Behavioural interactions of seabirds with suspended mussel longlines

Increased abundances of a number of seabird species have been found in areas of mussel longline aquaculture (compared to control sites) in a recent study at Bantry Bay, southwest Ireland. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this form of mussel aquaculture also affects the activity budgets and foraging behaviour of these seabirds. Scan-sampling was used to compare seabird activity budgets between three areas of mussel longline aquaculture and three control sites. Foraging activities of Great-Northern Divers Gavia immer, an Annex 1 species under the Euopean Union's Birds Directive, were also compared between sites using focal sampling. The behaviour of gulls (Larus sp.), Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo, Shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis and Great-Northern Divers (but not auks, Alcidae) differed significantly between areas of mussel aquaculture and control sites in this study. Mussel suspension buoys were heavily utilized by gulls, cormorants and shags as safe perching platforms for preening activities. Gulls also fed extensively on epifauna attached to the buoys. Great-Northern Divers spent more time snorkelling (head submerged in search of food) in mussel sites than in the control sites, however dive duration and visible foraging success rates did not differ significantly between sites. Overall, the environmental impact of mussel suspension culture appears to be positive or neutral on marine bird species occurring at this study site.     

Dissolved nutrient release from solid wastes of southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii, Castelnau) aquaculture

Finfish pens are point sources of dissolved nutrients released from fish metabolism or degradation of solid wastes. Nutrients leaching from uneaten feed and faeces are not usually quantified in mass budgets for these systems, leading to an overestimation of fish retention or deposition to the seabed. In this study, we investigated nutrient leaching from pellets and baitfish feed as well as faeces of southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) into seawater. Faeces were nitrogen depleted (51–54 mg N g⁻¹ dw) and phosphorus enriched (62–72 mg P g⁻¹ dw) compared with feeds (83–111 mg N g⁻¹ dw and 17–21 mg P g⁻¹ dw). Less phosphorus was available for leaching from pellets and faeces of pellet‐fed tuna (5–6%) than from baitfish and faeces of baitfish‐fed tuna (17–21%). The proportion of soluble nitrogen in pellets (15%) was also lower than in baitfish and faeces (35–43%). Leaching loads for a feed conversion ratio of 5 were estimated as 22 and 26 kg N tonne⁻¹ growth when baitfish or pellets were used as feed respectively. Phosphorus loads were estimated as 15 and 4 kg P tonne⁻¹ growth respectively. More than 90% of nitrogen loads, and approximately 50% of phosphorus, are likely to be released into seawater before solid wastes reach the seafloor.     

氟苯尼考用于水产养殖的安全性

氟苯尼考(florfenicol)，又称氟甲砜霉素，是一种新型广谱高效抗菌药物，自20世纪90年代初开始应用于水产养殖。1990年氟苯尼考首次在日本上市用于治疗黄尾蛳(Seriola lalandei)、真鲷(Pagrosomus major)、银大马哈鱼(Oncorhynchus kisutch)、日本竹笑鱼(Trachurus japonicus)、虹鳟(Oncorhynchus mykiss)、香鱼(Plecoglossus altivelis)、罗非鱼和鳗鱼等的假结核性巴氏杆菌病(pasteurellosis)和链球菌病(streptococcosis)，随后，韩国、挪威、智利、加拿大、英国等分别上市用于治疗专门疾病。中国1999年批准氟苯考尼为国家二类新兽药，在水产养殖上可用于治疗鳗鲡爱德华氏病和赤鳍病。本研究从氟苯尼考抗菌活性与药效学、药代动力学、毒理学、以及药物残留、耐药性等方面探讨其用于水产养殖病害防治的安全性，旨为该药在中国水产养殖中的科学合理应用提供理论参考。     

芽孢杆菌在水产养殖中的应用进展

目前,茅孢杆菌是公认有发展前景的优良菌种之一,在水产养殖中应用,能够促进养殖动物生长、减少病害发生、改善养殖环境。文章综述了目前在水产中常用芽孢杆菌的种类、作用机理及应用效果。     

豹纹鳃棘鲈工厂化养殖试验

利用闲置的鲍鱼养殖池进行豹纹鳃棘鲈工厂化养殖模式的研究。养殖池长宽高为9 m×3 m×2 m,有效水深约1.7 m,设3个进水口,采用下排上溢的排水方式,在距池底高20 cm处建3排6个进气管,管上打孔增氧。在池中放置一长宽高为6.0 m×3.0 m×1.5 m的网箱,将豹纹鳃棘鲈放在网箱中养殖,有效水体深1.2 m。养殖用水处理:海边沙滤井→沉淀池→三级过滤池→紫外线消毒池→活化珊瑚石过滤→养殖池(下排上溢)→上溢养殖废水用于东风螺或双壳贝类养殖,下排养殖废水进入污水沉淀处理池。在2011年7月放养9 000尾全长10 cm的优质豹纹鳃棘鲈苗种,经过约15个月的养殖,共养成每尾平均体重约742 g的商品鱼5 710 kg,养殖成活率达85.5%,单位产量达12.4 kg·m-3。     

Macro policies to promote sustainable commercial aquaculture

Aquaculture has been the world's fastestgrowing source of food, with fin fish andshellfish production expanding by an averagecompound rate of growth of 10.9%. This is arate of growth faster than that of terrestrialmeat production. The paper describes policiesthat can promote aquaculture. The focus is oncommercial (for profit) aquaculture, butsubsistence aquaculture is indirectly includedon the assumption that the two systems arecomplementary, rather than mutuallyexclusive.     

