Aquaculture Magazine August-September 2021 Vol. 47 No. 4 by Aquaculture Magazine

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AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

INDEX

Aquaculture Magazine Volume 47 Number 4 August - September 2021

EDITOR´S COMMENTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

12 ARTICLE

Aquaculture Festival 2021 by Himakua IPB University in Indonesia.

15 ARTICLE

Here comes the scintillating story of seagrass meadow.

18 ARTICLE

Fine-scale succession patterns and assembly mechanisms of bacterial community of Litopenaeus vannamei larvae across the developmental cycle.

24 ARTICLE

How agricultural rendering supports sustainability and assists livestock’s ability to contribute more than just food.

32 ARTICLE

on the

cover

Global trends in antimicrobial use in aquaculture.

Several countries have experienced dramatic reductions in antimicrobial use rates following the introduction of vaccination and improved management and husbandry programs, serving as important antimicrobial stewardship models.

50 Volume 47 Number 4 August - September 2021

Shrimpbox: The missing piece of aquaculture.

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AQUACULTURE WITHOUT FRONTIERS

Editorial Design Francisco Cibrián

ARTICLE

Yucca schidigera Usage for Healthy Aquatic Animals: Potential Roles for Sustainability.

Design of an Intelligent Variable-Flow Recirculating Aquaculture System Based on Machine Learning Methods.

66 LATIN AMERICA REPORT Recent News and Events.

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Editorial Assistant Lucía Araiza editorial@dpinternationalinc.com

News Bites.

58 ARTICLE

Editor and Publisher Salvador Meza info@dpinternationalinc.com

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AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

COLUMNS

OUT AND ABOUT

Low demand for certified aquaculture products: one of the leading causes of the low rate of Sustainable production certification. By: Salvador Meza *

AQUAFEED

Recent news from around the globe by Aquafeed.com. By Suzi Dominy*

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THE FISHMONGER

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Who has control of the agenda?

Why sustainable aquaculture may be elusive? By Stephen G. Newman Ph.D. * President and CEO, AquaInTech Inc.

What everyone should be aware of aquaculture: a departing reflection By: Lucía Araiza, Editorial Coordination *

started collaborating with Aquaculture Magazine and Panorama Acuícola Magazine around three years ago. My background and expertise are based on communication and sustainability, I am not an aquaculturist, I have never produced fish or shrimp, but during this time I’ve come to learn a lot about the aquaculture industry and this sector through articles, interviews, contents and events, in which I’ve witnessed a growing community of passionate people working hard to improve a primary sector activity that could benefit food security, health, and nutrition in humanity. And I can only think about how is it possible that no one told me this before? You see, I study sustainable development and I am deeply interested in better understanding the potential that we have as a fast-growing soci-

ety to provide a better present for people, not just a few people, but all of us, the almost 8 billion inhabitants of this planet. And of course, our nutrition is incredibly relevant to this approach. So, for me, it’s quite impressive that no one told me anything about aquaculture as a potential branch for sustainable development. I am not trying to be simplistic, but at the same time, not anyone doing their regular business and life will spend so many hours reading about the technical details of an industry in which they do not take part, except as consumers. And this connects exactly to my point. We are the consumers of aquaculture products, or if we are not yet, we are the potential consumers. So, from my perspective we should be aware of mainly two things about aquaculture

• It can be good for the planet: when responsibly done, and some forms of production can even be ecosystem restorative. Also if we consume sustainably produced certified aquaculture products instead of other animal products, for example, we reduce our environmental footprint considerably. • It can be good for the people: aquaculture can enhance living conditions, be a source of employment and sustain for communities, directly on the farming sites, but also across the value chain. Not to mention the well-documented health benefits of consuming fish and shellfish. Then, why there isn’t anyone speaking about this in mass media? …. maybe the aquaculture industry as it continues to grow, should also consider investing time and effort in communicating everyone else about these important traits of its products, of course, while it continues to develop and strengthen technically and operatively in its inner core. Note: I appreciate the experience acquired during these three years with this publication and I thank everyone who makes this magazine possible for their hard work, conviction, and the continual learning experience it has been for me. I continue now with my education, so I say goodbye to this editorial position. Thanks, everyone, and best wishes for you and the aquaculture industry! * Correspondence email: editorial@dpinternationalinc.com

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AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

INDUSTRY RESEARCHNEWS REPORT

New research centre in Norway will contribute to more environmentally friendly fish feed

The Minister of Fisheries and Seafood in Norway, Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, cut the ribbon when the Aquafeed Technology Centre was opened on Wednesday last week in the Norwegian city of Bergen. Researchers and the industry will now work together towards a more environmentally friendly fish feed. More than 70 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the salmon we eat comes from fish feed. Every year, the Norwegian salmon industry uses 1.6 million tons

of feed and 90 percent of the raw materials are imported. The industry is calling for more environmentally friendly feed, and this will be one of the main tasks for the research centre in Bergen, Norway. In 2015, Nofima, the University of Bergen (UiB) and Norce received funding from the Research Council of Norway regarding an application for infrastructure funding. The infrastructure is now pretty much complete and a total of NOK 33.9 million (app. 3.2 million €) has been spent.

NOK 32.8 million has been granted by the Research Council of Norway. “Today, researchers and the industry have received the instruments they need to develop the feed of the future”, says Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen before cutting the ribbon. The minister made it clear that the work conducted at the centre has been based on open research. This means that all industry actors will have access to the results and therefore the pace of innovation can be increased.

Open international research “This world-class centre is the result of targeted investment over many years. The centre will be made accessible to researchers from all countries. Open research forms its foundation. Access to this type of state-of-theart research infrastructure also makes Norwegian research communities attractive partners for leading international research communities”, Ingebrigtsen said in his opening speech. “The aquaculture industry is completely dependent on access to more feed containing sustainable raw materials”, Ingebrigtsen said. There are 6 »

many initiatives, and several raw materials are being discussed that originate from, for example, krill, bacteria, mesopelagic species, tunicates, microalgae, kelp species, grasshoppers and soldier fly larvae. Research Director Mari Moren at Nofima is pleased with all the initiatives, but is clear in her message: “It is not as simple as just removing soy and then adding a new raw material. Firstly, research must be conducted on the suitability of raw materials in the feed pellet, because feed production is rather complex. We have to

start in the right place. Sustainable raw materials must first be processed in the correct manner before they can be used in salmon feed. Once this is in place, suppliers can start large-scale production of these.” The main section of the Aquafeed Technology Centre (ATC) is located on Nofima’s premises in Bergen. This is state-of-the-art equipment. “This centre provides us with a complete infrastructure that benefits both research and trade and industry”, says Øyvind Fylling-Jensen, CEO of Nofima. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

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INDUSTRY RESEARCHNEWS REPORT

Bluefront Equity investment in AquaBioTech Group

AquaBioTech Group and Bluefront Equity are pleased to jointly announce that they have entered into a letter of intent whereby Bluefront Equity will acquire a significant stake in the company through a combination of purchase of shares and new capital to accelerate the growth. The planned investment by Bluefront Equity will enable AquaBioTech Group to continue to rapidly develop its international expansion plans, including the opening of a major office in Norway and Singapore. AquaBioTech Group consists of three main divisions. The first is an aquaculture, fisheries and marine environment consulting, advisory and training company with offices in five countries serving hundreds of international clients. The second is the Contract Research Organisation (CRO) division, which has grown to become one of the largest licensed aquatic CRO facilities in the European Union (EU) with more than fifty research RAS units in operation. 8 »

The facility is used by all of the major vetriceutical, nutraceutical and aquatic nutrition companies for the testing, development and certification of aquatic vaccines and shrimp / fish feeds. The third is an engineering and development company focused on the turnkey supply of Recirculation Aquaculture Systems (RAS) for commercial and research purpose that are designed for a variety of fish and shrimp species, including Salmon hatcheries, nurseries and grow-out facilities. Headquartered on the island of Malta the company was established in 1996 and has more than 100 staff recruited from over twenty-five countries and clients and projects in more than fiftyfive countries. Bluefront Equity is an Oslo based pure-play seafood investment fund created by Kjetil Haga and Simen Landmark in 2020. The core team consists of former MOWI CEO Alf Helge Aarskog, Nova Sea Chairwomen Aino Olaisen and former BioMar executive Jan Sverre

Røsstad in addition to the abovementioned founding partners. www. bluefrontequity.com Bluefront Equity promotes environmental and social characteristics as defined in Article 8 of the EU 2019/2088 Regulation on Sustainability Related Disclosures in the financial services sector (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation or “SFDR”). Further information: http:// www.aquabt.com

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DSM turns up dial on addressing climate change As the world’s population grows, demand for animal protein will continue to rise. Over time, this need for ever-increasing quantities of animal protein, which is already placing tremendous pressure on our planet’s finite natural resources, will lead to significant environmental strain, and take our food systems well beyond the planet’s boundaries. The need to provide enough animal protein for a growing population, while reducing the environmental costs of farming will require smart science and innovative solutions. To address this challenge, DSM Animal Nutrition and Health has launched We Make it Possible. Our mission is to lead a robust and achievable transformation worldwide in sustainable animal protein production, and to accelerate solutions that will foster a brighter future.

underpins our Purpose Led, Performance Driven strategy. We strongly believe that the world needs sustainable food systems. That’s why we are working to transform the animal nutrition and health industry worldwide so that it can deliver the solutions our planet needs, creating brighter lives for all.

We have four key nutrition goals: 1. To advocate healthy and balanced

nutrition for all 2. To improve the nutrient content both of feed and of food 3. To enable the feeding of the world’s growing population on the basis of the finite natural resources available. 4. To reduce the eco-footprint of food production, which means keeping it within planetary boundaries.

A brighter future for all Sustainability is our core value, and it

AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

INDUSTRY RESEARCHNEWS REPORT

XpertSea named ‘Trading Solution of the Year’ winner by AgTech Breakthrough Awards

XpertSea, a Canadian company transforming how seafood is farmed and traded, has been awarded the 2021 AgTech Breakthrough Award for Trading Solution of the Year. The winners were announced today by AgTech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global agricultural technology market. XpertSea won for its data-driven marketplace, which uses AI and financial services to connect shrimp farmers with a network of buyers and ensure same-day payment. Using XpertSea’s smartphone app and their phone’s camera, farmers can capture crop data, transact with buyers and receive a payment within 24 hours of harvest, which improves their cash flow, de-risks their business and unlocks growth. “We’re honored to be counted among the companies building standout tech that helps farmers grow sustainably and deliver better 10 »

food to consumers,” said Valerie Robitaille, XpertSea’s CEO. “With powerful AI tools and innovative financial services, we can build a better future for aquaculture producers and seafood consumers, and help aquaculture fulfill its potential as a sustainable source of protein.” Earlier this month, XpertSea announced a $20M USD Series B funding round led by QED Investors and Atlantico, which will allow XpertSea to bring its marketplace and financial services to new international markets following 1000% revenue growth in Latin America. XpertSea is a winner of the 2019 Aquaculture Awards for its AI-powered tech that helps farmers standardize data collection, track growth, improve animal health, and optimize harvest decisions. The AgTech Breakthrough Awards program recognizes the innovators and leaders from around the globe in a range of agricultural and food technology categories, in-

cluding areas such as precision agriculture, yield forecasting, IoT, soil sensing, automation and robotics, integrated farm management, and more.

About XpertSea XpertSea builds tech and financial solutions that transform how seafood is farmed and traded to help feed the world. Our mission is to build a better, fairer and more sustainable aquaculture industry by leveraging our unique data set, gathered from billions of organisms, to bring transparency and insights from farm to fork. We leverage AI technology to help farmers modernize operations and boost profits through access to fast payments, valuable production insights and a data-driven marketplace of vetted sellers and buyers. With customers in over 50 countries, we’re on a path to give the world farmed seafood everyone can feel good about. Visit our website at www.xpertsea.com AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

Cermaq awarded for its work to improve fish welfare Close follow-up and simple measures has improved the quality and survival of the fry. The prize was awarded to Cermaq at the AquaNor fair taking place in Trondheim, Norway, for the improvement work at the fry plant Holmvåg in Steigen, Norway, and the good results it has given.

Good fish welfare is good for business – Good health and welfare for our fish is fundamental in all our work throughout our value chain across all companies in Cermaq, says Knut Ellekjær, Managing Director of Cermaq Norway. Good welfare gives a strong and robust fish, good the tanks in which the fish swim are production results and good finan- from the late 80s. But this has been cial results in the end, says Ellekjær. no obstacle for improvements and the excellent results at the facility. – These results show that we can Small measures – great results At Cermaq’s fry facility Holmvåg in make important steps for improved Steigen, they have specialized in the fish welfare also on older facilities, earliest stages of the salmon’s life says Marit Mehus. – What the staff cycle, from roe to fry. The commit- at Holmvåg have done here is imment among the staff at the facil- pressive and demonstrates how imity is very high, bringing out good portant their strong commitment to ideas for how fish welfare can be the fish is, says Mehus. improved. By careful observation of start Fish welfare on the agenda in all feeding fry behavior, and adjust- Cermaq’s operations ment of tank hydrodynamics, feed Fish welfare is a topic in all areas distribution and water temperature of Cermaq’s value chain, and differthe staff has improved survival and ent measures are taken to optimize fish health and welfare, securing the fry quality significantly. – By observing the fry’s behav- quality and survival of the animals. iour closely, we have been able to With the development project iFact and make adjustments that have arm, Cermaq aims to improve fish given very good results. A result of welfare by using artificial intellithese changes we now start with 5% gence and machine learning, idenfewer roe grains, but still produce tifying each fish in a net pen, and the same amount of fry at the fa- giving it individual follow-up. cility, says Marit Mehus, fish health and freshwater manager in Cermaq The Fish Welfare Prize Norway. The newly established prize is awarded from the Fish Welfare FoNew equipment not crucial – rum – a collaborative platform for the commitment to the animals the Norwegian Veterinary Instituteand the Institute of Marine Remore important Holmvåg is not a new facility, and search. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

Aquaculture Magazine

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Aquaculture Festival 2021 by Himakua IPB University in Indonesia

As one of the biggest events held by students, AQUAFEST have fully

support from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Republic of Indonesia. In this year, Aquaculture Festival 2021 event with the theme “Hidden Treasure of Aquaculture”.

quaculture Festival is the biggest aquaculture student event in Indonesia that have been held annually by Aquaculture Student Association, HIMAKUA IPB University since 2010. As one of the biggest events held by students, AQUAFEST have fully support from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Republic of Indonesia. In this year, Aquaculture Festival 2021 event with the theme “Hidden Treasure of Aquaculture”.

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AQUAFEST 2021 aims to educate and increase public interest in aquaculture through technology-based activities. AQUAFEST 2021 have several series activities consist of a Webinar, Talkshow, Workshop, Aquaculture Student Conference, Aquaculture Innovation Competition, Quick Setting Aquascape, Guppy Contest, Betta Contest & Auction, Vlog-cast Series, Aquaculture Virtual Expo, and Games that will be held from September 4th – October 3th, 2021.

