diploma students forge a new pathwaynzaquaculture.co.nz/old-archives/ac42.pdfissue 42 july/august...

ISSUE 42 ■ JULY/AUGUST 2011 $5.00

WHY NOT FARM MULLET WITH KOURA?

Diploma studentsforge a new pathway

THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF NEW ZEALAND AQUACULTURE

UPDATE ON THE AQUACULTURE BILL

YABBIE FARMER USES

CRABBING SKILLS

2 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■ JULY/AUGUST 2011

An informative journal for the aquaculture industry

Published by:VIP PUBLICATIONS LTD

4 Prince Regent Drive,Half Moon Bay, Manukau 2012

Ph 09 533 4336 Fax 09 533 4337Email [email protected]@skipper.co.nzwww.nzaquaculture.co.nz

General: Reproduction of articles and materials published in New Zealand Aquaculture in whole or part, is permitted provided the source and author(s) are acknowledged. However, all photographic material is copyright and written permission to reproduce in any shape or form is required. Contributions of a nature relevant to the aquaculture industry are welcomed and industry participants are especially encouraged to contribute. Articles and information printed in New Zealand Aquaculture do not necessarily reflect the opinions or formal position or the publishers unless otherwise indicated. All material published in New Zealand Aquaculture is done so with all due care as regards to accuracy and factual content, however, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors and omissions which may occur. New Zealand Aquaculture is produced bi-monthly.

3 EDITORIAL

4 NEWSA look at what’s happening in the industry

6 YABBIE GROWER BUILDS ON REDCLAW SKILLSQueenslander John Lawrence applies some Kiwi-style ingenuity

8 STUDENT PLACEMENTS TICK ALL THE BOXESDiploma graduates will find the world is their oyster

9 INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING A GREEN ENVIRONMENTAL PARTNER?Lake Harvest in Zimbabwe thrives in a remote location

10 OCEAN LAW: Reforms in waitingThe Aquaculture Bill is a step closer to reality

11 WHITEBAIT TRIALS ABANDONED BUT I WANT TO FARM MULLETVince Scully promotes raising mullet with koura

12 CAN THE CLEAN GREEN IMAGE BE REALITY?New Zealand can lead the world in sustainable aquaculture

14 NANOTECHNOLOGY – A NEW DIMENSIONNanoparticles have many applications in aquaculture

15 CONFERENCE LOOKS AT THE NEXT DECADEA preview of the Australasian Aquaculture International Conference

CONTENTS

EDITOR:Keith Ingram

ASSISTANT EDITOR:Mark Barratt-Boyes

MANAGER:Vivienne Ingram

ADVERTISING:Hamish Stewart

DESIGNER: Rachel Walker

CONTRIBUTORS:Debtanu Barman, Mark Burdass, Phillip Heath, Justine Inns, Vikash Kumar, Dorothy-Jean McCoubrey, Sagar C Mandal, Linda Morris, John Mosig, Suvra Roy, Vince Scully

PRINTER: GEON

DISTRIBUTION: By subscriptionand insertion with Professional Skipper

ISSN 1176-5402 ISSN 1176-8657 (web)

ISSUE 42 ■ JULY/AUGUST 2011 $5.00

WHY NOT FARM MULLET WITH KOURA?

Diploma studentsforge a new pathway

THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF NEW ZEALAND AQUACULTURE

UPDATE ON THE AQUACULTURE BILL

YABBIE FARMER USES

CRABBING SKILLS

ON THE COVER:NMIT Aquaculture students are hands on

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JULY/AUGUST 2011 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■ 3

EDITORIAL

Are NIMBYS encouraging crime?

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ISSUE 41 ■ MAY/JUNE 2011

$5.00

PACIFIC OYSTERS A RARE TREAT IN FUTURE?

Feast of seafood at MUSSEL FESTIVALTHE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF NEW ZEALAND AQUACULTURE

NEW RESEARCH CENTRE AT GLENHAVEN

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GST No:68-684-757Post to:VIP Publications Ltd, 4 Prince Regent Drive, Half Moon Bay, Manukau, 2012

Life for our aquaculture industry has been challenging, to say the least.

Opportunities should abound, especially when international statistics state the reliance on aquaculture as a source of protein and a quality seafood product is ever-increasing. Nearly 50 percent of all seafood available to the international consumer is derived from aquaculture.

When we look at our international competitors they are streets ahead of us in production, market share and profi tability. Even our nearest neighbour, Australia, is gaining large chunks of market share using Kiwi technology and production methods. Why, because they can, mainly because in New Zealand we are still so PC-oriented and fearful of the aquaculture boogie man. The result is that our hard-learnt technology and skills are disappearing overseas.

One section of the community hates the sight of marine farming structures, another section protests about losing access to open water space or the foreshore. Until government and local authorities solve this fundamental problem, we will continue to lose opportunities.

Sadly, marine farmers historically have not been well resourced, with many fi nancial casualties along the way. We have seen many marine farms drift into derelict wasted farming structures, which only fuels the protagonists’ argument for not having them in our bays.

The Resource Management Act’s solution empowers regional councils to charge a bond deposit on marine farmers. There has been signifi cant local and national debate on how this should come into effect.

The Northland Regional Council is something of a leader in this. Farmers in the region have endured a protracted legal case over the size of the bond. The farmers suggested $7000 per hectare in production, while the council sought a fi gure between $24,000 to $70,000 per hectare. The commissioners obviously thought this was unreasonable and have determined $9000 per hectare to be fair and reasonable.

Sadly, the legal ramifi cations of this continue as the council endeavours to recover its legal costs. All this adds another obstacle to developing marine farms.

The unemployment rate of young Maori in Northland is 50 percent. Given these fi gures, the council should be pretty keen to support aquaculture and create work opportunities, you would think.

The problem is if we look at Northland on its own, which has around 360ha in established farms, $9000 per hectare

totals $3.27 million the council is effectively removing from aquaculture development.

Aquaculture bonds will effectively become unused guarantees which a farmer must provide security for. Banks will still charge fees on the bonds. The amount of the bond is held against the farmer’s borrowing capacity and is still supported by personal guarantees

In effective this means we are putting a noose around the marine farmers’ necks with the fear that the trap door could be dropped at any time the council decides.

This scenario cannot be good for any developing business, especially since the oyster farmers are facing one of their most challenging times in dealing with the impact of the oyster virus outbreak. The virus has been identifi ed and procedures are being developed.

In time not only will the oysters adapt and become immune, but also those farmers who survive will be stronger for it, with a better quality oyster evolving.

In the meantime, production in Northland dropped by up to 30 percent last year and is looking at 50 percent this year. Sadly, because of very poor spat catches, they are forecasting a 75 percent drop next year. It won’t be fl ash.

