OTHER PUBLICATIONS

FutureEUAqua presentation at the MAIA Webinar Climate Change and Aquaculture

Sustainable breeding of important European aquaculture species MAIA webinar

FutureEUAqua Final conference presentations

1) Sustainable breeding of important European aquaculture species – Binyam Dagnachew (Nofima)
2) Sustainable and resilient feed and feeding strategies – Elena Mente (AUTH)
3) Consumer and regulatory activities – Pirjo Honkanen (Nofima)
4) Sustainable and resilient production systems – Wout Abbink (WUR)
5) Internet of Things for healthy fish and environment – Giuseppe Lembo (COISPA)
6) Quality and safety of aquaculture products – Francesco Capozzi (UNIBO)
7) Training for increased Capacity: Online course and Webinars– Noureddin Driouech (CIHEAM Bari) & Stefan Holler (Naturland)

FutureEUAqua – FUTURE GROWTH IN SUSTAINABLE, RESILIENT AND CLIMATE FRIENDLY ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL EUROPEAN AQUACULTURE

by Åsa Maria Espmark

Presented at AE2019 conference in Berlin, Germany 2019

European aquaculture production has reached 1.25 million tonnes of seafood annually, with a value of over 4 billion euro. Of this amount, 4% is certified as organic, amounting in 2015 to a total of approximately 50,000 tonnes (EUMOFA, 2017). In 2015, EU consumers spent 54 billion euro for buying fisheries and aquaculture products, reaching the highest amount ever recorded (EUMOFA, 2017). Nevertheless, Europe is still heavily dependent on external markets to cover this demand. The increased demand for aquaculture products has to be covered at the same time as food production need to be more sustainable, climate friendly and supporting the UN Sustainable goals. The newly started EU project FutureEUAqua aims to effectively promote sustainable growth in aquaculture that is resilient to climate changes, and environmental friendly organic and conventional aquaculture of major fish species in Europe. It is a well-documented assumption that aquaculture that will meet future challenges with respect to the growing consumer demand for high quality, nutritious and responsibly produced food. FutureEUAqua will promote innovations in the whole value chain, including genetic selection, ingredients and feeds, non-invasive monitoring technologies, innovative fish products and packaging methods, optimal production systems such as IMTA and RAS, taking into account socioeconomic considerations by the participation of a wide spectrum of stakeholders, training and dissemination activities. To achieve these ambiguous goals, 32 partners from R&D, industry and associations, originating from nine countries will collaborate in research, training, dissemination and contact with stakeholders through e.g. stakeholder events. FutureEUAqua will contribute with innovations that will arrive Technology readiness level (TRL) ranging from five to nine. Innovations will result from all research topics, including sustainable genotypes, feeds and farming management solutions; smart tools to monitor the farming environment that guarantee aquatic animal health and welfare, tailor-made aquaculture fresh/processed foods and packaging, IT tools and information packages to improve consumer’s awareness about aquaculture products and related markets.

The results and innovations will have impacts by improving resilience and sustainability of aquaculture farming systems and practices. The results will have impact on a diversity of end users representing the whole value chain from breeding companies to processing plants and intelligent packaging, including e.g. digital farming solutions for improved animal health and welfare, retailers and customer care providers. We intend to gather stakeholders to contribute to the professional skills and competences of those working and being trained to work within the blue economy and support the implementation of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and contribute to policymaking in research, innovation and technology.

INNOVATIVE CRYO-SMOKING PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SMOKED SALMON

Ana C. A. S. Pinheiro, Fabio D’Elia, Gianfranco Picone, Silvia Tappi, Francesco Capozzi, Pietro Rocculi

Presented at the AE2022 conference in Rimini, Italy 2022

Introduction

The demand for seafood has increased greatly due to their attractive nutritional properties but its rapid perishability remains the greatest challenge to its preservation. Therefore, an increasing number of emerging strategies are being considered to complement or even replace traditional preservation methods to ensure food safety and extend shelf-life (Tsironi, et al. 2020 ). Smoked salmon is an important added value ‘ready-to-eat’ food. It is estimated that about 40-50% of farmed Atlantic salmon reaches the final consumer as a cold-smoked product (Lakshmanan et al. 2003). The smoke contains several phenolic compounds that impart flavor to the product, the absorption of which depends on the temperature and smoking time (Arvanitoyannis and Kotsanopoulos 2012). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate an innovative cryogenic smoking technology to obtain ready-to-eat smoked salmon.

