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There is an increasing need to evaluate the links between the social and ecological dimensions of human vulnerability to climate change. Joshua E. Cinner et al, James Cook University, Australia, use an empirical case study of 12 coastal communities and associa…

Labelling for export can be a complicated process - not only do you have to ensure that you adhere to the minefield of legislation, but you also want to make sure that the customer is impressed - after all the label is what every customer will see before they …

This report by Monica Favnebe Solberg et al, Institute of Marine Research, Norway, looked at the growth reaction norms of domesticated, wild and hybrid Atlantic salmon families in response to differing social and physical environments.

Temperature is one of key environmental parameters that affect the whole life of fishes and an increasing number of studies have been directed towards understanding the mechanisms of cold acclimation in fish.

The detection of pathogens at early stages of infection is a key point for disease control in aquaculture. This work by Dagoberto Seplveda et al, University Catlica de Valparaso, Chile, aims to design a unique RT-qPCR assay for pathogen detection in the three …

Cultivated bivalves rely on natural seston for growth and metabolic processes. Because seston is a limited resource, there is a need to better understand its distribution and fluxes within culture embayments, so farms can be positioned optimally within these d…

Intensive production of mainly carnivorous fish has resulted in fish feeds containing high levels of fishmeal and fish oil, with Europe requiring around 1.9 million tonnes a year, writes Nathan Atkinson, MSc Sustainable Aquaculture Systems student, Fish Nutrit…

The ongoing battle to combat sea lice remains one of the major issues facing salmon farmers of today. The parasite poses a significant threat to aquaculture operations worldwide. Whilst a number of preventative methods and post-infestation treatments, includin…

Enteric Redmouth Disease (ERM), caused by Yersinia ruckeri, is one of the most important infectious diseases in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) aquaculture in Europe. More recently, non-motile vaccine resistant isolates appear to have evolved and are causi…

Although aquaculture in the Mediterranean is a relatively young industry, finfish diseases have been reported to cause considerable problems and mortalities among the farmed stocks. In response, P. Arechavala-Lopez et al, University of Alicante, Spain, focus o…

Fishmeal is very extensively used in feeds for fish as well as other animals. A recent global survey estimated aquaculture consumption of fishmeal at 3724 thousand tonnes in 2006 (Tacon and Metian 2008). Now it is becoming increasingly evident that such contin…

Water temperature control to optimize fish growth is one the deciding factors favoring land - based aquaculture. Maintaining optimal temperature for growth removes the seasonal variations often found in fish feeding and growth rates as temperatures change, wri…

Tra catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus) is a dominant cultured species in Vietnam in terms of production. Its aquaculture production in 2011 was approximate 1.2 million metric tons. The main culture system for tra catfish is intensive model in earthen ponds with…

Concerns over fishing impacts on marine populations and ecosystems have intensified the need to improve ocean management. One increasingly popular market-based instrument for ecological stewardship is the use of certification and eco-labeling programs to highl…

In the context of resource management and spatial planning, tools are needed to help decision makers assess the potential of coastal areas for various activities. Among these, shellfish culture presents the particularity of exploiting natural resources as well…

This FAO document is a practical guide that includes a list and the technical details of materials to construct a hexagonal wooden cage for fish farming, and its mooring system, for use in artisanal aquaculture. Instructions for assembling the various componen…

With a need to guarantee complete coverage of fish cages during an inspection to prevent escapees through damaged net, Per Rundtop et al, SINTEF, have studied underwater vehicle navigation systems for net inspection in salmon aquaculture.