Prior to the virus, our oyster industry was staggering along, with most farms being only marginally profi table.

The 50 percent drop in production is partially offset by a 30 percent increased return to the farmers. So while the end result will not balance, it’s not that bad.

On the plus side, the price for oysters internationally has risen. In the long term, as production returns to normal over about the next seven years, it is unlikely that prices will fall to their low pre-virus levels.

This aside, when one looks at the future employment opportunities for low-skilled workers, the aquaculture industry has got to be a sitter. If only our wider community would recognise the benefi ts.

Or we could sit back and suffer the consequences of high unemployment in many of our poor coastal communities now favoured by city slickers.

The result is increased crime targeted at nearby middle-class NIMBY coastal residents who have had so much to say in preventing employment and business opportunities in our coastal waters.

Think about it, either we employ young Maori or they will help themselves.

by Keith Ingram

NEWS


highly infected oysters was needed to confi rm the results.

The fi ndings, released on May 1, may offer a relatively cheap solution to a controversial change in American federal regulations that many growers believe will eventually affect the oyster industry in Chesapeake Bay.

The new Food and Drug Administration regulations, set to take effect during this year’s harvest in the Gulf of Mexico, require shellfi sh growers in the gulf to eliminate the bacterium Vibrio vulnifi cus by using post-harvest processing, or PHP. PHP methods include low-temperature pasteurisation, fl ash freezing, high pressure and low-dose irradiation.

But some aquaculture farmers say PHP methods are too costly for an industry dominated by small operators. They also change the texture and taste of oysters and duplicate existing oyster sanitation rules.

The gulf supplies 70 percent of national oyster demand. They also note infections from Vibrio vulnifi cus account for only 0.3 percent of deaths attributed to food-borne illnesses. The team says moving oysters to saltier water may be just as effective and much cheaper than other PHP methods.

See www.vims.edu/_docs/frg_oyster_relay_report.pdf

OVERSEAS TRIP INSPIRES INDUSTRY LEADERSFisheries and Aquaculture Minister Phil Heatley left New Zealand for a week from April 29 with a delegation of offi cials and aquaculture industry representatives on a tour of the aquaculture industry in Norway, Brussels and Scotland.

“While ensuring we maximise the potential gains, I want to see the potential pitfalls so we can eliminate them from the outset,” Heatley said.

One member of the delegation, Grant Rosewarne said on his return he was particularly impressed with Norway, which produces one million tonnes of Atlantic salmon a year to create a $6.3 billion industry. New Zealand produces 14,000 tonnes a year. “The scale is amazing and they are yet to have problems with cumulative effects,” said

RESEARCHER WINS FISH TECHNOLOGY AWARDA young New Zealand fi sh technologist has won the fi rst Peter Howgate Award for her work on how extracting useful bioactive compounds from fi sh parts which are often discarded can improve the commercial value of fi shery products.

Clara Bah, a researcher in the Department of Food Science at Otago University, received €500 so she can attend the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology conference in Rotorua in June. She will present her fi ndings on the bioactivity of fi sh roes from fi ve commercial New Zealand fi sh species.

Ms Bah, who is from Malaysia, arrived in New Zealand in 2008 and was awarded an MSc from Otago last year. She hopes her research will lead to a PhD.

The Peter Howgate Award was established in 2011 to help young fi sh technologists travel and therefore, conduct research. Howgate established the Torry Research Station in Aberdeen, Scotland as a leading aquaculture research institute.

See www.peterhowgateaward.com

SALMON IMPRESSES AT GLOBAL TASTE AWARDSNew Zealand King Salmon achieved the top three-star rating for two of its products at the International Taste & Quality Institute Superior Taste Awards, held in Brussels in mid-May. The company farms salmon in the Marlborough Sounds.

The three stars were awarded for its Regal Hot Smoked Salmon – Natural and its Regal Hot Smoked Salmon – Mixed Peppers and Spices.

The institute, an independent chef and sommelier-based organisation, tests and promotes “superior-tasting food and drink from around the world”. Products are awarded marks based on fi rst impressions, appearance, aroma, texture, fl avour and retro-olfaction.

King Salmon’s four other products entered into the awards all received two stars:• Southern Ocean Cold Smoked Sliced

Salmon

• Seasmoke Cold Smoked Sliced Salmon• Regal Salmon Caviar, and• Regal Fresh Salmon Fillet

The chief executive officer, Grant Rosewarne, says the success of NZ King Salmon demonstrates the taste and texture appeal of its chinook or king salmon products. The award labels can be shown on its products for three years.

Now in their seventh year, the awards attracted 906 product entries from 54 countries.

PARTNERSHIP AIDS OYSTER INDUSTRYA study by local oyster growers and researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows moving farmed oysters into saltier water just before they are harvested almost eliminates the presence of a bacterium that can sicken humans.

The team moved about 200 farmed oysters from one relatively low and two moderate-salinity sites in Chesapeake Bay to an inlet with close to full ocean salinity.

The exposure decreased Vibrio vulnifi cus levels from a high of 750mpn per gram of meat in pre-transplant oysters (with an average of 160mpn per gram) to less than 1mpn per gram. The mortality rate was less than fi ve percent.

Their fi ndings, “clearly show high salinity is a potentially viable method to reduce vibrio in oysters grown and harvested in Virginia.” Further studies with a larger number of more

DISEASE HITS VIETNAM SHRIMP FARMSTiger shrimp farmers in coastal provinces of the Mekong Delta are suffering unprecedented losses from the disease microsporidiosis.

Over 40,000ha of shrimp farms are said to have been infected.There was no specifi c remedy, and farmers could only prevent the disease by testing

breeding shrimp to make sure they were healthy before raising them, said the head of the Bac Lieu Aquaculture Department, Pham Hoang Giang.

Over 11,000ha of shrimp farms in Bac Lieu, southern Vietnam, have been destroyed, and in Soc Trang, 80 percent of 25,000ha of shrimp farms have been destroyed, causing US$75 million in losses.

A Soc Tran farmer, Nguyen Van Sang, said he had invested $2500 in 3ha to farm tiger shrimp, only to have them all die after two weeks.

The Soc Trang People’s Committee is expected to set aside $1million to help the farmers.


Rosewarne, who is the chief executive offi cer of New Zealand King Salmon.

“They have a fantastic environment and they’ve kept it [that way]. There is industry there, but it’s just done extremely well.”

Their salmon farms didn’t ruffl e feathers because they were designed to blend into the environment, with farm buildings painted in the same colours as the holiday cottages on the surrounding hills, Rosewarne said.

NZ King Salmon accepted it “could have made better choices” when it originally designed its salmon farms.

Seeing Scotland’s salmon industry, which generates $3.5 billion from 130,000 tonnes, had been inspiring. “We’ve got a long way to go to add value in smoked products. We do it already, but the Scottish do it better.”

