VOLUME 54, NUMBER 1 THE MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD AQUACULTURE SOCIETY MARCH 2023 W RLD AQUACULTURE AQUACULTURE IN CENTRAL BOLIVIA
WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2023 1 WORLD AQUACULTURE MAGAZINE WORLD AQUACULTURE magazine is published by the World Aquaculture Society. The home office address is: World Aquaculture Society, PO Box 397, Sorrento LA 70778-0397 USA. P and F: +1-225-347-5408; Email: JudyA@was.org World Aquaculture Society Home Page: www.was.org WORLD AQUACULTURE SOCIETY OFFICERS, 2022-23 Jennifer Cobcroft Blair, President Antonio Garza de Yta, Past-President Humberto Villarreal, President Elect Reginald Blaylock, Treasurer Kathleen Hartman, Secretary DIRECTORS Guillaume Drillet Marco Saroglia David Cline Victoria Tarus Hillary Egna Angela Caporelli Marina M. Rubio Benito, Student Director CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVES John Walakira, African Salin Krishna, Asian Pacific Ik Kyo Chung, Korean Francisco Javier Martínez Cordero, Latin America and Caribbean Anita Kelly, USAS HOME OFFICE STAFF Judy Edwards Andrasko, Director, JudyA@was.org Killian A. Haydel, Assistant Director, killianh@was.org WORLD AQUACULTURE EDITORIAL STAFF John Hargreaves, Editor-in-Chief Mary Nickum, Editor Linda Noble, Layout Editor WAS CONFERENCES AND SALES John Cooksey, Executive Director of Conferences and Sales World Aquaculture Conference Management P.O. Box 2302, Valley Center, CA 92082 P: +1-760-751-5005; F: +1-760-751-5003 Email: worldaqua@was.org MANUSCRIPTS AND CORRESPONDENCE Submit manuscripts as Microsoft Word files to Mary Nickum, Editor, World Aquaculture magazine. Email: Editor@worldaquaculture.us Letters to the Editor or other comments should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief, John Hargreaves at jhargreaves@was.org. WORLD AQUACULTURE (ISSN 1041-5602), is published quarterly by the World Aquaculture Society, 6203 Jonathan Alaric Avenue, Gonzales, LA 70737 USA. Library subscription price $50 annually for United States addresses and $65 annually for addresses outside the United States. Individual subscriptions are a benefit of membership in the World Aquaculture Society. Annual membership dues: Students, $45; Individuals, $65; Corporations (for-profit), $255; Sustaining, $105 (individuals or non-profits); Lifetime (individuals) $1,100. Periodical postage paid at Sorrento Louisiana and additional mailing offices. Twenty-five percent of dues is designated for subscription to World Aquaculture magazine. POSTMASTER Please send address changes to World Aquaculture Society, PO Box 397, Sorrento, LA 70778-0397 USA. ©2023, The World Aquaculture Society. W RLD AQUACULTURE VOL. 54 NO. 1 MARCH 2023 15 Recent Research Highlight from the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 19 In Memoriam: Bille Hougart, 1942-2022 20 In Memoriam: Kenneth B. Davis, 1940-2022 22 The Emergence of a New Aquaculture System in Bolivia Sean Irwin, Roxana Dulón, Veronica Hinojosa, Alvaro Céspedes, Luis Badani,Widen Abastoflor and Joachim Carolsfeld 31 Challenges and Solutions for Aquaponic Profitability D. Allen Pattillo and Janelle V. Hager 40 A Fish Welfare-Based Approach Towards Better Aquaculture Practices Murilo H. Quintiliano, Sara Barrento, Ana Silvia Pedrazzani and Amy Wilson 46 Disease Management in Aquaculture in the Presence of Pathogens: A Debate Summary Régis Bador, Marc Le Groumellec, Luis F. Aranguren and Roberto Cascione 49 Using Microbial Ecology for Globally Sustainable Aquaculture Ione Hunt von Herbing, Wren Busby, Michael Anderson, Victoria Youngblood and Bailu Zhang 55 Fermented Rice Bran and Wheat Bran as Synbiotic Organic Carbon Sources for Shrimp Post-Larvae Luis Otavio Brito da Silva, Allyne Elins Moreira da Silva, Caio Rubens do Rego Oliveira, Danielle Alves da Silva, Elizabeth Pereira dos Santos, Otávio Augusto Lacerda Ferreira Pimentel, Priscilla Celes Maciel de Lima, Rildo José Vasconcelos de Andrade, Valdemir Queiroz de Oliveira, Suzianny Maria Bezerra Cabral da Silva, Alfredo Olivera Gálvez 59 Marine Ornamental Shrimps in Lakshadweep, India: Obscure to the Limelight Sheena Jose, T.T. Ajith Kumar and Kuldeep K. Lal 62 The Carp Spawn Measuring System in India: Is It on the Right Track? Avinash Rasal, Jitendra Kumar Sundaray, Khuntia Murmu, Ajit Chaudhary, Mukesh Kumar Bairwa and Kanta Das Mahapatra 64 Is Aeroponics the Future of Pacific Dulse Cultivation? Stephanie King, Ford Evans, Hillary Egna and Chris Langdon 66 Tilapia Lake Virus: A Serious Concern for the Global Tilapia Industry Soibam Ngasotter, Soibam Khogen Singh and Pradyut Biswas COVER: Tomasa Toti Cossio Veizaga proudly displays a tambaqui from her fish pond in Central Bolivia. See story on page 26. Photo: Darío Camacho Quispe. (CONTENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)
2 MARCH 2023 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG President’s Column Contents (continued) 2 President’s Column 3 Editor’s Note 4 Asian Pacific Chapter Report 6 African Chapter Report 8 Korean Chapter Report 11 USAS Chapter Report 13 Latin American and Caribbean Chapter Report 70 Conference Calendar 71 Future Conferences and Expositions 72 Membership Application The first three months of 2023 have once again been a busy time for the World Aquaculture Society. WAS Committees have been active in recruitment of a new Editor-in-Chief for World Aquaculture magazine, transition of the magazine to online only (electronic), preparing the slate of candidates for the election of new board members, calling for nominations for WAS Awards, working on budgets that reduce expenditures and increase revenues following a period of disruptions to conferences that is now behind us, and updating policies to support student members. Transitioning the magazine to an online-only publication was a tough decision for the WAS Board to make in Singapore in November 2022. However, this will bring environmental benefits (no printing and postage) and importantly will allow adoption of new communication approaches for the benefit of members. At the same time, as we transition away from print, there will also be a change in leadership at the magazine. John Hargreaves has provided outstanding service to World Aquaculture, the World Aquaculture Society and global aquaculture, and will remain as Editor-in-Chief for one more issue of the magazine in June. The magazine has been ably supported by Linda Noble as Layout Editor during most of the time John has been editor and she plans to continue