Aquaculture Magazine April-May 2022 Vol. 48 No. 2 by Aquaculture Magazine

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APRIL - MAY 2022

INDEX

Aquaculture Magazine Volume 48 Number 2 April - May 2022

EDITOR´S COMMENTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

12 ARTICLE

Antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and resistance genes in aquaculture: risks, current concern, and future thinking.

20 ARTICLE

Olive oil by-products in aquafeeds: Opportunities and challenges.

28 ARTICLE

Integrated Aquaculture Recirculation System (IARS) supported by solar energy as a circular economy alternative for resilient communities in arid/semi-arid zones in southern south america: a case study in the Camarones Town.

on the

cover Of Shrimp and Men:

Innovation, Competition and Product Diversity

32 ARTICLE

Biotechnology can help us save the genetic heritage of salmon and other aquatic species.

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ARTICLE

Where does our food come from?

ARTICLE

Nanotechnology: A next-generation tool for sustainable aquaculture.

46 ARTICLE

Nature-identical compounds as feed additives in aquaculture.

50 ARTICLE

Future Feeds: Suggested guidelines for sustainable development.

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ARTICLE

Microbial growth in shrimp ponds as influenced by monosilicic and polysilicic acids.

ARTICLE

Exploring the relationship between production intensity and land use: A meta-analytic approach with shrimp aquaculture.

ARTICLE

Exploring the multimodal role of Yucca schidigera extract in protection against chronic ammonia exposure targeting: growth, metabolic, stress, and inflammatory responses in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus l.)

ARTICLE

Aquaculture Magazine talks with Sylvia Wulf, AquaBounty CEO, about the consolidation of the production and commercialization of GMO salmon.

Volume 48 Number 2 April - May 2022

Editor and Publisher Salvador Meza info@dpinternationalinc.com Contributing Editor Marco Linné Unzueta Editorial Coordinator Karelys Osta edicion@dpinternationalinc.com Editorial Design Perla Neri design@design-publications.com Designers Flavio Nartallo Rozana Bentos Pereira Sales & Marketing Coordinator Juan Carlos Elizalde crm@dpinternationalinc.com Marketing & Corporate Sales Abril Fernández sse@dpinternationalinc.com Operations Coordination Johana Freire opm@dpinternationalinc.com Business Operations Manager Adriana Zayas administracion@design-publications.com

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EVENTS 86 UPCOMING ADVERTISERS INDEX 2 »

APRIL - MAY 2022

COLUMNS

CARPE DIEM

DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MARKETING BYTES

And finally, WAS in Merida! By Antonio Garza de Yta, Ph.D.

Improve digital marketing using web and social analytics. By: Sarah Cornelisse*

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Is the shrimp hatchery the most important part of a successful crop? By Stephen G. Newman Ph.D. * President and CEO, AquaInTech Inc.

APRIL - MAY 2022

THE FISHMONGER

Extra efforts on seafood marketing.

KNOWLEDGE GENERATION IN AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS: TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

Marco Linne Unzueta Associate Editor

o force a rethinking of the strategic positioning and the strengthening of the aquaculture, a historical and timely diagnosis of this sector is required, as well as knowledge of the growing information that establishes new challenges in R+D+i, in three senses: 1. Position the sector as a central factor in the economic development and well-being of the population. 2. Generate a strategic vision to build food production systems that face the challenges of a growing population. 3. Insert the aquaculture sector as a central actor in world food supplies, based on its research contributions and continuous data generation. The above-mentioned is attributed to deep changes in the society, which directly affect the aquaculture industry as its positioning among the factors that contribute to achieving 4 »

sustainable and equitable development. Also, considering the urgent strengthening through a substantial increase in the budget and its management by the several agencies related to this sector. It should include the increasingly relevant and growing importance of global opinion on the environmental issues, and the sustainable management of all-natural resources, considering the significance of strengthening food and political sovereignty through the promotion of participation and cooperation of the three levels of government, the academic sector, the producers and the society as a whole, taking into account the demanding dynamics of global markets and the necessary national modernization of production plants and product commercialization. Therefore, in this issue of Aquaculture Magazine information regarding R+D+i is shared, including

the development of new inputs and production systems, as well as biotechnology tools and production systems that promote sustained productivity-growth in a climate of economic stability and through the generation of sustainable procedures for the food security and environmental benefits. The foregoing will come from an adequate infrastructure and access to strategic inputs that raise competition, allowing greater flows of capital and knowledge to individuals and companies with the greatest potential to take advantage of it. Also, this edition seeks to provide favorable elements for the aquaculture sector development through a consolidation, that allows healthy competition between companies, and the design of a modern economic-policy focused on generating quality food through innovation and growth in strategic sectors such as nutrition, health, and market competition, among others. APRIL - MAY 2022

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INDUSTRY RESEARCHNEWS REPORT

Salmon giant Mowi doubles profits to record levels In a strong market, Mowi made an operational profit of EUR 207 million at record-high levels in the first quarter. This period was characterized by a surge in salmon prices in all markets due to a continued increase in global demand for salmon combined with low supply. “The increase in salmon prices coming out of the pandemic has been impressive. Salmon is a fantastic product with great product features and the beneficiary of strong megatrends, and I firmly believe this will continue to boost demand going forward,” Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim said. Mowi Farming’s results improved substantially in the quarter, driven by high prices. “I am pleased to see that our Norwegian Farming operations achieved record-high earnings and prices in the first quarter. It is also encouraging that our operations in Canada West are improving and delivering solid results,” Vindheim said. Sound operational performance and raw material management Mowi Consumer Products also delivered another good set of results considering the record high raw material prices, by means of sound operational performance and raw material management. “It is comforting that Mowi’s processing business continues to deliver strong results despite significantly higher raw material prices. This demonstrates the value of Mowi’s inte-

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grated value chain and the organization’s relentless quest for increased productivity and cost efficiency,” Vindheim said. Mowi reported operational EBIT of EUR 207 million in the first quarter of 2022, compared with EUR 109 million in the corresponding quarter in 2021. Operational revenues in the quarter were EUR 1,095 million (EUR 1,022 million). Total harvest volume in the quarter was 96,600 tons gutted weight (125,469 tons). Full-year harvest guidance for 2022 is unchanged at 460,000 tons. The world economy is currently facing an unprecedented inflationary pressure, however, soaring salmon prices have so far more than offset increasing input prices for salmon. “We expect salmon to continue to stand out versus other animal protein sources due to its substantially lower feed conversion rate and energy usage, and its superior sustainability credentials,” Vindheim said. Mowi’s Board has decided to pay a quarterly dividend of NOK 1.95 per share, consisting of NOK 1.44 per share in ordinary dividend and an extraordinary dividend of NOK 0.51 per share supported by a strong financial position and a favorable outlook.

New processing plant in Mowi Norway Region Mid This good news adds to another given some weeks ago. Work on a new state of the art Mowi facility at Hitra

in Norway is underway and hopes are high for the benefits it will bring. Work on the new factory started in April and is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2024. The factory will have a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes and will replace Mowi’s current factory at Ulvan. Speaking about the new facility, Olaf Skjærvik, director of Mowi Mid Region, said: “This will be a state-ofthe-art factory built for the future. The project group has done a thorough job, and we are very happy that we now can start construction. “The new factory will produce high-quality seafood in a much more efficient way than we do today. The building design is very modern and will create a more welcoming environment for our staff whilst optimizing health and safety features.” The new processing plant at Hitra will receive fish from sea harvest vessels only. Mowi Norway is now using four sea harvest vessels to supply its processing plants, and the South Region in Norway is already fully based on this technology. Building on this experience, Mowi intends to increase the capacity of these vessels and, in the long term, substitute well boat transport with sea harvest vessels which represent an improvement in fish welfare. APRIL - MAY 2022

FAO GFCM study analyzes aquaculture production and trade in six Black Sea countries The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) released a study highlighting that the boom in aquaculture and seafood trade experienced in recent years in the Black Sea region is being threatened by the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The war may hinder this growth and threatens to disrupt seafood trade and supply chains in the region. Aquaculture production in the Black Sea region has grown steadily in recent years, from around 500,000 tons of farmed seafood (mainly salmonids, carp and European seabass) in 2017 to over 700,000 tons in 2019, according to the GFCM study, ‘Black Sea Aquaculture Market: country profiles is the most authoritative study on aquaculture in the region’. The published research reports on trends in seafood production and trade from fish farms in the six Black Sea countries between 2015 and 2019. The report has been prepared in collaboration with Eurofish and with the support of the European Union (EU). “Aquaculture has grown in the Black Sea region, helping to boost food security and providing jobs and income to many vulnerable rural communities. But the sector is fragile and susceptible to shocks, especially as small- and medium-scale farmers account for the majority of farmed seafood producers in the region,” detailed Houssam Hamza, GFCM aquaculture officer and lead author of the study. According to the specialist, the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation is already affecting supply chains and prices; and aquaculture farmers in the region are finding it difficult to buy fish feed or feed ingredients and fingerlings to keep their farms running. “The farmed seafood trade will also face challenges,” Hamza added. APRIL - MAY 2022

Different experiences Russia is the region’s largest seafood exporter, both farmed and caught, with exports of nearly 1.8 million tons in 2019, worth more than USD 4.6 billion. But in Georgia, for example, fisheries and aquaculture only supply between 10% and 15% of the country’s seafood consumption, making the country dependent on imports. In Bulgaria, meanwhile, registered aquaculture farms account for only 4%, but mariculture - with species such as farmed mussels - has grown to 30% of total aquaculture production. In Turkey, aquaculture production has increased by more than 50% between 2015 and 2019. In Romania, on the other hand, aquaculture supplies more than 11% of seafood consumption, and several fish farms have expanded to include services such as eco-tourism and recreational fishing, which has increased the sources of income for aquaculturists. Meanwhile, Ukraine produces an average of 20,000 tons of farmed fish per year, with more than 4,000 registered fish farms. Most are small farms with less than 30 tons of annual production, farming mainly carp, catfish, pike and trout.

Ukraine’s seafood exports (farmed, caught and imported and then processed and exported) have been increasing - from around 5,000 tons in 2015, worth USD 20 million, to 11,800 tons in 2019, worth over USD 46 million. In 2019, the main destinations for Ukraine’s seafood exports included EU countries, Moldova, Belarus, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Israel, Taiwan and Turkey, among others.

The most authoritative study about the area In recent years, aquaculture has become an increasingly important part of the Black Sea economy. It supplies nutritious food, boosts the local economy and provides jobs for coastal and rural communities. Both freshwater aquaculture and mariculture are practiced, although mariculture remains underdeveloped in most countries in the region. The report is already considered the most authoritative study on the aquaculture situation in the area and on the commercial and production trends of farmed aquatic products in the six countries bordering the Black Sea between 2015 and 2019. »

INDUSTRY RESEARCHNEWS REPORT

Blue Waters Sea Bream Farm is Oman’s First Facility to be BAP Certified, and the fourth in Middle East Blue Waters LLC Oman, which produces sea bream (Sparus aurata) in the Gulf of Oman, achieved Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, the Global Seafood Alliance announced some days ago. The farm, which consists of circular cages off the coast of Qurayyat about 100 kilometers south of Muscat, is Oman’s first facility to attain BAP certification, and the fourth in Middle East. “Achieving the BAP certification is a major achievement, which documents that Blue Waters is an internationally recognized producer of high quality sustainable farmed fish,” said Nabeel AlRuwaidhi, CEO of Blue Waters. The farm has been in operation since 2016 and is expected to produce 2,350 metric tons of sea bream this year. The fingerlings are imported live from hatcheries in Europe. Blue Waters is in the process of building its own hatchery in Oman, which is scheduled to open in late 2022. The sea bream is currently sold as chilled whole fish to retail customers in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. Blue Waters was audited against the BAP Farm Standard Issue 3.0 and recently received its BAP certificate. Established in 2016, Blue Water LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fisheries Development Oman (FDO). FDO was formed by Oman Investment Authority (OIA), Oman’s Sovereign Wealth Fund,

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in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries Wealth (MAFW).

The importance of understanding the demands of an evolving market Waleed Al Farsi, sales manager for Blue Waters, explained that “achieving BAP certification has been a goal of Blue Waters and also our valuable customers. We make every effort to go the extra mile for them. When something is important to them, we listen and act. It is important for us as a company to understand the demands of an evolving market and stay on top of innovative developments in our industry.” “It is our mission to support a profitable, sustainable and socially responsible seafood industry, and this is a shining example of how industry and science can work together for a profoundly positive outcome,” added on the other hand Lars Bo Windmar, quality and safety manager of the company. Four facilities BAP-certified in the Middle East This brings the total number of BAPcertified facilities in the Middle East to four currently. The three other facilities are in Saudi Arabia and include a tilapia farm and hatchery operated by Rasheed Al Ballaa and a feed mill operated by Maram Feed Mill Co. Blue Waters drives food safety and sustainability in Oman forward with the achievement of the BAP certificate

and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) certification, which was achieved in October 2021. In order to achieve food safety, environmental and sustainable excellence, Blue Waters has developed and implemented a comprehensive quality management system, said the company. The quality management system supports Blue Waters; policy, which includes the vision to lead the development of a sustainable and competitive aquaculture sector in Oman; and a detailed food-safety policy that facilitates production of a world-class quality product that meets recognized safety standards to the satisfaction of our customers. Blue Waters operates in full compliance with national and international environmental and food safety standards, and from the company was said that is constantly working toward continuous improvement. Best Aquaculture Practices is a third-party certification program developed by the Global Seafood Alliance, an international, nonprofit trade association headquartered in Portsmouth, N.H., USA, dedicated to advancing environmentally and socially responsible seafood practices through education, advocacy and third-party assurances. Through the development of its Best Aquaculture Practices and Best Seafood Practices certification standards, GSA has become the leading standards-setting organization for seafood. APRIL - MAY 2022

Prime Aquaculture, Jafza Partner to Build UAE’s first Marine Shrimp RAS Farm Prime Aquaculture FZE, a subsidiary of Emirates National Aquaculture LLC, recently signed an MoU with Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) to build the region’s first shrimp RAS farm. The innovative marine shrimp farm, expected to be completed by Q1 2023, will aid in the cultivation of marine shrimp and significantly increase output in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to meet the increasing demand. The MoU was signed by Abdulla Bin Damithan, CEO and Managing Director, DP World UAE & Jafza, and Imtiyaz Abdul Razak Kalsekar, Managing Director of Prime Aquaculture FZE. They informed that the facility will include a shrimp farm, hatchery, and primary and secondary processing units. While driving sustainable food production in the UAE, the farm is also poised to meet the objectives of the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051, enabling sustainable food production by using modern technologies and solutions. The UAE relies heavily on imports to cater to local shrimp demands, with more than 51,000 MT of shrimps being imported per year. The total local consumption of shrimp ranges between 38,000 and 40,000 MT, with preCOVID imports going up to 51,108 MT, and export and re-exports reaching up to 12,204 MT.

Latest technology in the shrimp farming Prime Aquaculture will incorporate the latest technology in the shrimp farm to ensure that the highest quality of

APRIL - MAY 2022

shrimps is produced. With the help of its Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) technology with a discharge of five to seven percent, the farm will produce over 1,000 MT of shrimps per year, which is three times more than the current shrimp production in the UAE. “The UAE’s food trade exceeds AED 100 billion annually, and food and beverage investments in the nation stand at a total of AED 62 billion,” said Bin Damithan. “This is proof that the F&B sector is one of the most lucrative industries driving the UAE’s economy. One key driver of this vital industry’s growth is its aquaculture sector. We believe that strategic partnerships and technological investments in this sector are critical to enhance production efficiency and ensure its security over the longer term,” he added. Taking these factors into consideration, the CEO and Managing Director, DP World UAE & Jafza assured that through the partnership with Prime Aquaculture FZE, “we look forward to boosting shrimp production and ensuring quality produce with advanced technologies such as

RAS. The shrimp farms will maintain high-intensity culture systems ensuring absolute biosecurity.” It’s important to remember that RAS is in the present the most sustainable technology available today for the process of shrimp farming, as it not only recirculates water but also maintains control over all of the water’s physiochemical qualities. The present shrimp farming method, also known as a semi-intensive culture system, is an open pond system that requires a lot of space.

Imports covers 70% of the UAE consumes On his part, Razak Kalsekar explained that the UAE consumes about 220,000 tons of seafood annually, with imports covering 70% of this figure. “One of the key pillars for the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy is to achieve selfsufficiency,” he said. “During the pandemic, when travel restrictions were imposed, the importance of local production was highlighted. We, at the Emirates National Aquaculture, plan to enhance the UAE’s food security by doubling the current aquaculture production over the next three years,” Razak Kalsekar explained. Emirates National Aquaculture along with Prime Aquaculture FZE will add 3,400 MT/year to UAE’s aquaculture production, which stood at approximately 3,200 MT/year in 2021. “Establishing our shrimp farm in Jafza is a massive step towards achieving this objective,” he concluded. »

INDUSTRY RESEARCHNEWS REPORT

The EU finances with EUR 250,000 a project for the aquaculture development of Morocco In the framework of the partnership relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the European Union (EU), the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forestry, Mohamed Sadiki, chaired a few days ago the launching ceremony of the twinning project in the field of aquaculture reinforcement in Morocco. The project will be financed by the EU with EUR 250,000, and will support the efforts of the National Agency for the Development of Aquaculture (ANDA) for the implementation of new projects and to provide tools to operators, while respecting biosecurity. The event was attended by Patricia Llombart Cussac, Ambassador of the European Union, and Hélène Le Gal, French Ambassador to Morocco. The institutional twinning initiative is part of the multi-sectoral cooperation program ‘Succeeding in the Advanced State’ (RSA II), financed by the EU. Thus, the Union will collaborate with ANDA in assisting the installation of aquaculture projects and will give private actors in the sector the relevant and essential tools to place them on the scale of responsible aquaculture producers.

Development of best practices in the sector The twinning project will last eight months and will be funded by the EU with 250,000 euros (about MAD 2.75 million). It will be carried out in collaboration with the French Ministries of Agriculture and Food and of the Sea, and will be managed with the support of the Treasury and Foreign Finance Directorate of the Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance. Among other objectives, the twinning project is also expected to be of great help for the development of best practices in the aquaculture sector. 10 »

As next steps to achieve the objectives of the joint project, a team of French experts will be mobilized to strengthen the capacities of institutional and private stakeholders in biosecurity, good aquaculture practices and labeling of national aquaculture products.

ANDA’s hard work Interest in aquaculture in Morocco has grown markedly in recent years. In fact, 259 agreements were made in 2021 for the creation and operation of aquaculture centers. Among these projects, 168 have already started the installation of their farms in the different regions of the Kingdom for a production of more than 80,000 tons/year and the creation of more than 2,000 jobs. In addition, with regard to coastal planning for aquaculture, five regional development plans have been drawn up in Morocco, which have revealed a production potential of over 8,000 hectares. The plans were drawn up for the regions of Guelmim-Oued-Noun, Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, Casablanca-Settat, Marrakech-Safi and the Marchica lagoon.

In addition, ANDA launched last year a Call for Expression of Interest (EOI) for the implementation of new aquaculture projects in the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, Guelmim-Oued Noun, Souss-Massa, Tangier-TetouanAl Hoceima and Oriental regions. Thus, more than 100 aquaculture farm projects were selected for a production target of 100,000 tons/year.

Another $2.5 million to support production In the same vein, and aware of the growing importance of local aquaculture development, the Department of Maritime Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, ANDA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) financed a EUR 2.5 million project to support aquaculture development. The project includes the installation of a fish farming and shellfish farming demonstration and training station in Sidi Ifni. ANDA provides administrative and technical support to 116 social aquaculture projects, led by groups of young entrepreneurs and women’s and fishermen’s cooperatives, to help them implement their projects. APRIL - MAY 2022

Vietnam’s shrimp exports to South Korea increased 52% over the same period last year

In the first quarter of 2022, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to South Korea gave a positive signal reaching nearly USD 104 million, up 52% over the same period last year, reported the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers. Korea is the third largest whiteleg shrimp export market of Vietnam (after the US and Japan). This is a positive signal for Vietnam’s shrimp exports to that market after 2021, the export value to this market will only increase slightly, they said. Vietnam’s shrimp exports to Korea in the previous years 2020 and 2019 also only increased slightly or decreased. Vietnam’s shrimp exports to South Korea are expected to continue to increase in the near future thanks to the support from Trade Agreements with Korea such as the Vietnam - Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) effective from December. 2015 and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) took effect from January 2022.

The export value of Vannamei shrimp saw a strongest growth of 85% In the structure of Vietnamese shrimp products exported to Korea, the export value of whiteleg shrimp accounted for 86.4% while black tiger shrimp accounted for only 2.9%. In the first quarter of this year, the export value of whiteleg shrimp increased by 56% while black tiger shrimp decreased by 14%. The export APRIL - MAY 2022

value of live/fresh/frozen Vannamei shrimp to South Korea saw the strongest growth of 85% over the same period last year. In the first quarter of this year, Korea continued to give priority to ordering vannamei shrimp from Vietnam with outstanding products such as Vannamei shrimp without head, peeled with tail, fresh and frozen Nobashi vannamei, and leg shrimp, white sushi sliced fresh butterfly, frozen, frozen white leg shrimp dip PD. In addition, this market also imports fresh and frozen PTO black tiger shrimp and frozen PD iron shrimp from Vietnam.

The largest shrimp supplier to Korea The companies that export the most Vannamei shrimp to Korea are Ca Mau Seafood Processing and Services Joint Stock Company, Minh Phu Hau Giang Seafood Joint Stock Company, Nha Trang Seafoods Joint Stock Company - F17, company Ngoc Trinh Bac Lieu Import-Export, Seafood Processing One Member Limited Liability Company and Southern Shrimp Joint Stock Company. According to ITC statistics, in the first 2 months of 2022, Korea imported nearly USD 135 million of shrimp, up 33% over the same period in 2021. Imports from main sources all increased, in which imports from China increased the most by 66%. Vietnam is the largest shrimp supplier to Korea with an overwhelming market share of 44.5%. Meanwhile, other competitors are Canada, accounted for 10.9%; Ecuador, with 9.5% and China, with 8.1%. In the Korean market, Vietnamese shrimp do not have to compete much with shrimp from other sources.

Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnamese total fishery production in April 2022 is estimated at 736.4 thousand tons, up 2.6% over the same period in 2021. In the first month of 2022, the total fishery output was estimated at 2,600 thousand tons, up 2.2% over the same period last year. In April 2022, aquaculture and fishing activities have returned to normal, aquaculture has developed stably, prices of farmed catfish and shrimp are at a high level, people are actively stocking a new crop. Aquaculture has grown quite well both in terms of new stocking and product harvesting, mainly due to the continued demand for export of key aquatic products with many positive signs.

Total seafood production in the first 4 months of 2022 In the other hand, an according to a report by the Center for Informatics and » 11

ARTICLE

Antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and resistance genes in aquaculture:

risks, current concern, and future thinking

By: Aquaculture Magazine *

quaculture is one of the fastest growing sectors among the animal production sectors in the world and contributes nearly 80 million tons of fishes to the global production (FAO, 2018). Currently, 152 million tons of food fishes is being used for human consumption where more than 50% is coming from aquaculture. Globally, the fish consumption per capita rapidly increased from 9.9 to 20.3 kg between 1960 and 2016 (FAO, 2018). However, the sustainable development of this rapidly growing sector is one of the major concerns, particularly in terms of supply of safe and edible fishes. Aquaculture farm-

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Aquaculture is remarkably one of the most promising industries among the food-producing industries in the world. Antibiotics are usually present at sub therapeutic levels in the aquaculture environment, which increases the selective pressure on the resistant bacteria and stimulates resistant gene transfer in the aquatic environment. This review suggests an initiative to make a uniform antibiotic registration process, to establish the maximum residue levels (MRLs) for fish/shrimp and to ensure the use of only aquaculture antibiotics in fish and shellfish farming globally.

ing practices are changing worldwide from traditional to intensive farming systems, leading to stock a greater number of fish/shellfishes in lesser spaces of water, notably increasing the risk of transmissible and infectious diseases (Santos and Ramos, 2018). In addition, aquaculture farming mainly depends on artificial feeds and sometimes overuse, misuse, or overfeeding of feeds are common scenarios due to lack of farmer’s proper knowledge and institutional education specifically in developing countries. Subsequently, the culture environment changed from its natural to obnoxious condition which enhances the chances of disease burden, particularly infectious diseases.

For the reduction of disease burden, the applications of antibiotics in prophylactic and therapeutic purposes are very common practices to prevent bacterial infections in aquaculture (Cabello et al., 2013). Prophylactic or therapeutic applications of antibiotics in aquaculture may exert the selection pressure to the natural bacterial population and enhance the ability to produce antibiotic-resistant bacteria or resistance genes to the aquaculture environment. Data related to antibiotic usage in aquaculture is very scarce and differs significantly from country to country. Therefore, this review includes the current antibiotic uses patterns in aquaculture, the ecological, bacterial APRIL - MAY 2022

resistance, and human health risks of antibiotics, and the current regulatory framework and future concern of antibiotic use in aquaculture worldwide.

Application of aquaculture

antibiotics

Positive effects of antibiotics The aquaculture farmers are regularly using antibiotics as prophylactic or therapeutic purposes to minimize the occurrence and spread of bacterial infections, particularly in the countries where no alternative preventive methods being implemented. Antibiotics are commonly used in aquaculture to prevent and/or cure infectious diseases in Asia, Canada, Europe, the USA, and many other countries worldwide. Usually, antibiotics are routinely applied in (i) prophylactic use by bath treatments or mixed with feed and (ii) therapeutic use for the treatment of bacterial infections (Ali et al., 2016). In addition, antibiotics particularly oxytetracycline and florfenicol are also used as growth promoter of the aquaculture species (Reda et al., 2013).

Due to the lack of institutional knowledge, the farmers usually overuse or misuse the antibiotics in the Asian aquaculture. Consequently, aquaculture products from different countries (Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam) have been rejected by the EU and the USA for the presence of banned antibiotics. The use of antibiotics in aquaculture may contaminate the culture environments as well as farmed organisms through different ways where feed is

one of the most important sources (Li et al., 2021). A schematic diagram of antibiotic contamination from various probable sources in aquaculture is shown in Figure 1. Country specific use of antibiotics in aquaculture Though antibiotics are widely used in aquaculture, the data are still very limited. The information related to antibiotic usages and residues in aquaculture products mostly reported from

Side effects of antibiotics In aquaculture, antibiotics are generally administered to the entire population including sick, healthy, and carrier individuals. As a result, antibiotics are mostly overused and misused in aquaculture of many countries (Santos and Ramos, 2018). Moreover, antibiotic doses in aquaculture can be consistently higher than that of terrestrial animals farming, although the specific contamination levels are difficult to determine (Romero et al., 2012). APRIL - MAY 2022

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ARTICLE

Antibiotics are usually present at sub therapeutic levels in the aquaculture environment, which increases the selective pressure to the resistant bacteria and stimulates resistant gene transfer in the aquatic environment.

developed countries; however, the majority of fish and shellfishes are being produced in developing and/ or least developed Asian countries where the regulatory strategies or guideline in aquaculture are limited or almost absent (Howgate, 1998; Chuah et al., 2016; Santos and Ramos, 2018). Moreover, the application of antibiotics in aquaculture often lack institutional training and knowledge concerning the safe and responsible use of antibiotics (Gräslund et al., 2003; Pham et al., 2015), causing an unnecessary usage that consistently goes unstated. The numbers of antibiotics used in different countries are shown in Figure 2. 14 »

Antibiotic resistant bacteria and resistance genes in aquaculture Aquaculture has been considered as a “genetic hotspot” for resistance gene transfer. Multiple antibiotic-resistant strains are now being frequently detected in fish/shellfish and aquaculture environment, which greatly threat the medical treatment options as well as increase the unwanted deaths (Watts et al., 2017). Reverter et al. (2020) reported that aquaculture of low- and middle-income countries contributed the higher levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Antibioticresistant bacteria and resistance gene can be transmitted to other bacteria or organisms through horizontal or vertical gene transfer. Consequent-

ly, the whole population might be contaminated by antibiotic-resistant genes or bacteria in the aquaculture environment (Ruzauskas et al., 2018; Preena et al., 2020).

Risks assessment

Ecological risk of antibiotics Antibiotic residues in aquaculture environment may have several adverse ecological impacts. Generally, researchers evaluate the ecological impacts based on measured or predicted concentration of antibiotics in the environment. However, it might be underestimated because significant amount of applied antibiotics is degraded through hydrolysis, photooxidation, and/or microbial action APRIL - MAY 2022

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ARTICLE

in aquatic environments and some antibiotics are accumulated in aquatic organisms. For example, ofloxacin and doxycycline were found to pose definite ecological risk to algal population, whereas sulfonamides did not pose a significant ecological risk to the tested aquatic organisms. In China, the ecological risk for ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, enrofloxacin, ofloxacin, and tetracycline was determined and showed medium to high risks to algae and bacteria in aquatic ecosystem (Chen et al., 2021). Resistance risk of antibiotics Apart from ecological risk of antibiotics in aquaculture, antibiotic resistance risk in the environment is of recent major concern for the scientists. A new approach has recently been applied for the antibiotic’s resistance risk assessment by the following equation.

PNEC for resistance selection means that resistance is acquired when the concentration is higher than the value. In aquaculture, using the resistance data, some previous studies assessed the resistance risk of antibiotics by following the above equation (Bengtsson-Palme and Larsson, 2016). The existence of residual antibiotics in the aquatic environment might facilitate the development of antibiotic resistance, thus enhancing the environmental risks of antibiotic resistance (Chen et al, 2021). The observed and size-adjusted minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of antibiotics and PNECs for resistance selection are presented in Table 1. Human health risk of antibiotics Antibiotics are often misused and overused in livestock rearing and aquaculture farming, which might increase the antibiotic residues in food items (Liu and Wong, 2013). Lulijwa 16 »

et al. (2020) reported the concentration of 14 antibiotics detected in fish and shellfish exceeded the countryspecific MRL guidelines. The maximum residue limit exceeded in many countries is showed in Figure 3. Recently, the antibiotic resistances in aquaculture products have also shown a major health concern issue worldwide. The presence of antibiotics in aquaculture environment might speed up the development of resistant genes of bacteria strains, which may eventually transfer to humans through food chains. Chen et al. (2017) have just used in their study of the maximum residue limit for sev-

eral antibiotics by following different guidelines of Japan, Brazil, Chile, FDA, and China (Table 2). However, many antibiotics are yet not to be decided for their residual levels in fish muscle or skin. In addition, combine/additive concentrations of antibiotics in fish muscle or skin are not considered in the current regulation worldwide.

Current antibiotic policy orientation and regulatory frameworks The application of antibiotics in aquaculture is highly regulated in developed countries. Regarding present policies, the Food and Drug AdminAPRIL - MAY 2022

An urgent universal effort

needs to be taken to monitor antibiotic concentration and resistant bacteria particularly multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria and to assess the associated risks in aquaculture.

istration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Commission (EC), the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA), Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex),

and ministries of each country play the vital roles where EU, FDA policies, and regulations are widely used. The antibiotics such as florfenicol, oxytetracycline, sulfamerazine, and

sulfadimethoxine-ormetoprim are authorized by the FDA for aquaculture use. The Norwegian veterinary medicine (VMP) wholesalers and feed mills are instructed to report their sales to pharmacies and fish farmers to the Norwegian Public Health Institute (NPHI). In the last decade, the use of antibiotics in producing salmon reduced from 1.0 to 0.36 mg/ kg fish production in 2014. As a consequence, there was a very low probability of development of antibiotic resistance in Norwegian aquaculture and the transmission of such resistance to humans.

Suggestions for current policies and future thinking Some approaches should be adopted globally on an immediate basis. Firstly, registration of aquaculture antibiotics must be obligatory in every country, and the limits of antibiotic use in aquaculture might be established. Moreover, the use of important and critically important antibiotics (WHO categorized) particularly human antibiotics should be prohibited to use in aquaculture since many countries have already started to use the last-resort antibiotics against bacterial infections. Furthermore, international scientists need to take alternative initiative to limit the APRIL - MAY 2022

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development and spread of bacterial infections and bacterial resistances in aquaculture. Finally, new technologies and/or management strategies should exert emphasis on the minimization of antibiotic use to protect the aquaculture environments and to confirm the safety of consumers as well as farmers. Specific future thinking for the achievement of sustainable aquaculture production can be mentioned as follows: – Development of effective vaccines, immune stimulants, or phage therapy alternatives to antibiotics to fight against diseases. – Introduction of nutritious feed for the betterment of aqua-husbandry and maintaining of water quality in aquaculture industry, specifically in developing countries – Proper education and training are essential for the sensible use of antibiotics to the aquaculture sectors worldwide. – Implementation of Norwegian model, which requires professional’s prescription to buy antibiotics in major aquaculture producers particularly in Asian and South American countries. 18 »

– Improvement of farm support for the proper diagnosis and treatment of diseases. – Making country-specific antibiotic usage and antimicrobial resistance data bank and insure it is accessible to all. – Finally, emphasis on research, collaboration, harmonization of policies, regulations, and sharing information in regional and international bodies are extremely needed.

Conclusions This review encompasses the present status of antibiotic use in aquaculture and their probable ecological, resistance, and human health risks and importantly current policy and regulatory frameworks and future concerns. Major aquaculture-producing countries such as China, Vietnam, India, Thailand, and Bangladesh are most likely using the elevated number of antibiotics in aquaculture. However, some of them have no stringent policy and regulatory frameworks or not strictly apply the regulations. In addition, the maximum residue limits of antibiotics in fish/shellfish muscle in different countries gath-

ered through many antibiotics are not yet to be decided. Also, combined concentration of antibiotics in fish muscle is not considered in the current regulations worldwide. The main focus of this review is to develop a uniform regulation particularly for developing countries and to maintain the proper doses and number of antibiotic use in aquaculture for the production of safe, secure, and sustainable aqua-products. Finally, it is suggested to make a country-specific data bank of antibiotic usage, their doses, withdrawal period, and most importantly antibiotic resistance data bank for better management and to achieve sustainable aquaculture production in the future.

This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “ANTIBIOTICS, ANTIBIOTIC‑RESISTANT BACTERIA, AND RESISTANCE GENES IN AQUACULTURE: RISKS, CURRENT CONCERN, AND FUTURE THINKING” developed by ANWAR HOSSAIN - University of Dhaka, ICHIRO NAGANO-Nissui, MD HABIBULLAH AL MAMUN -Southern Illinois University Carbondale, SHIGEKI MASUNAGA-Yokohama National University. The original article was published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research, February 2022. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17825-4.

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Olive oil by-products in aquafeeds: Opportunities and challenges By: Aquaculture Magazine *

As in other agriculture industry, the olive and olive oil industry produce large number of by-products. One of the solutions to fully utilized olive oil by-products is by using it as an ingredient in animal feed including fish. This review was done to look into the opportunities and challenges of using olive oil by-products in the aquafeed industry.

Olive oil sources In order to get olive oil, oil extraction was carried out by an extraction process conditions using an oleodosor system. Conventionally, the method of extraction involves three major steps; crushing, malaxation and centrifugation. Malaxation process involved wide range of temperature from cold to high temperature. There are five types of olive oil produced from different phase of olive fruits and temperature which namely extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), virgin olive oil (VOO), refined olive oil (ROO), pure olive oil (POO) and olive pomace oil (OPO). Different types of olive oil have different content of composition. Effects on the carcass composition In fish, besides geographic location, age, sex and maturity, the feed 20 »

it consumed is regarded as one of the primary factors that influence its carcass composition. By formulating and establishing feed with certain ingredients and nutrients, farmers can produce fish with desirable and better carcass composition to fulfil human consumption needs. Overall, olive oil by-products have different effects on fish carcass composition depending on the type of by-products and fish species. Most of the study reported on fatty acid composition compared to carcass/ muscle proximate analysis. In terms of proximate analysis, it was found that the muscle of juvenile African catfish fed with feed containing 9% and 3% olive pomace oil with and without L-carnitine has higher lipid content compared to controls. Mixed results were also seen in the FA analysis of fish fed with olive oil by-products. Among all olive oil by-products, olive

pomace has shown to have impacted the FA amount in the fish species tested. For olive pomace oil (OPO), it was found that it decreases most FA in the muscle/fillet of African catfish. In gilthead seabream, OPO seems to only significantly increase only one FA (saturated FA (16:0)). Compared to other olive oil by-products, olive leaf powder (OLP) is the least tested product in terms of studying the impacts on fish carcass/muscle. Effects on the growth performance Several previous studies reported that the antioxidant content on olive oil extract can affect the growth performances of sea bream. The growth rate a performances of fish is normally related with improvement in humoral, mucosal immune parameters and antioxidant enzymes activities. Improvement in growth APRIL - MAY 2022

performance parameters is recited to be attributed of immune nutritional constituent such as polysaccharides as complex sugar. However, since an olive product is categorized as herbal plant, the higher herbal extract inclusion level has been reported to give a negative effect on the fish growth performances because of the higher concentration of antinutritional factors (ANFs). Thus, to make the olive product more acceptable in aqua feed, more research was needed to be highlight on ANFs compound to reduce the negative effect on growth and health performances of fish. Effects on the feed utilization When oil is extracted from olives, a waste product called waste olive cake is generated. It is composed of olive pulp, skin, stones, and water. The olive pomace may be an effective protein source for feed formulation, especially nowadays with the increased of focus on cost reduction and value added of agroindustrial waste. Furthermore, in addition to its high phenolic content, olive pomace also contains vitamins such as tocopherol, hydrocarbons such as squalene, and sterol compounds such as sitosterol, all of which have significant nutritional and physiological benefits for animals. A study conducted by Serra et al. (2017) revealed that inclusion of olive pomace in swine diets had potentially reduced the lipid oxidation in the sausage which also improved the fatty acid composition. As the olive pomace meal is utilized as a feed component in tilapia diets, it has the potential to aid in the development of more cost-effective feedstuffs. Nutritional olive pomace meals are natural by-products that are available at a low cost and are not genetically modified. It was determined that substituting wheat bran with olive waste at a level of more than 25% in tilapia diets considerably affected their growth performance as well as their efficiency in utiliszng their feed. The poor development APRIL - MAY 2022

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performance of tilapia found with increasing amounts of olive pomace in their diets could be attributed to a combination of factors, including high dietary fiber content as well as deficiency in certain amino acids, specifically methionine. A previous study found that utilizing olive pomace meal and olive waste oil in sea bass diets instead of fish meal and oil resulted in significantly lower feed conversion ratios (FCR) and lowered specific growth rates. The low growth performance of sea bass could be linked to the species’ limited metabolic capabilities. Additionally, Nasopoulou et al. (2011) revealed that olive pomace as a partial substitute for fish oil in gilthead sea bream, reported that feeding olive pomace to the fish leads to an enhancement in the fish’s potential to suppress atherogenesis. These improvements may indicate that the fish’s immune system is being strengthened, with positive effects against various diseases and longterm stressful pressures.

such as oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol are also known as potential candidates that could balance the gut microbiota diversity. The gastrointestinal microbiota composition is vital for gut health and nutrient absorption in improving fish growth performance. Effects on the immune response The fatty acids from refined olive pomace oil such as oleic, linoleic, stearic, palmitic, palmitoleic acids and other bioactive compounds are beneficial for immune modulation and can be used as prophylaxis against infection when added into diet. High composition of antioxidants in the olive oil by-products might contribute to the improvement of immune status of fish by reducing the oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is known to reduce the efficiency of innate immune response in fish that make fish more susceptible to diseases.

Effects on the antioxidative capacity For a food safety perspective, the use of natural antioxidants in fish feeds is increasing in recent years. To avoid undesirable side effects from the use of synthetic antioxidants, researchers are focusing on several natural compounds. It has been the fruit, leaves and oil of olive trees are significant sources of polyphenols. Olive leaves contain important natural phytonutrients like oleuropein and oleanolic acid. Many beneficial effects have been noticed due to the presence of antioxidant properties of olives, olive oil and olive mill vegetation water. In addition, it was observed that pomace olive extract had an excellent antimicrobial character, which was in consistence with its total phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant activities. Moreover, its extract consisted highly of bioactive components that reduced toxigenic fungal growth and mycotoxins.

Effects on the intestinal health and microbial diversity Olive oil by-products have been used as partial replacement of fish oil in aquafeed due to its benefits on intestinal health and microbial diversity. Moreover, olive oil by-products or extra virgin olive oil diet also have shown anti-inflammatory activity where its derivatives such as hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and oleuropein were mostly found in the lumen of the intestine. The olive extract was previously used to produce digestible biofilm which demonstrated antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Apart from that, olive oil by-products could stimulate the growth of fish gut microbiota such as Lactobacillus acidophilus which has been reported as good candidate as probiotics. Aside from anti-inflammatory properties, bioactive compounds 22 »

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Effects on the disease resistance As aquaculture industry is heading toward to intensification, the industry development was hindering with fish diseases problem. The recent studies and findings revealed olive leaf extract (OLE) have huge potential as immunostimulant agent for aquaculture uses. These findings showed olive by-products extract possess immunostimulant property where can increase immune system of commercial farmed fish to resistant various diseases infection. Olive leaf is olive oil by-products and considered as cost less raw material for medical and nutritional uses. Hence, methanol solvent can be widely used in preparing OLE for

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aquaculture uses in the commercial scale. There is huge potential of olive by-products can be used in fish health management. This statement was supported by several recent studies and findings. Further study need to be carried out in order to upscale recent findings for mass production before it can come to a commercial sense.

Conclusion and future perspectives Each of olive by-products which include olive cake, olive leaves and branches, or vegetative waters, offers a nutritious value that, while minor, should not be overlooked. These byproducts can and should be employed

in animal feed to a greater extent. The antioxidant, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal and antioxygenic properties were discovered in the olive by-products, which improved the intestinal health and immune response of fish. The presence of olive by-products in the fish feed also had no deleterious impact on the growth performance. Taking into account the benefits reported here, olive by-products have the potential to be employed in aquafeed, albeit a system for purifying and extracting important polyphenols remains to be developed. More research is required to improve the quality of animal products by incorporating olive byproducts into their diets. This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “OLIVE OIL BY-PRODUCTS IN AQUAFEEDS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES” developed by: MOHD KHALID HAZREEN-NITA, University Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia, ZULHISYAM ABDUL KARI, University Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia, , KHAIRIYAH MAT, University Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia, NOR DINI RUSLIA, University Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia, SUNIZA ANIS MOHAMAD SUKRI University Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia, HASNITA CHE HARUN, University Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia, SEONG WEI LEE, University Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia, MOHAMMAD MIJANUR RAHMANA, University Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia, N.H. NORAZMI-LOKMAN, University of Tasmania, Taroona, Tasmania, Australia, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia, MANSOR NUR-NAZIFAH, International Islamic University Malaysia, Bandar Indera Mahkota, MOHD FIRDAUS-NAWI, International Islamic University Malaysia, Bandar Indera Mahkota, MAHMOUD A.O. DAWOOD Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt, The American University in Cairo, Egypt. The original article was published on DECEMBER 2021, through AQUACULTURE REPORTS under the use of a creative commons open access license. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aqrep.2021.100998

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OF SHRIMP AND MEN:

Innovation, Competition and Product Diversity Using a simple model of differentiated Cournot competition with endogenous choice of product variety, we find that innovation in one variety may lead to a decrease in product diversity in the catch-up phase, eventually By: Aquaculture Magazine *

Innovation and catch-up in the market for shrimp Large-scale commercial farming began developing in the 1970s in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres based on farming local shrimp species. Both Asia and the West, however, had failed to set up a large-scale intensive shrimp aquaculture. Independently from the species cultured, all attempts were affected by the same common problem: the periodical outbreak of diseases. With the high incidence of diseases, and the subsequent losses, shrimp aquaculture suffered of high volatility and uncertainty in the final volumes and profits, causing a drop in investments.