The delegation also visited Skretting and Marine Harvest in Stravanger, Norway, attended the Seafood Exposition in Brussels, met the Aquaculture Stewardship Council and visited Stirling University to discuss New Zealand’s quota management system with the Prince’s Charities International Sustainability Unit in Scotland.

NATIVE FISH HATCHERY TO IMPROVE RECREATIONAL FISHINGVictoria’s new native fi sh hatchery at Snobs Creek will signifi cantly boost the supply of fi sh for restocking, the Minister for Agriculture, Peter Walsh, said on April 13.

He said the state government was committed to improving opportunities for Victoria’s recreational fi shers. “The completion of this $1.9 million project will allow for a signifi cant increase in the production of traditional recreational fi shing species, such as Murray cod and golden perch,” Walsh said.

“It will help replenish native fi sh stocks in our rivers and lakes and provide future opportunities for recreational fishing. Importantly, the new hatchery will also expand our capacity to breed endangered fi sh, such as trout cod and Macquarie perch.”

The upgrades include new ponds built to accommodate brood fi sh, new plankton ponds for juvenile fi sh and an eco-friendly wetland for treating effl uent. It also includes new facilities for incubating and rearing native fi sh.

BUOY TRANSFORMS COASTAL MONITORINGScientists from New Zealand and America have launched a device into the waters off Nelson to boost monitoring of our coastal waters.

The TASCAM will remotely collect physical and biological data on the water quality of Tasman Bay, including temperature, salinity, turbidity (sediment) and chlorophyll.

“The data can be used, for example, to alert a fi sher that the water temperature is ideal for catching a kingfi sh, or to advise a mussel farmer of the presence of a chlorophyll


bloom he might like to let his mussels snack on before harvest,” said marine scientist Chris Cornelisen. “Conversely, a drop in salinity may mean a higher likelihood of contamination from river plumes.”

The idea ultimately is to secure funding for the data to be posted on Cawthron’s website where it can be readily accessed, for free.

The buoy, designed and built by the Cawthron Institute, uses inductive instrument technology developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.

Cornelisen says scientists will be able to communicate remotely with the instruments on the buoy. Rather than satellites or satellite phones, the data will be transmitted back using radio frequencies via the Nelson City Council’s radio tower.

Cawthron’s chief executive, Gillian Wratt, says TASCAM will begin to fi ll a signifi cant gap in our knowledge of what is going on in the seas around us. “If we are to properly manage our water space, we simply have to have more extensive and sophisticated monitoring technology.”

SALMON FARM VISIT BUOYS MINISTERMt Cook Alpine Salmon was an example of an export industry in good shape and attract-ing capital, the deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Bill English, said during a recent visit to the farm in the Tekapo Canal.

The company is in the middle of a $20 million expansion designed to increase its exports 14-fold within fi ve years. English said the expansion was a boost for aquaculture and the Mackenzie region. He was impressed with the company’s operations and the scale of its expansion plans. “New Zealand needs more of it. Even though the effects of the investment won’t be seen in government budgets for a few years, it gives me great heart to know there are people out there getting on with it,” English said.

The chairman of the company, Jim Bolger, who was also present, said companies like Mt

Cook Alpine Salmon were leading the way to aquaculture becoming a major economic driver of the New Zealand economy. Bolger was prime minister when the government granted the fi rst leases to farm salmon in the hydro canals in 1991. He said the partnership with the Crown in leasing space in the canals to private enterprise was a world fi rst and very forward thinking at the time.

“Twenty years on, salmon farming in the Mackenzie Basin will undoubtedly be a dominant driver of growth and jobs in the region over the next decade.”

BILL PASSES ANOTHER HURDLEThe government is one step closer to fi nalising the Aquaculture Amendment Bill (No. 3) after a successful second reading.

“This bill is set to reform aquaculture legislation,” said the Minister of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Phil Heatley, “Once enacted, it will provide a framework to enable the aquaculture industry to reach its goal of $1 billion in earnings by 2025.”

The legislation will promote investment, reduce costs and uncertainty and ensure managed growth within environmental limits.

On May 9 the Select Committee recommended the bill proceed with some amendments. ”The amended bill continues to provide opportunities to increase export earnings and create new jobs, especially in the regions. It also retains essential protection for the environment and ensures aquaculture will continue to be balanced with other uses of coastal space,” Heatley said.

The central feature of the bill, removing the requirement for Aquaculture Management Areas, remains, with only technical amend-ments. Removing the requirement means planning processes will be streamlined and aquaculture will be on an equal footing with other activities in the coastal marine area. The bill also ensures the Crown will continue to uphold the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Settlement.

See www.legislation.govt.nz

Bill English (right) with Jim Bolger with the Mt Cook Alpine Salmon farm behind


John Lawrence came down to Moama on the Murray River from Bundaberg in tropical Queensland because his wife, Christene, liked the climate.

John brought with him 20 years experience as a licensed crab-ber (mud crabs, spanner crabs and blue swimmers) and 10 years of growing redclaw Cherax quadricarinatus. So it seemed logical for him to take on yabby Cherax destructor farming. The old Yabby Farms Australia site was available so the couple bought it.

The farm includes a hatchery, a coolroom and a purging/holding/grading room. It has 60 4000sq m bottom-draining

ponds and a four hectare settlement reservoir. The ponds slope from 700mm to 1.2m deep and measure 80m by 50m. However, they’re only farming seven ponds at this stage. Water comes from their 35ML allocation plus 20ML they have purchased, with additional

supplies when required.The farm is fully reticulated and there’s three-phase power to each pond. They

have replaced an existing pump with a 100mm unit, which is cheaper to

operate, and run the place on a semi-intensive model to suit that management style.

The farm came with a hatchery, but John is using his redclaw experience to manipulate their ponds by collecting juveniles from onion bags suspended in the water

and stocking them in new ponds.This way they have some control over the biomass of the

ponds. It also keeps him busy trapping but he says it’s cost-effective, and at this stage of the farm’s redevelopment it keeps his operating costs manageable.

When the water warms in the late winter, the yabbies will start to move around. Juveniles and yabbies too small for the market are collected and graded into sizes. They stock at 50 kilos per pond and monitor their progress. As they reach market size they’re harvested. This continues as long as it’s economically feasible to do so. Feasibility is governed by the effort involved in harvesting and the value of the yabbies in the market. This is usually a six-month cash fl ow period, although this year was wetter than average and they trapped right through the winter.

“You have to be aggressive with your harvesting,” John said. “You have to roll over those size cohorts in three to six months. You really need to dry those ponds out. I’ve noticed with the redclaws how much better they go after the ponds have been dried out and limed. You could say it was compulsory to do this after each harvesting cycle.