in her role with the magazine, as will Mary Nickum as the front-end editor. The contributions of both John and Linda were recognized in February 2022 at Aquaculture America. The WAS Home Office has continued to engage with Society members and support more frequent aquaculture conferences around the globe. From all accounts, Aquaculture America 2022 in New Orleans was a tremendous success — and congratulations are extended to all involved. There is always new aquaculture science to share, technology to discover and colleagues to connect with. Congratulations are extended to the new USAS President, Anita Kelly, and PresidentElect, Abigail Bockus, commencing their terms in New Orleans. Plans are coming together well for World Aquaculture 2023, at the Darwin Convention Centre, 29 May — 2 June 2023. The two plenary speakers, Dan Richards and David Whyte, will set the scene for the conference, that is focused on the theme of “Supporting Strength in Aquaculture.: Dan Richards is CEO of Humpty Doo Barramundi — the award-winning, family owned and operated barramundi farm in the remote Northern Territory, Australia. Dan is a strategic thinker and thought leader with a passion for people, environmental stewardship, farming and implementing business improvements that deliver real results. David Whyte is Managing Director of BioMar Australia. He has 35 years’ experience in aquaculture production and supply companies in Scotland, Australia and New Zealand. David brings a deep understanding of aquaculture and will share insights into the opportunities, challenges and realities of offshore aquaculture development. I hope to see you in Darwin for WA23 or at another aquaculture gathering soon. — Jennifer Blair, President Review of Alternatives to Antibiotic Use in Aquaculture This article reviews the literature discussing the scope of the problem pertaining to antibiotic use, the emergence of AMR in aquaculture and to consider and discuss viable alternatives (e.g., vaccination, bacteriophages, quorum quenching, probiotics and prebiotics, chicken egg yolk antibody and medicinal plant derivative). Also discussed are lessons learned, from specific case studies such as the vaccination of farmed salmon in Norway and the use of ‘specific pathogen-free’ seed—as primary and essential parts of a biosecurity strategy. https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12786
WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2023 3 Editor’s Note Since the middle of the 20th century, we have been living in the Information Age. Around that time, the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) arose, Turing’s idea that machines can “think” like humans or use information and reason to make decisions and solve problems. Expert systems were developed to allow computers to learn from experience (deep learning). With astounding computing power at our fingertips, we are now in the age of big data, where machines process huge amounts of information quickly to make timely decisions. In the last decade, there has been a boom of applications of AI in aquaculture, many of them implemented in commercial salmon farming. Computer vision and machine learning algorithms that analyze images can be used to estimate biomass and precisely select candidate fish for focused disease treatment. Biomass estimated by image analysis or acoustic sensors, in combination with analysis of data from water quality sensors, can be used to optimize feeding using AI algorithms. Using historical data on growth rates, feed consumption and market demand, AI can be used to build predictive models that can predict optimal stocking and harvest schedules and manage logistics, thereby improving efficiency. Recently AI chatbots have surged in popularity, particularly the program ChatGPT, available from OpenAI.com. AI chatbots generate automated responses to questions posed by human users and mimic human conversation. AI chatbots are examples of socalled Large Language Models that uses machine learning of the huge amount of information available from online sources across the Internet to provide text responses to queries. How then might AI chatbots be applied in the aquaculture domain? For aquaculture farms and businesses, AI chatbots can be used to assist in making informed decisions quickly. For instance, chatbots can provide real-time updates on weather conditions, water quality and disease outbreaks, helping producers to make informed decisions and adjust their practices accordingly. Chatbots can provide instant access to reliable information and resources to help manage farms and facilities efficiently. AI chatbots can also help farmers and students access training and education resources, functioning like a virtual extension specialist. By integrating chatbots into e-learning platforms, personalized training to improve knowledge and skills about aquaculture subject matter can be delivered on demand. AI chatbots can provide technical assistance to farmers, students and aquaculture professionals. For AI chatbots to be effective as a learning tool, they must be designed with specific needs in mind. This means that chatbots must be trained using data and information that is relevant to the user, such as those on water quality, feed management and disease prevention, among others. Additionally, chatbots must be able to understand the nuances of aquaculture language, such as technical jargon and industry-specific terminology. For students and aquaculture research scientists, what is the role of AI chatbots in scientific writing? Researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago generated fake abstracts using ChatGPT and reviewers were unable to detect them about onethird of the time. The AI tool has even been given authorship credit on at least four published papers, according to Nature. Science and Nature have banned the use of text from AI chatbots in scientific papers submitted to those journals, citing “attribution of authorship carries with it accountability for the work, and AI tools cannot take such responsibility” as the rationale for the decision. There appears to be a high potential for misuse of AI chatbots in scholarly writing to produce fraudulent papers. ChatGPT responses are not identified by plagiarism detection programs. Recent research has shown that ChatGPT’s responses to questions are generally wellwritten, but formulaic, and appear plausible, but may be false, biased or misleading. Thus, information generated by AI chatbots needs to be verified