Innovative cryo-smoking process for the production of smoked salmon | Zenodo

CONSUMER AWARENESS ABOUT AQUACULTURE IN EUROPE: A COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN IN THE FutureEUAqua PROJECT

Altintzoglou, T; Honkanen, P

Presented at the AE2022 conference in Rimini, Italy 2022

Introduction

Stakeholders believe that consumers play an important role in the promotion of aquaculture, especially regarding organic production (Lembo et al., 2018 ). Scholars have identified a general low awareness concerning aquaculture (Zander et al., 2018), which varies according to the species (Garza-Gil et al., 2016) and location (Froehlich et al, 2017). This low awareness persists despite media exposure (Papacek, 2018). However, consumers report some concern and awareness about general issues associated with seafood production, such as how it effects the environment (Jacobs et al., 2015a), its impact on the sustainability of fish populations (Bacher, 2016) and its influence on people’s health (Jacobs et al., 2015b). Yet, there is lack of awareness about specific production methods, such as integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) (Alexander et al., 2016) and labels associated with sustainable production in general (Feucht & Zander, 2015). The main objective of this study was to develop recommendations for social media communication strategies for increasing consumer awareness, perception and acceptance of European aquaculture. The recommendations were based on scientific literature, evaluations of the effectiveness of previous and current communication campaigns, the consumer survey results in previous stages of the FutureEUaqua project and experimental testing of the types of messages in social media that are preferred by consumers.

CONSUMER AWARENESS ABOUT AQUACULTURE IN EUROPE: A COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN IN THE FutureEUAqua PROJECT | Zenodo

FEED AND NUTRITION IN ORGANIC AQUACULTURE

Mente, E; Kousoulaki, K; Vlahos, N; Vasilaki, A; Antonopoulou, E; Jokumsen, A; Lembo, P; Nengas, I

Presented at the AE2019

Introduction

Organic production is a system of farm management and food production that combines best environmental practices, a high level of biodiversity, the preservation of natural resources, the application of high animal welfare standards and a production method in line with the preference of certain consumers for products produced using natural substances and processes (Mente et al., 2019). Organic aquaculture reflects a specific production approach driven by the growing public interest in sustainable utilization of resources (Mente et al., 2011, 2012, 2019). When applying the principles of organic aquaculture production the following factors need to be addressed: production system design that assures ecosystem balance, biodiversity stewardship, and avoidance of environmental pollution; animal welfare and feeding requirements that respect the health of the organism, product quality, and the expectations of feeding requirements along the lines of similar organic systems; and certain challenges related to breeding (Lembo and Mente, 2019). Organic fish feed is currently produced according to the EU regulations 834/2007, 889/2008 and 710/2009, 1358/2014, 673/2016, 848/2018. However, due to the limited options in available certified organic ingredients rich in essential nutrients needed to cover the dietary needs of farmed fish, it is challenging for the feed industry to achieve organic feeds of equal quality compared to the conventional ones. Thus, the farmers may experience reduced fish and feed performance leading to disproportionally higher costs in organic farming practices, both due to lower production volumes and to higher feed conversion ratios. Prolonged production cycles increase also the risk of losses due to diseases. Hence, replacing fishmeal and fish oil in high performing diets for organic fish farming is not straightforward. Another challenge related to organic aquaculture is maintaining in practice zero levels any undesirable compounds along the food chain, from ingredient to fork, as consumers often demand from organic products. Chemical antioxidants currently used in conventional aquaculture, in order to safeguard in particular marine ingredient quality, though some on the way out (such as ethoxyquin and its dimers), pesticides etc., find their way in the fish production line, and even if present in small amounts in the fillet, this may represent a risk for scandals and food scares (IFFO, 2015). However, the use of natural antioxidants is of great interest for organic aquaculture. To safeguard biodiversity and sustainable exploitation of natural resources, the use of capture fisheries-based fish meal and fish oil needs to be limited in both organic and conventional fish feeds (Tacon and Metian, 2015; Lembo and Mente, 2019). However, fish performance, health status and final product quality (Kousoulaki et al., 2016) may be jeopardized when substituting dietary fishmeal by alternative ingredients of lower nutritional value. Thus, new fish aquafeeds and feeding strategies and the exploitation of the genetic potential of farmed fish by selective breeding in using and transforming more efficiently the dietary components to the necessary essential nutrients provides great potential and may allow safer larger steps in the progress of achieving sustainable and resilient fish farming practices Moreover, though fish cannot synthesize several essential nutrients required for their metabolism and growth, and depend on the feed for their supply, certain animal groups can use nutrient-deficient diets, as they bear symbiotic microorganisms that can provide these compounds (Douglas, 2010). Thus, also aquatic animal’s gut microbiota can in theory play critical role in obtaining sustainability in fish farming (Mente et al. 2016; Antonopoulou et al., 2019). Fish would obtain maximal benefits when the microbial supply of essential nutrients is scaled to its demand. Undersupply would limit fish growth while oversupply could be harmful due to allocation of resources to neutralise toxicity caused by non-required compounds. The extent to which the microbial function varies with fish demand and which are the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown.

