenone have been greater in 2018 corn silage. Type A trichothecenes (T-2/HT-2 toxins group) have also been detected at a greater occurrence in 2018 corn silage, at 43 percent, compared to 21 percent in 2017. Fumonisins also remain a frequent co-contaminant. The annual Alltech 37+® mycotoxin harvest analysis test provides an assessment of contaminants in feed ingredients and potential risks to livestock. Between labs located in Lexington, Kentucky, and Dunboyne, Ireland, the Alltech mycotoxin management program has tested more than 26,000 samples of animal feed, each searching for over 50 mycotoxins.

Suzi Dominy is the founding editor and publisher of aquafeed.com. She brings 25 years of experience in professional feed industry journalism and publishing. Before starting this company, she was co-publisher of the agri-food division of a major UK-based company, and editor of their major international feed magazine for 13 years. editor@aquafeed.com

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Â» 61

TECHNICAL GURU

Friction, Smiction…

Pressure and friction loss, a big waste of money… by Amy Stone*

Over the last year or so we have been focusing on both specific products and inputs to systems. Our hope is to bring out some of the lesser known details on how things work.

n important detail that is often ignored is pipe sizing. In many cases, the end user will choose to use the same size pipe as the inlet or outlet of the pump or blower that they are installing. The thought process is often along the lines of “well if it needed a bigger pipe, wouldn’t the manufacturer make the inlet or outlet bigger?” The answer is generally no. The manufacturer chooses the inlet and outlet sizing based off their most common application for the equipment. Suffice it to say, aquaculture is not the first thing on the list of common applications for most manufacturers. There are exceptions, such as where the equipment is made specifically for our industry. Why does pipe size matter? If the pipe is undersized, the pressure to push the air or water through the pipe is increased. Higher pressure requires more energy, more energy requires more work which equals more power consumption. If the piping is oversized, there can be unnecessary material cost as well as waste accumulation. When designing an aquaculture system, there are several points along the way where decisions must be made in order to avoid causing long term expenses. We’ll break this down by air and water to make it easier. We’ll further breakdown the water component by inlet and outlet, pressure and gravity. They all have factors that need to be understood.

Air The two most common air supply equipment pieces are compressors and regenerative blowers. Compressors supply low volumes of air at high pressures while regenerative blowers supply high volumes of air at low pressures. All air equipment should have at least a particulate filter on the inlet side to avoid contamination of your system. If the 62 »

intake will be located remotely, as is sometimes done for algae culture and other temperature sensitive applications, the vacuum calculations will need to be used to avoid starving the equipment.

Compressors On compressor systems, it is important to avoid oversizing delivery lines as this can overwork the compressor which can lead to premature failure. Compressor lines, if possible, should not be made of PVC pipe since it can explode under too much pressure and many compressors can exceed the ratings on PVC. It’s best to use copper, galvanized pipe or even heavy walled vinyl tubing. If PVC must be used, it can be used only if the maximum pressure of the compressor doesn’t exceed the rating on the pipe. For instance, rotary vane compressors that we see in the industry max out at 15-20 psi which is well below the pipe rating. Compressors need some back pressure to operate correctly. Regenerative Blowers These are the most common air delivery systems in aquaculture. Blowers are often built with an undersized outlet since in most industrial applications, the blower is attached directly to the equipment where it is required. Unless the overall pipe run is really short, the pipe will need to be upsized. One of my favorite, and easily understood, demonstrations that Bob Heideman used back in the day was to compare blowing through a coffee stirrer and a drink straw. It is much easier to blow through the drink straw because there is less friction. Although high-pressure regenerative blowers can operate at up to 5-6 psi, regenerative blowers generally need to operate with the least amount of backpressure possible, say ½ psi to 2.5 psi. Another thing to keep in mind is that undersized delivery pipes can

Table 1 Equivalent Lengths for PVC Fittings. Flanged Fittings

Elbows Tees Return Bends

Valves

Regular 90 deg Long radius 90 deg Regular 45 deg Line flow Branch flow Regular 180 deg Globe Gate Angle Swing Check

1/4 2.3 1.5 0.3 0.8 2.4 2.3 21.0 0.3 12.8 7.2

Strainer

Screwed Fittings

1/2 0.9 Regular 90 deg Elbows Long radius 90 deg 1.1 0.5 Regular 45 deg Tees 0.7 Line flow 2.0 Branch flow Return Bends Regular 180 deg 0.9 Long radius 180 deg 1.1 38.0 Globe Valves Gate 15.0 Angle

3/8 3.1 2.0 0.5 1.2 3.5 3.1 22.0 0.5 15.0 7.3 4.6

1/2 3.6 2.2 0.7 1.7 4.2 3.6 22.0 0.6 15.0 8.0 5.0

3/4 4.4 2.3 0.9 2.4 5.3 4.4 24.0 0.7 15.0 8.8 6.6

Pipe Size 1 1 1/4 5.2 6.6 2.7 3.2 1.3 1.7 3.2 4.6 6.6 8.7 5.2 6.6 29.0 37.0 0.8 1.1 17.0 18.0 11.0 13.0 7.7 18.0