and should not necessarily be taken at face value. How then should AI chatbots be used responsibly? The World Association of Medical Editors recommends that 1) chatbots cannot be authors, 2) authors should be transparent when chatbots are used and provide information about how they were used, 3) authors are responsible for the work performed by a chatbot in their paper and for appropriate attribution of all sources, and 4) editors need appropriate tools to help them detect content generated or altered by AI. Editors of peer-reviewed aquaculture journals, including the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, would do well to establish similar editorial policies that restrict the use of text generated by AI chatbots. The rise of AI chatbots is raising alarms in universities and forcing professors to issue guidelines on their use in writing assignments. Some professors are opting for more oral exams, group projects or hand-written in-class assessments. Ultimately, it’s an issue of academic integrity that must be addressed and embraced by students as a question of ethics in university honor codes. Students (and research scientists) need to learn how to write with a distinctive voice, beyond the bland, computer-generated text produced by AI chatbots. The rise of AI chatbots, ChatGPT specifically, has been described by some as revolutionary. That may be hyperbolic exaggeration, but there is certainly a lot of buzz about the potential use (and misuse) of this latest development in AI. Google and Microsoft have recognized this as a competitor, if not a threat, to the use of their vaunted search engines. Aquaculture professionals are encouraged to try out AI chatbots to see what they can do to add value to their professional lives, whether it is creating new content, such as reports, manuals or fact sheets, answering open-ended analytical questions, or providing guidance to aquaculture producers and other stakeholders. The excitement around the potential benefits and applications of AI chatbots should be tempered with an understanding of their limitations and potential for misuse. It remains to be seen what will come of AI chatbots, but the genie is out of the bottle, and we can only hope to channel their use for constructive purposes. — John A. Hargreaves, Editor-in-Chief AI Chatbots and Aquaculture Professionalism
4 MARCH 2023 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG CHAPTER REPORTS Asian Pacific Chapter Aquaculture is experiencing a challenging phase on a global scale. There are many instances where the need for change to improve sustainability is readily apparent. Improving nutrition, genetics and animal health and welfare are crucial to enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of specific industry segments as a food production sector. Notwithstanding the supply chain interruptions brought on by the pandemic and other impacts, aquaculture production is already beginning to recover and is now making a more significant economic contribution to most production locations. As a professional organization, the Asian Pacific Chapter (APC) of WAS is part of a growing international network, striving to develop an innovative and sustainable aquaculture framework in the Asia-Pacific region. The APC’s top priority is connecting scholars, commercial businesses, and regional governments in the Asia-Pacific through networking and collaboration with reputable organizations. I took over as President of the APC at the WAS2022 Singapore Conference from Jean-Yves Mevel, who led the Chapter at a trying time during the pandemic. Now that we have moved past the crisis, my first and most important task as President is to steer the Chapter forward and develop more robust academic and industry networks. The APC designed and executed several customized webinars, greatly benefitting from the expertise of the APC Board. As we advance, we intend to continue such virtual engagements and organize a few physical gatherings to strengthen the relationships among our members. We recently completed creation of a matrix, using the expertise of the current Board members, that will serve as a ready resource for assisting with the technical workshops and conferences that the APC proposes in 2023. We look forward to the next WAS and Asian-Pacific Chapter joint conference in Darwin, Australia, at WA2023 in May. All Board members are actively involved in the Darwin meeting’s organization, serving as session chairs and encouraging colleagues to submit abstracts and attend the conference. The APC will also present several awards this year, before and during WA2023, which will assist APC members attending the conference. Two Women’s Travel Awards, two pre-conference Student Travel Awards, two Student Oral Presentation Awards and two Student Poster Awards will be among those presented. The APC must also strengthen its presence in Asia’s most under-served regions by enhancing regional cooperation and local technical and business capacities. We are planning several regional workshops on emerging technological issues in the Asia-Pacific. For instance, a conference in Cambodia in December 2023 will be the first WAS-affiliated event in this emerging aquaculture country. Similarly, after my trip to Nepal in April 2023, there will be a virtual meeting about aquaculture in Nepal, considering the potential of a broader in-person conference there. In addition, we have started planning for an APC technical workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in October 2023, focused on improving the aquaculture industry’s competitiveness in that country. These events will help the APC play a more proactive role in developing a shared collaborative platform of key industry players in Asia-Pacific aquaculture. In February 2023, the APC teamed with Seagriculture Asia-Pacific 2023, the first international seaweed conference in a virtual format (seagricultureasiapacific.com). This two-day conference with 23 speakers drew 187 participants from 31 countries and 113 seaweed-based enterprises worldwide. The APC will continue to partner with this exciting conference in the future. The APC also plans to collaborate with ICFA 2023, the 10th International Conference on Fisheries and Aquaculture (aquaconference.com), that will take place in Bali, Indonesia, from 21-22 September 2023. Over the past decade, the ICFA conference has become a major fisheries and aquaculture event. This partnership will assist the APC in expanding