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VOL. 4 ISSUE 1 Jan - Mar 2019
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF WHITE FECES DISEASE (WFD) IN SHRIMP 22
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Editor's letter We are pleased to enter the new year with our fellow readers and subscribers and appreciate the support over the years. We will start off the year with VIV Asia held in Bangkok, where over 1259 exhibitors and 50,000 professional visitors worldwide will be participating in. This quarter’s featured article is written by Albert Tacon, titled “Biosecure Shrimp Feeds and Feeding Practices: Guidelines for Future Development.” He reviews the different feeds that are commonly used for the production of farmed shrimp and their potential risks from a disease perspective, the importance of the development and implementation of good on-farm feed management, and the responsibilities of farmers, feed manufactures and traders. In our issue highlight, we look at the White Feces Disease sharing a research article written by Blue Aqua International. It examines WFD in terms of the main causes, signs and symptoms, the triggering factors, preventive measures and treatment, and the management of WFD based on the different stages of disease. I also take on the 7 questions segment discussing the topics of white feces disease and EHP in shrimp. In this issue’s news and press, we look at topics like fish farm fuels first commercial flight, aquaculture sector thriving in the European Union, Aquaculture and the “Great Food Transformation,” China’s seafood imports balloon by 44% to $12bn in 2018, Scottish consortiums seeks to improve the gill health of farmed salmon, and land-based salmon project raises $5.8m from industry stalwarts. We would like to thank our followers again and hope to continue being an informative and illuminating publication for all aquaculturist worldwide.
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Contents
JAN - MAR 2019 VOL. 4, ISSUE 1
Page
CONTENTS
ISSUE HIGHLIGHT: Prevention and treatment of White
Feces Disease (WFD) in Shrimp by Dr. Farshad Shishehchian
INTERVIEW
22
28
7 Questions with Dr. Farshad Shishehchian
News Around the World NEWS & PRESS
30 31
EDITORIAL
1
Editor's letter by Dr. Farshad Shishehchian
INDUSTRY UPDATE
3
Home grown brood-stock in Asia 4 VIV ASIA Bangkok 2019
FEATURES
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Biosecure Shrimp Feeds and Feeding Practices: Guidelines for Future Development by Albert G. J. Tacon 12 From chemotherapeutics to phytobiotics in Aquaculture 14 Indoor Mudcrab Hatchery and Larviculture 15 Rapid on-site detection of Iridovirus by optical immunoassay (OIA) 16 Better use of available freshwater
32 34 35 36 38
News Around the World : Fish farm fuels first commercial flight Aquaculture sector thriving in the European Union Aquaculture and the Great Food Transformation China’s seafood imports balloon by 44% to $12bn in 2018 Scottish consortiums seek to improve the gill health of farmed salmon Land-based salmon project raises $5.8m from industry stalwarts Has China just become the world’s largest shrimp importer?
EVENTS CALENDAR
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Aquaculture Events 2019
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n October 2017, the Blue Aqua International Group launched a breeding center in Singapore. Named the Blue Aqua Breeding Center (BABC), this center specializes in the production of genetically improved, specific pathogen free (SPF) Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp brood-stock for the Asia-Pacific markets.
A new center to alleviate supply of genetically improved specific pathogen free shrimp broodstock for shrimp farming in the Asia-Pacific region renowned as the leader of shrimp aquaculture research and technology innovation for two decades.
Strategic Location Singapore’s ideal location, proximity to Asian markets, coupled with the country’s favorable business climate and its natural biosecurity gives BABC an edge in the region. The center allows for the swift delivery of the brood-stock to shrimp farming operations and production sites across important markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Dr Farshad Shishehchian, President and CEO of Blue Aqua International Group said, “Our goal is to bring Singapore’s aquaculture scene to new heights. Singapore is known to be a center of innovation and technology, our aquaculture scene, too, needs to catch up to this title”. This brood-stock production center will serve as the bottle-neck of the industry, bringing in the innovation and tools required for our local scene, added Shishehchian.
Next generation industry skills The modern and innovative center features a state-of-the-art system and design, incorporation of bio-secure greenhouse modules, a “Green to Clean” recirculating aquaculture system, laboratory, workers’ quarters and a brood stock processing house. The SPF L. vannamei brood-stock produced in BABC has the potential to mature and develop under intensive and super intensive culture conditions, tolerating a wide range of salinity and temperatures. The brood-stock grown in the facility are known to be more resistant to diseases. Shrimp can mate and breed easily under captivity and the survival rates during the hatchery and rearing stages are generally higher. Apart from providing quality brood-stock, BABC has a joint R&D program with Temasek Polytechnic of Singapore. BABC operates a research and development center to develop students’ industry skills and provide them with training in shrimp breeding, brood-stock development and hatchery as well as farm operation and management.
From OI to Singapore “The high-quality brood-stock is grown in a state-of-the-art facility and are raised in a healthy environment with high quality feed, which is ideal for quick larval growth and allowing for healthy brood-stock which are free from specific diseases,” said Shishehchian. BABC receives its post-larvae and close technical support from the Shrimp Department of the Oceanic Institute in Hawaii (OI), making use of cutting-edge technology and innovation in order to reduce the dependence of Asia Pacific L.vannamei brood-stock demands from the US. OI’s shrimp department is
Through the operation of BABC, Blue Aqua International Group aims to strengthen its regional supply chain in order to supply the ever-increasing demand for genetically improved shrimp brood-stock and post-larvae in the region.
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INDUSTRY UPDATE
Home grown brood-stock in Asia
INDUSTRY UPDATE
”
Top reasons to visit VIV Asia 2019
• Fully packed BITEC with latest products by 1,250 global and regional suppliers • Excellent for networking • Top for innovative products • Content-rich conferences with registration available online • Whole week of business in Bangkok | Top destination • Top for convenience | 6th GFFC by IFIF preceding VIV Asia
”
There are many good reasons to visit VIV Asia, the international animal proteins trade fair that returns to Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2019. Top for suppliers’ presentations VIV Asia 2019 takes place 13th-15th March 2019 at the big BITEC exhibition centre in Bangkok. The show is Asia’s outstanding feed-to-food event covering all species and every part of the animal protein value chain. It is also extremely international in scope. Visitors to the most recent edition in 2017 came from 126 countries. Top for business opportunities: 50,000 visits expected in three days and 500 industry leaders VIV Asia 2019 is where animal protein industry executives from throughout the Asian region will meet the experienced and reliable suppliers they need for their business. The visitors themselves will be representing forward-thinking businesses active in the sectors of meat, eggs, milk and aquaculture. The leaders of many of Asia’s most prominent food companies as well as directors and managers of animal protein production
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and processing operations are invited to attend and benefit from so-called VIV Industry Leaders priority treatment, while several high-profile delegations are due to join the March 2019 gathering in Bangkok as a result of an intensive pre-show promotion. Top for innovative products Many innovations will be displayed on the show’s stands. Clues to the wealth of new products waiting to be introduced at VIV Asia 2019 can be found from entries on the new VIV Online 24/7 website initiative from VIV worldwide (accessible through www.viv.net). Just to name a few examples, information posted on VIV Online by Linzhou Animore talks about new feed additive NCG, while Vetpharma reports European registrations of Keytil for treating bovine respiratory disease and Kemin’s entry is about a Vietnam farm trial of Clostat for pigs.
resistance ‘from science to policy’. On Friday 15th March the conference programme concludes with a whole-day meat industry conference called Meat 360°, in which Thai experts discuss meat market trends and innovations.
Top for conferences across the animal proteins spectrum
Whole week of business in Bangkok | 6th GFFC by IFIF preceding VIV Asia | Top for convenience
Within the registration page for show visitors now at www.vivasia.nl there is also online booking to attend the extensive array of conferences and seminars taking place at VIV Asia 2019. Most conferences and technical seminars held at BITEC are in English. Wednesday 13th March brings a HighTech Animal Health conference, a feedoriented pig conference, pig health and advanced pig farming sessions and an aquafeed extrusion short course. The Wednesday programme also has a session on Poultry Trends and a meeting by the World Veterinary Poultry Association with its Thailand branch, describing poultry meat as ‘the value protein for one’s health’. Moreover, the pet-sector interest of VIV Asia visitors has prompted a conference dedicated to pet animal health and nutrition. Thursday 14th March opens with Asian Food & Tech Trends tying in with the expanded Food Engineering aspect of the exhibition. The same day will have a separate Food Engineering conference. Other choices include Thai Holstein Friesian Association’s conference on feed management for dairy cows in a tropical zone, International Pig Forum Asia and a focus on strategies to replace antibiotic growth promoters. Additionally there is Aquatic Asia 2019 for the aquaculture sector and a conference on Asian feed and food safety. Thursday’s conferences further feature a meeting by the Federation of Asian Veterinary Associations (FAVA) to cover antimicrobial
VIV Asia 2019 is a central point of a feedto-food week in Bangkok. The week begins with the 6th Global Feed and Food Congress at the city’s Shangri-La Hotel before VIV Asia starts at BITEC. Meanwhile, a number of other business meetings will be held in the city by media partners and companies at various locations and on different dates of the same week. It all confirms Bangkok’s international attraction as the place to meet for people from around the world who want to talk business in a relaxed and leisurely atmosphere. There is also the strong point of convenience, starting with the VIV Asia location at BITEC which is within easy reach of the major attractions and hotels in Bangkok city centre. One of the easiest transport options to it from downtown is by BTS Skytrain. Visitors to BITEC by Skytrain arrive at BangNa station, where Exit 1 leads them to a footbridge for a short and safe walk directly into the show’s main entrance. Various international hotels in the city also offer a shuttle bus service. What is more, people arriving from abroad need only about 30 minutes to travel to BITEC from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Ease of access into VIV Asia 2019 includes the online pre-registration available now on www.vivasia.nl, that allows visitors to enter the show through multiple entry points without wasting any time in queues.
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Also, ZhengChang announces installing equipment to produce livestock and poultry feeds in Bangladesh. Dinnissen covers its cloud-based Productivity Platform. Delacon refers to consumer surveys of plant-based feed additives.
About VIV VIV worldwide is the business network linking professionals from Feed to Food. The combination of VIV trade shows, VIV Online 24/7 and VIV trade forums shapes a unique platform that offers boundless opportunities to the animal protein supply chain players. Started in the Netherlands, VIV developed with dedication a worldwide network through 40 years of experience and interactions with the industry, becoming today the leading platform in and for some of the most promising markets of the world. VIV is multi-species: the network and its events include poultry broilers and layers, pigs, cattle and calves and aquaculture. About GFFC The 6th Global Feed & Food Congress (GFFC) will bring together leaders from the global feed and food chain in Bangkok, Thailand, on 11-13 March 2019 under the theme ‘The future of Feed & Food – are we ready?‘. The Global Feed & Food Congress (GFFC) series was launched in 2005 by the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF) in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to provide a global platform for scientists, industry, governments, civil society and intergovernmental organizations to come together to discuss critical issues of food and feed safety, technology, innovation and sustainability. The triannual Congress has established itself as the leading global event of its kind and was last held in Antalya, Turkey in 2016.