FEED AND NUTRITION IN ORGANIC AQUACULTURE | Zenodo

Use of pulsed electric fields for modulating mass transfer during salting of salmon fillets

D’Elia F.*; A.C. De Aguiar Saldanha Pinheiro; S. Tappi; P. Rocculi

E-poster at the AE2022 conference in Rimini, Italy 2022

PULSED ELECTRIC FIELDS (PEF) AND ACCELERATED SOLVENT EXTRACTION (ASE) FOR THE VALORIZATION OF SHRIMP BY-PRODUCTS: RECOVERY OF ASTAXANTHIN AND ANTIOXIDANT EXTRACTS

Ana C. A. S. Pinheiro, Francisco. J. Martí-Quijal, Francisco. J. Barba, Silvia Tappi and Pietro Rocculi

Presented at the AE2022 conference in Rimini, Italy 2022

Introduction

An important category of by-products from seafood processing includes crustacean ones. Approximately 6-8 million tons of crustacean waste is produced worldwide every year (FAO, 2014) Shrimp and prawns are one of the most important internationally traded seafood products, and one of the few that can be considered a “commodity”, with a value of US$10 billion (or 16% of world fishery exports) (Gillett, 2008). Shrimp by-products represent important natural sources of carotenoid, among which astaxanthin (ASX) is the major one. Recently, pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment showed to be a promising method for the isolation and extraction of several components from seafood by-products such as calcium, chondroitin sulphate, collagen, chitosan, and protein (Bruno et al., 2019). Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) is considered a green technique to recover bioactive and nutritional compounds in plants and food matrices (Sun et al., 2012). The main objective of the present study was to apply PEF and ASE using two different organic solvents (dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO and ethanol, EtOH) to recovery ASX from shrimp by-products, and evaluate the effects of these technologies used independently or in combination on the ASX content and antioxidant activities of the extracts. Read more here.

EFFECT OF COLD PLASMA TREATMENT ON THE SHELF-LIFE OF SEA BREAM FILLETS

F. D’Elia, L. Nissen, S. Tappi, J. Genovese, A. Gianotti, A. C. A. S. Pinheiro, P. Rocculi

Presented at the AE2022 conference in Rimini, Italy 2022

Introduction

Cold plasma is an emerging sanitizing technology that has been implemented in recent years to extend the shelf-life of food product (Andoni et al., 2022.) (Olatunde et al., 2021). Seafood products are among the main constituents of food diets, important for their content of vitamins, proteins and other essential constituents such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (FAO, 2020). The main concern associated with this matrix is the rapid deterioration of freshness and quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the application of cold gas plasma (CP) as a non-thermal preservation technology to prolong the shelf life of sea bream (Sparus aurata) fillets, stored in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).