its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The APC intends to enhance the overall student experience by increasing their participation in Chapter events. The Innovative Ideation Challenge for students, which we launched in 2022 in collaboration with the Aquaculture Innovation Centre (AIC), Singapore, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), will be held again in July 2023 with more industry involvement. The APC also has the opportunity to partner with the South-East Asian Fisheries and Aquaculture Student (SEAFAS) Association, a network of students and youth interested in fisheries and aquaculture in Southeast Asia, launched by Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in August 2022. Members are the key stakeholders of WAS. The WAS Strategic Plan calls for better global representation, improved communication, knowledge and technology sharing and retaining its leadership role in the global aquaculture industry. While the disruptions due to the pandemic have dramatically impacted WAS in many ways, it necessitates disruptive strategies to reap the benefits of a new normal and transform challenges into opportunities. One of the most significant benefits of WAS membership is sharing scientific information through multiple media channels. Fostering deeper engagement with regional governments and policymakers, the APC should seamlessly function as an efficient global network of academia, researchers, entrepreneurs and governments. Expanding the membership base is a huge responsibility, as is developing more effective means of engaging members, especially by embracing new options for interaction in understanding their aspirations and retaining the existing membership intact. In the new global order, my highest priority will be to transform the APC into a more effective facilitator for students and young leaders to discover promising career paths in aquaculture, for professionals to seek more entrepreneurial opportunities, and for the industry to develop closer partnerships and knowledge-sharing for sustainability. My vision is for the APC to evolve into a more relevant regional platform that promotes innovative paradigms and the highest ethical and animal welfare standards in aquaculture production, thereby contributing to the sustainability of global (CONTINUED ON PAGE 9)
WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2023 5 Conference Sponsors Hosted by WAS Premier Sponsors Organisers “Supporting Strength in Aquaculture” The Annual International Conference & Exposition of World Aquaculture Society and Asian Pacific Aquaculture 2023, Annual meeting of Asian Pacific Chapter, WAS DARWIN CONVENTION CENTRE Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia For More Information Contact: Conference Manager P.O. Box 2302 | Valley Center, CA 92082 USA Tel: +1.760.751.5005 | Fax: +1.760.751.5003 Email: worldaqua@was.org | www.was.org WA23 Letter ad CMYK.indd 1 2/17/23 7:14 AM
6 MARCH 2023 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG CHAPTER REPORTS March 2023 marks the end of the 2022-2023 fiscal year for the African Chapter of WAS. It also marks the end of my first year as African Chapter President. What a productive year it was — mostly as we witnessed many events and activities, getting back to a full normal post-Covid period. A lot of activities are lined up for this coming season as we continue striving to deliver on our mandate of providing a platform for enhanced international communications, collaboration, and information exchange with the wide variety of aquaculture actors and professionals in Africa. It delights me to see many Africans, especially our members, networking with their international peers at international conferences, webinars and other various capacity-building events. For this coming WAS Fiscal Year (starting 1 April 2023), we are eagerly waiting for the launch of the WAS student free membership program (for least developed countries) as deliberated at the recent WAS 2022 conference in Singapore. Once this gets rolled out, I believe it will bring so much joy to many African aquaculture students and their mentors. In this regard, I have instructed our very own African Chapter Student Portfolio ad hoc Chairperson, Dr. Khalid Salie, from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, to get prepared and begin engagements with the WAS global students committee and put together the necessary guidelines and protocols. It is our desire to have a functional African Chapter student program with a sound program at the upcoming Aquaculture Africa 2023 in Zambia later this year. During the year, we also expect to have some student education-oriented webinars and exchange programs. Developing students, youth and young professionals is at the core of my heart during my term, having personally benefitted from the process and journey, once being a WAS mentored student all the way to being African Chapter President! Regarding the upcoming 2nd Aquaculture Africa Conference (AFRAQ23), which is scheduled for Lusaka, Zambia, from 13-16 November 2023, I am delighted to see that the organizers have begun hitting the ground running. The Steering Committee has stepped up efforts to do the necessary organizational formalities following the endorsement by the Government of Zambia – Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. AFRAQ23, which is themed “Resilient Value Chains in the Blue Economy,” will feature world-class technical sessions and workshops covering nearly all aspects of aquaculture in Africa and around the globe. International professionals will present their current research and showcase the latest innovations in aquaculture. The trade show will feature more than 70 booths from around the world. We are expecting over 700 participants. Registration for AFRAQ23 is underway and exhibition and sponsorship options are available. For more information, visit www.was.org/meeting/code/AFRAQ23. Back home, in East Africa, very soon I will be officiating and attending the 2nd Regional Conference on Aquaculture in East Africa, scheduled for 14-17 March 2023 at Jaramogi Odinga University, Kisumu, Kenya (earac.org). I am indebted to WAS members in East Africa, under the leadership of Dr. Nelly Isyagi for pulling this through. Much appreciation to many of our partners in the region, including the main sponsor — the EU-TRUFISH Project in East Africa. We once again hope to have a successful conference. I intend to share the highlights of the event with you afterwards. This will be a hybrid