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FEATURES
BIOSECURE SHRIMP FEEDS AND FEEDING PRACTICES: GUIDELINES FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
Albert G. J. Tacon
Aquatic Farms, Ltd., 49-139 Kamehameha Highway, Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744, USA agjtacon@aquahana.com
ABSTRACT For the purposes of this paper, biosecure shrimp feeds and on-farm feeding strategies refer to the “feed, whether live, fresh, or formulated, and the management of the feed on the farm, should not be an entry point of potential pathogens to the shrimp and/or to the culture system.� The paper reviews the different feeds commonly used for the production of farmed shrimp and discusses their potential risks from a disease perspective, including the use of live hatchery and nursery feeds, the use of live and/or fresh food organisms for the production of broodstock, and the use of dry formulated shrimp feeds for shrimp growout operations. In addition, the paper discusses the critical role played by feedprocessing techniques for the pasteurization and
destruction of pathogens within shrimp feeds and the need for nutritionists to formulate feeds for optimal nutrition and health, and not just for optimal growth. The importance of the development and implementation of good on-farm feed management practices by farmers is discussed, including the prohibition of the top-dressing of pelleted feeds on farm by farmers with unapproved feed additives such as antibiotics. Finally, the paper discusses the responsibilities of farmers, feed manufacturers, and traders regarding the development and use of recommended biosecure shrimp feeds and feeding practices. Keywords: Biosecure feeds, feeds, shrimp, shrimp feeding
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FEATURES
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF SHRIMP FARMING AND IMPACT OF SHRIMP DISEASES
S
hrimp farming represents one of the most profitable segments of the aquaculture sector, with shrimp production being the second-most valuable crop after carp production at US$23.58 billion in 2014 (FAO 2016a) and the whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, being the world’s top cultivated aquatic species by value in 2014 at US$18.46 billion (Table 1).
of new diseases is no different to that experienced by any other new and rapidly growing animal production sector, it is important that shrimp farmers learn from the experiences gained from other food-production sectors and, in particular, from the agricultural livestock production sector, in particular with respect to biosecurity (FAO/OIE/World Bank 2008; FAO 2010a; FAO 2010b; AFIA 2015).
Notwithstanding the above, the shrimp farming sector has been beset by numerous major disease outbreaks and consequent losses in shrimp production (Chanratchakool and Phillips 2002; Flegel et al. 2008; Smith and Hauton 2009; Lightner 2011; FAO 2013, 2016b, 2016c, 2016d; NACA 2014, 2015; Merican 2016; Shinn 2016; Thitamadee et al. 2016). While the emergence
According to the FAO, “Biosecurity is defined as the implementation of measures that reduce the risk of disease agents being introduced and spread. It requires that people adopt a set of attitudes and behaviors to reduce risk in all activities involving domestic, captive/exotic, and wild animals and their products” (FAO/OIE/World Bank 2008).
Metric tons (million)
Value (US$ billion)
Major species
Metric tons (million)
Value (US$ billion)
Carps, barbels, cyprinids
28.23 (1)
40.84 (1)
Whiteleg shrimp
3.67 (4)
18.46 (1)
Miscellaneous freshwater fish
9.08 (2)
17.92 (4)
Atlantic salmon
2.33 (5)
14.67 (2)
Tilapia and other cichlids
5.31 (3)
8.82 (6)
Grass carp
5.54 (1)
7.09 (3)
Shrimp
4.58 (4)
23.58 (2)
Silver carp
4.97 (2)
6.60 (4)
Salmon, trout, smelt
3.42 (5)
20.14 (3)
Nile tilapia
3.67 (4)
5.96 (5)
Freshwater crustaceans
2.02 (6)
11.55 (5)
Common carp
4.16 (3)
5.90 (6)
Major species group
FAO FishStat database (FAO 2016a).
a
Table 1. Global aquaculture production by major finfish and crustacean species group classification and species in 2014.a
Biosecurity Risks from the Use of Contaminated Shrimp Feeds While biosecurity concerns and risks associated with the importation, transport, and handling of shrimp broodstock and larvae are well understood (Lotz 1997; FAO 2003; Lightner 2005; Subasinghe and Bondad-Reantaso 2006; Hine et al. 2012), biosecurity concerns relating to feeds and food safety, including on-farm feed management practices, are generally less well understood and appreciated (Tacon and Metian 2008; Chimsung 2014). For the purposes of this paper, biosecure shrimp feeds and feeding practices refer to that “feed, whether live, fresh, or formulated, and the management of the feed on the farm, should not be an entry point of potential pathogens to the shrimp and/or culture system.” In marked contrast to salmon farming, in which animals are raised under similar intensive land-based and cage-based culture systems (irrespective of country) and exclusively fed on dry biosecure extruded pelleted feeds formulated to a
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relatively fixed (and well-known) dietary nutrient profile from first feeding to harvest, shrimp farming is characterized by the use of a wide range of different production systems and feeds, the latter ranging across the use of (1) wild-caught live and/ or processed natural food organisms (including Artemia nauplii and biomass, squid, mussels, oysters, polychaete worms, crabs, and pelagic shrimp); (2) cultured live and/or processed natural food organisms (including micro-algae, rotifers, Artemia naulpii and biomass, marine polychaetes, in situ-produced microbial biomass (also known as biofloc); (3) supplementary farm-made feeds (incuding fermented feedstuffs, farm-made feed mashes, and pelleted feeds; and (4) commer- cial manufactured formulated semi-moist and/or dry-steam-pelleted or extruded shrimp feeds (Tacon et al. 2013). In particular, the current production of shrimp broodstock and shrimp larvae is characterized by the universal use (with
REPORTED DISEASE RISKS FROM THE USE OF LIVE, FRESH, AND/OR UNPROCESSED NATURAL FEED ITEMS Despite the widespread use of live and/or fresh unprocessed shrimp feed items, there is growing concern and evidence that many of these feed items may also pose a biosecurity risk through the introduction of potential viable pathogens to the cultured shrimp, including (but not limited to): •
White spot syndrome virus (WSSV): polychaete Dendronereis spp. (Nereidae; Desrina 2016); polychaete Pereneis nuntia (Laoaroon et al. 2005), polychaete worms (Vijayan et al. 2005); Artemia biomass (Chang et al. 2002; Sahul Hameed et al. 2002; Li et al. 2003; Parenrengi 2004; Alday-Sanz 2016); phytoplankton, rotifer, Artemia, shrimp (Jiang 2012); copepods, amphipods, nonpenaeid shrimp, crabs (Song et al. 2001); shrimp – cannibalism (Satoh 2012); hermit crabs (Chang et al. 2012); live molluscs (Tendencia et al. 2011)
• Hypodermal hematopoietic necrosis baculovirus: shrimp, phytoplankton, small crustaceans, fish (Huang et al. 1995) • Infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus: wild shrimp and crabs (Lavilla-Pitogo et al. 2009), Artemia biomass (polymerase chain reaction [PCR] positive; Alday Sanz 2016) • Bacteria – general: Artemia (Igarashi et al. 1989; Hoj et al. 2009); luminous bacteria: Artemia (Abraham and Palaniappan 2004); Enterococcus spp.: Artemia (Babu et al. 2014); Vibrio parahaemolyticus: brood- stock, fresh feed (Yingkajorn et al. 2014), pond zooplankton (Karunasagar 2016); Vibrio: Artemia (Vaseeharan and Ramasamy 2003; Lavilla-Pitogo 2016); Vibriosis contamination: mantis shrimp Squilla spp. (Lee and Najiah 2009), live feeds including polychaetes and bivalves for broodstock maturation (Songsangjinda et al. 2016) Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND): live polychaetes and bivalves (NACA 2014, 2015); filter feeders and zooplankton (Brock 2016); polychaetes, squid, Artemia, clams (positive for AHPND AP2 detection; Flegel 2016a); Artemia
contamination during the nursery phase (Chanratchakool 2016); polychaetes (PCR positive; Desrina 2016)
FEATURES
a few variations over the past 30 yr) of a combination of different live and/or processed natural feed items, including marine polychaetes, squid mantle, Artemia biomass, mussels, oysters, shrimp, krill, crabs, and formulated dry or semi-moist pelleted feeds (in the case of shrimp broodstock and shrimp maturation operations), and micro-algae, nematodes, Artemia nauplii, in combination with a cocktail of different formulated flake, micro-particulate, and/or dry/liquid microen- capsulated larval feeds. Moreover, since the origin of the industry in the mid-1980s to the present day, it is still generally believed that the use of live and/or processed natural feed items is essential for the successful maturation of shrimp broodstock and the production of strong and healthy shrimp larvae (Tacon 1993; Browdy 1998; Sorgeloos et al. 1998; Wouters et al. 2001; Panakorn 2015).
• Microsporidean parasites: sergestid shrimp Acetes spp. (Turnbull et al. 1994); polychaetes, mussels, and other filter feeders; crustaceans (Alday-Sanz 2016) Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei: live polychaetes (NACA 2014, 2015); live diseased shrimp, frozen Aremtia biomass (Han et al. 2016); polychaetes, clams, snails (PCR positive; Flegel 2016); polychaetes (PCR positive: Desrina 2016); live feeds, including bloodworms, bivalves, and gastropods (Tran 2016) In addition to the above disease biosecurity concerns regarding the use of specific hatchery and broodstock feeds, there is also a risk of possible disease transmission through the use of raw and/or inadequately processed contaminated shrimp products within growout feeds (including shrimp meal or shrimp head meals produced from wild-caught or farmed shrimp; Chou et al. 1998; Pongmaneerat et al. 2001; Corsin et al. 2005; Flegel 2009) and/or through the top-dressing of commercial pelleted shrimp feeds by the farmer prior to feeding, with contaminated shrimp or fishery products (including shrimp pastes, shrimp fermentation products, shrimp hydrolysates, and/or shrimp silage) so as to stimulate shrimp appetite and feed consumption (Tacon 1993). Although it is reported that viable pathogens such as WSSV that may be present within potentially contaminated feed ingredients, such as shrimp head meal, are readily destroyed during the conventional steam pelleting process (Pongmaneerat et al. 2001), there is real risk that more heat-resistant bacterial pathogens and parasites may survive the conventional pelleting process (as compared with extrusion processing in which higher cooking temperatures are involved and the feed is usually completely pasteurized; Muñoz 2011).
Need for a New Generation of Biosecure Shrimp Feeds In view of the above reported disease risks from the current use of live, fresh, and/or unprocessed natural feed items, it is clear that the commercial shrimp feed manufacturing industry must step up to the plate and start producing a new generation of standalone biosecure nutritionally complete formulated feeds for the entire shrimp production cycle, from first feeding larvae to maturing broodstock. There is no nutrient or naturally occurring substance (including enzymes, hormones, pigments, polysaccharides, organic acids, or beneficial microflora) present with live foods and/or fresh natural feed items such as marine polychaetes, Artemia, or squid that cannot be put into a fully biosecure commercially formulated dry, semi-moist, or liquid shrimp feed. For a review of recent studies concerning the replacement of live and/or fresh natural food items see:
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FEATURES
1. Broodstock feeds: Summavielle et al. 1995; Mendoza et al. 1997; Du et al. 2002, 2004, 2005; Perez-Velazquez et al. 2002; Wouters et al. 2002; Fegan 2004; Bao-Shuenn etal. 2005; Meunpol etal. 2005, 2007, 2010; Zhou et al. 2005; Saito et al. 2006; Paibulkichakul et al. 2008; Wu et al. 2008; Matinfar etal. 2009; Argueello-Guevara and Molina-Poveda 2013; Chimsung 2014; Dhert 2014; Ortiz 2016 2. Larval feeds: Jones et al. 1987; Galgani and Aquacop 1988; Coutteau et al. 1990; Muir and Sutton 1994; Jaime et al. 1996, 2000; Garcia-Ortega et al. 1998; Jones 1998; Samocha et al. 1999; Medina-Reyna et al. 2000; D’souza et al. 2002; Gal- lardo etal. 2002; Calderon etal. 2004; Fegan 2004; Robinson et al. 2005; Wang and Mai 2005; D’Abramo et al. 2006; Jaime-Ceballos et al. 2006, 2010; Zeng and Wang 2006; Sirvas-Cornejo etal. 2007; Gamboa-Delgado and Le Vay 2009; Ramya and Felix 2009; Xie et al. 2010, 2011; Anh et al. 2011; Ghaen et al. 2011; Dhert 2014; Naessens et al. 2014 Although there is no larval or broodstock shrimp feed currently available in the market-place with a proven record of totally replacing live hatchery feeds or maturation feeds with equivalent success in terms of larval production and survival, numerous commercial feed companies are actively pursuing this goal (Dhert 2014; Dominy 2014; Lorenzen 2014; Naessens etal. 2014; Ortiz 2016). In view of the potential disease risks from the use of pathogen-contaminated, live and fresh natural feed items, it would be prudent for the shrimp industry to sacrifice lower hatchery performance and contamination of their valuable specific pathogen-free broodstock by moving over completely to the use of commercially manufactured biosecure larval and maturation feeds.