“Trace elements in the soil have a lot to do with it. There’s a need for lime: the calcium for shell structure and the carbonate for pH buffering, but I look for specifi c minerals that may be lacking. If my yabbies have all the micro-nutrients they need they’ll be healthy and better able to utilise the feed.”

John plans to have fewer inputs and work with the animals more. “The yields might be less, but the overall return is more and the farm runs smoother.”

Yabbie grower builds ON REDCLAW SKILLSBY JOHN MOSIG

A view across the ponds

Juvenile yabbies collected from the onion bag “traps”The hatcheryPurged and ready for sale

The mulcher breaks up the hay to enhance detritus production

Feeding is easy with John’s farm-built feed blower

The aeration line for the airlift is 25mm polypropylene pipe running the length of the pond. The droppers go down to within 100mm of the bottom, they are injected 100mm from the surface and the air is driven down 500mm inside the dropper before it rises, bringing the stale water to the surface for re-oxygenation and de-gassing. A single Siemens blower will do 50 airlifts and there are eight lifters per pond.

Feed has always been a problem in the yabby sector, especially since the industry has been in the doldrums. To get a manufactured feed the Lawrences would have to buy a four-tonne parcel, and with no-one to share it with, this is far too much for them.

They use a mixture of nutritional sources ranging from detritus and grains to fi sh waste. They spread two round bales of hay per pond before fl ooding. This is mulched to break it up and give a greater surface area for the bacteria to work on. It also prevents it fl oating around everywhere.

They fl ood the mulched hay to 200mm to make sure it’s totally waterlogged and the bacterium have started to fi re up in the lukewarm conditions before they fi ll the pond. After setting the pond up coming out of winter, the fi rst of the crop is ready to go out the gate by Christmas. The smallest yabbies go in at a 25g average and will be up to 50-60g, while the shooters will be over 100g in the three to four-month period, John said.

“I don’t have a water quality problem. We steer clear of abattoir waste. I get 20-25 boxes of fi sh frames from the market each week and I put a fl athead frame on each feed tray. As soon as they start to get knocked around I up the feed rate.”

They try to feed one to two percent of biomass per day, or double with wet feed like fl athead. John says he alternates between fi sh and grain, but only feeds 0.5 percent biomass as the rate on grain days, using lupins, wheat, oats and barley for variety.

He can use an underwater fl ow trap without having to drop the ponds to dangerous levels to selectively harvest during the production cycle and get a 100 percent harvest when it’s time to drain and dry the pond.

The previous owners suggested this semi-intensive scheme would net 250-350 kilos per pond per annum of 50g-plus


VIP.AC31

yabbies. Working on a six-week rotation of trapping a pond for a week and leaving it for fi ve, in 40 weeks of good trapping he needs to get about 30-40 kilos per trapping week from each pond.

John and Christene say the yabbie market looks strong, with fi rm prices and keen interest. John sells the live yabbies at the Melbourne Wholesale Fish Market. Wholesale prices were $20 per kilo for yabbies of at least 50g. “Buyers just don’t seem to be able to get enough.”

Floodwaters moving down the Murray and Darling systems bring some wild yabbies onto the market. But for the moment, newcomers like John and Christene and some of the old industry diehards are in a position to glean a just reward for their investment.

Contact [email protected]

Two yabbies top the scales at 305g

Note the clean belly plates of the farmed yabbies that moult often

The blower driving the airlift aeration system

The airlift aerators at work

The purging room

A crop to be proud of. One night’s trapping on the grading table


Think aheadfor a career in Aquaculture

See www.nmit.ac.nz Search keyword: ‘Aquaculture’

Graduates of the Diploma in Aquaculture (Fish Farming and Fishery Management) can gain roles in; Commercial Aquaculture, Research, Sales and Marketing, Enhancement Culture, Fisheries Consulting or could pathway into a Degree in Marine Biology.

NMIT DIPLOMA IN AQUACULTURE(Fish Farming and Fishery Management) (Level 5)DURATION: 2 years full-time or part-time equivalent,

Nelson Campus

>> ENROL NOW FOR 2012

COME AND JOIN OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND FACEBOOK PAGE, SEARCH NMIT

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AC42

Student placementsTICK ALL THE BOXESBY LINDA MORRIS, NMIT

Key industry players have snapped up the chance to offer mid-training work experience to students on New Zealand’s newest aquaculture training programme, the

Diploma of Aquaculture (Fish Farming and Management) at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.

Fish and Game and New Zealand King Salmon were among the fi rst to agree to take the students on work placements for at least two weeks.

“Practicality can’t be under-estimated in regards to education,” said Grant Lovell of NZ King Salmon. The students will be shown a variety of tasks from assisting with spawning to egg handling, feeding fi sh and general husbandry across hatchery and saltwater farms. “Fish farming is not a skill you pick up at school or university. This is the fi rst course in New Zealand to teach the practicalities of the job as well as the theory,” Lovell said.

The manager of Nelson/Marlborough Fish & Game, Neil Deans, is equally keen to see the aquaculture workforce of the future get a taster for the huge range of jobs in the fi eld.

“We have a wide-ranging programme for these NMIT students, including fi sh survey work, laboratory processing – such as getting ear bones out of fi sh so we can age them and check growth rates – working on a salmon farm or working with Cawthron staff reading transponders on fi sh tags. And that’s just the start.”

Both organisations see potential from being a partner with the NMIT diploma. “There’s a real advantage in us being able to see prospective employees and for them to be able to talk to us,” says Lovell.

“This is an ideal tool to enable NZ King Salmon to have a conveyor belt of staff who will be trained appropriately and who have a good understanding of our industry. We can actually see them in action before we employ them.”

Mark Burdass, a former international fi sh farming consultant

and aquaculture training specialist from the United Kingdom, who heads up the new diploma programme, says he’s thrilled at the response from the industry. “I think we all realise training only works well when it’s relevant and up-to-date.

“Our aim is to give this new generation of trained aquaculture workers direct involve-ment with the industry. Not only do they get to see the huge variety of careers possible once they graduate, but also it’s also giving them skills and a chance to prove their worth

with potential employers.”Burdass says he is keen to develop long-term relationships.

“The aim is our graduates come out totally ready for work in both a theoretical and practical way.”

Says Lovell: “This is the fi rst course offering a true pathway in partnership with the industry. The more industry players that get involved with the work placements, the more benefi ts will come in terms of strengthening the course and improving the calibre of employees being hired into the industry.

Contact Mark Burdass on 03 546-9175 ext 328


The photograph might make you wonder where I am (Harare, Zimbabwe) as I recently accepted an invitation from the United Nations Food and

Agricultural Organisation to act as the food safety advisor for Africa.

My prior knowledge of Zimbabwe was largely based on international media reports, but I am quickly learning this country is rich in scenery, biological diversity, mineral wealth and warm people who want to improve their lot.

