Search

Increased interest in marine fish farming in the United States has led to a need for fundamental economic information on production of candidate species for commercialization in various production systems. Funding for the project targeted those species with potential for production in southern tier states in the United States. Sufficient technical data were found to develop comprehensive budget analyses to estimate growout production costs for four scales of production for each of 10 species with potential for production in ponds, 13 in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), and five in net pens. The choice of species/production system scenarios was based on evidence of successful production on farms or in research. Estimation of production costs with enterprise budgets can provide useful guidance to identify the types of improved efficiencies that have the greatest effect on economic viability even when commercial farm data are not available. Commercial farm data were used where available, but for most species, data were available only from studies conducted under research conditions. Per‐kg costs of production were lowest for net pen production, followed by ponds, with production costs in RAS two to five times greater than in ponds or net pens. Ponds and net pens generally exhibited greater efficiency of use of capital assets across species than did RAS that resulted in lower percentages of fixed costs and lower annual costs per kg of fish produced. All five species evaluated for net pen production were estimated to be profitable, including redfish, Sciaenops ocellatus (also known as red drum), striped bass, Morone saxatilis, cobia, Rachycentron canadum, red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, and seriolids (generic budget for almaco jack, Seriola rivoliana, California yellowtail, Seriola lalandi, and greater amberjack, Seriola dumerili), four in ponds (redfish, hybrid drum, ♀Pogonias cromis × ♂Sciaenops ocellatus, black sea bass, Centropristis striata, and cobia), but none of the RAS scenarios showed profitability at average yields (kg/cubic meter) reported in the literature. Comprehensive data on growout production of marine finfish species in the United States is generally lacking, and there is a strong need for production trials conducted under near‐commercial conditions with an endpoint of market‐sized fish. Production trials should be conducted in ponds (≥0.1 ha), net pens, and RAS tanks of a size that simulate commercial production conditions. Adequate production trial databases would provide opportunities to develop economic optimization models that would provide useful guidance for prospective producers. Average yields (kg/cubic meter) in RAS will need to be much greater than currently reported in the research literature for RAS production to be economically sustainable. Net pen production appears to be profitable in the United States, but effective permitting procedures are not in place. Providing research support for the US redfish sector that has developed effective production and marketing models could serve as a foundation for developing additional species and offer opportunities for diversification on marine finfish farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine coastal resources are crucial to Tanzania's socio‐economic development and are a lifeline for the livelihoods and incomes of coastal communities. This study provides an overview of the coastal development of mariculture in mainland Tanzania and suggests future development strategies. The review article covers extensive reports available through field interviews, government policy documents, library literature searches and field work carried out by the authors. Despite the immense potential of mariculture to improve food security for localcommunities, its development has been uneven. Specifically only seaweed farming has advanced to commercial‐scale production. Other mariculture activities, such as finfish farming (e.g. milkfish, silver pompano), shellfish farming (e.g. prawn, mud crab and half‐pearl) and sea cucumber farming, are underdeveloped and confined to small‐scale operations. Locally consumed finfish, such as milkfish and pompano, have not attracted investors out of fear that the recovery of investment may not be achieved due to the low prices offered in the market. In this context, the sustainable use of coastal resources through mariculture becomes paramount to alleviating poverty and facilitating controlled migration from rural to urban. This comprehensive review explores the historical evolution and current status of mariculture initiatives in the coastal waters of mainland Tanzania, which presents a crucial aspect of the socio‐economic development of the nation. With declining global capture fisheries production and a growing demand for fish protein, Tanzania has strategically embraced mariculture as a viable alternative. The article traced the development of mariculture since the 1970s, highlighting past and current initiatives managed by government agencies, non‐government organizations and the private sector. Notable successes, such as seaweed culture, are highlighted along with the challenges that hinder the growth of marine farming activities. The review integrates insights from a comprehensive survey in coastal Tanzania, focusing on mariculture activities and collecting information on people who have stopped such practices, elucidating reasons for quitting. By consolidating experiences from past and present mariculture initiatives, this review provides valuable guidance for decision‐making towards promoting sustainable mariculture that supports coastal communities while preserving marine biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: The significant concentrations of phosphate in wastewater can be considered as an important fertilizer source. Some microalgae uptake phosphate from wastewater and store it in the form of polyphosphate (polyP). Therefore, biological phosphorus recovery processes have been attracting significant attention recently. However, wastewaters are often rich in ammonium, and so microalgae used for phosphorus recovery should be tolerant of this component. In the present study, 151 microalgae were isolated from freshwater, brackish water and seawater. Among them, 11 strains showed higher growth rates in ammonium‐rich media. Of these, the strain SLG4‐06 originating from a marine environment showed the highest polyP accumulation rate and was selected as the most potential alga for phosphorus recovery from wastewater. Based on the morphological and ultrastructural characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of nuclear‐encoded 18S rDNA and chloroplast‐encoded rbcL of strain SLG4‐06, we propose Picochloropsis malayensis gen. et sp. nov. for this strain in the Chlorellales, Trebouxiophyceae. Because P. malayensis can grow in both seawater and freshwater environments, it may be suitable for wastewater treatment in marine aquaculture ponds with widely fluctuating salinity levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We sought to evaluate several methods of operation of a foam fractionator for fine‐solids removal (organic matter < 55 μm) in a commercial‐scale, low‐salinity (11–13‰) recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) for marine finfish production. Methods: The total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations of the RAS microscreen drum filter inflow and outflow and the foam fractionator outflow were obtained under various foam fractionator operating conditions. The outflow TSS concentration of the drum filter also served as the inflow TSS concentration for the foam fractionator. Sample collection for TSS determination was divided into two categories: particles greater than 55 μm and particles less than 55 μm. The difference between inflow and outflow TSS concentrations was used to determine the removal percentage for each particle class of each unit. Additionally, the volume of foammate produced under operating conditions by the fractionator and the amount of solids contained within the foammate were quantified. Flow through the foam fractionator was also obtained to determine the amount of solids removed per volume of influent water treated. Result: The influent TSS concentration for the seven different operating conditions evaluated ranged from 4.8 to 6.3 mg/L, with the percentage of particles less than 55 μm ranging from 69.75% to as high as 86.1%. The drum filter removed over 90% of the particles larger than 55 μm and removed 8–26% of the particles smaller than 55 μm. No difference was observed in the overall removal efficiency of the drum filter, which ranged from 19% to 44%. There was no significant difference in the foam fractionator overall removal efficiency, which ranged from 6.5% to 38.5%. Operating the foam fractionator at a high water head height (HHH) with the submersible aspirating impeller provided the greatest removal percentage of particles less than 55 μm (26.9%). However, at the HHH, only half the amount of solids was removed compared to using a Venturi injector with ozone, but energy use was roughly 26% greater. Conclusion: The foam fractionator was operated at the HHH, about 0.31 m higher than the low water head height, for production operation. Additionally, Venturi injection of ozone provided the greatest removal of solids for the volume of influent water treated over a 12‐h operational period. The submersible aspirating impeller