Roles and Responsibilities Shrimp feed companies, traders, farmers, and governments all have an important role to play in ensuring the adoption and use of biosecure shrimp feeds and on-farm feed management practices, including the following: Shrimp feed manufacturing companies: • Formulate nutritionally complete feeds on a digestible nutrient basis for optimal shrimp health and well-being • Ensure full ingredient and nutrient disclosure, including prohibiting the use of shrimp and locally sourced crustacean meals as feed ingredients within feeds for biosecurity concerns • Ensure feeds manufactured and sold as being fully biosecure and pathogen free • Discourage farmers from top-dressing their feeds on farm with unregulated feed additives • Provide training assistance to farmers and, in particular, to small-scale farmers, concerning good feed management practices, including the disposal of dead shrimp and molts • Beware of using adulterated ingredients
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It is important to mention here the existing internationally accepted aquaculture feed regulations regarding the prohibition of intraspecies recycling (the feeding of the same or closely related species back to the same cultured species) for biosecurity concerns, including the following: • The FAO Good Aquaculture Feed Manufacturing Practice (FAO 2001): “The refeeding of feed ingredients derived from non-processed and/or processed aquaculture products (including farmed fish and shellfish processing wastes, fish meal, shrimp meal, dead animals etc.) should be avoided at all costs so as to prevent the possibility for the spread of disease through feed.” • The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices, Standards, and Guidelines for Finfish, Crustacean, and Mollusk Hatcheries and Nurseries (GAA 2014a): “7.6: No feeds that contain material derived from the flesh or carcasses of the same species that is reared in the facility shall be used, even if such materials have supposedly been disinfected by cooking or other treatment.” •
GAA Best Aquaculture Practices, Standards, and Guidelines for Feed Mill (GAA 2014b): “6.14: The applicant shall respect prohibitions of the refeeding of ingredients from like aquaculture organisms to prevent transmission of disease.”
Shrimp feed traders: • Provide local government authorities and shrimp farmer associations with a register of the feed additives sold to individual farmers with in their sales area or district on a regular weekly or monthly basis • Prohibit the sale of illegal feed additives, including antibiotics, direct to shrimp farmers • Prohibit the sale of adulterated feed ingredients and expired feeds to shrimp farmers Shrimp farmers: • Know the importance of record keeping for monitoring feed intake and calculating feed efficiency on a tank, pond, and farm basis • Top dress feeds immediately prior to feeding using only legally approved feed additives of known composition • Prohibit the use of antibiotics on the farm (unless under veterinary control) and the feeding of fresh feed items • Ensure the speedy disposal of dead shrimp and exoskeleton molts using biosecure sterilization methods such as ensiling or incieration so as to prevent disease transmission • Adhere to the implementation of good on farm feed management practices • Maintain shrimp at optimal dissolved oxygen levels (>4 mg/L)
FEATURES Conclusion and water temperatures (28-30 C) and feed on a continuous little and often basis over a 24-h working day, and by doing so preventing overfeeding and consequent feed decomposition and sludge accumulation. Responsible government authorities: • Legislate for feed companies to formulate shrimp feeds for optimal health and well-being, with full ingredient use and nutrient level disclosure • Prohibit intraspecies recycling and the feeding of crustacean meals for biosecurity concerns • Legislate for feeds to be certified and sold as being fully biosecure and pathogen free •
Prohibit the importation of live feeds, fresh food organisms (including Artemia cysts), dried crustacean meals, and/or finished feeds unless they can be shown to be certified as being disease free (Massaut and Camposano 2016)
• Prohibit farmers from top-dressing their feeds with unregulated feed additives including antibiotics (unless under strict veterinary control) • Provide training assistance to farmers and, in particular, to small-scale farmers, concerning good on-farm feed management practices, including biosecure methods for the proper disposal of dead shrimp and shrimp molts • Clamp down and prosecution of unlicensed traders and sale of nonregistered or illegal feed additives, including banned antibiotics
As with modern intensive livestock production systems in which animals are usually reared under strict indoor environmentally controlled “biosecure” production systems (Waage and Mumford 2008), it is believed that the shrimp industry will soon follow suit as a means of excluding pathogens from their current outdoor pond production systems (Browdy et al. 2016). Moreover, by controlling the environmental rearing conditions for the shrimp, water-quality fluctuations can be kept to a minimum and therefore optimized (i.e., including water temperature, dissolved oxygen levels, etc), and shrimp stress and consequent disease susceptibility and risk can be kept to a minimum. Last, but not least, it is also important to mention here that shrimp have a dietary requirement for around 40 essential nutrients for optimal growth, but also have an additional requirement for optimal health and well-being, and as such it is important that feed companies formulate their feeds bearing this in mind. In this respect, apart from the use of higher dietary nutrient levels (for specific essential amino acids, fatty acids, sterols, minerals, and vitamins), the feed compounder has many other feed additives to assist with optimizing shrimp health and possible disease resistance, including the use of specific microbial and marine polysaccharides, nucleotides, organic acids, essential oils, prebiotics, and many beneficial probiotics (Bachere 2000; Wang and Qian 2006; Fu et al. 2009; Van Hai and Fotedar 2010; Luna-Gonzalez et al. 2012; Zhao et al. 2012; Zokaeifar et al. 2012; Nimrat et al. 2013).
"Literature Cited available on request" 11
FEATURES
FROM CHEMOTHERAPEUTICS TO PHYTOBIOTICS IN AQUACULTURE Clara M. Lay-yag, Sakinah Mulyana and Christopher Marlowe Caipang
Centre for Aquaculture & Veterinary Science School of Applied Science, Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore
T
he aquaculture sector is expanding at a rapid rate to meet the food demands of the growing population. Recent estimates show that the aquaculture industry is increasing at an annual rate of more than 9%, in contrast with the annual increase of at most 1.5% for capture fisheries and almost 3% for terrestrial farmed meat production systems. Diseases are a crucial factor that inhibits the expansion of aquaculture. With rapid intensification in aquaculture, the incidence of infectious diseases has also increased resulting in significant economic losses. To curb these problems, various chemotherapeutants have been used for treating or preventing diseases in the aquaculture facility. Even though they yield positive effects, they cannot be recommended due to their residual and other side effects. For example, the use of these chemicals and drugs has resulted in more resistant bacterial strains. These resistant bacterial strains pose more serious negative impacts when treating future fish disease problems as well as to the environment and even public health.
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Medicinal plants have been known as immunostimulants for thousands of years and these are widely used in veterinary and human medicine. Because these plants are used to develop natural products, these are not only safe for consumers but are also widely available. Hence, medicinal plants show great potential as alternatives to antibiotics and chemical immunoprophylactics. Several studies have demonstrated the positive effects of using plants for livestock and aquaculture operations. A wide range of these plants possesses growth-promoting ability and improves the immune system. They can stimulate the appetite of the animal, induce maturation, and to a certain extent exert antimicrobial activity. There were experiments carried out that showed anti-stress properties of these plants; thus, these have potential use in the culture of fish and shellfish when incorporated as feed additives without having to worry about environmental and biological problems. These natural and plant-derived substances that are used as feed additives to improve animal productivity are known as phytogenics or phytobiotics.
Phytobiotics are composed of a wide range of substances and have been classified according to plant origin, processing and composition. These plant-based feed additives include herbs, which are nonwoody flowering plants and possess medicinal properties; spices, which are herbs having intense smell or taste and are commonly added to human food; essential oils, which are aromatic oils derived from plant materials through hydro-distillation; and oleoresins, which are extracts derived from plants through the use of non-aqueous solvents.
Phytobiotics
Botanicals
Herbs
Spices
Plant extracts
Essential oils
Oleoresins
Classification of phytobiotics for aquaculture
0.0125 g ml-1
0.00625 g ml-1
Control
Lysozyme (Innate immunity)
Day 3
Day 7
Control 5
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0.25 g ml-1
Lysozyme Units
0.05 g ml-1
Scavenging Activity
0.1 g ml-1
3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0
Day 15
Treatment
Anti-oxidant activity
4 3 2 1 0 Day 3
Control
Day 7
Day 15
Treatment
In-vitro inhibition of a pathogenic Vibrio at different concentrations of cinnamon extract
Modulation of the fish immune response during feeding with cinnamon extract
The whole plant or its parts, for example, roots, leaves, seeds, flowers or barks can be used. The extraction process is simple: ethanol, methanol or water are commonly used as extracting solvents. The chemicals that are used to extract compounds from plants may have different effects on the fish or shellfish when used as feed additives. Application methods can be either single or in combination, or even in a mixture with other feed additives. The dosages and duration of time of oral administration vary and the optimal levels for the host are species-dependent.
their anti-oxidant activities, which could have contributed to their better survival when exposed to the bacterial pathogen. Although the effects look promising, more evidence is needed to confirm the apparent beneficial effects on the performance of fish and shellfish when these phytobiotics are added to the feeds on a regular basis. In addition, although these phytobiotics are considered natural products, their use and administration in the feeds need to be carefully assessed for potential interactions with other ingredients that could result in potentially negative effects to the host.
At the Aquaculture Research Facility of the Centre for Aquaculture and Veterinary Science (CAVS) of Temasek Polytechnic, we have tested several of these phytobiotics to enhance growth, survival and immunity of tilapias and ornamental fish. We have tested a variety of herbs and spices including garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander and annatto as feed additives for these fish. These phytobiotics demonstrated anti-bacterial activity. When used as feed additives, they modulated the immune response, enhanced the anti-oxidant activity and to a certain extent improved survival of the fish during infection with a bacterial pathogen. From our preliminary trials, the beneficial effects that were observed on the fish fed with these phytobiotics were mostly on the improvement of the immune responses particularly on the innate immunity of the fish as well as enhancement of
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FEATURES Khoo Hock Lai William, Wong Yee Man Cynthia, Nadiah Sata, Glendon Teo, Chan Pek Sian Diana and Lee Chee Wee
INDOOR MUDCRAB
Centre for Aquaculture & Veterinary Science School of Applied Science, Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore
HATCHERY AND LARVICULTURE
M
ud crab is one of the most desired seafood items especially in Asia with the greatest demand shown in China and Japan (soft-shell crabs). The crustacean is an important ingredient in Singapore’s iconic seafood dishes such as chilli crab and black pepper crab. Crab farming and food industry-supply is still heavily dependent on wild catch and this has led to depleting numbers in the wild, thus creating a major constraint in the development of this crustacean industry. The crabs harvested for consumption have also been observed to be smaller in size. Overharvesting of adult mud crabs is also a serious conservation concern as it could lead to a loss of the species population, biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
Zoea Stage 1
Zoea Stage 4
Although there are mangrove crab hatcheries that have been established in some parts of Asia, majority of them rely on flow-through water system or open pond culture. In Temasek Polytechnic, our research team aims to develop and optimize indoor controlled conditions for producing Scylla sp. crablets so as to reduce wild harvest; reduce importation cost and to create a sustainable local supply in Singapore. In this study, berried mangrove crabs, Scylla serata and Scylla olivacea, were kept under controlled environmental conditions in a closed containment system at the Aquaculture Research Facility, Center for Aquaculture & Veterinary Science in Temasek Polytechnic. Successful spawning has been performed sustainably for the past few batches of mud crabs with successful rearing of zoeas until they reach juvenile crab stage in captivity. Normal husbandry and health monitoring of the crabs, zoeas and juveniles were carried out regularly. Currently, the project team has been able to work out the growth requirements of the different stages from zoea, megalopa to the crablet stages. The juvenile crablets are reared in closed recirculating tanks and study is underway in improving the growth and feeding conditions for the different stages of growth and development.