One of my fi rst FAO tasks was to take a look at the fi shery resources in the Kariba region. Lake Kariba is an immense hydro-electric engineering project that dammed the Zambezi River in the 1950s, providing power to Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The lake’s dimensions are staggering. It is 220km long, up to 40km wide and with an immense storage capacity of 185cu km. It is still the world’s largest artifi cial lake by volume. The water mass is so heavy the weight caused seismic activity in the region as the lake fi lled between 1958 and 1963.

Today the lake environment has stabilised and wildlife prospers, as much of the surrounding area was designated national parkland. Monkeys, zebras, buffalo and elephants live in harmony with small human settlements, as evidenced by the bull elephant walking up the main highway.

In 1967, shoals of small, sardine-like kapenta fi sh Limnothrissa miodon were airlifted from Lake Tanganyika to stock the new dam, and this resource now provides a thriving commercial fi shery.

In the early 1990s, Patrick Blow also saw the lake had great aquaculture potential and set about establishing Lake Harvest, a vertically integrated company that farms, harvests, processes and exports tilapia Oreochromis niloticus, also known locally as bream.

Lake Harvest is set in a remote area, so the company has had to become self-suffi cient. They have an onshore breeding programme, an engineering shop which makes everything from fi sh cages and nets to barges, produce their own fi sh food and process the fi sh for local and international markets.

With average water temperatures of 28˚ Celsius and no pollution or chronic algal blooms, the juvenile tilapia grow quickly in the lake cages to a harvestable size in nine months.

This year, Lake Harvest will produce 7000 tonnes and 2012 production is expected to increase to 10,000 tonnes.

Vertical integration means Lake Harvest has complete control over product quality. After the fi sh are harvested, they are immediately put into chilled, oxygenated water so they arrive at the factory in top condition.

They are individually killed, bled and fully processed within two hours of harvest. While the valuable fi llets only make up 33-35 percent of the total fi sh weight, not

Industrial engineering A GREEN environment partner?

BY DOROTHY-JEAN MCCOUBREY, FOOD SAFETY ADVISOR

a single part is wasted. More than half the company’s total production is sold regionally as whole fi sh, and the byproducts from fi lleting (belly fl aps and fi sh heads) are sold at a fair price to the local community. The gut is used for fi sh oil, the scales make dry compost and the bones and skin are used for feed at the local crocodile farm.

Lake Harvest’s processing premises have offi cial European Union listing and my inspection confi rmed the premises achieve very high standards. The company implements Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points and standard sanitation operating recording systems. All the processing staff are well trained before they start work and the farm’s laboratory staff perform a range of microbiological and quality assurance tests.

Once the chilled and frozen fi sh products pass all the quality requirements, they are on their way to Europe and the greater African region. Lake Harvest’s fully traceable records make it possible to quickly track from the retailer back to the exact hatchery family.

With 600 employees, Lake Harvest is the major employer in the small town of Kariba, and with fair working conditions there is little problem retaining a competent labour force. Once Lake Kariba was abuzz with sportfi shers and tourists and the supporting industries provided much employment, but that was before Zimbabwe became isolated internationally.

Sadly, aside from the wild kapenta fi shing, there is now little other work in the region, so the arrival of Lake Harvest had a signifi cant positive effect on the community.

Large industrial engineering projects often cause irreparable environmental degradation, yet Kariba provides an example that this does not always have to be the case.

Today, a visitor to the area will fi nd wildlife freely wandering in their natural environment, living in harmony

with the local healthy and socially vibrant community. This would not have been possible without the artifi cial formation of the lake and aquaculture engineering, partnered with Lake Harvest’s quality food processing systems.

ABOVE: The scale of Lake Kariba is hard to capture as it stretches beyond the horizon!

Lake Harvest keep records of every step from fry

hatchery through to retail packages

Live fish are trucked to the processing plant after harvesting. Note the oxygen tanks

On May 9, the Primary Production Select Committee reported back to parliament on the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 3). At the time

of writing, the bill is awaiting the next step in its parliamentary journey, known as the Committee of the Whole House stage.

The fi nal act (in its becoming an act!) will be a formal third reading in parliament. It is possible that by the time you read this, one or both of these stages will have been completed, as the government clearly remains committed to passing the bill into law before the election. Nonetheless, this article reviews the progress of the bill to date and foreshadows work that may remain to be done.

The bill was introduced to parliament on November 9 last year and came with an acknowledgement that a new “post-aquaculture management areas” incarnation of the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Settlement Claims Settlement Act provisions in relation to future (or “new”)

aquaculture space was still a work in progress. That act guaranteed iwi 20 percent of space in all new AMAs and the bill reiterated the Crown’s commitment to that settlement in principle.

However, it was no secret that work was not complete on detailed provisions for giving effect to that commitment in the proposed new regime, where developing new aquaculture space is likely to happen primarily through individual resource consent applications and AMAs are a thing of the past.

The Crown made it clear to iwi early on that making applicants for aquaculture resource consents carry the cost

of giving effect to the settlement would be contrary to its policy that private interests should not have to carry the burden of Treaty of Waitangi settlements.

Iwi made it equally clear that they expected the 2004 settlement obligations to be delivered through the provision of 20 percent of space – suggestions that this could be translated into a “cheque in the mail” were rejected. There is broad agreement, however, that opportunities should be available for the Crown and iwi in any region to agree to their own, tailored package.

While the Crown engaged with iwi on fi nding a way through the settlement, the Select Committee received 120 written submissions and heard from 57 of those submitters in person. Naturally, the submitters raised a number of issues, though it seemed the overwhelming majority, other than those congenitally opposed to aquaculture as a matter of principle, supported the broad thrust of the reforms.

The Select Committee recommended a number of amendments to the bill, though it would be fair to say virtually all of these were technical in nature, rather than changing the shape of the reforms in any signifi cant way.

The committee noted it received a number of submissions seeking full implementation of the joint seafood industry proposal for revision of the Undue Adverse Effects test, which was fi rst presented to the Minster of Fisheries and Aquaculture in July 2010. While the bill contains elements of that joint proposal, those involved in its development felt more detail was required. On advice from Ministry of Fisheries’ offi cials, the Select Committee declined to act on submissions urging it to go further.

Further amendments to the bill are possible in the Committee of the Whole House stage, and there is little doubt that fi nal provisions giving effect to the settlement will emerge at this point, if agreement can be reached between the Crown and iwi. Whether other elements of the bill also receive a last-minute tweak remains to be seen, but it seems we can now have some confi dence that a new, more workable, legal regime for aquaculture will be a reality before the election.

