Biosecurity and Genetic Improvement of Penaeid Shrimp: Applications to the Marine Ornamental Industry

The marine ornamental industry relies almost exclusively on wild-caught fish, invertebrates, and live rock to meet the market demands of aquarium hobbyists. For the industry to expand, appropriate technologies are needed to mitigate disease problems and reduce the dependence on wild stocks. Biosecurity protocols and techniques for genetic improvement have recently been applied to the culture of penaeid shrimp for human consumption, and these approaches may be applicable to an emerging marine ornamental industry. Biosecure production systems for penaeid shrimp are being developed in response to disease problems and growing concerns about environmental pollution from pond effluent. Biosecure systems rely on minimal water exchange and provide shrimp farmers with an opportunity to move production away from the coastline. In addition to the development of biosecure production systems, researchers at the Oceanic Institute have established a selective breeding program for the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. To date, significant improvements in shrimp growth and disease resistance have been made through selective breeding. It is likely that advances in biosecure technologies and genetic improvement will be applicable to the culture of marine ornamental shellfish and finfish and will contribute to an economically viable and environmentally sustainable industry.     

国内外海水观赏鱼产业与研究现状

海水观赏鱼贸易是海洋水族馆贸易行业的重要部分,是一项价值十几亿美元的产业,每年交易量达数百万尾,且需求量逐年上升,但由于严重依赖野生资源捕捞而使该行业饱受争议。目前,90%~95%的海水观赏鱼由野生捕捞获得,在已知的数千种珊瑚礁鱼类中,有一半以上在缺乏或无监测情况下进行贸易,自然资源面临严重威胁。观赏性水产从业者和消费者有责任保护野生捕获物种的可持续发展,海水观赏鱼的养殖被认为是一种保护野生资源的有效手段,但仍有许多技术问题阻碍其发展。文章结合相关数据和文献,概述了国际海水观赏鱼产业现状及最新研究进展,讨论了海水观赏鱼产业中存在的问题,并提出了一些可行的解决方案,旨在为中国海水观赏鱼产业发展提供一定的借鉴和参考。     

The Potential for the Restoration of Marine Ornamental Fish Populations Through Hatchery Releases

Populations of tropical and subtropical marine fish are being depleted worldwide to supply increasing demands of the aquarium industry and fresh seafood market. Overfishing and destructive harvest techniques have left some marine fish populations virtually extirpated in a number of primarily underdeveloped countries. In situations where only small remnant populations and significantly degraded habitat remain, population recovery even under the complete absence of collection will be slow, with the high potential for population loss due to natural environmental and recruitment variability. Stock enhancement, supplementing natural recruitment with hatchery produced fry, has the potential to significantly increase the rate of population recovery while maintaining population vigor.Stock enhancement research on Pacific threadfin has demonstrated measurable positive impacts on recreational and commercial fisheries for this species in experimental scale releases; similar successes can be expected for enhancement efforts directed toward species of ornamental value. The major technological barrier to ornamental fish enhancement, the development of appropriate culture capabilities, is being addressed in research directed to the commercial production of fish for the aquarium trade.     

Possible applications of modern fish larviculture technology to ornamental fish production

There has been rapid development in the marine foodfishlarviculture technology in Europe since the early eighties,especially in the flat fish, turbot and halibut, and the bass andbream species. The most significant improvements in the eightieswere the introduction of light control, artificial reproductiontechniques, appropriate water treatment and the use of rotifersand Artemia nauplii of specific sizes and in the late eightiesand early nineties the quality enhancement of live food organismsusing specific enrichment techniques. Present research is focusedon the implementation of several microbial techniques to improvethe hygiene of live prey and fish.Many of the modern larviculture techniques being used in marine foodfish could be adapted for application in the ornamental fish industry. For examples, research in the Onamental Fish Section, Primary Production Department, Singapore has demonstrated that the use of freshwater rotifers and Artemia nauplii would enable artificial rearing of Discus in the absence of the parent fish and improve the larval performance of Gouramis and Tetra larvae. The use of such small live food organisms is likely to facilitate breeding of new fish species with small larvae. Research has also indicated that the use of diets containing vitamin C and certain immuno-stimulants improved the stress resistance of guppy. Such techniques would have important application in the fish transport, an important aspect in the ornamental fish industry     