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Scylla Serata crablet
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RAPID ON-SITE DETECTION
OF IRIDOVIRUS BY OPTICAL IMMUNOASSAY (OIA) Masato Miyata, Syed Khader Syed Musthaq, Nushahidah Ali, Alden Toh, Sakinah Mulyana, Nadiah Sata, Chan Pek Sian Diana, Padmanabhan Saravanan and Lee Chee Wee Centre for Aquaculture & Veterinary Science School of Applied Science, Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore
T
here is a greater demand to intensify aquaculture practices for foodfish production. The demand is driven by the projected population growth to hit 9 billion by 2030. Singapore Imports more than 90% of our food fish consumption (~ 100,000 tonnes a year). One of Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority’s (now known as Singapore Food Agency) objective is to meet 15% of Singapore’s food consumption through increased productivity of aquaculture in local farms. Due to the growing emphasis on intensification of aquaculture practices in which fish is grown in close contact at high density within a confined space, there is a potentially high risk of an infectious disease outbreak. Infectious diseases are a primary constraint to the growth of many aquaculture species and is responsible for severely impeding both economic and socioeconomic development in many countries of the world. Iridoviruses (Figure 1) are a significant cause of mortality in farmed seabass, grouper and more than 30 other species of cultured marine and fresh water fishes. Affected fish become lethargic, exhibit severe anaemia, petechiae of the gills, and enlargement of the spleen. The principal mode of transmission of this virus is horizontal via the water. There is a need for rapid onsite detection of iridoviral disease in farms to enable increased
Figure 1:
Figure 2:
farm biosecurity and to prevent and control iridovirus outbreaks in farm settings. This could enable early disease risk management, as well as, monitoring of vaccinated fishes in terms of the protective efficacy of oral and injectable vaccines for the prevention and control of fish diseases.
response to iridovirus fish blood sample (plasma) was obtained via filtration through a hydrophobic surface and diluted 1:40 before applying a drop onto the chip surface. OIA performance was evaluated with the gold standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method subjecting 30 samples each of positive and negative in PCR. The sensitivity and specificity of OIA was observed to be >90% and 100% respectively. The operational advantages of OIA includes field deployable, rapid and sensitive detection, user friendly instructions, non-powered, less logistics load and visual readout.
The project team has successfully developed an onsite sample preparation methodology and point-of-care test (POCT) device to detect iridoviral disease in fishes. Concentration of targets was achieved by immunomagnetic bead-based sample extraction from tissue samples collected on-site using a tissue punch (Figure 2). The optical immunoassay (OIA) device works on the principle of thin film biosensor. The immunobinding events on the chip surface leads to interference of reflected light leading to a change in colour from gold to purple blue (Figure 3). The limit of detection achieved for iridovirus was found to be 5000 particles per millilitre of processed tissue extract. For screening of antibody
OIA Device
Reacted positive
Figure 3:
Figure 4:
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BETTER USE OF AVAILABLE “FRESHWATER�
T Imad Patrick Saou
Department of Biology American University of Beirut Bliss St., Beirut, Lebanon imad.saoud@aub.edu.lb
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his second installment of three articles on aquaculture and water efficiency deals mainly with the question: How do we use available freshwater to produce more food? Recent UN estimates have world population increasing to 11.2 billion by 2100, 2 billion more than previous estimates that I mention in previous article. Such an increase would need us to more than double present food production but freshwater available to us is not going to increase. Rather, such a rapid increase in population would increase the rate of climate change and affect the water cycle, probably decreasing available freshwater. Accordingly, agriculture, aquaculture, food processing and storage have to become more water efficient.
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Aquaculture and Water Efficiency Will Help Feed the World of the Future
Aquaculture and Irrigation
Integrating Agriculture with Aquaculture “Integrated agriculture–aquaculture (IAA) allows for efficient use of water particularly in arid and semi-arid regions” (Palada et al., 1999; McIntosh and Fitzsimmons, 2003; AbdulRahman et al., 2011). It potentially increases water productivity while reducing costs of water and fertilizer needed for agriculture (Al-Jaloud et al., 1993; D’Silva and Maughan 1994, 1996; Azevedo, 1998). Scientists maintain that the integration of agriculture and aquaculture would improve pond water quality, reduce effluent environmental impact, reduce pumping costs of water, decrease the amount of chemical fertilizer needed for plants, thus increasing farm income and diversifying farm production with a resultant increase in water efficiency (Billard and Servrin-Reyssac, 1992; Ghate and Burtle, 1993). If aquaculture is integrated with existing agriculture, it becomes a productive, non-consumptive segment of the food production industry that does not compete with irrigation. Moreover, monoculture aquafarms operate at high levels of risk from diseases, water quality and price fluctuations (Naylor et al., 2000; Pant et al., 2005), and thus the long-term performance of diversified farms would be better than non-diversified enterprises.
The benefits of integrating existing aquaculture facilities with agriculture are well documented (Naegal, 1977; Lewis et al., 1978; Watten and Buch, 1984; Zweig, 1986; McMurtry et al., 1990, 1993; Parker et al., 1990; Olson, 1992; Al-Jaloud et al., 1993; Racocy et al., 1993; Seawright, 1993; D’Silva and Maughan, 1994, 1996; Palada et al., 1999; Cruz et al., 2000; AlAhmed, 2004; Abdul-Rahman et al., 2011). In most of the world outside South East Asia, aquaculture is a relatively new industry whilst animal husbandry and irrigated agriculture are established food production systems. Peoples’ lives and societies were built around agriculture whilst aquaculture is not part of everyday life. If aquaculture is integrated with traditional agriculture as a method to increase water production and farm productivity, food production would increase and energy use per calorie produced would decrease.
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and a minimum level of technical knowhow. Thirdly, fish metabolites are not a complete plant nutrient mix so some micronutrients such as iron need to be supplemented to the system in specific dosages. Fourth, since the plant water will be recycled to the fish, farmers cannot use pesticides to aid in fighting common greenhouse plant diseases and thus have to rely on natural enemies for their pests. All this requires quite a high level of education and professionalism, thus limiting the possibility of success of rural farmers. Finally, and possibly most importantly, in most regions of the world vegetables can still be produced inexpensively enough using traditional agricultural practices, making aquaponics produced vegetables too expensive. A much more appropriate solution in the near term would be to use freshwater for aquaculture and then use the same water for irrigation of fields or better yet greenhouse vegetables. Aquaponics is a good idea in very arid countries such as the UAE and Qatar or remote islands where freshwater is scarce and vegetables have to be imported at high cost. However, it is not a good method to increase freshwater productivity or improve food security in most areas of the world.
Sustainability of food production in a water-stressed world
Aquaculture and Irrigation Recent years have witnessed a rapid increase of interest in aquaponics systems. The concept is glamorous and the projects “sexy” because they are different and new. Basically, aquaponics is a process whereby farmers grow aquatic organisms and pump effluents over the roots of plants and then return the water to the aquaculture tank. Plants would supposedly use fish metabolites as nutrients thus removing the need for fertilizers and making the crops “organic” and the water needed for plant production would be retained, thus reducing water consumption. Unfortunately, things are not so simple. First of all, the system needs continuous water pumping and aeration, thus limiting the use to areas with reliable and affordable electricity. Secondly, plant roots are not very efficient filters and become less efficient in the presence of too many particulates in the water, thus necessitating a filter to be placed between fish tank and plants. These filters require maintenance
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So how do we sustain “sufficient” food production when freshwater resources are not increasing? This is the “million dollar question”. There is no perfect answer but there are many fractional answers which when combined could assure us of sustainable and adequate future food production. Some of those answers involve better use of marginal lands, use of alternative or “green” energy, technological innovation, use of GMOs, better preservation and storage of crops, improved processing of harvests and implementation of best management practices throughout the food production chain. However, in the present article, I will limit my discussion to water. In addition to freshwater, there are five inefficiently used categories of water that could be important for food production. These are: 1.Ocean water; 2.Fossil ground water; 3. Low salinity inland well water; 4. Grey water; and 5. Treated sewage. Fossil aquifers offer a non-renewable resource and will thus not be discussed. Grey and treated sewage water will be combined with freshwater.
Fresh water available for productive use is less than a fifth of a percent of all water on earth and much of that is inefficiently used or polluted. Some countries and regions have large watersheds such as in southern Mexico and northern Canada but these areas cannot be used for large scale agriculture production. Most food production areas worldwide such as the USA, Russia, Pakistan, Australia, Argentina, Ukraine and Brazil to name but a few, tend to have episodes of water shortage that appear to be intensifying with climate change. These countries will not stop being major food producers but unless they start embracing biotechnology and genetic enhancement of crops, their production will not increase enough to support the four billion people expected in the next 80 years. Traditional food production has to begin using marginal lands, so called because of water stress. Deserts are found on every inhabited continent and make up about one third of earth’s land surface (≈ 25 million km2). Deserts are characterized by high daytime solar radiation and temperatures with little precipitation and low humidity, and cold nights (Hochman and Brill, 1994). Accordingly, aquaculture enterprises in such environmental conditions need to adopt production strategies that rely on good water management, water recycling and protection against solar radiation. Accordingly, modern aquaculture technologies requiring better capacitation of stakeholders is necessary. In the desert, aquaculture systems should have a relatively small surface to volume ratio and very efficient water use technologies. Culture intensity should be high, with harvest biomass of up to 50 kg /m3 (Kolkovski et al., 2011). Moreover, effluents from aquatic farms should be reused for other productive industries such as irrigation. Because agriculture and food production use more than 70% of a nation’s freshwater resources, solutions for water scarcity problems should start with the agricultural sector. Agriculture water needs to be used much more efficiently. One method would be to produce better nutrition using the same water (fish instead of Buffel grass Cenchrus ciliaris) or better yet, to produce more than one crop with the same water (fish and Buffel grass). We should also develop technologies for semiarid and arid regions. Hence, the discussion about fresh water use is going to focus on arid lands (regions where evapotranspiration is more than precipitation). Needless to say, all agriculture should be treated as if it is arid land agriculture. Many desert areas use agriculture practices developed to suit their environment, and thus grow crops using limited freshwater supplies. Such agriculture was acceptable in the last century but no longer in a world where water scarcity is increasing.
