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USGS2015

Hydroecological condition and potential for aquaculture in lakes of the arid region of Khorezm, Uzbekistan

With >400 small (<1 ha) lakes, the arid Khorezm Province in Uzbekistan may be well-suited for aquaculture production. Developing water resources to provide a local food supply could increase fish consumption while improving the rural economy. Hydroecological (biological and physical) and chemical characteristics (including legacy pesticides ΣDDT and ΣHCH) of four representative drainage lakes in Khorezm from 2006 to 2008 were analyzed for the lakes’ capability to support healthy fish populations. Lake characteristics were categorized as “optimal” (having little or no effect on growth and development), “tolerable” (corresponding to chronic or sub-lethal toxicity) and “lethal” (corresponding to acute toxicity). Results indicate that three lakes are likely well-suited for raising fish species, with water quality meeting World Bank aquaculture guidelines. However, the fourth lake often had salinity concentrations > optimal levels for local fish species. Pesticide concentrations in water of all four lakes were within tolerable aquaculture ranges. Although water ΣDDT concentrations were >optimal limits, results from chemical analysis of fish tissues and semi-permeable membrane devices indicated that study lake ΣDDT concentrations were not accumulating in fish or posing a human health threat. Land and water management to maintain adequate lake water quality are imperative for sustaining fish populations for human consumption.

Khorezm↗

USGS2021

Aquaculture and Irrigation Water-Use Model (AIWUM) version 1.0—An agricultural water-use model developed for the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, 1999–2017

Water use is a critical and often uncertain component of quantifying any water budget and securing reliable and sustainable water supplies. Recent water-level declines in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP), especially in the central part of the Mississippi Delta, pose a threat to water sustainability. Aquaculture and Irrigation Water-Use Model (AIWUM) 1.0, one of the first national agricultural water-use models that provides water use at the scale of most groundwater models, was developed and compared to other reported and estimated aquaculture and irrigation water-use values within the MAP study area for 1999 through 2017 to improve water-use estimates needed as input to a hydrologic decision-support system in the MAP. Results indicate annual total water-use estimates from 1999 through 2017 ranged from about 5 to 13 billion gallons per day and, on average, a majority of the water use was applied to rice (about 51 percent), followed by soybeans (about 26 percent), and less than (<) 10 percent each was applied to aquaculture, corn, cotton, and other crops. Comparisons indicated that annual total water-use estimates from AIWUM 1.0 were smaller than or comparable to all other sources of water-use data. Although there is disagreement at the monthly timescale in estimates in the Mississippi Delta within each part of the growing season, the annual total water use is comparable between AIWUM 1.0 and the Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer Study groundwater model 2.1. Estimates from AIWUM 1.0 could be used in models at all scales (for example, local, regional, national) and could provide a nationally consistent methodology in estimating water use driven by regional crop-specific withdrawal rates.

Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississip↗

USGS2024

Genome-wide association analysis of the resistance to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in two rainbow trout aquaculture lines confirms oligogenic architecture with several moderate effect quantitative trait loci

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) is a disease of salmonid fish that is caused by the IHN virus (IHNV), which can cause substantial mortality and economic losses in rainbow trout aquaculture and fisheries enhancement hatchery programs. In a previous study on a commercial rainbow trout breeding line that has undergone selection, we found that genetic resistance to IHNV is controlled by the oligogenic inheritance of several moderate and many small effect quantitative trait loci (QTL). Here we used genome wide association analyses in two different commercial aquaculture lines that were naïve to previous exposure to IHNV to determine whether QTL were shared across lines, and to investigate whether there were major effect loci that were still segregating in the naïve lines. A total of 1,859 and 1,768 offspring from two commercial aquaculture strains were phenotyped for resistance to IHNV and genotyped with the rainbow trout Axiom 57K SNP array. Moderate heritability values (0.15–0.25) were estimated. Two statistical methods were used for genome wide association analyses in the two populations. No major QTL were detected despite the naïve status of the two lines. Further, our analyses confirmed an oligogenic architecture for genetic resistance to IHNV in rainbow trout. Overall, 17 QTL with notable effect (≥1.9% of the additive genetic variance) were detected in at least one of the two rainbow trout lines with at least one of the two statistical methods. Five of those QTL were mapped to overlapping or adjacent chromosomal regions in both lines, suggesting that some loci may be shared across commercial lines. Although some of the loci detected in this GWAS merit further investigation to better understand the biological basis of IHNV disease resistance across populations, the overall genetic architecture of IHNV resistance in the two rainbow trout lines suggests that genomic selection may be a more effective strategy for genetic improvement in this trait.