新加坡观赏鱼产业发展的机遇与挑战

新加坡是一个小岛国,农业用地及用于养鱼的海域面积均很有限。但新加坡观赏鱼产业相当独特和成功,是世界第一观赏鱼出口国,向80多个国家出售超过1 000种鱼类,2016年的年收入达到4 300万美元。该产业的成功主要源于其在许可证颁发,生物安全控制,养殖,包装,运输和疾病控制等各方面所具有的独特特征。新加坡正在努力驯养和培育许多高价值的海洋物种和新的淡水物种,并开发新型的循环水养殖系统。上游研究侧重于开发和使用基因组工具来培育新品种并维持野外种类的遗传多样性。但由于养殖鱼类的空间有限,邻国竞争激烈,该行业面临诸多挑战,其市场份额正在减少。在这篇综述中,我们将总结新加坡观赏鱼产业的现状和发展,讨论其面临的挑战,并提出保持该产业领先地位的建议。     

Advances in Breeding and Rearing Marine Ornamentals

This work addresses the most relevant advances in the breeding and rearing of marine ornamental species. The main breakthroughs in marine ornamental fish culture are discussed, with seahorses deserving a section of their own as a result of their conservation status and unique biology. Details on spawning, embryo development, larval rearing, plankton culturing, and tank design are presented. In addition, with the increase in popularity of ornamental invertebrates in reef aquariums, details on the culturing techniques of some of the most traded invertebrate groups (e.g., live rocks, corals, anemones, polychaetes, mollusks, decapod crustaceans and echinoderms) are also discussed. Finally, the last part of this work highlights the concerns toward the establishment of sustainable collection, production, and trading practices for marine ornamentals as well as the urgent need to develop reliable traceability protocols to distinguish sustainably caught and/or cultured specimens from wild ones. This work represents not only an exhaustive and updated bibliographical source but also a starting point for all those who want to contribute to the development of this fascinating research field.     

A Scale Measure of State Regulatory Climate Toward Finfish Aquaculture

States are responsible for implementing many key environmental laws enacted during the last 30 years. State level variations in legal, regulatory, and development programs targeted toward the aquaculture industry can affect aquaculture firm decision making, including site location and species selection decisions. This research focused on development and testing of a summated scale measure of state regulatory climate toward finfish aquaculture. Data for the analysis were generated from a national survey of state level finfish aquaculture programs. The final aquaculture regulatory climate scale (ARCScale) ranges from 0–18, with the numerical value of the scale increasing with increases in regulatory stringency. Scale values were computed for each state plus Guam for five categories of finfish: baitfish, ornamentals, commercial foodfish, freshwater gamefish, and marine gamefish. The scale allows direct comparison between states, enabling aquaculture producers to make more informed location, species selection, and business decisions. The scale also provides a means for evaluating changes in state institutional characteristics and regulatory climate over time.     

Ornamental Reef Fish Aquaculture and Collection in Hawaii

Ornamental fishes endemic to Hawaii's reefs are a valued resource and a staple of the marine aquarium trade, worldwide. At present, the market for Hawaiian ornamental reef fish is supplied entirely by the export of wild-captured animals, but the long-term sustainability of this practice is debatable. The success of breeders of ornamental fishes elsewhere, and concerns about overexploitation of wild fishes have stimulated interest in the development of an industry based on the captive propagation and rearing of Hawaiian ornamental fishes. Initial attempts to spawn and rear the larvae of various marine ornamental fishes in Hawaii were carried out in the early 1970s. The results of these culture efforts, conducted primarily at the Oceanic Institute and the University of Hawaii's Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology on Oahu, have varied in success. For the most part, these results have appeared previously only in dissertations or in reports distributed locally. Technological improvements in marine aquarium husbandry and in the culture of edible marine fishes have both benefited practitioners of ornamental reef fish culture, and promise to do so in the future. Our objective in this paper is to review the progress that has been made in the captive cultivation of ornamental marine fishes and to provide an overview of the status of the marine aquarium industry in Hawaii.     