showed potential for low‐cost use with reasonable solids removal and warrants further evaluation. Impact statementAccumulation of fine solids and the removal thereof constitute an issue for commercial recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) production of marine finfish. This study evaluates the performance of a foam fractionator under various operational conditions with a Venturi injector and submersible aspirating impeller. Information from this work adds to base data for commercial‐scale units to support development of RAS marine finfish production in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore wind turbines have rapidly scaled up in recent years, with plans to construct turbines up to 22 MW in the next decade. However, the operations and maintenance (O&M) requirements for these 'next‐generation turbines' remain largely unknown. In this study, the total O&M costs are calculated, using a bench‐marked O&M model, for a hypothetical 10 MW turbine scenario using two drive train configurations, based on known failure rates of smaller turbines. The O&M costs of the 10 MW turbines are compared with those of existing 3 MW turbines in two case studies: a North Sea wind farm and an East Coast US wind farm. Overall, direct drive 10 MW turbines performed better depending on the site's climate conditions. The study indicated that the two‐stage drive train configuration may be more suitable for the US site than the North Sea, depending on the turbine's failure rate. The US site benefited from increased availability due to more favourable weather windows, resulting in lower lost revenue for the two‐stage configuration despite high transport costs. The study found that the failure rate of 10 MW offshore wind turbines in the North Sea with a two‐stage gearbox can increase by as much as 30% compared to the 3 MW failure rates without increasing direct O&M costs. These findings are crucial for the offshore wind energy industry, particularly for OEMs, developers and maintenance providers, as they provide insights into the required reliability for next generation turbines to reduce O&M costs compared to existing 3 MW turbines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture contributes a significant portion of the global aquatic biomass destined for human consumption. Bivalve and marine finfish aquaculture operations require sea‐based farm sites that result in considerable interactions with the natural environment. The addition of feed waste and physical structures (e.g., net pens and longline mussel culture) can provide an attractive artificial reef for many species and studies have shown both positive and negative effects on the surrounding ecosystem due to wild species interactions with aquaculture sites. Assessing these interactions can be complex, depending on the local ecosystem, and several monitoring techniques have been used to accurately determine associations of wild finfish and decapods to marine farms. In this review, we assessed the main methods used to monitor aquaculture‐ecosystem interactions. The advantages and disadvantages of each technique are discussed and suggestions to mitigate shortfalls for future studies are outlined. It was evident that combining methodologies should be prioritised to lessen the impact of identified weaknesses of any given approach. Designing studies with complementary approaches may help attain robust data that can be used to further understand aquaculture‐ecosystem interactions and the underlying proximate mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture is expected to expand significantly in the coming decades to meet growing demand. A key variable for understanding the potential benefit of and impact from this growth is efficiency; yet a comprehensive assessment of on‐farm area use and yield is limited. Much like land‐based agriculture, range and variation in yields across space, species, and practice provide insights into area use and production efficiencies. Current estimates of aquaculture yields (production per area per time) aggregate on‐farm and off‐farm land use into one 'land use' category; in contrast, we disaggregate this category to provide on‐farm yield estimates and account for water area use. We use a quantitative review of scientific literature to synthesize and compare on‐farm area use and yield patterns across countries, taxa, aquatic systems, data source, and production mode (n = 378). Because recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) have been touted as a particularly efficient production mode, we also found estimates for RAS from industry (n = 4). Median, mean and range in yields among countries and taxa vary by orders of magnitude, with algal production greatly exceeding that of crustaceans, fishes and molluscs. Yields in marine systems were on average roughly 5× greater than yields in freshwater systems. RAS had particularly high yields but sparse data and estimates from private corporations were approximately 3.7× higher than literature estimates, on average. This comprehensive assessment of global aquaculture yields offers critical insight into the production efficiencies of different aquaculture forms and the large amount of variability, which could help guide aquaculture policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holothuria atra (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) is a type of invertebrate animal that lives on the bottom of the rocky coast and has the potential as a nutritious food raw material for humans and pharmaceutical raw materials. The study aims to determine the microplastic types, microplastic functional groups and simulate the distribution pattern of ingested microplastics in the digestive system of H. atra based on hydrodynamic activity. Microplastic separation was conducted by extraction using the flotation method based on predetermined criteria. Functional group test of microplastic polymers ingested in intestines of sea cucumbers using FT‐IR (Frontier Transform Infrared‐Spectroscopy) Analysis. Hydrodynamic modeling analysis used secondary data: bathymetric, currents, wind direction, and tidal prediction data. The results of sampling of H. atra sea cucumbers at four observation locations, where ten individual sea cucumbers were taken from each location, showed that microplastic waste exposed in the intestines of sea cucumbers obtained an average value of 14,166 individuals‐1, with a particle length range of 0.214–3.978 mm. The highest abundance was from the type of fiber, followed by fragments, pellets, and films. FTIR test results indicate the presence of several functional microplastic groups that are digested in the intestine, including polyamide (PA)/nylon‐6, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS). The movement of currents carrying microplastic waste particles is dominated to the west and south of Karimunjawa Island, potentially endangering the habitats of sea cucumbers and other animals in the waters of the surrounding small islands. It is recommended that stakeholders establish plastic waste protocols, waste facilities and treatment, and strict supervision of tourists entering the Karimunjawa tourism environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mariculture has been gradually regarded as an important solution to the global food production crisis. Increasing scientific evidence reveals that mariculture can provide a large number of ecologic benefits, in accordance with several United Nations sustainable development goals. However, previous studies mostly focused on the negative impacts of mariculture, which may impede its increased production. Here, based on Emergy Accounting (EMA), we propose a comprehensive "Multiple Inputs‐Ecosystem Service Multifunctionality‐Multiple Environmental Impacts" (MI‐ESM‐MEI) evaluation framework, trying to describe mariculture's overall environmental performances beyond just limiting to the production of seafoods. As the world's largest mariculture producer, China is taken as an example for evaluation. Our results show that both cultured species and cultivation patterns determine the environmental performance of mariculture: seaweed‐raft, shellfish‐raft, shellfish‐hanging cage, shellfish‐bottom sowing and others‐bottom sowing mariculture could be more influential in environmental support. By identifying priority areas for offshore mariculture development, ecological benefits can be significantly improved using about 27% of China's territorial sea area. At present, mariculture in Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang performs better than that in other regions. Under the condition of recognizing nonnegligible ecological benefits of mariculture, additional improvements for more sustainable development are urgently needed. In addition, mariculture activities especially seaweed mariculture can help solve water contamination problem and alleviate the effects of eutrophication on coastal ecosystems. For most China coastal regions, if integrated multi‐trophic aquaculture (IMTA) mode can be promoted, the ecological burden of mariculture can be reduced and even converted into ecological benefit. Plain Language Summary: Mariculture has gradually become a proposed solution to address the global food production crisis, prompting it to become the fastest growing food production sector in recent years. Therefore, mariculture's environmental and ecological influences have also been paid more attention, including both negative and positive aspects. At