Frontiers in Genetics↗

USGS1996

Federal-state aquaculture drug registration partnership: A success story in the making

During the past 20 years, aquaculture has grown both as a vital tool for fisheries management and as a viable industry. But now a crisis has arisen from the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) increased regulation of drug use in aquaculture in response to public concerns about human food safety, human health, and environmental effects. Lack of approved drugs and chemicals has dramatically reduced the effectiveness and increased the cost of fish production for natural resource management agencies. To make badly needed therapeutants available, the FDA is requiring an array of specialized laboratory research studies and clinical field trials. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are reluctant to undertake any major efforts to gain approval of aquaculture drugs because each (i.e., use on one species for one purpose) is estimated to cost a minimum of $3.5 million. Hence, the expenditure is not warranted by the apparent market potential. Only three therapeutants and one anesthetic are currently approved and available to hatchery managers.

Fisheries↗

USGS2021

Development of aquaculture protocols and gonadal differentiation of red shiner

Developing detailed rearing methods and describing the onset of gonadal differentiation in Red Shiners Cyprinella lutrensis could facilitate the development of novel techniques to control or enhance populations, enable toxicology studies, and help construct bioassays. In this study, we develop and report aquaculture practices for Red Shiner that ensure consistent year-round production in laboratory settings and evaluate the timing of sexual differentiation via histological gonad examinations. Our methods resulted in a mean of 56.00% (SD = 8.98%) survival through the larval stages of development, and we obtained spawns from captive-reared Red Shiners 138 d posthatch. Red Shiners are gonochoristic, and both ovaries and testes differentiate directly from undifferentiated gonads. Ovaries begin to differentiate in females 45 d posthatch, while testes begin differentiating in males 105 d posthatch. This study provides in-depth protocols for the closed-cycle aquaculture of Red Shiners and describes the gonadal differentiation and development of both sexes.

Arizona↗

USGS2007

Effects of aquaculture production noise on hearing, growth, and disease resistance of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Intensive aquaculture production often utilizes equipment (e.g., aerators, air and water pumps, harvesters, blowers, filtration systems, and maintenance machinery) that increases noise levels in fish culture tanks. Consequently, chronic exposure to elevated noise levels in tanks could negatively impact cultured species. Possible effects include impairment of the auditory system, increased stress, and reduced growth rates. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of sound exposure on the hearing sensitivity, growth, and survival of cultured rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Two cohorts of rainbow trout were cultured for 8??months in replicated tanks consisting of three sound treatments: 115, 130, or 150 decibels referenced at 1 micropascal (dB re 1????Pa root mean square [RMS]) levels. Auditory evoked potential (AEP) recordings revealed no significant differences in hearing thresholds resulting from exposure to increased ambient sound levels. Although there was no evident noise-induced hearing loss, there were significant differences in hearing thresholds between the two fish cohorts examined. No statistical effect of sound treatment was found for growth rate and mortality within each fish cohort. There was no significant difference in mortality between sound treatments when fish were exposed to the pathogen Yersinia ruckeri, but there was significantly different mortality between cohorts. This study indicated that rainbow trout hearing sensitivity, growth, survival, stress, and disease susceptibility were not negatively impacted by noise levels common to recirculating aquaculture systems. These findings should not be generalized to all cultured fish species, however, because many species, including catfish and cyprinids, have much greater hearing sensitivity than rainbow trout and could be affected differently by noise. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Aquaculture↗

USGS2012

Carbon dioxide stripping in aquaculture. part 1: terminology and reporting

The removal of carbon dioxide gas in aquacultural systems is much more complex than for oxygen or nitrogen gas because of liquid reactions of carbon dioxide and their kinetics. Almost all published carbon dioxide removal information for aquaculture is based on the apparent removal value after the CO 2 (aq) + HOH ⇔ H 2 CO 3 reaction has reached equilibrium. The true carbon dioxide removal is larger than the apparent value, especially for high alkalinities and seawater. For low alkalinity freshwaters (<2000 μeq/kg), the difference between the true and apparent removal is small and can be ignored for many applications. Analytical and reporting standards are recommended to improve our understanding of carbon dioxide removal.