Experimental Studies to Evaluate Larval Survival of the Fire Shrimp, Lysmata debelius, to the Juvenile Stage

Many coral reefs are threatened because of anthropogenic impacts such as destructive fishing methods for marine ornamentals. The marine ornamental industry is currently almost completely dependent upon wild collections. The development of commercially feasible methods to culture ornamental species could help to reduce the need for wild‐collected specimens and reduce pressure on coral reefs. Advances in larval rearing and nutrition would help overcome the bottlenecks that impede the commercial production of many marine ornamental species. This article focuses on research for improving the production of the fire shrimp, Lysmata debelius. Experiments were performed with larval fire shrimp to evaluate (1) the importance of essential fatty acid enrichment of live prey (rotifers and Artemia) and (2) feeding penaeid shrimp muscle tissue to improve survival to metamorphosis. We also provide the fatty acid composition of Day‐1 posthatch fire shrimp larvae. The enrichment of live prey with docosahexaenoic acid did not improve larval growth, survival, or time to metamorphosis, but larvae fed live prey together with pureed penaeid shrimp muscle had survival rates of 9.8 ± 1.2%. The data and protocols developed in this study provide a foundation and baseline for future fire shrimp larval studies.     

Essential Fish Habitat and the Effective Design of Marine Reserves: Application for Marine Ornamental Fishes

Extensive and unregulated harvest of marine ornamental fishes can lead to localized depletion of target species and habitat degradation from inappropriate collecting techniques. One potential solution to these problems is the creation of marine reserves where fishing is prohibited. Marine reserves have been shown to increase fish abundance and protect ecosystems from habitat destruction associated with fishing. If protective areas are to be effective, they must include the diversity of habitats necessary to accommodate the wide range of fish species that are of interest to the marine ornamental fish trade.Fish assemblages with high diversity and abundance are often associated with habitats of high structural complexity. A relationship between fish size and reef complexity suggests the importance of shelter as a refuge for certain fishes in avoiding predation. Many species tend to aggregate to spawn in structurally complex habitats to reduce their risk of predation. Closing of spawning areas during aggregation periods has been shown to be a highly effective management strategy for these species. The limited home ranges and high degree of habitat specificity associated with many marine ornamental fishes should make marine reserves a highly effective strategy for managing these resources.     

Commercial marine fish farming in Singapore

Commercial marine fish farming in Singapore is mainly the culture of economically important foodfish species in floating cage nets. There are 84 licensed fish farms occupying 46.5 hectares (ha) of coastal waters. Production from these farms accounts for the bulk of aquaculture production in Singapore, being 3554 tonnes (‘metric tons’, t) in 1995, or 98% of total production of 3625t. The commonly cultured species are the green mussels, Perna viridis L., which form the bulk of production (70.4%), finfish like the groupers, Epinephelus tauvina Forsskal and E. malabaricus Schneider, Asian sea bass, Lates cakarifer Bloch, and snappers, Lutjanus johni Bloch and L. argentimaculatus Forsskal, and crustaceans like the mangrove crab, Scylla serrata Forsskal and spiny lobster, Panilurus polyphagus Herbst. The basic farm structure for fish and mussel culture is the floating wooden raft. In finfish farming, polyethylene cage nets are attached to the raft in which popular foodfishes are cultured. The mussel raft is a structure to which polyethylene ropes are attached to collect and grow out green mussels from natural spatfall. Fish seeds for farming are mostly wild-caught. Only the Asian sea bass and the banana shrimp (Penaeus merguiensis de Mann) are produced by commercial hatcheries in Singapore and the region. The fry of pompano (Trachinotus blochii Lacepede, and T. falcatus Klausewitz & Nielsen) are imported from Taiwan. Trash fish is still the main feed used for the farming of finfish and crustaceans like the mangrove crab and lobster because it is cheap and readily available. This paper also reviews the economics of commercial finfish and mussel farming in Singapore today.     