present, a comprehensive evaluation of mariculture's ecological performance is still lacking, so we propose an evaluation framework with China as a case study. We find that both cultured species and cultivation patterns determine the performance of mariculture. At present, mariculture in Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang performs better than that in other regions. Offshore mariculture will be paid more attention in the future. By identifying priority areas for offshore mariculture development, ecological benefits such as carbon sequestration and water purification can be significantly improved, while environmental impacts such as water contamination can be reduced. If the local cultured species can be properly matched, ecological burden such as water contamination can be reduced and even converted into ecological benefit. The goal of the study is to provide a way of comprehending the complexity of the mariculture system, thus providing reference and theoretical support for the sustainable development of mariculture both in China and around the world. Key Points: Mariculture can bring plenty of ecological benefits and even transform ecological burdens such as water contamination into ecological benefits in some casesBoth cultured species and cultivation patterns determine the environmental performance of maricultureIn China, mariculture's ecological benefits can be significantly improved if offshore mariculture can be developed in the future [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in hard artificial structures in the marine environment is contributing to ocean sprawl. As well as adding hard structure to the seabed, mussel aquaculture adds rope droppers and anchor lines to the water column, where such structure would otherwise be absent. This paper aims to monitor the effects of mussel headlines on the pelagic fish community over time, as well as to investigate whether there is an interaction between the age of cultivated mussels with the number of epibiota species and the abundance of pelagic fishes. Two surveys were carried out: a time series monitoring survey to assess whether the mussel headlines change the surrounding fish species relative to control areas over time, and a fish aggregation device effect survey to investigate whether older and larger mussels support greater abundances of pelagic fishes and epibiota. The most abundant fish species was Atlantic horse mackerel, Trachurus trachurus, with significantly greater numbers recorded around ropes growing older mussels. Results from the surveys show that the physical farm infrastructure has provided a substrate for colonisation by a variety of epibiota: A total of 21 species were recorded growing on the mussel ropes. Furthermore, the older and larger the mussels become, the greater the numbers of epibiota taxa that can colonise, coupled with a greater abundance of pelagic fish recorded around the ropes. The sustainable development of offshore Blue Industries is essential to produce renewable resources. This study brings essential evidence for marine managers and regulators that offshore mussel farming can provide benefits for pelagic and benthic species of both conservation and commercial importance while producing sustainable protein to feed a growing population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parasitic infections can be occasionally severe in the European marine aquaculture industry, including the Mediterranean region, as they can incur considerable financial losses. Due to the lack of commercial vaccines, therapeutic approaches seem the only measure to battle parasitic outbreaks. Integrated strategies and increased resilience of the hosts, may limit to some degree the level of infestation. Ectoparasitic therapy is traditionally based on baths, with few exceptions. Several antiparasitic compounds have been registered in European aquatic medicine to combat mainly salmon sea lice; however, few of them are readily used against Mediterranean fish parasites. Formalin and less commonly hydrogen peroxide baths are applied against ectoparasites in the Mediterranean region. Most of the registered anti‐lice antiparasitics have limited potential perhaps due to their adverse environmental impact. Future therapies against fish parasites will rely mainly on effective substances ensuring consumer, animal, and environmental welfare. Ideally, dietary antiparasitics such as praziquantel exhibiting mild environmental impact and high efficacy against a wide range of pathogens should be adopted. Moreover, combined strategies such as integrated pest management, involving various management practices with limited use of chemicals, should be a priority for specific parasitic outbreaks. The information presented in this review can guide future research and promote effective and prudent parasite control practices for Mediterranean‐farmed fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A range of conservation and restoration tools are needed to safeguard the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. Aquaculture, the culturing of aquatic organisms, often contributes to the numerous stressors that aquatic ecosystems face, yet some aquaculture activities can also deliver ecological benefits. We reviewed the literature on aquaculture activities that may contribute to conservation and restoration outcomes, either by enhancing the persistence or recovery of one or more target species or by moving aquatic ecosystems toward a target state. We identified 12 ecologically beneficial outcomes achievable via aquaculture: species recovery, habitat restoration, habitat rehabilitation, habitat protection, bioremediation, assisted evolution, climate change mitigation, wild harvest replacement, coastal defense, removal of overabundant species, biological control, and ex situ conservation. This list may be expanded as new applications are discovered. Positive intentions do not guarantee positive ecological outcomes, so it is critical that potentially ecologically beneficial aquaculture activities be evaluated via clear and measurable indicators of success to reduce potential abuse by greenwashing. Unanimity on outcomes, indicators, and related terminology will bring the field of aquaculture–environment interactions into line with consensus standards in conservation and restoration ecology. Broad consensus will also aid the development of future certification schemes for ecologically beneficial aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a collection of abstracts from the journal "Reviews in Aquaculture." The abstracts cover a range of topics related to aquaculture, including the use of microalgae in aquaculture diets, regulation of lipid metabolism in aquatic animals, drying methods for aquatic products, effects of organic waste from fish farming in marine systems, application of electrochemistry in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), and the relationship between hydroids and bivalves. Each abstract provides a summary of the research conducted and highlights key findings and implications for future studies. The document also includes summaries of various research articles related to aquaculture, covering topics such as gill disorders in fish, effects of viruses on fish gills, offshore aquaculture in China, breeding of tilapia tolerant to high salinity, impact of parasites on Mediterranean aquaculture, and use of plant-based additives in carp feed. Another article discusses hormonal treatments to promote reproduction in native fish species in Latin America. The document concludes with summaries on genetically modified fish and disease resistance, variations in aquaculture efficiency, use of diatoms in sustainable aquaculture, strategies to improve fish meat quality, and the use of chicken immunoglobulin Y as an alternative to antibiotics in aquaculture. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a collection of abstracts from the journal "Reviews in Aquaculture." The abstracts cover a range of topics related to aquaculture, including the use of microalgae in aquaculture feed, the role of gut microbiota in lipid metabolism in aquatic animals, drying processes for seafood products, the impact of organic waste from marine fish farms, and the application of electrochemical water treatment in recirculating aquaculture systems. The abstracts provide a brief overview of each topic, highlighting key findings and areas for future research. The article on the parasitic hydroid and bivalve mollusks explores the impact of the hydroid on its host and the need for further research on the physiological and meat quality changes in parasitized bivalves. The article on fishmeal as a protein source in aquaculture feed discusses the challenges and potential solutions, such as functional feed additives, to improve protein utilization and enhance fish growth and health. The article on medicinal plants and their active compounds in the treatment of viral diseases in aquaculture reviews recent studies on their efficacy and highlights the potential for preventing excessive proliferation of the hydroid and its interaction with climate change. The article on efficiency scores in aquaculture emphasizes the importance of selecting appropriate variables and sample sizes for accurate estimation and suggests using data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis for robustness testing. The article on diatoms in sustainable aquaculture explores their potential as a source of nutritious feed and their [Extracted from the article]