ReformsIN WAITINGBY JUSTINE INNS, PARTNER AT OCEANLAW

THE SELECT COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED A NUMBER OF

AMENDMENTS TO THE BILL, THOUGH IT WOULD BE FAIR TO SAY

VIRTUALLY ALL OF THESE WERE TECHNICAL IN NATURE


14 New St, Nelson. PO Box 921, Nelson 7040. T +64 3 548 4136. F +64 3 548 4195. Freephone 0800 Oceanlaw. Email [email protected] www.oceanlaw.co.nz

OCEAN LAW

Justine Inns is a partner at Oceanlaw. She previously spent more than a decade as an advisor to

various iwi (tribes), including several years with Ngai Tahu.


I was one of two koura farmers invited by Massey University to work with them on projects to improve koura growth rates. There were two good outcomes. But

because they were achieved on a low budget they were not part of this story. Massey was after a large grant and wanted us to work towards bringing in valuable export dollars. The plan was to farm whitebait in fresh water ponds and as a possible polyculture with koura.

Both of us farmers were already set on polyculturing mullet with our koura. We were told to put this idea aside. We argued the values of mullet. An oily, omega-three fl esh that smokes well will extend its shelf life and convert to a value-added product.

A naturally schooling fi sh with a wide-ranging diet translates into an acceptable-to-pack-in fi sh that accepts economical feeding. It’s a grower’s dream to cheaply produce a medically endorsed product that is both in demand and has little to do with rising fuel prices. And then there’s the roe. But Massey wanted us to try to farm whitebait. The message was a broken record.

I don’t understand the passion for whitebait or whitebaiting. I like boating. Of all the things I have done, boating has never left me. I have two boats on trailers, a launch called Astakos, which is both the Greek and Latin name for fresh water crayfi sh, and Anae, our trailer yacht. Anae is the Samoan name for mullet. I told Massey this, and I also told them mullet has always been a popular fi sh dish throughout Polynesia.

Kanae, the Polynesian word for mullet, was one of fi ve words in common usage throughout history which were chosen to trace the ancient migration of Polynesian people.

I didn’t go on to Massey about mullet. I have learnt if I stubbornly stick to my ideas I am not receptive to the criticisms or ideas of others. And that puts a ceiling on my potential.

We have a third boat, a wee dory. I wondered about naming her after whitebait. Of the whitebait that spawn on river banks and drift out to sea, there is evidence that three of the fi ve galaxias species that then return up our waterways can also live their life cycle in fresh water. The most abundant of these is galaxias brevipinnis, or koaro.

They are our second most prolifi c whitebait species. That was our plan: try and farm the whitebait that climb right out of the whitebaiter’s bucket. Koaro. Or what the underarm bowlers to the west call the climbing whitebait.

Firstly, there was the paperwork before bringing another species onto our farm. Well, regardless of legal permission, and even with a tin fence on its side surrounding the creek, low numbers of eels and whitebait come onto our farm. I sorted out the small eels from the whitebait and the inanga from the koaro.

I observed koaro in tanks and in a dam, where they grew pretty. One of my highlights when out smelling-the-roses round the ponds after dark was seeing koaro by torchlight.

In time, Massey advised they did not get the grant. What to do? Perhaps do nothing, or enjoy observing pretty fi sh. When in a tank they nipped each other if I didn’t constantly feed

them zooplankton. They did not survive in a pond with koura.Finally I drained the water from the dam. There were a few

eels, a few koura and zooplankton, but no koaro. Either they felt an urge to migrate and slithered up and over the fence or they are sensitive to temperature. I abandoned my whitebait trial. I don’t see them as a species that can be cultivated in ponds in viable numbers.

Maybe one day mullet will be hormonally induced to supply growers. Then we can have a marketable fi sh we can farm in fresh water ponds with koura and which won’t concern the Department of Conservation.

Maybe one day grants will go to those who create a sustainable, carbon-neutral, non-polluting primary industry that reduces our dependence on fossil fuels, is historically proven and provides healthy food. I’m talking mullet. Of the 39 species of grey mullet in the world, one will suit our temperate climate.

WHITEBAIT trials abandoned but I want to FARM MULLETBY VINCE SCULLY


Participants at the last New Zealand Aquaculture conference in Nelson couldn’t help but notice the underlying theme of sustainability captured in many

presentations.New Zealand’s clean, green image was touted by many

as the point of difference that will allow our products to occupy a high-value niche in a world market awash with low-quality commodity seafood. But maintaining that reputation requires industry leaders to move beyond the image, establishing production and management techniques that are demonstrably and verifi ably sustainable.

The term sustainability is very much in vogue these days and has quickly become a marketing slogan world-wide. The public seems to be buying into the concept too, making purchasing decisions based on eco-labels claiming various sustainability attributes of the product on offer. But how many of us really stop to think about what sustainability means or how it can be measured?

The word sustainability is actually derived from the Latin word sustinere (tenere, to hold; sus, up), meaning maintain, support or endure. The word tends to be used mostly to refer to human sustainability.

In 1987 the United Nations published a widely quoted defi nition of sustainability: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This requires the reconciliation of economic, social and environmental demands, now known more widely as the three pillars of sustainability.

Economic sustainability is critical to any business, and industries must be fi nancially viable if they are to remain in existence. In New Zealand, fi nding niche markets and cultivating high-value species is likely to be the key to long-term economic sustainability for the aquaculture industry. Without them, the industry’s goal of reaching $1 billion in sales by 2025 will not be realised.

Environmental stewardship and scale of production are essential requirements. A poor environmental image will damage marketing strategies, and scale must be managed to ensure viability without high-value products becoming cheap commodity items.

Social sustainability refl ects the need to maintain cohesive, functioning communities. Aquaculture affords opportunities to rural communities by providing a range of local employment for local people. These opportunities are both direct and indirect, and can encompass a broad range of skills.

Environmental sustainability is the most often talked about of the three sustainability pillars, but is rarely well defi ned. For many environmentalists, the idea of sustainable development is an oxymoron, as any development seems likely to entail environmental degradation. Given that zero-impact development is not a realistic option for aquaculture, it may be preferable to take a view that sustainable aquaculture

Sustainable aquaculture – CAN THE CLEAN GREEN IMAGE BE REALITY?BY PHILIP HEATH, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF WATER AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH

operations are those that can continue to operate indefi nitely without degrading the environment to such an extent it prevents the farm from continuing to operate, or signifi cantly impacts on other ecosystem processes critical to maintaining a healthy environment at the bay scale.

The question then, is how much should we be producing and what measures should be used to objectively establish whether things are getting better or worse?

NIWA has long recognised the importance of environmental sustainability for aquaculture development. Our sustainable aquaculture programme has been running for over 10 years, focused largely on the interactions between mussel farms and their environment. The programme has had some signifi cant successes, including:• identifying the key environmental drivers of mussel

productivity• improving methods for measuring nutrient uptake and

cycling, and • quantifying the effects of mussel farms on local

hydrodynamics.Pioneering the concept of “limits of acceptable change”

as a means of addressing uncertainties in local and bay scale environmental processes when new farming areas are developed.

