People & planet

By Ruth Francis-Floyd and Craig Watson, University of Florida - Ammonia is a major metabolic waste product from fish. It is excreted across the gill membranes and in the urine. The primary source of ammonia in aquaculture systems is fish feed.

In a new book, The Benefits of Fish Meal in Aquaculture Diets, RD Miles and FA Chapman, from the University of Florida, explain the value of fishmeal in feeds for fish and shrimp.

Tilapia is native to Africa and the Middle East. A decade ago, few people knew much about tilapia. Today, it has emerged to become the second biggest aquatic species group after the carp group, with a worldwide harvest of over 2 million metric tons (MT), about…

By Craig Tucker, Mississippi State University and published by the Southern Regional Agricultural Center and the Texas Aquaculture Extension Service - Fish, like all animals, must obtain oxygen from the environment for respiration. Oxygen is far less available…

By Fiskeriforskning - Statkraft is focusing on tidal power and is planning a floating plant in Kvalsundet Strait outside Troms. Can such a power plant affect fish farms and the local fish population?

By Sintef - Land-based aquaculture systems release water with high values of nutrients. Marine algae use most of these to produce biomass. This principle can be used to clean the water using chosen arts of algae and macro-algea in the effluent.

By John A. Hargreaves and Craig S. Tucker, Mississippi State University and published by the Southern Regional Agricultural Center and the Texas Aquaculture Extension Service - Dissolved oxygen concentration(DO) is considered the most important water quality v…

Louis A. Helfrich, Extension Specialist; Jim Parkhurst, Extension Specialist; and Richard Neves, Extension Specialist; Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Virginia Tech - At times landowners may be confronted with serious water losses resulting from…

The majority of global fish stocks lack adequate data to evaluate stock status using conventional stock assessment methods. This poses a challenge for the sustainable management of these stocks, writes Thomas R. Carruthers et al, University of British Columbia…

Given the nutritional value and profile (comparability of amino acids, EFA, and micronutrients) of maggot meal (MM), this study, by Emilie Devic et al, University of Stirling, evaluates strategies for the substitution of fish meal (FM) by MM, different method…

The advent of new legislation in Scotland to protect the marine environment is compelling fish farmers and marine specialists to adopt measures to prevent biofouling and the introduction of non-native species into Scottish waters.

All Tilapias are native to Africa, but have been distributed to every continent not covered in ice. The global tilapia farming industry currently produces 3.5 million tons which are worth almost $6 billion, over 80% of which is produced outside of Africa. In A…

NORWAY - A previously un-described granulomatous disease in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L) related to the presence of a Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacterium belonging to the genus Francisella has been identified.

The FAO paper from the 14th session of the Sub-Committee on Fish Trade reviews the role fish plays in human nutrition and looks at the impact fish trade might have on food security and nutrition. Fish is recognized as an excellent source of protein but also pl…

TEXAS - The Gulf Marine Institute of Technology (GMIT), an IRS approved non-profit research institute, has been trying to initiate aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico since 1995 and has been involved in a "duel with the titans" to convince current Lt. Governor a…

Positioning of sea cages at sites with high water current velocities expose the fish to a largely unknown environmental challenge. In this study David Johansson et al, Institute of Marine Research, Norway, observed the swimming behaviour of Atlantic salmon (Sa…

New findings published by researchers at the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering are helping to unravel the complex interplay between alcohol and social behavior and may lead to new therapies for mitigating the negative impacts of alcohol use…

Several indices were examined to assess the physical condition of wrasse stocked on Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, farms as cleaner fish, and included examination of eye condition, snout erosion, skin hemorrhaging, and erosion and splitting of dorsal, pectoral,…

Introduction Discussion of the current shrimp disease crisis focuses on the microbiology of pathogens and the regulations needed to limit their spread locally and across national boundaries (FAO 2008; Jones 2012; Lightner 2012; Reantaso 2012). In this study I …