This document is a collection of abstracts from the journal "Reviews in Aquaculture." The abstracts cover a range of topics related to aquaculture, including the use of microalgae in aquaculture, the regulation of lipid metabolism in aquatic animals, drying methods for aquatic products, the effects of organic waste from fish farms on marine ecosystems, electrochemical applications in recirculating aquaculture systems, and the relationship between eirenid hydroids and bivalves. Each abstract provides a summary of the main points discussed in the respective articles and highlights the key findings and areas for future research. The document also includes abstracts on specific topics such as gill disorders caused by fish poxviruses, offshore aquaculture in China, breeding salt-tolerant tilapia, managing the proliferation of the monogenean parasite Sparicotyle chrysophrii, the use of plant-based additives in carp diets, hormonal treatments for promoting reproduction in native fish species in Latin America, the use of genetically modified organisms in aquaculture, the efficiency of aquaculture production, the concept and definition of aquaponics, the potential of diatoms in sustainable aquaculture production and wastewater treatment, strategies for improving fish meat texture, and the application of chicken immunoglobulin Y in aquaculture for disease control. These abstracts provide a concise overview of the research articles and can be a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in the field of aquaculture. [Extracted from the article]

Following the intensification of the Mediterranean aquaculture over the years, Sparicotyle (syn. Microcotyle) chrysophrii (van Beneden and Hesse, 1863; Microcotylidae, Monogenea) became one of the most pathogenic ectoparasites for the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) aquaculture. It has demonstrated a remarkable versatility to expand over its known host range, accomplish an efficient transfer between the wild and farmed sparid populations over wide geographic areas, and establish itself as the most detrimental gilthead seabream pathogen. Even though the incidence of S. chrysophrii is closely monitored in marine aquaculture system throughout the Mediterranean, there is a general lack of recent and publicly available data on its epidemiology. Being considered as a parasite whose proliferation is expected to increase under global warming conditions, such lack of data additionally humpers the implementation of integrated pest management strategy at national and Mediterranean level. While EU scientific initiatives greatly contributed to our understanding of S. chrysophrii biology, ecology and sparicotylosis treatment and pathogenesis, there is more ahead to elucidate about the mitigation of the diseases, particularly towards the development of genomic selection breeding programs of parasite‐resilient gilthead seabream, omic‐based screening of novel drug targets and reversed vaccinology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mariculture industry is planning to move offshore due to the decline of China's inshore fishery resources, the deterioration of the water environment, inefficient industrial structure and other influencing factors. This article first analyses the imbalance between supply and demand of aquatic products, the development space of offshore aquaculture and the supporting policies, thereby concluding that China has significant potential to develop offshore aquaculture. Subsequently, the development status of offshore aquaculture in China is examined. The research progress of China's offshore aquaculture facilities, marine hydrology, environmental carrying capacity, aquaculture technology and the status of aquaculture operation equipment are also summarized. Furthermore, the problems existing in the development of offshore aquaculture are pointed out. On this basis, future development ideas for China's offshore aquaculture can be planned in terms of sea area layout, optimized and improved seed production systems, and research and development of offshore aquaculture technology and pellet feed. The relationship between the development of offshore aquaculture and ecological protection should be coordinated. Additionally, an energy security system can be built based on clean energy, and the development of related industries can be driven through the complementary industrial division of labour. The present work aims to provide a reference for promoting the development of offshore aquaculture in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Latin American & Caribbean Anthropology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Identifying environmental effects on the reproduction cycle and sex hormones is essential for ensuring the sustainable productivity of Pacific bluefin tuna (PBT, Thunnus orientalis) aquaculture. In the present study, 70 PBTs, commercially farmed in sea cages near Yokjido Island, South Korea, were investigated from April 2020 to March 2021. Environmental data, including water temperature and photoperiod duration, were collected. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) was calculated, and male and female maturity stages were classified monthly in proportions based on histological analysis of the gonads. Male and female gonadal developmental stages were classified into four major stages. Mature male and female PBTs were observed from May to August and June to August, respectively. Monthly changes in sex steroid hormone levels in PBT plasma were evaluated. The GSI and sex steroid hormones of males and females increased in May, peaked in June, and decreased thereafter. Our results confirmed the reproductive potential of farmed PBT and verified that reproductive maturity is reached in July. This study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first to investigate the reproductive biology of PBT in South Korea, and our results constitute a reference for future research on PBT aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of viability of new marine species in aquaculture systems is important to reduce negative social and environmental externalities, offering sustainable options for supply to fish markets. The objective was to describe the performance indicators of late juvenile yellowtail snapper (243.2 ± 57.1 mean weight of total fish) in an experimental recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) system supplied by seawater to determine its pre‐feasibility. Two densities were stocked, D1: 10 fish/tank (2.6 kg/m3, mean weight 258.3 ± 57 g) and D2: 20 fish/tank (4.7 kg/m3, mean weight 235.6 ± 55.9 g). Fish were fed to satiety with an extruded diet containing 46% crude protein and 12% crude lipid. After 238 days, survival rate was 93% for both densities, and mean weight and biomass were 534.5 ± 19.4 g and 5.7 kg/m3 for D1, and 606.9 ± 34.5 g and 10 kg/m3 for D2. Final feed conversion rate (3.13 for D1 and 3.03 for D2) did not differ significantly between densities. The exponents (b) of the length–weight relationship calculated for D1 (3.15) versus D2 (3.10) and condition factor (2.12 ± 0.07 for D1, and 2.03 ± 0.04 for D2) demonstrated a higher condition factor than those of their wild counterparts. This study is one of the few reports on this species' performance in late juvenile stage in RAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture (freshwater and marine) has largely supplemented fisheries, but in theory could help reduce fishing pressure on wild stocks. Although not the sole factors, some potential benefits depend on aquaculture pressures on fished species, including collection of wild 'seed' material—earlier to later life stages—for rearing in captivity and the capacity of aquaculture to increase. Here we first classify 203 marine (saltwater and brackish) animal species as being produced by either open‐cycle capture‐based aquaculture (CBA) or closed‐cycle domesticated aquaculture (DA)—based on their likely reliance on wild seed—and assess the extent to which these forms of aquaculture could support seafood production and greater wild biomass. Using a data‐limited modelling approach, we find evidence that current aquaculture practices are not necessarily helping reduce fishing to sustainable levels for their wild counterparts—consistent with emerging scientific research. However, if some wild capture species (87 equivalent spp.) were instead produced through CBA, almost a million extra tonnes could theoretically be left in the wild, without reducing seafood production. Alternatively, if reliance on wild seed inputs is further reduced by shifting to DA production, then a little less than doubling of aquaculture of the overexploited species in our study could help fill the 'production gap' to support fishing at maximum sustainable levels. While other ecological (e.g. escapes), social and economic considerations (e.g. market substitution) are important, we focused on a critical biological linkage between wild fisheries and aquaculture that provides another aspect on how to improve management alignment of the sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marine finfish and crustaceans contribute immensely to human nutrition. Harvesting marine food‐fish to meet the global demand has become a challenge due to reduction of the fishery areas and food safety hazards associated with increased pre‐harvest and post‐harvest contaminations. The causes of low fish availability and