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Freshwater Food Production
In upland arid regions of northern Mexico, 800 L of water are used to produce one kg of alfalfa and 9 kg of alfalfa are needed to yield a kg of cattle which yields approximately 300 gm of meat. Consequently, 1 kg of cow meat needs 24 tons of water just to produce fodder for the animal. Similar calculations of inefficient water use are available for most crops in arid zones. A good solution for such production inefficiency would be to use the water for aquaculture and then use the effluent to grow crops. Moreover, it is counter intuitive but true that in many arid areas of the world, livestock rearing is not feasible but aquaculture is. Hence, the importance of aquaculture in supplying protein in arid lands is increasing (Crespi and Lovatelli, 2011). Arid area aquaculture was first suggested in 1963 and research then proved the possibility of using brackish waters in desert areas to grow fish (Fishelson and Loya, 1969). The chemical makeup of desert groundwater coupled with strong sunshine improves photosynthesis and phytoplankton growth, thus creating very good aquatic environment for aquaculture (Pruginin et al., 1988). Accordingly, by using common and simple technologies, we could increase food production in arid areas significantly. In 2007, the United Nations Development Program /United Nations Office to Combat Desertification (UNDP/ UNSO) reported that thirteen percent of the planet’s population lived in arid regions, and about 92 million people live in hyper-arid regions (Smith et al., 2008). If predictions about global warming and desertification are true, then many areas of the planet that are productive using traditional agriculture will become more arid and less productive. Therefore, improving water use efficiency in arid regions is becoming much more important. Unfortunately, many research centers and politicians around the world have not yet understood this and started to deal with it. I hope that the results of COP21 in Paris last December have opened eyes and made people realize that we need to start preparing for a different world.
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It is easy to say that we need to use arid areas productively. However, the truth is that there are many policies that governments need to implement in order to encourage production in deserts. The most important strategies needed were suggested by Crespi and Lovatelli (2011) and are listed below: 1. Promotion of aquaculture farming systems adapted to desert environments focusing on the smart use of water resources. 2. Integration, as far as possible, of aquaculture activities with other existing production systems (agriculture, animal production, etc.). 3. Inventory and chemical analysis of available surface and subsurface water resources to facilitate selection of suitable farm sites and species to be cultured. 4. Support capacity building programs to strengthen national/ local technical capacities through farmer field schools and ad hoc training initiatives. 5. Provision of incentives for the establishment, upgrading and modernization of national feed processing plants.
Aquaculture in deserts cannot be thought of as the only solution for future water and food problems. Simple technology such as greenhouse use could greatly increase water use efficiency by providing much better control over parameters such as temperature, light, and air moisture, thus reducing evapotranspiration and improving production. Greenhouses are not expensive to build and operate and can have aquaculture operations in them integrated with agriculture if climate is not suitable. Use of water for aquaculture in greenhouses coupled with normal agriculture improves water use efficiency and greatly reduces the amount of water that would have been used for aquaculture in conventional ponds and for vegetables (Kolkovski et al., 2011). Many desert areas have lots of groundwater that is replenished very slowly. If proper methods of water use for food production are implemented, deserts could become very productive agricultural areas. Arid land aquaculture does not have to be for food organisms. Other salinity tolerant organisms resistant to wide temperature ranges can be commercially produced in deserts. Brine shrimp, Artemia and phytoplankton are good species to consider. Nearly sixty percent of the world’s natural Ă&#x;-carotene is from algae (Dunaliella salina) cultured in large salty evaporation ponds in Australia (Benemann, 2008). A substantial proportion of the world’s brine shrimp are produced in Utah in the Great Salt Lake where salinity and temperature vary hugely with seasons. Similar regions in Asia would be very suitable for Artemia production using water that cannot be used for other kinds of food production.
6. Support national programs on farm-made feed production to reduce dependency from expensive and often imported commercial feeds and improve the efficiency of on-farm feeding strategies particularly within more intensive farming systems. 7. On-site high quality fingerlings production programs to give greater degree of independence for the farmers to obtain seed locally reducing at minimum theacquisition of the seed for small-scale aquaculture farmers living in remote areas. Smallscale aquaculture farmers would benefit from having local sources of seed available for stocking ponds/cages following a harvest. Long transport distances increase costs and reduce the viability of fingerlings stressed by high temperature and low oxygen levels. 8. Promotion of national programs for the utilization of renewable energy sources (e.g. solar and wind energy) in remote areas not served by the national electricity grid. The suggestions of Crespi and Lovatelli (2011) are very important, but I believe that technology transfer and education coupled with an effective extension service managed through local universities are the important components of a successful arid land production program. I have consulted for several governments on projects to improve production in arid zones. In many, governments helped in provision of larval fish and feed, in water testing, and even gave monetary help. However, the only programs that worked well are those farmers were taught what to do and given access to an efficient extension service. In the next and last instalment of this series, I will discuss salt water use for food production.
References available on request
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ISSUE HIGHLIGHT
WHITE FECES DISEASE (WFD) IN SHRIMP
Dr. Farshad Shishehchian
Ph.D., Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Group President & CEO/Founder, Blue Aqua Group of Companies
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W
‘
‘
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF
hite feces disease (WFD) is one of the most serious problems in shrimp culture. WFD on L. vannamei shrimp farming is currently causing lower productivity. WFD becomes apparent when the digestive system of shrimp malfunctions and feces turns from normal (brownish color) to pale white color. White feces appear to be more buoyant than normal feces and float on the water surface. Shrimp hepatopancreas becomes whitish and soft. Farmers have observed that as soon as they see white feces, shrimp eat less. Early disease indications appear in both feed trays and at water surface, where abundant floating fecal strings white to some-what yellow feces are observed (Fig.1) and sometimes could also be found on feeding trays. Diseased shrimp tend to be darker in color and after some time their bodies will lose firmness and become soft and limp, and eventually will die. White feces disease often occurs one - two months after stocking and is manifested as reduced feed intake and feed absorption in the shrimp’s gut. WFD has caused significant economic losses to shrimp farmers, because of high FCR, slow growth, and variable sizes of shrimp at harvest.
ISSUE HIGHLIGHT
Floating fecal strings
Fig 6. Gregarine parasite in squash mount of intestine (Limsuwan, 2010)
Signs and symptoms of WFD in shrimp:
Fig 1. Water surface and pond edge of a Litopenaeus vannamei culture affected by white feces disease (Limsuwan, 2010)
• • • • •
Dark discoloration of the gills (Fig. 2) Hepatopancreas and gut become white and pale in color (Fig. 3) Floating white feces strings (Fig.1) Slow growth Infected shrimps show loose shell (Fig. 4)
Main causes of WFD (the exact cause is still unclear) 1. Pathogenic factors 1.1. Bacteria: Vibrio spp. within hepatopancreas and midgut (Figs. 5) 1.2. Gregarins protozoa in hepatopancreas and midgut (Fig. 6) Fig 2. A shrimp affected by white feces disease, showing darkened gills (Limsuwn, 2011)
Fig 3. Comparison of healthy shrimp (left) to WFD infected shrimp (right) (Limsuwan, 2011)
Fig 4. Shell loss effect of WFD, left: a normal shrimp, right: loose shell (Limsuwan, 2010)
2. Triggering factors 2.1. Accumulation of sludge Accumulation of sludge in intensive shrimp ponds impacts its production. Sludge is derived from feces, uneaten feed and died off phytoplankton. Sludge deposits, are suspected to be the responsible for most of the biological oxygen demand (BOD), mineralization of nutrition from organic matter, and formation of toxic metabolites. Sludge provides over-supply of phytoplankton nutrition. Phytoplankton in ponds which grows fast and dies off fast cannot control its optimum concentration. Following the fast growth of phytoplankton, pH fluctuates fast as well. Next, the phytoplankton die off and sink to the pond bottom and cover soil surface causing anoxic condition and toxic substrate will come up. 2.2. Dirty pond bottom and feeding area To reach good shrimp production, it is important to pay attention to cleanliness of the pond bottom and feeding area. It takes at least 120 days to obtain market size shrimp, thus if the ponds bottom is not managed well during that period, large amounts of organic matter may build up all. If the waste is not all swept to the center of the pond, then the area of the pond bottom that is clean will be smaller and shrimp will not have enough space to live in clean area. Many aerators are required to provide sufficient oxygen. If the placement of the aerators is wrong, the sludge builds up until there is insufficient oxygen for aerobic bacteria to decompose organic matter. Subsequently anaerobic bacteria will take over to decompose organic matter. These bacteria give off byproducts such as ammonia, nitrite, hydrogen sulfide that are harmful to shrimp.
Fig 5. TCBS agar plate shows Vibrio spp. in feces (Limsuwan, 2010)
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ISSUE HIGHLIGHT
2.3. Over feeding and poor feed quality WFD can be related to feed management and feed quality. Over feeding is a common problem whereby the farmer determines the amount of feed remaining in feeding tray. Instead, farmers should set the maximum amount of feed to provide the basis on the number of shrimp and should be aware of how many shrimps there are in stock and keep track of their survival rate. If survival is believed to be higher when in reality it is lower, farmers may make the mistake of overfeeding. Low quality shrimp feed results in low digestibility and low nutrients absorption, leaving large amount of undigested feed in feces, encouraging the growth of pathogenic bacteria and parasites. 2.4. Deteriorating water quality: The water quality parameters must be monitored during culturing period and regular maintenance. Peak mortality rates are seen in extremely low oxygen (<3.0 mg/L) and low alkalinity (<80 ppm) levels. Following low DO, the nitrification cycle is reduced causing the accumulation of ammonia, which shrimp start to encounter stress conditions. If the proper range of DO and alkalinity are not available, the shrimp molts will be weakened and become susceptible to outbreak of disease. 2.5. Phytoplankton crash Intensive and super-intensive shrimp ponds result in high nutrient loads so the dynamic of phytoplankton changes very fast in shrimp ponds. When phytoplankton grow fast, the water will quickly get dark and whenever there is pH fluctuations, there is a large drop in phytoplankton concentration (crash). Phytoplankton crash can cause a build-up of organic matter which will remain at the bottom of the pond. 2.6. Climatic changes Climatic change that causes extreme temperatures and rainfall make shrimp more susceptible to disease. Mortalities are precipitated by sudden stress from the changes of wide fluctuation of climatic condition. Fig 7. Take out intestine to check the color (Limsuwan, 2010)
Laboratory Diagnosis procedures: • Midgut checking method (Fig. 7) to see the presence of WFD • Bacteriological identification (Figs. 8-11) • Histopathological study for Gregarine infection (Fig. 12)
Fig 10. Vibrio infects (Limsuwan, 2010)
Fig 11. Gregarine infection (Limsuwan, 2010)
E Fig 12. Histopathology of hepatopancreas of infected shrimps with Vibrio spp., arrow shows nodule formation (Somboon, 2012).
Preventive measures and treatment To prevent or reduce the risk of aquatic animal diseases, it is important to prevent and control water and soil quality factors continuously. Production shortages resulting from shrimp mortality, slow growth, and high FCR occur and affect the economics of shrimp farms, thus eliminating the WFD triggers is the best prevention. Early detection and diagnosis are crucial factors to well-timed and prompt control. Therefore, the shrimp farmer must be familiar with potential shrimp disease problems that may occur. Since unexplained mortalities do occur in ponds, a close watch should be kept for signs of disease.