Omer M. Yousif, Kumar K.M. Krishnankutty and Abdul Fatah Ali, Aquaculture and Marine Studies Center, Abu Al Abyad Island, Department of the President's Affairs, looked at the reproductive performance, growth and survival of wild and pond-reared giant tiger shr…

One of the most difficult problems in Atlantic salmon aquaculture has been to control sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Caligus elongatus in the Northern Hemisphere and Caligus rogercresseyi in Chile), which may cause serious harm to aquaculture reared fis…

This report by Future of Fish (FoF) represents the first stage of an approach solving complex systemic problems in aquaculture. The insights gleaned through this research and analysis will allow FoF to recruit and convene a working group of entrepreneurs, exis…

This report from the United Nations conference on trade and development looks at trade, value addition and social inclusiveness in the Gambian fisheries sector, with a focus on women.

This article presents a brief summary of Chile's fisheries and aquaculture sectors. It also addresses the main institutions and guilds since the time when there were no regulations until now, where overfishing has lead to the need for regulations through close…

By adjusting water discharges in ways designed to boost salmon productivity, officials at a dam in central Washington were able to more than triple the numbers of juvenile salmon downstream of the dam over a 30-year period, according to a study published in th…

Low oxygen zones in coastal and open ocean ecosystems have expanded in recent decades, a trend that will accelerate with climatic warming. Christopher J. Gobler et al, Stony Brook University, US, experimentally assessed the consequences of hypoxic and acidifie…

Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide drive accompanying changes in the marine carbonate system as carbon dioxide enters seawater and alters ocean pH. As such changes do not occur in isolation, and other environmental factors have the potential to modulate t…

Fisheries bycatch of marine animals has been linked to population declines of multiple species, including many sea turtles. John Wang et al, University of Hawaii, examined the effectiveness of illuminating gillnets with ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes f…

Introduction The anthropogenic increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration is a major environmental concern. One alarming consequence is a rapid change in seawater chemistry and decrease of ocean pH (Solomon et al. 2007; Doney et al. 2009), which could have larg…

Worldwide harvest of farmed tilapia has now surpassed 800,000 metric tons, and tilapia are second only to carps as the most widely farmed freshwater fish in the world, reveal Thomas Popma, from Auburn University and Michael Masser from Texas A&M University…

Introduction Marine protected areas (MPAs) have received increasing attention as tools in fisheries management and conservation. However, examples of replicated experiments that sampled organismal density before and after establishment of MPAs at sites both in…

Aquaculture is replacing capture fisheries in supplying the world with dietary protein. Although disease is a major threat to aquaculture production, the underlying global epidemiological patterns are unknown. Tommy Leung, University of New England, and Amanda…

A genetic linkage map has been constructed for Atlantic halibut on the basis of 258 microsatellites and 346 AFLPs. Twenty-four linkage groups were identified, consistent with the 24 chromosomes seen in chromosome spreads. The total map distance is 1562.2 cM in…

INDIA - A scientist and his team of the Division of Fisheries Science, Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), Port Blair, have initiated research on breeding and larval rearing of Giant Freshwater Prawn (M Rosenbergii) under controlled conditions at t…

By North Carolina State University - This publication presents the basic principles of managing recreational ponds and the requirements for producing and maintaining high-quality fishing in a pond. Some common mistakes in pond management and ways of solving po…

Chapter 5 Sources of Additional Information Information on pond stocking, fingerling and grass carp suppliers, pond management, and aquatic weed control is available from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Contact your county Cooperati…

Chapter 4 Solving Problems Fish Kills Fish die from a variety of natural causes. Observing a few dead fish in a pond is not uncommon and is no reason for concern unless it continues for several days. When fish die in large numbers, however, there is …

Chapter 3: Pond Management Liming Some ponds benefit from the occasional addition of lime. Ponds with very soft, acidic water (less than 20 parts per million total alkalinity) will not be very productive, and also may not respond to fertilization, u…

Chapter 2: Stocking and Harvesting Prestocking Procedures New Ponds: Plan construction so the pond is completed and filled by September or early October. Ponds filled in the summer may become contaminated with undesirable fish, which should be remove…