Aquaculture

Broodstock management lies at the heart of successful aquaculture production. Fish that better meet market demand are produced through generations of strategic breeding. Regardless of species or location, monitoring broodstock success requires careful analysis of breeding efforts and the ability to trace offspring.

Sustainability certificates increase trust in aquaculture products This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 3 2021. In many European countries it is currently a somewhat rare find. In other regions of the world, however, the blue and white Best Aquaculture Practices logo with its three stylised fish is much more widespread and is recognised as a symbol of socially responsible, sustainable and environmentally friendly fish and seafood products. What does the BAP seal stand for, has it earned the trust of consumers and should we be paying more attention to it?

Sturgeon farmers producing fish for caviar would benefit hugely from a molecular-biological sex test for juvenile and adolescent sturgeons. Early sexual identification can significantly decrease production costs by increasing the number of females for caviar production while maintaining a balance of male animals for meat production and for use as brood stock. Additional advantages from the genomic analysis to determine sex could be the identification of genes implicated in growth, meat production, or egg quality (caviar) which opens the door for improvements in these areas. Currently, the normal male to female ratio in production facilities is approximately 1:1 through natural selection. If an early sex test is available, then this ratio could be manipulated to favour the production of either caviar or meat.

On a global scale European production of algae is very modest, but companies and research bodies find that algae can contribute to addressing important issues faced in Europe including sustainability, human and animal health, and plastic pollution. The positive role algae can play in these and other fields were among the topics discussed at the AlgaEurope conference.

A German company, FIAP offers a range of equipment for the aquaculture sector from sophisticated recirculation systems to hand-held nets. An aquaculture farm whether on land or at sea is a rough environment and the equipment used needs to be tough and reliable if the farm is to operate successfully.

A company in Turkey is growing whiteleg shrimp from imported broodstock. The experience and knowledge gained will be used to catalyse the development of a shrimp industry in the country.

The annual general assembly of the Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC) in September this year was held online due to the pandemic. The virtual setting had, however, no impact on the level of debate which has characterised this organisation’s meetings. In his address, Virginius Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, welcomed the advice and recommendations made by AAC for the Commission and the Member States to guide the development of sustainable aquaculture in Europe. He stressed that aquaculture as a low carbon source of high-quality protein plays a key role in meeting the objectives of EU strategies, including the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy, and the Biodiversity Strategy.

It is now over 200 years since the water carrier in Luigi Cherubini’s opera expressed for the first time that without water our world would be an ‘empty barrel’. But this has in the meantime become a serious problem. Climate change is increasing the pressure to use water even more sparingly. This affects aquaculture in particular for almost two-thirds of global output are currently produced in fresh water. This article was featured in EUROFISH Magazine 5 / 2020.

Consumers need more information about the benefits offered by today’s technologies This article was featured in EUROFISH Magazine 4 / 2020. Advances in biotechnology are opening up new opportunities that can benefit aquaculture, too, making it more efficient, more environmentally friendly, and more sustainable. The potential is enormous, but not all biotechnological methods and tools find acceptance in the public domain. Some consumers even reject genetic engineering outright. However, genetic engineering is only one of many opportunities that biotechnology offers us.