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decreasing the profit of the innovator and of all other producers.

In the late eighties, researchers were able to develop Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) stocks of Litopenaeus vannamei that were free of IHHNV by re-adapting the breeding and selection concepts from the livestock and poultry industries. As a result of this innovation, total production of the US industry doubled, contributing to a sensible increase in profitability. However, the supremacy of the biosecurity methods developed in the US only became clear with the insurgence of a new disease, the Taura Syndrome (TS). By 1999, the first stocks of Taura syndrome resistant shrimp (called TVR for Taura Virus Resistant) were supplied to the US industry showing

better survival and production increased 40% over the previous year. For Asian countries, the economic incentives to switch from Penaeus monodon to the new SPF L. vannamei were outstanding, pushing producers to switch their production at a very rapid pace. Asian countries did not import the innovation but rather the product of that innovation, the SPF/TVR broodstock, allowing them to skip the earliest stage of production, which required a consistent investment to build up the facilities. Although Asian countries have recently attempted to launch their own production of domestic SPF broodstock, they are still largely relying on US exports.

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The US shrimp industry experience constitutes an illustration of the principle that R&D outcomes are always meant to be (in the long run) non-rivalrous and non-excludable. In the case of the shrimp industry, conflicting interests with the broodstok industry have fostered the innovation’s diffusion, resulting in a very short catch up period.

The curse of innovation: a theory Two representative firms, Home (h) and Foreign (f), produce shrimp. There are two varieties of shrimp on the market, the white legs shrimp L. vannamei (v) and the Tiger shrimp P. monodon (m). Each of the firms can produce only one variety. As producers decide their quantities but are price takers on world markets, and as the two varieties of shrimp are not identical, we model the market as a differentiated Cournot competition. Our focus is on the impact of innovation on competition and product diversity. We assume that when a firm benefits from an innovation, it gets a competitive advantage for one period. We model this advantage by a technology allowing reducing its production cost. Then, the laggard eventually catches up on the innovation and benefit from the same technology. The game consists in three phases. In the Pre-innovation phase, both firms produce at constant marginal. In the Innovation phase, firm h can produce variety v at marginal cost, while the production cost for the other variety and the other firm remains, and in the Catch-up phase, both firms can produce variety v at marginal cost, while the production cost for the other variety m remains. There are several possible curses of innovation. The first one is the existence of multiple equilibria in the phase following the innovation. The second curse is a variant of the first. In the case in which two pure strategy equilibria with product diversity exist in the catch-up phase, firm h may end up specializing in the high 26 »

cost variety, and receive a lower profit than before the innovation. While this is a theoretical possibility, it may be reasonable to discard it using the same focality argument as for the first point. The third possibility is perhaps the most realistic, and our focus of this paper. In the first two cases from this third option, innovation is unambiguously positive for the firm benefiting from it: firm h obtains a cost advantage and product diversity remains the same. There’s a fourth proposition, where innovation is also positive: despite the fact that a decrease in product diversity increases the intensity of competition, the cost advantage is so high that it compensates for the loss. But there is a third option where innovation gives a short-term advantage in the innovation phase, at the cost of a lower profit in the catch-up phase than pre-innovation.

The curse of innovation in the market for shrimp Figure 1 looks at the total production of L. vannamei shrimps by the five major producers (US, China, India, Thailand and Vietnam), that overall account for 80% of world production.

In 1984, the US started to produce white legs shrimp. In 1992, the first SPF shrimp were developed (start-up era). 1999 is the breakthrough second generation of SPF shrimp giving US producers a major cost advantage. Following this cost-reducing innovation, the quantity of L. vannamei shrimp is increases massively. The years 2001, 2002 and 2009 correspond to the sequential adoption of the new breed by major Asian producers. We observe that during those latter years the produced quantity continued to increase, but at a much slower pace. The reason for this exchange ratio can be seen on Figure 2, decomposing the total production of L. vannamei in the US and in the rest of the world. The vertical dashed line (2003) marks the year all the Asian major competitors (with the exception of India) had terminated the production trials and began operating in the global market. The increase in the US production of L. vannamei starts with the SPF innovation, and the decrease in the production starts when the production in the rest of the world increases, in particular following the adoption of L. vannamei by Thailand and China.

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We report FAO estimates of the impact of the innovation on production costs in different countries. With the exception of China, whose costs were much lower even in the pre-innovation period, all other countries experienced a consistent reduction in cost by on average 30%. Data suggest a net acceleration in the rate of production following the adoption of L. vannamei in Thailand, Vietnam and India, while it didn’t affect China’s trend. The question of whether this innovation was sufficiently important to avoid a decrease in the US firms’ profit is however more complicated to assess. We computed quantity data from the FAO, the price data from the FED global shrimp prices time series (wholesale price in New York, $ per kilo), and the average production cost from. The very low profits in 1991 correspond to the outbreak of the Taura syndrome, and the years 1995-97 correspond to the outbreak of the white spot disease. Then, 1999 is the year of the major breakthrough that gave US producers a cost advantage. It is clear that this innovation coincides with the beginning of an increase in profits, and that the years when Asian countries switched to L. vannamei corAPRIL - MAY 2022

responds to a turning point in which profits start to fall. The story however does not stop there. In early 2000s, the decline in US market share and the dramatic rise in importation caused a 40% drop in employment in US shrimping factories. In the attempt to save their dying industry, the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), a group of eight south-eastern states consisting of forty two shrimp processors successfully petitioned the US government to impose anti-dumping duties on imports from Thailand, China, Vietnam, India, Ecuador, and Brazil. Also, in 2014, a new major disease, the Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) wiped out Chinese and Thai production of shrimp by more than 50%, leading to price increases of more than 40% for a kg of L. vannamei shrimp. The disease only affected South-East Asia, and never reached US producers, leading to a new phase of profit increase for US producers, not specifically linked to any product innovation.

Conclusions This paper is a first attempt at looking at the link between innovation and the endogenous level of product diversity. Our results suggest that innovation

may constraint firms active in a previously diversified market to sell more homogeneous products, and that such an incentive may lead to more intense competition in the catch-up phase than pre-innovation. Our static results suggest that the “curse of innovation” case, by decreasing the profit in the catch-up phase, may actually make the subsequent innovation more attractive, not less. It would also increase the advantage from staying one step ahead of the competitors in a model similar to Aghion et al. (2005). While the empirical focus of this paper is on the shrimp industry, the theoretical results refer to any innovation that would make a variety cheaper to produce. This may apply more generally to the agricultural sector, where an innovation often consists in developing a more resistant or cheaper to produce variety. It could also correspond more broadly to technological innovations in which the adoption of a, superior, common standard constraints product diversity.

This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “OF SHRIMP AND MEN: INNOVATION, COMPETITION AND PRODUCT DIVERSITY” developed by: AMANDA DE PIRRO, Lancaster University Manage‑ ment School, RENAUD FOUCART, Lancaster University Management School. The original article was published on MARCH 2022, through ECONOMICS WORKING PAPER SERIES under the use of a creative commons open access license. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/167872/

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INTEGRATED AQUACULTURE RECIRCULATION SYSTEM (IARS) Supported by Solar Energy as a Circular Economy Alternative for Resilient Communities in Arid/Semi-Arid Zones in Southern South America: A Case Study in the Camarones Town

Freshwater fish farming plays an important role in aquaculture production. This work combines three main components, aquatic recirculation system, solar water treatment, and photovoltaic plan system, which shape an integrated system that supports the sustainability of By: Aquaculture Magazine *

ish is an essential source of food for 3 billion people globally, constituting at least 50% of the animal proteins and essential minerals consumed by 400 million people in the poorest countries. In this context, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in 2018 the global aquaculture production of food fish was 80 million tons, and sales corresponded to USD $231.6 billion, providing 10.8 kg of fish per capita in 2016. It should be noted that Freshwater fish farming plays an important role in aquaculture production, 47.5 million tons of fish were reached in 2016. Considering that sustainable development cannot be achieved without resilient livelihoods, we chose, as

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Camarones River, a desert climate location in the northern region of Chile.

an example of resilience, Camarones, a village in the Arica and Parinacota Region in the northern part of Chile. This town as an interior desert climate, is over 1,000 m above sea level, without coastal oceanic influence. In addition, the Camarones Valley is characterized by being arid, with a null annual rainfall, and with average temperatures of 18 ºC. Moreover, the days are mostly filled with clear skies, and drier than the coastal desert climate, with an average relative humidity of 50%. A pilot-scale system driven with solar energy for river shrimp (Cryphiops caementarius) farming, using solar water treatment technology, was implemented, to reduce the arsenic content in the natural waters of the Camarones

River. Considering all different parts of the problem, to implement the solution, a circular economy concept is considered to ensure sustainability.

Implementation The greatest potential of the Camarones area is an average solar radia2 2 tion of 2,957 kWh m year , which represents an opportunity to use solar energy for different applications, such as photovoltaic, thermos solar technologies, and solar water treatments among others. Compared to land-based crops and animal production, fish are quite sensitive to water contaminants; therefore, aquaculture production is vulnerable to deterioration in water quality. Currently, recurrent diseases in aquaculAPRIL - MAY 2022

Fondo de Innovación para la Competitividad Regional (FIC-R). Another parameter to consider is the feeding, which must be palatable and contain all of the necessary elements to ensure optimal quality of the meat of the specimens, being the proteins (which must contain at least 10 essential amino acids) and the essential fatty acids indispensable for the construction of tissues and energy for the fish.

ture and climatic effects have brought attention to the aquaculture industry, to implement land-based aquaculture recirculation systems as an alternative to traditional open pond and cage culture systems. In the aquaculture recirculation system, fish feed is virtually the only source of carbon and nitrogen solids, which are the main sources of pollution. It is estimated that, by weight, the amount of solids produced in an aquaculture recirculation system represents approximately 30–60% of the applied fish feed. Fish feed contains 25–65% protein, as does shrimp feed, corresponding to 4.1–10.7% organic nitrogen. Only about 20–30% of the nitrogen in the applied feed is retained by the fish, while the rest is excreted in the water. Therefore, it is estimated that approximately 75% of the protein nitrogen from fish is released into the water, with a significant portion composed of total ammonia nitrogen. Ammonia is toxic to many fish, even at low concentrations.

meat, and highly versatile. The quality of water for rainbow trout farming is given by the set of physical, chemical, and biological properties, as seen in Table 1. It is worth it to mention that the monitoring of water quality parameters of the trout production was optimized in a previous work of the

River Shrimp The river shrimp live in rocky bottom sectors, remaining, during the day, hidden among the coastal vegetation, submerged or under rocks at the bottom of the river, and their activity is preferably nocturnal. The highest concentration of larvae is found in the river mouths, this is due to a positive affinity to salinity; later they go higher upstream of the river. It is worth it to mention that the quality of the water for the production of river shrimp is also important. Table 2 shows the main physical and chemical properties that a body of water must comply with.

Farmer Species

Rainbow Trout Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a resistant, fast-growing fish, easy to spawn, tolerant to a wide range of environments and manipulations, of soft APRIL - MAY 2022

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The Integrated Aquaculture Recirculation System (IARS) IARS was designed, built, and implemented in a period of 3 years, from January 2018 to September 2020, including the co-construction stage, which was of great relevance to incorporate aspects, such as the shrimp– fish relationship. Moreover, the land conditioning, planimetry, civil works, and the installation of three main components were carried out, as detailed below: Component 1: Solar Water Treatment Plant The Camarones is characterized by its natural waters (surface and underground) with high levels of arsenic. According to the above, the solar water treatment plant was designed and implemented considering the characteristics of the sector related to water quality, solar radiation, among others. Through this plant and with the support of solar radiation, it is

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possible to reach arsenic concentrations within 0.03 and 0.05 mg L-1, removing 95% of the arsenic present in the natural waters of the Camarones River. Component 2: Aquaculture Recirculation System It is a terrestrial aquaculture recirculation system, where the water is partially reused and the simultaneous farming of shrimp and trout is achieved, providing a stable farming medium, which must be managed in an integral way. Among all of the advantages offered by this type of system, the principal is the reduced water consumption, and for this initiative, a system renewal was considered, between 5 and 10% of the entire farming volume per day. On the other hand, these systems allow better opportunities in waste management, nutrient recycling, hygienic disease management, and greater control of

biological contamination. In addition, with these systems, it is possible to opt for a greater variety of farming of hydro biological species, considering the production of fry until their fattening. Component 3: Photovoltaic Plant For an aquaculture recirculation system and solar water treatment plant operating, a photovoltaic plant was installed that supplies the electrical energy necessary for the operation and functioning of the different equipment in an integrated aquaculture recirculation system. In addition, a generator set was considered as backup in emergency situations.

Circular Economy In the circular economy, system resources, energy, and materials are reused several times, considering minimal processing for each subsequent use, through a closed circuit. Figure 1 shows the implemented sys-

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tem, which, through the three main components (solar water treatment plant, aquatic recirculation system and photovoltaic), considering the principles of the circular economy, can aspire to sustainability. To aspire to sustainable development through a circular economic model, it must be considered that operating the integrated aquatic recirculation system plant will generate a liquid waste of salts in aqueous solution and sludge through the solar water treatment and the aquatic recirculation system. This waste will be disposed in desiccating pools for liquid waste, whereby decantation the supernatant liquid will be used to irrigate the green areas in integrated aquatic recirculation system plant, halophyte species resistant to saline waste. On another hand, the sludge resulting from aquaculture systems produced by feces and food remains have higher carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) contents than natural sediments, nutrients that will be used as plant fertilizer. The plant species to be farmed are typical from the area, such as carrot, onion, garlic, alfalfa, among others. The simultaneous production of agricultural and aquaculture products is not a novelty. There are several initiatives and studies in this regard. However, achieving this diversification of products from solar-treated water is very relevant. In this sense, this study considers a circular economy approach, to manage the waste generated by the integrated aquatic recirculation system, whose waste can be valorized through agricultural products and savings in water consumption. In addition, through the installation and implementation of the integrated aquatic recirculation system, it contributes, reducing overexploitation of the aquaculture on land and promoting a more sustainable use of aquatic resources, since it generates a sustainable management of the river shrimp resource, by restoring the species taken from the river. APRIL - MAY 2022

Discussion and Conclusions This work combines three main components, aquatic recirculation system, solar water treatment, and photovoltaic plan system, which shape an integrated system that supports the sustainability of Camarones. This initiative encourages the mitigation of environmental impacts, considering: the reduction of greenhouse gases, the reuse of liquid waste, and sludge for irrigation and as fertilizers, respectively. Moreover, it is possible to consider the adoption of the principles of the circular economy in the integrated aquaculture recirculation system plant. Furthermore, the simultaneous obtaining of halophytic plants and ornamental forage species that would support the preservation of the natural ecosystem of the sector is allowed. In addition, to obtain nutrients through the aquaculture recirculation system, a source of nitrogen and phosphorus, for agricultural crops, represents an alternative for the final disposal of these residues.

The important thing, when reusing, is to promote a zero liquid discharge, and by adding value to the waste, this initiative becomes sustainable and friendly to the environment, fitting all of the principles and strategies of the circular economy. For this reason, it is necessary to change the way in which society produces and consumes.

This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “INTEGRATED AQUACULTURE RECIRCULA‑ TION SYSTEM (IARS) SUPPORTED BY SOLAR ENERGY AS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY ALTERNATIVE FOR RESILIENT COMMUNITIES IN ARID/SEMI-ARID ZONES IN SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA:A CASE STUDY IN THE CAMARONES TOWN” developed by: LORENA CORNEJO-PONCE, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile, PATRICIA VILCASALINAS, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile, HUGO LIENQUEO-ABURTO, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile, MARÍA J. ARENAS, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile, RENZO PEPE-VICTORIANO, Universidad Arturo Prat, Arica, Chile, EDWARD CARPIO, Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, AND JUAN RODRÍGUEZ, Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería. The original article was published on DECEMBER 2020, through WATER under the use of a creative commons open access license. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: doi:10.3390/w12123469

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Biotechnology can help us save the genetic heritage of salmon and other aquatic species

By: Aquaculture Magazine *

almon are iconic keystone species across the northern Pacific and Atlantic basins. Salmon is also a prized human delicate. Wild salmon populations have been decimated by a combination of overharvesting, dams, and water deviations. Efforts to increase salmon abundance through fish farming and hatcheries have failed to stem the decline, instead exposing wild popula32 »

Preservation of the genetic heritage of the many aquatic species now entering the food supply through aquaculture is a growing challenge. The controversial on consumer acceptance of the AquAdvantage salmon, one of only three genetically modified (GM) animals approved for human consumption by the FDA is a key example. This review argues that using gene editing to create genetic barriers between farmed and wild aquatic animals is emerging as the most effective approach to preserving aquatic genetic diversity.

tions to diseases, pests, and the debilitating genetic effects of interbreeding with partially domesticated farm escapees and hatchery releases (Gayeski et al., 2018). Preserving the genetic heritage of the many aquatic species now entering the food supply through aquaculture is a growing challenge. Breeding programs enhance commercially valuable traits but reduce genetic diversity.

Yet the reservoirs of genetic diversity in wild aquatic populations become increasingly critical to their survival and adaptation as the warming climate alters oceans and resculpts rivers and coastal regions. This review argues that using gene editing to create genetic barriers between farmed and wild aquatic animals is emerging as the most effective approach to preserving aquatic genetic diversity. APRIL - MAY 2022

Conflicting Objectives Aquaculture is the most rapidly growing food production sector and now accounts for a larger fraction of seafood consumption than wild fisheries. Both the continued growth of the human population and its increasing affluence drive up the demand for food in general and high-quality animal protein in particular. Reports from world organizations predict a 15% increase in demand for agricultural products in the next decade and projects that virtually all growth in the supply of fish and seafood will come from aquaculture due to limitations in capture fisheries (OECD/ FAO, 2019). Because of their high economic and cultural value, salmon are the focus of some of the most advanced breeding programs. Selective breeding programs as Norwegian familybased, first focused on accelerating growth rates, later broadening to include disease resistance, maturation rates, and flesh quality. And also, the recent adaptation of gene-editing techniques to aquatic species promises to further accelerate the development of economically valuable traits. And yet, currently cultivated salmon species, remain genetically very similar to their wild counterparts and fully capable of interbreeding with them (Glover et al., 2017). Domestication and breeding efforts inevitably reduce genetic variation and often

The use of gene editing to create genetic barriers between farmed and wild aquatic animals is emerging as the most effective way to preserve aquatic genetic diversity.

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render organisms less able to persist in the wild. Hence, it is increasingly important to consider the consequences of interbreeding between domesticated breeds and their wild relatives. Even as the aquaculture industry expands, researchers and conservationists worldwide are actively promoting the preservation and restoration of natural ecosystems. Unfortunately, increasing aquaculture productivity through sophisticated breeding programs and preserving genetic variation in wild populations of aquaculture species are currently incompatible goals because the physical and biological barriers now used to separate farmed from wild populations are simply inadequate to prevent interbreeding.

Physical and Biological Barriers Improvements in the reliability of open water systems will without a doubt continue, yet they will remain vulnerable to some level of unintended release of farmed animals. Land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are used to decrease the time salmon spend in net pens, improving uniform growth and minimizing exposure to pathogens and sea lice (Fossmark, et al., 2021). Fully land-based salmon farms are proliferating at a fast pace, although their high capital cost and carbon footprint hinder their universal adoption. Triploid sterility, although not foolproof, is the best biological barrier currently available to minimize interbreeding of wild and farmed aquatic animals. Triploidization is presently used in trout management and oyster farming, but it is not widely used in commercial salmon farming and has even recently been prohibited in Norway. Biotech in Aquaculture Improving agricultural organisms by altering specific traits using genetic modification techniques became a reality during the late 20th century and

constitutes a subset of the biologybased technologies encompassed by the term “biotechnology”. AquAdvantage salmon was developed by a Canadian group more than 30 years ago and it is finally reached the commercial market in 2016 in Canada, with US market entry following in 2021. It is an Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) modified by the introduction of a gene construct expressing an extra copy of a growth hormone gene from a different salmon species, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawhytscha). The expression of the added gene is further modified by putting it under the control of a promoter sequence from a gene that codes for an antifreeze protein in the ocean pout, Macrozoarces americanus. The genetically modified (GM) salmon produce more growth hormone and produce it continuously, rather than seasonally, as do wild salmon (Fletcher, et al., 2004). The GM AquAdvantage salmon grow faster during their first year, making it possible for the fish to reach market size almost twice as fast as their wild counterparts. Also, they are more efficient at converting feed to biomass and require up to 25% less feed than conventional Atlantic salmon. These characteristics make it economically feasible to raise them in high quality, fully land-based RAS facilities. Such facilities can be located close to inland markets, reducing transportation costs and improving market freshness. AquAdvantage salmon pose no threat to wild salmon because of the redundant physical and biological barriers that isolate them from their wild counterparts. Despite its long and difficult journey to market, AquAdvantage salmon is getting good reviews from food writers and should soon be more widely available in the United States.