With recent legislative changes aimed at reducing administrative impediments to fi nfi sh aquaculture expansion boosting interest in the development of high-value fi nfi sh farming, we are broadening our programme to better understand the potential environmental impacts of fi sh farms and developing technologies to mitigate those impacts. The programme has four research themes.

THE INTERACTION BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND AQUACULTUREMost farmers already understand their farm’s operations are directly affected by wider environmental changes. Global processes such as ocean currents, upwelling and changes in annual rainfall and temperature all impact directly on farm productivity. Understanding the magnitude and impact of environmental change is important in predicting productivity and planning for future development.

THE INTERACTION BETWEEN AQUACULTURE PROCESSES AND THE ENVIRONMENTImpacts in the immediate vicinity of a farm are often the most visible and are therefore frequently the focus of discussion and debate about negative environmental effects.

These effects can arise from single farms or interactions between farms at the bay or even on a regional scale. Therefore, our programme will dedicate considerable resources to under-standing and providing meaningful measures of these impacts.

Drawing on New Zealand and overseas skills, we want to be able to identify, quantify and model biological, chemical and hydrodynamic changes are linked to marine farming operations. The results will be presented in ways that are meaningful and inform public debate.

THE INTERACTION BETWEEN FARMED ORGANISMS AND THE ENVIRONMENTWithin individual farms, understanding how cultured organisms interact with their environment in terms of water quality, food, oxygen, etc and waste production is critical to maintaining animal welfare and protecting the farm environment.

Information gained from this research will feed directly into environmental and economic models to guide aquaculture operating plans and regional development.

MITIGATING THE IMPACTS OF AQUACULTURE WASTEMinimising environmental impacts from aquaculture, so New Zealand’s farms can demonstrate world-leading environmental sustainability standards is critical to the long-term viability of the industry.

The use of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture to recycle wastes from fi sh production through valuable secondary crops such as sea cucumbers, seaweed and even mussels and scallops is potentially a valuable tool for the industry. Likewise, addressing issues such as the world demand for fi shmeal, by developing diets that use waste products from aquaculture and fi shing as fi shmeal replacements, will help to address environmental concerns on a global level.

New Zealand is well positioned to become the world leader in delivering high-value aquaculture products that can be demonstrably and verifi ably labelled as environmentally sustainable. NIWA is keen to work with the industry to ensure the clean, green image of New Zealand aquaculture products is a reality and stands up to the scrutiny of increasingly demanding world markets.


Dear Sir I would like to respond to the criticism of Andrew Burton,

of New Zealand Prawns, Wairakei, on my trying to create a critical mass of interest to farm grey mullet. I see him as a devil’s advocate on what I am proposing.

Firstly, grey mullet are a commodity fi sh. There is nothing wrong with basing an industry on commodities. Ask Fonterra. However, I am envious of his unique opportunity to use geothermal energy to heat water. If I were him, and I could keep water temperatures above 24˚ Celsius, I would consider farming barramundi.

Yes, there are no live fi sh transporters, but what comes fi rst: the chicken or the egg. Mullet fry and even fi ngerlings like goldfi sh transport nicely in plastic bags of water on a courier service.

Our static water ponds in Kaikoura vary through the year from 4-26˚ Celsius. This suits koura and our uninvited eels but is too warm for whitebait and – as suggested – salmon, and too cold for mullet. What can be done to cool or heat the water temperature?

Cooling water requires fl ushing or spraying large volumes of cooler ground water into 1000sq m ponds. That will be expensive and depends on the availability and consents for extra water, and competition for it in the high season.

Plus, I would be discharging high volumes of pond water into the creek when the nutrition is built up and hence my operation would be non-compliant. And I would be defeating what I am trying to achieve: to build up nutrition.

Heating the water would be prohibitively expensive, but I am proposing heating a much smaller volume for a hatchery to receive mullet fi ngerlings to winter over. I propose keeping mullet for only one season, and turn over the grow-out ponds every season.

To harvest yearly from grow-out ponds, both boutique koura and commodity mullet, I reckon, are the ticket to current, interesting times.

Give the market what they want. The fi rst rule of marketing says, don’t try and sell what you can’t provide. This means the long-term vision of any operation is sustainability. Mullet have a wide-ranging diet and are sustainable. This also keeps labour costs down and means comparison with other countries is not an issue.

Shipping costs of a 200g pack of product shared among everything else in a 20 tonne container would look insignifi cant in a shop alongside a local product, and where the buyer might even prefer something from clean, green, nuclear-free New Zealand.

Three other relevant points to consider are:• the water quality in Kaikoura is slighty alkaline and is

hard. In other words, it is enviably good and the temperate climate wards off extremes

• of the gate sales of Israeli fi sh farms of carp and mullet, mullet has the higher value, and

• there are 39 species of grey mullet in the world, with various traits of temperature stress. Low temperature, as Burton suggested, is an issue. I am suggesting a way around that with a heated nursery. However, there are other long-term options available

for research and development. Wakey wakey, central government. The only bad thing you can say about mullet is they share a name with a bogan haircut.

Vince ScullyDirector, Waikoura Springs LtdKaikoura

Grey mullet

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


Pam Wegener pondering lunchPrime

seafood platters

LOOKING FOR WORK

• BAppSc (Aquaculture), two years experience.

• All positions considered.

Please contact Clint Stretton for further details

Clint +64 9 536 5335 or +642 210 99825

Email [email protected]

NANOTECHNOLOGY: a new dimension to increase aquaculture production(Note: this article is adapated from a scientifi c paper)

Nanotechnology is a fi eld of applied science and technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, generally

100 nanometers or smaller, and the fabrication of devices with critical dimensions that lie within this size range. The nanoparticles are prepared by a top-down (large material to nano) or bottom-up process (arranging atom by atom).

The potential explorable properties of nanoparticles are their high specifi c surface area, optical properties, chemical properties, and magnetic and electric properties.

There are six possible applications of nanoparticles in aquaculture.

• Fish health management: Once an outbreak of a disease occurs, it can take weeks or months before it is detected, by which time the disease may have wreaked havoc. Nanotechnology holds the potential for early detection and eradication of disease. Immunogold indicates an immuno-targeted gold nanoparticle with an antibody of a specifi c biomolecule of interest. Immunoglobulin G-capped gold nanoparticles are used to image pathogenic organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus and S pyrogenes. Ig G can bind specifi cally to the pathogens created by the bacteria. Thus, Ig G capped gold nanoparticles are used to label the bacteria specifi cally.