1 1/2 7.4 3.4 2.1 5.6 9.9 7.4 42.0 1.2 18.2 15.0 20.0

2 8.5 3.6 2.7 7.7 12.0 8.5 54.0 1.5 18.0 19.0 27.0

2 1/2 9.3 3.6 3.2 9.3 13.0 9.3 62.0 1.7 18.0 22.0 29.0

3 11.0 4.0 4.0 12.0 17.0 11.0 79.0 1.9 18.0 27.0 34.0

4 13.0 4.6 5.5 17.0 21.0 13.0 110.0 2.5 18.0 38.0 42.0

Pipe Size 3/4 1.2 1.3 0.6 0.8 2.6 1.2 1.3 40.0

1 1.6 1.6 0.8 1.0 3.3 1.6 1.6 45.0

1 1/4 2.1 2.0 1.1 1.3 4.4 2.1 2.0 54.0

1 1/2 2.4 2.3 1.3 1.5 5.2 2.4 2.3 59.0

2 3.1 2.7 1.7 1.8 6.6 3.1 2.7 70.0 2.6 15.0 17.0 18.0 18.0 21.0

2 1/2 3.6 2.9 2.0 1.9 7.5 3.6 2.9 77.0 2.7 22.0

3 4.4 3.4 2.6 2.2 9.4 4.4 3.4 94.0 2.8 28.0

4 5.9 4.2 3.5 2.8 12.0 5.9 4.2 120.0 2.9 38.0

5 7.3 5 4.5 3.3 15 7.3 5 150 3.1 50

6 8.9 5.7 5.6 3.8 18 8.9 5.7 190 3.2 63

8 12 7 7.7 4.7 24 12 7 260 3.2 90

10 14 8 9 5.2 30 14 8 310 3.2 120

overheat. The PVC will begin to break down, causing pipe and fittings to warp and separate. Bearing failure in the blower motor can also result.

Water When sizing water piping systems, it is necessary to take into consideration the velocity of the water. This is true on both the intake side of the pump and the outlet. An oversized inlet pipe can cause the pump to cavitate during priming and makes it easier to lose prime. An undersized inlet pipe can starve the pump and cause the pump to create a vacuum and cavitate, which can lead to premature failure. On the outlet side of the pump, an undersized piping system can lead to excessive pressure and velocities. Remember, that adds to the operating budget without any payback. Veloci-

Why does pipe size matter?

If the pipe is undersized, the pressure to push the air or water through the pipe is increased.

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TECHNICAL GURU

ties over 8 feet per second over long periods of time can cause wear on equipment internals, plumbing parts, gaskets and valves. All of this puts undue stress on the system which is hard to see until there is a catastrophic failure. The only real major danger in oversizing the pressure side of the plumbing is wasting capital investment on the actual supplies needed to complete the project. This occurrence is very rare since most companies are working with tight budgets and try to use the smallest pipe diameter possible.

Calculations We’ve covered some of the dangers of incorrect pipe sizing, now it is time to review pipe friction loss calculations. There are two common equations used to calculate friction loss. They are the Darcy-Weisbach Pressure and Major Head Loss Equation, and the Hazen-Williams Equation. Both require coefficients and some relatively intricate calculations. Another option is to use charts and graphs to estimate the friction loss. Of course, the most accurate option is to hire an engineer to do the calculations, which is not always possible. In order to calculate friction loss for either water or air, a general schematic needs to be sketched. This will help determine the possible layout of the piping and allow

All air equipment should have at least a particulate filter on the inlet side to avoid contamination of your system.

64 »

Figure 1 Water Flow – Pressure Loss Chart.

the total number of fittings and linear pipe runs. This can be as simple as a napkin sketch or as detailed as construction level engineered drawings. It’s important to note that when building large systems, it is always worth the money to pay a good, experienced “in our application” engineer. Eye-balling 1000 gpm pipe runs is not recommended at all. Once the list of the total number of fittings and total linear pipe runs is compiled, the calculations begin. To start, the total number of fittings needs to be converted into linear pipe. The chart in Table 1 shows the equivalent lengths for some of the typical fittings up to 4” PVC. Keep in mind there are several versions of this type of chart available for all types of pipe and fittings. Most manufacturers also have them available as well.

Now that we have the total equivalent length of pipe and the total linear feet of straight pipe we can use the sum of those two to determine the friction loss in different size pipes using Figure 1. As you can see these calculations are a little cumbersome but well worth your time to do them. Saving on electricity, operating expenses, capital expenses and keeping your pump and equipment safe is always worth a little homework.