GENETIC VARIATION, GWAS, AND PREDICTABILITY FOR SURVIVAL AGAINST IPNV STRAINS IN RAINBOW TROUT

Aslam, Muhammad Luqman; Valdemarsson, S; Berge, A. A.; Bue, T; Gjerde, B

Presented at the AE2022 conference in Rimini, Italy 2022

Introduction

Contagious diseases are a major threat in aquaculture due to losses caused by high mortalities and the reduced growth of surviving fish. Infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is one of the highly contagious diseases of farmed salmonid fish caused by Aquabirnavirus. The disease often causes high levels of morbidity and mortality (30–80%, [1]), and ultimately huge economic loses. Juvenile fish and post-smolts during the months following seawater transfer appear to be the most susceptible phases of production cycle. The clinical symptoms of disease outbreak include swollen abdomen and eyes, darkening of the skin, necrosis of the pancreas and spiral swimming [2]. The survivors can become healthy carriers that may infect susceptible animals either by vertical and/or horizontal means. Although a large proportion of rainbow trout are vaccinated against IPN-virus, the protective effect is uncertain. Host genetic make-up plays significant role for survival against infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) with some families survive better than the others. Genetically improved resistance against IPNV is a highly valuable tool to improve survival and to reduce losses due to IPN. The aim of current study was to compute genetic variation for survival against IPNV, further look into the genomic architecture of the trait and explore potential for marker assisted and/or genomic selection.
GENETIC VARIATION, GWAS, AND PREDICTABILITY FOR SURVIVAL AGAINST IPNV STRAINS IN RAINBOW TROUT | Zenodo

ASSESSING PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF FEEDING AN INNOVATIVE DIET IN FARMED EUROPEAN SEA BASS Dicentrarchus labrax

P. Carbonara, S. Alfonso, E. Fiocchi, A. Manfrin, A. Stefani, V. Bertazzo, A. Dimitroglou, L. Papaharisis, W. Zupa, M.T. Spedicato, E. Mente, G. Lembo

Presented at the AE2022 conference in Rimini, Italy 2022

Introduction

Fish production from aquaculture has expanded greatly during the last decades, and aquaculture is recognized as a major food production industry (FAO, 2020). However, concerns about environmental issues, sustainability and animal welfare in aquaculture are increasing. About sustainability of aquaculture, major concern is related to use of fish meal and oil in fish feeds that are coming from wild caught fish (Naylor et al., 2021). In this study, we evaluate the effects of an innovative diet (with replacement by a new yeast-based protein ingredient) on the health and welfare indicators of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), a key species of the European marine aquaculture. In this work, we monitored level of stress molecular indicator (HSP70), physiological blood parameters of interest (e.g. haemoglobin, cortisol, glucose, lactate, lysozyme), as well as the growth performances of sea bass reared in sea cages fed the innovative diet. In addition, a sub-sample of fish has been implanted with accelerometer tag for continuous monitoring of acceleration, a proxy of energy expenditure (Carbonara et al., 2021), for about two months. Read more here.

INSIGHTS FROM REAL-TIME MONITORING OF EUROPEAN SEA BASS Dicentrarchus labrax SEA CAGE MARICULTURE

S. Alfonso, E. Troianou, D. Troianos, W. Zupa, M.T. Spedicato, G. Lembo, P. Carbonara

Presented at the AE2022 conference in Rimini, Italy 2022

Introduction

The fish farming industry needs instruments that can monitor in real time fish health and welfare objectively, without disturbing the fish or interfering with the daily management. In this context, precision livestock farming is gaining increased attention to enhance animal welfare, but also to enhance production and environmental sustainability (Halachmi et al., 2019; Brijs et al., 2021). In this study, we monitored European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) implanted with acoustic transmitter which is measuring fish depth and swimming activity, a proxy of energy expenditure at the KEFISH farm at Argostoli (Greece) over ~4 months. In addition, environmental sensors were deployed in the farm cages to monitor environmental variables (temperature, oxygen concentration, salinity and turbidity). The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility to model key performances indicators (KPIs; i.e., growth performance and fish mortality) of sea bass using the physiological and environmental parameters recorded using a wireless sensors system, and so to investigate if the use of such sensors may help management procedure, enhance fish welfare and production. Read more here.