The ultimate goal of AQUAFEST is to encourage youth and public to be aware and know more about aquaculture industry and others part of the component to support aquaculture development related to the 17 Global Goals. It is the best platform where they can improve their hard skill, soft skills, knowledge, and expand their network. To reach those goals, AQUAFEST 2021 implement the collaborative action between the governments, institutions,

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company, and the public as well to be able to work together and taking their role to develop aquaculture industry in Indonesia. As part of the world, youth also have responsibilities and right to contribute to the realization of Global Goals as a key to transform our world into a better place to live in. AQUAFEST provide this platform for youth to understand the potential of fisheries and maritime sector, especially Aquaculture in Indonesia, also its development in the regional and international scope. Hence, AQUAFEST 2021 have some activities where we will bring together all young leaders from ASEAN and ASIA region who are undergraduate/fresh graduate by joining these following activities: 1. Aquaculture Student Conference is one of the activities in AQUAFEST 2021 that provides young leaders from Southeast Asia. It is an international student-level conference in ASEAN regional scale to discuss relevant aquaculture issues from various countries. 2. Aquaculture Innovation Competition is a scientific-business ideas competition in the field of Aquaculture for all ASIAN students. In this activities AQUAFEST 2021 has a collaboration with HATCH, the world’s first sustainable aquaculture accelerator program. It will be a golden opportunity for students who want to build their own start up. E-Conferences, we provide several e-conferences activities such as webinar, talk show, and workshop with related topics about aquaculture. We have various target audiences including the government. company, entrepreneurs, students, and for the public as well. The agendas provide places for people from different background to learning and discussing about fisheries and aquaculture topic. We aim to enhance people contribution in developing aquaculture sector and see its 14 »

potential to be able to develop in the wider scope. Furthermore, by joining these agendas we hope that new entrepreneurs in aquaculture industry could have more information both from the scientists and the practices. Contest Events is activities to introduce the beauty of ornamental fish which is carried out in various categories. During the contest, the fish will be exhibited to the public. Ornamental fish in Indonesia have a big potential that exist with a variety of fish species in it. Hence, this activity could become one of the drivers of the promotion of Indonesian ornamental fish in the domestic and export markets. Quick Setting Aquascape is also being one of our events which is provide a contest activity to introduce the art of aquaculture through making aquascapes directly by the participants and they will be exhibited during the event. The art of Aquascape opens up a world full of creative and artistic arrangements of plants and hardscape with a tank. This is one of the ways to show the variety of water plant species and the ornamental fish species in Indonesia, also encourage people to be more interest to have ornamental fish as their home pet and combine it with the beautiful style design of aquascape. AQUAFEST 2021 will be conducted both of offline and online due to the pandemic. We provide

an Aquaculture Virtual Expo that will be presented virtually with 360º experience. This virtual expo allows attendees to browse through and engage with different booths and vendors, just like with an in-person. Even though it will be held online, we are targeting 7500 visitors to join this amazing virtual exhibition. All agendas and activities in AQUAFEST 2021 are created with the aims to make a collaboration action from all stakeholders towards sustainable aquaculture by completing aspects from environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, and socialcommunity sustainability.

For further information, please visit: https://ipb.ac.id/

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ARTICLE

Here comes the scintillating story

of seagrass meadow By: Sowmiya,C. and Atshaya, S. *

Seagrass meadows benefit aquaculture systems by providing water

filtration, biological controls, and regulation of dissolved gasses. In addition, the seagrass- dominated system oxygenates the water by photosynthesis faster than the respiratory oxygen consumption, and it helps to maintain the aquaculture system above the minimum oxygen level.

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eagrasses encourage various kinds of biota by producing considerable organic matter and providing primary energy sources in the coastal marine food web, notably inshore stabilization and nutrient regeneration processes. In flow-through systems, the incoming water to the coastal water bodies is usually polluted by nutrients, suspended solids, and microorganisms. It requires quality control methods and treatment. Seagrass meadows benefit aquaculture systems by providing water filtration, biological controls, and regulation of dissolved gasses. In addition, the seagrass-dominated system oxygenates the water by photosynthesis faster than the respiratory oxygen consumption, and it helps to maintain the aquaculture system above the minimum oxygen level. Worldwide, 13 genera and 58 species of seagrass are reported; 14 species belonging to 6 genera are in India; 13 species are found in the Gulf of Manner Biosphere Reserve.

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Seagrasses are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. They provide a nursery and breeding ground for many marine organisms. Seagrasses might improve the water quality of the flowing water used in the aquaculture system, decreasing the costs for water treatment.

Habitat Seagrass meadows give an ideal environment for juvenile fish and tuck away the invertebrates from predators. The larvae and eggs of sea squirt and mollusk are attached to the leaves of seagrass. They bear anchor for seaweeds and filter-feeding animals like bryozoans, sponges, and forams. They also act as a home to sharks, fish, mollusks, crustaceans, sea urchins, sponges, polychaete worms, and endangered species such as dugongs, seahorses, and sea turtles. Natural Based solution Natural-based solutions could benefit coastal aquaculture systems to overcome the water quality challenges, for instance, through the filtering provided by coastal vegetated ecosystems. In shallow coastal water, seagrasses and marine flowering plants form extensive meadows that play a vital role in

their nutrients cycling and water purification by filtration and acting as a natural biofilter in oyster farming.

Coastal protection Seagrasses alter the ecosystem and its surroundings in both physical and chemical ways. Therefore it is

called “ecosystem engineers.” The long blades of seagrasses decrease the wave energy by slowing down the movement of water. It also prevents coastal erosion and storm surge. The roots and rhizome of seagrasses form an extensive underground network that helps to stabilize sediment.

Seagrass meadows benefit

aquaculture systems by providing water filtration, biological controls, and regulation of dissolved gasses.

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A highly effective way to protect

food chains can be made possible by the restoration of seagrasses.

Blue carbon In a coastal ecosystem such as seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, and salt marshes, carbon is stored in their sediments hence known as “Blue carbon”. A large amount of carbon from the atmosphere can be captured and stored by the seagrasses, and they also use carbon to build their leaves and roots. It has been reported that 83 million metric tons of carbon can be captured by the world’s seagrass meadows each year.

scars in a seagrass bed, killing sections of the seagrass and fragmentation habitat. • Physical disturbance includes winddriven waves, and storms can damage the seagrasses. • Nutrients from fertilizers and pollution wash off the land and enter the water, creating algae blooms that block sunlight for seagrass growth. Also, it damages seagrass beds by smothering the seagrass. • Furthermore, the introduction of invasive seaweed species can replace native seagrass species. For example, invasive species like Caulerpa toxifolia (killer algae) has been released into the Mediterranean in the 1980s. By 2000 it surrounds more than 131 square kilometers of the Mediterranean coastline, overgrowing and displacing the native Neptune seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) and reducing the ecosystem biodiversity.

Stabilization Seagrasses help to stabilize the sea bottom by their extensive root system, which extends both vertically and horizontally. It also prevents soil erosion. One meter of Seagrasses can create 10 liters of oxygen per day through photosynthesis. Hence it is known as the “lungs of the sea” added they expand their expertise by controlling nutrient pollution caused by exogenous feeding in aquaculture. Conservation A highly effective way to protect food chains can be made possible by the Threats to seagrasses • Human activities lead to the losses restoration of seagrasses. Also, it creof seagrass beds directly and indirect- ates jobs in industries like fishing and tourism. Only 26 percent of seagrass ly in recent decades. • Propellers and boat anchors make meadows have been included in MaAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

rine Protect Area. This report indicates that seagrasses are among the least protected coastal habitats.

Conclusion Seagrasses are considered a super ecosystem of our ocean. Because it is providing an incredible range of benefits to people around the world, with this restoration in practice, we can contribute to the U.N SDGs, Paris Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. By taking simple steps, everyone can protect seagrass and other marine habitats. Be cautious while anchoring and trawling, limit fertilizer and pesticides usage, do not dump anything, and support the local conservation effort. You are what you eat; remember, no one is safe unless nature is safe.

*Sowmiya, C. Research Scholar, M.F.Sc, Department of Aquaculture, TNJFU-FCRI, Tuticorin, India. csowmiyasowmiya@gmail.com (Corresponding author ) Atshaya.S. Research Scholar, M.F.Sc, FNBP Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai, India. References used by the authors available under previous request to our editorial team.

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Fine-scale succession patterns and assembly mechanisms

of bacterial community of Litopenaeus vannamei larvae across the developmental cycle

By: Yanting Wang, Kai Wang, Lei Huang, Pengsheng Dong, Sipeng Wang, Heping Chen, Zheng Lu, Dandi Hou y Demin Zhang *

he most productive shrimp species in world aquaculture industry, the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) culture is mainly restricted by unstable quality of larvae and frequent outbreak of diseases. Lar18 »

Unveiling the assembly mechanism of shrimp microbiota can help resolve the debate on whether we could improve the success rate of shrimp culture via manipulating their microbiota. In this study, we used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to investigate the succession and assembly processes of L. vannamei larval bacterial community in a realistic aquaculture practice with sufficient biological replicates. val nursery, covering nauplius, zoea, mysis, and early postlarvae stages, is a crucial process that largely determines the success of Pacific white shrimp culture. The quality of larvae is closely related to the growth, development, and resistance to stress/

disease of shrimps in subsequent culture stages. At present, the Pacific white shrimp microbiome research is mainly focused on other growth stages in terms of their associations with outbreak of disease, growth, and stress-resistance. Unveiling the AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

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assembly mechanism of shrimp microbiota can help resolve the debate on whether we could improve the success rate of shrimp culture via manipulating their microbiota. Burns et al. found that the contribution of neutral processes to the assembly of zebrafish intestinal bacteria declined with host development, while the importance of neutral processes in shaping intestinal bacterial communities increases with the age of shrimp (from postlarvae to adult) in culture practice but declined with disease outbreak. However, little is known about the dynamics and taxonomic dependency of assembly processes of bacteria in larval shrimp. In this study, we used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to investigate the succession and assembly processes of L. vannamei larval bacterial community in a realistic aquaculture practice with sufficient biological replicates. A high-frequency sampling strategy was applied to collect shrimp larvae (from the fertilized 20 »

eggs of a pair of parents) and rearing water samples across nauplius, zoea I, zoea II, zoea III, mysis, and early postlarvae stages lasting for 15 days. Using multivariate analyses, the neutral model, and functional prediction we aimed to reveal the following: 1. The dynamics of α- diversity, composition, and predicted functional potentials of larval shrimp bacterial community with host development 2. The taxonomic and phylogenetic succession pattern of larval bacterial community, 3. The dynamics and taxonomic dependency in assembly processes of larval shrimp bacteria across developmental stages 4. To what extent the rearing water bacterio plankton can influence the assembly of larval shrimp bacteria.

Results The bacterial α-diversity indices of shrimp larvae and rearing water showed dramatic variability with host development. Overall, the composition of dominant bacterial groups

(at the phylum or family level) at the stages nauplius, and postlarvae were more complex than other stages. The succession pattern of dominant bacterial OTUs (operational taxonomic units) of shrimp larvae, and 89.1% of samples could be classified into four clusters according to the developmental stage: cluster I (nauplius), cluster II (zoea I and II), cluster III (zoea III), cluster IV (mysis and postlarvae) In general, bacterial community compositions of shrimp larvae and rearing water were both clustered according to developmental stages. The taxonomic composition of bacterial community in larvae and water showed distinct successional trajectories, while the phylogenetic turnover trajectories of two communities overlapped to some extent during the sub-stages of zoea. We observed overall low taxonomic similarity but high phylogenetic similarity between larval and water bacterial communities. In addition, we found that larval bacterial AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

communities at the stages zoea I-II and mysis showed higher similarities and/or more shared OTUs with the water bacterial communities from the previous stage compared with that at the same stage. When assuming larval bacterial meta-community as the source community, the goodness of fit of the neutral model was largely improved compared with that when assuming bacterio plankton as the source across all stages, suggesting that exchange of bacteria among larval individuals was a more important source of larval bacterial communities. The cumulative relative abundance and taxonomic distribution of three categories of OTUs in the neutral model varied with host development, especially between pre- and post-mouth opening stages AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

The cumulative relative abundance of the OTUs above prediction was overall low across developmental stages, with little changes in the taxonomic distribution. At any stages, the assembly of larval bacteria was dominantly governed by neutral processes, and the neutral model performed better than the binomial distribution mode, suggesting that, except dispersal, ecological drift and dispersal limitation also contributed. In general, functional potentials relevant with genetic information processing were enriched in naupliar shrimps compared with larvae at post-mouth opening stages, while many metabolismrelevant potentials (such as biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites and the metabolism of amino acids; carbohydrate; lipid; cofactors and vitamins; and

terpenoids and polyketides) were enriched in larvae after the mouth opening. However, some metabolism relevant potentials somewhat showed a decreasing trend at early postlarvae stage. As the predominant bacterial group at the stages zoea and mysis, the family Rhodobacteraceae was predicted to be the major contributor to functional potentials (including metabolism) of larval shrimp bacterial community

Discussion The U-shaped pattern in larval bacterial α-diversity with host development As the larvae are too small to obtain their intestines, the larval microbiota should be mainly derived from the intestinal tract and the fraction attached to the epidermis. At nauplius » 21

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stage, with the release of yolk nutrients and the enlargement of epidermis area, the larval bacterial community could be mainly originated from fertilized eggs (the inheritance of the parents and initial hatching environment) and the epidermis attachment, thus maintaining at a relatively high diversity. When the larvae started eating at zoea I stage, their intestinal microbiota began to form, while the larvae molted, imposing the reassembly of larval bacterial community. These changes could lead to the dominance of intestinal bacteria in larval microbiota and thus decrease α-diversity. Although a point of view has suggested that the higher microbial diversity does not necessarily correspond to a more stable and healthier ecosystem, high diversity is often 22 »

considered to hold capability of maintaining the stability and ecological function of microbial community, thus being an important indicator of host health status. These studies suggest that high bacterial diversity could be a positive signal for maintaining the growth, health, and stressresistance of shrimps.

Larval bacterial community composition varied with host development The high-frequency sampling strategy facilitated the unveiling of highly dynamic pattern of larval bacterial communities. The shrimp larvae with immature digestive system could partially rely on the assistance of bacteria for food digestion and nutrient metabolisms, which is corresponding to the enriched metabolic potentials

of multiple organic matters in larval shrimp microbiota after the mouth opening. Thus, the high variability of bacterial community composition might be due to the host’s recruitment of different functional groups for physiological needs. As the morphological and physiological properties of intestinal tract change with host development, the initial “winners” will be reorganized to form a stage-specific bacterial community. Many studies have found that host development and diet largely shape the intestinal microbiome of aquatic animals. In this study, the shifts of physiological state, nutritional intake mode, and microbial source between pre- and post-mouth opening stages likely led to dramatic differences in larval bacterial communities. Functional prediction showed that the AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

family Rhodobacteraceae largely contributed to the potentials in biosynthesis and the metabolism of multiple organic matters after the mouth opening of larvae, indicating that they may participate in the metabolism of organic matters in the digestive tract of larvae and/or provide essential nutrients for host growth. The relative abundance of Rhodobacteraceae in the intestinal bacterial community of healthy L. vannamei individuals is often higher than that of diseased ones and shows an antagonistic relationship with potential pathogens such as Vibrio. The higher relative abundance of Rhodobacteraceae was also observed in the intestinal tract of cold-resistant strain of L. vannamei relative to cold- vulnerable strain. Collectively, we speculate that the dramatic enrichment of Rhodobacteraceae (including some Ruegeria taxa) after the mouth opening of larvae may play a positive role in promoting digestion, providing nutrients, and inhibiting pathogens. Furthermore, the temporal switching among Rhodobacteraceae taxa suggests distinct assemblages of Rhodobacteraceae taxa could be recruited for maintaining certain functions such as the metabolism of different organic matters derived from the partially modified feeds at different stages.