contaminations were reviewed following the published literature from 2000 to 2023. The marine fish yields are stressed due to spread of contaminants triggered by rising sea temperatures, transport of microorganisms by marine vessels across the oceans, anthropogenic activities leading to increase in the toxic microorganisms, and the entry of toxic chemicals and antibiotic residues into the seawater through rivers or directly. Processing adds pyrogenic chemicals to foods. The hazardous materials may accumulate in the food‐fish, beyond tolerance limits permitted for human foods. While the research and control measures focus on minimizing the hazards due to pathogenic microorganisms and chemicals in market fish, there is less discussion on the unhealthy changes occurring in the oceans affecting the quantity and quality of food‐fish, and the origins of microbial and chemical contaminations. This review examines the factors affecting availability of wild food‐fish and increased contaminations. It aims to bridge the knowledge gaps between the spread of hazardous agents in the marine environment, and their effects on the food‐fish. Meeting the future human food security and safety through marine fish and fish products may need marine cage farming, introduction of genetically modified high yielding food‐fish, and cultured contaminant free finless fish muscles as options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As marine aquaculture expands around the world, there is increased concern for impacts to protected species. Documented cases of marine mammal, sea turtle, seabird, and shark interactions with aquaculture installations do exist but are challenging to find. This extensive review summarises the state of knowledge of protected species interactions with marine fish and shellfish aquaculture installations. Although seaweed aquaculture was beyond the scope of this review, some of the findings for shellfish and finfish aquaculture may be relevant. The potential impacts of farms including habitat exclusion, entanglement, entrapment, collisions, and behavioural modifications are the primary risks posed to protected species by marine aquaculture facilities and operations. In addition, indirect effects from habitat impacts of farm operations may be of concern in some areas as well as the cumulative impacts of multiple small or large farms in the same general vicinity. Decades of farm innovations and best management practices have been driven by industry, natural resource managers, conservation organisations, and international conservation agreements. This review is useful for informing industry planning and permitting to develop aquaculture in the open ocean. This work will help advance the science of conservation by synthesising the state of knowledge and provide managers and industry with more insight to protect the most vulnerable species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine aquaculture has the potential to increase its contribution to the global food system and provide valuable ecosystem services, but appropriate planning, licensing and regulation systems must be in place to enable sustainable development. At present, approaches vary considerably throughout the world, and several national and regional investigations have highlighted the need for reforms if marine aquaculture is to fulfil its potential. This article aims to map and evaluate the challenges of planning and licensing for growth of sustainable marine aquaculture. Despite the range of species, production systems and circumstances, this study found a number of common themes in the literature; complicated and fragmented approaches to planning and licensing, property rights and the licence to operate, competition for space and marine spatial planning, emerging species and diversifying marine aquaculture production (seaweed production, Integrated Multi‐Trophic Aquaculture [IMTA], nutrient and carbon offsetting with aquaculture, offshore aquaculture and co‐location and multiuse platforms), and the need to address knowledge gaps and use of decision‐support tools. Planning and licensing can be highly complicated, so the UK is used as a case study to show more detailed examples that highlight the range of challenges and uncertainty that industry, regulators and policymakers face across interacting jurisdictions. There are many complexities, but this study shows that many countries have undergone, or are undergoing, similar challenges, suggesting that lessons can be learned by sharing knowledge and experiences, even across different species and production systems, rather than having a more insular focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seafood farming is heralded for its economic opportunities and its potential to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with food production. Yet the persistent lack of awareness among the US public about these potential benefits of seafood farming is often cited as a barrier to social acceptance and industry growth. We employed two exploratory online surveys of residents of western and northeastern US coastal states and a unique message‐testing approach to explore: (1) how existing opinions about seafood farming vary across sociodemographic attributes, geography, and prior familiarity with aquaculture; (2) the malleability of opinions about seafood farming; and (3) what benefits of marine aquaculture broadly and of seaweed farming specifically were viewed as the strongest reasons to support industry expansion, and what messengers are most trusted to share that information. We found that baseline attitudes about seafood farming strongly correlate with prior familiarity and that opinions about both marine aquaculture and seaweed farming were highly malleable, at least in the short term. If confirmed by further studies, our results suggest that messages emphasizing benefits in terms of environmental sustainability, as opposed to economic benefits or social benefits, may be an important tool to better engage residents of western and northeastern US coastal states with seafood farming expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture is seen as a possible solution to meet the rising demand for fish but only if the sector reduces its use of wild fish in feed as well as its environmental impacts. The cultivation of extractive species along with fish farming (the integrated multi‐trophic aquaculture system) has a potential to mitigate the adverse environmental effects of fish farming. The dynamic energy budget (DEB) modelling is a powerful tool to be used in different aquaculture settings to achieve the Blue Growth goals set by the commission.This study explored the potential of mussel for bioremediation at finfish farms to develop environmentally sustainable finfish farming solutions in the eutrophic Baltic Sea region.The study integrated the DEB models of blue mussels Mytilus edulis/trossulus and rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and a regional hydrodynamic‐biogeochemical model to explore the potential of mussel farming to fully compensate nutrient discharges from finfish farms.The DEB models demonstrated that despite suboptimal mussel growth conditions (low salinity), mussel farming has a potential to fully compensate for the discharge of nutrients from fish farms and thereby provide a solution for sustainable fish farming in the Baltic Sea region.Synthesis and applications. As such fish farming may become a necessary enabler of economically sustainable mussel farming in the region. Mussel farming facilitates finfish farming licensing whereas finfish farming covers some costs of mussel farming thereby increasing the economic feasibility of this activity in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been suggested by commercial fishing interests that the sea bed benefits from being trawled or disturbed. Evidence to support increased benthic food web productivity in areas disturbed by trawling has suggested that this is the case, and that some mobile consumers can benefit from this increased productivity.The same hypothesis has been put forward for shellfish recruitment, that disturbance of the sea bed, e.g. 