Gravity Drains One last thing to mention is the pipe sizing for gravity drains, basically the piping between the tank and any collection basins or sumps. In this application, the pipe size must be determined using two factors. One is minimizing friction loss (which adds to the overall freeboard that is required in the culture tank) and ex-

Table 2 Pressure and Flow in Various Pipe Sizes. Pressure PSI 20 30 40 50 60 75 100 125 150 200

Flow in GPM through pipe, Internal Diameter in inches 1” 26 32 38 43 47 53 62 70 77 90

1.25” 47 58 68 77 85 95 112 126 139 162

1.5” 76 94 110 124 137 153 180 203 224 262

2” 161 200 234 264 291 329 384 433 478 558

2.5” 290 360 421 475 524 591 690 779 859 1004

3” 468 582 680 767 846 955 1115 1258 1388 1621

4” 997 1240 1449 1635 1804 2035 2377 2681 2958 3455

ceeding the settling velocity of the waste stream. This is different for each species and must be accounted for or there will be waste build up in the drain piping that can cause all sorts of trouble. The last thing we want to have is waste breaking down in the system and adding the potential for pathogen production. Table 2 is a good way to see how much pressure is needed to overcome an undersized piping system. For example, one can move 76 gpm through 1.5 inch pipe with 20 PSI, but to move the same amount through 1.25 inch pipe, 50 PSI is required. Excessive pressures are an energy sink that only reduces the profitability of the system. At the end of the day, balancing economical solutions and efficiency is the crux of most facilities’ problems. High pressure plastic pumps are inexpensive and common but they tend to be shoe-horned into the application to save on capital costs. Meanwhile, operating costs will continue to rob the system of profit. Finding the balance is key.

Amy Riedel Stone is President and Owner at Aquatic Equipment and Design, Inc. She was formerly a Manager at Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems, and she studied Agriculture at Purdue University. She can be reached at amy@aquaticed.com

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AQUAPONICS

Solving for Value:

Challenging problems in Aquaponics “Solving problems for value” is a clear way to incentivize the innovation process that not only provides working solutions but better, By: George B. Brooks, Jr. Ph.D.

more innovative and profitable farms when the process is complete.

n almost universal question in aquaponics classes is “what can go wrong?” The answer is not reassuring: “a lot.” It is well known that Aquaponics is not simple. Inasmuch as in aquaponics one must manage an artificial ecosystem that provides for the biological and physical needs of fish, plants and microorganisms in a way that cost effectively creates a crop useful for man at the end, some would consider aquaponics darn right complex. Regrettably, this sometimes-unnecessary complexity often creates antagonistic and overlapping problems. To help provide some clarity, Roger Loper (2018) of Trueaquaponics. com provides a very good list covering a few of the common challenges: 1. Too small or large of a fish tank. 2. Too small of a system. 3. Not enough plant growing area. 4. Wrong fish for the location. 5. Wrong ratio between fish tank and grow bed sizes. 6. Wrong grow bed media. 7. Not enough BSA (Biological Surface Area) for the conversion of ammonia and nitrite to nitrate 8. Solids handling or removal. 9. System Layout. 10. Poor water circulation. 11. Too fast of a flood time or too short of a drain time. Part of water circulation. 12. Not adding plants soon enough. 13. Not understanding the importance of pH and other water levels.

66 »

14. Lack of understanding of nutrient and mineral needs for plants. 15. Too small of a water pump. 16. Too small of an air pump or no air pump. 17. Not enough air stones, depending on the system type. 18. Poor knowledge of pest control. 19. Metals such as copper, aluminum and brass in the system water. 20. Concrete blocks or other lime-containing materials in the system water. At the heart of any aquaponics operation is a RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture System) tied to some type of wetland filtration (hydroponic) method that uses plants to polish off nitrates and other nutrients that build

up. This being so, when you look at the problems of aquaponics such as seen above, many of them have been inherited directly from RAS’s. According to Badiola et al 2012, the problems of RAS systems can be divided into three primary categories (Figure 1): Design, Components & Mechanics and Fish (aquatic animal) Husbandry.

Design: RAS systems are challenged by bad design, poor communication between company and designer, wrong approaches to the overall system, overly complex equipment, poor understanding of the integration of the physi-

Figure 1. From Badiola,et al 2012. Mind map representing factors and interactions, from the RAS designing stage through the product quality, affecting both the production success and the economic profitability of the selected business concept.

cal, chemical and biological elements, poorly trained operators, financial issues and other factors are involved here.

ditional challenges of Plant Husbandry including: Integrated Pest Management, monitoring nutrient deficiencies and supplementation, pH, many different methods to produce plants, differing needs of plants in polyculture vs. monoculture, poor solids removal, the effects of fish handling techniques and water quality, management of food safety criteria, sales and marketing, integrating facility economics and much more. These lists are, naturally, incomplete but they paint a very good picture.