Neutral processes dominated the assembly of larval bacteria The larval bacterial communities mainly sourced from the larval meta-community, while water bacterio plankton community only had certain contribution at zoea sub- stages. These results suggest that the assembly of larval bacteria overall depends on the exchanges among individuals, probably via cross- feeding of feces and/or bioflocs. When larval shrimps are undergoing continuous metamorphic development with frequent molting and feed replacement, their bacterial communities are also undergoing frequent reassembly. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

In addition, the compositions of OTUs neutrally distributed or deviated from neutral prediction between pre- and post-mouth opening stages were dramatically different. These results reveal the remarkable succession pattern and the dynamics in assembly processes of larval bacterial communities, emphasizing the importance of the mouth opening stage of larval shrimp from the ecological perspective. Many studies have found that the initial establishment of host microbiome can be affected by the surrounding environment. We also found rearing water as a source of larval bacterial community at three sub- stages of zoea, which can be considered as the beginning of establishment of larval intestinal microbiota On the other hand, it is particularly important to ensure the microbial safety of rearing water (such as prevention of pathogenic bacteria) after the mouth opening of larvae. the regulation of larval microbiota by microbial management of rearing water in aquaculture practice should be launched before the mouth opening of shrimp larvae. Taken bacterio plankton as the source for the neutral model fitting, the relative abundance of the neutrally distributed OTUs and the migration rate gradually decreased during zoea sub-stages, indicating that the dominant process governing the colonization of bacterio plankton into larval communities shifted from dispersal to host selection. Knowing which bacteria are selected for and have the ability to persist in a host is vital when screening probiotic candidates. The above prediction taxa may be good candidates for potential probiotics because they have a greater chance for colonization Given the positive host selection for Rhodobacteraceae taxa from the rearing water during the zoea stage and its persistent dominance and

The high variability of bacterial community composition might be due to the host’s recruitment of different functional groups for physiological needs.

large potential contribution to the metabolism of organic matters after the mouth opening of larvae, we suggest that Rhodobacteraceae could be crucial in the growth of shrimp larvae and thus be a potential source of probiotic candidates for larval nursery. Collectively, the succession patterns and assembly mechanism of larval shrimp bacteria we revealed here highlighted the importance of the mouth opening stage from the perspective of microbial ecology, indicating the possibility and timing of microbial management of the rearing water for larval microbiota regulation and pathogen prevention in larval shrimp nursery practice.

*This is a summarized version of the original article titled “Fine-scale succession patterns and assembly mechanisms of bacterial community of Litopenaeus vannamei larvae across the developmental cycle” by Yanting Wang, Kai Wang, Lei Huang, Pengsheng Dong, Sipeng Wang, Heping Chen, Zheng Lu, Dandi Hou and Demin Zhang, under a creative commons license 4.0. The original versión of the article can be accessed online at: https:// doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-00879-w

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How agricultural rendering supports sustainability and assists livestock’s ability to contribute more than just food By: Por: Anna D. Wilkinson and David L. Meeker * North American Renderers Association (NARA)

ender is the act of processing and cooking undesired, or uneaten livestock and poultry meat that remains after a meat animal has been slaughtered and the meat used for consumption has been harvested. Renderers upcycle that unused material (fat, protein, feathers, bone, etc.) for new, secondary uses. Many meat eaters in North America consider roughly 50% of a meat animal to be “inedible,” leav24 »

The sustainability benefits of rendering can be accurately tracked and

are more highly valued as our environment faces threats of climate change and reduced landfill space.

ing a large amount of material left over. Rendering reclaims this otherwise wasted food (protein, bone, fat, etc.), as well as UCO from restaurants, and transforms it into ingredients for countless new goods-upcycling most of this unwanted meat from slaughter and processing into things like animal feed ingredients, safe and nutritious pet food, beauty, household and industrial products, biofuels, and many more useful and common goods.

As a result, huge volumes of meat leftovers and UCO are kept out of landfills, resulting in a net reduction of carbon emissions, a substantial GHG reduction, reduced food waste and saved landfill space. Renderers and those in the rendering industry play an important role in reducing food waste, sustainably recycling valuable agricultural resources, and positively contributing to local, state, national, and international economies AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

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Safety and Regulation Renderers have quality and safety control systems in place with voluntary programs such as the Rendering Industry Code of Practice designed to foresee hazards that could occur and prevent them. These control systems assure that cooking temperatures are high enough to kill bacteria and control pathogenic microbial contamination. Additional programs also address plant and transport cleaning, and other biosecurity measures such as traffic control. Stringent testing protocols are used to verify that rendering processes are accurately managed and operated. Testing programs include training and strict record keeping, as well as spot checks and follow-up by independent third-party audits to ensure plants are following all plan instruction and protocol to the letter to ensure product safety. The intent is to transform the nation’s food safety system by shifting the focus from responding to foodborne illness to preventing it. Current good manufacturing practices are required throughout plants for training, sanitation, operations, equipment, and other areas to ensure safe production. Rendering plants are among the most scrutinized and most inspected animal food ingredient producers in the world, and the rendering industry is highly compliant Rendered fats specifically have with Food Safety Modernization Act many additional industrial uses (FSMA) regulations. with over 70% of those requiring processes like refining, filtration, More Than Just Food—Rendered bleaching, hydrogenation, trans-esProducts Surround Us Every Day terification, and drying before they Renderers often discuss the “Big can be made into new products Many factors affect the suitabil4” rendered product markets: pet food/animal feed, fuel, oleochemi- ity of rendered fats for such use cal products, and fertilizer. How- including the types and blends of ever, other rendered products not animal byproducts to be rendered, mentioned as often include gel bone storage conditions of the animal (rendered bone chips) used to create raw material byproducts before progel caps used for vitamins, supple- cessing, storage conditions of the ments, and drugs, cosmetics (like rendered fats after processing, and lotions and soaps made from ren- the methods and procedures of the rendering process used. dered fats), and even tires. 26 »

Biodiesel fuel is an important subcategory made possible by using rendered materials including fats and proteins. A considerable percentage of America’s biodiesel and renewable diesel is made from recycled cooking oil, also known as UCO, such as that used in fryers, with a large amount also coming from animal fats. Because of their chemical composition, fats release concentrated amounts of energy when burned which can be used as a biofuel. Materials such as organs, hair, hooves, and blood also contribute to other products in addition to foodstuffs. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

A Sustainable Contribution The sustainability benefits of rendering can be accurately tracked and are more highly valued as our environment faces threats of climate change and reduced landfill space. Additionally, consumers seem ever more aware of their sustainability practices when making purchases due to this information and education on sustainability being widely available across media platforms. Specific areas of rendering’s sustainable contributions include reduced food waste, water reclamation, and sustainable pet food. Rendering reduces the environmental impacts of animal agriculture by sequestering five times more GHGs than are produced. By reclaiming otherwise discarded meat leftovers, renderers make our food production footprint smaller Reduced food waste Preventing food waste in the first place is an important first step in saving landfill space, and one that comes before rendering. Although all livestock food animals generate byproducts as they are transformed for human diets, reduced restaurant and personal food waste can be eliminated before it becomes a problem by following the levels of the hierarchy starting with “source reduction.” Grocery store leftovers would also be a contributor to food waste, but because renderers pick up those meat leftovers from butcher shops, grocers, and small slaughtering operations, grocery store waste has a much smaller footprint. Renderers also recycle billions of pounds of UCO from restaurants used to cook fried food items like French fries, and transforms that oil and fat into biodiesel, renewable diesel, and ingredients for pet food and animal feed. Water reclamation The rendering process evaporates the moisture from the raw materials AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

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and processes all runoff and wash water though water treatment that meets regulatory standards. Annually, 3.7 billion gallons of water are reclaimed during the rendering process and naturally released back into the environment through evaporation or returned as clean water to streams and rivers. Additionally, renderer pickup of used cooking grease and oil from restaurants saves municipal sewer and wastewater systems from becoming clogged.

Sustainable pet food The rendering industry adds value to animal parts not normally used for human consumption (organs, bones, cartilage, and fat) by processing this material for pet food ingredients. These rendered end

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products provide essential fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals to enhance pet health and nutrition. Use of rendered products in pet food also significantly reduces the carbon footprint of the food we feed our dogs, cats, and other pets by repurposing byproducts that might otherwise be wasted

Supporting the Three Pillars of Sustainability Rendering also represents all three pillars of sustainability— Environmental, Economic, and Social. These three pillars are sometimes depicted visually as architectural pillars and other times as a three circle Venn diagram.

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Pillar 1—Environmental By reclaiming otherwise discarded meat leftovers, renderers make our food production footprint smaller, save landfill space, and help minimize the environmental impacts of animal agriculture such as climate change, as rendering assists greatly in the reduction of food waste, reduced GHG and water consumption. Rendering reclaims and protects valuable water that would otherwise be wasted or contaminated. Renderers feed and grow the next generation of food by “recycling” unwanted meat into animal food and fertilizer, reduce waste by rendering grocery store leftovers and UCO Without rendering’s reclamation of this otherwise wasted material, and it was instead thrown away, all available landfill space would be used up in approximately four short years. An average rendering plant sequesters five times more GHG emissions from the environment than it emits and rendering also avoids at least 90% of the potential GHG emissions compared with industrial composting,

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Pillar 2—Social With employee retention rates high, renderers offer career stability and contributions to local communities. By reclaiming and converting animal leftovers and UCO into new products, rendering helps customers and consumers to be more sustainable while providing thousands of full-time and stable jobs supporting families and local communities from coast to coast in America and Canada, many in rural areas. Rendering workers are highly skilled and competitively compensated, and renderers contribute to their local communities and organizations Renderers and plant owners also invest considerably in improvements and enhancements to sustainability efforts, in addition to supporting their local communities both financially and socially Pillar 3—Economic The rendering industry is sustainable and financially stable with an economic contribution of $10 billion, annually. An average rendering plant provides nearly 100 stable jobs that offer competitive pay and benefits

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Rendered products have a substantially positive environmental impact in that it keeps those products from ending up in landfills by redirecting them to higher valued, more sustainable markets such as feed, fuel, and fertilizer.

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New Data This research consisted of understanding the total supply of renderable products, estimates of total rendered products, conducting a three-part survey of rendering companies in the United States and Canada, and studying consumer and industry-driven market trends. Highlights from the research are outlined below. Approximately 15.7 million tons of rendered products are produced from beef, pork, turkey, and broiler processing plants annually. This is 57% protein meals, 40% fats, and 3% plasma meal. In 2018, the equivalent of 11.1 million acres of soybeans (protein equivalent) and 2.6 million acres of corn (energy equivalent) were averted (not planted). Rendered products have a substantially positive environmental

impact in that it keeps those products from ending up in landfills by redirecting them to higher valued, more sustainable markets such as feed, fuel, and fertilizer. An additional sustainability benefit of rendering is the reclamation and return of clean water to the environment. 3.7 billion gallons of water from the products that are rendered are either released as water vapor (evaporation) or through treated wastewater discharge. Renderers are substantial employers who offer competitive benefits to their employees, including paid time off, contributions, paid health insurance premiums, disability insurance, and education assistance for job-related skills and certificates. In addition to upcycling materials that would otherwise end up in landfills, renderers are investing mil-

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rendering industry must continue to use new and existing research data to prove that animal byproducts can provide a nutrient rich diet for poultry The rendering industry also continues to research new methods and processes to meet needs of evolving customers. The rendering business is profitable and sustainable. It is also essential to making a meat animal more sustainable than it would be if byproducts were not rendered and used for the highest possible purpose.

lions of dollars in environmental improvement efforts.

Looking Forward Large amounts of energy are used during the rendering process, in the cooking process, and by the fleet of trucks needed to haul the raw and finished material to the plant or customers. The rendering industry continues to educate the public on the many sustainability benefits of upcycling rendered material into new goods. Looking ahead the rendering industry has these large-scale issues AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

to keep in mind, as well as more focused key items to consider as it prepares for the future. The rendering industry and markets for rendered products should expand to match the predicted growth of meat production and services needed by a growing U.S. and Canadian population. Trends continue to evolve in the pet food sector as well, the latest of which relates to the use of animal byproducts in dog and cat foods that are not rendered but rather purchased raw or frozen and then extruded as a complete pet food. The

*This is a summarized version of the article “How agricultural rendering supports sustainability and assists livestock’s ability to contribute more than just food”, developed by Anna D. Wilkinson and David L. Meeker de la North American Renderers Association (NARA). The original version can be found online through this reference doi: 10.1093/af/vfab002

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Shrimpbox:

The missing piece of aquaculture By: Aquaculture Magazine *

The future of aquaculture production fits in a container, uses state-of-

the-art technology, and was born and raised in Oaxaca, Mexico. This is the story of Shrimpbox, Atarraya Inc.’s most ambitious project, which promises to transform an entire industry and satisfy the hunger of an overpopulated world.

or the US market ($40 bn a year), fresh and sustainable shrimp is a far-off dream. But it won’t be for long if our coastal Oaxaca team has anything to say about it. From Mexico, we have developed Shrimpbox, the world’s first robotic shrimp farm: a sophisticated yet straightforward technological piece of equipment that challenges the dominant decades-old aquaculture paradigms. Shrimpbox is more than a cargo container: it is a technological system designed to create life. With automated systems and software capable of learning and making decisions, this piece of engineering has the potential to help aquaculture take its biggest step forward in decades. “One day, I was talking with a Harvard astrophysicist who was experimenting the International Space Station,” recalls Daniel Russek, CEO of Atarraya Inc., in an interview for Aquaculture Magazine. “He thought there must be a way to bring live shrimp to restaurants in the United States, and I, as a producer, assured him that this was impossible.”

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- “Why is it impossible?” Asked the scientist, and Russek replied that heating the water is too expensive. - “Not true,” responded the scientist, “everything depends on thermal inertia.” From that conversation, one by one, all the technical obstacles that Russek raised were dismantled under scientific scrutiny. “You haven’t done your homework,” stated the physicist at some point, leaving an idea planted in the businessman’s mind. Months later, an idea would begin to grow, be nurtured, be tested by trial and error, and, finally, become a functional prototype.

Human talent, artificial intelligence For ten years, Maricultura Vigas - a producer and part of the Atarraya Inc. consortium - has produced shrimp using biofloc technology. Biofloc eliminates the need for antibiotics and other dangerous chemicals. It also reduces land and water usage to a fraction of that used by traditional techniques. Maricultura Vigas also exports to the United States under the Agua Blanca brand. The flavor of our

First prototype model of Shrimpbox, “Blue Whale”.

produce has enchanted chefs like José Andrés, owner of Grupo Jaleo, and one of TIME’s most influential people in the United States. With all that said, air transportation’s financial and environmental costs are an obstacle to achieving financial profitability and full sustainability. For which Shrimpbox is the answer. Shrimpbox allows for production in diverse climates, requires less labor, and is modular: the containers that make up a farm can be located in different locations and moved as often as necessary. However, creating a system capable of automating up to 85% of aquaculture production requires the inventiveness and knowledge of a multidisciplinary team. Biologists, engineers, programmers, and deAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

signers from different parts of the world have embraced the huge challenge of this project, and in it, they have found inspiration. Michel Facen, born in the Netherlands and raised in Argentina, was an agricultural production engineer in Switzerland before coming to Puerto Escondido and becoming Maricultura Vigas’ principal hardware developer. For Michel, the most complex part of Shrimpbox’s creation was the automation “of practically all the processes. For example, monitoring the quality of water, oxygen, and the initiation of the different systems.” A failure in oxygen supply can result in high mortality in a matter of hours—even minutes. To guard against this, Shrimpbox can send AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

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Shrimpbox is more than a cargo container: it is a technological system designed to create life. With automated systems and software capable of learning and making decisions, this piece of engineering has the potential to help aquaculture take its biggest step forward in decades.