event; you are welcome to join us online. Regrettably, the Regional Conference on Aquaculture in West Africa, originally scheduled for March 2023, had to be postponed to 14-17 May 2023. This was largely due to recent post-election developments in Nigeria and the fact that the original dates coincided with the country’s national population census. The conference will still be held at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria (wasacwar.com). It is my hope that WAS members and partners in Nigeria and West Africa will attend the event in numbers. Again, I am grateful to our Regional Director for West Africa, Mr. Lanre Badmus, for leading the team that is organizing the event. In North Africa, we participated at the just-ended 6th Edition of the Salon Halieutis Fair (www.salonhalieutis.com) in Agadir, Morocco, on 1-5 February 2023. This is the largest seafood show in Africa and was an ideal platform to host the first African Chapter – Maghreb Region outreach event. The four-day event was organized under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and was themed “Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture: Levers for an Inclusive and Efficient Blue Economy.” A diverse range of seafood actors from Morocco, Africa and elsewhere globally converged on the 21,000-m² exhibition space in Agadir, where they showcased products, services and conducted business-to-business meetings. We shared an exhibition booth with our partner, Aller Aqua, for this occasion. I am thankful to our Regional Director for North Africa, Dr. Nevine Shabana, and WAS members in the region for organizing the outreach event. For these three regional events and more, I must acknowledge the support and collaboration of our Chapter Sponsor, Aller Aqua — who are also the Gold Sponsor of the AFRAQ23 conference in Zambia. Together we say “Let’s Grow Together,” as their slogan goes. I wish to also express profound gratitude to Aquaculture Africa Magazine (AAM), our special media partner, for sharing and exchange of information widely in Africa through its various social media platforms. They have recently concluded revamping their platform with a new IT/Marketing team on board (aquacultureafrica.com). We look forward to utilizing their media platforms for disseminating African Chapter information and announcements. Let me end by once again congratulating my fellow colleague, Dr. Nelly Isyagi, the African Chapter Regional Director for East Africa, for recently being reappointed as WAVMA Director-atLarge for Africa and Middle East for another term (2023). Dr. Isyagi has been an active professional in the aquatic animal health field for many years and has initiated the strategy of collaboration between WAVMA and the African Chapter, which is bearing fruit. African Chapter (CONTINUED ON PAGE 9)
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8 MARCH 2023 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG CHAPTER REPORTS The Mokpo Marine Food Industry Research Center to Focus on Gim R&D The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) has designated the Mokpo Marine Food Industry Research Center as the first specialized institution to carry out research and development related to gim (laver in Korean, Pyropia sp.). Gim products that meet the requirements of ‘convenient and healthy’ food — a global food consumption trend — are exported to 114 countries, including the U.S., China and Japan. Exports are expected to continue to increase. The specialized gim R&D center will carry out tasks for the growth of the gim industry, such as quality improvement of gim products, research and development of new products, and research to secure food safety for each manufacturing process. Genetic Improvement of Domestically Farmed Red Sea Bream The National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) of the MOF has secured first-generation red sea bream with improved genetic diversity through artificial insemination from domestic farmed and wild chamdom (red sea bream in Korean, Pagrus major) broodfish. Domestic red seabream aquaculture production peaked at about 9,200 tons in 2009 and then gradually decreased and recently has been stagnant at around 5,000 tons. Due to slow growth, more than three years of cultivation are required. Furthermore, the increase in imported products has led to weakened competitiveness of domestic production. A way to solve this problem was found through breeding research. Accordingly, the NIFS Fish Breeding Research Center started developing red sea bream varieties in collaboration with the Gyeongsangnam-do Fisheries Resources Research Institute (FRRI) in 2022. The Center received information on wild and farmed broodfish from the Gyeongsangnam-do FRRI. It analyzed genotypes and genetic distances to establish mating guidelines between individuals with high genetic diversity. About 20,000 first-generation offspring, produced by artificial reproduction by extracting eggs and sperm from these broodfish, are currently being grown and managed by the FRRI of Gyeongsangnam-do. First-generation red sea bream were crossed with wild fish to restore the genetic diversity of farmed red sea bream and will be used as broodfish for the fast-growing second-generation in the future. Breeding varieties developed by scientific and systematic genetic ability evaluation are characterized by fast growth, reasonable survival rate and few deformities. Breeding varieties will reduce production costs, improve farmers’ productivity, and benefit producers and consumers as aquatic products that consumers can safely eat. With the first-generation breeding of red bream secured through collaboration with local governments, the development of fast-breeding varieties has accelerated. Jeju’s Yellow Croaker Aquaculture — Climate Change The NIFS announced that ‘building a foundation for the local aquaculture industry to cope with climate change’ was selected as one of the top ten representative technologies for responding to climate change in 2022. The ten representative technologies for responding to climate change were divided into the performance of national R&D projects supported by each ministry. Projects were evaluated on the basis of creativity, excellence and the potential for technological, social and economic ripple effects. The award-winning research on establishing a foundation for aquaculture industrialization in response to climate change was conducted to overcome difficulties of the flounder aquaculture industry in