GENETIC VARIATION IN GROWTH IN ATLANTIC SALMON WHEN FED CONVENTIONAL AND INNOVATIVE DIETS

A. Kettunen, K. Kousoulaki, I. Thorland and B.S. Dagnachew

Presented at the AE2022 conference in Rimini, Italy 2022

Introduction

Genotype-by-environment interaction (GxE) is a measure of the magnitude of re-ranking of genotypes across environments. Significant GxE creates discrepancy between the expected and realized performance when the selected genetic material from the breeding nucleus is reared in divergent environmental conditions in commercial aquaculture. Estimates of GxE are lacking for many economically important traits (Sae-Lim et al., 2015) and need to be assessed to enable optimization of breeding programs towards development of robust genetic material for future conditions. Use of alternative raw materials in fish feed formulation is prompted by many regulatory, climatic and societal factors to guarantee future sustainable European aquaculture (Skiba et al., 2015). This brings upon a need to assess whether there is significant genotype-by-feed interaction; breeding companies are dependent on the assessment whether their current genetic material can express the production potential when alternative feed sources are utilized. The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters of growth in Atlantic salmon when fed with conventional and innovative diets. Read more here.

POWER CALCULATIONS FOR OPTIMISATION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN TO DETECT G X E: SALMON EXPERIMENTS IN FUTUREEUAQUA

by A. Kettunen and M. Lillehammer

Presented at AE2019 conference in Berlin, Germany 2019

Introduction
The objective of the WP1 in FutureEUAqua is to assess how the current breeding programmes for salmon, seabass, seabream and rainbow trout can respond to future demands for novel feed compositions, and to make further improvements to disease resistance, climate resilience and animal welfare. For Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) we estimate the genotype by diet/climate interactions (GxE) in semi-commercial salmon production system and validate best selection methods in salmon breeding programs by comparing traditional BLUP selection with GS/MAS for production and robustness traits. Estimated correlations will be taken as indicators of the magnitude of re-ranking of genotypes across diets/environments. Power calculations are elementary part of the experimental design but unfortunately often de-prioritized, compromising the critical interpretation of the results. A priori power calculations of genetic studies are characterized with multiple uncertainties, such as true relationship structure, number of families and individuals at the time of registration and unknown heritability of the traits of interest. This said, we argue that by performing a range of power calculations it is possible to frame the true power of the experiment and improve the probability of executing scientifically solid experiments with given restrictions of resources. We demonstrate the optimisation of the experimental design in order to have adequate power to detect significant GxE (diet/climate aggregate) given FutureEUAqua WP1 resources. Read more on page 681 here…

THE ROLE OF INTERNET OF THINGS FOR HEALTHY FISH AND ENVIRONMENT IN THE EUROPEAN AQUACULTURE

Giuseppe Lembo*, Pierluigi Carbonara, Sebastien Alfonso, Walter Zupa, Maria Teresa Spedicato

Presented at the AE2019 conference in Berlin, Germany 2019

Introduction

The overall objective of the project FutureEUAqua is to promote sustainable growth of environmental friendly organic and conventional aquaculture to meet future challenges of the growing consumer demand for high quality, nutritious and responsibly produced food. In WP5 of the FutureEUAqua project we are committed to develop and test a multiplatform tracking system for simultaneously monitoring the activity and physiology of fish, as well as the main parameters of the environment where they are farmed, by using a wireless communication system. The study of aquatic animals (e.g. fish behaviour, condition, physiology) and the farming environment presents unique challenges to scientists because of the physical characteristics of water. However, scientific studies and efforts have increasingly turned to the use of electronic sensors, which have enhanced our knowledge on the performances of the farmed fish and the impacts on the surrounding aquatic system. In their most basic form, electronic sensors and tags may include radio or acoustic beacons transmitting signals, which can bring specific codes to identify animals, and allow them to be tracked using receivers that detect the transmitted signals (Hazen et al. 2012). Basic archival tags must be, instead, physically recovered in order to obtain the data. Because the strength of radio signals rapidly attenuate in seawater, acoustic transmissions is preferred for fish tracking in marine environment (Lembo et al., 2002), while radio transmission is commonly used in freshwater environment. More advanced tags incorporate sensors that measure and record a suite of environmental and/or biological parameters of fish (Cooke et al. 2016). Simple biomass estimators and logging stations, installed on the feeding barge and/or on the cages, can give full control over all water parameters and provide the information required to monitor/expand the production. Flexible sensors systems are conceived to log oxygen, temperature, salinity, sea current, pH, wind and CO2. In addition, sensor and camera systems may provide also information for estimating the biomass in the cages and developing reliable fish feeding strategies. Indeed, electronic sensors are significantly improving our understanding of fish behaviour and are emerging as key sources of information for improving aquaculture management practices. The wireless communication system to monitor the large scale demonstration activities foreseen in the project FutureEUAqua will both facilitate effective study design and replication, increasing the accuracy of data standardization, processing and interpretation (e.g., Huveneers et al. 2016), providing industry with the information needed to facilitate health/welfare and optimal management practices. Read more here (pages 779-780)…