Components & Mechanics: Poorly designed back up systems, poorly designed and maintained biofilters resulting in bacterial growth inhibition, insufficient biofiltration and poor water quality, high energy consumption, poor water circulation, poor water parameter control (pH, temperature etc.), toxic gas buildup (CO2 etc.), toxic compound buildup (NH3, NO2, NO3 etc.), Oxygen management, poor waste removal and/or solids capture, insufficient operational Solving problems for Value safety (Garcia, 2018) and other factors So we have identified that aquaponics fall into this category. has a lot of problems that are holdovers from hydroponics and RAS Fish (Aquatic Animal) Husbandry: aquaculture and they have created a Managing the effect of the production complex web of interactions that apenvironment on animal husbandry parently do not yield robust solutions such as grading and feeding, type of easily (Figure 1). So what to do? Looking through the lens of “Sysfeed, amount of feed, timing of feeding, poor training leading to poor tem Thinking” allows one to see how management, managing to reduce fish to solve a problem to create value. Acstress, disease prevention, FCR (Food cording to Hempen 2017, we spend Conversion Ratio), incorrect growth most of our time thinking about and assumptions, frequent waste collec- responding to acute conditions, events, tion, poor food safety management, and failures. For example, “how do I sales & marketing schedules and simi- capture solids better?” However different questions can lead you to differlar factors are included here. Finally, aquaponics imposes the ad- ent results. Perhaps, “How can better

solids recovery help to create greater value for my company?” To answer a question like this not only must the immediate “acute” issue be reviewed but also the entire intricate web within the company’s value chain. This overarching viewpoint may allow more cost effective solutions to be found for the acute problems. Couros 2018 called this “Innovating inside the box.” This method of “solving problems for value” can be critical for low margin businesses, as most forms of agriculture tend to be, including aquaponics. Brooks, 2018 wrote, “Even the greatest disruptive innovation can fail if it does not improve over time. Reducing costs and increasing efficiency are driving forces for innovation and improvement in most industries. I can see no reason why that would not be true as well for aquaponics.” “Solving problems for value” is a clear way to incentivize the innovation process that not only provides working solutions but better, more innovative and profitable farms when the process is complete. Recommended Reading - Badiola, M. Mendiola, D., Bostock J. 2012. Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) analysis: Main issues on management and future challenges. Aquacultural Engineering 51 (2012) 26 – 35. - Brooks, G. B. 2018. The Backyard Aquaponics Revolution. Aquaculture Magazine. Vol. 44. No. 5. pp 60-62. - Garcia, A. 2018. Instilling a Culture of Safety in Aquaculture. Aquaculture Magazine. Vol. 44. No. 5. pp 26-33. - Couros G. 2018 Leveraging Problems to Create Opportunities. https://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/8215 accessed 1/19/2019 - Hempen E. 2017 How to Use Systems Thinking to Solve Tough Problems and Get Stuff Done https:// www.govloop.com/community/blog/use-systemsthinking-solve-tough-problems-get-stuff-done/ . Accessed 1/20/2019. - Loper R. (2018) Top Mistakes Made In Aquaponics Systems. Trueaquaponics.com Accessed 1/15/2018.

*Dr. George Brooks, Jr. holds a Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from the University of Arizona in Tucson and served as that institution’s first Aquaculture Extension Specialist. He is currently Principle at the NxT Horizon Consulting group and also teaches Aquaponics at Mesa Community College. He may be reached at george@nxthorizon.com

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THE FISHMONGER

Trust in the food System The food safety events just prior to Thanksgiving, regarded as the ‘ultimate foodie holiday’, would be rocking many in the US food industry. Consumers would be right to ask strong questions about what is going wrong?

et us be thankful that seafood was not part of the Thanksgiving food recall processes, but this is not a time for the seafood industry to rest on its laurels. Supermarkets/grocery stores go into overdrive in these situations as they are the front line for consumer complaints and no one wants to have e-coli or salmonella on their plate or on their conscious. Recalling is also a time-consuming, expensive and worrying time – no amount of practicing can get you ready for when it hits your organisation. Who would have thought that romaine lettuce would be the main culprit? An E. Coli outbreak hospitalized a dozen people on the Tuesday prior

Romaine-lettuce.

68 »

to the big day and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning for all romaine lettuce. No messing around in trying to isolate a supplier or area – they decided it had such a potential to harm that they chose to involve all romaine lettuce. The Fishmonger often wonders how much the public know about their food – for example would the person in the street be able to tell a romaine lettuce from a butterhead or a crisphead lettuce? Fellow seafood industry people think deeply about this because if the public cannot differentiate your product then you are going to be engulfed when similar issues happen.