Michel Facen, production engineering manager at Atarraya, Inc.

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alerts by cell phone so that, from a distance, experts can take the necessary measures to avoid any disaster. The Shrimpbox automatic feeding system not only reduces laborhours in the ponds but improves the growth scheme by supplying the feed in the containers as and when it is necessary and in the right quantities to avoid waste. For all these systems to operate in an integrated way, artificial intelligence is needed, a software capable of storing and processing enormous amounts of data and then learning to make decisions based on that data. The company is named for its software: Atarraya, and it’s the main reason why Shrimpbox will become attractive to investment funds interested in projects with a vision for the future. Today, the most valued companies in global financial markets are those that produce software, whether for mobility (Waze, Uber, Tesla), entertainment (Netflix, Prime, Spotify), computing (Apple), or any other software imaginable. According to Daniel Russek, it was time for aquaculture to take a step into the future. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

Arrival of the “Blue Whale” Shrimpbox model to the Maricultura Vigas’ farming site in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Seeing is believing In December 2019, just as the world was about to change forever, Arleta Skrzyńska was working as a teacher and researcher at the Autonomous University of Baja California in Ensenada. She was 9,700 kilometers away from her native Poland and just about as far away again from imagining the turn her life would take in the following months. “One day, Daniel Russek visited the university. He was asking me about food issues: how to produce the most sustainable fish and shrimp, and what experiments we were conducting at the university.” Then Russek told her about his shrimp farm. “He told me about AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

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First prototype model of Shrimpbox, “Blue Whale”.

the issues he faced, about the work that Maricultura Vigas was doing in Oaxaca, about the whole story of where he came from and where he was going.” However, Skrzyńska was well aware of the shrimp industry’s reputation. “It’s bad. It’s an industry that hasn’t changed a bit in the last 20 years. The same techniques, the same engineering, or rather, the same lack of engineering.” So, “when Daniel talked about Atarraya’s automation processes, I was amazed. The truth is, I didn’t believe a single word,” she says, laughing. Months later, Skrzyńska would see with her own eyes that producing shrimp with biofloc was not only possible but viable. The biologist would go on to join Atarraya’s development team for their most ambitious project: Shrimpbox. “I was really happy to be able to participate in a project that has so much to do with the future of global shrimp farming.” She admits that while she was skeptical, she under36 »

The problems solved by Shrimpbox Extension of Geographical cultivation: Shrimpbox makes it possible to cultivate shrimp in cold climates. It is designed to utilize the thermal inertia of water through optimized use of electrical energy. End of the intermediaries chain: Shrimpbox allows local production in broad geographical areas. Fresh shrimp may once again exist as an option for markets. Investment Magnet: Unlike a traditional farm, Shrimpbox is an attractive project for large investors. Its rapid installation allows for a quick start to the productive life of an automated farm within a few months, which in turn facilitates a quick return on investment. Social development and inclusion: Although it’s designed to reduce workforce dependence, Shrimpbox could serve as a development engine for de-industrialized or idle cities. True sustainability: the planet makes the most significant profit. Shrimpbox is designed to optimize resources, avoid antibiotics, and give the grower a level of control that no farm in the world has today. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

For Daniel Russek, shrimp production’s horizons are golden. As long as it’s oriented towards technological innovation with a vision of the future.

stood that Shrimpbox solved strategic problems in the industry and functions within the constraints of a depleted planet. An animal welfare specialist, Skrzyńska, conducted the first cultivation experiments on the Shrimpbox prototype. She watched the container’s tanks fill and then explode with life. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

“At that moment, we saw the containers filled with water; everything worked, the shrimp were inside, that was a great relief. We saw that this container, which had only been an idea, became a living thing and that it was working.”

The keys to success There is probably no one better

qualified in the world to talk about biofloc in shrimp farming than Plinio Furtado Smith, MV’s Production chief. For many years Furtado has seen projects born in Brazil and other parts of the world. The difference of Shrimpbox, he says, is “the degree of automation that will decrease personnel labor hours. It can save you a lot in terms » 37

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After the first successful tests of the prototype, Atarraya has commenced serial production of the first commercial model of Shrimpbox: Blue Whale, which, perhaps, will prove to be the missing piece of the puzzle that aquaculture needed to bring it into the 21st century

of the number of workers since almost everything is going to be done automatically.” Furthermore, he highlights the ease of installation and movement of the farms. “If you want to start a project, it would only be a matter of buying the Shrimpbox, constructing a base, and getting started. That buys you time which is a competitive advantage of the system.” It is “a closed system that allows for more stability than a large pond, which needs to resist the elements.” Producing in a Shrimpbox is “much easier. It gives you reliability in the quality of the water, and it reduces the oscillation of PH throughout the day with aeration. It maintains simple oxygen levels above 5 milligrams per liter, even if you have a biomass of 6 to 8 kilos per cubic meter.”

Farms of the future, the near future For Daniel Russek, shrimp production’s horizons are golden. As long as it’s oriented towards technological innovation with a vision of the future. The company is already planning the first installation of an automated farm in the United States: Around 38 »

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100 containers in just over half a hectare. This will be the starting pistol for a revolutionary project. This model could, at last, attract the attention of investment funds looking out for revolutionary projects. With Shrimpbox, “you can open up financing for aquaculture,” Russek says. “If you ask a bank for money to dig holes in the ground for ponds, that’s not attractive for them. If you can’t pay them back, all they can do is seize your holes in the ground. With Shrimpbox, you can offer the equipped containers as a guarantee.” After the first successful tests of the prototype, Atarraya has commenced serial production of the first commercial model of Shrimpbox: Blue Whale, which, perhaps, will prove to be the missing piece of the puzzle that aquaculture needed to bring it into the 21st century. Daniel Russek, CEO at Atarraya Inc.

Arleta Skrzyńska, R+D manager at Atarraya Inc.

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One stone, four different birds Due to its sophisticated simplicity and the technological integration that brings it all together, Shrimpbox has exciting possibilities for different clients and users: Farm: 25 units can produce 30 tons of produce per year. They take up little space, and installation is quick. Maturity: a traditional farm could use the Shrimpbox as a pre-growth module to improve its productivity by extending the production cycle to obtain better sizes or by attaining more cycles per year. Laboratory/school: in universities, the equipment could be used for students to learn biofloc cultivation in a hyper-intensive and automated system. Research and development: tests of systems and types of feeding, salinities, genetics, and other parameters can be carried out. *For more information, please visit: https://atarraya.ai/

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AQUACULTURE WITHOUT FRONTIERS

News Bites Aquaculture Now Numero Uno in Australia In the recently released ABARES Statistics Report 2020, Aquaculture is now confirmed as the largest sector of the Australian primary seafood industry, revealing that the sector grew 10 percent in 2019-20. Of course, while the industry has been disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the total Australian fishery and aquaculture GVP in 2019–20 decreased slightly by 2 percent to $3.15 billion, higher aquaculture GVP offset lower GVP in the wild-catch sector. It is reported that the wild-catch sector experienced a 12 percent contraction in the GVP, caused mainly by market disruption during COVID-19. Notably, the wild-catch sector saw decreased exports of rock lob-

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ster and abalone, with fishery product exports down 8 percent to $1.41 billion in 2019–20. Clearly, on the domestic scene, buyer behavior has also changed, seeing Australians consuming around 335,000 tonnes of seafood in 201920. This is a decrease from approximately 341,000 tonnes in 2017–18, including imported seafood products. The report highlights that the total value of imported fishery and aquaculture products decreased by 4 percent to $2.2 billion last year. The decrease was apparently driven by reduced imports of prawns/shrimp, squids, and octopus. The full report can be seen at: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/ abares/research-topics/fisheries/ fisheries-and-aquaculture-statistics

Interestingly in New Zealand, earnings from seafood have risen mainly, with a slight fall in 2020, while the weight exported has decreased from nearly 300 million kilograms in 2005 to 231 million kilograms in 2020. Sealord, one of the large quotaowning fishing and aquaculture companies, says it exports more than 90 percent of its harvest. Sanford’s, another large harvester, 2019 annual report says about 56.1 percent of its sales are export sales. In the 1990s, Japan, Australia, and the United States were the biggest buyers of NZ seafood, but by 2011 China emerged as the top buyer. In 2019 China purchased almost $690m worth of seafood, while the secondbiggest buyer was the US, spending $245m.

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Blood Tests for Fish Stress New research has developed a blood test to predict the stress of aquatic species and help the industry manage their stock for optimal productivity and sustainability while ensuring animal health and welfare. The recent work from the University of Western Australia in collaboration with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development focuses on measuring proteins in the blood of aquatic species to detect metabolic stress they may be facing. Research Associate Dr. Catherine Wingate from UWA’sUWA’s School of Molecular Sciences is quoted as saying, “My research focuses on measuring proteins in the blood of aquatic species to detect metabolic stress they may be facing. By detecting metabolic stress, we can develop an early warning system to assist the industry in managing their stock for optimal productivity and sustainability while ensuring animal health and welfare. This stress could be caused by disease, inadequate nutrition, or environmental factors such as temperature stress and pollution.” “Numerous challenges are facing the aquaculture industry, which includes day-to-day stock management for optimal product quality and sustainable growth rates. Research using this optimize could also optimise reproduction, reduce susceptibility to illness, disease and mortality, and develop nutritious and sustainable fish feed.” Dr. Wingate is also interested in exploring the potential of adapting the technology to monitor metabolic stress caused by environmental change in coral reef ecosystems. See more https://www.uwa.edu. au/news/Article/2021/August Research Program Established for Blue Carbon A new US$2.5 million research program by BHP and CSIRO in Australia will seek to measure and quantify the net emissions reduction potential AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

of Australia’sAustralia’s mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal marshes. The program will also quantify the value of other benefits these ecosystems provide for coastal protection, fisheries, and biodiversity. Mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal marshes, also known as “blue carbon”, ecosystems lock up carbon at faster rates than most land ecosystems. Their importance is also acknowledged by the Government of South Australia, which recently announced a new investment of nearly US$1.5 million to drive environmental and economic benefits out of restoring coastal wetlands across the state. South Australia Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said the projects would see many of the state’s coastal wetlands restored and

blue carbon opportunities further realized. “Blue carbon is brimming with potential, and South Australia is poised to grab hold of the opportunities it presents, which is why the Government has developed a Blue Carbon Strategy. We are thrilled to be partner organizations to deliver world-leading projects,” Minister Speirs said. “Developing blue carbon projects presents us with multiple benefits, from significant sequestration opportunities to strengthened resilience of our precious coastline to habitat restoration for nationally threatened species as well as new economic opportunities.” It has been long recognized that the value of these ecosystems as habitat and carbon sinks, but now these projects will be bringing more attention to the concepts. » 41

AQUACULTURE WITHOUT FRONTIERS

See more at https://www.csiro. au/en/news/News-releases/2021/ Estimating-Australias-blue-carbon-potential

NZ Salmon Research Program Cooperation Getting companies that compete in a product to invest and collaborate is always difficult but in New Zealand’sZealand’s Salmon industry, a five-year research project into fish feeding efficiency seemingly is just the beginning of engaging with business and science to grow a billiondollar industry. The “common good” is at the forefront of all engaged. The majority of the research was conducted at the Cawthron Institute’sInstitute’s finfish research center, and the center’s co-leader, Dr. Jane Symonds, highlighted that improving this efficiency was “probably one of the key priorities for the industry”. Breeding for efficiency is one of the significant areas of research, along with finding the correct quantity of feed during different periods of growth. She said there was a “really bright future” for aquaculture and the finfish farming industry in New Zealand, where currently salmon is the only farmed fish. Adding, “The goal is to be a $3 billion industry by 2035, and I think salmon plays a big part in that. The industry is growing, want42 »

ing to move to open ocean sites, but we need to look into how to make the same more resilient ... it will be different research, but complimentary.” NZ King Salmon general manager Mark Preece highlighted ’’getting more from less” was the ultimate aim, and the research had “heaps” of practical applications for the industry, from the scale of the salmon’s microbiome through to the type and amount of food used.

See more at https://www.stuff. co.nz/business/farming/aquaculture/125471987/fish-efficiency-research-building-block-for-3-billionindustry

Further information available at: http://www.aquaculturewithoutfrontiers.org/

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Yucca schidigera

Usage for Healthy Aquatic Animals: Potential Roles for Sustainability Several studies have found that aquatic animals’ performances showed

improvements as a direct result of using yucca as feed or water additives. Dietary yucca increases protein metabolism in the fish body, By: Bilal Ahamad Paray, Mohamed F. ElBasuini, Mahmoud Alagawany, Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, Mohammad Abul Farah and Mahmoud A. O. Dawood *

ecently, food security agencies have called for limiting the usage of antibiotics and chemotherapies in poultry, livestock, and aquaculture production due to their negative impact on natural immunity, either in the animals or the human body and their hazardous environmental risks. Therefore, using natural alternative substances that act as growth promotors, immunostimulants, and antioxidative agents is urgently needed.

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with a possible reduction in ammonia excretion. The improvement in protein metabolism enhances feed utilization and results in a high feed intake and growth rate. Yucca schidigera and its extracts are among the medicinal plants associated with plenty of beneficial effects when applied in aquaculture. Several studies found that aquatic animals’ performances showed improvements as a direct result of using yucca as feed or water additives. Dietary yucca increases protein metabolism in the fish body, with a possible reduction in ammonia excretion. The improvement in protein metabolism enhances feed utilization and results in a high

feed intake and growth rate. Yucca has abundant amounts of saponin and resveratrol, which can eliminate the waterborne ammonia and lower its impacts on aquatic animals’ performance and health. Therefore, many commercial aquatic products include yucca and saponin in their formulation to be applied in aquaculture ponds and intensive systems. It enhances the water quality, feed intake, growth rate, anti-oxidative, and immune responses in aquatic species.

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Furthermore, yucca increases resistance against infectious bacteria and invaders.