Biological Barriers and Biotech AquAdvantage salmon has been genetically modified to serve economic objectives, and the barriers that sepa» 33

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rate wild salmon populations from it are conventional, albeit high-quality, RAS and sterile animal production technologies. To date, both research and dialog in the aquatic conservation context have focused on using biotechnology to prevent the transfer of transgenic traits from farmed species to wild relatives or, more recently, to eradicate invasive species. But progress in the understanding of the reproductive physiology of aquatic organisms is laying the groundwork for using biotechnology to create much more effective biological barriers between farmed and wild populations. For example, the results of recent studies using CRISPR/Cas gene-editing have demonstrated that knockout of the dead end (dnd) germ cell-specific gene in Atlantic salmon yields sterile animals that do not produce either gametes or sex steroids but

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grow normally (Wargelius et al., 2016; Kleppe et al., 2017). Another potential approach is through the active creation of reproductive barriers. Relocation of centromeres is known to interfere with meiosis and is believed to be important in speciation (Lu, He, 2019). As such speciation mechanisms are better understood, it should become possible to establish hybrid incompatibility between farmed and wild aquatic strains by editing or relocating centromeres (Hori, Fukagawa, 2020). Breeders will, of course, need to ensure that the behavior of such animals does not interfere with the reproductive success of their wild counterparts (Fjelldal et al., 2014).

Consumer Acceptance Despite early controversies, biotechnology has been widely adopted in

medicine and in certain aspects of food production, such as in cheesemaking and beverage fermentation. Consumer attitudes toward other types of GM ingredients, including corn and soybeans, remain divided, largely because of prolonged campaigns from anti-GMO groups and organic food marketers, intent on discredit these products for their own economic gain (Apel, 2010). The scientific consensus, based on more than four decades of studies, is that the GM food and feed ingredients in wide use today are as safe for humans and agricultural animals as their non-GM counterparts (NASEM, 2016). Nonetheless, consumer attitudes toward foods constituting or containing GM ingredients remain mixed (Funk, 2020). To date, AquAdvantage salmon is one of only three GM animals ap-

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proved for human consumption by the FDA. The results of recent surveys indicate that both US and Norwegian consumers recognize the importance of using biotechnology to improve farmed plants and animals and to manifest the will to buy GM salmon. While anti-GMO special interest groups continue to pressure retailers to boycott it, grocers are likely to bend to consumer demand if AquAdvantage salmon proves popular.

A Pressing Need Wild salmon are in deep trouble. Increasingly, it’s farmed salmon, selectively bred for traits of commercial value and reared in regularly breached open-water facilities, that are meeting growing consumer demand. But escapees interbreed with their wild cousins, producing offspring both less capable of survival in the wild and impoverished in the genetic diversity essential for adaptation to a rapidly changing climate. Similar APRIL - MAY 2022

pressures confront the wild populations of the many other aquatic species that are being bred and farmed. And yet, advances in both aquaculture technology and molecular techniques can reduce the threat to wild populations. What’s needed now is the strong backing of the broader conservation biology and environmental communities for the kinds of contemporary biotechnological approaches discussed here. A recent in-depth survey of consumer acceptance of gene-edited food revealed greater acceptance of the technology when respondents were provided with information about its benefits (Caputo et al., 2020). By articulating such benefits, conservation experts can make modern molecular approaches more acceptable to a public increasingly cognizant of and concerned about the conservation of biodiversity and the environment. The best chance of saving the genetic heritage of wild salmon —and of the

many other aquatic organisms now being bred for farming— is to create genetic firewalls around the farmed animals, even as we seek to advance the productivity of aquaculture to meet the needs of the still-growing human population.

This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “BIOTECHNOLOGY CAN HELP US SAVE THE GENETIC HERITAGE OF SALMON AND OTHER AQUATIC SPECIES” developed by NINA FEDOROFF - Penn State University, TILLMANN BENFEY - University of New Brunswick, L. VAL GIDDINGS - Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Washington DC, JEREMY JACKSON - Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, JAMES LICHATOWICH - Alder Fork Consulting Columbia City, THOMAS LOVEJOY - George Mason University, JACK STANFORD - University of Montana, RUSSELL F. THUROW – USDA Forest Service, RICHARD N. WILLIAMS - The College of Idaho. The original article was published in PNAS, May 2022. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: https://doi.org/10.1073/ pnas.2202184119

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Where Does Our Food Come From? Agriculture is one of the most important industries in the world and an essential sector in economic growth, but it is being affected by factors such as climate change, more recently the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Ukraine-Russia war. This fact creates uncertainty about the future of food production. This article presents the newest data on agricultural production to shed some light on where our food comes By: Aquaculture Magazine *

from and which countries trade most of it.

ood is one of the essential commodities that sustains life on Earth, making agriculture one of the most important industries in the world. Apart from providing security and health to the population, agriculture is an essential factor in economic growth, accounting for 4.3% of the global GDP. It is also an integral component of international trade, as much of the staple foods such as sugar, soybeans, and rice are produced and exported worldwide. But the growth of the agricultural sectors has been hitting many roadblocks in recent years, elevated by climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the UkraineRussia war. The war in Ukraine has disturbed the world food market, as Ukraine and Russia are among the largest food producers in the world, with Ukraine being the largest producer of sunflower seeds (a crucial agricultural commodity in food production factories). These factors created uncertainty among people about the future of our food production. To shed some light on where our food comes from and which countries trade most of it, the newest

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data on agricultural production was analyzed and ranked. The findings are compiled on the current state of agricultural production and trade.

Top most commonly produced agricultural commodities worldwide In the last two decades, the production of crops worldwide increased by over 53%, reaching a record high

of 9.8 billion tons in 2020. While a plethora of agricultural commodities is produced worldwide, in 2019, only four crops account for half of the world’s agricultural production. Sugar cane tops the list with 1.9 billion tons, accounting for 21% of the total output. It is followed by corn with 1.1 billion tons (12%) and rice and wheat with 0.8 billion tons (8%) each. The six most commonly APRIL - MAY 2022

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produced agricultural commodities worldwide are cow milk, sugar cane, corn, wheat, rice paddy, and potatoes, below is the detail of the top three of them. 1. Cow milk Milk is one of the most commonly cultivated agricultural commodities in the world. Today, 37 countries have cow milk as their top agricultural product. Germany is one of the biggest milk producers, with over 33 million tons of milk produced every year. In monetary terms, this adds to 12.9 billion US dollars. New Zealand is another big cow milk producer, with 21.9 million tons of milk produced every year, reaching a market value of $7.8 billion. 2. Sugar cane Latin American countries such as Columbia (24.6 million tons), Cuba (13.8 million tons), Ecuador (11.1 million tons), and Bolivia (10.9 million tons) are big players in sugarcane production. Alongside, in 2020 Mexico produced over 53.9 million tons of sugarcane, accounting for $2.4 billion in trade. At the same time, African countries produced over 5% of total sugarcane in 2020, with South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya being the primary producers. 3. The Corn The United States is currently the top producer of corn, with over 360 million tons produced, holding a market value of $52.4 billion. It is followed by China, which in 2020 had 260.8 million tons of corn. From the other side of the world, Brazil harvested over 103.9 million tons of corn, ranking as the world’s thirdlargest producer. Together, these three countries produced about twothirds of the world’s corn. Ukraine, another big player in corn production, cultivated over 30.2 million tons, valued at $5.2 billion in trade. Its neighbor Russia lists corn as its most produced agricultural product, with 13.8 million tons produced in 2020. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 38 »

February put a halt to agriculture in Ukraine. At the same time, countries around the world are shutting off trade with Russia. This disruption made the price of corn jump by 19.1% in March 2022 compared to the previous month.

Where Are the Most Commodities Produced in the World? Agriculture is the backbone of the world’s economic activity. In 2020, agriculture held a value of $3.6 trillion, an increase of $2.54 trillion from 20 years ago. In 2020, half of the global agricultural production came from Asia, with economies such as China and India being key players in the world’s sphere. Europe harvested one-tenth of the world’s agricultural production, with Russia, Ukraine, Spain, and Germany among the biggest producers. At the same time, North America produced 826.9 million tons of agricultural products or about 8.5% of the world’s aggregate output. South America supplied one-sixth of the world’s agricultural output, mainly coming from Brazil and Argentina. The seven largest global agricultural producers are: China, the United States, Russia, Brazil, India, Spain, and Ukraine, below are listed the top three of them. 1. China China is one of the largest agricultural producers in the world, with agricultural production of $1.1 trillion in 2020—a record high. In 2020, China was the lead producer of over 30 crops, including wheat, rice, tomatoes, and potatoes. Rice was the most produced crop in China, which reached a value of 353.1 million tons in total. While in that year, China grew over 134.2 million tons of wheat. In global trade, its wheat production is valued at $53.4 billion. China is also the top producer of potatoes (78.1 million tons), tomatoes (64.7 million tons), cucumbers (72.7 million tons), and

China, the United States, Russia, Brazil, and India, five of the world’s most dominant food producers, are also among the top ten countries in global export.

spinach (28.5 million tons); it also ranks as the second-largest producer in the world for Corn, Chicken, Bananas, and Rapeseed. 2. The United States In 2020 the US agricultural production accounted for $134.7 billion, about 0.6% of its national GDP. It was the world’s largest producer of corn (360.2 million tons), harvesting about one-third of global production in 2020. It also produces over half of the global almond output and one-third of global blueberry production. The United States ranks as the top producer of cow milk (101.2 million tons), chicken (20.4 million tons), meat (12.3 million tons), and sorghum (9.4 million tons), and the second-largest producer in the world of soybeans, sugar beet, pig meat, and apples. 3. Russia Over the past 20 years, Russia’s agricultural industry has been rapidly growing, with its production value increasing from $10 billion in 2000 to $85.5 billion in 2020. Today, Russia is the world’s largest producer of barley and sugar beets accounting for 13% and 14% of the world’s total production, respectively. Russia also cultivates over a third of global sunflower seeds production and one-sixth of oats output. Plus, Russia is the third-largest producer of wheat and rye. In 2020 alone, it produced over 85.8 million tons of grain and 2.3 million tons of rye. APRIL - MAY 2022

What Are the Most Exported Agricultural Commodities Worldwide? Same as in other industries, global trade in agriculture has been increasing rapidly, with its share of the total GDP of agriculture rising by 40% compared to 30 years ago. This means that the export and import of agricultural goods are expanding more rapidly than the global agriculture GDP. At the same time, with the rise of economies such as China, India, and Brazil, there is witnessing a shift in export patterns, turning developing countries into major global export players for agriculture. These economies have also increased their production capacities, meaning that they rely less on food imports. Today, some of the most exported agricultural goods are wheat, rice, soybeans, corn, barley, rapeseed, palm oil, sunflower seeds, and bananas. APRIL - MAY 2022

Leading countries in the global export of commodities It is no surprise that the largest countries in the world are among the biggest producers of agricultural products. However, for countries like China, India, and Brazil, much of their output is dedicated to feeding their population, which means a smaller amount is exported worldwide. Yet, with the investments in agriculture technologies in the past decades, these countries are increasing their production capacities, allowing them to ship more agriproducts to the global market. As some nations become global players in food export, other countries become heavily dependent on trade with those countries. However, when the exporting countries have a low democracy index, exchanging goods with them becomes a risky move. A shift in the policies, laws and government in these low democrat-

Today, some of the most exported agricultural products globally are wheat, rice, soybeans, corn, barley, rapeseed, palm oil, sunflower seeds, and bananas.

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ic-ranking countries would sprawl a food crisis among the nations that rely heavily on those exports. Below are listed the four leading countries in the global export of commodities. 1. The United States For the longest time, the United States has been the world’s largest agricultural exporter. The position is thanks to the technological advances in the past few decades and its democracy index (0.811), meaning that it is less risky for countries to rely on trade with this country. In 2020, soybeans were the highest value exported goods for the United States, which reached an export value of $25.8 billion. Corn and

The US produces 32% of the world’s corn, making it the top producer of this crop. The US is also the top exporter of corn and in 2020 it exported this crop to 73 different countries.

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wheat are other high-value exports for the US, which accounted for $9.5 and $6.3 billion, respectively, of total value agricultural exports. Other highly exported agricultural goods in 2020 include: rice chicken meat, sorghum, and apples. 2. The Netherlands In 2020 the Netherlands exported one-sixth of the world’s tomatoes and potatoes, with over 1.1 million tons and 2.1 million tons shipped worldwide. In the same year, it was the largest exporter of eggs (415.3 thousand tons) and onions (1.7 million tons). Since less than one-third of the Netherlands’ exports account for the re-export of goods, it now ranks as the world’s third-largest exporter of rapeseed, palm oil, avocados and chilies, and peppers. 3. Brazil In 2020 Brazil exported over 82.9 million tons of soybeans or about half of the global soybeans trade. It is also a lead exporter of coffee, accounting for 30% of global exports of coffee. In 2020, its coffee export held a value of $4.9 billion. It also exported about 18% of the world’s corn, with $5.8 billion worth in trade. Also, it ranked as the second-largest

exporter of rice (518.4 thousand tons) and the third-largest exporter of mangoes (243.4 million tons). 4. China Though most of China’s agricultural production goes to feeding its population, China continues to be among the largest agricultural exporters, with $67.2 billion worth of agricultural goods exported in 2020. Food preparation materials and crude materials account for about one-fifth of their total export, with over $10.2 billion in market value. In 2020, it exported about 5% of the globally traded rice, with over 2.2 million tons shipped worldwide. Also, it is notable for fruits and vegetables. Though the world relies heavily on exports from China, its democracy index of 0.048 shows that its autocratic regime can be a considerable risk factor for other countries.

Wrapping Up Since the start of agriculture 10,000 years ago, a large number of crops have been domesticated. However, not all crops are made equal as some play an important role in providing food and nutritional security globally, including wheat, corn, rice, and potatoes. At the same time, the globalization efforts of the past century created a global food production system with agricultural products such as wheat, corn, and potatoes being cultivated in countries around the world. Yet, some vast countries such as the United States, China, India, and Brazil produce most of the food. They also play an essential role in global food security as some countries heavily rely on the exports coming from these countries. This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “WHERE DOES OUR FOOD COME FROM? THE LARGEST AGRI PRODUCERS AND EXPORTERS” developed by UNIVERSITY OF THE POTOMAC. The original article was published in UNIVERSITY OF THE POTOMAC. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link https://potomac.edu/where-does-our-food-come-from/

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Nanotechnology: A next-generation tool for sustainable aquaculture

Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising solution opening the

door to new possibilities. Besides conventional toxicological assays, scientists are also using cellular cytotoxicity, apoptosis as well as bioinformatics based interactive tools to narrate nanotoxicity and its By: Aquaculture Magazine *

ntensive aquaculture practice leads to eutrophication of pond accumulating excess nutrient load. Global climate change is posing a serious threat to aquaculture due to high temperature, increased methane, and CO2 level etc. High water temperature has a direct impact on water quality, plankton community, survival of larva and juveniles, as well as the reproductive potential of fish. Likewise, fish health management appeared as another challeng42 »

remediation applying green nanoparticles in bacteria and fish model ing problem. Deteriorating environmental quality and impact of climatic change has led to a significant upsurge of pathogens and diseases in aquaculture. Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising solution opening the door to new possibilities. Nanotechnology is the science of developing and applying materials at nanoscale dimensions (1-100 nm) with unique properties paving the way for novel applications. With nanotechnological intervention, reports are mounting

on its toxic impacts on aquatic organisms including fish.

Application of nanotechnology in different frontiers of aquaculture Nanotechnology for aquaculture structure and fishing system Nanoparticles like silver, zinc oxide, copper oxide, and iron oxide have been found to have antimicrobial and antibiofilm functions. Fish aquariums, cemented cisterns can be sterilized if their walls would be immobilized with nanoparticles. Development of hybrid APRIL - MAY 2022

nanocomposite membranes consisting of nanosilver and polyamide (PA) were shown to possess antimicrobial and anti-biofouling effect on Pseudomonas sp. along with water flux and salt rejection effect. Hence, nanosilvercomposite can be applied to design multifunctional membranes serving as filtration systems in diversified polluted water. A schematic diagram is designed describing multiple impacts of nanoparticles for pond and fishing structure Figure 1. Nanotechnology in nutritional aquaculture Nanoparticle can alter feed consumption pattern by adding flavor, color, or attractants etc. Some water-insoluble vitamins, carotenoids, can be solubilized by processing with nanoparticles and used as a dietary supplement for better bioavailability. Different nanoparticles can function as growth promoters and immunomodulators when supplemented with fish diet in a microscale. Supplementation of selenium nanoparticles with basal diet demonstrated an improvement in weight gain, antioxidant profile, and muscle bioaccumulation in crucian carp. Nanosilver has been found to improve overall growth, protease, and metalloprotease activity in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Similarly, a positive trend of growth pattern was reported in grass carp (C. idella) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Zinc nanoparticle-induced growth and immunomodulation were also reported in Pangasius hypophthalmus under combined abiotic and biotic stress conditions Nano-encapsulation protects the sensitive and precious bioactive elements of food from diverse, adverse environmental circumstances. They involved in eradication of incompatibilities and masking objectionable odor/taste from solubilization and also helps in the unmasking of taste. Applying different nanotechnology-based methods, i.e. oil-in-water-inoil double emulsions, water-in-oil-inwater, or solid lipids can be designed for effective encapsulation. APRIL - MAY 2022

Potential of chitosan-based nanocapsules showed the capacity for entrapment of water-soluble compounds like Ascorbic acid (AA) by making a positively charged complexes at nanoscale range. Chitosan-based polymeric nanoparticle acted as an efficient vehicle for oral delivery of AA and may be applied for other important active compounds applied in aquaculture. Essential nanoparticles can be delivered to fish spawn, fry and fingerling through a primary member of the food chain like zooplanktons or directly through bathing route. However, toxicity aspects of nanoparticles application must be assessed before its potential inte- gration into the food chain. Nanotechnology for gonadal maturation and breeding of fish Injection of stimulating hormones like human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), etc. are delivered from the pre- spawning phase, and fish are met with handling stress, occupational pain, etc. Nano-encapsulated hormonal delivery found to be a more efficacious alternative to this approach.

An improved and controlled nano-delivery system was demonstrated to surpass the fundamental dilemma of precise life span of leuteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) in blood circulation averting the need of multiple applications of injections in fish. Nanotechnology in aquaculture biotechnology Nanoparticles provide an attractive receptor and function as scaffolds for nucleic acids. In fisheries, nanofabricated technology can be utilized in DNA and protein microarray for analyzing genetic polymorphism, new biomarker discovery, and differential gene expression, etc. Biochips and microfluidic chips can accomplish high throughput screening and can be employed for developing DNA and protein marker- dependant detection as well as identification systems. Nanoparticles assist in designing novel and innovative gene transfer methods in fish (Figure 2). Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has emerged as a great hope in molecular therapeutics. Nanoparticles possess unique properties to devel-

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ope improved siRNA-based delivery systems. A schematic diagram of nanoparticle-mediated siRNA delivery in the fish system is presented as Figure 3. Nanotechnology in fish disease control Nanotechnology can contribute significantly in these spheres through novel methods as well as restructuring conventional technology. In this context, a schematic diagram is presented describing nanoparticles inspired disease management in fish Figure 4. The occurrence of disease is one of the major menace to intensive aquaculture system. An antibodybased, highly sensitive immunodiagnostics protocol has been designed by attaching nanoscale gold with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) conjugated secondary antibody titre against white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) strain in shrimp. Nanosensors are also effective and easy solutions to identify pathogens. Different nanosensors can be effectively used to detect important aquaculture viruses. The antimicrobial and prophylactic properties of nanomaterials like nanosilver, zinc oxide nanoparticles are already exploited to reduce the pathogenic load in the aquaculture system. This unique nanomedicinal phenomenon is non-specific, universal, and widely applicable. Antibacterial potentials of nanoparticles like titanium-di-oxide, copper oxide are under trials and would be useful nanomedicines for fish. Graphene appeared as a commercially attractive, cheap, renewable nanomaterial. Oxidized form of graphene is easy to process and dispersible in water. Graphene oxide (GO) exhibited inhibitory effect against important aquatic pathogens Different herbal and phyto-extracts are applied as potential drug in treating fish diseases. Different nanoparticles are being synthesized using medicinal plant/herbal extracts at optimized hydrodynamic conditions, and a composite of the phy44 »

to-nanoformulation are delivered as drugs with synergistic impacts. Nano-delivery of drugs are attributed with novel properties like sustained release, regulation and control of size, shape, dispersity, and surface charge of targeted materials, location specific, multi-route delivery processes, and regulated degradability of nanocarrier Nanotechnology for fish quality testing The freshness of fishery products is a real health and quality concern. To address this issue, a quantum dotbased nanosensor has been designed.

The electrochemical output displayed a higher sensitivity, quicker response time, and extensive linear range Formalin appears as a great menace on modern days ‘fish-food safety’. Formaldehyde nano-biosensor was designed applying an enzyme (formaldehyde dehydrogenase) and nanomaterial (carbon nanotubes, chitosan) for precisely detecting this impending human health hazard. Biogenic amines such as histamine, cadaverine etc. are found in seafoodand produced by action of bacterial decarboxylase on a free amino acid. A nanosensor was developed us-

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Molecular nano-toxicity investigation of green magnesium and calcium oxide nanoparticles in zebrafish demonstrated that significant dysregulation in oxidative stress tending towards apoptosis occurred due to nanoparticle internalization and their interaction with important regulatory cellular proteins.

ing stable magnetic mobile crystalline material-41, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and Fe3O4 nanoparticles to detect the linear concentration ranges of mentioned amines TTX, as a potent sodium channel inhibitor, found to be 1000 times more toxic than potassium cyanide. The optical phenomena of tetrodotoxin (TTX) were examined using nanoparticle arrays-assisted surfaceenhanced Raman scattering (SERS). These arrays were designed to apply nanosphere lithography and a metallic lift-off process for controlling particle shape, size and spacing. Nanomaterial synthesis from fishwaste and their bioactivity Throughout the world, a major part of (30-35%) fin and shellfish are discarded as unconsumed waste, which otherwise also works as a center of pathogenic infestation and spread foul smell. Unconsumed fish-waste has been engineered to develop nanomaterials to open up an attractive market for discarded materials that provide 100% value to productivity as well as sustainablity in aquaculture. Nano-remediation of the aquatic system The sustainability of aquaculture depends on the quality of the aquatic medium. Development of novel forms of nanomaterials triggers new achievements in the remediation of APRIL - MAY 2022

aquatic environment that might exclude the minute contaminants from water and can design “reactive surface coatings” or “smart materials” with specificity towards certain toxicants (Figure 5).