Aquacultural Engineering↗

USGS2016

Application of a fluidized bed reactor charged with aragonite for control of alkalinity, pH and carbon dioxide in marine recirculating aquaculture systems

Control of alkalinity, dissolved carbon dioxide (dCO 2 ), and pH are critical in marine recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) in order to maintain health and maximize growth. A small-scale prototype aragonite sand filled fluidized bed reactor was tested under varying conditions of alkalinity and dCO 2 to develop and model the response of dCO 2 across the reactor. A large-scale reactor was then incorporated into an operating marine recirculating aquaculture system to observe the reactor as the system moved toward equilibrium. The relationship between alkalinity dCO 2 , and pH across the reactor are described by multiple regression equations. The change in dCO 2 across the small-scale reactor indicated a strong likelihood that an equilibrium alkalinity would be maintained by using a fluidized bed aragonite reactor. The large-scale reactor verified this observation and established equilibrium at an alkalinity of approximately 135 mg/L as CaCO 3 , dCO 2 of 9 mg/L, and a pH of 7.0 within 4 days that was stable during a 14 day test period. The fluidized bed aragonite reactor has the potential to simplify alkalinity and pH control, and aid in dCO 2 control in RAS design and operation. Aragonite sand, purchased in bulk, is less expensive than sodium bicarbonate and could reduce overall operating production costs.

Aquacultural Engineering↗

USGS2023

Managing the threat of infectious disease in fisheries and aquaculture using structured decision making

Fisheries and aquaculture provide food and economic security, especially in the developing world, but both face challenges from infectious disease. Here, we consider management of disease issues from a structured decision-making perspective to examine how infectious disease can threaten seafood production and influence management decisions. For both wild fisheries and aquaculture, disease-management objectives generally aim to mitigate the severity and economic burden of outbreaks. General management strategies include manipulating host densities, reducing system connectivity, conserving or improving habitat, and implementing direct treatments or some other biological interventions. To inform decisions, mathematical models can be used to explore disease dynamics and to forecast the potential effectiveness of alternative management actions. Developing and implementing disease-management strategies also involve considering uncertainties and balancing competing stakeholder interests and risk tolerances. We conclude by outlining several steps for applying structured decision making that are broadly useful to decision makers facing issues related to disease.

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment↗

USGS2021

Substitution of inland fisheries with aquaculture and chicken undermines human nutrition in the Peruvian Amazon

With declining capture fisheries production, maintaining nutrient supplies largely hinges on substituting wild fish with economically comparable farmed animals. Although such transitions are increasingly commonplace across global inland and coastal communities, their nutritional consequences are unknown. Here, using human demographic and health information, and fish nutrient composition data from the Peruvian Amazon, we show that substituting wild inland fisheries with chicken and aquaculture has the potential to exacerbate iron deficiencies and limit essential fatty acid supplies in a region already experiencing high prevalence of anaemia and malnutrition. Substituting wild fish with chicken, however, can increase zinc and protein supplies. Chicken and aquaculture production also increase greenhouse gas emissions, agricultural land use and eutrophication. Thus, policies that enable access to wild fisheries and their sustainable management while improving the quality, diversity and environmental impacts of farmed species will be instrumental in ensuring healthy and sustainable food systems.

Peruvian Amazon↗

USGS1996

Prevention of zebra mussel infestation and dispersal during aquaculture operations

The zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha , an exotic invasive species, poses a major threat to North American fish management programs and the aquaculture industry. Fish hatcheries may become infected with zebra mussels from a variety of sources, including the water supply, fish shipments, boats, and equipment. The hatcheries could then serve as agents for the overland dispersal of zebra mussels into stocked waters and to other fish hatcheries. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of aquaculture chemicals for use in controlling zebra mussels in fish hatcheries and preventing dispersal of veligers during fish transport. Chemicals were evaluated for use in fish transport and as disinfectants for ponds and equipment. Standardized static toxicity tests were conducted with representative species of warmwater, coolwater, and coldwater fishes and with larval (3‐d‐old veligers), early juvenile (settling larvae), and adult zebra mussels. Chemical concentrations and exposure durations were based on recommended treatment levels for fish, eggs, and ponds. Recommended treatment levels were also exceeded, if necessary, to establish lethal levels for zebra mussels of different developmental stages. Our results indicate that some chemicals currently in use in hatcheries may be effective for controlling zebra mussels in various operations. Chloride salts were the safest and most effective therapeutants tested for use in fish transport. The toxicity of chloride salts to fish varied among species and with temperature: only one treatment regime (sodium chloride at 10,000 mg/L) was safe to all fish species that we tested, but it was only effective on veliger and settler stages of the zebra mussel. Effective disinfectants were benzalkonium chloride for use on equipment and rotenone for use in ponds after fish are harvested. The regulatory status of the identified chemicals is discussed as well as several nonchemical control alternatives.