The Nature, Sources, and Composition of Yucca Yucca products (powder and juice) are commercially available, where they were approved in 1965 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (21 CFR 172.510) and can be used as dietary additives or supplements due to their beneficial impacts on well- being, growth performance, nutrient utilization, the removal of fecal odors and ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and some other hazardous volatile compounds in human and animal excreta The main constituents of yucca powder or extract (YE) are steroi46 »

dal saponins polysaccharides, and polyphenols, which possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antiprotozoal, antiplatelet, antimutagenic, anticancer, cholesterol reduction, and iNOS-expression-inhibiting activities. Saponins have a direct impact on the permeability of intestinal cells, as well as the gastromicrobiota (antiprotozoal activity) by forming complexes with sterols (cholesterol) in cell membranes. Yucca phenolic constituents include two stilbenes with antioxidant and antiinflammatory potentials, where the first is yuccaol A, B, C, D, and E (trans-3,3’,5,5’-tetrahydroxy-4’methoxystilbene) and the second is resveratrol (trans-3,4’,5 tetraxydroxystilbene)

Yucca as a Growth Promotor The application of plant-based products to support the growth of aquatic organisms has become widely used. Dietary incorporation of yucca products has favorable effects on the growth performance, feed efficiency, and health of aquatic animals. The improvement in growth as a result of yucca supplements may be linked to the enhancement in water quality and feed utilization, which relies on the intestinal status via modulating the gut flora, enzyme activity, and absorption. In this context, Wang et al. evaluated the effect of dietary incorporation of Y. schidigera extract (YSE) at different levels on the growth performance of mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio). The boosted growth performance was AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

linked to the alteration in the microbial population, which enhanced the feed digestion and utilization, regardless of the non-significant alteration in intestinal digestive enzymes. Moreover, Peterman et al. found a remarkable growth performance (higher weight gain and specific growth rate (SGR)) and feed utilization (lower feed conversion ratio (FCR)) after a 3-month feeding period in channel catfish. Furthermore, El-Keredy and Naena studied the growth of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus, initial weight of 20 g) infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in response to the dietary supplementation of YSE. The authors demonstrated that high levels of YSE in diets increases the saponin concentration. In a different approach, AbdelTawwab et al. examined Nile tilapia’s (28–32 g) responses to YSE and/or the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as water additives. The results of the Nile tilapia growth were improved (p < 0.05) due to the water additives and the highest growth was recorded in fish treated with YSE + yeast. Furthermore, Elkhayat et al. studied the responses of European seabass (D. labrax) to YSE supplementation. The results of this trial showed an improved growth performance and whole-body protein content. Moreover, Gaber examined the full substitution of fish meal protein in the control group (FMC) with the meal of soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, or linAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

seed supplemented with YSE on the growth of Nile tilapia (O. niloticus). All groups fed diets with YSE showed a higher apparent protein digestibility coefficient, whole-body protein content, and lower whole-body lipid content compared to the control. In addition, Kelly and Kohler investigated the impact of a feeding regime with YSE on the growth performance of post-yolk-sac and juvenile channel catfish (I. punctatus). After the 12-week feeding period, post-yolk-sac channel catfish fry fed the YSE had

the highest weight gain compared to the control. For shrimp cultivation, Hernández-Acosta et al. examined Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei, 2.6 g initial body weight) cultured in lowsalinity water and fed diets with Y. schidigera and Q. saponaria extracts (NTF). The increase in weights and decrease in FCR in response to Y. schidigera and Q. saponaria supplementation may be due to increased protein synthesis, digestive enzymes, and promotion of nutrient absorption.

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Yucca as an Immunostimulant Currently, eco-friendly natural strategies and/or alternatives to antibiotics, such as medicinal herbs and beneficial microorganisms (probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics), have become an area of interest of many studies. The efficacy of yucca as a natural immunostimulant substance is attributed to its high content of bioactive components (e.g., alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, steroids, phenolics, tannins, glycosides, and flavonoids). The aquatic organisms treated with dietary yucca showed direct enhanced local intestinal immunity, which was correlated with a general immune system enhancement due to the influence of yucca as an antibacterial agent against pathogenic microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Accordingly, yucca reduces the GIT inflammation that is induced by pathogens and toxins and relieves the stress that results from unfavorable aquaculture conditions. Subsequently, treatment with yucca enhances aquatic animals’ resistance against infection by pathogenic microorganisms that may attack the organism in the ponds. Indirectly, when the rearing water is treated with yucca extracts, the accumulation of ammonia is diminished and reduces the stressful impacts on 48 »

fish, which could lead to immunosuppression and pathogenic invaders attacking if continued for a long time.

Yucca as an Antioxidative Agent The antioxidant defense system is tightly linked to the health status and the immune system of fish. The aquatic animal antioxidant system is vulnerable to biotic and abiotic factors. Medical plants, with their numerous active components, are thought to possess different functions as immunostimulants and antioxidants. The Yucca plant and its products have shown antioxidant activities that are attributed to its phenolic hydroxyl groups (hydrogen donors), which lowers the formation of hydroxyl peroxide. A limited number of studies on the use of yucca and its products as an antioxidant in aquaculture have been done.

The efficacy of yucca as a natural

immunostimulant substance is attributed to its high content of bioactive components (e.g., alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, steroids, phenolics, tannins, glycosides, and flavonoids).

Yucca as a Natural Cleaner for Aquatic Water Quality The accumulation of inorganic nitrogen compounds (NH4+, NH3, NO2-, HNO2, and NO3-) resulting from the feces of aquatic organisms, organic matter, and the leftover feed affects the reproduction, growth, and resistance of fish to stressful conditions. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

Specifically, exposure to NH4+ and NH3 (TAN) pollution can cause gill damage, anoxia, disruption of blood vessels and osmoregulatory activity (damage to the liver and kidneys), and a decrease in the effectiveness of the immune system. Severe ammonia toxicity induces several effects on the aquatic animals, including the decrease of feed consumption, deteriorated physiological functions, unstable breathing through the gills, oxidative stress, diminished immunity, and inflammatory features in the gills. Yucca is applied mainly to reduce the levels of ammonia emissions in aquaculture ponds due to its content of steroidal saponin fractions, which has surface-active properties and can bind to ammonia via glycol-component fractions. The reduced levels of accumulated ammonia would result in the balance of protein metabolism in the fish body and a reduction in energy consumption. Hence, the feed utilization, growth performance, and physiological status of aquatic species can be improved using yucca. Additionally, yucca application results in the enhancement of the antioxidative, immunological, and anti-inflammatory responses in several aquatic animals. In this sense, yucca is an alternative approach to overcoming the excesAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

sive use of antibiotics for eco-friendly aquaculture. The inclusion of yucca extract improved the quality of rearing water and lowered the accumulated ammonia in the case of mirror carp Nile tilapia (O. niloticus), striped catfish (P. hypoph- thalmus), and European seabass juveniles (D. labrax). Yucca extract has steroidal saponins and glycol with an active surface attributed to ammonia’s adsorption. Correspondingly, the reduction in ammonia levels is attributed to the binding of ammonia with steroidal saponins and glycols or the transformation of ammonia to nitrite and nitrate. The overall results provide impressive outcomes regarding using Y. schidigera in terms of potential interest in open-flow pond aquaculture and closed aquaculture systems. Correspondingly, Y. schidigera can be complementary to biofloc technology, which can also improve the growth and immune status of farmed fish via improving water quality parameters.

Concluding Remarks Yucca can clearly enhance the quality of rearing water by reducing ammonia emissions that result from aquatic organisms due to its potential as a medicinal herb. Since aquatic organisms are known for their high sensitivity to

environmental stressors, yucca’s application can be considered an active substance for the “blue clean aquaculture industry.” Additionally, yucca showed growth-promoting effects when included as a dietary additive, with possible feed utilization potential. The enhancement of feed digestion and nutrient absorption activates the local intestinal immunity, which leads to improved immunity and high resistance against infectious diseases. There are direct and indirect effects implicated for both axes involved in the aims of the present work: yucca can directly achieve improved water quality, but immunity and growth may be indirectly affected. The overall performances of aquatic organisms that were treated with yucca as a dietary additive or a water cleaner encourage performing further studies to prove its mode of action based on biochemical and biological techniques.

* This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “Review Yucca schidigera Usage for Healthy Aquatic Animals: Potential Roles for Sustainability” developed by: Bilal Ahamad Paray, Mohamed F. El-Basuini, Mahmoud Alagawany, Mohammed Fahad Albeshr, Mohammad Abul Farah and Mahmoud A. O. Dawood. The original article was published on january 2021, through the Animals journal of MDPI under the use of a creative commons license. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: https:// www.mdpi.com/951396

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Global trends in antimicrobial use in aquaculture. Several countries have experienced dramatic reductions in antimicrobial use rates following the introduction of vaccination and improved management and husbandry programs, serving as important antimicrobial stewardship models.

By: Daniel Schar, EiliY. Klein, Ramanan Laxminarayan, Marius Gilbert, and Thomas P. Van Boeckel *

quatic animals represent 17% of animal protein consumed globally, and for over 40% of the world’s population, fish contribute nearly 20% of per capita animal protein consumed. Aquaculture now accounts for nearly half of the global supply of fisheries products for human consumption. Globally, rising demand for animal source nutrition is

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The levels and patterns of antimicrobial use in aquaculture globally remain largely undocumented, limiting application of targeted interventions and policies promoting sound antimicrobial stewardship in a high-growth industry. This study presents an analysis of global antimicrobial consumption trends in aquaculture. The estimates presented here provide an initial foundation upon which future studies will be able to build and refine in directing iterative enhancements in antimicrobial stewardship policies. being met with a transition to increasingly intensive animal production systems. This transitional period is typically characterized by an emphasis on production volume that precedes the adoption of farm biosecurity, hygiene and management standards. In this context, nontherapeutic antimicrobial use may serve to increase growth and substitute for good animal husbandry practices.

Compared with antimicrobial use in terrestrial food animal production, application of antimicrobials in aquaculture provides a potentially wider environmental exposure pathway for drug distribution through water with important ecosystem health implications. Antimicrobial residues in the aquatic environment alter the environmental microbiome and, consequently, ecosystem regulatory, proAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

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visioning and supporting capacities. In addition to disease regulation, the aquatic environmental microbiome’s function in nutrient cycling, sustaining biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and freshwater availability remain important research inquiries. The levels and patterns of antimicrobial use in aquaculture globally remain largely undocumented, limiting application of targeted interventions and policies promoting sound antimicrobial stewardship in a high-growth industry. In this study we present an analysis of global antimicrobial consumption trends in aquaculture. The estimates presented here provide an initial foundation upon which future studies will be able to build and refine in directing iterative enhancements in antimicrobial stewardship policies.

Methods Baseline antimicrobial consumption and projected growth through 2030 were calculated by application of species-specific antimicrobial use coefficients to current and projected aquaculture production by species. We conducted a systematic review of peer-review and grey literature for antimicrobial use point preva52 »

lence surveys in aquaculture between 2000 and 2019, using three primary search term categories: “antimicrobial” (antimicrobial; antibiotic; veterinary medicine); “use” (use; usage; consumption; amount; quantity); and “aquaculture” (aquaculture; aquatic; fish; shellfish; marine; freshwater). Aquaculture baseline and projections. Corresponding production statistics in 2017 by country, region, and for five species categories—catfish, shrimp, salmon, tilapia, and trout—were collected from FAO FishStat. In aquaculture, antimicrobials are primarily delivered through feed for both therapeutic and nontherapeutic use. For each country or region, the difference between the total production figure and the sum of the five species categories was assigned to a sixth category, “pooled.” The 2017–2027 compound annual growth rate generated projected production figures from 2028 to 2030. Uncertainty. Mean antimicrobial use coefficients in mg kg-1 were calculated for each of the six species categories by calculating the mean of the log10 transformed speciesspecific use rates from the point prevalence surveys. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to iden-

tify outliers. Antimicrobial use coefficients for each point prevalence survey were sequentially excluded from the calculation of the mean. The resultant mean coefficients were compared with the mean of the full list of surveys. A similar analysis was performed using mean coefficients by country. Aggregate global consumption. Antimicrobial consumption from terrestrial food animals and baseline estimates from humans were obtained from Van Boeckel et al, and Klein et al, respectively. Consumption trends from terrestrial food animal species were adjusted to reflect revised animal biomass projections from 2017 to 2030.

Results Global antimicrobial consumption in aquaculture in 2017 was estimated at 10,259 tons. The four countries with the largest share of antimicrobial consumption in 2017 were all in the Asia–Pacific region: China (57.9%), India (11.3%), Indonesia (8.6%), and Vietnam (5%). These countries are projected to remain the largest consumers of antimicrobials in 2030. The countries with the largest projected relative increase in consumpAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

tion between 2017 and 2030 were Brazil (94%), Saudi Arabia (77%), Australia (61%), Russia (59%) and Indonesia (55%) Antimicrobial consumption trends by species groups. Five species groups were established in our study: catfish, shrimp, salmon, tilapia, and trout. Among the individual species groups, 8.3% of global antimicrobial consumption was attributable to catfish, 3.4% to tilapia, 2.7% to shrimp, 0.8% to trout, and 0.7% to salmon. The relative proportion of each species group was stable through 2030. The influence of production system on antimicrobial use was assessed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, which revealed no significant association (P = 0.543) between production system AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

intensity and use when comparing intensive, semi-intensive, and mixed systems Trends by antimicrobial class. Globally, the most commonly used classes of antimicrobials were, by frequency of use, quinolones (27%), tetracyclines (20%), amphenicols (18%), and sulfonamides (14%). Antimicrobial consumption from humans, terrestrial animals, and aquaculture. Proportion of use across sectors remains relatively consistent through 2030, when human use (48,608 tons), terrestrial food producing animal use (174,549 tons), and aquatic food producing animal use (13,600 tons) represent 20.5, 73.7, and 5.7% of global consumption, respectively.

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Discussion

Global trends At current rates, global antimicrobial consumption in aquaculture is expected to increase 33% between 2017 and 2030. These estimates are associated with considerable uncertainty and relatively wide uncertainty intervals due to the scarcity of point prevalence surveys on antimicrobial use in aquaculture. Global trends in antimicrobial use in aquaculture are heavily influenced by the expansion of aquaculture in Asia, and particularly in China. Collectively, the five countries with the largest projected relative increase in antimicrobial consumption between 2017 and 2030 account for only 11.5% of global antimicrobial consumption in 2030, indicating that, with the exception of Indonesia, the countries with the fastest antimicrobial consumption growth will remain the minority contributors to global consumption projected by 2030. At a country-level, few estimates of antimicrobial use in aquaculture have been produced. Although this limits comparisons of our estimates with country-level use, our antimicrobial use estimates for aquaculture are within the range of a 2013 domestic consumption estimate from China, and approximately 40% of the low bound from a 2002 estimate in the United States Drug classes and species All of the classes of antimicrobials identified in our systematic review of point prevalence surveys are classified by the World Health Organization as important for human medicine. Classes assigned to the top two classification tiers—highly important and critically important antimicrobials for human medicine—collectively represented 96% of all use (Supplementary Fig. S4). This finding is of particular concern given that few alternatives to these drug classes exist. It further raises the prospect of antimicrobial use in 54 »

aquaculture driving resistance trends in aquatic environments, with implications for transfer of resistance genes across bacterial species. Such transfers are ecological in nature and are thus challenging to document. However, the transmission of resistance genes across bacteria capable of spanning the aquatic–environment–human interface with corollary public health impact, as has been described in terrestrial food producing animal settings, has been suggested. This dynamic may be particularly important in areas reliant upon untreated water sources and with higher rates of consumption of raw fisheries products. Several countries have experienced dramatic reductions in antimicrobial use rates following introduction of vaccination and improved management and husbandry programs, serving as important antimicrobial stewardship models.