EFFECTS OF NOVEL INGREDIENTS ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE IN EUROPEAN SEA BASS, Dicentrarchus labrax

A. Vasilaki, K. Kousoulaki , T.A. Samuelsen , G. Pyrenis , D. Kogiannou , K. Grigorakis , E. Fountoulaki , E. Mente and I. Nengas

Presented at the AE2019 conference Berlin, Germany 2019

Introduction
Limited availability of ingredients in aquaculture feeds is crucial in order to maintain the increasing demands of aquaculture industry Gamboa‐Delgado & Márquez‐Reyes 2018). However, to safeguard sustainable exploitation of natural resources, the use of capture fisheries-based fishmeal and fish oil needs to be reduced in conventional fish feeds (Tacon & Metian, 2015). Accordingly, sources with high quality protein and essential nutrients are imperative need otherwise fish performance (Kousoulaki et al., 2012), health status and final product quality (Kousoulaki et al., 2016) may be jeopardized when substituting dietary fish meal by alternative ingredients of lower nutritional value. The main objective of this study is to test ingredients and design formulations for commercially relevant tailored-made aqua feeds, ensuring high performance, maintaining, or enhancing nutritional value and environmental friendliness. Read more here (pages 1571-1572)…

GENETIC VARIATION FOR CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE IN GROWTH OF ATLANTIC SALMON

Authors: B.S. Dagnachew, I. Thorland, B. Hillestad & A. Kettunen
Published in: Aquaculture europe 20 Abstacts, 2021, Page(s) 140-141
Publisher: European Aquaculture Society

Introduction

The presence genetic by environment interaction (GxE) tells that strains respond differently to changes in environmental/climate parameters. Existence of such variation may hinder the optimal realization of genetic gain and affects the competitiveness of aquaculture industry. However, estimates of GxE are lacking for many economically important traits (Sae-Lim et al, 2016), and need to be assessed to enable optimization of breeding programs towards development of robust genetic material for future conditions. Climate changes and increased water temperature may cause higher risk for certain disease outbreaks in aquaculture (Towers, 2015, Khaw et al., 2019), and consequently selective breeding for better robustness is of interest. The aim of this work is to assess the genetic variation for climate resilience in growth traits in A. salmon. Read more here on page 140-141…

Link to video

GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF GILTHEAD SEABREAM (Sparus aurata) FED LOW FISHMEAL ORGANIC DIETS

Author(s): A. Tampou1, S. Andreopoulou, I. Nengas, A. Vasilaki, Ι.Τ. Κarapanagiotidis, E. Mente
Published in: Aquaculture Europe 21 Abstracts, 2021, Page(s) 1267-1268
Publisher: European Aquaculture Society

Introduction

Organic aquaculture seems to be a very well promising sector in the global ecology and economy (FiBL & IFOAM, 2020). Organic aquaculture reflects a specific production approach driven by the growing public interest in sustainable utilization of resources (Mente et al., 2011, 2012, 2019; Lembo & Mente, 2019). In the context of sustainability, the search for ingredients that are characterized by low FIFO ratios is of much interest. The aim of this study is to examine the growth performance of sea bream (Sparus aurata) fed diets with a low FIFO mix of ingredients for organic aquaculture. Read more here…

MARKER ASSISTED SELECTION FOR RESISTANCE AGAINST VIRAL NERVOUS NECROSIS IN EUROPEAN SEABASS (Dicentrarchus labrax)

Author(s): M. L. Aslam, S. Vela-Avitúa, V. Bakopoulos, K. Papanna, L. Kottaras, A. Dimitroglou, L. Papaharisis, C. S. Tsigenopoulos, I. Thorland
Published in: Aquaculture Europe 21 Abstracts, 2021, Page(s) 81-82
Publisher: European Aquaculture Society