Volume and Value of Marine Ornamentals Collected in Florida, 1990–98

The marine life fishing industry in Florida is defined by the state as the non-lethal harvest of marine plants, finfish, and invertebrates that are sold live for commercial purposes (primarily into the saltwater aquarium industry). Approximately 330 different species of finfish and invertebrates are harvested by marine life collectors in Florida, including 180 species of finfish and 150 species of invertebrates and plants. In 1998, the total dockside value of these species was approximately US$1.9 million. The industry is highly regulated via limits on gear, handling methods, harvest sizes, and trip/bag/possession limits. Entry into the industry has been recently curtailed by the implementation of a moratorium on marine life endorsements. The total number of licensed harvesters exceeded 700 in 1998. Approximately 70 wholesales buyers also participated in the market during 1998. The majority of the dockside value is generated in south Florida, with the majority of the remaining value accruing from the region including and north of Tampa Bay. Over 80% of the total value associated with both finfish and invertebrates is generated by only 10 species within each group. Dockside prices vary considerably among the various species landed, with those landed in greater volumes exhibiting the lower prices.     

Cyanide-free Net-caught Fish for the Marine Aquarium Trade

The International Marinelife Alliance (IMA) has been training collectors in the Philippines and Indonesia to use barrier-nets rather than sodium cyanide to capture marine-aquarium fish. Despite the training, collectors have been slow to switch to using nets because they can earn more using cyanide. A new Philippine export company has agreed to pay the collectors more for net-caught fish and to adhere to standards being set by the USA-based Marine Aquarium Council. The IMA is monitoring the collectors and conducting cyanide testing to certify that the fish are net-caught and totally cyanide-free. Clearance certificates now accompany shipments of these marine-aquarium fish being shipped to wholesalers and retailers associated with the American Marine Dealers Association (AMDA) situated in the USA and Canada. AMDA members are being surveyed to assess whether the net-caught fish are more cost competitive compared to cyanide-caught fish for the marine ornamental fish trade because of reduced mortality through the chain from reef to retailer.     

Ornamental Fish Industry in Sri Lanka: Present Status and Future Trends

The aquarium fish industry in Sri Lanka has become a valuable foreign exchange earner during the past few years, earning Rs. 530 million in 1998. Sri Lankan ornamental fish exports for the international market include locally wild caught marine, brackish-water and freshwater species as well as captive bred freshwater fish. Presently, there are about 18 registered aquarium fish exporters and together they currently contribute approximately 1% of the world's demand for ornamental fish. Of the freshwater fish species exported from Sri Lanka, the guppy ranks the highest (67% by number), followed by swordtails, angels, platies and various species of tetras. This study aims to assess the present status and future trends in the ornamental fish industry in Sri Lanka; to overview the present fish production system which caters for the international market; and to identify present constraints within the industry. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Levels of domestication in fish: implications for the sustainable future of aquaculture

The agricultural world today is dominated by a few domesticated mammal species, that is, animals modified from their wild ancestors through selective breeding in captivity for traits beneficial to human usages. As a result, a clear dichotomy exists between wild (from hunting) and domesticated mammals (produced in farms) used for human consumption. Similar to agriculture, aquaculture is often viewed as the only solution that can provide more fish products given that harvesting wild stocks have reached an upper limit. Aquaculture is considerably younger than agriculture relying on natural sources to farm numerous species. To better describe the diverse strategies for fish production, we propose a new classification comprising five levels of ‘domestication’ with 1 being the least to 5 being the most domesticated. Our classification places 70% of the 250 farmed finfish species recorded in the 2009 FAO database into levels 1, 2 and 3 representing a transitory form of fish production dependent on the availability of the wild resource. In contrast, only a few species, or more accurately populations, can be considered truly domesticated, similar to cattle or sheep. Based on this classification, two scenarios for the future of aquaculture are discussed: either the industry focuses on few truly domesticated species, similar to the path taken by agriculture, but avoiding its negative impacts or aquaculture proceeds with inter‐specific diversification by focusing primarily on the domestication of native species.     