Jeju, suffering from climate-change effects such as high water temperature. By selecting the yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis as an alternative aquaculture species that has high marketability and is resistant to environmental change, the species can provide the foundation for aquaculture industrialization using the natural advantages of Jeju. In this project, to reduce energy consumption caused by the establishment of new aquaculture facilities, an existing flounder farm was successfully reconfigured to grow yellow croaker, resulting in many individuals with good marketability. Technology to control the production time of fertilized eggs was developed. In particular, the basis for high value-added aquaculture industrialization was created, such as developing female induction technology that selectively produces only females with fast growth and high preference. Yellow croaker as an alternative fish species resistant to climate change is intended to help aquaculture fishermen in Jeju. Aquaculture Cooperatives and NIFS Aquaculture Center Communication Forum The NIFS held a forum and shared pending issues at the Aquaculture Communication Forum in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, last November, with the heads of seven Aquaculture Cooperatives nationwide and the leadership of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives. They evaluated past research achievements and discussed new research tasks to solve pending issues in aquaculture. To preemptively respond to difficulties at aquaculture sites, the Aquaculture Center has held a regular communication forum every year since 2019. Cases that have helped the aquaculture field raised at the meeting so far include 1) preparing standard breeding guidelines for aquaculture organisms, 2) promoting oyster spawning grounds, 3) developing sea squirt harvesting and sorting devices, 4) removal of distinctive fishy odors from oysters, 5) a fishery food fair to expand farmed fish consumption, and 6) development of convenient seafood products such as oysters, flounder, red sea bream, rockfish and cockle. In the forum, the NIFS introduced breeding technology for groupers (Serranidae), a high temperature response breed, Korean Chapter
WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2023 9 CHAPTER REPORTS developed in preparation for climate change. The Aquaculture Fisheries Cooperatives requested information about the research status of developing breeds of red snapper and rockfish. The heads of Aquaculture Fisheries Cooperatives expressed their appreciation that the research on the pending issues raised in the previous forum provided a lot of help to aquaculture producers. A new request was made for research on: development of a flounder vaccine and disease research; distribution of of flounder breeds; promotion of commercializing convenient fish food; prevention of sea squirts due to HABs and high water temperature; and cockle seed development technology. The NIFS has used this forum to conduct research to resolve issues identified by the cooperative heads and there have been tangible results. 2022 Sea Farm Show The 2022 Sea Farm Show was held in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, in December. This aquaculture expo event has been held annually since 2016 and has celebrated its eighth anniversary. It is a venue to publicize aquaculture technology and safe and delicious products produced in Korea. Hosted by the MOF every year, related organizations such as local governments and fisheries cooperatives across the country participated. Newly developed aquaculture technology was disseminated to fishermen, and cooking techniques using farmed aquatic products were announced, intending to promote marine product consumption. The 2022 Sea Farm Show was held under the theme of ‘Grow Smarter and Safer.’ The MOF set up a policy promotion center to introduce technologies that would lead the future of the aquaculture industry, such as smart aquaculture using artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, and eco-friendly aquaculture using seawater filtration systems, as well as seafood safety such as the Food Safety Management Certification System (HACCP). More than 50 companies and organizations set up 114 exhibition booths to promote aquaculture products. Visitors viewed aquatic products such as abalone, flounder, oysters, and catfish, as well as convenient seafood products made using them, and were able to purchase them at reasonable prices. In particular, the golden flounder, developed by the MOF, golden in color, was displayed, and gained sensational popularity in China and elsewhere. Various side events were held: Live Commerce, which sold aquaculture products through major online platforms such as Naver and Coupang. Minister Cho (MOF) appeared at the first real-time broadcast sale and sold abalone porridge convenience foods made with abalone from Wando at half price. Digital Transformation of the Aquaculture Product Supply Chain Mr. Sang-Geun Song, Vice Minister of MOF, held a meeting with related department officials and experts from research institutes on the theme of ‘Digital Transformation of the Aquaculture Supply Chain’ in January. This meeting was prepared to objectively diagnose the status of digitalization in the entire supply chain, from seed production of aquaculture products to breeding methods, distribution, import and export sanitation, quarantine, and seeking future directions. Through this meeting, the MOF shared and discussed the status of digitalization and future promotion plans with department managers and experts from research institutes to set the future direction for digitalization and systematically improve the aquaculture supply chain products through system advancement and linkage by sector. Vice Minister Song emphasized that it is important for the fisheries industry to move away from the producer-centered supply system and to supply customized products that consumers in overseas markets want. 2023 KMI Maritime and Fisheries Outlook The Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) held the ‘2023 Maritime and Fisheries Outlook Conference’ in Seoul in January. At the Outlook conference, about 700 maritime and fisheries-related personnel gathered to discuss the global economy, the Korean economy, and the maritime and fisheries industry. According to analysis by the KMI, the value-added growth rate of Korea’s maritime and fisheries industry is expected to decrease by 0.7 percent to 