'harrowing', increases the exposure of suitable settlement substrates for shellfish larvae. This is an approach often taken in shellfish mariculture in private fisheries, and has led to calls for support of expanding such activities into publicly managed areas to promote shellfish recovery and restoration.Increased seabed disturbance, however, may not align with conservation policy or societal objectives for natural recovery of the seabed landscape. Furthermore, evidence for increased shellfish recruitment from seabed disturbance is mixed, and many attempts to elucidate whether relationships exist receive criticism for operating at small spatial and temporal scales.An analysis is presented from 3 years of data (2016–2018) from a stock survey of a private European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, fishery operating in the Blackwater estuary, Essex, UK. Using data for adult and recruit oyster abundance and distribution in 2018, with 'harrowing' effort from 2016–2018, it is asked whether oyster recruitment was related to disturbance effort.It was found that oyster recruitment is positively related to increased seabed disturbance, but only up to intermediate adult oyster abundance equivalent to 60 oysters/100 m dredge, beyond which harrowing results in recruitment declines. This has implications for approaches to oyster fishery recovery, but also for restoration projects seeking evidence‐led guidance on which ways may be appropriate to kick‐start natural recovery in historical oyster areas that are habitat limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Marine Mammal Science is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aquaculture is an established technique for producing marine species. However, it creates large amounts of nutrient‐rich waste. Therefore, it is worth examining the methods available to use these nutrients and close the nutrient cycle. This review covers research activities of different saline water methods for food production. These are Integrated Multi‐Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), Biofloc Technology (BFT) and marine aquaponics. IMTA combines on‐ and offshore aquaculture with macroalgae and filter feeder production. Commercial implementations have been achieved but are not widely used. Especially shrimp are suitable for cultivation in saline BFT systems. Few commercial deployments exist. There is a well‐established market for the products of IMTA and BFT systems. Marine aquaponics is increasingly being tested as part of an expansion of Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) and BFT systems, but commercial implementations are not known. Moreover, there is no established market for the resulting salt‐tolerant plants (halophytes). Market prices and popularity were evaluated to assess the economic potential of the different plant and aquaculture species farmed with IMTA, BFT and marine aquaponics. There are established markets for well‐known products, but therefore the competition is greater. Niche products are offered occasionally, but often achieve top prices. Closing nutrient cycles and increasing saline water usage for food production as well as high product diversity are necessary to mitigate the increasing pressure on freshwater resources and to be able to feed the growing world population. Therefore, IMTA, BFT and marine aquaponics are promising techniques for reducing pressure on freshwater resources and improving food supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mariculture image enhancement aims to recover degraded images and meet the requirements of various digital aquaculture systems. However, the existing underwater image enhancement (UIE) cannot suit diverse marine scenarios and leads to sub‐optimal results for the real mariculture images. To solve the aforementioned issues, a novel dual‐attention global domain‐adaptive mariculture image enhancement network (DAMIE) is proposed to improve the quality of degraded images. Specifically, the proposed method consists of two core parts: (1) an innovative depth transfer dual‐attention module to aggregate multiple features and bridge the difference between domains; (2) a modified encoder–decoder enhancement network with a global feature vector to reconstruct clean mariculture images. Meanwhile, a semi‐supervised adaptive training scheme is utilized to improve the model generalization in different mariculture domains. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed DAMIE can achieve a good performance in terms of quantitative and qualitative metrics. In addition, an ablation study is conducted to analyse the contribution of the key components in the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence suggests that fungal communities are key components of biogeochemical cycles in coastal ecosystems. However, at a regional scale, the major drivers of the seasonal and spatial distribution of fungi in areas impacted by mariculture remain largely unknown. Intensive aquaculture takes place in Dongshan Bay of Fujian, China, a typical subtropical marine ecosystem with multiple environmental gradients extensively perturbed by anthropogenic activities. To better understand the consequences of mariculture on fungal community composition and activities, we simultaneously evaluated the temporal (four different seasons) and spatial dynamics in total (DNA) and active (RNA) fungal communities of Dongshan Bay in relation to several major physicochemical properties. Our results revealed that fungal communities in the Bay were highly diverse, but showed the ubiquitous dominance of Dikarya and the occasional predominance of Glomeromycota, Mucoromycota, Mortierellomycota, Chytridiomycota, Olpidiomycota, and Rozellomycota. Fungal diversity varied much more with season than with the degree of aquaculture activity, for both total and active communities. This notion is supported by co‐occurrence networks exhibiting a clear seasonal pattern. Furthermore, fungal community structure in coastal waters showed distinct relationships with environmental factors varying both with season and in space. For both total and active fungal communities, a combination of environmental variables including temperature, dissolved oxygen, and nitrite exhibited the greatest impact on community structure. Our study demonstrates a distinct spatiotemporal dynamics of both total and active fungi and provides a foundation to better understand the ecological roles of marine fungi in coastal ecosystems in relation to mariculture activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptocaryon irritans is one of the most harmful marine parasites in mariculture. Copper sulphate is often used to kill parasites and the influence of copper sulphate on the tomont stage of C. irritans was explored in this study. The results showed that excystment rate was not significantly affected when tomonts were exposed to 5 mg/L (76.7%) and 10 mg/L (78.9%) of copper sulphate for 3 h. However, excystment rate was significantly inhibited when exposed to 15 mg/L (33.3%) for 3 h and 5 mg/L (28.9%), 10 mg/L (33.3%) and 15 mg/L (33.3%) for 6 h. After treatment with high concentrations of copper sulphate, the interior of the tomonts was fuzzy under the microscope, and the division process could not be observed. Metabolomic results combined with preliminary transcriptome analysis results showed that the tomonts were induced to produce linoleate, riboflavin, inositol and other substances under the stress of Cu2+, which affected the antioxidant mechanism of the body. Using MDA content determination and antioxidant enzyme activity analysis, copper sulphate was found to cause oxidative damage to tomonts by affecting the generation of metabolites, leading to the death of tomonts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mariculture is a high‐risk industry that is susceptible to weather disasters. However, due to moral hazard, adverse selection and high transaction costs, traditional indemnity insurance policies are not available. An emerging alternative is the development of weather index mariculture insurance. This research assesses the effectiveness of weather index mariculture insurance by using the swimming crab precipitation index insurance as an example. The theoretical and empirical results suggest that weather index mariculture insurance is not always effective. It cannot be guaranteed to promote the welfare of mariculturists and reduce the tail risk of income, especially in the case of gross rates. However, in the case of low basis risk, it could be a viable option for the government because of the low subsidy cost required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2000, aquaculture became well‐integrated into the global food system. Aquaculture systems are highly diverse, producing globally equal amounts of fed and extractive species. In Asia and Africa, inland aquaculture provides the bulk of aquaculture production, while in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania, marine aquaculture dominates. The realized growth of annual production since 2000 is due to intensification, the use of more and better feeds, improved production management, and increased attention to biosecurity. Fed and extractive aquaculture, both need to pay more attention to scaling, site selection, and the health of the wider production environment. In terms of land use, aquaculture is more efficient than terrestrial animal production. Still, water use remains a challenge. More attention should be given to water recycling in land‐based systems, reducing water consumption and facilitating nutrient recovery and reuse. Future development should focus on making aquaculture climate neutral and on reducing environmental impacts, both inland and at sea. More attention must be given to making aquaculture an important part of local food systems on all continents, as is the case in Asia today. Integration of aquaculture into local nutrition‐sensitive, circular, and sustainable food systems should become the major driver for future aquaculture system development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For marine invertebrates with a pelagic–benthic life cycle, larval exposure to ocean acidification (OA) can affect adult performance in response to another environmental stressor. This carry‐over effect has the potential to alter phenotypic traits. However, the molecular mechanisms that mediate "OA"‐triggered carry‐over effects have not been explored despite such information being key to improving species fitness and management strategies for aquafarming. This study integrated the genome‐wide DNA methylome and transcriptome to examine epigenetic modification‐mediated carry‐over OA impacts on phenotypic traits of the ecologically and commercially important oyster species Crassostrea hongkongensis under field