Preventive measures: 1. Pond should be well prepared before stocking post larvae: Removal of sludge: all the sludge should be removed. Farmers may neglect to properly remove all the sludge out of the pond bottom especially from its center. In traditional pond preparation, the simple method is to let the pond dry normally under the sun for several days. In doing so, the pond bottom will be treated by sun and sludge will be reduced and the lower layer of sludge will be exposed to the air. However, in case of rain or cloudy atmosphere, shrimp pond cannot be dried out. In traditional pond preparation, sludge accumulation in dried soil cannot be removed totally To eliminate sludge accumulation, use PondGro as a tool for bioremediation
Fig 8. TCBS agar plate show Vibrio spp. in feces (Limsuwan, 2010)
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Fig 9. Squash mount of shrimp midgut (Limsuwan, 2010)
• After shrimp harvest, dry off the pond bottom for several days (7-14 days) • Fill up water 40–70 cm • Apply PondGro, 10kgs/hectare and molasses 100 liters/ hectare
Turn on paddle wheels for mixing and distribute PondGro and molasses over pond bottom. Leave the aeration on during the treatment period for 7-10 days Fill up water to proper level and continue for water preparation
PondGro is specific blend of strong activity and viable aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria. PondGro benefits are the following: • Enhances biological degradation of sludge accumulation in pond bottom • Improves soil pond bottom quality during pond preparation period • Reduces toxic substrates such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide build up from soil pond bottom 2. Decrease stocking densities during the hot season. 3. Applying biosecurity to prevent the diseases. A reliable source of stocks, adequate detection, and diagnostic methods to exclude diseases. 4. Sufficient aeration is required to keep the oxygen level in water (3.5-4.0 ppm) before dawn so that even during the night time, the organic matter could be decomposed by bacteria more efficiently and to ensure that there will be enough water current to sweep all sediment towards to center of the pond. 5. Monitoring the shrimp health: effective management of the shrimp health requires consideration of balance between the host, pathogen and environment. Disease and production problems vary during different phases of shrimp culture. Most often pathogens are present in association with the environment and shrimps are apparently healthy and show normal growth. 6. Application of probiotic will reduce the chances of diseases. Application of appropriate probiotics containing Bacillus subtilis that blocks the growth of pathogenic Vibrio spp. bacteria. Also, the use of specific nutrients to promote the development of selected prebiotics in gut. • Apply 250-500 g of BactoGro per hectare in every 3 days. 7. Improving pond bottom and water quality by the application of probiotics capable of degrading wastes can be useful in improving water quality and pond bottom. • Apply 250 g of SoilGro per hectare every 3 days 8. Feed management: Caution against over feeding: farmer should be using feeding tray to determine the amount of necessary feed and set maximum feed limit at each culture period depending on the assumed survival rate. 8.1. Use functional feed additives with non-specific immune system booster ability, with high levels of essential amino acids, fatty acids and low anti-nutritional factors which improves shrimp health and survival.
- Use SigPak*Aqua, this is a highly bioavailable functional ingredient formulated to improve feed quality. - Mix SigPak*Aqua with 5-10% of feed, coated by binder. Benefits of SigPak*Aqua - - - -
High digestibility and high absorption High levels of essential amino acid, essential fatty acid, phospholipid and cholesterol Enhances immune response Natural pathogenic bacteria inhibitor that can overcome diseases/infection
ISSUE HIGHLIGHT
• • •
8.2. Use natural antibiotic feed additive and growth promoter to prevent and control incidences of pathogenic bacteria - Use AlphaGuard*LPlus as a natural product combined with medium and short chain fatty acid and plant extract (eucalyptus, oregano and thyme). It has synergistic effect on inhibition of pathogenic bacteria in shrimp gut. - Dosage of AlphaGuard*LPlus is 3-5 ml per 1 kg of pellet feed. - Mix AlphaGuard*LPlus with binder - Combine the mixture thoroughly to coat feed - Air dry 30 minutes before feeding
Benefits of AlphaGuard*LPlus - - - - -
Effective substitute of antibiotic and growth promoters Improves growth rate Prevents and controls incidences of diseases Strengthens the immune system Farmers must cut feeding during an extreme weather change, for example during heavy rain for several days where salinity changes more than 3 ppt and temperature is below 22 oC in a single day period.
9. Maintaining the proper concentration of phytoplankton by controlling the organic matter, removal of dead phytoplankton from the surface after phytoplankton crash, maintain the stability of the plankton to balance C, N and P ratio. • To control the watercolor (phytoplankton) in a proper range Daily monitoring of water transparency is very important. Farmers should not leave phytoplankton to grow until water color darkens (dark green, transparency less than 20 cm). When water color darkens and transparency gets close to 30 cm, the growth of phytoplankton should decrease before starting to die off by using FytoShade until the result of 40-50 cm transparency is obtained. • In the case of phytoplankton crash, remove died off phytoplankton from the water surface (Fig.13) before they sink to pond bottom and convert to large amounts of ammonia. - Apply 250-500 g of BactoGro per hectare every 3 days for ammonia to decompose died off phytoplankton in suspension and to prevent bloom of Vibrio spp. - Apply 250 g of SoilGro per hectare every 3 days for nitrate to compete with phytoplankton and degrade settled died phytoplankton on pond bottom. - In the case of high levels of ammonia (more than 3 ppm)
25
ISSUE HIGHLIGHT Fig. 13. Died-phytoplankton on surface of pond water should be removed
Treatment: 1. All the aerators should be turned on full power to speed up decomposition of wastes 2. Stop feeding for one day 3. Resume feeding gradually
In the 1st stage of disease (first week), if approximately 10% of shrimps are infected and the rest are in good health, it is the best time to treat the disease and prevent it before spreading to healthy shrimps. In 2nd stage, it is still possible to control the disease and recover the shrimps that are infected with WFD. In 3rd stage, with increasing time, the number of infected and non-infected shrimps will increase to 50-50%; in this case, maybe it is still possible to solve the problem and recover some of the shrimps. However, in 4th stage, chances to recover shrimps will be extremely diminished and one cannot solve the problem.
4. To control pathogen and sanitization in shrimp gut, give a chance to get rid of the pathogens and other diseases. If WFD is caused by gregarine protozoa, then apply 3-5 g of ParaGo (top dressing with pellet feed) continuously for 3-5 days If WFD is caused by Vibrio spp., then apply 3-5 ml of AlpaGuard* LPlus to reduce Vibrio spp. in shrimp gut
26
50 50
80
90
Non-Infected
20
5. Application of appropriate probiotics containing Bacillus spp. block the growth of pathogenic Vibrio spp. bacteria. Also, these products are specific nutrients to promote the development of selected prebiotics in gut • Apply 250-500 g of BactoGro per hectare every 3 days to colonize in water column and control the bacteria colonization and bloom of Vibrio spp. in water • Apply 250 g of SoilGro per hectare every 3 days to colonize in pond bottom and degrade the waste, eliminating the toxic substance build-up and reduce the stress factors in ponds • If farmer finds co-infection of shrimps by gregarines and Vibrio together, it is recommended to apply both ParaGo, AlpaGuard* LPlus and SigPak*Aqua together
Infected with WFD
10
• •
PERCENTAGE OF SHRIMP
STAGE 1
STAGE 2
STAGE 3
STAGE 4
Can manage the WSD and recover the shrimp
Maybe can solve the problem
Cannot solve the problem
30 days
- Establish a new phytoplankton community by applying 3-5 kg of FytoGro per hectare and 3-5 kg of AlkaSet per hectare between 7.00-9.00 am every 3 days until phytoplankton recovers growth (transparency of 40 cm, water color becomes green or brownish green)
The best decision to treat the WFD spread in the infected ponds is directly related to the time of diagnosis of symptoms (Fig. 13). During the culture period, depending on which stage of infection we are dealing with and possible symptoms, the farmers can solve the problem and recover the shrimps by timely management.
80
• If the pond water is very clear, apply 2-6 packs of FytoShade per hectare to reduce sunlight penetration in water (stress factor) until 40-50 cm transparency is resulted.
Management of WFD based on different stages of disease:
20
and nitrite (depending on salinity 5-10 ppm), apply 1kg of NitroGro and 3-5 kg of AlkaSet per hectare between 7.00-8.00 pm every 3 days until concentration of ammonia and nitrite goes down (should measure ammonia and nitrite every 2 days). If ammonia rate is more than 5 ppm, apply 3-5 liter of AmmoTrap per hectare once a week.
Fig. 14. Stages of treatment of WFD infected ponds.
Once most of the shrimp in pond are infected with WFD, it is usually impossible to treat. Farmers should start early harvesting.
Mixotrophicтм System
ISO 2200 : 2005
Cert. No.: 770911 and 770911a
INTERVIEW
7
Questions With Dr. Farshad Shishehchian
Dr. Farshad Shishehchian Group President & CEO Blue Aqua International Group
1. Dr. Farshad, explain what is White Feces Syndrome and EHP in shrimp?
of EHP. Nevertheless, PCR needs a certain quantity of DNA to register a positive reading. Also, if the animal only carries a few spores then there will not be enough DNA to register a positive reading. That is why it can go undetected and it does not help with the fact that the shrimp does not usually die.
These are diseases that are caused by a multitude of factors, from external parasite and bacterial infections to nutrition and environmental influences like water quality and pond bottom management. In addition to that, nutritional deficiency in aquatic animals are common nowadays with the quality of commercially available diets.
3. Tell us about the current issue
2. What are some early infection
signs for the two diseases?
In the case of White Feces, the affected shrimp starts to eat less and are darker in color. Early signs emerge in feed trays and on the water surface where there are loads of fecal strings. In the severely affected shrimp, hepatopancreas and gut turns white and pale yellow. Now, in terms of spotting early signs in EHP, it is not as easy as other diseases. PCR, which is a detecting genetic material, is the simplest way to detect the presence
28
with White Feces and EHP and how it has affected farmers?
I think White Feces and EHP are multifactor diseases that many farmers are suffering with around the region. Based on my personal experience with the occurrence, the changes in the diet formulation and the move to a low fishmeal diet is one of the factors that may trigger the disease. I believe that nutrition is very important and we have to do more research and developments in creating specialized diets for super-intensive farming, and nutritional additives to prevent the proliferation of the disease.
a stop to the two diseases?
We are able to work out a protocol and system that helps to reduce the impact and occurrence of the two diseases. My own personal recommendation is to move to a green culture system, which helps to reduce organic matter and improve feed conversion ratio. This system will also assist in supplying natural diet for the shrimp. We need to look after a good microbial flora in the system with the implementation of bacteria in the water column. In addition to that, sufficient nutrient and management of health helps to control the disease.
INTERVIEW
4. Are we able to control and put
5. What should the industry do in
the future to prevent such diseases from developing?
What we have to do is to go back to the basics, we have to really start working on better nutrition and understand what are the proper nutrition and water quality measurements for the system. We have to also look at understanding the water quality and the pond system in relation to health, which is not only looking at growth and survival as indicators. This will definitely help to avoid the same kind of issue from developing.
6. What is one lesson we can take
away from this?
The lesson is that we have to be more careful with our farming and operation, not everything is about growth and survival. We have to consider the management of the environment and nutrition. In many cases, a good growth rate does not guarantee the ability to have internal resistance to overcome and fight diseases.
7. Will the industry be able to
fully recover from these two diseases?
We have been able to recover from all sorts of diseases over the years. With my experience of over 25 years, one key factor is effective management of shrimp health. It requires a balance between the host, pathogen, and environment. Disease and production issues vary during the different phases of shrimp culture. Thus, as long as we are able to control these variants then we will be able to recover. We have to be always ready and careful with our biosecurity and approach with nutrient and farm management.
29
NEWS & PRESS
News Around the World
By Jason Holland, January 22, 2019
Fish farm fuels first commercial flight the oil and gas industry, food production, and the creation of a new agricultural alternative in the United Arab Emirates. U.A.E. Minister of State for Food Security Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Mheiri said this proof of concept was a groundbreaking development that addresses the challenges of energy, water, and food security. “What is particularly exciting about the SEAS is that it is an initiative that supports multiple platforms; aviation, oil and gas and agriculture,” she said. “It is an important specialized initiative under the aquaculture umbrella, with the UAE recognizing that this sector represents one of the best uses of what is the region’s most precious resource and has consequently established its aquaculture sector with an investment of more than AED 100 million (USD 27.2 million, EUR 23.9 million) to develop hatcheries and fish farms.