Nitrification kinetics of biofilm as affected by water quality factors

Various types of fixed film biofilters have been used in recirculating aquaculture systems under different water quality and operating conditions. The effectiveness of the nitrification process can be evaluated by nitrification kinetics. Nitrification in the bacterial film of the biofilter involves physical, chemical and biological processes that are governed by a variety of parameters such as substrate and dissolved oxygen concentrations, organic matters, temperature, pH, alkalinity, salinity and turbulence level. The impacts of these parameters upon nitrification kinetics make predicting the performance of a biofilter for a given application an engineering challenge. Knowing the performance of a biofilter is critical for both designers and managers. This paper summarizes the current knowledge on nitrification kinetics as affected by the aforementioned factors based on literature and the results from the authors’ laboratories. These factors were ranked according to their significance of impact on biofilter nitrification performance. The information presented can be used as a reference for the design and operation of biofilters in recirculating aquaculture systems.     

Experimental rearing of juvenile New Zealand turbot Colistium nudipinnis (Waite 1910): a potential new aquaculture species

Investigations into factors affecting the growth of the first hatchery-produced juvenile New Zealand turbot Colistium nudipinnis (Waite 1910) showed that this endemic flatfish can be reared in raceways and tanks. After initial high mortality (> 60%) in the post-weaning period (to 120 days post-hatch), the juveniles showed high survival over the grow-out period. Growth of the juveniles was better at lower (16–18 °C) than at higher (> 20 °C) water temperatures, and better in a deep tank than in shallow raceways. Under the experimental rearing conditions, growth (to mean weight of 0.2 kg in 20 months) was relatively slow and food conversion (FCRs > 1.4) relatively high, both factors being related to the feeding behaviour of this species. C. nudipinnis feeds directly from the bottom, and this behavioural characteristic influences aspects of fish farming practice, such as stocking density and feeding strategy, that are critical to its economic viability. There is potential to improve the growth by optimizing the rearing conditions, so that it may not be unrealistic to achieve the maximum growth reached in these trials commercially and produce marketable farmed turbot, of over 400 g weight, within 2 years.     

Water quality affects SDH activity, protein content and RNA:DNA ratios in fish (Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Oreochromis mossambicus) raised in ponds of a sewage-fed fish farm

The spatial and seasonal variability of the respiratory enzyme succinate dehydrogenase and the protein content were examined in different tissues of fish cultured in three ponds along the effluent gradient of a sewage-fed fish farm. Indian major carp Catla catla (150-230 g) and Labeo rohita (60-190 g) cultured in both the middle and last points of the sewage effluent (stocking pond 1) and (stocking pond 4) and Oreochromis mossambicus (50-160 g), a naturally growing fish of the inlet (facultative pond) and the out let of the sewage effluent (stocking pond 4) were procured every month during the period of January-December, 2005 and were subjected to determination of succinate dehydrogenase activity, total protein, DNA and RNA contents from gill, liver and muscle tissue respectively. The SDH activity of all three test fishes (Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Oreochromis mossambicus) was reduced significantly (ANOVA; P < 0.05) when cultured in SP-4 compared to SP-1 in the case of Catla catla and Labeo rohita and in facultative pond in the case of Oreochromis mossambicus.Conspicuous differences in the SDH activity of fish between the last and first stocking pond or the facultative pond were clearly due to the result of the differences in water quality. There was a direct relationship between SDH activity in gill tissue of any of the fish investigated and ammonia-N concentration of water or water pH. This shows that the respiratory activity of these fishes was strongly affected by the ammonia and pH of water. In other words, this suggests that as the distance from the point source increases, there was a substantial improvement of water quality in the ponds located along the sewage effluent gradient. Evidently, there is a progressive pattern of growth, survival and physiological health of fish and abundance of favorable diversity of food organisms with rich biodiversity.     

硝化细菌分子生态学研究进展

硝化细菌在促进水域生态系统的氮循环、保持健康水产养殖环境方面发挥着巨大作用。本文分析了硝化细菌分子生态学研究的意义,介绍了硝化细菌的主要种类及其系统进化关系,综述了硝化细菌分子生态学研究进展,并对中国的研究现状进行了分析。结合作者的工作实践,认为中国应加强对水产养殖环境硝化细菌分子生态学研究,为养殖环境的污染防治和微生态制剂的研制等提供理论依据。