conditions. Larvae of C. hongkongensis were exposed to control pH 8.0 and low pH 7.4 conditions, mimicking near future OA scenario in their habitat, before being outplanted as post‐metamorphic juveniles at two mariculture field sites with contrasting environmental stressors for 9 months. The larval carry‐over OA effect was found to have persistent impacts on the growth and survival trade‐off traits on the outplanted juveniles, although the beneficial or adverse effect depended on the environmental conditions at the outplanted sites. Site‐specific plasticity was demonstrated with a diverse DNA methylation‐associated gene expression profile, with signal transduction and the endocrine system being the most common and highly enriched functions. Highly methylated exons prevailed in the key genes related to general metabolic and endocytic responses and these genes are evolutionarily conserved in various marine invertebrates in response to OA. These results suggest that oysters with prior larval exposure history to OA had the ability to trigger rapid local adaptive responses via epigenetic modification to cope with multiple stressors in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea cucumbers are economical and ecologically important species, playing a crucial role in nutrient recycling in the ocean and providing valuable bioactive compounds for nutrition. Previous research has demonstrated that microplastic fibers, which are widely recognized as emerging contaminants, are transferred to the perivisceral coelomic fluid during respiration in sea cucumbers; however, their fate in sea cucumbers is still not well understood. We tracked the status of sea cucumbers (Apostichopus japonicus) with polyester microplastic fibers in their coelomic fluid in clean water. The results showed that after transferring sea cucumbers to clean water, the number of microplastic fibers transferred significantly decreased in the coelomic fluid, but at least one microplastic fiber was found up to 60 days. In addition, sea cucumbers recovered from the effect of microplastic fiber transfer, as indicated by enzyme levels and histological observations. Furthermore, single microplastic fiber transfer over a 60‐day farmed period did not significantly affect the growth of sea cucumbers. However, repetitive microplastic fiber transfer (i.e., twice and thrice a week over 60 days) significantly decreased the growth rate (p < 0.05). Accordingly, increasing microplastic fibers in sea cucumber habitats pose a threat to sea cucumbers because they can disrupt development. Thus, farmers are advised to select locations for farming sea cucumbers where low microplastic fiber concentrations are expected. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:205–212. © 2022 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, pearl culture is a profitable sector generating significant export incomes for producer countries, as well as livelihood opportunities for local communities. Latin America has a long history as a pearl producer from extensive fisheries that date back to the 15th century. The presence of pearl oyster beds on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of many Latin American countries was a major incentive for colonisation of the region and subsequent social and economic development of areas in the Gulf of California and the Caribbean. This review presents the historic background of the pearl fishery in this region since the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, describes the current status of pearl culture in Latin America, and outlines future opportunities for sector development. Information on the current status of pearl culture in Latin American countries is divided between two major categories: commercial and pilot‐scale. Commercial pearl production currently occurs only in Mexico and production updates are provided for bead‐nucleated, half pearls (mabé) and non‐nucleated (keshi) pearls from the two pearl farms operating in the Gulf of California. The second category comprises countries whose pearling activities were relevant in the past (Venezuela, Panama) and others that are emerging, but still maintain pilot‐scale production of mabé pearls using Pteria sterna (Ecuador, Peru), Pinctada mazatlanica (Panama) and Pteria hirundo (Brazil). Finally, this review discusses future prospects for pearl culture in Latin America, analysing technology gaps and challenges to be addressed if the cultured pearl sector is to achieve its full potential in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group membership is a key attribute of animal societies and central to the study of social structure in several taxa. However, social structure analyses are sensitive to the way data are collected and associations defined.In this study, a time–space method was used to investigate the social structure of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus observed and photographed across 7 years in the semi‐enclosed Gulf of Corinth, Greece. Instead of adopting traditional group definitions, individuals were considered as being members of the same group if photographed within a specific time and space window. This approach can be applied post hoc across studies and can offer advantages under challenging sampling conditions (e.g. when dealing with groups spread over vast areas or when group membership is otherwise hard to assess).Dolphins were mostly found around coastal cage aquaculture facilities farming European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax and gilthead seabream Sparus aurata.Dolphins formed clusters largely or entirely composed of individuals of the same sex, suggestive of sex‐based homophily. Habitat partitioning was not detected: there was substantial spatial overlap among dolphin clusters, with all individuals using a relatively small area in the northern portion of the Gulf, where most of the productive fish farms were located. Associations between females were stronger than those between males, and daughters tended to stay in the group of their mothers.Sex‐based social clustering may allow females and calves to limit interactions with potentially aggressive males, while individuals of both sexes benefit from prey concentrated around fish farms.Adaptation to foraging around farms can result in trade‐offs between the costs and benefits of nourishment and social interaction. This may have both positive or negative effects on the animals that should be considered in the context of ensuring their favourable conservation status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In laboratory and industrial cultivation of marine microalgae, it is customary to enrich cultures with macronutrients (N, P), chelated trace metals, and vitamins at ~104× concentrations found in nature to obtain high culture densities. Other naturally occurring growth‐promoting compounds found in local seawater are not enriched and remain at environmental concentrations. Microalgae may thus be deprived of the mutualistic contributions of co‐occurring microorganisms with which they have evolved complex chemical relationships. In the present study, we assess the direct (mixed bacteria–microalgae cultivation) and indirect (exposure to exudates only, without physical contact) effects of 10 bacterial strains on the growth of five marine microalgal strains used as feeds in marine aquaculture hatcheries. Bacterial strains were selected based upon previously reported growth‐promoting characteristics in plants or microalgae, or known release of probiotics. Our experiments demonstrate superior stimulation of microalgal growth by bacterial exudates, and without the presence of the bacteria that produced these exudates. However, response to bacterial exudate enrichment was dependent upon the microalgae strain and bacterial pairing. Exudates from Bacillus, Mesorhizobium, and Phaeobacter strains were most effective, with 22%–69% increases in microalgal specific growth rate. Such findings indicate that bacterial exudates accelerate rate‐limiting processes governing nutrient acquisition, assimilation, or anabolism, and possibly algal release of exopolymeric substances. Maximal cell density, however, remained constrained by macronutrient limitation. Scaled‐up trials in an oyster hatchery confirmed the practical benefit of bacterial exudate culture medium enrichment and demonstrated the suitability of exudate‐enriched microalgae to feed hatchery‐reared bay scallops. This work presents a promising strategy to improve microalgal culture media formulations using bacterial exudate components as growth promoters, and is the first such study to identify specific pairings with relevance for aquaculture production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nervous necrosis virus (NNV) is one of the most destructive pathogens in marine fish aquaculture and is capable of infecting more than 50 fish species worldwide, which resulted in great economic losses. Effective drugs for managing NNV infection are urgently required. Medicinal plants have been known for thousands of years and benefit of medicinal plants against pathogens in aquaculture have emerged. Nowadays, the most commonly used method for detecting virus infection and assessing antiviral drugs efficacy is reverse transcription‐quantitative real‐time PCR. However, the application is limited on account of high reagent costs, complex time‐consuming operations and long detection time. Aptamers have been widely applied in application of pathogens or diseases