T
he world’s first commercial flight using a sustainable biofuel originating from a fish farm has been confirmed by the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC).
A non-profit entity established by Masdar Institute (part of Khalifa University of Science and Technology), SBRC said the Etihad Airways Boeing 787 flight from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam marked a major milestone in the development of a clean, alternative aviation fuel to reduce carbon emissions. It also highlighted that the initiative addresses food security in the United Arab Emirates, with seafood farming providing a core element of the process. The SBRC partners have been working together to prove the concept of a comprehensive value chain that is centered around the Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS). This is an industrial platform that supports the aviation sector,
The fuel for the flight was derived from oil in salicornia plants, which were grown on the two-hectare SEAS farm in Masdar City, U.A.E. Fish and shrimp raised at the desert facility provide nutrients for the plants as well as contributing to U.A.E. food production. Operated by the SBRC, the SEAS pilot facility became operational in March 2016. It grows salt-tolerant halophyte plants that thrive in desert conditions and do not require fresh water or arable land. After wastewater from the fish fertilizes the plants, it is diverted into a cultivated mangrove forest. This further removes nutrients and provides carbon storage before the filtered and treated effluent is discharged back into the sea. Over the course of the next few years, the system is expected to scale up to 200 hectares as it moves toward full-scale commercial implementation. Approximately 160,000 passenger flights have flown on a blend of biofuel and traditional jet fuel since the first biofuels were certified for commercial use in 2011.
Jason Holland Contributing Editor reporting from London, UK Email: jason@jasonhollandcommunications.com Twitter: @SeafoodGuruSome Instagram: jasonhollandcomms Website: seafoodsource.com
30
Photo courtesy of European Committee of the Regions
the European Union
T
he performance of the aquaculture sector in the European Union is improving across the board, with all sectors displaying strong economic growth, according to the latest report from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF). The 2018 Economic Report of the EU Aquaculture Sector is a comprehensive overview of the latest production figures, value, structure, and competitive performance of the sector at both country and E.U. level between 2008 and 2016. Analysis shows that sales volumes amounted to 1.4 million metric tons (MT), valued at EUR 4.9 billion (USD 5.6 billion) in 2016, which was an increase of six percent in volume and eight percent in value compared to 2014. Profits doubled during this time, reaching EUR 800 million (USD 917.2 million) total in earnings before interest and tax. Of the 28 countries making up the E.U., the United Kingdom, France, Greece, Italy, and Spain accounted for around 75 percent of aquaculture production. Speaking at the 50th anniversary of the European Fisheries Partnership in Brussels, prior to the report being released, E.U. Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella stressed the need for sustainable fish farming to flourish and confirmed the European Union’s commitment to large-scale expansion of aquaculture by member-states. “It is an industry that creates economic growth, employment and economic stability, especially in rural areas and along coastal areas,” Vella said. The aquaculture sector is made up of around 12,500 companies, which are mostly micro-businesses employing less than 10 employees. The total number of employees was 73,000 in 2016, a figure that has remained stable for several years. However, one major change is a significant growth in the number of fulltime equivalent people employed, which rose from 36,000 in 2013 to just under 44,000 in 2016. In terms of products, the analysis is broken down into marine fish, freshwater fish, and shellfish. Marine fish is the largest of these categories, with a value of EUR 2.7 billion (USD 3.1 billion) in 2016. Shellfish weighed in at EUR 1.1 billion (USD 1.3 billion) and freshwater fish at EUR 1 billion (USD 1.2 billion). The main species in terms of value were Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, and European sea bass. The U.K. accounted for
NEWS & PRESS
Aquaculture sector thriving in
By Nicki Holmyard, January 14, 2019
91 percent of the value of salmon, and Greece for 47 percent of the value of sea bream and sea bass. Trout production was dominated by Italy (19 percent), Denmark (17 percent) and France (14 percent). Carp, an important species in Eastern Europe, was mainly produced in Poland (24 percent), Czech Republic (23 percent) and Hungary (14 percent). In the shellfish sector, France and Spain were the most important countries in terms of production volume and value. France accounted for 86 percent of oyster production, Spain for 45 percent of mussel production, and Italy for 80 percent of clam production. In terms of the number of businesses, Portugal was the leading country, while Spain registered the largest number of employees. Strong regional differences were found in the average annual wage, which was EUR 25,000 (USD 28,500) in 2016, having risen just 3.5 percent since 2014. However, the range of annual salaries varied between EUR 3,000 (USD 3,420) in Bulgaria to EUR 65,000 (USD 74,100) per year in the Netherlands and Denmark. Under the terms of the E.U. Common Fishery Policy , memberstates were required in 2014-2015 to prepare multiannual strategic plans with the aim of decreasing the E.U.’s dependence on seafood imports. Through their plans, countries were required to simplify administrative procedures, secure sustainable development and growth of aquaculture through coordinated spatial planning, enhance the competitiveness of E.U. aquaculture, and promote a level playing field for E.U. operators. In analyzing progress on the plans, the report found that more than half of the projected actions were underway in most countries, and that all would be concluded within the deadlines set by those countries, which vary between 2020 and 2025. Overall, the value of aquaculture production in the E.U. is predicted to increase from EUR 2.85 billion (USD 3.25 billion) in 2013 to EUR 4.09 billion (USD 4.66 billion) by the end of 2025. Countries predicted to experience the largest increase in value through their national programs include Belgium (156 percent) Herzegovinian (132 percent), Ireland (122 percent), and Lithuania (111 percent). Nicki Holmyard Contributing Editor Email: nickiholmyard@gmail.com Website: seafoodsource.com
31
NEWS & PRESS The paper argues for the sustainable intensification of aquaculture
Aquaculture and the “Great Food Transformation”
A
quaculture – unlike the production of red meat and dairy – has a key role to play in ensuring the world’s growing population receive sufficient nutrients, according to a ground-breaking new report on feeding the planet. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems, published this week, has been written by 37 authors from 16 counties in various fields of human health, agriculture, political sciences, and environmental sustainability and aims to develop global scientific targets based on the best evidence available for healthy diets and sustainable food production.
by Rob Fletcher, 17 January 2019, at 1:52pm
“
They argue that a “Great Food Transformation” is needed but “will only be achieved through widespread, multisector, multilevel action that includes a substantial global shift towards healthy dietary patterns, large reductions in food loss and waste, and major improvements in food production practices.”
This healthy reference diet largely consists of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and unsaturated oils, includes a low to moderate amount of seafood and poultry, and includes no or a low quantity of red meat, processed meat, added sugar, refined grains, and starchy vegetables
“820 million people have insufficient food and many more consume low-quality diets that cause micronutrient deficiencies and contribute to a substantial rise in the incidence of dietrelated obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, including coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes… Because much of the world’s population is inadequately nourished and many environmental systems and processes are pushed beyond safe boundaries by food production, a global transformation of the food system is urgently needed,” it argues.
In order to achieve large-scale and coordinated efforts to transform the global food system, the authors argue that political pressure should be applied to ensure citizens move towards an increasingly healthy “reference diet”.
“
32
NEWS & PRESS
“This healthy reference diet largely consists of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and unsaturated oils, includes a low to moderate amount of seafood and poultry, and includes no or a low quantity of red meat, processed meat, added sugar, refined grains, and starchy vegetables,” they explain.
The role of seafood The report points out that seafood, in particular that produced by sustainable aquaculture practices, will have an important role, albeit not as substantial as that of healthy vegetarian options. “Seafood provides 3.1 billion people with about 20 percent of their daily intake of animal protein and is particularly important for the world’s poorest for whom fish eaten whole constitute a crucial source of essential micro nutrients. With 90 percent of global wild fish stocks being overfished or fished at capacity, seafood extraction potential from the wild has probably reached a ceiling or is declining. Future expansion of seafood should come from aquaculture, which is one of the fastest growing food production sectors in the world,” it states. With global aquaculture production set to more than double by 2050, the report notes a number of options for this to be achieved sustainably.
“Future risks and opportunities related to anticipated aquaculture expansion need to be managed. This management includes implementation of strict regulation on where to locate new operations, antibiotic and chemical use, nutrient runoff, and application of sustainably sourced feed from terrestrial and marine origin. Seafood transparency and eco-certification schemes can also be viable mechanisms for improving performance of the expanding seafood sector.”
Conclusions
“
“
Aquaculture will not solve the challenges posed by feeding about 10 billion people healthy diets but could help steer production of animal source proteins towards reduced environmental effects and enhanced health benefits
The paper voices concerns that poor water quality could hamper the growth of shellfish aquaculture
“Aquaculture production is projected to increase from 60 million tonnes in 2010 to 100 million tonnes in 2030, and up to 140 million tonnes by 2050. Key constraints include competition for feed resources and available land for freshwater farming. Research in sustainable aquaculture feeds is rapidly developing; however, development and implementation still remains in its infancy. Farmed non-feed dependent animal species (ie mussels and oysters) might be a more sustainable alternative than farmed feed-dependent species and account for 31 per cent of global aquaculture production. However, future development might be hampered by deteriorating water quality due to pollution and ocean acidification.
“The future environmental footprint of seafood depends on the species farmed, what they eat, and where aquaculture takes place. Aquaculture will not solve the challenges posed by feeding about 10 billion people healthy diets but could help steer production of animal source proteins towards reduced environmental effects and enhanced health benefits.
While many of the report’s statistics are alarming, the good news is that they believe there is still time to ensure that 10 billion people can carve out a healthy and sustainable existence on the planet – as long as dietary habits are changed. “Application of this framework to future projections of world development indicates that food systems can provide healthy diets… for an estimated global population of about 10 billion people by 2050 and remain within a safe operating space. However, even small increases in consumption of red meat or dairy foods would make this goal difficult or impossible to achieve,” they state. “This Great Food Transformation will only be achieved through widespread, multisector, multilevel action that includes a substantial global shift towards healthy dietary patterns, large reductions in food loss and waste, and major improvements in food production practices. Data are sufficient and strong enough to warrant action; delay will increase the likelihood of not achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. This Commission shows that a Great Food Transformation is both necessary and achievable,” the report concludes.
Rob Fletcher Senior Editor at The Fish Site
33
NEWS & PRESS
China’s seafood imports balloon
by 44% to $12bn in 2018 By Louis Harkell, Jan. 23, 2019 13:46 GMT
C
hina’s seafood imports ballooned by a massive 44% to $11.9 billion last year as the country continues to change the face of global seafood trade. In the twelve months to the end of December 2018, China imported CNY 787bn worth of seafood, according to Chinese customs data published on Wednesday. In US dollar terms, the increase amounted to $3.62bn compared with 2017 to $11.91bn, Chinese customs said, a percentage increase of 43.6%. “Wow,” said Undercurrent News’ China correspondent, Hu Luyi. The increase in imports was greater than for any other food commodity, Chinese figures show. Chinese customs figures also do not include imports of fishmeal (HS code 2301), worth an additional $1.5bn-2.5bn in annual imports in a typical year. China’s seafood exports increased by 3% year-on-year to $21.5bn, Chinese customs show. This includes seafood traded under HS codes 03, 1604 and 1605. Exports grew more slowly as labor costs in China rise and aquaculture production growth slows or possibly contracts.
