The opening of the new sea-fisheries laboratory by the Fisheries Service in Lithuania.
The Fisheries Service under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania has established and opened a sea-fisheries and aquaculture laboratory, the construction and modernisation of which were funded by the European Fisheries Fund. The laboratory was created through the Programme of Integrated Science, Studies and Business Centre for the Development of the Lithuanian Maritime Sector.
According to Virginija Baltraitienė, the Minister of Agriculture, the aims of the programme include creating modern infrastructure for the general needs of Lithuania’s maritime research, academic studies and technological development; encouraging more active applications of scientific output in production and business; incubating start-ups that will develop practical applications of scientific output; opening possibilities for cooperation among knowledge-demanding maritime businesses, academic institutions and research teams; strengthening the competitiveness of Lithuanian maritime research and technologies in international markets; and creating conditions for attracting more foreign investment to business and research activities within Lithuania’s maritime sector.
Laboratory houses a number of new facilities
The research and development infrastructure created via the projects of the Maritime Valley Programme is open to internal and external users. Building the laboratory entailed rearranging the premises of the Fishery Research and Science Division of the Fisheries Service; installing 3 modules of a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) for aquaculture experiments and scientific research; creating a mesocosm system and experimental flume for fundamental and applied experimental ecology research under controlled environmental conditions; and servicing the molecular biology laboratory.
According to Indrė Šidlauskienė, the Fisheries Service Director, the RAS installed in the Fishery Research and Science Division of the Fisheries Service will enable various experiments related to the growth of fish and other aquatic organisms in small spaces by minimizing negative impacts on the natural environment. Recirculating aquaculture is a growing aquaculture sector, as it has many advantages compared to traditional aquaculture. The controlled conditions create an optimal environment for fish growth, and illnesses and parasites can be prevented more easily within such closed systems. In addition, the system does not require large volumes of water or much space. However, the use of these systems for obtaining large aquaculture production volumes is limited for various reasons: large initial investments are necessary, the pay-back period is long, and there are many risks related to the physiological and behavioural characteristics of the produced species.
Self-contained system for breeding fish
A RAS consist of three modules. The first module is designed for incubating fish eggs and larvae, which grow from the first feeding up to weight of 0.25 g. The second unit houses fry, while in the third unit fish are grown to maturity. Each unit includes the equipment for rearing, feed dosing, and feeding appropriate to the development stage of the fish.
Today, there are a few companies trying to grow fish in RAS in Lithuania. The laboratory RAS system can be used to improve and adapt growing techniques for various fish species and other aquatic organisms (pike-perch, sturgeon, perch, freshwater shrimp, algae, etc.) to the Lithuanian situation, thereby benefiting the industry.
Mesocosms enable researchers to control conditions
Dr Jūratė Lesutienė, associate professor of Marine Technology and Natural Sciences of Klaipėda University, has a lot of experience with mesocosms. Mesocosms (meso- is medium and -cosm is world) are indoor experimental tanks designed to monitor natural aquatic environment under controlled conditions, she says. The mesocosm system includes 12 pieces of large-volume (height 4.3 m, 2.76 m3) integrated modules. Each module is equipped with heating and cooling systems capable of maintaining different temperature levels at three depth layers to simulate thermal water stratification phenomena. Dr Lesutienė also noted the potential applications of the research: “A fundamental research task related to the investigation of eutrophication process, biogeochemical cycling of materials and aquatic food webs could be solved using mesocosms. This experimental facility will also serve to test the effects of new synthetic materials and technologies on aquatic organisms, as well as to contribute to the development of knowledge on cultivation of aquatic organisms,” she says.
The experimental flume installed in the laboratory will enable further research of suspended particle sedimentation capabilities, the resistance of various organisms to the experimental flume, as well as the ecology of aquatic life, plants and algae. Besides the modern experimental capacities in the new premises, comfortable workplaces for scientists and researchers have also been arranged, and there is an auditorium with 25 seats.
According to Lina Kujalytė, Viceminister of Agriculture, all the experimental systems are adapted for operation in both freshwater and Baltic seawater environments. This creates excellent conditions for applied research on maritime ecology, fisheries, and aquaculture in Lithuania; there is no similar complex infrastructure in the entire south-east region of the Baltic Sea. In the near future, the new research and development infrastructure will be developed in close collaboration with the Klaipėda University Open Access Centre for Marine Research. This is aimed at ensuring the proper operation of the scientific infrastructure of Marine Valley, allowing open access to the research and development services for internal and external users, and facilitating science and business cooperation through high-level scientific and technological research. The new research and development capacities will include various project activities, such as consultation services for the private sector, research and development projects, and national and international projects. The laboratory will also participate in university study programmes on fishery and aquaculture, ecology and environmental management, and general biology.
Analysis of fish DNA and genetic structure
The objectives of the currently planned projects are to assess the genetic diversity of salmonid fish using molecular biology and applying mesocosms for cultivation and reproduction of mysid (a small crustacean) cultures; to determine genetic differences between different populations and genetic structure; and to investigate the genetic structure formation peculiarities in restored and natural populatio
ns, according to Antanas Kontautas, chief specialist of The Fisheries Research and Science Division of the Fisheries Service and lecturer at the Faculty of Marine Technology and Natural Sciences of Klaipėda University. Researchers also plan to apply DNA analysis to identify toxic and non-toxic cyanobacteria. The Baltic Sea Region Interreg project Baltic Blue Biotechnology Alliance will assess the impact of probiotic preparations, which have been developed for aquaculture, on the functioning of RAS and the fish grown in such systems. This year, an experiment protocol is to be designed for the use of pike-perch fry in pilot experiments. This will allow the preliminary effects of probiotics on young fish, water quality, and water treatment efficiency in biofilters to be tested. A wide-range experiment is planned for 2017. The Fishery Research and Science Division of Fisheries Service also participates in the consortium, submitting the COST Programme application to the European network for the improvement of pike-perch aquaculture.
Programme directors believe that in the near future, a wider circle of young scientists and researchers will become interested in new opportunities for scientific research in ecology, fisheries and aquaculture fields in the south-east Baltic region. They urge scientists, students and others to visit the new sea-fisheries and aquaculture laboratory and to start working together with the laboratory faculty developing and implementing projects.