diagnosis and treatments because of high specificity, strong affinity, good stability, easy synthesized and low costs. This study aimed to establish an aptamer (GBN34)‐based high‐throughput screening (GBN34‐AHTS) model for efficient selection and evaluation of natural ingredients against NNV infection. GBN34‐AHTS is an expeditious rapid method for selecting natural ingredients against NNV, which is characterized with high‐speed, dram, sensitive and accurate. AHTS strategy could reduce work intensity and experimental costs and shorten the whole screening cycle of effective ingredients. AHTS should be suitable for rapid selection of effective ingredients against other viruses, which is important for improving the prevention and controlling of aquatic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autolysis technology has shown potential for protein hydrolysates production from marine and aquaculture byproducts. Viscera are a source of cheap proteolytic enzymes for producing protein hydrolysates from the whole fish or processing byproducts of the most valuable commercial species by applying autolysis technology. The use of autolysis allows economical production of protein hydrolysate and provides an opportunity to valorize downstream fish and shellfish processing byproducts at a lower cost. As a result, production and application of marine byproduct autolysates is increasing in the global protein hydrolysates market. Nevertheless, several restrictions occur with autolysis, including lipid and protein oxidation mediated by the heterogeneous composition of byproducts. The generally poor storage and handling of byproducts may increase the formation of undesirable metabolites during autolysis, which can be harmful. The formation of nitrogenous compounds (i.e., biogenic amines), loss of freshness, and process of autolysis in the byproducts could increase the rate of quality and safety loss and lead to more significant concern about the use of autolysates for human food applications. The current review focuses on the autolysis process, which is applied for the hydrolysis of aquaculture and marine discards to obtain peptides as functional or nutritive ingredients. It further addresses the latest findings on the mechanisms and factors contributing the deterioration of byproducts and possible ways to control oxidation and other food quality and safety issues in raw materials and protein hydrolysates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteria within the phylum Bacteroidota (Bacteroidetes) are known to cause devastating and widespread disease outbreaks in marine eukaryotic hosts. However, with few pathogens described in detail, their prevalence and virulence strategies remain largely unknown. Here, we systematically reviewed the literature to evaluate the current understanding of Bacteroidota that cause disease in marine hosts. Isolates affiliated with the genera Tenacibaculum and Aquimarina (Flavobacteriaceae) were the most widely reported and characterized pathogens. Although cultured isolates were predominantly Flavobacteriia, culture‐independent studies also found classes Bacteroidia, Cytophagia and Sphingobacteriia associated with disease. We found that pathogenic marine Bacteroidota largely conformed to an opportunistic lifestyle but could also act as secondary pathogens or were involved in polymicrobial diseases. Many diseases were also associated with an environmental stressor, especially those affecting coral, macroalgae and fish. Key virulence traits included the production of adhesins and host tissue‐degrading enzymes. Overall, the nature of disease involving Bacteroidota pathogens appears to be an outcome of complex host–pathogen–environment interactions; however, our understanding of virulence remains limited by the lack of functional characterization studies. This is concerning as Bacteroidota have the potential to emerge as a serious threat to marine ecosystems and aquaculture industries, driven by global changes in ocean conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haematological parameters are frequently used as physiological indicators in aquaculture studies. These parameters also have extended applications in clinical evaluation, diagnosis and prognosis in fish health status. However, no normal reference range of values has been demonstrated in depth for any of these haematological parameters for the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) or gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata). The main objective of this article is to present for the first time through extended literature review, the haematological parameters normal range values for the two most important aquaculture fish species farmed in Mediterranean Sea, D. labrax and S. aurata, and to demonstrate their similarities and their differences. In this article, we also discuss the environmental and external factors affecting their normal blood parameters values and we propose fundamental guidelines on the reporting units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The way we produce our food is increasingly scrutinized and evaluated on its possible contribution to the global environmental changes the world is currently witnessing. 2023; 15 (3): 976 - 990. doi: 10.1111/raq.12770 21 Zhao Y, Xue B, Bi C, Ren X, Liu Y. Influence mechanisms of macro-infrastructure on micro-environments in the recirculating aquaculture system and biofloc technology system. With regard to I Reuse i , themes mentioned were 'valorization of aquaculture and non-aquaculture waste streams for aquaculture' and 'Improving food safety issues of products emanating from circular aquaculture'. With regard to I Conceptualizing and/or designing circular production systems i , we called for 'Circular production systems, such as aquaponics, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems, etc.'. [Extracted from the article]

This paper investigates the livelihood vulnerability experienced by agricultural households in Kuttanad, a below sea level farming system in southern India, in the aftermath of a major flood in August 2018. For this purpose, we constructed a flood coping strategy index (FCSI), to measure coping strategy intensity, using the data on the severity and frequency of various coping strategies adopted by households. Furthermore, we estimated a Tobit regression model to identify the factors influencing the intensity of coping strategy choices. The FCSI revealed that only two per cent of agricultural households experienced a 'severe' level of vulnerability because of the quick and effective policy response of the Kerala state government. In addition, Tobit regression analysis indicated that female‐headed and labour households are more vulnerable than their respective counterparts. While income exerts a negative influence on the degree of livelihood vulnerability, agricultural landholding has a positive effect, as it increases cultivation loss during a flood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hogfish Lachnolaimus maximus is a high‐value food fish with significant recreational and commercial fishing pressure and is a candidate species for marine aquaculture. There is a need to define safe and effective methods of anesthesia for handling of this species for aquaculture. Anesthesia efficacy was assessed with wild‐collected adult (>20 cm; 0.2–1.2 kg) and juvenile F1 (<11 cm; 5–50 g) Hogfish by using tricaine methanesulfonate (Tricaine‐S) at 25, 50, 100, 125, and 150 mg/L and AQUI‐S 20E (10% eugenol) at 50, 75, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 mg/L to determine favorable doses for minor handling. Favorable doses resulted in induction of light anesthesia and recovery times each under 5 min, zero mortality, and limited excitation behavior. For adult Hogfish, Tricaine‐S was effective at inducing light anesthesia at 100–150 mg/L and was preferred over the effective range of AQUI‐S 20E doses (100–200 mg/L) based on fish behavioral observations while undergoing anesthesia. Additionally, induction of deep anesthesia was explored to inform potential doses for major and potentially lethal procedures. These same ranges were effective at inducing deep anesthesia in adults. Juvenile fish were effectively anesthetized at the same doses of Tricaine‐S (100–150 mg/L) and were induced to light and deep anesthesia faster than adults at the same dose levels. AQUI‐S 20E was effective at inducing light anesthesia in juveniles at all levels tested; however, no favorable dose for deep anesthesia was found. Overall, Hogfish were anesthetized with Tricaine‐S at similar doses used with other species and responded to AQUI‐S 20E similarly in terms of efficacy but unfavorably in terms of behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the process of selecting candidates for the American Fisheries Society (AFS) offices of President-Elect, First Vice President, and Second Vice President. The Nominating Committee (NC) is responsible for choosing candidates, and this year they aimed to consider the strategic direction of AFS and the strengths and experiences of current officers. The NC also emphasized the need for candidates with administrative experience, geographic diversity, and expertise in areas such as marine fisheries and aquaculture. While no candidates addressed all these areas, the NC selected two finalists based on these criteria. The NC encourages AFS members to nominate potential candidates for future leadership positions. [Extracted from the article]