Aspects of nano-toxicity As fish lives in aquatic environment, every nanoparticle pass through a water medium before inducing its beneficial impact. Silver in the colloidal form were found to be more toxic than suspended solid form, and increase in nanoparticles size could reduce the toxicity effect as studied in rainbow trout Nanomaterials showed a great difference in their toxicity impact on the fish system. Selenium nanoparticles showed higher bioavailability and toxicity than selenite in Medaka fish (Oryzias latipes). In aquatic medium, addition of nanomaterials leads to direct gill exposure. Specific pH of different body fluids may influence nanomaterials to agglomerate suggesting their adherence to blood cells. Nanoparticle induced toxicity in fish can be measured through routine protocols or applying high-through put screening (HTS) technique. Highly automated high-throughput screening (HTS) platforms have been developed using zebrafish embryos as well as hatching phenomena for quickly assessing the hazard quotient ofmetal oxide nanoparticles.

Conclusion Nanotechnology research and development holds unique, multiple promises to improve and innovate conventional aquaculture practices alongwith a handful of challenges. Biodegradability, agglomeration, and precipitation are crucial factors to consider in the application of nanoparticles at aquaculture. The biodegradable nano-carrier is vital for delivering bioactive compounds, important ingredients etc. for higher efficacy, greater bioavailability. It will boost overall aquaculture-management processes through the enrichment (feed, medicine, fertilizer, etc.) resulting in minimal dumping of ingredients and will be adsorbed as well as degraded rapidly to trigger the natural biofortification cycle. The application of nanoparticles also reduces gaseous contaminants, unwanted spreading of algae and diatom in the aquatic ecosystem. However, the hazard of using nanoparticles in aquafarming is tricky to decide due to the natural complexit yof the aquacultural system and the non-availability of research database. Moreover, the benefits of nanotechnology are worth pursuing and primary information of hazards should not be a hurdle in the responsible use of nanotechnology for sustainable, nextgeneration aquaculture. This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “NANOTECHNOLOGY: A NEXT-GENERATION TOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE” developed by: BIPLAB SARKAR-Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotech‑ nology, ARABINDA MAHANTY-National Rice Research Institute, SANJAY KUMAR GUPTA- Indian Institute of Ag‑ ricultural Biotechnology, ARNAB ROY CHOUDHURY-Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums, AKSHAY DAWARETripura University, y SURAJIT BHATTACHARJEE- Tripura University. The original article was published on AUGUST, 2021, through AQUACULTURE under the use of a creative commons open access license. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.737330.

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Nature-identical compounds as feed additives in aquaculture

By: Aquaculture Magazine *

quaculture sustainable development is necessary since it is categorized as the most important source of aquatic products for human consumption and it is expected to keep growing shortly. In this sense, NICs can be considered a promising alternative to be added to fish diets to promote growth performance, manipulate the gut microbiota, improve the immune and oxidative status of fish, as well as control bacterial infections in this important aquatic industry.

Nature-identical compounds (NICs) are new biotechnological feed additives to strengthen and stimulate the fish immune system to prevent and/or control diseases. In this review are presented the most recent studies in which NICs compounds have been used in the fish diet to establish their use and contribute to carrying out more sustainable aquaculture.

pounds. Firstly, NICs are more available than natural compounds since that it is possible to obtain chemicals from plants that are not present in a specific country or region or even outside of the harvesting period. Secondly, NICs are cheaper than natural compounds. Research on this matter has verified

that the production of the desired compounds synthetically is cheaper than obtaining the same substances directly from plants due to the decrease in the number of steps and reagents necessary to obtain the desired compounds, which facilitates and decreases the cost of their production (Figure 1).

Advantages of using natureidentical compounds instead of plant secondary metabolites Plant secondary metabolites have enormous economic importance in food, pharmaceutical, chemical, and agricultural industries due to their biological activities and characteristics. However, research about natural product synthesis, started several decades ago and led to the emergence of nature-identical compounds (NICs), which are chemically synthesized compounds but identical to their counterparts present in plant essential oils (EO) and oleoresins (OR) (Rossi et al., 2020). NICs present many advantages compared to the use of plant com46 »

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Furthermore, the NICs can be used pure and exactly in the required concentration. In addition, to increase the antimicrobial effect and reduce the risk of microbial resistance, which could exist by using NICs at a sub-lethal level, multiple NICs can be used in synergy as well as in combination with antibiotics (Rossi et al., 2020; Giovagnoni et al., 2019). Considering these advantages, NICs are starting to be widely used as feed additives in animal nutrition instead of plant compounds or extracts as promising non-antibiotics tool since they present the same beneficial effects as those described for plant secondary metabolites. In this sense, over the last two decades, there have been many studies where the effect of NICs added to animal feed has been analyzed and positive results on growth performance and health status have been obtained on several species, including pigs, broilers, and ruminants. At present, many commercial formulations including NICs are available such as Xtract® 6930 for broilers, Aviplus® and Enviva® TM EO 101G for broilers and pigs, and Crina® Ruminants for ruminants, among others.

Beneficial effects of NICs when used as feed additives in fish. Comparisons with other animals Contrary to the information available to some other animal species previously mentioned, very limited information exists about the effect of NICs in fish. The studies carried out till the present using NICs as fish additives are presented and summarized in Table 1. 1. Effects on growth performance Different results on fish growth performance have been obtained after the incorporation of NICs as feed additives. Seawater Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fed NICs alone and European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fed NICs combined with organic acAPRIL - MAY 2022

ids (AviPlus®) did not show differences in comparison to fish fed control diets. However, freshwater Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio) fed NICs (Xtract® 6930) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed AviPlus® showed improved growth performance and feed conversion rates compared to control fish. Therefore, results obtained can reveal that the specific fish species, the used NICs, and the duration of feed administration play an important role to have better nutrient absorption, optimal feed utilization, and improved animal performance. The results obtained in fish are similar to those obtained in pigs, broilers, and ruminants.

2. Effects on gut microbiota Only two research have studied the effects of NICs as fish feed additives on fish gut microbiota and the obtained results were different. European seabass specimens fed AviPlus® showed a proliferation of beneficial lactic acid bacteria as well as an increase in gut microbiota diversity in comparison to the fish-fed control diet; however, no effect was detected on gut microbiota diversity and composition in rainbow trout specimens fed AviPlus® (Busti et al., 2020; Pelusio et al., 2020). Comparing these results in fish with those in other animals, the positive effects of NICs on the gut microbiota of broilers were described » 47

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by increasing beneficial bacteria and decreasing harmful bacteria. On the other hand, there are also some studies in which no effect of NICs on pigs or ruminants’ microbiota was observed. The scarce data make it very difficult to generalize the beneficial or neutral effects of NICs on animal gut microbiota, and more studies in this specific area will be desirable. 3. Effects on the inflammatory status The inflammatory status of fish can also be modulated by NICs. In this sense, European seabass specimens fed AviPlus® experienced an upregulation in pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines compared to the fish-fed control diet, while rainbow trout specimens fed AviPlus® did not show any significant difference. However, a stronger immune response by regulation of inflammatory status and activation of w blood cells (WBC) by NICs has been also observed in pigs and broilers. Regarding literature, the ability to modulate inflammatory activity by phenolic compounds and NICs had already been demonstrated in previous in vivo studies carried out in fish. For its part, NICs have also a strong capacity to activate WBCs and modulate the immune response by regulating inflammatory status in pigs and broilers.

In a global context of increased antibiotic resistance, feed additives with antimicrobial properties are a useful and increasingly needed strategy in aquaculture.

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It is important to highlight the relationship between inflammation and oxidative stress. In this case, during inflammation, the leucocytes are recruited to the site of damage increasing oxygen consumption and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production while in oxidative stress ROS production leads to the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Due to this, the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities of phenolic compounds and NICs have a huge importance in maintaining the antioxidative and health status of fish (de-Lavor, 2018). 4. Effects after fish bacterial/stress challenge Stress and disease outbreaks in fish farms are common problems in aquaculture with negative effects on farmed species. For this reason, in some studies fish were challenged to simulate different situations that sometimes take place in fish farms and then fed NICs. More concretely, Atlantic salmon specimens were challenged with sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) while European seabass and rainbow trout specimens were exposed to different stress conditions. Those fish-fed NICs diets showed a strong immune response in comparison to the control fish-fed non-supplemented diet.

Similarly, as to the particular effect of NICs on fish health after the challenge, Atlantic salmon specimens fed NICs decreased sea lice infection and modified the expression of some stress and signaling transduction regulators related to several proteins present in the epidermal mucus. On the other hand, European seabass and rainbow trout fed AviPlus® showed a stronger immune response to stress compared to fish fed a control diet. European seabass specimens fed control diets up-regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines gene expression while fish fed AviPlus® diet down-regulated also anti-inflammatory cytokine gene expression and maintained gut microbiota comparable to normal conditions. For its part, rainbow trout specimens fed control and AviPlus® diets up-regulated pro-inflammatory gene expression, especially fish fed AviPlus®. However, in this case, gut microbiota showed lower diversity in specimens fed both control and AviPlus® diets in comparison to normal conditions. Therefore, results obtained in these studies reveal that the obtained effects on fish immune status depend mainly on the fish species and the duration and type of feed adAPRIL - MAY 2022

Nature-identical compounds (NICs) are new biotechnological feed additives to strengthen and stimulate the fish immune system to prevent and/or control diseases.

lum. As to the effect on gut inflammatory gene expression, specimens fed AviPlus® diets decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines gene expression in comparison to specimens fed the control diet. After a challenge with V. parahaemolyticus (48 h), specimens fed AviPlus® showed higher disease resistance by increasing survival in comparison to control specimens. Furthermore, shrimp specimens fed AviPlus® diets increased antioxidant catalase gene expression compared to control specimens, as well as antibacterial lysozyme and penaeidin gene expression, demonstrating the possible positive contribution of these molecules against the studied bacterial infection.

limonene had lower activity against the growth of such bacteria. These results strengthen the use of NICs as possible fish feed additives and corroborate the antibacterial activity of terpenes, phenolic aldehydes, or flavonoids and NICs against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus cecorum, and Gram-negative Escherichia coli which allow their use in the prevention and therapy of several diseases and/or infections.

Conclusions The available results of the studies carried out on fish and aquatic aniministration. After the addition of mals by using NICs suggest that they NICs to feed, a decrease in bacterial can be considered a promising alterinfection has also been observed in native to be included in the diets of pigs against Salmonella typhimurium or broilers against S. enteritidis S. hadar, 6. Bactericidal effects of NICs against these organisms. Furthermore, it is important to highlight the combinaS. heidelberg, Clostridium perfringens, and fish pathogenic bacteria Finally, the emergence and increase tion of used NICs, the specific fish Eimeria acervulina. of infectious diseases are one of the species and the duration of feed ad5. Effects on aquatic Pacific white main problems of aquaculture. Nor- ministration play a crucial role to have mally, the pathogenic bacteria respon- positive results to promote growth shrimp The effect of AviPlus® has been sible for causing infections are natural- performance, improving gut microbistudied on growth, gut microbiota, ly present in the aquatic environment ota, and reinforcing the immune and innate immune response, and disease and even in wild fish populations but oxidative status of animals, as wells as resistance against V. parahaemolyticus they rarely cause disease. However, to control bacterial infections such as of aquatic Pacific white shrimp (Lito- the conditions of stress that occur vibriosis, contributing to carrying out penaeus vannamei) specimens. Different in aquaculture encourage the appear- more sustainable aquaculture. diets were tested and the specimens ance of bacterial infections due to the were fed ad libitum three times daily decreased activity of the host immune for 8 weeks, and then they were chal- system, which is used by bacteria to lenged with the pathogenic bacteria increase their virulence. This is the case of Vibrio species, which most are V. parahaemolyticus. Before the challenge, specimens opportunistic pathogens that take adfed AviPlus® diets did not show vantage of host immunosuppression differences in growth performance to infect them. For this reason, in a or survival compared to specimens global context of increased antibiotic fed the control diet. However, speci- resistance, feed additives with antimimens fed AviPlus® diets increased crobial properties are a useful and inserum total protein, alkaline phos- creasingly needed strategy. In this sense, NICs have been phatase, and phenoloxidase activities studied against Gram-negative pathoin comparison to control specimens genic fish bacteria V. harveyi and V. as well as antioxidant glutathione This is a summarized version developed by the editorial anguillarum. Regarding results, the peroxidase activity. team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “NATURE-IDENTICAL COMPOUNDS AS Regarding the effect on gut micro- terpenes thymol, carvacrol, eugenol, FEED ADDITIVES IN AQUACULTURE” developed by JOSE geraniol, and the terpenic aldehydes biota, specimens fed AviPlus® diets MARÍA GARCÍA BELTRÁN – University of Murcia; MARÍA ANGELES ESTEBAN – Universidad de Murcia. The showed more richness and diversity vanillin and cinnamaldehyde inhiboriginal article was published in FISH AND SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY in March 2022. The full version can be than control specimens by increas- ited the growth of both V. harveyi accessed freely online through this link: https://doi. ing bacteria of Firmicutes phylum and and V. anguillarum, while eucalyptol, org/10.1016/j.fsi.2022.03.010 reducing bacteria of Proteobacteria phy- linalool, menthol, alpha-pinene, and APRIL - MAY 2022

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Future Feeds: Suggested Guidelines for Sustainable Development By: Aquaculture Magazine *

The Aquaculture sector continues growing and making important contributions to world food supplies. However, it is required to focus on the good practices related to fish-feed use, manufacturing, and quality to ensure this expansion in a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable manner. This article guides from a holistic approach to guarantee the longterm sustainable development of the aquaculture sector.

ince the first FAO publication of technical guidelines for aquaculture development (FAO 1997), the FAO has published two feed-related guidelines, the first concerning good aquaculture feed manufacturing practice, and the second concerning the use of wild fish as feed. In particular, controversy has arisen since the use of the term “fish-in fish-out” (FIFO) as a metric for the use of fishmeal and fish oil in compound aquafeeds, and the perceived long-term sustainability of the aquaculture sector dependent upon these wild fishery resources. In specific, concerning the methodology used for converting fishmeal and fish oil use back to live fish weight equivalents. Some studies have shown polemics in the FIFO values, as consequence, a series of derived ratios/ indexes have been developed; however, most of them are providing a good picture of the pressure on the wild resource while they are failing to fully cover the sustainability aspect. To note, the FIFO ratio was never intended to be a precise measurement 50 »

of how much wild fish is required to produce a given amount of farmed fish. It was to bring attention to the reliance of the aquaculture feed industry on wild capture fisheries. Further with much of the aquaculture sector seeking to portray farmed seafood as a solution or alternative to wild capture fisheries, the FIFO ratio highlighted the specific dependence aquaculture has on wild capture fisheries. Additionally, some critics of the aquaculture sector have been primarily focused on wild fish dependency because of a marine conservation focus. The narrow focus of these critics fails to recognize that there are tradeoffs in environmental impact in the substitution of ingredients for wild fish, i.e. soy and deforestation/conversion, manufactured novel ingredients and energy consumption, etc. So while useful as a guidepost and a magnitude snapshot of aquaculture’s reliance on wild fisheries, there is a broader lens by which the aquafeed sector should be viewed to account for these tradeoffs and other impacts on ingredient production and feed manufacturing.

Need for a more holistic “feed-in fishout” approach It is clear that the FIFO metric, like other ratios/index, is not an indicator of sustainability per se unless it is linked with the sustainability or not of the specific fishery and/or processing waste targeted for fishmeal and fish oil production. There is a need for a more holistic approach that considers other feed-related factors to ensure the longterm sustainable development of the aquaculture sector as the four levels of action are described below. 1ST Sustainability issues related to feed formulation and ingredient selection It is required the need to prohibit the use of i) non-sustainable marine feed ingredient sources, including meals, oils, and silages/hydrolysates derived from over exploited and/ or non-sustainable managed wild-caught marine fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and aquatic plant species, ii) nonAPRIL - MAY 2022

sustainable and/or adulterated terrestrial feed ingredient sources, including meals derived from endangered and/ or protected wild animal species, iii) non-approved terrestrial feed ingredient sources for perceived religious and/or food safety concerns, including feeds containing terrestrial animal by-product meals, genetically modified plant feed ingredients, and animal manures, iv) the re-feeding of feed ingredients derived from the same species for biosecurity concerns, v) nonapproved chemicals, medicaments & feed additives. It is recommended the need to reduce the carbon footprint of aquafeeds through the reduced use of imported feed ingredient sources and the increased use and recycling of locally available agricultural and fishery resources derived from sustainably managed and operated agricultural and fishery operations, and also, limit the selection and use of potentially APRIL - MAY 2022

food-grade feed ingredient sources, including fisheries bycatch, small pelagic fish species, and food-grade cereal grains, starches, pulses, and oilseeds. 2nd Sustainability issues related to feed manufacture and feed quality It is required the need to ensure: i) that the feed manufacturing plant is run and operated following all national laws and local environmental/social standards, and according to standards, guidelines, and criteria concerning the manufacture of compound aquafeeds developed by FAO, the Global Partnership for Good Agricultural Practice (GLOBAL G.A.P.), the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), and/or the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC); ii) oversight in feed ingredient supply chains to demonstrate to buyers and authorities that ingredients are not produced with forced or child labor; iii) that feeds produced by the

feed plant are formulated to meet the dietary nutrient requirements of the target species for optimum growth and health (NRC 2011), and for the intended farming system and stocking density (FAO 2001). In addition, it is required for the feed plant to have a dedicated laboratory for feed quality control, including the use of both Near Infra Red and wet chemical analytical techniques for the routine analysis of feeds and feed ingredients, including proximate analysis, specific nutrient analysis (if so required), and screening for mycotoxins and possible adulterants/contaminants. And also, for transparency concerning feed ingredient use and the open declaration of all major feed ingredients and feed additives used on feed bags and/or labels (listed from highest to lowest), as well as key essential dietary nutrient levels. It is Encouraged the need to minimize the use of feed mill sweepings and processing wastes (includes floor sweepings and rejected processed feeds due to quality concerns) within finished feeds; also the need for the feed mill to establish a dedicated research and development (R&D) program and facility for the routine in-house testing of novel feed additives, feed ingredients, and feed formulations, including for determining the apparent nutrient digestibility of the feed ingredients used by the feed plant; and finally, the need for the feed mill to dedicate sufficient funds and resources (including personnel) for farm data collection and technical support to farmers concerning the storage and management (feeding) of their feeds, including training for both large-scale and small-scale farmers. 3rd Sustainability issues related to on-farm feed use and impacts It is required the need for farmers: i) to monitor and record feed consumption, fish/shrimp biomass, survival, and apparent biological and economic feed efficiency regularly, ii) to store their feeds in under-protected, cool and well-ventilated conditions to » 51

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maintain feed quality, and nutrient stability, iii) non-top-dressing their feeds with non-approved feed ingredients and feed additives, iv) to optimize feed intake and feed efficiency of the cultured species and water quality conditions, following internationally recognized good or best on-farm feed management practices, v) monitor the environmental impact of their feeds by checking waste nutrients levels over the culture cycle, and by minimizing their potential negative environmental impacts through water-recirculation and/or effluent treatment/IMTA before discharge. Encouraged farmers to establish a dedicated R&D program and facility on-farm for the in-house testing of different feeds and feeding regimes so as reduce feed costs and optimize their feeds and feeding systems; need to increase communication and information between farmers, feed manufacturers, policymakers, consumers, and researchers so as optimize onfarm feed use, farm management, profitability, and the long-term sustainability of the aquaculture sector. 4TH Sustainability issues related to fish quality and food safety It is required the need to ensure that feeds used by farmers have no negative effect on the nutritional quality and safety of aquaculture products, and the need to monitor the nutritional composition, quality and safety of aquaculture products destined for direct human consumption, including whole fish/shrimp, gutted fish, shrimp tails, fish fillets, fish balls, fish sausages, fish burgers, nuggets, etc., depending upon the species and country of origin. Encouraged the need to maximize the use of aquaculture derived trimmings and fish/shrimp off-cuts for direct human consumption whenever possible, including the production of lower-cost (in marketing terms) fast-food and/or ready-made meals for mass consumption and the need to encourage the nutritional enhancement and potential health attributes 52 »

of aquaculture products through dietary fortification with limiting key essential nutrients; need to promote public awareness and understanding concerning the nutritional and health benefits of farmed aquatic food products and by so doing encouraging increased consumption of aquaculture products (Tacon et al. 2020); and need to promote public awareness and understanding concerning resource-use efficiency, nutrient retention efficiency, and environment/climate change impacts of different cultured fed-fish and shrimp species production compared to other terrestrial animal food production systems from feed to consumed product.

Concluding remarks With the total global production of major fed-aquaculture species reaching a new high of 45.41 million tons in 2018 and compound feed consumption estimated at 52.74 million tons (Figure 1, Table 1), fed-species aquaculture production is expected to grow by 58.96 million tons by 2025 (Tacon 2020). However, to achieve this growth the aquafeed industry has to grow at an average rate of 7.7% per year (Figure 2), including the supply of feed ingredient inputs. However, in the case of fishmeal and fish oil, the aquafeed industry has successfully learned how to reduce its

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reliance upon these two limited natural commodities. For example, the average fishmeal and fish oil content of Norwegian salmon feeds have fallen over a 30 years from a high of 65% and 24% in 1990 to a low of 13% and 11% in 2019, respectively. The decreased dependency of the aquafeed manufacturing sector in Norway upon fishmeal and fish oil has been due to the increased use of terrestrial vegetable and animal protein and lipid sources, and dietary supplementation with limiting essential amino acids, fatty acids, and trace minerals.