3.2 percent in 2022. Improved aquaculture equipment and management costs for the aquaculture sector are necessary, such as a gradual transition strategy to smart aquaculture. — Ik Kyo Chung, President Asian Pacific, continued from page 4 seafood trade and consumption. Again, we welcome you to Darwin, sure to be another exciting conference in this historic city of Australia’s Northern Territory, renowned for its numerous natural wonders and spectacular scenery, ancient aboriginal heritage, wildlife and endless adventure opportunities. — Krishna Salin, President A few weeks ago, we celebrated the retirement of Dr. Kevan Main from Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida, USA on 31 January 2023. We understand she now shifts to an emeritus position, where she will continue to serve in research activities. Words cannot express our profound gratitude to Dr. Main for all the great work Africa, continued from page 6 she did in supporting the establishment and operationalization of the African Chapter, which she is committed to continue doing. I hope to meet some of you at the upcoming World Aquaculture 2023 in Darwin, Northern Territories, Australia from 29 May to 1 June 2023! — John K. Walakira, President
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WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2023 11 Sinking to floating. Sub-millimeter to pellet. When you select an Extrusion Processing System from Extru-Tech, you have a complete Universe with the ability to maintain size yields over 95%. As your business evolves, you have the flexibility to change your finished product without the need for significant capital expenditures. In an industry where aquafeed can represent 50% of your operation cost, don’t gamble. Contact Extru-Tech and optimize your flexibility and profitability. OUR UNIVERSE EXTRU-TECH AQUAFEED UNIVERSE Sub 1 Millimeter Pellet Master Your Aquafeed Universe P.O. Box 8 100 Airport Road Sabetha, KS 66534, USA Phone: 785-284-2153 Fax: 785-284-3143 extru-techinc@extru-techinc.com www.extru-techinc.com ET-338F.indd 1 1/28/21 8:46 AM Alliance, Sea Grant, Aquatic Equipment and Design, and the AFS Fish Culture Section — for the support of our students and future aquaculture leaders. I also would like to introduce our 2023-2024 board members. The board members include myself as President, Bill Walton – Immediate Past-President, Abigail Bockus – President-elect, Dayan Perera – Secretary/Treasurer, and Directors Mick Walsh, Forrest Wynne, Adrianne Michaelis and Moureen Matuha. I would also like to thank Dennis McIntosh, Steven Hughes, Carla Schubiger and Eric Saillant for their service as they vacate their seats on the Board. I also need to update the membership on some of the items discussed during the Board meeting and the business meeting. First, as many of you are aware, WAS borrowed money from several of the chapters due to shortfalls during the pandemic. Two loans were provided from the USAS, one for $65,000 and one for $100,000. The Board voted to forgive the $65,000 loan, reducing WAS total loan to $100,000. This decision was made based on the recommendations of the finance committee. As the USAS is part of WAS, it is important to U.S. Aquaculture Society First, I wish to thank the USAS membership for electing me as the Society’s President. Taking over this role from Bill Walton is an honor and an opportunity about which I am excited. I look forward to continuing our Society’s progression in the support of research and leadership in all things aquaculture. I was delighted to meet so many of you in New Orleans for another very successful Aquaculture America 2023 meeting. The talks were thoughtprovoking and the posters showcased interesting research as well. And, of course, New Orleans’ culinary fare was delicious and the opportunity to reconnect with our friends and fine colleagues was incomparable! Thanks to the WAS/USAS Home Office staff and the conference steering committee for their efforts in making the meeting worthwhile. I hope everyone enjoyed the meeting as much as I did. I look forward to seeing you next year in San Antonio. This year over $17,000 was provided in awards to USAS students. USAS provided some of these awards, but several thousand dollars were provided through Industry Awards or joint awards with USAS. I wish to thank our sponsors — Tyson, Soy Aquaculture CHAPTER REPORTS (CONTINUED ON PAGE 13)
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WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2023 13 CHAPTER REPORTS In 2022, the total population of Latin America and the Caribbean reached 660.3 million, with a total annual population growth rate of 6.7 percent. Projections for 2050 indicate that 737 million people will inhabit the region. Currently, 32.3 percent of the population lives in poverty, with 12.9 percent in conditions of extreme poverty. According to the FAO, 8.6 percent of the population in the region face hunger, and 8 million more people than before the Covid-19 pandemic cannot afford a healthy diet. In general, progress towards global nutrition targets is very limited. Aquaculture is taking an ever more critical role in food and nutrition security. Public and private projects of small, medium or large scale are all important in achieving this goal. However, aquaculture policy support by country in the region reflects different perspectives and priorities. In most countries, stronger relevance and priority is given to aquaculture carried out by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) than resource-limited aquaculture, where production is for home consumption. A few other countries in the region are clear promoters of private, large-scale investment mainly. Our Latin American and Caribbean Chapter accompanies and seeks to help all our regional aquaculture. Along this line of thought, we are happily finalizing the organization of our LACQUA 2023 conference in Panama City, Panama, from 18-21 April. Following the country’s main interests in aquaculture development, plenary speakers will talk about mariculture, shrimp culture and commodities analysis. The conference theme of “Sustainable Aquaculture for Two Oceans” correctly reflects the main interest of LACC in helping all efforts for sustainable aquaculture development in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans of our region. Panama, with coasts on both oceans, gives us the opportunity to analyze the current status of this development and ways to help its growth. The