• DNA nanovaccines: A number of approaches have been applied in an attempt to solve the problem of disease outbreaks in aquaculture, including vaccination. Applying a nanoparticle carrier of vaccine antigens combined with mild infl ammatory inducers may achieve high levels of protection to fi sh and shellfi sh, not only against bacteria but also from certain viral diseases with vaccine induced side-effects.

Mass vaccination of fi sh can also be done using nanocapsules.

These nanocapsules containing short-strand DNA are absorbed into the cells of fi sh when applied to water. Ultrasound is used to break the capsules, which in turn release the DNA, thus eliciting an immune response to fi sh, due to the vaccine.

• Water fi ltration and remediation: Nano-enabled technologies are already available to remove contaminants from water. Activated materials like carbon or alumina, with additives like zeolite and iron-containing compounds, can be used in aquaculture for holding aerobic and anaerobic biofi lm to remove ammonia, nitrites and nitrate contaminants.

Similarly, ultra-fi ne nano-scale powder made from iron is effective for cleaning up contaminants such as trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls to simpler carbon compounds which are less toxic, thus paving the way for nano-aquaculture.

The American company Altair Nanotechnologies, based in Nevada, makes a water-cleaning product for swimming pools and fi sh ponds called NanoCheck. It uses 40nm particles of a lanthanum-based compound to absorb phosphates from the water and prevent algae growth.

• Gene delivery: New carrier systems for gene delivery could treat many genetic disorders. Non-viral delivery systems have been increasingly proposed as alternatives to viral vectors, owing to their safety, stability and ability to produce in large quantities.

Some approaches employ DNA complexes containing lipids, protein, peptides or polymeric carriers, as well as ligands (an ion or molecule attached to a metal atom) capable of targeting DNA complexes to receptors on the surface of the target cells, or directing intra-cellular traffi cking of DNA to the nucleus.

Formation of complexes between chitosan and DNA is very promising, as chitosan can be an effective gene-delivery vehicle in vivo.

• Tagging and nano-barcoding: Radio frequency ID (Rfi d) is a chip with a radio circuit incorporating a nano-scale component with an identifi cation code embedded in it. These tags can hold data and are embedded in the product or animal to identify any object anywhere, automatically. The tags may be used to track or monitor the metabolism, swimming patterns and feeding behavior of fi sh.

A nano-barcode is a monitor consisting of metallic stripes containing nanoparticles. Variations in the stripes provide the encoding information. By incorporating nano-barcodes, processors and exporters can monitor the source and track the delivery status of their aquaculture product until it reaches the market.

Nano-barcodes can also detect pathogens and monitor temperature changes and leaks to ensure the product does not drop in quality.

BY SUVRA ROY, VIKASH KUMAR, DEBTANU BARMAN AND SAGAR C MANDAL

JULY/AUGUST 2011 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■ 15JULY/AAUGUUG ST 2011 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■■ 15

• Nano-biosensor: Biosensors using nanotechnology can be used in aquaculture for microbe control. Researchers have developed a sensitised carbon nanotube-based bio-sensor that can detect minute amounts of microbes, including bacteria, viruses, parasites and heavy metals, from water and food sources.

Nano colloidal silver is one the most benefi cial products of nanotechnology and acts as a catalyst. It works on a wide spectrum of bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses by rendering an enzyme used for their metabolism inoperative.

Silver nanoparticles are able to kill methicilin-resistant S aureus. Smart fi sh may be fi tted with sensors and locators that relay data about their health and location to a central computer, so aquaculturists can control cognitive cage systems or individual fi sh.

• Fish breeding: Managing the breeding of aquaculture species is expensive and time-consuming, One solution currently being studied is a nanotube implanted under the skin to measure changes in the level of the sex hormone estradiol in the blood.

The signal from this sensor will be incorporated as part of a central monitoring and control system to actuate breeding.

• Fish growth: Iron nanoparticles can be used to speed up the growth of fi sh. Scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences have reported that young carp and sturgeon exhibited a 30 percent and 24 percent faster growth rate respectively than normal when fed nanoparticles of iron. The study found iron nanoparticles improved fi sh health, making them more productive.

In conclusion, nanotechnology is an applied science and technology. Its unifying theme is controlling matter on the atomic and molecular scale.

It has many applications in fi sheries and aquaculture, including fi sh health management, DNA vaccines, water fi ltration and remediation, treating genetic disorders, tagging and bar-coding, production of nano biosensor ornamental fi sh, managing breeding programmes and fi sh growth.

Therefore, nanotechnology can be applied in aquaculture and fi sheries in the future to improve productivity and simplify fi sh management.

Suvra Roy and Vikash Kumar, Central Institute of Fisheries Education (Deemed University), Mumbai, IndiaDebtanu Barman, Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Centre, Ghent University, BelgiumSagar C Mandal, College of Fisheries, CAU (I), Lembucherra, Tripura, India

For correspondence, email [email protected], phone (+91) 9 4021-69213 (mobile) or fax 3812-865291

Conference looks at THE NEXT DECADESeafood is one of Australia’s top fi ve most valuable

primary industries, earning more than A$4 billion per annum.

Food-obsessed Melbourne is therefore the perfect destination to host the fi fth Australasian Aquaculture International Conference and Trade Show next year from May 1-4.

The largest primary industry conference in Australia, this biennial event is a joint venture between the National Aquaculture Council and the Asian-Pacifi c chapter of the World Aquaculture Society.

Without a defi nitive Food Security Plan incorporating seafood as an integral component, Australia is struggling to keep up with progress in the Asia-Pacifi c region, the world’s leader in aquaculture production.

World aquaculture experts and industry leaders will converge on Melbourne for the conference, which includes workshops and tours.

This will be a catalyst for those involved in aquaculture in Australasia to get on the front foot and plan for the future. The government, industry and the services that work within the structures of aquaculture are all important sectors to make this happen.

The Australian industry has dedicated itself to producing exemplary produce and will have the chance to discuss, debate and contemplate “the next 10 years”, the theme chosen for the conference.

“Sustainable aquaculture will play a vital role in offering a viable way to increase world seafood production and assist food security issues,” says the conference chairperson, Pheroze Jungalwalla. “A focus on developments in research continues to lead to improvements in innovative aquaculture production.

“As we celebrate our successes as an industry, it is also imperative that we look ahead to the challenges the industry may face over the coming decade,” he said.

The conference will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The fi sh feed company Skretting Australia is the principal sponsor.

New initiatives for the 2012 conference include the Corporate Responsibility Project, the inaugural Blue Thumb AAA Awards, to be held at the Articulture networking event at the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Trade Soapbox.

For further information, contact Roy Palmer, communications committee chair, Australasian Aquaculture 2012, phone (mobile) 0419 528 733 or email [email protected] (The conference website is still under construction.)

VIP.ACACVIP.ACVVIP.ACVIP.ACP.AP.A 4224242

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