Notwithstanding the dependency upon marine feed resources (and in particular fish oil), the salmonid aquaculture sector has received considerable negative media attention in several European and North/South American countries, primarily due to its perceived negative environmental impacts. In marked contrast, in the Asian region, where the bulk of aquaculture production is currently realized (91.76% of total global aquaculture production in 2018), aquaculture is viewed in a much more positive light, not only as a much-needed

supplier and provider of high quality affordable aquatic food products but also in terms of employment opportunities, and increased income, health and well-being of rural inland, and coastal communities. Aquaculture needs to be viewed holistically, and the social and economic impacts and benefits of the aquaculture sector also be considered in the overall assessment of the long-term sustainability of the sector for future generations. Careful management of this sector is a key feature of a sustainable future. In conclusion, a sustainable food system (SFS) is a food system that delivers food security and nutrition for all in such a way that the economic, social, and environmental bases to generate food supply and nutrition for future generations are not compromised, and that it is profitable throughout (economic sustainability), has broad-based benefits for society (social sustainability), and also has a positive or neutral impact on the natural environment (FAO 2014, 2018). Moreover, given the complexity of food production systems (including aquaculture food production systems) it is clear that a more holistic and coordinated response is required to generate positive value along the three dimensions of economic impacts, social impacts, and environmental impacts, simultaneously (Figure 3; FAO 2018).

This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “FUTURE FEEDS: SUGGESTED GUIDELINES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT” developed by AL‑ BERT G. J. TACON - Aquahana LLC, Kailua, Hawaii, USA; MARC METIAN - Principality of Monaco, International Atomic Energy Agency, Monaco; AARON A. MCNEVIN World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA. The original article was published in REVIEWS IN FISHERIES SCIENCE & AQUACULTURE, in DECEMBER 2021. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link https://doi.org/10.1080/23308249.2020.1860474

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Microbial Growth in Shrimp Ponds as Influenced by Monosilicic and Polysilicic Acids By: Aquaculture Magazine *

hrimp farming production is one of the fastest-growing segments of world agriculture. Its management should be based on a systems approach including the application of different materials to provide high productivity and quality and minimize the negative impact on the environment. To develop an efficient management strategy, an understanding of the factors that maintain and control shrimp production is required. The microbial community plays a significant role in providing additional feed, enhancing nutrient utilization efficiency, reducing anoxic conditions, and minimizing environmental impacts in the aquaculture system. Over the last decade, Silicon (Si) has been recognized as an essential trace element in the metabolism of higher plants and animals. In-plant biology and agriculture, Si has been declared a beneficial element being particularly important for the immune system induction in response to abiotic and biotic stresses. Improved Si nutrition has a multi-effect on plant growth and cell functioning. Also, Silicon-mediated impacts like sugar formation, DNA stability, and transport regulation have been reported as a result of Si addition in some studies. Si is commonly presented in natural water in several forms such as monosilicic acid, polysilicic acid, and organo-silicon compounds. However, plants uptake Si only in the form of monosilicic acid. In the aquatic system, Si is recognized as a key nutrient for diatoms and some sponges. The predominance of 54 »

In the aquaculture system, the microbial community plays a significant role in providing additional feed, enhancing nutrient utilization efficiency, reducing anoxic conditions, and minimizing environmental impacts. Several forms of Silicon (Si) are commonly presented in natural water as monosilicic acid and polysilicic acid. This research aimed to evaluate the concentrations of those acids in shrimp ponds and to determine the effect on microbial growth in both pond water and probiotic solution.

diatoms in shrimp ponds is highly desired because their nutritional properties. In the presence of diatoms, the biochemical composition of shrimp is characterized by higher proteins, lipids, essential amino acids, and unsaturated fatty acids. In addition, Silicon fertilization is a common approach to encourage diatom growth. Among the serious problems faced by shrimp farming are infectious diseases and environmental deteriora-

tion. Probiotics are successfully used to overcome these challenges. Probiotics improve growth performance, stimulate immune responses, enhance the disease resistance of shrimp, inhibit the growth of pathogens as well as improve water quality parameters. Probiotics usually include different bacteria, bacteriophages, microalgae, and yeast species. However, information about the effect of Si on the metabolism of microorganisms other

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To develop an efficient management strategy, an understanding of the factors that maintain and control shrimp production is required. In this matter, the microbial community plays a significant role in providing additional feed, enhancing nutrient utilization efficiency, reducing anoxic conditions, and minimizing environmental impacts in the aquaculture system.

than diatoms and their impact on their growth is extremely scarce. Knowledge about the relationship between Si application rates and mono- and polysilicic acid concentrations in pond water, how fast Si disappears from water as well as the relationship between mono- and polysilicic acid concentrations and microbial growth is critical to manage the microbial community. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the concentrations of monosilicic and polysilicic acids in shrimp ponds and to determine the effect of monosilicic acid on microbial growth in pond water and a probiotic solution.

Water was collected from 6 ponds, and a canal supplied water to the ponds. The shrimps were 1 month old. Samples were collected in triplicate in 100 mL plastic bottles early in the morning and were immediately transported to a laboratory to determine monosilicic acid, polysilicic acid, pH, and microbial cell abundance. The concentration of monosilicic acid was determined using the modified molybdenum blue method with a spectrophotometer V5800 XZBELEC (China). This method tests Si only in the form of monosilicic acid, without interference from phosphorus. To analyze polysilicic acid, 2 g of NaOH was added to 20 mL of centrifuged water and kept in a refrigerator at + 4°C for 2 weeks. During this time all polymers of silicic acid are transformed into monomers. After that monosilicic acid was determined as described above. The concentration of polysilicic acid was calculated.

Microbial abundance (cells mL− 1) was estimated on the day of sampling by binocular biological microscope according to the method proposed by Newell and Newell (2006). The same method was used to calculate the cell density in the laboratory experiment.

Laboratory experiment A laboratory experiment was conducted with collected farm water summarized samples and 3 commercial probiotics used in shrimp farming: dry probiotics “Ecopro” and “Ecopro Cold” (Ecomicrobial Co, USA) and liquid probiotic “HeJunMei” (Jiangsu Aijiafuru Soil Remediation Co, China). In dry and liquid probiotics, the amounts of bacteria and yeast spores were no less than 1x1012 and 1x1010cells kg- 1, respectively. To activate dry probiotics, 1 g of probiotic was mixed with 1 L of sterilized distilled water (DW) and kept at + 24°C for 24 h. The liquid probiotic was

Materials and Methods Field tests Water samples were collected on 3 shrimp farms located in Jiangsu Province, China. The first farm used greenhouse-enclosed raceways for intensive shrimp production. Fresh groundwater was directly pumped into separated ponds under a greenhouse, each pond was 6x50 m in size. The shrimp’s age was 2 months. Water was sampled from a well, 6 ponds, and a small creek filled with effluents from ponds. The second shrimp farm had a system of open ponds (100 x 50 m each), filled with unsalted water from a local canal. The shrimps were 2 months old. Water was sampled from the canal and 6 ponds. The third shrimp farm took water directly from the Yellow Sea. Open ponds were 250 x 60 m each. APRIL - MAY 2022

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diluted 1:10. 1 L of the nutrient solution was prepared with K2HPO4 3.125 g; KH2PO4 3.125 g; (NH4)2HPO4 3.125 g; MgSO4.7H2O 0.25 g; FeSO4.7H2O 0.0125 g; MnSO4.7H2O 0.00875 g and sucrose 12.5 g. 80 mL of this nutrient solution was added to each flask. 10 mL of pond water collected on the day of sampling, probiotic solution, or DW was added to the flasks. Considering that Farm 3 used seawater, NaCl (35 g L-1) was added to the flasks with pond water from Farm 3. Then 10 mL of DW or monosilicic acid solution at 10 and 20 mM Si was added to reach the Si concentrations of 0, 1 and, 2 mM. Monosilicic acid solutions were prepared from concentrated monosilicic acid. The pH in each flask was adjusted to 7 by adding 0.1 M HCl or 0.1 M NaCl. Flasks were kept in a climatic chamber at 24 ± 1°C. The light/night regime was 12/12 hours with a light intensity of 600 µmol photons M-2 s-1. Flasks

were aerated twice a day for 1 h (morning and evening). After 3 days, the concentration of monosilicic acid and the density of microorganisms were determined using the method described above. Each treatment and each analysis were conducted in triplicate.

Results The pH, concentration of mono- and poly-silicic acids, and density of microorganisms in tested solutions are presented in Table 1.

In the aquatic system, Silicon is recognized as a key nutrient for diatoms and some sponges. The predominance of diatoms in shrimp ponds is highly desired because of their nutritional properties. Monosilicic acid in water supplied to shrimp ponds differed greatly among farms, from 49.3 to 517.0 µM Si, with a higher value in fresh underground water (Farm 1) and a minimum value in coastal seawater (Farm 3). Although the maximum polysilicic acid also was in the fresh underground water, its proportion increased: Farm 1 < Farm 2 < Farm 3 and accounted for 3.1; 10.0; and 16.6 %, respectively. Water was pumped to the shrimp pond daily on all farms. In ponds, the concentrations of monosilicic acid were remarkably lower as compared with incoming water: by 26.3 times (517.0 vs 19.6 µM Si), 6.4 times (100.0 vs 15.6 µM Si), and 2.8 times (49.3 vs 17.3 µM Si), respectively on Farm 1, Farm 2, and Farm 3. The concentrations of polysilicic acid decreased as well, but not as significantly. The cell abundance in ponds of Farm 1 was higher than in others, probably due to a more intensive farming system. However, the microbial densities differed, sometimes significantly, between ponds of each

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farm. For example, on Farm 1, the cell numbers ranged between 2.4 ± 0.1 and 3.9 ± 0.2 x10 5 mL-1, while on Farm 2 and Farm 3 the cell numbers ranged from 1.1 ± 0.1 to 1.6 ± 0.2 x10 5 mL-1 and from 1.4 ± 0.2 to 2.0 ± 0.2 x10 5 mL-1, respectively. The numbers of microbial cells and soluble forms of Si in the laboratory test are presented in Table 2. Supplementation of monosilicic acid significantly increased the microbial density, up to 60 and 33% in pond water and probiotic solution, respectively. Over 3 days, the concentration of monosilicic acid decreased in all microorganism-containing solutions in comparison with the corresponding sterile solutions. Remarkable reductions in monosilicic acid were detected in all pond water samples, whereas probiotic solutions demonstrated much smaller changes. The process of polymerization was more intense in pond water and especially in probiotic solutions. The polysilicic acid concentration reached up to 230 ± 21 mg L-1 Si in liquid probiotic as compared to 10.5 ±0.3 mg L-1 Si in the corresponding sterile solution.

Discussion It was observed very fast reductions in pond water Si, despite daily water ex-

change. The monosilicic acid concentration decreased more than the polysilicic acid (Table 3). It is well known that higher plants take up Si only in the form of monosilicic acid. Perhaps algae, being phototrophic organisms like higher plants, have the same mode of Si uptake. With decreasing monosilicic acid, equilibrium between soluble forms of Si shifts, resulting in acceleration of depolymerization, which is typical for the systems with low concentrations of monosilicic acid, in turn leading to decreasing polysilicic acid. The correlation coefficients between soluble forms of Si and cell abundance evidence that the number of microorganisms in ponds correlates positively with monosilicic acid (R = 0.80–0.84) (Table 4). There was no correlation between cell abundance and polysilicic acid. Therefore, unlike polysilicic acid, monosilicic acid is an essential factor in the regulation of microbial growth in shrimp ponds. The laboratory experiment has shown that monosilicic acid affected beneficially microbial populations in pond water and probiotics solution (Table 5). In pond water, Si may be consumed mainly by different algae species, including diatoms. The tested probiotics contained only bacteria having less need for Si, though additional Si benefitted their growth as well. The increase in polysilicic acid with the addition of monosilicic acid could be the result of polymerization (Table 5). The formation of polymers was higher in probiotic solutions. Although the significance of this process in shrimp cultivation is unknown, some

researchers concluded that Si polymers generally possess high adsorption properties to organic and inorganic molecules. Thus, new-formed silicagel may adsorb organic compounds and nutrients promoting the attraction of microorganisms and floc formation. This hypothesis requires further confirmation. With decreasing the Si concentration, other phytoplanktonic algae that do not need so much Si can replace diatoms (Boyd, 2014). Among undesirable algae species, blue-green algae are of particular concern. Blooms of blue-green algae cause a lack of dissolved oxygen, off-flavors problems, and toxin formation, thus deteriorating water quality and declining shrimp productivity (Jescovitch et al., 2018). The abundance of silicic acid is an essential requirement to achieve desirable diatom domination in algal communities. However, no systematic studies have been conducted showing the Si limitation and influence of its addition on shrimp production.

Conclusion The obtained data have demonstrated that all tested shrimp ponds were characterized by extremely low concentrations of monosilicic acid, while the supply waters originally were high in DSi. Monosilicic acid applied to shrimp pond water or probiotic solution significantly increased the microbial cell abundance. It is important to distinguish between monomeric and polymeric forms of DSi because these substances affect the microbial population in aquaculture in different ways. Also, this research demonstrates the importance of systematic studies related to the functions of Si in shrimp aquaculture. This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “ MICROBIAL GROWTH IN SHRIMP PONDS AS INFLUENCED BY MONOSILICIC AND POLYSILICIC ACIDS” developed by RUIPING ZHANG–Beijing Plum Agrochemicals; ELENA BOCHARNIKOVA - Institute Basic Biological Problems RAS; VLADIMIR MATICHENKOV Institute Basic Biological Problems RAS. The original article was published in RESEARCH SQUARE, in September 2021. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-908767/v1

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Exploring the relationship between production intensity and land use:

A meta-analytic approach

with shrimp aquaculture By: Aquaculture Magazine *

Shrimps are one of the fastest-growing commodities in aquaculture and have a considerable land footprint. Their production exists on a continuum from “extensive” to “intensive”. Here is an exploration of the impact of utilizing different production methods: extensive vs intensive for expanding shrimp production on the cumulative land footprint of shrimp aquaculture through a meta-analytic approach that modeled different scenarios of production expansion.

ood production accounts for a substantial portion of humankind’s land footprint. Studies showed that land use is a point of contention in aquaculture and environmental concern because of the impact shrimp and fish culture have had on the coastal areas in Southeast Asia and Latin America. A recent estimate by Boyd and McNevin (2018) revealed that there are approximately 2.3 million hectares of shrimp ponds globally. Aquaculture production exists on a continuum from “extensive” to “intensive”. These systems rely on natural productivity and have limited to no

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feed use. Systems can be described as intensive when the production relies on formulated feeds and aeration to increase production intensity (i.e., the amount produced per a given area). In terms of resource use, extensive systems are often thought to use fewer resources than intensive production due to the low input nature of the production methods. However, there is a great disparity between the land footprint of extensive systems and intensive systems and their output in terms of production. There are several factors beyond the production intensity that determine how land-intensive shrimp

farms are. Shrimp farms require more land than just the ponds, and this is a function of pond size to some extent. Altogether, the land used at the farm for shrimp farming is considered “direct” land use. In intensive systems where pelleted feeds are used, the land footprint also includes embodied land, which is the land accounted for during the production of ingredients in the feed. Here is presented a summary of a research that explores different land use scenarios to understand the impact of production systems on land use in shrimp, and to utilize data in the published literature from major and minor shrimp producing countries.

Methods

Data collection A systemic search was performed to collect published studies related to resource use in shrimp aquaculture. An information science professional was consulted in constructing the search APRIL - MAY 2022

terms for the database queries. A special criterion was set up to include the investigations, and three unpublished datasets were included in addition to sources identified during the systematic review. The Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s farm audits were scraped for the variables of interest to generate a dataset. A dataset including farms in Vietnam, Ecuador, and India using surveys similar to Boyd et al. (2018) collected in 2019–2020 by the World Wildlife Fund and a dataset from Indonesia collected by the Moore Foundation in 2017 was included.

Four scenarios were considered at each production threshold. For all scenarios, the production intensity from extensive systems was assumed to be the same as calculated in Boyd and McNevin (2018), 0.667 t/ha. First, a business-as-usual (BAU) projection was constructed (Scenario I). Here, the ratio of production between extensive and intensive production was maintained (about 87% intensive and 13% extensive), and the production intensity of intensive production was maintained at the same level as presented in Boyd and McNevin (2018). The total land use/metric ton was ascertained using model 1. and embodied land was calculated using model 2 (Boyd and McNevin, 2018). The farm area was considered the product of the result of model 1 and model 2 and the embodied land was considered to be the difference between the resulting product and the result of model 1. The next scenario (Scenario II) utilized only extensive production to expand production totals. The same amount of intensive production in the baseline scenario was maintained and the difference in production was met with extensive production. Thus, extensive land was increased to meet production goals. This scenario is not as likely as the BAU scenario or scenarios that follow but demonstrates well the impact of increasing the use of extensive production for meeting future demand in shrimp production. Scenario III estimated land use

The move towards a more intensive shrimp production supply chain would allow for flexibility in retailers and producers that are aiming to improve their “sustainability”. When a majority of the land footprint is in the feed ingredients as is the case in intensive production, buyers could actively choose where their land footprint is.

with the expansion in production with intensive production only, but at the same production intensity as the baseline scenario. This scenario was meant explore to the increase in the land while maintaining current industry practices while limiting the expansion of extensive production. The final scenario (Scenario IV) examined land use under a scenario where farmland for shrimp farms was not increased. The extensive production, and therefore land totals, was maintained at the baseline levels, and the farm area for shrimp ponds was not increased from the estimate in the baseline scenario. Model 1 was then used to calculate the total land footprint and the embodied land was considered the

Land use scenarios Land use was considered at three production levels. The first level would be the 2016 totals consistent with the global production of farm shrimp (Boyd and McNevin, 2018), which is about 4.875 million metric tons. Additionally, two future production levels, 7.5 million t, and 10 million t were considered. APRIL - MAY 2022

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difference. Once total land burdens were calculated, the net difference between each of the three scenarios and business-as-usual projections were calculated. Results The total number of records screened by title and abstract was 1682, of which 62 were accessed via full text. There were 29 records assessed via full text that was found to be suitable for inclusion in this study. A summary table of the studies included in this analysis is presented in Table 1. In total, 973 farms that were split into 22 datasets were included in this study representing 7 countries ranging in years from 2007 to 2020. The summary data for select farm characteristics can be seen in Table 2. The largest farms were found in the Americas, with the average farm size in Ecuador being 300 ha and the average farm size in Honduras being 1156 ha. The smallest farms were in China. The mean production intensities observed in the data varied greatly, however lowest values for vannamei were in Ecuador and Honduras, while Indian monodon had the lowest value overall. The meta-analytic regressions, referred to as the ‘global models’, resulting from the meta-analysis are presented in Table 3. Model one is on an ln-ln scale, which leads to an easy understanding of the slope. In this case, a 10% increase in production intensity will decrease the total land burden by 3.8%. The relationship between land use and production intensity is modeled in Figure 1. Model 2 shows that there is a decrease in land burden at the farm site proportionally as the production intensity increases. In each case, the Q statistic for heterogeneity was significant, which suggests there is variation across studies as well as within studies. Model 3 was used to calibrate the average production 60 »

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intensities needed to obtain production targets in Scenario IV of future land use. The current land use (embodied and direct) in shrimp aquaculture was estimated with the models generated herein to be about 3.9 million ha. The results of scenarios to meet future production demands are found in Table 4. The business as usual (BAU) scenario (scenario I) resulted in a ~2.1 million ha increase in land footprint when the production increased to 7.5 million t, and ~4.0 million ha when production is increased to 10 million t. The extensive production (Scenario II) resulted in net increases in land use (~1.9 and 3.7 million ha, respectively) when compared to the BAU scenario, and intensive expansions resulted in net land savings in both the “intensive only” and “no farm expansion” scenario (Scenario III and Scenario IV, respectively) (Figure 2). In the “no farm expansion” scenario (Scenario IV), production intensities increased from 3.67 t/ha pond area as the baseline to 5.76 t/ha pond area at 7.5 million t and 7.94 t/ha pond area at 10 million t of production. Discussion The model results from the metaanalysis showed that on average, total land use decreases by 3.8% for every 10% increase in production intensity. This is the first attempt to report land burdens in this fashion.