Progressive Fish-Culturist↗

USGS1984

Chronobiologic approach to aquaculture

Diel and seasonal changes in the environment directly or indirectly control many biological functions. Chronobiology, the study of biological functions in relation to time of day, time of year, lunar phases, and other consistent cues, could have important applications in aquaculture. Physiological conditions that vary seasonally include feeding time, tolerance of fish to stress, the state of gonad development, lipid and water content of muscle tissue, and the dress‐out weight of food fish. The quality of cultured fish may vary with the time of day when fish are fed, seined, graded, treated with therapeutic chemicals, injected with hormones, or physically disturbed. Efficiency of production and quality of aquacultural products might be improved if the activities of fish husbandry were timed to coincide with the biological rhythms of fish.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗

USGS2015

Ecological effects of the harvest phase of geoduck clam (Panopea generosa Gould, 1850) aquaculture on infaunal communities in southern Puget Sound, Washington USA.

Intertidal aquaculture for geoducks ( Panopea generosa Gould, 1850) is expanding in southern Puget Sound, Washington, where gently sloping sandy beaches are used for field culture. Geoduck aquaculture contributes significantly to the regional economy, but has become controversial because of a range of unresolved questions involving potential biological impacts on marine ecosystems. From 2008 through 2012, the authors used a “before-after-control-impact” experimental design, emphasizing spatial scales comparable with those used by geoduck culturists to evaluate the effects of harvesting market-ready geoducks on associated benthic infaunal communities. Infauna were sampled at three different study locations in southern Puget Sound at monthly intervals before, during, and after harvests of clams, and along extralimital transects extending away from the edges of cultured plots to assess the effects of harvest activities in adjacent uncultured habitat. Using multivariate statistical approaches, strong seasonal and spatial signals in patterns of abundance were found, but there was scant evidence of effects on the community structure associated with geoduck harvest disturbances within cultured plots. Likewise, no indications of significant “spillover” effects of harvest on uncultured habitat adjacent to cultured plots were noted. Complementary univariate approaches revealed little evidence of harvest effects on infaunal biodiversity and indications of modest effects on populations of individual infaunal taxa. Of 10 common taxa analyzed, only three showed evidence of reduced densities, although minor, after harvests whereas the remaining seven taxa indicated either neutral responses to harvest disturbances or increased abundance either during or in the months after harvest events. It is suggested that a relatively active natural disturbance regime, including both small-scale and large-scale events that occur with comparable intensity but more frequently than geoduck harvest events in cultured plots, has facilitated assemblage-level infaunal resistance and resilience to harvest disturbances.

Washington↗

USGS1995

Hydrogeology and ground-water quality in the Black Belt area of west-central Alabama, and estimated water use for aquaculture, 1990

Commercial production of catfish in west-central Alabama began about 1970, and by 1991 catfish ponds covered about 16,000 acres in the Black Belt area of the State. The rapid increase in catfish farming or aquaculture and the associated demand for ground water led the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with other Federal and State agencies in 1990 to initiate a study to better define the ground-water resources in the Black Belt area. The major aquifers in the study area are sand and gravel beds in the Eutaw, Gordo, and Coker Formations. Recharge to these aquifers occurs primarily in areas where those formations crop out. The average recharge to the major aquifers in the study area, as estimated from baseflow analysis of streams in the outcrop area, is 11.4 inches per year. Water from the major aquifers in the study area generally is of good quality and suitable for most uses. Water from the Eutaw aquifer, however, contains chloride in concentrations greater than 500 milligrams per liter in central Greene County and in downdip areas in Marengo and Wilcox Counties and is not suitable for public water supply. Some ground water with elevated chloride concentrations is used for catfish farming in these areas, however. The total estimated water use for aquaculture in the study area in 1990 was 21.83 million gallons per day, 16.08 million gallons per day from ground-water sources, and 5.75 million gallons per day from surface water sources. About 13.54 million gallons per day of water was used for filling catfish ponds and an additional 8.29 million gallons per day was used to replace evaporation losses.