Introduction

Contagious diseases are a major threat in aquaculture due to losses caused by high mortalities and the reduced growth of surviving fish. Viral nervous necrosis (VNN) is an infectious disease caused by nervous necrosis virus (NNV, red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus, RGNNV in European sea bass) which is considered a serious concern for European seabass producers, with fry and juveniles being highly susceptible. The outbreak of VNN may cause up to 100% mortalities at larval and around 20% mortalities at advanced juvenile stages[1, 2]. Moreover, the surviving fish present poor growth rate and ultimately high economic losses for the producers.

Selection and breeding for resistance against infectious diseases is highly effective tool to prevent and/or diminish disease outbreaks. Currently available advanced selection methods with the application of genomic/marker(s) information could pace up response to selection. The genetic variation for resistance against VNN obtained from the challenge tested population was presented previously [3]. The aim of current study was to further look into the genomic architecture of the
trait and explore potential of marker assisted and/or genomic selection and obtain realized validation of QTL effects. Read more here on page 81-82…

PERFORMANCE OF NOVEL LOW TROPHIC RAW MATERIALS IN ATLANTIC SALMON (Salmo salar) DIETS

Authors: K. Kousoulaki, T. Larsson and L. Sveen
Published in: Aquaculture Europe 21 Abstracts, 2021, Page(s) 661-662
Publisher: European Aquaculture Society

Introduction

Many different raw materials are considered as candidates for replacing fish meal (FM) and fish oil FO) in diets for salmonids, particularly focusing on locally produced low trophic level organisms with higher sustainability and circular economy potential. However, most of these novel raw materials differ from fish , containing e.g., high levels of complex carbohydrates or fully saturated triglycerides, and their nutritional value and nutrient bioavailability must be investigated before their use in commercial feeds. Read more here…

GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF GILTHEAD SEABREAM (Sparus aurata) FED LOW FISHMEAL DIETS WITH INNOVATIVE INGREDIENTS

Author(s): Α. Tampou, S. Andreopoulou, Ι. Νengas, Κ. Kousoulaki, Α. Vasilaki, E. Mente
Published in: Aquaculture Europe 20 Abstracts, 2020, Page(s) 566-567
Publisher: European Aquaculture Society

Introduction

The constant demand of sea products forces the global fisheries and aquaculture to produce more. Aquaculture of carnivorous species rely on marine protein and oil, but during 2018, 18 million tons of wild fish have used for the production fishmeal and fish oil (FAO, 2020). This, nowadays, has led most of the research to focus on the replacement of fishmeal and fish oil with sustainable sources of protein and lipids. This study aims to evaluate the effect of dietary fishmeal replacement with alternative ingredients such as algae meal, insect meal and tunicate meal on growth performance of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). Read more here…

Training material of the online training on “Sustainable, resilient and climate friendly Blue Growth of EU Aquaculture and Beyond”

“Sustainable, resilient and climate friendly Blue Growth of EU Aquaculture and Beyond” was the title of the FutureEUAqua online course which was hosted hosted by CIHEAM Bari’s eLearning platform, aiming to turn/transform results and outputs into practical knowledge to implement the innovative solution identified and developed in the framework of the Horizon 2020 “FutureEUAqua” project.

The course was mainly addressed to aquaculture stakeholders, innovation brokers, SMEs and policymakers, involved in deploying innovations in aquaculture, with a focus on sustainable agriculture, feed ingredients and feeding strategies, organic aquaculture, production systems, safety and quality, monitoring technologies, consumer awareness and the European regulatory framework for aquaculture.

The course started on 15 June 2022 and lasted for 6 weeks, covering 3 topics:

Module I: Innovative feeds and feeding strategies for improving welfare & performance of fish in sustainable and organic aquaculture

Modul I presentation (EN, pdf)
Module_I_List_of_references
related deliverables: D5.1_-_State_of_the_art_and_future_needs and D5.2_-_Calibration_of_physiological_sensors_technologies_final

Module II: Consumer perception and preferences regarding aquaculture

Module III: Regulatory framework for aquaculture in the EU, with special focus on organic aquaculture