WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • SEPTEMBER 2024 21 and sell N. virens, also known as “ragworms”. These farmed worms have several advantages over their wild counterparts, including a steady supply, consistent quality, a better HUFA profile, increased biosecurity, and more stable pricing. Bloodworms are widely used in Asia, because they increase fecundity and hatch rate in P. vannamei, thus making expensive imported, genetically improved, broodstock more productive. For example, the average number of nauplii per spawning female at commercial hatcheries in Ecuador that do not use worms because of their cost is 100,000 to 150,000. This makes sense because broodstock in Ecuador comes from ponds and is essentially free. In Asia the situation is reversed, the imported, genetically improved broodstock is expensive, so it makes sense to feed them the expensive sandworms or bloodworms and obtain high production of 250,000 to 500,000 nauplii per female. The Man Behind the Breakthrough Joe Mountain passed away last March 11 in Ft. Pierce, Florida. By all accounts he was a remarkable man. As a biologist he was a keen observer and innovator, especially regarding the biology and environmental control of shrimp reproduction. Joe’s innovations paved the way for hatchery development and for what is now a multibillion-dollar worldwide industry. Before getting involved with shrimp Joe got his biology degree at the University of Pittsburgh, interrupted by two years of service in the US Marine Corps where he trained intensely for specialized combat conditions at the High Sierra Marine Mountain Training Center near Bridgeport California. He always had a lot of humorous Marine Corps ‘sea stories’ to share about those years. In Sri Lanka for two years, Joe worked on a Penaeus indicus shrimp aquaculture project that ended in tragedy due to the conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan Army. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s Joe supervised shrimp maturation for the GMSB shrimp hatchery that Sea Farms Group had in Summerland Key, Florida, supplying post-larval shrimp to the group’s extensive farming operations in Central America. Joe applied the scientific method to improving the reproductive biology of several shrimp species and then translated that knowledge into practical commercial production technology for the industry. Along the way, he was a mentor of hatchery managers in Asia, and in Central and South America who, in turn, passed on essential skills and technology to an industry that needed the dozens and then hundreds of hatchery personnel that are the indispensable work force of the global shrimp industry. His contribution to the industry was not solely based on his intelligence and education, but perhaps to a greater extent, on his character and human qualities. Joe was a man among the best of men. He always comported himself as a gentleman, accessible and generous to all around him, kind to the young, old, and less fortunate in his world. He was a genuinely good man who beneath his playful and sometimes earthy crust practiced his Christian faith. His personality projected strength and confidence. He engaged others with a ready response to falsehood, prejudice, and aggression while managing to often remain the “only adult in the room.” He maintained a steady balance with everyone around him with his uncanny perception and often humorous remarks to express displeasure when it was called for. A great human being, true and caring friend, fair and supportive leader, Joe was also a remarkable husband and father. He will be missed by all of us whose lives he touched. Joe is survived by his wife Pat, daughter Kim and sons Joe and Bill. Notes Lorenzo Juarez*, Tony Schuur, Bill MacGrath and Kirk Pendleton * Corresponding author: lorenzojuarez@yahoo.com References Middleditch, B.S., S.R. Missler, D.G. Ward, J.B. McVey, A. Brown and A.L. Lawrence. 1979. Maturation of penaeid shrimp: dietary fatty acids. Proc. World Maricult. Soc. 10:472-476. Middleditch, B.S., S.R. Missler, H.B. Hines, E.S. Chang, J.P. McVey, A. Brown, and A.L. Lawrence. 1980a. Maturation of penaeid shrimp: lipids in the marine food web. Proc. World Maricult. Soc. 11:463470. Middleditch, B.S., S.R. Missler, H.B. Hines, J.P. McVey, A. Brown, D.G. Ward and A.L. Lawrence. 1980b. Metabolic profiles of penaeid shrimp: dietary lipids and ovarian maturation. J. Chromatogr. 195:359-368. Polychaete worms have become a staple in shrimp maturation diets worldwide. “I have fond memories of Joe Mountain. Joe was a great guy. Every year from 1983 to 1989 I would assist Dr. Bart Baca in conducting and lecturing in a 10-day short course on shrimp farming. We would always take the classes on field trips to Florida Keys shrimp facilities and to facilities in Fort Pierce, Florida. Joe Mountain and Jim Norris invited us into their facility and later on it was just Joe who would greet us and talk about shrimp maturation. Always very friendly and a pleasure to be around. The industry has lost one of its true pioneers.” — GRANVIL TREECE, FOUNDER AT TREECE & ASSOCIATES AND FORMER AQUACULTURE SPECIALIST AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY.
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