Alabama↗

USGS2007

Assessment and control of an invasive aquaculture species: An update on Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) in coastal Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina

We provide information about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on populations of an invasive fish, the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in southern Mississippi. By resampling areas surveyed before the storm, we attempted to determine whether the species expanded its range by moving with storm-related floods. Additionally, we used rotenone to eradicate individuals of this species at a hurricane-damaged aquaculture facility on the Mississippi coast. Although our survey was limited geographically, we did not find the species to occur beyond the aquaculture facility, other than in an adjacent bayou. Our rotenone treatment of the facility appeared effective with only a single O. niloticus being collected six weeks after the treatment. To reduce the spread of O. niloticus in the southeastern U.S., it is important to continue to control feral populations, work to eliminate vectors for dispersal, and continue monitoring their distribution.

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings↗

USGS1991

Chemicals for worldwide aquaculture

Regulations and therapeutants or other safe chemicals that are approved or acceptable for use in the aquaculture industry in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan are presented, discussing also compounds that are unacceptable for aquaculture. Chemical use practices that could affect public health are considered and details given regarding efforts to increase the number of registered and acceptable chemicals.

Book chapter↗

USGS1996

Modeling gas transfer and biological respiration in a recirculating aquaculture system

Recirculating aquaculture system applications of oxygen absorption equipment require consideration of the combined effects of the system's physical, chemical and biological components. Interactions of this type were modeled within a recirculating system incorporating a mixed-flow type rearing vessel, a multi-tube clarifier, a rotating biological contactor (RBC) and a U-tube oxygenator. Finite difference mass transfer calculations, based on reactor theory, were used to predict steady-state dissolved gas levels in component effluents given system operating conditions. The model was calibrated and its predictions verified with data obtained from a pilot scale system of 14 m 3 capacity: errors in calibrated model predictions ( N = 45) average −1·2 mg l −1 (range −4·0 to 0·1 mg l −1 ). Model use indicated oxygen transfer costs are reduced 48% through recycle of U-tube off-gas. Further savings are provided by increasing the water recirculation rate from 250 to 350 l min −1 with low to moderate fish feed rates and by regulating oxygen injection based on diel variations in fish respiration. Increasing the gas transfer coefficient ( K L a ) of the RBC reduced oxygen transfer costs despite resultant elevations in dissolved nitrogen and argon concentrations. Carbon dioxide stripping across the RBC was substantial, varied with K L a , and increased with water recirculation rates.

Aquacultural Engineering↗

USGS2018

Insight into infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) in Chinese rainbow trout aquaculture from virus isolated from 7 provinces in 2010–2014

The aquatic rhabdovirus infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) currently causes substantial fish losses in Chinese coldwater aquaculture. While IHNV was first reported in China in 1985 and has since undergone considerable spread, little is known about the underlying epidemiological patterns like introduction sources and transmission routes. In this study, we examined epidemiological and phylogenetic data for 50 IHNV isolates from 7 provinces in China detected in 2010–2014 (Liaoning, n = 33; Jilin, n = 3; Heilongjiang, n = 1; Yunnan, n = 2; Sichuan, n = 1; Hebei, n = 5; Gansu, n = 5). Features of case details include highest mortality associated with water temperatures of 8–10 °C and symptomatic disease observed in adult rainbow trout. Sequence comparisons of the midG sequences of 50 strains revealed 11 different sequence types. One sequence type, mG801J, was predominantly detected, being found in 38 of 50 isolates. Phylogenetic analyses of the new midG sequence types showed that 49 of 50 IHNV isolates are closely related to one another and all descend from the previously described J Nagano subgroup, forming the monophyletic group J Nagano-China clade . This indicates that the majority of IHNV circulating within China is descended from a single importation event from elsewhere in Asia. The one observed exception was the detection of a novel genotype belonging to the previously described MN subgroup. This genotype was identified in Liaoning province, and indicates a second introduction event, one that does not appear to have resulted in diversification and spread. These results indicate that continued surveillance of IHNV in China is necessary to understand and manage viral transmission dynamics within China over time.

Aquaculture↗