S. aurata is a marine fish living along the Atlantic coasts of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important food species, so that its production reached 128,943 t in the European aquaculture in 2008. However, little is known on its biology, in particul…

The expansion of global aquaculture production is increasing the demand for aquaculture feeds. Fishmeal is the main and most critical ingredient in aqua-feed production. The increasing cost of fishmeal has encouraged feed manufacturers search for cheaper alter…

As atmospheric CO2 levels rise, the CO2 concentration in ocean surface waters increases through a process commonly referred to as ocean acidification. Recently, surprising behavioural modifications have been detected in the early life stages of tropical coral …

The increased use of plant proteins as replacements of fish meal (FM) in aqua feeds may have adverse effects on nutrient digestibility, growth performance and gut health. Solvent extracted soybean meal (SBM), the major protein source in animal diets induces in…

Reports of product mislabeling are a constant story in the global seafood industry, with many advocating for more strict enforcement of naming requirements. The calls for more enforcement of seafood labeling rules begs the question of whether those rules achie…

Samantha L White et al, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, examined levels of mRNA in domesticated, wild and hybrid rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to investigate the influence of genotype (domesticated vs. wild, and their interactions in hybrids) and developmen…

For many farming practices, the capture, handling and transport of fish is an essential requirement; however with each of these activities found to be a stressful process, what are the implications for fish welfare? Hannah Chilvers, writing for TheFishSite.com…

S. aurata is a marine fish living along the Atlantic coasts of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important food species, so that its production reached 128,943 t in the European aquaculture in 2008. However, little is known on its biology, in particul…

With a growing demand for alternative proteins to satisfy the nutritional requirements of fish, Julio Traub et al, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, looked at the use of proteins from Malt (MW) and Grain Whisky (GW) co-products and presented their findings at …

Authors Dr David Graham and Dr Marian McLoughlin have commented on a recent study conducted by the Fish Diseases Unit (FDU) of the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute in Belfast and MSD Animal Health in Bergen, which has investigated relationships between diff…

A PhD project carried out at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science has examined the unwanted discoloration, or melanin "black spots", of muscle fillets from farmed salmon.

In order to gain more understanding of the link between slaughtering and meat quality, M. M. Viegas et al, University So Paulo, evaluated how different slaughtering methods for pacu influence the protein denaturation of frozen fillets stored for 180 days. The …

Speaking at Aquaculture Europe 2013, T. Ytrestyl et al, Nofima, Norway, discussed the effects that salinity and exercise have on the performance and physiology of Atlantic salmon postsmolts reared in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).

In recent years, with the development of next-generation sequencing technology, a growing number of genes have been reported as being horizontally transferred from prokaryotes to eukaryotes, most of them involving arthropods. As a member of the phylum Arthropo…

In the last years considerable attention has been paid on the use of seaweeds (SW) as a possible ingredient for aquafeeds. Red, green and brown SW can be taken from their natural habitat and brought to the shore by the action of winds and tides, write Maria Is…

More than 129 million child labourers in the world work in the agriculture sector, which includes fisheries, aquaculture, forestry and livestock. These girls and boys, between the ages of 5 and 17, are performing work that interferes with their education or da…

Enzymes are one of the many types of protein in biological systems. With pressure to find more sustainable sources of fish feed for aquaculture, researchers have been trying to improve the nutritional value of fish feed by enzyme supplementation, writes Prakas…

The role of heterotrophic and autotrophic nutrition in the early stages of giant clams is still equivocal. In particular, the significance of these two nutritional modes and the relative dependency of the clams at the early life stages are not clear, said Moha…

Sea bream and sea bass aquaculture is already widely established in the Mediterranean basin, mainly reared in coastal net-pen facilities. The rapid increase of farming activity has also lead to an increase of escape incidents in Mediterranean farms, said Arech…

Capture fisheries resources from marine, fresh and brackish waters around the globe are facing decreased landings due to various reasons such as over-fishing, oversized fishing fleets, irresponsible fishing, fishing with highly efficient technologies in near-s…

Pikeperch is one of the very important candidates for intensive freshwater aquaculture diversification. One of the biggest obstacle in the aquaculture of this species is the controlled reproduction, which is one of the most important part of the production cyc…

The sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture is becoming a much talked about issue, but how often do we think about how fish is slaughtered? Hannah Chilvers, writing for TheFishSite.com, discusses different slaughter techniques and their impact on fish welf…

To balance the conflicting demands to reduce reliance on marine-ingredients while maintaining growth performance and high product quality standards, fish nutritionists have begun investigating the use of cost-effective alternative ingredients. During Aquacultu…