World Aquaculture December 2020

44 DECEMBER 2020 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S.ORG Broodstock Establishment, Maturation Systems and Breeding Programs The UMEH facility is located on Virginia Key, Florida, adjacent to Bear Cut, which connects the Atlantic Ocean to Biscayne Bay. This unique location allows for ready access to a variety of fish species that can be collected and delivered to the facility. The UMAquaculture Program’s faculty and staff possess skills to utilize the University’s small-boat fleet to independently conduct collection operations whenever weather permits. For species that are not readily available in Miami waters, we work with professional charter boat captains to target those broodfish. Reliable, safe, and effective broodstock collection protocols have been established for the species at the UMEH over the years, and the UMAquaculture Program has earned a reputation of being able to collect and maintain many challenging species. With virtually all species onsite, our main objective is closing the life cycle and achieving reliable, cost-effective production of high- quality fingerlings of the selected marine fish species. It all starts in the hatchery. The UMEH is currently equipped with six maturation systems ranging in size from 20 to 80 m 3 . Two flow-through systems and four independent, partially recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are used for environmental conditioning of selected species of broodfish to induce volitional spawning activity. The RAS systems are fitted with typical water filtration equipment, including temperature control, and we have implemented dozens of such maturation systems for over 15 species the world over – and they invariably achieve the desired results. The majority of species we work with (including cobia, mahi-mahi, red snapper, goggle-eye and olive flounder) spawn naturally year-round, on and off season, in our hatchery. Although some species on site have remaining reproductive challenges that must be overcome to achieve consistent spawning, in general the reliable spawning methods we have developed for species at the UMEH allow for consistent production throughout the year. A commonly overlooked yet critical factor in any successful marine finfish maturation program is having well-trained and reliable personnel, as well as excellent water quality. Other key factors we implement are improved nutrition, periodic prophylaxis, removal of aggressive or non-performing individuals and parasite control (a symbiotic “cleaning station” using cleaner fish such as neon gobies Gobiosoma oceanops is recommended for certain species). A veterinarian or fish health specialist on site or routinely visiting Professor and Director of the University of Miami Aquaculture Program, Dr. Dan Benetti, with a red snapper broodfish. LEFT and RIGHT: Larval rearing tanks used for research and development and production at UMEH. Rotifer production tanks at UMEH.