Turkey is the star of the plate at Thanksgiving time (is it time to push seafood more?) so the last food scare the public want to hear about is that one company recalled more than 45 tons of raw ground turkey products due to a possible salmonella contamination reading just a few weeks prior to the big day. Fishmonger wonders, if the public had to answer a question about cooking times for safe turkey consumption before they purchased would sales be non-existent? For good practice, the recommendation is making sure to cook whole birds to 165°F (73.9°C). The time required will depend on the size of the bird but be safe and make sure you do it right. Its good practice to use a food thermometer. The turkey must reach at least 165 F (73.9 C). Check both the thickest part of the breast and the innermost part of the thigh. (The recommended breast temperature is 165 F (73.9 C), and the recommended thigh temperature is 180 F (82.2 C).) If there is stuffing, check the centre of the stuffing. It must register at least 165 F (73.9 C). Our ‘friends’ in the beef industry also recalled 6.5 million pounds of ground beef. Wow, that’s a lot of

hamburgers, so those that are antiturkey were informed not to cook meatballs in protest this year. Many hundreds of people were affected by this multi-state outbreak. The recalled beef was all relatively new (produced between July 26, 2018, to September 7, 2018) so people were asked to check the old beef laying around in their freezer and to call their supplier and ask if it was recalled. Then just when you thought it was safe to enter the kitchen, we people who rely on cake mixes for their sweet toothed audiences learned that one company had a major recall of several flavours of cake mix; classic white, classic yellow, butter golden and confetti. The US FDA, amongst others, were investigating due to a positive showing of salmonella. Is it any wonder that the CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, M.D., made this statement the week after Thanksgiving? “The latest CDC data show that the U.S. life expectancy has declined over the past few years. Tragically, this troubling trend is largely driven by deaths from drug overdose and suicide. Life expectancy gives us a snapshot of the Nation’s overall health and these sober-

ing statistics are a wakeup call that we are losing too many Americans, too early and too often, to conditions that are preventable. CDC is committed to putting science into action to protect U.S. health, but we must all work together to reverse this trend and help ensure that all Americans live longer and healthier lives.” The Fishmonger will frame another article around this important matter as clearly it is not just about the issues over Thanksgiving but a long-term problem in which seafood can play a big role. So, what are the messages that this brings to my seafood colleagues because ‘there but for the grace of God’ is a relevant statement as our industry is not immune from finding ourselves involved in such issues – 1. do we know where our food safety plan is? Facetious Fishmonger has worked for a long time in the industry…….. 2. is our food safety plan up to date? 3. is my company checking and working against my food safety plan consistently? 4. are all our staff fully trained in the food safety plan, understanding the risks and consequences? 5. have we conducted a risk analysis

Ground-turkey.

on all our products and processes? 6. have we conducted a practice food safety recall? 7. do we have a fish name protocol in place? Note - Australians have the Australian Fish Name Standard AS 5300 (but this seems to be a one off and leaves a mighty gap in any recall) – on Facebook recently The Fishmonger noted that one person was raving about their meal of Ocean Farmed Alaskan Salmon

Who would have thought that romaine lettuce would be the main culprit? An E. Coli outbreak hospitalized a dozen people on the Tuesday prior to the big day and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning for all romaine lettuce. Blockchain Trade is Trust.

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THE FISHMONGER

The Fishmonger often wonders how much the public know about their food – for example would the person in the street be able to tell a romaine lettuce from a butterhead or a crisphead lettuce?

Seafood, but where is it from?

Farmed Sea Bass.

70 »

(Alaskans are now looking to build their own wall based on this)… 8. has our company got a plan to differentiate our products to ensure they are not locked into recalls that do not need to, and can be proved not to, involve them? 9. has our company started to investigate how they will get involved in locking in our traceability system to blockchain technology, which will soon be the ‘trade of trust’? You can see the latest on the romaine lettuce outbreak at https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/ o157h7-11-18/index.html but here are a few interesting points to ponder. Based on new information, CDC narrowed its warning to consumers. “CDC is advising that U.S. consumers not eat, and retailers and restaurants not serve or sell any romaine lettuce harvested from the Central Coastal growing regions of northern and central California. If you do not know where the romaine is from, do not eat it. Romaine lettuce products will be labelled with a harvest location by region. It may take some time before these labels

are available. If the romaine lettuce is not labelled with a harvest growing region, do not buy, serve, sell, or eat it. Check bags or boxes of romaine lettuce for a label indicating where the lettuce was harvested. If you do not know where your romaine lettuce was harvested, do not eat it and throw it away. If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine or whether a salad mix contains romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.” The advice also clearly stated that “hydroponically or greenhousegrown romaine lettuce has not been linked to this outbreak” and yet how many producers of such products have lost seriously over this? Think deeply about this just as consumers are thinking about ‘who can I trust in the food business?’ And happy fishmongering.

The Fishmonger

Â» 71

THE LONG VIEW

Revisiting Credible Certification and the Prospects

for Supply Chain Oversight into the Future By Aaron McNevin, PhD

The use of certification as an attempt to improve social, environmental or hygienic outcomes is commonplace in international markets.

n aquaculture, the basic premise is that someone that doesn’t have conflicting interests in a specific farm or farming activity utilizes a set of standards to determine compliance to a certification scheme. However, the first shrimp farm certification that I saw hanging on a wall at a shrimp farm was from the Aquaculture Certification Council, and this certificate was signed by another shrimp farmer – which doesn’t really bode well on the integrity front. It is for this reason that more credible certifications were set up with firewalls, but some of these walls are deteriorating and these days and it is important to revisit why there is a need for these firewalls in certification programs. 72 »

Standard setting Setting environmental or social standards requires multi-stakeholder engagement - meaning that different interest groups should be consulted in the development of the standards. Of course, not all interest groups have the capacity to engage in technical aspects that are beyond their knowledge. Nevertheless, they still have interests and for a certification to be credible, those with the strongest or greatest stake in the impacts of a certain type of farm should not simply be engaged. Engaged is not consulted with. Engaged involves understanding the views, and the perception and reality of impacts. It is about attempting to address the real

concerns of these stakeholders by developing standards that minimize the impacts identified.