Recent Advances in Lumpfish Cyclopterus lumpus and Ocean Pout Macrozoarces americanus Larviculture

The aquaculture of marine finfish in Newfoundland presents a challenge due to the cold-water (<0 C) conditions which occur over a four to five month period. As part of a continuing research program on the culturing of cold-water marine finfish species we report on preliminary results of two "new" aquaculture species. The lumpfish and the Ocean pout both occur along the coast of Newfoundland and are adapted to a cold-water environment. Lumpfish have been reared from egg masses collected from the wild or from eggs stripped in the hatchery. Eggs and larvae are relatively large and larvae are well developed at hatch. Larvae will feed on day-old Artemia nauplii after four to six days. Survival over the first eight weeks is high but declines over the first year. Lumpfish cultured in the laboratory become sexually mature and produce eggs (roe) at the end of their second year. Ocean pout have been cultured only from egg masses collected from the wild. Eggs and larvae are extremely large compared to other marine finfish currently being cultured. Larvae hatch during the cold-water period, absorb the yolk-sac within 24 hours and are ossified at hatch. Juveniles feed on Artemia nauplii within two days at very low temperatures. Survival is comparatively high (75–80%) over the first year. Initial results are encouraging but more research is required before commercial production of these species would be feasible.     

中国大菱鲆养殖20年成就和展望——庆祝大菱鲆引进中国20周年

大菱鲆Scophthalmus maximus具有生长速度快和低温耐受力强等特点,是世界上养成范围最广、产量最大的鲆鲽类养殖良种。自1992年引进至今,大菱鲆养殖已经发展成为年产量超过6万t的海水养殖支柱产业。作者综述过去20年里,我国大菱鲆在产业发展、苗种生产、良种选育、养殖模式、营养与饲料、疾病防控、加工与质量控制、养殖经济以及市场开拓等方面所取得的系列成果,并就发展前景进行了展望,旨在为我国大菱鲆和鲆鲽类养殖的可持续发展提供参考。     

United States of America Trade in Ornamental Fish

Ornamental fish production is among the leading cash crops of the United States of America aquaculture economy, and retail value of the fish trade is worth approximately US$l,000 million. However, few studies exist to document this trade. Using import and export documents we report trends in total values for the U.S. trade in ornamental fish. Also, we determined the number and value of the most commonly imported ornamental fish. In 1992, approximately 201 million fish valued at $44.7 million were imported into the U.S. The port of Los Angeles handled 39% of all trade activity, Miami 22%, New York 16%, Tampa 6%, and Honolulu 6%. Freshwater fish accounted for approximately 96% of the total volume and 80% of the value of the imports. Most freshwater ornamental fish were farm-raised and imported from Southeast Asia. Most U.S. exports of ornamental fish were cultured in the state of Florida. Although saltwater fish had a high market value (20% of the declared value of the imports), the volume of these fish was only 4%. Most imported and exported saltwater ornamental fish were collected from the wild. Of the 1,539 species declared as ornamental fish, 32 species dominated the trade. These were all of freshwater origin. The guppy Poecilia reticulala and neon tetra Paracheirodon innesi were the most popular ornamental fish kept in U.S. households. The average prices paid for imported ornamental freshwater fish were 45 cents for egg layers and 22 cents for live bearers. The results of this study document the importance of the ornamental fish industry and identifies the most valuable species in the trade for potential domestic culture and protection in the wild.     

海水养殖鱼类仔、稚鱼骨骼发育与畸形发生

骨骼畸形可导致鱼类运动困难、摄食能力降低、生长缓慢、成活率低,因此,畸形鱼苗的出现将增加生产成本、影响养殖的经济效益。在海水鱼类人工育苗阶段,骨骼畸形现象普遍存在,严重制约了海水鱼类养殖产业的可持续发展。本文首先系统总结了卵形鲳鲹、黄尾鰤、尖吻鲈等经济海水鱼类颌骨、脊柱、尾骨的早期发育时序及特点,比较了仔、稚鱼骨骼畸形发生的部位、时间及发生规律。之后针对仔、稚鱼阶段影响骨骼发育的主要因素,从遗传、环境、营养等方面进行了剖析,以期为寻找降低人工养殖条件下海水鱼类仔、稚鱼的骨骼畸形提供启示。