Limitations Our antimicrobial consumption projections are subject to wide uncertainty intervals that likely reflect both the limited availability of surveys, from which projections were generated, and the diversity of global aquaculture production systems, practices and species. The diversity of farmed aquatic animal species greatly exceeds terrestrial food animal producing species. Currently, antimicrobial use is poorly documented even for those species of greatest production significance. Finally, without data capturing temporal trends in species-specific antimicrobial use, we assumed that the mean use coefficients by species remain constant between 2017 and 2030. As a consequence, variability in antimicrobial consumption solely reflects the growth in aquaculture production in each country or region through 2030. Despite these limitaAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

At current rates, global antimicrobial consumption in aquaculture is expected to increase 33% between 2017 and 2030. These estimates are associated with considerable uncertainty and relatively wide uncertainty intervals due to the scarcity of point prevalence surveys on antimicrobial use in aquaculture.

tions, our estimates provide a starting point to help frame a discussion outlining near- term priorities to enhance antimicrobial use data collection. A confluence of trends in animalsource nutrition availability could push accelerated rates of aquaculture growth in the near-term. Increasing ocean acidification and warming has been projected to represent a net negative impact on capture fisheries output, which have plateaued over the last two decades. And terrestrial animal epizootics, such as African swine fever in Asia, are constraining terrestrial animal-source nutrition supply. In this context, an acute reorientation of protein demand to aquatic animal-source food products could be expected to drive increased aquaculture production output. Under business as usual conditions, this would lead to an increase in antimicrobial consumption in aquaculture. Such trends could be significant in AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

areas with widespread availability of—and unrestricted access to—antimicrobials Robust surveillance data (1) facilitates identification of sectors and

production contexts where either inappropriate use or lack of access would benefit from rebalancing; (2) enables the establishment of timebound, measurable consumption tar» 55

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Several countries have experienced dramatic reductions in antimicrobial use rates following introduction of vaccination and improved management and husbandry programs, serving as important antimicrobial stewardship models.

gets and monitoring progress toward achieving these targets; and (3) when paired with resistance data, generates additional insight into the association between patterns of consumption and antimicrobial resistance trends. A tiered approach to surveillance of antimicrobial consumption permits utilization of existing sales channel data to direct enhanced stewardship policies while structures are developed to produce iteratively

more granular, farm-level consumption data. As a function of potentially higher rates of off-label use of antimicrobials in aquaculture—particularly in developing country contexts—sales data, however, may currently under-represent consumption. Labelled indications for therapeutic use in primary aquaculture species will improve attribution to—and characterization of—aquaculture use.

Our findings call for urgent strengthening of surveillance for antimicrobial consumption and enhanced understanding of antimicrobial resistance transmission risk across the aquatic animal–environment–human interface, with application of targeted policies and regulatory structures promoting antimicrobial stewardship and antimicrobial efficacy as a shared global resource.

* This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “Global trends in antimicrobial use in aquaculture” developed by: Daniel Schar, EiliY. Klein, Ramanan Laxminarayan, Marius Gilbert, and Thomas P. Van Boeckel. The original article was published on 2020, through the Scientific Reports Journal of Nature Research under the use of a creative commons open access license. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41598-020-78849-3

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Design of an Intelligent Variable-Flow Recirculating Aquaculture System Based on Machine Learning Methods

An intelligent variable-flow RAS can rapidly remove suspended solids

and reduce ammonia and nitrite generation from the source. The primary purpose of the present study was to develop the circulating By: Fudi Chen, Yishuai Du, Tianlong Qiu, Zhe Xu, Li Zhou, Jianping Xu, Ming Sun, Ye Li, and Jianming Sun *

pump- drum filter linkage working technique using machine learning methods.

ishery productivity is facing a massive challenge of declining resources due to environmental pollution and over fishing. A recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) can offer a high degree of environmental control and uses various technologies to carry out physical filtration, biofiltration, and disinfection for water recycling. The core of a RAS is the water treatment system, which mainly includes micro-screen drum filters, biofilters, oxidation devices, and disinfection devices. Suspended solid particles have been proven to be the leading cause of high turbidity in aquaculture water, which can cause stress reactions and endanger the health of aquatic animals. As residence time increases, the suspended solids block the breeding facilities and increase chemical oxygen demand. Organic solid waste can be mineralized and decomposed to increase ammonia and nitrite concentrations and increase the load on the nitrification function of the biofilter. The micro-screen drum filter, which is a physical filter device widely used in RASs, has the characteristics of 58 »

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strong adaptability, minimal floor space, and a high level of automation. In a drum filter, the screen is fixed on a rotating drum frame on the horizontal axis and partially submerged in water; water flows into the drum and radially through the straining cloth, which captures fine particles with a suitable mesh size. The micro-screen is the central working part of the drum filter, and the mesh number can directly affect filtration performance. 60 »

Compared with the traditional fixed-flow RAS, the variable-flow RAS can increase the total water circulation to accelerate the water treatment process when organic particles increase, and the ammonia and nitrite then can be eliminated from the source. In addition, the variable-flow RAS consumes a low amount of electricity when the water is relatively clean. However, manual operation is often used to adjust the circulation pump frequency to

determine the appropriate total water circulation in the variable-flow RAS. The manual operation experience may cause the water treatment efficiency to not match the actual situation, resulting in insufficient water processing efficiency or waste of electricity. For industrial control in recirculating aquaculture, in particular, there is an urgent need to apply machine learning models to improve instrument efficiency and promote the development of intelAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

ligent equipment applications. The primary purpose of the present study was to develop the circulating pump- drum filter linkage working technique using machine learning methods. An intelligent variable-flow RAS can rapidly remove suspended solids and reduce ammonia and nitrite generation from the source.

Materials and Methods

Experimental RAS The experimental RAS used the recirculating aquaculture system of Dalian Huixin Titanium Equipment Development Co., Ltd. for breeding L. vannamei. The control tem collected the water quality indicators by connecting them with the sensors. Water system collected the water quality indicators by connecting them with the sensors. Water quality changes can be monitored in real time, and the centrifugal pump was controlled by variable-frequency operation using a flow regulation model based on machine learning. Variable-Flow Experiment Design The backwash frequency of the drum filter within a unit period (0.5 h) was used to represent overall RAS turbidity, and the variable-flow AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

regulation model was constructed using the backwash frequency and various water quality data. The intelligent variable-flow RAS technology is implemented by controlling the RAS circulation rate by changing the circulating pump flow rate. The primary purpose of the variableflow RAS is to implement a linkage control technology to model the relationship between the micro-screen drum filter backwash frequency and the circulation flow rate. Turbidity sensors were placed at the main return pipeline to monitor and record overall RAS water turbidity. Water quality indicators, including water temperature (T), dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, and salinity, were measured by sensors in real time using YSI ProPlus portable sensors. Establishing a variable-flow circulation strategy was the core task of the experiment, and therefore the circulation rate regulation model was constructed using the optimal classification model based on machine learning to control the variable-flow circulation rate in the RAS. The dataset was processed with the optimal machine learning model in the industrial computer to regu-

Compared with the traditional fixed-flow RAS, the variableflow RAS can increase the total water circulation to accelerate the water treatment process when organic particles increase, and the ammonia and nitrite then can be eliminated from the source.

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late pump frequency for the next period and feed it back to the embedded system, so that the RAS circulation flow rate could be regulated intelligently.

Machine Learning Methods

The application of machine learning methods in aquaculturerelated research is focused mainly on the prediction, classification, and evaluation of water quality indicators such as dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH, ammonia, and nitrite.

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) In this study, several ANN methods, including the backpropagation neural network (BPNN), extreme learning machine (ELM), probabilistic neural network (PNN), and long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network, were used to develop variable-flow models. Long-term memory information is stored during three steps (forgetting, remembering, and outputting) in an LSTM. In the present study, a rectified linear unit (ReLU) function was applied in the LSTM model. Generally, a PNN network contains four layers: input layer, pattern layer, summation layer, and output. Support Vector Machine (SVM) The SVM model was adopted to control the inverter frequency to improve circulating pump operating efficiency under different water

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quality conditions. The SVM is a kind of machine learning algorithm with a high generalization ability to classify and predict small samples. As upshifting and downshifting of the circulating pump is a binary problem, water quality indicators as variables can provide good generalization ability for the model. K-fold cross-validation was utilized in the SVM models to prevent overfitting, and the evaluation indicators were calculated using averaging. The optimal SVM model can be determined by comparing the evaluation indicators of classification results from different algorithms.

Results

Data Processing for Variable-Flow Regulation The variable-flow regulation was decided by the frequency of the circulating pump. In order to develop the variable-flow regulation models based on the machine learning methods, water quality indicators, current circulation flow rate, and current backwash frequency were used as input variables, and regulating data (upshift/downshift) for AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

The traditional method of water quality regulation in an RAS is to act when water quality deteriorates. This approach leads to large fluctuations in the water environment, and the cost of water quality regulation becomes very high, often requiring many water exchanges to control water quality.

the next period (0.5 h) were used as output variables. Upshift/downshift data were labeled by manual marking. The first step in developing the machine learning models was to simplify the explanatory variables by principal component analysis (PCA). PCA can reduce the complexity of the dataset and reveal hidden structures. PCA successfully provided the optimal reduced representation

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for the data. The new dataset could then be used velop machine learning models to reduce the complexity of the computation processes. Intelligent Variable-Flow Models ANN classification models, including GA-BP, ELM, PNN, and LSTM, were used to adjust the circulating pump’s frequency. The upshifting operation of circulating pump frequency was labeled as 1, and down-

shifting operation was labeled as -1. The classification accuracy of both training set and test set data was calculated. Results showed that the training accuracy of all the ANN models was beyond 90%. PNN and LSTM achieved the most accurate classification (100%). For the test set, the LSTM model had a 96.84% accuracy rate; however, the accuracy rates of other models were less than 90%.

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Results of the SVM Models As classification accuracy is directly related to the optimal parameters of the SVM model, we used several optimizing methods to determine penalty parameter c and the kernel parameter g in the present study. The optimized parameters were determined by the grid search, least squares, cuckoo search, and gene algorithm. Although the accuracy could be maintained at a high level, the ranges of the optimized parameters of the SVM models were quite different. Therefore, it was necessary to further select the SVM model through evaluation indicators. Model Evaluation The SVM model was estimated by 4-fold cross-validation, and the indicators were computed by averaging the folds. The F1-score indicator is proposed based on precision and recall to evaluate the indicators as a whole. The F1-score can be used to comprehensively consider the pros and cons of the classification models. According to the summaries of the model evaluation indicators, GA-SVM shows both higher accuracy and F1-score than other machine learning methods.

Discussion The traditional method of water quality regulation in an RAS is to act when water quality deteriorates. This approach leads to large fluctuations in the water environment, and the cost of water quality regulation becomes very high, often requiring many water exchanges to control water quality. RAS solids come mainly from uneaten feed and fecal solids, and the decomposition and mineralization of these solids lead to elevated ammonia and nitrite levels in the RAS The application of machine learning methods in aquaculture64 »

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related research is focused mainly on the prediction, classification, and evaluation of water quality indicators such as dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH, ammonia, and nitrite. In the present study, machine learning was used to model the variable-flow regulation strategy. Research has shown that LSTM can indeed perform well in processing long time series sequences of data. The optimal classification model needs to be relatively simple in order to be applied in the embedded devices. The variable-flow adjustment strategy in RAS also needs to respond quickly and satisfy the high standard of classification accuracy. All the evaluated indicators of the SVM models demonstrated better results compared with the LSTM model. The gene algorithm contributed the highest accuracy and F1score among the four optimization AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

algorithms in the classification task. As a supervised algorithm, GASVM can be applied to effectively adjust water refreshment in RAS. A larger quantity of data from the running RAS can ensure higher availability and robustness for optimizing the intelligent variable-flow strategy. The continuous variableflow control technology prerequisite is required for the indicators (water quality, backwash frequency, and rearing cycle) to correspond to the ideal circulation volume. Furthermore, the interaction effects between various indicators need to be revealed through experiments and analysis.

Conclusions Classification models based on machine learning methods between the explanatory variables and the regulation strategy were developed based

on experimental data. The LSTM model had the highest accuracy and F1-score and was regarded as the best classification model among ANN methods. Results showed that SVM models required less training time and exhibited higher accuracy compared with ANN models. Finally, the optimal model was GA-SVM, with the highest classification accuracy (training 100%, test 98.95%) and F1-score.

* This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “Design of an Intelligent Variable-Flow Recirculating Aquaculture System Based on Machine Learning Methods” developed by: Fudi Chen, Yishuai Du, Tianlong Qiu, Zhe Xu, Li Zhou, Jianping Xu, Ming Sun, Ye Li, and Jianming Sun. The original article was published on July, 2021, through the Applied Sciences Journal of MDPI under the use of a creative commons open access license. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: https://doi.org/10.3390/app11146546

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LATIN AMERICA REPORT

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

INVE Aquaculture strengthens its global presence INVE Aquaculture, a Benchmark company, is pleased to announce the appointment of two new commercial managers members to support its global growth. Hector Xavier Valdez based in Ecuador and Manuel Zazueta based in Mexico will take the lead for these important markets for INVE. Our new members of the team will head the strengthening of our customer relationships in these countries, helping them to drive sustainable growth and ensuring that we continue to provide the very best products and services for their success. Hector Xavier Valdez, Area Manager for Ecuador, brings with him over 25 years of commercial experience, including 14 years with Procesadora Nacional de Alimentos CA (PRONACA) where he held a range of key commercial positions. Most recently he has provided specialist consultancy services supporting a number of businesses within the food industry. Manuel Zazueta, Area Manager in Mexico, is an Aquaculture Engineer with over 25 years of experience in cultured Hybrid Striped Bass, Tilapia and Shrimp. For the last 20 years, he has worked in feed sales for Shrimp and Fish. Phil Doyle, Commercial Director of INVE Aquaculture commented on the new appointments “It’s a very exciting period for INVE Aquaculture and Benchmark and we have two new senior members of our commercial team in Ecuador and Mexico who bring with 66 »

them skills and experience that will benefit our customers and support our growth plans. INVE strives to bring innovative products and services to the market, combined with a wealth of specialist expertise and experience, to help customers grow their businesses sustainably and profitably. We focus on getting closer to our customers to learn about their needs and challenges so that we can provide solutions that make a difference.

I’m very happy that Hector and Manuel have chosen to join INVE and become part of our team”.

AquaExpo 2021 is confirmed to take place in Guayaquil during October The National Chamber of Aquaculture of Ecuador CNA confirmed that from October 25 to 28 will be held, in person, the most important technical, commercial shrimp farming event in the western hemisphere:

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LATIN AMERICA REPORT

“Aqua Expo 2021”, at the Guayaquil Convention Center. In approximately 6,950 m2, the assembly of the trade fair will be carried out, which will have at least 200 stands, promoting products and services of more than 100 national and foreign companies that will participate in the event. The daily visit average of 1,000 people is expected, respecting the distancing and capacity established as a measure to avoid the spread of Covid-19. The Aqua Expo Guayaquil Congress will have at least 30 national and foreign speakers who will update their knowledge on animal health, nutrition and food management, quality and safety, efficient production processes, use of new technologies, and projections of the shrimp market. The CNA, organizer of the event for more than two decades, invites to this edition of Aqua Expo Guayaquil with the confidence of participating in a safe event, taking into account that Ecuador leads the vaccination process of the region and the world according to the portal Our World in Data https://ourworldindata.org/ grapher/daily-covid-vaccinationdoses-per-capita. The organization has resumed face-to-face events considering that about 70% of the country’s economically active population has been immunized. The Ecuadorian shrimp sector has already completed its vaccination scheme for Sars-Cov2. It is not the first time that the CNA successfully holds a face-toface event during the pandemic. Last year, Aqua Expo 2020 was held in person at the Convention Center; respecting the capacity provided at that time, it had more than 60 national and foreign companies linked to the industry. The congress had 30 international and Ecuadorian exhibitors. In 2021, Aqua Expo El Oro was also held at the Oro Verde Hotel in Machala on August 18 and 19, with 68 »

45 stands and 17 speakers in the technical conference program. Aqua Expo Guayaquil 2021 will implement temperature control for all attendees entering the venue, verify the correct use of the mask, and distancing in all areas; to take care of everyone’s health. Enjoy the best of the global aquaculture industry in one place. Contact: cmosquera@cna-ecuador.com

WA2021, to be held in Merida, Mexico, changes its date After a detailed assessment of the current situation of the pandemic, the Organizing Committee of the World Aquaculture 2021- WA2021, #AquacultureNow has decided to reschedule the date of WA2021 for the second quarter of 2022. With the main objective of safeguarding the health and integrity of our attendees, the Organizing Committee of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS, for its acronym in English), in collaboration with the local authorities of the State of Yucatan, as well as other organizations that are part of WA2021, they have made the decision to reschedule the WA2021 event for the 24 to 27 of may, 2022. This decision was made when considering the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the

world. However, the Organizing Committee will continue working to offer in 2022 a high-quality event that meets the expectations of all our participants. It is important to mention that WA2021 will take place in the City of Mérida, Yucatán as initially scheduled. WA2021 will feature panel discussions led by experts of international stature, on current issues in the Latin American and global aquaculture sector, keynote speeches, technical and academic sessions, as well as courses of great interest to our attendees. For this reason, we extend our invitation to all entities, universities, experts, students, academics, producers, marketers, entrepreneurs and other organizations that have an interest in aquaculture, to register for this important event, which will undoubtedly offer a space ideal for creating alliances with companies, investors, the academic and scientific sectors. Registration and receipt of papers are open, so we invite you to take advantage of discounts on early registration. For more information about the event, consult the www.was.org page or contact Carolina Amézquita, by email: carolina@was.org, or by email mario@marevent.com, with Mario Stael for commercial stands.