Standard holding (scheme owners) A standard holding body is typically the organization that manages the certification itself. This would be the operations side of issuing certificates, quality control data, if there is a label - how it is licensed, etc. These holding bodies also promote the certification. Auditors (certification bodies) Auditors will work independently as consultants, but more so (currently) as part of a company that conducts audits. These are often referred to as cer-

Animal welfare considerations are increasingly emphasized in many certification programs.

tification bodies. Auditors are specifically trained in how a farm complies with the intent of the standards that are set by an independent standardsetting body. Auditors are the persons that visit farms and inspect for conformity/non-conformity to a standard held by a standards holding body.

Auditor accreditation (certification body accreditation) Audit or certification body accreditation is important because external evaluation of the effectiveness of auditors provides greater integrity and places a firewall between auditing and standard holding. Accreditation companies can also provide assistance or training to facilitate more effective

auditing. They are also intended to be a watchdog of auditors so conflicts of interest, bribery, etc. are addressed in a systematic manner.

Firewalls Firewalls are mechanisms within the structure of a certification scheme to impart trust and promote integrity of a certification scheme. These firewalls are put up to prevent conflicts of interest among the various components described above. For example, a firewall is instituted between standardssetting and standards holding entities (typically, the scheme owners). The structure of the standard may be designed by the standard holder, but the content of the standard is restricted

In aquaculture, the basic premise is that someone that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have conflicting interests in a specific farm or farming activity utilizes a set of standards to determine compliance to a certification scheme.

Âť 73

THE LONG VIEW

The intent of trade associations is to promote the interests of the associations’ membership. Conversely, certifications that are independent of industry interests are not always as credible as we would like to think.

Sampling shrimp at a farm in Thailand

from their reach. The reason for this is simply because the scheme owners make more money with the more certificates they issue, and if they are intimately involved in setting standards, the standards themselves could be compromised or weakened in order to issue more certificates. The same is true for auditors. Auditors should not be engaged in the setting of the standards because they too benefit from weaker standards and more audits taking place. Accreditation bodies are the main firewall between auditors and the standard holder or scheme owner.

Tilapia at a farm in Honduras.

74 »

The above is an abbreviated version of how credible certification should work... However, many schemes are not set up in this manner and the most prevalent of schemes are often owned and operated by industry trade associations whether for aquaculture, fisheries or other types of food production. There is a reason why certifications owned by trade associations are more common – they are typically easier. The intent of trade associations is to promote the interests of the associations’ membership. Conversely, certifications that are inde-

pendent of industry interests are not always as credible as we would like to think. Although their structures may convey greater integrity, there often are specific actions taken to foster greater certificates being issued. A more recent phenomenon is the development of benchmarking schemes that, on the surface, seek to provide some type of categorization or minimal component of “appropriate” certification scheme operations, or in some cases identifying specific standard content, that must be included. It should be noted that benchmarking schemes can reduce

stakeholder engagement in setting standards because the content of the standard is pre-determined, and this can erode the credibility of certification schemes. Additionally, very few benchmarking efforts are focused on determining efficacy of implementation of a standard at the level where the impacts take place. A more appropriate role for these programs is to ensure that processes are in place that make a scheme credible, such as requiring the components mentioned above and the corresponding firewalls. A more recent occurrence in aquaculture has been the rampant promotion of various certifications by certification bodies signaling a need for 100% inspection of components of a supply chain. While in a perfect world, this would seem to be a logical path for assurance, but in the U.S. market where buyers are very large and have incredible volume demands,

this is simply impractical. And the more these certification bodies and certification schemes try to increase their business, the greater the advances in methodologies for sampling for compliance, rather than complete audit coverage, come to the forefront. The number of farms, the dependency on small and medium enterprises for raw material and the volume of purchases by large buyers make supply-wide commitments within these schemes challenging. Further, aquaculture products have gone the route of commodities and there is little profit margin left to pay for costs of certification and audits. It is likely that there will be new and more cost-efficient mechanisms that demonstrate supply chain oversight to reach a greater share of production. Emerging markets and the competition for raw material will undoubtedly require a rethink on how these mechanisms are utilized. The certi-

fication schemes that cannot convey a true impact or a value proposition to the supply chain will end up struggling to stay afloat. This struggle will change the dynamics of certification and cause a race to the bottom, only resulting in certifications being used as scapegoats. More so than change agents.