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The assessment of land use favors the expansion or intensification of intensive aquaculture operations in terms of saving land, which could be subsequently conserved. The production intensities reached in the “no farm conversion” scenario (Scenario IV), 5.76 and 7.94 t/ha pond area for 7.5 million metric tons of production and 10 million metric tons respectively, are not unreasonably high levels such that they are unattainable by farmers in a practical sense. Additionally, these values represent the average intensity to meet these targets, and therefore not all farmers would need to operate at these levels, as many are likely technically or practically limited below these thresholds. The average value estimates serve as an attempt to calculate land use, not a definitive value. However, because feed companies are not willing to share their feed formulations for traceability

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and resource use assessments, an industry-wide average based on published diets is the closest approximation available. In all scenarios present, no conversion of extensive to intensive farms is considered. Reducing the area of extensive farms would, at current levels, have a great impact on land conversion in shrimp aquaculture. The issue of land use is extensively studied in protein produc-

tion. On a per-ton basis, the average land use for shrimp estimated in this study (calculated from the data presented in Table 4) ranged from 0.57 to 1.16 ha/t, based on the various scenarios presented. The land use for intensive shrimp farms in the various scenarios was less than the overall averages in the scenarios and ranged from 0.51 to 0.68 t/ha. While this study was limited by the data available, there are shrimp

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farms that operate processing plants within the grounds, especially in Latin America. Hatcheries and processing facilities often have relatively small land footprints compared to ponds, and it would likely be relatively inconsequential to the analysis of this study. The results here support land sparing, especially if the goal is to protect high-value areas like mangroves and coastal land, which will be important in both stymieing the impacts of climate change. Land use is a result of government policy, especially in mangroves, and therefore any changes to current patterns in land sparing and land sharing are likely going to result in shifts from governmental focus and not individual shrimp farmers changing practices. The move towards a more intensive shrimp production supply chain would allow for flexibility in retailers and producers that are aiming to improve their “sustainability”. When a majority of the land footprint is in the feed ingredients as is the case in intensive production, buyers APRIL - MAY 2022

could actively choose where their land footprint is. Almost the entire land footprint of extensive farming is in the coastal area, and therefore mitigation is not possible or feasible without ceasing operations in those areas, which is less flexible. Additionally, future growth in shrimp aquaculture could come at the expense of mangrove areas in places like Africa where there is relatively little aquaculture, but growth is expected. This study shows that minimizing the expansion of extensive production could mitigate losses to mangroves in those areas.

Conclusions In conclusion, the results of this assessment of land use utilizing metaanalysis demonstrate that land use at set production targets is decreased by increasing production intensity, and the land footprint of shrimp farming is displaced from the farms to the embodied land used captured in feed ingredients to produce the feeds as production intensity increases. This study only examined shrimp aquaculture; however, the

principles of this study could be applied to any species grown under what would be described as intensive conditions, especially in ponds where the culture system is similar to shrimp, and enough data likely exists in the published literature to compare across species in this framework (e.g., tilapia or catfish).

This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRODUCTION INTENSITY AND LAND USE: A METAANALYTIC APPROACH WITH SHRIMP AQUACULTURE” de‑ veloped by ROBERT DAVIS - Auburn University, School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, USA; ASH ABEBE - Auburn University, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, USA; CLAUDE BOYD - Auburn University, School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, USA; AARON MCNEVIN- The World Wildlife Fund, District of Columbia, USA. The original article was published in Elsevier Journal of Environmental Management in September 2021. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113719

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Exploring the multimodal role of Yucca schidigera extract in protection against chronic ammonia exposure targeting:

growth, metabolic, stress, and inflammatory responses in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus l.) Ammonia is a problematic environmental toxicant for aquatic species. Research results indicate how Yucca schidigera extract (YSE) alleviated the adverse impacts induced by ammonia intoxication in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) through its effects on growth performance, hemato-biochemical and antioxidant-related parameters, and histopathological changes. In this sense, YSE could be used as a functional water supplement in aquaculture.

By: Aquaculture Magazine *

ncreased demand for fish as a food source is a consequence of pervasive population growth. Fish farming is an ideal potential means of facing the high food and nutrition demands of human beings. However, the intensification of aquaculture in turn causes water pollution, which is consistently related to increased levels of ammonia, and

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represents about 70% of nitrogenous fish wastes (Boyd, et.al., 2018, De Leão, et al., 2009). Ammonia induces oxidative stress via the overproduction of ROS (reactive oxygen species), which deteriorates important biomolecules, such as DNA, proteins, lipids, and initiates a cascade of events that causes impairment of cellular functions; among other effects.

There is an urgent need to control aquaculture’s nitrogenous waste deleterious effects to maintain water quality, survivability, and “clean” production systems. Medicinal plants represent an immense source of bioactive constituents that can increase fish performance, antioxidant potential, and immune responses, in addition to alleviating stress conditions. APRIL - MAY 2022

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Numerous studies documented that Yucca schidigera extract (YSE) has antioxidant, growth-promoting, antiinflammatory, immune-stimulatory, and anti-carcinogenic effects in many species such as chickens, Japanese quail, and rabbits. YSE can regulate energy metabolism and hormonal activity in animals. Nile tilapia (O. niloticus L.) is an important cultured aquaculture species throughout the world that could be used as a suitable model for studying nutrition and metabolism not only because of its rapid growth and high resistance to diseases and toxic stress but also due to the availability of its whole genomic information. This species also has well-developed digestive and metabolic organs, including liver, muscle, and adipose tissues. To date, little is known about the YSE’s molecular modulatory mechanism against ammonia stress concerning tilapia growth, energy mobilization, and inflammatory response. Hence, this investigation aimed to declare YSE modulatory effect (s) against chronic ammonia intoxication in Nile Tilapia.

Materials and Methods A total of 120 healthy male monosex Nile tilapia (O. niloticus) were collected from a private farm “El-Behaira Governorate, Egypt”, with an average body weight of 42.22 ± 1.25 (mean ± SD) initial weight and transported to the Faculty of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt. Before the experiment, the fish were acclimated for two weeks. The fish were then divided into four groups (30 fish per group) in 12 glass aquaria, ten fish per glass aquarium (70 × 40 × 60 cm), and the fish were randomly distributed into four groups. The first group was kept as a normal control group, the second group exposed to ammonia from the beginning of the experiment for four weeks, the third group was supplied with YSE and exposed to ammonia for four weeks and the fourth group supplied with YSE in water at a dose 66 »

of 8 mg/L water every two days. The experimental design is described in Figure 1. The fish were fed a basal diet prepared according to National Research Council (NRC) (Table 1) that was supplied twice daily (09:00 am and 03:00 pm). YSE (3% saponins, obtained from ANOVA Pharm Company, Tanta, Egypt) was supplied in water at 8 mg/L every two days. The chemical constituents of the basal diet were confirmed following the standard methods. All the fish were weighed at the beginning of the experiment and every week until the end of the experiment (4 weeks) to readjust the feed intake and visually monitor the fish’s health status. The wastes were siphoned daily from all

aquaria, and water was exchanged with de-chlorinated water, except for the ammonia groups. Different water parameters were measured on a daily basis throughout the experiment’s duration, including dissolved oxygen (DO), ammonia, water temperature, and pH, in all experimental groups. Different measures and tests were performed i) Blood Sampling, Hematological and Serum Biochemical Analysis, ii) Evaluation of Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Enzymes, iii) Histopathology Study, and iv) Total RNA Extraction, cDNA Synthesis, and RealTime Quantitative PCR Assay. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the one-way ANOVA test followed by Tukey’s post

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hoc test to determine the difference between the mean values of the different groups. All statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad PRISM software (Version 8.0.2, La Jolla, CA, USA), p-value < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistically significant differences. All data were expressed as Means ± SEM.

Results

Water Quality Table 2 shows the results for the measurement of parameters of the water quality including the water temperature, pH, DO (dissolved oxygen), TAN (total ammonia nitrogen) and UIA (unionized ammonia), which did not differ among the control group and the YSE-supplied group (p > 0.05). Moreover, the pH and the levels of TAN, and UIA were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in the fish group exposed to elevated ammonia levels when compared to the control group. However, YSE supplementation significantly reduced (p < 0.05) pH, TAN, and UIA levels compared to the fish group exposed to high ammonia levels.Insertar aqui Table 2.

Growth Performance Figure 2 portrays the growth performance of the examined fish groups. The FBW, BWG, and SGR were not significantly changed in the fish group supplied with YSE compared to the control group (p > 0.05). However, compared to the control group, fish exposed only to high ammonia levels showed significantly lowered FBW (final body weight), BWG (body weight gain) SGR (specific growth rate), and higher FCR (feed conversion ratio). Conversely, supplying YSE to ammonia-intoxicated fish successfully enhanced FBW, BWG, and SGR and significantly lowered FCR in comparison to the fish group exposed only to high ammonia levels.

Leukogram and Serum Biochemical Findings Table 3 represents the effects of high levels of ammonia and/or the ameliorating role of YSE in terms of leukogram findings and serum biochemical analysis. The second fish group, exposed to high ammonia levels, exhibited signs of stress leukogram, which were represented by a significant (p < 0.05) increase in WBCs, heterophil, and monocyte counts, with a decline in lymphocyte and eosinophil counts, compared to the normal control group. However, YSE administration to ammonia-intoxicated fish restored the values of the stress leukogram to normal reference levels compared to the second fish group, which was intoxicated by high ammonia levels, where no changes occurred.

Ammonia is a critical hazardous nitrogen metabolic product in aquaculture. Despite trials for its control, ammonia intoxication remains one of the most critical issues to overcome.

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Moreover, ammonia intoxication significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased the values of serum hepatic biomarkers ALT, AST, and LDH enzyme activities, and renal injury markers such as BUN with increased glucose levels, while declines occurred in serum parameters such as total proteins (TP), albumin, TC, TG, HDL-C, and VLDL-C, amylase and lipase. Conversely, YSE resulted in an effective improvement according to the measurement of ammonia-altered hepatorenal injury markers. Notably, there were no significant alterations in serum biomarkers in fish supplied with YSE alone when compared to the control fish group, indicating the safety of YSE at the selected dose used in the current study. Hepatic Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Biomarkers Figure 3 elucidates the impacts of the elevated ammonia level as well as the beneficial effects of YSE on the elucidation of hepatic lipid peroxidation and antioxidant parameters. The fish group exposed to high ammonia levels revealed a significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in hepatic MDA level with a significant (p ≤ 0.05) depletion of hepatic GPx, SOD enzyme activities and GSH contents compared with the control fish group. However, the findings of ammonia-intoxicated fish additionally supplied with YSE were opposed to the findings for the ammonia-intoxicated group, in which there was an inhibition of hepatic MDA content, and an enhancement of SOD, GPx enzyme activities, and GSH levels.Insertar aquí Figure 3.

ters (MMC) in which macrophage aggregates contain distinctive groupings of pigment-secreting cells within the tissues of heterothermic vertebrates were markedly depleted in the ammonia-intoxicated group (Figure 4F). On the other hand, YSE treatment to ammonia-intoxicated fish had improved the MMC (Figure 4G). Moreover, brain sections in the second group showed a wide area of malacia associated with marked gliosis (Figure 4J). However, the administration of YSE to ammonia-intoxicated fish resulted in tiny foci of malacia with a marked decrease in gliosis (Figure 4K). Additionally, an elevated am-

monia level induced severe loss of secondary lamellae with marked infiltration of inflammatory cells (Figure 4O), while YSE treatment resulted in a marked decrease in the adhesion between the secondary lamellae (Figure 4N). Relative Gene Expression of Appetite- and Growth-Related Genes Figure 5 represents the effects of high ammonia levels and/or YSE on the relative mRNA levels of the brain NPY, liver IGF-1, MSTN, and brain MSTN. Compared with the control group, the second fish group, which was intoxicated by ammonia, had

Histopathological Observations Figure 4 shows that ammonia intoxication induced marked degenerative and necrotic changes within the hepatopancreas (P) with a moderate degree of hepatic vacuolation (Figure 4B). However, YSE treatment markedly improved pathological changes in the hepatopancreas that were induced by high ammonia levels (Figure 4C). Moreover, melanomacrophage cen68 »

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er expression levels of brain NPY (Figure 5A1, A2) and hepatic IGF1 (Figure 5B1, B2) with a decreased expression of liver MSTN (Figure 5C1, C2) after two and four weeks, and brain MSTN (Figure 5D2) after four weeks, compared with the chronically intoxicated ammonia group.

reduced levels of both brain NPY (Figure 5A1, A2) and hepatic IGF1 (Figure 5B1, B2) after two and four weeks, respectively, and brain MSTN after two weeks only (Figure 5D1), and elevated MSTN gene expres-

sion levels were found in both the liver (Figure 5C1, C2) and the brain (Figure 5D2) after four weeks. On the other hand, the fish group supplied with YSE and intoxicated with ammonia (3rd group) exhibited high-

Conclusion The results provided a novel perspective on the multiple interacting mechanisms through which YSE may exert its protective role against chronic ammonia toxicity. These findings affirmed the growth-enhancing effects of YSE via the sustained enhancement of food intake, the elevation of IGF-1, the suppression of hepatic and brain MTSN expression levels, and the restoration of carbohydrate and lipid reserves, mediated through alterations in the levels of circulating metabolites. YSE alleviated the adverse impacts induced by ammonia intoxication through its ability to scavenge free radicals, potent antioxidant activities, and anti-inflammatory properties. YSE supplementation was beneficial for both health and growth in Nile tilapia, and it could be used as a functional water supplement in aquaculture.

This informative version of the original article is sponsored by:

This is a summarized version developed by the editorial team of Aquaculture Magazine based on the review article titled “EXPLORING THE MULTIMODAL ROLE OF YUCCA SCHIDIGERA EXTRACT IN PROTECTION AGAINST CHRONIC AMMONIA EXPOSURE TARGETING: GROWTH, METABOLIC, STRESS AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES IN NILE TILAPIA (OREOCHROMIS NILOTICUS L.)” developed by ZIZY I. ELBIALY - Kafrelsheikh University; ABDALLAH S. SALAH - Kafrelsheikh University; AHMED ELSHESHTAWY - Kafrelsheikh University and University of Stirling ; MERNA RIZK - Kafrelsheikh University; MUYASSAR H. ABUALREESH - King AbdulAziz University; MOHAMED M. ABDEL-DAIM - King Saud University and Suez Canal University; SHIMAA M. R. SALEM - Mansoura University; AHMAD EL ASKARY - Taif University; and DOAA H. ASSAR - Kafrelsheikh University. The original article was published in Animals, in July 2021. The full version can be accessed freely online through this link https://doi.org/10.3390/ ani11072072

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Aquaculture Magazine talks with Sylvia Wulf, AquaBounty CEO,

about the consolidation of the production and commercialization of GMO salmon By: Aquaculture Magazine *

Aquabounty, the world leader in innovative land-based farms and genetic engineering, is taking on the challenge of growing salmon using genetic biotechnology, but also with a recirculating system for indoor aquaculture. They are building a new facility to achieve tons of sustainable production to meet the rapidly growing global demand for high-quality seafood.

Sylvia Wulf, CEO of AquaBounty.

urrently, AquaBounty operates two facilities, a small 250-ton farm in Canada and a 1,200 ton farm in Indiana. Plans are underway to build a 10,000 ton farm in Ohio. The company’s experience in farming mature salmon in Canada over the past 25 years provides it with data for planning the 10,000 ton farm. The two smaller farms are an important opportunity to identify 70 »

the right operating components and help shape the Ohio project. “With the smaller-scale farm, it is possible to see the points to optimize in the design of the larger farm and identify what is working and what could be better in Indiana. The operating experience of the two farms has given us the preparation needed to design the right RAS system in Ohio and provides insight into standard operating procedures, work instructions, and training”, said Sylvia Wulf, CEO of AquaBounty, in an exclusive interview with Aquaculture Magazine. AquaBounty is working closely with the US-based team at Innovasea, the company that will supply the recirculating aquaculture system technology (RAS) for its new 10,000 ton on-land farm. Other technical experts are helping to design the process control, feeding system, fish management, and transfer, and finding collaborative partners at each step to help design and successfully operate the Ohio farm.

The goal is to launch Ohio in the summer of 2023. Eggs are expected to be fed into the system by the fourth quarter of 2023. Harvesting is expected to begin in 2025, with full capacity reached in 2026. Once the design and strict site selection criteria are established, it is estimated that it will be

“In land-based aquaculture, climate and ocean conditions are no longer factors. In this context, designing a feed that behaves appropriately in the environment is something that the big players in animal feed see as an opportunity”, said Sylvia Wulf.

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“AquaBounty has 25 years of experience in this area, evaluating different operational challenges in conjunction with the University of Maryland Department of Marine Biotechnology and working with feed manufacturers such as Nutreco and Skretting.”

possible to begin the construction of a new farm every 12 months. So far, options such as Israel, Brazil, and China have been considered. Growing demand, coupled with genetic engineering, is increasingly welcomed. With the climatic advantage on its side, the project offers a fish that grows faster and uses fewer resources, providing more food safely and sustainably. In addition, the impact of COVID-19 has driven the use of biotechnology to rapidly develop vaccines, showing consumers a way to accelerate nature that, applied to aquaculture, delivers healthier and more nutritious proteins with less resource use. Effectively communicating this message, combined with an affordable, great-tasting product, ensures good uptake in the marketplace. With rapidly growing demand and limited supply, all the major competitors in the market must work to succeed. While the big players in the salmon industry have experience APRIL - MAY 2022

operating RAS with juvenile salmon until the smolts enter the net pens, they do not have experience raising mature salmon. AquaBounty has 25 years of experience in this area, evaluating different operational challenges in conjunction with the University of Maryland Department of Marine Biotechnology and working with feed manufacturers such as Nutreco and Skretting. They can monitor the impact of the feed in a RAS system and everything related to evaluating fish behavior and biofiltration to ensure the feed is working in the system and promoting salmon growth rates. “In land-based aquaculture, climate and ocean conditions are no longer factors. In this context, designing a feed that behaves appropriately in the environment is something that the big players in animal feed see as an opportunity”, said Sylvia Wulf. AquaBounty focuses on two main areas: farming in a land-based aqua-

culture environment and biotechnology, which includes the ability to perform genetic engineering, gene editing, and selective breeding. This is a core competency where other species that may or may not need genetic modification are studied by the AquaBounty team to understand the necessary breeding programs and how to operate these programs in a RAS system. Shrimp, for example, is the most widely consumed seafood in the world. The challenges it presents also represent an opportunity, leading the company to re-evaluate technologies for shrimp farm design and construction. A year ago, AquaBounty began establishing baseline data and calculating the carbon footprint of its current operations to measure its effectiveness in this area. The goal is to show consumers where it stands, what the target is, and when it can be achieved, based on data collection and analysis that enables informed decision-making. » 71

CARPE DIEM

And finally,

WAS IN MERIDA! by Antonio Garza de Yta, Ph.D. President, World Aquaculture Society (WAS)

After long waiting for a rescheduling and many fears faced, the World Aquaculture Conference WA2021 will finally take place in Merida, from May 24 to 27, 2022. I do not think I can put into words what this event means... Personally, it is the culmination of more than 20 years of a personal journey in the World Aquaculture Society, handed over the presidency in my country in an unbeatable setting... However, the remarkable fact is what this event means for Mexico.

fter long waiting for a rescheduling and many fears faced, the World Aquaculture Conference WA2021 will finally take place in Merida, from May 24 to 27, 2022. I do not think I can put into words what this event personally means and what I think it represents for Mexico. It is the culmination of more than 20

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years of a personal journey in the World Aquaculture Society. During that period, I handed over the presidency in my country in an unbeatable setting, surrounded by the people I love, marking the end of a stage and the beginning of new cycles I will be sharing with you. However, the remarkable fact is what this event means for Mex-

ico, which I would describe as the opening act that will lead to 4 main events. First, it states that Mexico has the competencies to continue thinking big. Even though some actors try to suggest in many ways that we cannot, Mexicans know that we can achieve everything we propose in life through work and effort. It is possible! The consolidation of the Mexican Aquaculture Society (SOMEXACUA) is another remarkable event. After so many years, I believe that there will be an organization that represents the sector in a dignified way. The day will come when SOMEXACUA is constituted by partners who ask themselves how they can contribute to the aquaculture sector through the Society instead of only being interested in what the organization can do for them. Today, when opinions are more important than scientific facts, we must be united and defend the aquaculture sector, what we do, and our view of the world and life through collaborative work. We must pursue goals with significant impacts on future generations. We will also celebrate INAPESCA’s 60th anniversary, which I already wrote about in the previous edition. However, I do think it is still essential to highlight this point. The most important institution for fisheries and aquaculture in the country is going through times that threaten its existence, as unlikely as it might seem. Once again, this risk enhances APRIL - MAY 2022

the importance of sticking together so that we not only avoid its disappearance but we’ll also achieve its strengthening. On the other hand, within the framework of this event, we will be able to celebrate many of the Mexican aquaculture pillars. For the first time ever, the WAS-SOMEXACUA awards will be celebrated, with the aquaculture sector recognizing those who have put their sweat, effort, passion, and perseverance into building the aquaculture industry in Mexico. Four categories will be awarded: the ‘Karl Heinz Holtschmit’ award for Academic Trajectory, the ‘Eric Pedersen; award for Innovation and Development, the ‘Beatriz Eugenia Gómez Lepe’ award for Industry, and Productive Sector, and the ‘Margarita Lizárraga’ award for Governance, Dissemination, and Extension. APRIL - MAY 2022

After so many years of absence multiple awards will be presented on this unique occasion. If there is a lesson learned from this pandemic is that we have to tell people today that we love them and let them know they are remarkable, instead of waiting for better opportunities that might never come. This is precisely what highlights the importance of celebrating this event today. Once this year’s accumulated awards are delivered, we’ll return to the regular ceremony with only one annual award per category. Unfortunately, I will have to close this column with sad news this time. I was recently notified that our friend Pedro Ulloa, INAPESCA’s partner in a thousand battles, lost his fight against cancer. Pedro, a life-loving person, being expert in fishing, always knew that the industry’s future was aquaculture…

We had that discussion thousands of times, and I know we will have it again someday. Rest in peace, my good friend, and keep on with fishing wherever you are… We will miss you.

WAS President 2021 - 2022. Antonio Garza de Yta, a renowned international aquaculture professional, who holds a Masters degree and a Ph.D. in Aquaculture from the University of Auburn, USA. He is an aquaculture expert, FAO frequent consultant, as well as a specialist in strategic planning. Ex-director of Extension and International Training for the University of Auburn and creator of the Certification for Aquaculture Professionals in that academic institution.

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DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MARKETING BYTES

Improve Digital Marketing Using Web and Social Analytics You may be familiar with the saying, “you cannot manage what you don’t measure.” As with all aspects of your business, this applies to your digital marketing activities as well. To measure digital marketing performance and determine its success you must understand analytics. You need to decide whether or not you are meeting your social media, marketing, and business objectives.