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OUT AND ABOUT

Low demand for certified aquaculture products: one of the leading causes of the low rate of Sustainable production certification By: Salvador Meza *

Today, with a relatively low budget, using digital marketing through influencers in specific consumer communities, powerful messages can be sent to show the environmental danger that non-certified as sustainably produced fish and shellfish consumption continuity can mean for the world.

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espite all the efforts made by NGOs, certifying companies, private certifiers, and activists within the aquaculture industry, the two largest sustainability certification groups, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), and the standards of the Best Aquaculture Practices of the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAABAP), only represent 3% of world aquaculture production. According to a recent analysis on the development of aquaculture in the last two decades, the low levels of compliance have been attributed to a series of factors enlisted here: the lack of resources to invest in changes and adaptations towards sustainability standards, the low demand for certified products in the market, the little willingness of consumers to pay more for these products, the low levels of literacy and inadequate administrative skills required to monitor and report on the topic, and the environmental risks of production beyond the control of the producer. The challenge is not easy; the causes that maintain such a low level of certified world aquaculture production cannot be solved in the short or medium term and not with the

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We have to spread the word

to make consumers know the importance of consuming products with sustainability certifications.

speed that a world in full exploitation of its natural resources requires. If we analyze this situation well, we could conclude that perhaps the fastest way to accelerate changes in aquaculture production processes in general towards models that comply with the established environmental and social sustainability protocols is to make the market demand it and, therefore, consequently pay it. Suppose it is not the demand for sustainable aquaculture products where the financial resources necessary to convert current production to sustainable production are going to come from. In that case, there is nowhere to get that money. It will not come from the banks, the governments, the NGOs, or the aquaculture companies, which with difficulties remain afloat as they are. One option could be to turn to fish and seafood suppliers and distributors. They are in the service sector, not in the primary production AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

sector, like aquaculture producers; although there are some vertically integrated aquaculture companies, most producers remain in the primary industry. These companies that supply and distribute fish and shellfish are closest to the market and can send the message of sustainability further in the consumer communities. We have to spread the word to make consumers know the importance of consuming products with sustainability certifications. Today there are many communication channels to send these messages, which the primary producers are far from knowing or using. Still, the supply and distribution companies have them closer and may have the necessary resources to use them. Today, with a relatively low budget, using digital marketing through influencers in specific consumer communities, powerful messages can be sent to show the environmental danger that non-certified as sustain-

ably produced fish and shellfish consumption continuity can mean for the world. It is an emergency. Consumers must be moved towards products that assure them that they have been produced under social and environmental security standards and that consuming them promotes their permanence in the market and the environment.

Salvador Meza is Editor & Publisher of Aquaculture Magazine, and of the Spanish language industry magazine Panorama Acuicola.

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AQUAFEED

Recent news from around the globe by Aquafeed.com By Suzi Dominy*

Feed is key to the advance of RAS production Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) are not new and still represent a small segment of aquaculture production, but it’s a rapidly trending technology and the industry’s hot topic. Drivers for its future growth are its apparent low environmental impact and the proximity to market for high-value species, affording both economic and biosecurity advantages.

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RAS presents challenges and opportunities in every aspect of production, from genetics to systems engineering, and not the least of them is the management of the system biome – an area that is inextricably linked to feeds. Most of the major feed companies are devoting research efforts to the development of RAS feeds. Biomar, for example, is contributing to a new European research project, RASbiome: Microbial man-

agement in RAS for sustainable aquaculture production, funded by ERANET BlueBio, which aims to improve the sustainability of fish production in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) by introducing new and innovative approaches for microbiological water treatment. BioMar is providing the feeds for biological trials on rainbow trout juveniles run by DTU Aqua. The different diets in the trials will be varying carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, an essential parameter for microorganism performance. The expected sustainability outcomes of this project for aquaculture production are improving fish welfare and productivity due to stable and optimized chemical and microbiological water quality, reducing environmental impact through nitrogen removal from discharged water, and reducing operational costs. The RASbiome project will focus on implementing two fundamentally distinct biological water treatment strategies, new to RAS, on improving the management of nitrogen compounds. The first strategy involves anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria, resulting in almost

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complete nitrogen removal from the water. This strategy excludes the need for external organic carbon. It entails reduced energy consumption and reduced CO2 production. The second strategy takes advantage of biofloc formed by heterotrophic bacteria, assimilating nitrogen. This approach allows for harvesting sludge consisting of nutrient-rich microbial biomass. Therefore, it is compatible with the recovery and recycling of nitrogen from RAS water streams. “BioMar, as well as all RASbiome project partners, truly expect the proposed project to give innovative outcomes on key challenges. New measures that can be applied in microbial water treatment, and especially in the management of nitrogen compounds, will undoubtedly promote sustainable fish production in freshwater RAS systems,” Pedro Gómez Requeni, senior scientist at the Nutrition Formulation Department of BioMar Global R&D said. Another approach was outlined by Tom Scrope, UK Manager of Nova Q Ltd., in our June 2021 issue of HATCHERY Feed & Management magazine. RAS aquaculture is not just about farming fish, but the biofilter bacteria too, he writes. “RAS managers recognize that bacteria are crucial to operating a RAS. But as long as adequate nitrification kicks in following “seeding”, most producers are inclined to leave the biofilter “well alone” for fear of disturbing the delicate balance. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

While other aspects of RAS are being continuously improved, the functionality of the bacteria in RAS has not been optimized in the same way. To do things better, by definition, we need to do them differently”. This lack of innovation has led to problems currently facing RAS sites, such as inefficient nitrification, including nitrite spikes, slow and unpredictable restarts – particularly problematic for sites with short timescales before the introduction of fish to the system (e.g., research sites), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) spikes caused by sulfate-reducing bacteria being able to establish themselves in the system and off-flavor compounds (OFCs) in grow-out RAS reducing the value of stock and requiring expensive and inefficient “purging” to remove. Advances in the last few years in sequencing technology (especially 16S rRNA sequencing) need to be combined with innovative tools to influence the microbiome and positively solve the problems identified above. Some of these tools will involve a more considered use of inputs (e.g., feed) that impact the microbiome. But a vital part of the toolkit for any RAS farmer should be Active Microbiome

Management. This advanced form of bio-augmentation involves directly influencing the biofilter microbiome through constant additions of beneficial bacteria. This approach is already common in wastewater treatment (WWT) to avoid the system becoming dominated by “undesirable” bacteria. Many beneficial species are slow to reproduce. By contrast, potentially pathogenic r-strategists (opportunists) can multiply much faster. Regularly adding large quantities of functional bacteria removes their slow reproduction rates as a limiting factor. Although good results can be achieved by experienced operators simply applying stabilized bacteria from a bottle, much more powerful impacts are possible using a bio-reactor grow tank to multiply and activate the bacteria before applying them to the system. Nova Q is currently adapting for RAS the BrewTus range of automated and purpose-built bio-reactors developed by their Canadian partners, with the installation of the first units expected imminently. » 73

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Sustainability news from Aquafeed.com More than 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the salmon industry come from fish feed. Every year, the Norwegian salmon industry utilizes 1.6 million tons of feed, and 90% of the raw materials are imported. The industry is calling for more environmentally friendly feed, and this will be one of the main tasks for the research center in Bergen, Norway. Researchers and the industry received the tools they need to develop the feed of the future with the opening of The Norwegian Aquafeed Technology Centre (ATC) in August. The center will conduct open research, meaning that all industry actors will have access to the results and, therefore, the pace of innovation can be increased. The research director at Nofima, Mari Moren, said that “it is not as simple as just removing soy and then adding new raw material. Firstly, research must be conducted on the suitability of raw materials in the feed pellet because feed production is rather complex. We have to start in the right place. Sustainable raw materials must first be processed in the correct manner before they can be used in salmon feed. Once this is in place, suppliers can start large-scale production.” ATC is a state-of-the-art center located at Nofima’s facilities in Bergen. The infrastructure and expertise offered are within bioprocessing, process technology, extrusion and feed technology, and analytical platforms. 74 »

The Aquafeed Technology Centre’s new equipment allows studying the impact the processing of new raw materials has on the ingredients and the final product. Nofima has also launched the Millennial Salmon Project to accelerate the development of sustainable solutions for the future of farmed salmon. The goal of the four-year project is to create the most sustainable-farmed salmon using novel ingredients from the circular economy and with a low carbon footprint. With a €1.3 million budget, the project is primarily funded by the Research Council of Norway and is made up of leading organizations, Nofima, InnovaFeed, Corbion Algae Ingredients, Cargill, SINTEF Ocean, and Auchan. The project will study two alternative feed ingredients – protein-rich, insect-based feed ProtiNova from InnovaFeed, and algae-based omega 3s, AlgaPrimeTM DHA from Corbion, both of which offer minimal land use. The evidencebased study will test the levels that are required to optimize the physical and nutritional needs of salmon, discover the practical and functional properties of both alternatives, as well as demonstrate the environmental and societal aspects of the suggested innovations. SINTEF Ocean will be conducting a life cycle analysis of the resulting Millennial Salmon feed. Aller Aqua became the world’s first fish feed company to achieve verification of CO2-labelling of fish feed. The verification process at its Europe-

an factories was conducted by Bureau Veritas. The company aims to create full transparency for its customers and particularly contribute to reducing CO2 emissions. Aller Aqua has recently taken other measures, such as replacing South American soy with regionally-produced soy in European factories. A $2.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation has established the Center for Environmental Sustainability through Insect Farming. The Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has been assigned as the lead site for the center, which will be a collaborative effort with Mississippi State University (MSU) and Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI). Joining the universities will be 34 U.S. and global industrial partners, including Mars Inc., Tyson Foods, and insect farming pioneers such as Aspire Food Groups, Protix, and Beta Hatch Inc.

*Suzi Dominy is the publisher of Aquafeed.com and Hatchery Feed & Management. She brings 30 years of experience in professional aquaculture and feed industry journalism and publishing. editor@aquafeed.com

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THE FISHMONGER

Who has control of the agenda? By: The fishmonger *

The Fishmonger has been engaging in a number of virtual events recently. It is amazing how the lockdowns, curfews, lack of travel, etc. have enabled us to expand our horizons through virtual technology, and the Fishmonger encourages you all to engage. So much great information is available.

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hat technology has no boundaries. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. The bad side is people can say pretty much whatever you want, and sadly the world is full of conspiracy fantasy concepts as a result. There is a clear and present danger from anti-seafood lobbies. The Fishmonger urges you to create a list of your own principles in this area and recommends you build those around quality standards. Listen to as many experts as you can and ask questions (amazing how many people miss that chance), then make your own opinions based on facts! Over this period of engaging in the virtual world, what is plainly obvious is that the world of seafood is gradually being controlled by people who are not actually in the seafood business. There is a business that has been created between the primary sector and consumers that we should all find concerning. They are proactively setting the agendas for the industry way outside government regulations and in the space where the industry has failed to connect. Let us look at two recent examples, and curiously both are centered on the island state of Tasmania, Australia. A major player in the Australian Atlantic Salmon industry, Huon Aquaculture, is currently in the middle of a social media war as two massive organizations fight for the major shareholding currently on the market from the founders of the business. Brazilian originated but globally driven red meat giant JBS is again dodging flak after copping many media blasts from West Australian mining magnate, turned agribusiness new boy savior, Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest. Speculation about the success/ failure of JBS’ A$540 million bid for Huon Aquaculture’s salmon operations, along with a move to buy pig farming, and processing business, Rivalea has escalated, prompted by soAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

cial media chatter about the Brazilian company’s corporate misbehavior at home and in the US. It is has been reported that founding family company executives and brothers Wesley and Joesley Batista went to jail for three years after JBS admitted in 2017 it paid about A$200 million in bribes to more than 1800 politicians and government officials to help it access Brazilian government funds and international expansion opportunities.

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Dr. Forrest has not been shy in highlighting issues about being a ‘good corporate citizen’, challenging JBS to adopt “an uncompromising commitment” to animal welfare in the meat supply chain and to help raise global protein production standards. He has highlighted “animal husbandry question marks,” claiming the company was accused by the animal welfare lobby of running seven of the USA’s worst, large livestock

meatworks. He also felt the Foreign Investment Review Board should rethink its recent pre-sale approval for any successful JBS takeover of Tasmania’s Huon because of the meat company’s environmental and livestock husbandry record and convictions for bribery and price-fixing in the Americas. It must be pointed out here that JBS Australia’s chief executive officer, Brent Eastwood, was again quick to hose down Dr. Forrest’s claims, insisting the company upheld “the highest standards of animal welfare” in Australia and that it would apply its uncompromising commitment to animal welfare and sustainability at Huon Aquaculture if either of its two takeovers offers to succeed. Dr. Forrest, who has already increased his investment in Huon in defiance of the JBS bid, challenged the Brazilians to commit to the same principles as his own beef, aquaculture company Harvest Road, and its processing business, Harvey Beef. “For a small expense and through good management at Harvey Beef, we have established a clear `no pain, no fear’ framework in the critical stages of cattle processing as part of our ambition to exceed animal wel-

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THE FISHMONGER

fare standards and create a path for others to follow,” he is reported to have said. Ironically, no one seems to be questioning the environmental or other credentials of miners that dig up Australia and export it overseas, seemingly without meeting any nongovernment certification groups certifying them. Anyway, this open debate has spurred massive coverage in social media, mostly negative creating misinformation to add fuel to the fire and put the whole aquaculture industry under fire at a time when Aquaculture is now confirmed as Australia’s largest sector of Australian primary seafood industry, growing 10 percent in 2019−20 and an Australian Government Standing Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources, is examining ways to develop Australia’s aquaculture industry. How do these false ideas start, you may ask? This second example gives some idea of how misinformation gathers momentum. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has created some ‘educational’ workshops aimed at school children. 78 »

One of these was about Fishing in the Antarctic, and one of the presenters was David Agnew, Executive Secretary, Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Towards the end of that event, the CCAMLR Executive Secretary gave a quick promotion for MSC in suggesting to those watching the virtual event should ensure they look out for the MSC Blue Tick when doing their shopping (for seafood…). What needs to be noted here is that CCAMLR is an international commission with 26 Members, with a further 10 countries who have acceded to the Convention. Based on the best available scientific information, the Commission agrees to a set of conservation measures that determine the use of marine living resources in the Antarctic. It effectively manages the Antarctic as an independent organization supported by all the government members. The MSC is not an official member, and there appears to be no alignment until you know that the Executive Secretary’s last job was as a high-level MSC employee……

By supporting the MSC blue tick, it strikes the Fishmonger that CCAMLR have given children and others who may see the program, now and into the future, the concept that MSC/ blue tick is an approved program of CCAMLR. The Fishmonger is aware that a complaint has been made to CCAMLR about the Executive Secretary’s role in misinformation, but nothing has seemingly been done. Thus ‘whispers’ will continue into the future. This is how FAKE news starts. There are those amongst us who will say that we need to obtain some sort of mythical ‘social license’. Still, the Fishmonger believes that would simply be following the agendas of those outside the industry, and that approach is fraught with not being able to control our own destiny. By surrendering this ground, the industry will always be ‘re-active as against being ‘pro-active. Back in 2010 in Rome, the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), where all our governments came to talk about Fisheries and Aquaculture, agreed that in order to minimize risks in target popuAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

lations, it was recommended a series of steps that member states should take to assess better and manage the risks and benefits of fish consumption and more effectively communicate with their citizens: 1. Acknowledge fish consumption as an important food source of energy, protein, and a range of essential nutrients and part of the cultural traditions of many peoples. 2. Emphasize the benefits of fish consumption on reducing CHD mortality (and CHD mortality risks of not eating fish) for the general adult population.