call for papers is still open and we have already received more than 150 abstracts for presentation during the event. We will have big sessions devoted to tilapia aquaculture, shrimp farming, diseases and mariculture, among others. During the LACQUA 2023 opening ceremony, we will honor Dr. Alejandro Flores Nava, who at that time will have just retired as FAO’s main Fisheries and Aquaculture Officer for the Latin America and Caribbean region. For almost 15 years in this position, Dr. Flores Nava worked very hard with our aquaculture sector, always being a very respected voice. Following FAO’s mandates, he carried out very important work with SMEs and resource-limited aquaculture. Under his guidance, many regional specialized workshops were carried out on important topics such as financing, social security, human nutrition and public policy, among others. Dr. Flores Nava was a plenary speaker at many of our LACC regional conferences and helped establish many aquaculture FAO projects with countries all over the continent. We will surely miss him and wish him success in his future personal and professional projects. This was a job well done, Alejandro! In Panama, the LACC Board will welcome two new members and incorporate the student representative. I thank Andres Piedrahita (Colombia) and Laura Silva (Mexico) for their valuable work, and welcome Dra. Adriana Muñoz (Colombia), who is returning to the LACC Board for a new 2-yr period. I also want to take the opportunity to thank Dra. Maria Célia Portella (Brazil, Pastpresident of WAS and LACC) for her role in guiding our election processes. Due to the absence of our LACC Past-president, the Board nominated and requested Dra. Portella to fulfill this important role. She has been organizing the elections in 2022 and 2023. We hope to see all of you in Panama City for LACQUA 2023! Hasta pronto. — Francisco Javier Martinez Cordero, President Latin American and Caribbean Chapter Aquaculture is taking an ever more critical role in food and nutrition security. USAS, continued from page 11 remember that our Society over the years has held meetings in which WAS contributed the financing and from those meetings the USAS has reaped the financial benefits. At the Board meeting, we were excited to unanimously welcome another student sub-unit to USAS. The College of the Florida Keys is now the 8th student sub-unit of USAS. Congratulations! There are many opportunities available for students to serve and participate within USAS. I heartily recommend that advisors take the time to make our students aware of these and I encourage all our students to take advantage of these opportunities. As also decided at the Board meeting, the Publications Committee will be become a subcommittee of the Promotion and Membership Committee. As such, this committee will not be an advocacy committee, but one that will provide scientific justification on the pros and cons of upcoming issues that affect aquaculture. Additionally, the Promotion and Membership Committee will also be administering a new questionnaire for membership feedback. This survey will be asking respondents to consider the learning opportunities and professional development needs they see as being important or critical to their disciplines. Please, take the time to provide your insights on this questionnaire. I am honored to serve as the USAS 2023-2024 President. It is my hope that you will join me in the work ahead as we strive to make USAS the strongest advocate possible for our disciplines and our professions. As always, if you have something you think USAS should be doing, please feel free to contact me or any of the Board members. It is through the actions and involvement of the membership that USAS can thrive. — Anita Kelly, President
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WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2023 15 In each issue of World Aquaculture, we highlight exciting papers from the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. In this issue we highlight the paper “Water quality, waste production, and off-flavor characterization in a depuration system stocked with market-size Atlantic salmon Salmo salar” by J. Davidson, N. Redman, C. Crouse and B. Vinci. The article appears in the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, volume 54, issue 1, pages 96-112. It is available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jwas.12920 or under the Publications tab at the WAS website (www.was.org). Many challenges come with land-based finfish aquaculture. This study looks at water quality changes during remediation of offflavor that can accumulate in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar, reared in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). To eliminate off-flavor from salmon flesh, depuration may be necessary. Therefore, the authors emphasize the need to understand water quality and waste production in the context of depuration, discharge requirements or repurposing water back into the RAS. This study evaluated these parameters for 311 salmon ranging from 5-6 kg. These fish were reared to this size in a freshwater RAS and then moved to a Recent Research Highlight from the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society depuration tank. Feed was withheld one day prior to transfer and fish remained off-feed for the seven days of the study. Within hours after stocking, levels of total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), and total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) increased sharply and then declined. By the end of the trial TSS and TP were low but TAN plateaued, suggesting catabolism of somatic tissue. Geosmin and 2-methylisoboreol levels were also low throughout the study. This work represents the first comprehensive analysis of water quality and waste production during depuration of RAS-produced Atlantic salmon. Recommendations from this study include extending the duration of preliminary feed withholding prior to transfer into depuration systems and reintroducing depuration system water strategically within RAS to rapidly remove residual solids and ammonia prior to water reuse. These data provide important water quality measures to consider in design or configuration of existing or new RAS facilities. The full issue 54(1) is available at onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ toc/17497345/2022/54/1. — Kenneth Cain, Executive Editor, JWAS
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