By: Sarah Cornelisse*

n today’s digital landscape, there is a plethora of data and tools available to marketers. Much data accompanies or is typically readily available through the platforms you are already using. Therefore, the challenge in analyzing digital marketing performance is not in data availability but rather in the strategic gathering and use of data. Through a survey, web analytics company Hotjar was able to categorize respondents according to their approach to data utilization. The five categories that were determined are1:

Intermediate: use data to measure what is happening + determine WHY Advanced: use data to measure what is happening + determine why + make ONE-OFF data-informed changes Elite: use data to measure what

is happening + determine why + make ONGOING data-informed change. Ideally, you want to fall into the elite category, that is, using data not just to simply measure what is happening on your website and social accounts, but also to determine why and, finally,

Ignore: don’t collect or report on analytics data Basic: use data to measure WHAT is happening 1 Hotjar. (April 29, 2022). State of Web Analytics 2020.

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make ongoing adjustments to your marketing activities. But whatever category you fall into currently, your goal should be to progress to the next level. Effectively using web and social analytic data begins with revisiting the business’s overarching goals as well as specific marketing goals and objectives. Many businesses devote significant time to developing clever marketing strategies. Goals and objectives are determined, creative content is developed, and thought is given to the precise timing to post content. This should be followed by identifying the specific data that is needed to determine whether the content and timing of marketing activities are performing as intended. Finally, how will you prove to yourself and others that you are achieving the goals that have been set forth? Below is a brief overview of some of the easily accessible web and social analytic data that can be used. Web analytics is the data that report on the performance of your website, and importantly for directto-consumer businesses, the performance of your online store. Important web analytic data include: APRIL - MAY 2022

•

Number of visitors – total number of website visitors during a given time period. • Unique visitors – the number of visitors counted just once in a reporting period. For example, a visitor coming to a website multiple times would only be counted as one visitor. • Bounce rate – the ratio of total visitors to those who leave seconds after arriving. • Session duration – length of time a visitor is active on your website. • Visitor location – geographic location of web visitors • Device type – electronic device visitors are using – desktop, mobile, tablet. • Traffic source – places on the web that your visitors came from. For instance, Facebook or a search engine. • E-commerce tracking These data can help businesses understand the content that web visitors are interested in, how they navigate around the site, pages that they spend more or less time on, and more. If a business is spending money on

social marketing campaigns, for instance, understanding who visitors from the social sites are and what they do once they arrive on the website is important for assessing whether the site meets their expectations and needs. Google Analytics is the most prominent and popular web analytics tool. Website owners simply need to embed code within their web code to utilize Google Analytics data. Social media analytics is the data that reports on the performance of your social media presence(s) (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.). Initially, social media success is often based upon organic quantitative data (Table 1). However, the value of these metrics varies. For example, some of the data is often referred to as vanity metrics. Follower or subscriber, numbers and impressions are examples of vanity metrics. Preferably, there should be a focus on actionable metrics or the data that quantify actions taken by social media users – reactions, shares/retweets, link clicks, and event responses, for instance. Consider the value of 12,000 followers on a Facebook page if only a handful are engaging with your » 75

DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MARKETING BYTES

content. Rather, a smaller follower group that is highly engaged by providing feedback to posts or sharing your content with their networks can prove more valuable, and perhaps profitable for your business. Inorganic analytic data, tied to paid advertising campaigns, is vital for determining whether those campaigns are eliciting the desired responses and actions from the target audience. For example, does an ad generate a high number of clicks thereby lowering the cost per click and indicating an effective ad? Demographic information for followers (Table 1), can help determine whether you’re connecting with your targeted audience(s) and also target the timing of your posts to when followers are online. However, you should be aware that follower de-

mographic information is what those individuals complete for their profiles and may not always be accurate. Qualitative data can also be gleaned from social media. Through comments, you can assess sentiments, context, and themes. For example, are you posting content intended to be humorous yet it’s eliciting negative reactions? Or are you publishing content that resonates with your audience and is reflected through positive reactions and comments? Perhaps you can identify themes in the comments or replies. By layering qualitative data on quantitative data for your social media actions, you will better understand your audience and move into the intermediate, advanced, or elite data utilization category. Use this information to guide your future post activity.

Major social media platforms offer internal analytic information for business accounts. While there is some variation in the specific data collected and provided by each, for the most part, simple post engagement data and follower information (typically after reaching a minimum threshold number of followers for each platform) is readily available. Analytic data provided by platforms evolve as the functionality and features of those platforms evolve. Maximizing the ROI from your digital marketing comes from experimenting with the various aspects of your organic and inorganic presence. It’s best to make changes to only a few aspects and then watch the results of your analytics. Did the changes improve or detract? This is a process that could take time and should be methodical. Making too many changes at once will make it difficult, if not impossible, to determine which change had an impact on your analytics. Changes to organic aspects may take much longer to realize (weeks or months) than inorganic changes, such as new ads on Facebook (hours or days). However, following this methodical process will lead you into elite data utilization and ultimately provide the greatest benefit to your digital marketing strategy.

*Sarah Cornelisse is a Senior Extension Associate of agricultural entrepreneurship and business management at Penn State University in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education. Sarah has expertise in direct marketing, value-added dairy entrepreneurship and marketing, the use of digital and social media for agricultural farm and food business marketing, and business and marketing planning and decision making. Originally from New York State, she has a B.A in mathematics from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and M.S. degrees in Agricultural Economics and Animal Science, both from Penn State University. Correspondence email: sar243@psu.edu Editor’s note: references cited by the author within the text are available under previous request to our editorial team.

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» 77

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Is the shrimp hatchery the most important part of a successful crop? By: Ph.D Stephen G. Newman*

Recently I passed my 40-year mark working with the international aquaculture community. I have heavily focused on shrimp culture over 30 of these years as I have always had a soft spot for shrimp (eating them). The industry has changed considerably since I first became involved. In my early days, I learned from a handful of individuals many of whom were successful. I watched failures as well which were all too common and where I could, learned from these failures as well. I found myself getting quite cynical at times as what I saw repeatedly was not positive. There were many ideas about certain practices that were simply not true. Some of these have caused immeasurable harm and will continue to do so.

here are many ways to achieve success in shrimp farming. Unfortunately, there are more ways to fail. What I have learned is that there are at least four critical areas that are needed to ensure consistent success. These are: 1. Ensuring adequate levels of oxygen in all aspects of the process. 2. Managing feed in a manner that ensures animals are able to consume as much feed as they want to with little waste and little to no stress. 3. Keeping the environment clean and free of accumulated organic matter that can foul the shrimps’ gills, cause them harm from bacterial metabolites 78 »

such as hydrogen sulfide and serve as a source of food for a variety of potential and obligate pathogens. 4. Keeping broodstock free of all known pathogens and thereby keeping the PLs at least pathogen free to start. This article focuses primarily on this last point. There are a number of myths that have become dogma that ensure that holes in biosecurity are common and that they will continue to pose challenges to farmers.

Myth # 1 Low survivals in the hatchery are a good thing. The logic behind this is that the environment is putting pres-

sure on the animals in a manner that kills off the weak animals and leaves only the strongest. Survival of the fittest is what is happening. The Reality While this might seem true to many, this is simply not the case. Selection pressures that influence survivals are an important mechanism by which evolution functions. This happens in the wild, not in a hatchery tank on this small of a scale. What producers need are strong healthy pathogen free PLs able to tolerate the stresses of production. When done properly, animals will be uniform in size and APRIL - MAY 2022

the population as a whole will do well with high survival rates. Rationalizing that the animals that can survive poor hatchery practices are in some manner superior is a myth. High survival rates tell us that the animals are strong and healthy. When they die off in the tanks it does not mean that the survivors are in any way superior. What it means that they managed to avoid what was killing others.

Myth # 2 It is OK if the broodstock are carrying low levels of obligate pathogens. Obligate pathogens cause disease in healthy animals. Opportunistic APRIL - MAY 2022

pathogens cause disease in weakened animals. The idea is that low levels of pathogens prepare the animals better to tolerate the real-world conditions. The Reality Broodstock should be clean and free of all obligate pathogens. There is really only one way to ensure this. Screening of each individual animal against the array of known pathogens using RT PCR is a critical first step. It is however critical to appreciate that the absence of proof is not the proof of absence. A negative PCR test means that the test is negative not that the population is free of

the pathogen. The path to follow to ensure clean broodstock and thus, by extension, with certain caveats that the PLs will be as well requires at least three things: 1. PCR screening against all OIE pathogens and all other pathogens for which primers are available. See Myth 4 for an elaboration. 2. Holding animals in a nucleus breeding center (NBC). This, when done correctly, is a totally biosecure environment. Once animals are held in this facility no animals from outside can be brought in unless they are from another NBC. The methods for establishing an NBC are well documented although not widely used in shrimp farming. Some companies claim to have these types of facilities but usually there are holes in biosecurity. The flow of animals from an NBC can only be one way-out. The moment animals are brought in from the outside unless they are from another NBC they should no longer be considered to be pathogen free. 3. Following the history and performance of all animals that are sold. A detailed history must be generated. This is essential for ensuring that if there are animal health issues due to pathogens, whether obligate or opportunistic, that they are not such that there is any reason to believe that they originated in the broodstock. This is not always simple however and can require some detective work. In some parts of the world this is almost impossible to do. Farmers don’t know what they stocked and the only time that they know they have problems is when they harvest and at that they td onto have the resources to see what might be killing their animals. If all of these are followed the odds are good that no pathogens will be introduced into the production system as a result of carryover from the broodstock. This assumes that similar practices are being observed in the hatchery and any other system linked to a given group of animals, such as nursery tanks. » 79

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Rationalizing that the animals

that can survive poor hatchery practices are in some manner superior is a myth.

Myth # 3 Since ponds can be highly polluted, there is no need to be concerned about the water quality in the hatchery. This is closely aligned with myth #1. The Reality Degradation of water quality is a major source of stress and disease. Pathogens that would not kill healthy animals can impact animals that are weakened because of this. High levels of suspended organics can be colonized by a variety of organisms including a number of vibrios both opportunistic and obligate. Hatchery water needs to be clean. It does not need to be sterile. It does need to be controlled in a manner that ensures that no pathogens or as low of a level that is possible are present. 80 »

Myth # 4 Specific pathogen free shrimp (SPF) are resistant to diseases and are stronger in general. The Reality SPF does not mean all pathogen free (APF). In fact, there are conditions under which it does not even mean that a population is actually free of a given organism. The way that PCR is used makes it a statistical tool. Small subsamples are tested of a population and if they are negative by PCR, it is assumed that all of the rest of the animals are free of these pathogens as well. This is not true. The best that one can do is to have a 98% level of assurance. When you are dealing with obligate pathogens this threshold is not enough. If the 2% can carry a pathogen that can wipe

out entire farms clearly this is not adequate. The only way to increase the level of testing efficacy is to test every animal. This can be prohibitive cost wise although recent innovations have allowed one to test animals for an array of potential pathogens for much less than conventional testing (https://www.genics.com.au/). Each animal can be tested. This refers to broodstock. Once the broodstock are as clean as they can possibly be, routine follow up testing of various life stages can be helpful in ensuring that there are no gaps in biosecurity. This, along with following the guidelines outlined above in Myth #2 is the only way to be close to absolute certainty that a given pathogen is not present.

Myth #5 Probiotics are the solution to miAPRIL - MAY 2022

stock providers and hatcheries invest in NBC systems and commit to their use over many cycles and follow the guidelines regarding testing and history, animals will be clean. If there are problems at least the source can be identified. It is my opinion that if the industry as a whole does not tackle these issues, we are going to continue to see an endless cycle of new pathogens cropping up and the volatility in production will continue. Shrimp farming cannot be sustainable without this approach. Recent research has shown that the anti-viral mechanism in shrimp includes what are called EVEs (endogenous viral elements). Pieces of the virus end up incorporated into the shrimp DNA. This complicates things potentially as some PCR primers will react with these. Their presence does not mean that the shrimp is infected; only that somewhere along the line its progenitors were. Irresponsible third-party testing can result in considerable damage if this is not addressed.

crobial problems. They will prevent animals from getting sick and dying. They do this by impacting animal health and altering the microbial make up to protect them against both obligate and opportunistic pathogens. The Reality Probiotics are defined (by FAO-the United Nations) as living microorganisms that are ingested orally and that colonize the gut of animal, impacting the microbiome in a manner that results in the animal resisting disease and being in better health. This definition is evolving and today it appears that any microorganism that is used in any manner on any animal, plant, etc. whether it is living, or dead is being called a probiotic. Even if the definition were what it is being APRIL - MAY 2022

described as, these are tools. They are not solutions, and they cannot solve problems that are inherent in the manner in which a given paradigm is functioning. For shrimp most products are intended to improve water quality. There is the possibility of other benefits as well although this is not straight forward. Many lab studies show impacts that do not occur in the field under real world conditions. Using these types of products is not an assurance that the animals will be clean and free of potential pathogens.

Conclusions In all the years that I have been working with shrimp farmers in a dozen or more countries what I have seen is that far too many of them buy into these myths. If it is not the owner, it might be a technician. If brood-

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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THE FISHMONGER

EXTRA EFFORTS

on seafood marketing At the time of authoring this article The Fishmonger has been reminded (thanks Facebook!) of being in London in 2013 at the Human Evolution Conference where Sir David Attenborough and Professor Michael Crawford and many other notables spoke about the past and future By: The fishmonger *

as it relates to human evolution.

o much has happened since 2013 but you still get the vibe that the seafood industry has not moved forward too far, if at all. The industry is still struggling with a global message that can be easily promoted and locked into every association, company, and individual working in every sector of the industry. Something that would cost extraordinarily little and yet could assist increased awareness and increased seafood consumption. Sir David, of course, spoke in depth about the lack of care of our oceans and waterways and that crucial policies from every government were essential on ensuring the future of them protecting them from all pollution and the consequential acidity of the ocean well into the future. He has spread his ‘word’ everywhere and yet little seems to have occurred. Oh yes, there is a lot of talk but not a lot of action. Michael Crawford is one of those few experts with a multidisciplinary intellect, able to apply an integrative perspective in prenatal and perinatal care. His studies on the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids and breastfeed-

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ing as supreme sources of the child’s healthy development have brought enormous benefits to the field of nutrition and health. He discovered how the brain has specific nutritional needs and how the brain works and the essential need of fish and seafood in our daily diets to maximise our potential. His work goes back to the 1970s having reported evidence that the brain required arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) specifically, for its growth, structure, and function in 1972. His work with many teams has focused first on evaluating the evidence, the specificity, and the requirement. Attention is now directed on establishing the biological reason for the uniqueness of DHA in neural signalling systems which stretched unchanged over the 500600 million years of evolution and the application of this knowledge to the prevention and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. In the 1970s we recognized that link between dietary fats, atherosclerosis and cardio-vascular disease meant APRIL - MAY 2022

that the brain which is better protected but is dependent on specialized, essential fats would eventually be affected by the changing nutritional conditions which especially effected the dietary fats. The prediction that “the brain would be next” was published but met with scepticism. However, it has now been vindicated as brain disorders have overtaken all other burdens of ill health. The health cost proven through audits in EU show brain disorders are greater than heart disease and cancer combined. Professor Crawford highlighted that the change in disease profile cannot be due to a change in the genome in such a brief time. Moreover, the nutritional conditions are unlikely to neither change the DNA nor change the proteins. However, the cell membrane lipids house at least one third of known cellular proteins. These are the receptors, transporters, anti-oxidant systems and signallers and hence a change in the physical chemistry of their domains will influence protein function. In addition, specific essential fatty acids

function as ligands for nuclear receptors and manipulate gene expression. Thus, altering the membrane lipids and the dolmans around the membrane proteins alters cell function. There is good evidence that the rise in brain disorders is linked to the changing dietary conditions, which is clearly a matter of critical concern. This, according to the Global Forum for Health, who is predicting that the rise in mental ill-health will also affect developing countries. The pandemic has raised mental health to a higher level but clearly it’s been coming for a long time. This brings The Fishmonger to current events with the recently published paper by World Health Organisation (WHO) on ‘Food marketing exposure and power and their associations with food-related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours.’ This report presents the outcomes of a narrative review conducted to update an earlier descriptive review on the extent, nature, and effects of food marketing. The current review was requested by the WHO Nutrition » 83

THE FISHMONGER

Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG) Subgroup on Policy Actions as part of the evidence reviews to inform its formulation of an updated WHO guideline on policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing. Based on the content analysis studies, food marketing remains prevalent, including in settings where children gather and during children’s television programming and viewing times. Food marketing promotes foods that contribute to unhealthy diets (such as “fast food,” sugar-sweetened beverages, and chocolate and confectionery) and uses a wide range of creative strategies likely to appeal to young audiences (such as celebrity/sports endorsements, promotional characters, and games). The findings of the consumer research studies included positive associations between the frequency of, and level of exposure to, food marketing and habitual consumption of marketed foods or less healthy foods. This review extends the findings of the 2009 WHO review by adding evidence and perspectives on more contemporary types of marketing, reflecting the growth in internet use and food marketing via digital and social media over the last decade. It confirms that marketing of foods that contribute to unhealthy diets remains pervasive and persuasive and provides evidence that strengthens the rationale for action to restrict food marketing to which children are exposed. Recognizing the potential harms of the current elevated levels of exposure to food marketing across multiple platforms, both young people and their parents support greater regulation of this activity. This narrative review provides further evidence that strengthens the rationale for action to restrict food marketing to which children are exposed. Governments must do more in this space as unhealthy food marketing takes advantage of the developmental 84 »

vulnerabilities of children and adolescents. Research and data have shown the effect of several types of unhealthy food marketing on children including advertising on television, digital media content, sports sponsorship, product packaging and collectible toys. Here are some of the Australian findings: • Children aged 10 to 14 years think food and drink sponsors of their local sports clubs are ‘cool’ and like to return the favour by buying their products. • The average Australian 5 to 8 year old is exposed to at least 827 unhealthy food advertisements on television each year, let alone other forms of advertising. • Children aged 4 to 6 years believe a product tastes better if it has a cartoon character on the pack. The internet is becoming an increasingly important channel for marketing unhealthy food to children and teenagers. On a typical weekday, Australian 15-year-olds spend about two hours online when they are not at school, and a quarter of them are online for more than four hours. Research by the Australian Communications and Media Authority involving children aged 8 to 17 found children spend longer periods of time online as they grow older. The internet becomes central to their lives, particularly through social networking sites such as Facebook. An analysis of online activities among Australian 14 to 17-year-olds found a growing trend towards streaming of video and audio content. Other popular activities included social networking, uploading content such as photos and videos, and playing games online. Unhealthy food marketers can take advantage of these trends to target children and teenagers using digital media in many ways, including through advertisements, product placement and ‘advergames’ created or sponsored by companies to embed products into a game. Marketing on social media encourages teenagers to like and share brand posts with their

friends, thereby harnessing the influence of peer networks. A recent study of Australian children aged 10 to 16 years found that watching food-branded video content on YouTube and seeing favourite food brands advertised online were significantly associated with higher consumption of unhealthy food and drinks. A UK study found an increased intake of unhealthy snacks among children who viewed images of social media ‘influencers’ with unhealthy snacks on Instagram, compared to children who had viewed images of influencers with healthy snacks or non-food products. When will the seafood industry get together globally and start becoming pro-active in these areas – the one health concept of how we treat the environment (oceans and waterways) and how we treat our product (fish/seafood) is how we maximise our own human health - it is not a complicated issue to grasp? Unfortunately, the industry and governments have allowed outsiders to engage and obstruct the seafood industry and they have cast a fog over the fundamental issues: • Fish/seafood is healthy – everyone should eat more • We need to maximise our harvests avoiding waste • Aquaculture and commercial fishing are essential industries in nutrition and well-being to every country and should receive priority Having set that tone we need to collaborate on getting responsible advertising encouraging the women and young children to understand the health benefits of seafood consumption. That is the future we need to build! The Fishmonger reflects fondly on the event in London and hopes we do not waste the magnificent work and effort of such talented people.

References and sources consulted by the author on the elaboration of this article are available under previous request to our editorial staff.

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Upcoming

aquaculture events

JUNE WORLD SEAFOOD INDUSTRY Jun 15 – 17 Guadalajara, Jalisco, México E: thorsten.hofmann@hfmexico.mx W: worldseafoodindustry.mx

Blue Food Innovation Summit June 14-15 London, UK T: +44 (0)1273 789989 E: info@rethinkevents.com W: bluefoodinnovation.com/

AquaVision June 13-15 Stavanger, Norway T: (+47) 51880010 E: skretting.com/en/aquavision/ W: skretting.com/en/aquavision/

AUGUST AQUACULTURE CANADA AND WAS NORTH AMERICA 2022 Ago 15 – 18 St. John´s, Newfoundland, Canada T: (+1) 760 751 5005 E: worldaqua@was.org y jmburry@nl.rogers.com W: https://www.was.org/Meeting/Registration/SelectCurrency

WSI - WORLD SEAFOOD INDUSTRY 2022 (Postponed to 2023) June 15 – 17 Guadalajara, Mexico T: (+52) (33) 3343-3000 E: thorsten.hofmann@hfmexico.mx luis.pina@hfmexico.mx W: hfmexico.mx/worldseafoodindustry/

SEPTEMBER Global Shrimp Forum Sept 6-8 Utrecht, The Netherlands W: shrimp-forum.com/ AQUACULTURE EUROPE 2022 Sept 27-30 Rimini, Italy E: mario@marevent.com W: https://aquaeas.org/

1er Congreso de Acuicultura CONADA 2022 Ago 24 – 26 La Altagracia, República Dominicana T: (+809) 5655603 ext 231 E: conadoard@gmail.com y adoa2020@cedaf.org.do W: cedaf.org.do/eventos/adoa_2021/

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