3. Emphasize the neurodevelopment benefits to offspring of fish consumption by women of childbearing age, particularly pregnant women and nursing mothers, and the neurodevelopment risks to offspring of such women not consuming fish 4. Develop, maintain, and improve existing databases on specific nutrients and contaminants, particularly MeHg and DLCs, in fish consumed in their region. 5. Develop and evaluate risk management and communication strategies that both minimize risks and maximize benefits from eating fish.

Also, the Fishmonger believes the science of nutrition globally agrees that ‘eating fish/seafood is just a great healthy product that you need to consume 2 to 3 times per week’. Here is a little sum based on the Australian National Heart Foundation (ANHF) requirements- The ANHF recommends that all Australians eat 2 to 3 serves x 150gms of oily fish per week. Let us say just two meals x 150gm per week = 300gm per week, 21 kgs per annum (for three meals its 31.5kgs) Australia’s population is around 24/25 million but let us say for this exercise; we use 20 million. 20 million x 21kgs = 420,000MT (3 meals 630,000MT). Figures often get confusing herein that the majority of seafood statistics are listed as whole weight, but only approximately 40% is consumable (bones, heads, skin, guts, etc.), so we often are not comparing ‘apples with apples.’ Effectively in Australia, we are producing something like 7-800,000MT of whole fish short in meeting ANHF guidelines. Ipso facto in order to meet ANHF minimum guidelines in Australia, the industry needs to be trebling seafood production in order to meet basic guidelines to have a healthy population yet guess what we are doing? The Fishmonger is reminded of the quote from Woody Allen - “More than any other time in history, humanity faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.” Happy Fishmongering!

*References used by the author available under previous request to our editorial team

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THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Why sustainable aquaculture may be elusive? By Stephen G. Newman Ph.D. * President and CEO, AquaInTech Inc.

The second decade of the 21st century has been challenging for most

of us. A rapidly mutating RNA virus (SARS-CoV-2) has been wreaking havoc on the global economy. Supply chains are damaged, and getting many things done in a timely manner is, at best, challenging. Attempts to keep the virus out via exclusion cannot work in the long term, and we are seeing repeated waves of variants that make immunization and wearing face masks crucial aspects of control. What is occurring is unprecedented in recent history.

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ith almost eight billion people, rapid movement between any two parts of the globe, and inadequate public health systems, we are likely many years away from the situation stabilizing despite pundits telling us otherwise. We are also continuing to see the impact of policies that deny that humans can impact their environment in any long-term negative way. Rapid changes in localized ecosystems are occurring, and it looks as if humanity is just beginning to experience what could be a wild roller coaster ride. There are few who will not agree that the need to be able to move forward without eroding the ability of the environment to support ongoing and future human activities is critical. The evidence is strong that we are failing at this in many ways. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are at concentrations that have not been seen for a very long time, not anytime in human history. Much of this is directly linked to human activities. We face an uncertain future as a species unless we figure out what we need to do and cooperatively work towards this common goal. We could very well be setting the planet on a course that will make it very difficult for humanity to continue to progress, i.e., the stage is being set for a grand failure of sustainability on a planet-wide scale. Feeding 8 billion-plus people is no trivial matter. I firmly believe that aquaculture, when practiced sustainably, is an important part of the solution. There are many reasons why I think this, although the bottom line is that seafood, in general, can be produced with much less of an environmental impact and at a lower monetary cost than most terrestrial sources of animal protein. The challenge is to ensure that it is being done in a truly sustainable manner. The term “sustainable,” much as with other terms like green, eco, etc., has been widely twisted to suit marAUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

keting goals and unfortunately has lost any real meaning.

The meaning of sustainability in aquaculture What does sustainability mean for the aquaculturists, and is this even achievable? The Brundtland Commission, in its final report, Our Common Future, defined sustainability in simple terms: It is not all that difficult to devote some percentage of a farm’s surface area to the collection, sedimentation, and treatment via aeration and bioremediation. There is a cost for this, but without it, sustainable production is not possible. AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” For aquaculture, this can be taken to mean that the production paradigms do not adversely impact the ability of subsequent generations to utilize a similar or evolved paradigm. Some of the issues that we face are: 1. Cultural practices that negatively impact profitability and productivity have become SOPs. 2. The impact of the production paradigm on the stability of the ecosystem that it is taking place in is rarely such that the result is a net-zero or a positive impact. The best example of this would be water being discharged is routinely heavily polluted with waste. 3. Each step of the process has its constraints and should be considered on its own. These are linked, and fixing one does not mean that all are being addressed.

4. Reducing the failure rate is essential for sustained profitability. It is not possible in a short magazine article to cover even a small portion of this, so I am going to focus on shrimp farming as a working example. Land-based fish farming also has similar problems.

Applied sustainability in shrimp farming Cage culture faces different constraints, although some such as fouling of net pens, the movement of pathogens from the wild into the captive animals, and the huge amounts of waste that are added to the immediate environment are obvious. SARGO had an innovative solution for this decades ago, but it was “cheaper’ to continue operating using the timehonored approaches. There are many different production paradigms. Note that I have simplified things for the sake of this discussion. » 81

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

From my perspective, the failure to deal with the underlying causes of the spread of disease is one of the major impediments to sustainability.

In the Americas, the typical system entails the use of largely dirt ponds with inlet and outlet gates and low levels of stocking, typically under 30 per m2. This is slowly increasing as innovative technologies allow. In SE Asia, the typical system involves much smaller ponds, often partially or wholly lined with plastic, with sumps in the middle of the ponds to collect the effluent and

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stocking at much higher densities, often many hundreds per m2. No one paradigm is universally used or consistently profitable, and while many claim sustainability, are they? Discharging huge amounts of organic matter is not sustainable. Yet, in many parts of the world, this is the accepted practice. Water is heavily contaminated with organics from feed and feces and chemicals used to mitigate poor culture practices. Since the farms are on top of each other and there is no effective treatment before of the effluent after discharge, the water ends up being used by the adjacent farms. We are seeing a dramatic increase in localized algal blooms due to large amounts of organic matter entering formerly pristine ecosystems. Much of this is not from aquaculture (although it does contribute) as many agricultural practices don’t adequately treat effluents. Fisheries’ productivity is declining in areas that artisanal fishermen have relied on for millennia.

Many think that because they do not see obvious problems, this means that there is not a problem. This may be true on a local level, but it still is not a sustainable practice. Inadequate treatment of waste streams increases the risks of localized pollution with negative impacts on production. It is not all that difficult to devote some percentage of a farm’s surface area to the collection, sedimentation, and treatment via aeration and bioremediation. There is a cost for this, but without it, sustainable production is not possible. Polluting groundwater or overutilizing it is not a sustainable practice. Inland areas may use bore wells to fill the ponds and for daily water exchange. This can deplete the water table. Deeper wells must be dug, and the result can be dry wells or water quality that is so poor that it cannot be used, and the farms must shut down. Limited water exchange by closing systems can offer some reprieve but without treating the re-

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sulting effluents is not a long-term solution. Historically in some parts of the world, the best places for shrimp farms have been salt flats in mangrove swamps. In some areas cutting mangroves down to make way for farms is still a common practice. Mangrove soils require extensive flushing before they are suitable for use for shrimp farming, although this is all too easily mitigated by lining the ponds and preventing any interaction between soils and the water. Mangroves are critical components of the global ecosystem, and much of the organic matter that is dumped, if it were discharged at reasonable levels, into these areas would foster growth. Mangroves should be cherished and allowed to thrive to stabilize soils and to lessen the impacts of the inevitable increases in sea level that human activity is bringing about. The aquatic animals that depend on the health of these ecosystems are a huge part of the food web.

Shrimp farming is approaching the 5 million MT a year level. The exact numbers are elusive, although most experts feel that this is a reasonable approximation. Demand remains strong, and there is a great deal of economic pressure to continue to expand production. Even with production paradigms that are not sustainable global production could easily double in the coming decades. Shrimp aquaculture consists of three or four distinct stages: broodstock production, production of larval and post-larval shrimp, nursery ponds that bridge this to the farm, and finally on the farm production. These overlap, and even if exclusionary practices are successful in one component, it does not mean that all the other steps will also be free of the influence of pathogens. Allowing large numbers of pathogens to enter production systems is not conducive to sustainability. Keeping pathogens out of production systems is challenging. However, it can be done. Disease is a serious problem that consistently impacts shrimp farmers globally. Companies that claim to offer solutions without considering the nature by which pathogens enter production systems abound. One-step solutions to complex problems are rarely sustainable fixes.

Analysis of sustainability in shrimp farming From my perspective, the failure to deal with the underlying causes of the spread of disease is one of the major impediments to sustainability. Each step in the process should be analyzed for each operation, and all sources of potential pathogen entry addressed. It is important to make a distinction between opportunistic and obligate pathogens. There are many “experts” who will tell you that you need to control both. I believe that this is a fool’s errand. Control of obligate pathogens is via exclusion, although of course, it is not 100%. The movement of AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

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THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Broodstock are a major source of pathogens. Specific pathogenfree (SPF) does not mean all pathogen-free. Screening animals on a population basis is not sufficient for ensuring that pathogens cannot enter the production system via carriers.

pathogens between the wild and the farmed environment is always going to be an element of production in systems that are open to the environment. Control of opportunistic pathogens should be via exclusion where this is feasible and through the control of those factors that contribute to susceptibility. Some advocate that the environment be free of vibrios. Frequently most are focused on those that cannot break down sucrose. This has no correlation with pathogenicity. Furthermore, microbiomes are complex, and when one creates a niche by eliminating or diminishing the presence of one species, it opens the niche for others. Focusing on vibrios makes little sense without considering this. Many other species contain obligate and opportunistic pathogens that will adversely impact production if given the opening. Reduction of stress is a critical element of production. Maintaining an environment that is consistent with this is not always a simple matter, and there are some that advocate that this is not needed. 84 »

Let animals die. After all, we want the strongest animals, and those will be the survivors. This might seem logical, but it is not consistent with sustainability and allows one to rationalize that the failure to address the underlying causes of these losses is acceptable. Yields should be maximized to reduce the overall costs of production and improve profitability. Susceptibility to stress can be addressed via genetic programs that domesticate animals and by understanding the importance of well-aerated, clean production systems and high-quality, nutritious feeds. Broodstock are a major source of pathogens. Specific pathogen-free (SPF) does not mean all pathogenfree. Screening animals on a population basis is not sufficient for ensuring that pathogens cannot enter the production system via carriers. Tolerance to the presence of most obligate pathogens should be as close to zero as one can realistically achieve. Typically, anything beyond 2% is not statistically achievable using current common approaches. This can and often is still too high. Failing to

consider a given pathogens’ nature and ignoring what might be needed in an animal to force the pathogen to reveal itself also is an issue. It is simple to appear to be free of WSSV if the testing is done at temperatures where the virus cannot grow. Failure to closely follow the histories of stocked animals to verify the effectiveness of screening protocols is as important, if not more so, than the screening itself. When there are disease outbreaks, the pathogens more than likely originated in carriers. It is well documented that pathogens can be missed in routine screening protocols. Furthermore, there are many as of yet uncharacterized pathogens. Following OIE guidelines is not going to afford the level of cleanliness that is necessary for one to consider that this first and crucial step in the process is not resulting in problems downstream. Be open to looking for any and all obligate pathogens as they are discovered. If you have truly pathogen-free broodstock (not solely based on OIE criteria), the moment they leave a biosecure facility, one must consider AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

that they may no longer be clean. It is routine practice in many areas to mix broodstock selected from ponds with “clean” animals. The hatchery then becomes a focal point for the proliferation of these pathogens. This is a high-density production environment where the potential for movement of pathogens between animals can be great. Failure to understand this is a cause of many problems on the farm and a major source of disease issues. Live feeds must not be contaminated with obligate pathogens, and in stressful environments, one is much better off limiting the load of as many potential obligate pathogens as possible. Algal and artemia production are sources of many bacterial and fungal pathogens. Most of these are opportunistic. They are easily controlled. There are many farmers who think that high survivals in the hatchery do not equate with high survivals on the farm. The opposite is the reality—high survivals in the hatchery and the nursery bode well for higher productivity on the farm. Income depends on growth, survival rates, and AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2021

feed conversion ratios. Slow growth and low survival rates often result in high feed costs as a result of poor feed conversions, and consistent profitability becomes elusive. Shrimp farming is not sustainable if the only time that farmers can make a profit is when competitors have problems. This, for the most part, is the state of the industry in 2021. Countries with high productivity often have serious disease problems which significantly impact the overall production. Other countries can fill this void because they have not had the same problem. The balance shifts until the pathogens have moved into new areas or new pathogens arise. Sustainable shrimp farming will remain elusive until there are some fundamental changes in how shrimp are farmed. The economic incentives would be there if long-term profitability was the primary concern instead of the current “take what we can while we can get it” approach. The cyclical shifts from country to country will continue until there is a global recognition that shrimp are a prized food item and production

methods become more favorable towards less costly production. Sustainable production will ensure that the industry achieves this.

Stephen G. Newman has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in Conservation and Resource Management (ecology) and a Ph.D. from the University of Miami, in Marine Microbiology. He has over 40 years of experience working within a range of topics and approaches on aquaculture such as water quality, animal health, biosecurity with special focus on shrimp and salmonids. He founded Aquaintech in 1996 and continues to be CEO of this company to the present day. It is heavily focused on providing consulting services around the world on microbial technologies and biosecurity issues. sgnewm@aqua-in-tech.com www.aqua-in-tech.com www.bioremediationaquaculture.com www.sustainablegreenaquaculture.com

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