Dr. Aaron McNevin directs the aquaculture program at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). He received his MS and PhD from Auburn University in Water and Aquatic Soil Chemistry. Aaron has lived and worked in Indonesia, Thailand and Madagascar and currently manages various projects throughout the developing world. He previously worked as a professor of fisheries science, and is the co-author of the book Aquaculture, Resource Use, and the Environment.

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URNER BARRY

Salmon

UPDATES FROM URNER BARRY By: Paul B. Brown Jr.*

ctober 2018 salmon imports were 10.49 percent higher on a year-to-date basis. On a month-to-month basis total imports were up 9.88 percent compared to the previous month. December was mainly steady to full steady and the overall salmon index rose. Demand during December was reported to be more flat and less active than anticipated leading up to the holidays. The European whole market saw a significant rise, but not until the very end of the month. The Chilean fillet market experienced many shipment delays before the holidays and fresh fillets adjusted higher, but again not until the end of the month.

Imports of Fresh Whole Fish Atlantic Salmon YTD October imports were up again, reflecting a 4.9 percent increase from 2017. Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market share was down from a 72 percent market share in 2016 while Norway was up 30.6 percent. The Faroe Islands and the U.K. were down 21.2 and 7.5 percent. Overall monthly imports for October 2018 were up 6.7 percent compared to September 2018. Individually, Canada saw an 8.9 percent monthly decrease while Norway saw a 18.9 percent increase. 76 Âť

As of October a total of 229 million pounds had been imported in 2018, the highest recorded YTD level over a 10-year span.

Imports of Fresh Atlantic Fillets Imports in October 2018 were 12.4 percent higher than the previous month, while total YTD imports were 16.3 percent higher. Chile, the main driver in this category, saw a 14.6 percent increase in month-tomonth numbers and YTD imports were up 22.6 percent. For Chile, in comparison to the same time the previous year, October 2018 was 14.3 percent higher. Fresh fillet imports out of Norway saw an 8.2 percent increase in month-to-month imports; while YTD imports were experiencing a 0.3 percent decrease. Imports out of Canada were up 5.9 percent YTD and month-to-month imports were also up 3.3 percent. Pricing, Fresh Atlantic Fillets Salmon A slight decrease towards the end of November was seemingly the only change for an extremely flat fresh Chilean fillet market. December was also flat but saw an increase at the very end of the month. The volumes of fresh fillets were at alltime highs; the highest levels seen in

10 years. Fresh fillets out of Chile, Europe, and Canada were 16.26 percent higher than 2017. Current pricing had a steady to full steady undertone at the end of December.

Frozen Atlantic Salmon Fillets & Portions, Imports and Price Imports of frozen Atlantic fillets increased 16.7 percent compared to the previous month. In a similar fashion, on a YTD basis imports were 8.4 percent higher. Imports from Chile increased 5.9 percent from the previous month and re-

was the same from the previous month. The current overall ratio remained lower compared to where it was back in 2015 and the beginning of 2016. UB quotations were riding below the retail ad prices and were steadily moving lower while retail ad prices jumped from two months prior about $0.40. However, retail levels ticked down $0.13 in December.

InfoTrade, Chilean Exports of Salmonids and Atlantic Salmon to the U.S. (in MT) According to Chilean data, exports of Chilean salmon to the world increased by 24.2 percent through October 2018 compared to the same period the prior year. Shipments of fresh Atlantic fillets to the U.S. were 23.6 percent higher on a YTD basis. Wild Salmon The 2018 fresh wild salmon season concluded with an overall harvest of approximately 114.5 million fish; in terms of pounds the harvest in 2018 was 605.1 million pounds. These are still preliminary numbers and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll update the final figures when they are available for 2018. â&#x20AC;&#x192;

mained 7.2 percent higher on a YTD basis. Imports from Norway increased 45.5 percent compared to the previous month and were seeing a 24.5 percent increase on a YTD basis.

somewhat strong. With the fresh fillet market so stable and pricing at levels above the three-year average, market participants reported more of a desire to see the fish go fresh rather than into the frozen market.

Frozen Fillet Salmon (Other than Atlantic) Imports, All Frozen Fillet & Portion Pricing The frozen fillet market out of Chile was stable. While frozen portions were about steady to weak, a few lower offers were noted. Offerings for product yet to be produced remained

Retail Data, Pricing vs. UB Average retail prices in December 2018 were higher than December 2017 in most areas of the U.S.; up $0.22. The ratio of retail ad prices to wholesale prices, was about the same as compared to the previous three months; a ratio of 1.74 which

*President of Urner Barry pbrownjr@urnerbarry.com

Âť 77

URNER BARRY

SHRIMP

UPDATES FROM URNER BARRY U.S. Imports All Types, By Type October shrimp imports were 8.7 percent higher than in October 2017. The ten-month total was 1.245 billion pounds, which was 4.8 percent higher than the Jan-Oct 2017 total. India (+17.2%), Indonesia (+25.7%), Ecuador (+17.0%), Vietnam (+37.5%) and China (+1.6%) all shipped more shrimp to the U.S. in the month of October. However, Thailand (-32.1%) and Mexico (-19.6%) shipped less. Monthly Import Cycles By Country (All Types) India: The U.S. imported 61 million pounds of shrimp from India in October (+17.2%) compared to 52 million in October 2017. The ten-month total stood at 449 million pounds, or 16.5 percent more than the Jan-Oct 2017 total. India continued to be the dominant supplier to the U.S., accounting for roughly 36 percent of all shrimp imported into the country. Shipments of shell-on increased 19 percent and shipments of peeled were 17 percent higher in October.