China’s seafood imports, 2001-2017 Here, 2018 figures are not shown, but an increase of 40% would be a huge spike on previous years’ imports
USS millions
15k
10k
5k
0 2002
34
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
Aquatic invertebrates
Fish (dried, salted, etc)
Preserved fish
Live fish
Preserved crustaceans
Fish fillets
Fresh fish
Molluscs
Fishmeal
Crustaceans
Whole frozen fish
China is home to a huge re-processing industry, importing unprocessed fish and seafood from all over the globe and then processing it for re-export, which comprises a large share of China’s seafood imports. Chinese imports have also surged as the country’s growing middle-class splash out on seafood imports, thanks to concerns about food safety, preference for foreign and wild-caught products, and increasing consumer choice. But in 2018, the increase was likely mainly down to growing direct shipments to China. “It’s part of the reason,” an importer told Undercurrent, referring to the growth in direct imports. In recent years, the true picture of China’s seafood consumption boom has been hidden due to an illicit seafood trade across the border between northern Vietnam and southern China. According to an Undercurrent analysis in 2016, Vietnam’s seafood imports were worth over $5bn, up from $25 million in 2001, with the majority of imports transshipped to China. The trade blossomed to avoid Chinese imports tariffs -- which are levied on imports for domestic consumption but not on raw material processed and re-exported -- and inspection, but legitimate importers were undercut and a large volume of seafood imports was hidden from view. Besides the smuggling crackdown, China has also reduced tariffs on products and struck free trade agreements, with Australian exporters of rock lobster enjoying zero-tariff access as of Jan.1 this year. With more seafood imported by China direct through official channels, legitimate importers will benefit from a more level playing field and a closer relationship between suppliers and consumers.
Contact the author louis.harkell@undercurrentnews.com Credit: HelloRF Zcool/Shutterstock.com
W
farmed salmon
ith gill challenges like amoebic gill disease (AGD) providing some of the Atlantic salmon farming industry’s most detrimental problems, two Scottish consortiums are embarking on initiatives to improve gill health and resilience in the species.
“
health of
NEWS & PRESS
consortiums “seekScottish to improve the gill
The projects, valued at a combined GBP 3.5 million (USD 4.5 million, EUR 3.9 million), are backed by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) and bring together expertise from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), the Roslin Institute (part of the University of Edinburgh), salmon farming company Loch Duart, and salmon breeding business Landcatch Natural Selection. Another 10 organizations, including The Scottish Salmon Company and Grieg Seafood Shetland, will also contribute to the consortiums. Their work will complement a GBP 800,000 (USD 1 million, EUR 896,770) SAIC co-funded project announced in April 2018, which is aiming to develop new feeds to promote salmon health and devise diagnostic tools for monitoring gill health. Combining the consortium’s expertise, skills and data, the first project is exploring the factors that can cause gill damage or disease to occur – such as the local environment, water quality and temperatures, as well as nutrition, farming practices and equipment – while also examining how better to prevent and control the condition.
By Jason Holland, January 15, 2019
According to Robin Shields, senior aquaculture innovation manager at SAIC, gill health ranks alongside sea lice as one of the biggest challenges facing salmon farming, and this is the case across all salmon-producing countries. “This is an internationally significant issue, which we’re aiming to address through this focused effort from some of the top minds in the field.
The second project is analyzing the genetic characteristics that cause some salmon to be more vulnerable to gill disease. And SAIC said the results could allow the aquaculture industry to breed fish with enhanced resilience to gill infections and other health issues, such as sea lice.
“The health of a fish’s gills is absolutely critical to its overall wellbeing. The outcomes we are looking for from these projects are to help provide the industry with the knowledge and tools it needs to manage and control outbreaks, and – further down the line – to prevent disease as far as we can by breeding fish with greater natural resistance,” said Shields.
Scotland is the third largest producer of salmon in the world, according to recent figures from the Scottish Government. In 2017 the industry produced 189,707 metric tons (MT) and supported around 8,000 jobs across the country, with an overall value of more than GBP 1 billion (USD 1.3 billion, EUR 1.1 billion) to the economy. But in the last few years, impaired gill health has become a major challenge in an ever-changing natural environment, accounting for substantial losses of fish.
Giada Desperati, research and development coordinator at Loch Duart said that rising water temperature is adding to the gill challenges facing salmon. “Ensuring the best possible health and welfare for our fish is massively important to our company. Not only is Loch Duart investing heavily in new technology to counteract this problem, but we welcome with open arms the opportunity to work together with other salmon farmers on this important health issue,” she said.
Jason Holland Contributing Editor reporting from London, UK Email: jason@jasonhollandcommunications.com Twitter: @SeafoodGuruSome Instagram: jasonhollandcomms Website: seafoodsource.com
35
NEWS & PRESS
Land-based salmon project raises
$5.8m from industry stalwarts All the shareholders. From left: Victor Fiveland (Artec Holding), Kjell Arne Smage (Smage Eiendom), Glen Bradley (Rofisk), Joar Sandoy (Rofisk), Kristofer Reiten (Romsdalsfisk), Jonny Smage (Romsdalsfisk), Frank Smage (Smage Eiendom), Frode Kjolas (Kjolas Stansekniver), Per Olav Mevold (Romsdalsfisk), Bjornar Flem (Artec Holding), Peder Stette (Stette Invest) and Ingjarl Skarvoy (Terra Mare). Credit: Salmon Evolution
36
N
orway’s Salmon Evolution -- which aims to be Europe’s largest land-based salmon farm -- has raised NOK 50 million ($5.8m) through a private placement, it announced. The firm, based in Haroysund, outside Molde, will use the share capital to design the first construction phase, organizational development, and the appointment of key personnel, as well as general company purposes, it said. “The issue fully finances the current phase up to the next share issue in the course of 2019.” With a planned standing biomass of 13,300 metric tons, and an annual salmon production capacity of 28,800t, the project will become the largest land-based salmon farm in Europe upon completion. An estimated NOK 3.2 billion (€330m) is thought to be necessary for the entire investment, Norwegian media has reported in the past. Salmon Evolution’s aims with its first share issue were to gain “regional entrenchment and industry-based expertise”, and chair Kristofer Reiten -- also co-owner of fishing firm Romsdalsfisk, the principal shareholder in Salmon Evolution, and CEO of pelagic fishing and processing company Vikomar -- said he was pleased with the new structure. “Our aim with the first issue has been to secure a long-term ownership constellation with heavyweight expertise. We’ve succeeded with that.” New shareholders elected to the board are Glen Bradley and Anders Sandoy on behalf of Rofisk, and Frank Smage from Smage Eiendom, as well as Frode Kjolas for Kjolas
NEWS & PRESS
By Neil Ramsden, Jan. 22, 2019 10:42 GMT
pick up the pace into the next phase, he said. “We call this ‘sea-based aquaculture on land’.” Great interest was shown in the issue, the firm said, with Reiten and Romsdalsfisk themselves participating with 10% of the private placement. Rofisk, which secured more than 13% of Salmon Evolution, owns Rostein, one of the world’s largest wellboat owners.
Stansekniver and Peder Stette from Stette Invest (both also hold key positions in Aalesund-based seafood logisitics firm Optimar). Reiten remains chair of the company, with Per Olav Mevold continuing as a director. “With shareholders and a board which possesses solid experience from building up and running strategically important enterprises in this industry, we’re extremely well equipped to enter the more operational phase,” said Reiten. “Farming salmon on land is not a straightforward business, and involves to a great extent taking some technological choices which will yield the most stable possible production environment for the fish and thereby provide predictable operation. We’ve taken the best conditions the sea provides with us to land, and have therefore chosen the flow through system and CO2 aeration as our concept.” Alongside a “unique location” with access to unlimited seawater, this is the main reason why the firm can now
“Our investment in Salmon Evolution is a clear signal that we want to contribute further to developing Norway’s fantastic aquaculture sector,” said Rofisk chair Glen Bradley. “Fish farming along our coasts builds on clean and fresh seawater and, with Salmon Evolution’s location and choice of technology, we want to contribute to realizing Norway’s huge potential in aquaculture.” He regards the investment as an exciting opportunity, which will create jobs, much activity, and new technology as well as commercial spin-offs in several industries. “It was a requirement for us that the project builds further on today’s aquaculture industry, and we’ll see many common denominators with regard to specialists, suppliers and customers. That will strengthen Norway as a leading seafood nation in world terms.”
Shareholders in Salmon Evolution AS Contact
Shareholding
Romsdalsfisk AS
Per Olav Mevod
60.0%
Rofisk AS
Odd Einar Sandøy
13.3%
Terra Mare AS
Ing jarl Skarvøy
10.0%
Artec Holding AS
Bjørn Finnøy
4.0%
Kjølås Stansekniver AS
Frode Kjølås
3.3%
Stette Invest AS
Peder Stette
3.3%
Småge Eiendom AS
Frank Småge
3.3%
Salmoserve AS
Glen Bradley
2.7%
Contact the author neil.ramsden@undercurrentnews.com 37
NEWS & PRESS
Has China just become the world’s largest shrimp importer?
C
By Louis Harkell, Feb. 26, 2019 17:05 GMT
US shrimp imports
hina imported a massive 71,227 metric tons of shrimp in the month of January worth $449 million, according to Chinese customs, begging the question: is China now the world’s largest importer of shrimp?
By comparison, the US imported 68,671t of shrimp in November of last year, the most recent month of US shrimp import data, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2,556t less shrimp than China imported. Only in October of last year did the US import over 70,000t of shrimp, with 74,875t, according to NOAA (see chart one).
38
USS killogram
12
60k
10 30k 8 0 2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Based on data from NOAA © 2019 Undercurrent News Volumes
Average unit value
2018
Metric tons
The import surge came as the country’s seafood importers prepared for Chinese New Year holidays in February, its busiest period for seafood sales.
90k
14
NEWS & PRESS
how more and more Chinese importers are importing through official channels direct to China.” The first industry source, who wished not to be quoted by name, concurred. “It shows how well the Vietnam channel has been shut down and minimized. It will be interesting to see how the next few months stack up,” he said, adding: “70,000t of shrimp in one month is a lot of shrimp.” But still large volumes continue to be transshipped to the country via Vietnam. This might have taken China’s January imports above 100,000t. Some 12,730t of shrimp which departed Ecuador’s ports in the month of December destined for Vietnam would likely have arrived in January, for instance. Large volumes farmed in Southeast Asia also are shipped to China undocumented. Indeed, maybe Ecuador and India which supplied 21,437t and 12,981t respectively in January will continue to export large volumes to China directly, but perhaps not. Also, will Saudia Arabia maintain its extraordinary surge in exports to China? In January, the Middle Eastern country supplied 19,033t of shrimp imported through official channels by China, up from nothing the same month of last year.
China’s direct shrimp imports in January Value: $ 387.8 m
39 :$ lue Va
But does this make China the world’s largest shrimp importer ahead of the US? Arguably the US, home of Bubba Gump shrimp, still holds this title.
m
Value: $ 21.3 m
According to an industry source, the US imports mostly headless shrimp, rather than head-on shrimp imported by China. This means a greater amount of shrimp was imported by volumes actually farmed or caught. “On a weight basis 70,000t of headless [shrimp] would represent 108,000t of head-on shrimp,” the source told Undercurrent News. Chinese New Year is also especially busy for Chinese seafood importers whereas US imports grow gradually through the summer months before peaking before Christmas. Moreover, US shrimp imports in November were valued at $615m, versus $449m for China in January, representing greater value for shrimp-producing countries exporting to the US.
Vietnam route “That China imported 70,000t of shrimp is very significant,” Jim Gulkin, CEO of Siam Canadian Group, told Undercurrent. “It highlights how China’s consumption is growing and also shows
Warmwater shrimp Frozen coldwater shrimp Live fresh or chilled warmwater shrimp Prepared/preserved shrimp
Contact the author louis.harkell@undercurrentnews.com
Credit: KPG Ivary/Shutterstock.com 39
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