Indonesia: Shipments from Indonesia rebounded after a September decline. In the month, shipments grew 25.7 percent or 5.7 million pounds, and were 13.6% higher yearto-date. Indonesia continued to be the second largest supplier of shrimp to the U.S. market, accounting for slightly more than 19 percent of all shrimp imported into the country. Ecuador: Shipments from Ecuador to the U.S. remained robust, up 17 percent in October. This monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s increase pushed the year-to-date total to seven percent higher than the previous year. Thailand and Vietnam: Shipments from Vietnam were 37.5 percent higher in October and stood at 2.7% higher year-to-date. Thailand shipped 32 percent less for the month and 36% fewer for the year.

Shell-On Shrimp Imports, Cyclical & by Count Size Headless Shell-On imports, including easy peel, were 2.8% higher in October, and basically even year-to-date.

Of the 10-count size categories listed, only 16-20 and 41-50 counts continued to show significant increases in volume year-over-year; 21-25 and 26-30 count shrimp were about even; the remaining counts were lower. Replacement values (import $/ lb.) for HLSO shrimp increased for the second-straight month, up another 10.1 percent or $0.37 between September and October. However, when compared to the previous year, replacement values were 12.8 percent or $0.59 lower.

Value-Added, Peeled Shrimp Imports Imports of peeled and deveined shrimp increased 11.4% in the month of October, and the category grew by 7.6 percent, or 38.8 million pounds year-to-date. The growth was solely driven by India, who alone increased their volume shipped by 50.4 million pounds or 21.8 percent through October. India (+17%) Indonesia (+17.4%) and Ecuador (+56.7%) all shipped more shrimp in in the month than in October 2017. Vietnam (-8.6%) and Thailand (-44.7%) shipped less. Replacement values (import $/ lb.) for peeled shrimp also increased for the second-straight month, up another 3.2 percent or $0.13 between September and October. However, when compared to the previous year, replacement values were 15.4 percent or $0.74 lower. Cooked (warm water) imports were 27.8% higher in October, and breaded imports were 8.8% higher in the month. Cooked, Breaded & Other Shrimp Imports The white shrimp market was under constant pressure since the index peaked in mid-October, and the value-added index was in decline all year. Movement in recent weeks and months was characterized as good to sometimes active, but the supply situation continued to weigh on the market. The black tiger index was

78 Âť

Figure 1 U.S. Shrimp Imports All Types. Source: U.S. Cencus, USDOC, Urner Barry 2015

2016

2017

2018

´15-´17 avg

180 160

Millions lbs.

140 120 100 80 60 Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

somewhat more inconsistent as there continued to be support for large black tigers, and a willingness to discount smaller shrimp. The average value of all shrimp imports increased by 6.8 percent or $0.26 between September and October. However, when compared to the previous year, replacement values were 15.6 percent or $0.60 lower.

Shrimp Price Timelines; Retail Ads Retail: It appears to us that retailers continued to recognize the value shrimp offers, as buying opportunities remained well above historical averages. The number of shrimp ads in our index during the month of October were roughly 12 percent higher than in the same month the previous year. Ad prices in the same period averaged $0.12 or 1.5 percent below the same prior year period. Total year-to-date buying opportunities were up roughly 26 thousand or 4.6 percent; and in terms of value, the price was 2.73 percent lower YTD. Buying opportunities were consistently higher and prices consistently lower for most of the year. U.S. Shrimp Supply & Gulf Situation Wild, Gulf of Mexico: Market values ranged full steady to firm across all product lines as the fishery sea-

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

sonally slowed. Additionally, white shrimp inventories were considered limited and remaining supplies held with confidence. The National Marine Fisheries Service reported October 2018 landings (all species, headless) of 10.4 million lbs. compared to 11.6 million in October 2017. The cumulative total stood at 83.51 million lbs.; 1.28 million pounds or 1.5 percent below the Jan-Oct 2017 total of 84.78 million lbs. Farmed White: Under pressure from the extent of supply, almost the entire complex now sits at either a multi-year or all-time low. The most susceptible categories have been headless shell-on from both Latin and Asian origins, as well as head-on. Farmed Black Tiger: We continued to see premiums develop in the market for very large shrimp as availability of these sizes is limited, and few alternatives exist. Meanwhile, anything 16-20 and smaller continued to be subjected to discounting given the ongoing weakness in the markets for comparable white shrimp products.

*President of Urner Barry pbrownjr@urnerbarry.com

Aquaculture Magazine

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