World Aquaculture Magazine - March 2021

WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2021 45 FishHealth andDiseases An important issue that emerged from GLAD 2020 was access to fish health expertise, specifically access to veterinarians. The lack of aquaculture veterinarians is not a new issue (Hartman et al . 2006). Veterinarians are needed in both large and small aquaculture companies to deal with disease management, vaccination and biosecurity. Speakers emphasized the importance of building relationships between farmers and veterinarians so that when problems arise, the veterinarian is familiar with the farm and can rapidly assess problems and solutions. There are few U.S. veterinarians trained in aquaculture, as most veterinary schools do not offer coursework or training in aquatic animal health (Trushenski 2010). Despite the general lack of programs, there are online fish veterinarian training programs on the American Association of Fish Veterinarians website (https://www. fishvets.org/) . Additionally, a free producer version of the training is available on the UW-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility website ( https://www.uwsp.edu/cols-ap/nadf/ Pages/Fish-Health-For-Producers.aspx). In addition to the lack of veterinarians, there are basic fish health challenges such as disease prevention and adequate vaccinations that are needed to advance the aquaculture industry (Muktar et al . 2016, Stentiford et al . 2018). Industry losses as a result of disease have been estimated to exceed $6 billion per year (World Bank 2014) and uniform aquatic animal health standards have been suggested to provide economic benefits for producers (van Senten et al . 2018). Specifically, GLAD discussions elicited the need for research in maintaining health of early life stages (0-30 days) of yellow perch. Research has focused on manipulation of adult perch but research on early life stages of the species for aquaculture is lacking (Linkenheld 2019). The recent emphasis on vaccination to prevent disease spread and recurrence has the potential to benefit early life stage and adult survival (Ivan et al . 2018). Communication between farmers and veterinarians is important but communication among producers is also critical (Osmundsen et al . 2017). Producers are often unwilling to communicate about farming failures, but failure is a common denominator among farmers (Jescovitch and Boyd 2017, Engle et al . 2020). For example, during GLAD’s panel discussion among successful producers, most indicated that they have experienced a major fish die-off at least once during their careers. Each panelist mentioned how strongly this affected them financially and personally. Common experiences that were also shared among T he United States aquaculture industry has potential for growth, especially in the Great Lakes region, where there is abundant inland freshwater resources and most of the U.S. population is within a one-day drive (Rau et al . 2020). Formed in 2019 with funding through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Grant Advanced Aquaculture Collaborative Program, the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC) seeks to foster coordination among Great Lakes states on relevant, science-based aquaculture research, education and outreach. As an aquaculture hub, GLAC’s ultimate goal is to support aquaculture production in the Great Lakes region that is environmentally responsible, competitive and sustainable. The collaborative’s members consist of industry advisors, researchers and Great Lakes Sea Grant extension educators in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. GLAC was funded for three years (2019-2022) to conduct research on aquaculture in the Great Lakes region and develop industry advisory groups to provide regional guidance on topics for educational webinars and annual events. In early 2020, feedback from advisory groups informed the annual events committee focus on three major themes that targeted different audiences for the October 10, 2020, Great Lakes Aquaculture Day (GLAD) event: 1) How to get started in aquaculture for new industry professionals, 2) Aquaculture technical expertise for current professionals and 3) Consumer education opportunities for the public. Because of travel limitations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, GLAC hosted a free, one-day virtual event. GLAD consisted of a keynote speaker, seven expert presentations, three panel discussions, an aquaculture demonstration video, lunch breakout room discussions, culinary cooking demonstrations and a live cooking competition. The full agenda and recordings of each session can be found on the GLAC website (https:// greatlakesseagrant.com/aquaculture/ ). GLAD had national and international reach, with over 260 registered attendees from 23 U.S. states and seven countries. Themes from Great Lakes Aquaculture Day 2020 GLAD 2020 offered opportunities for experts to present and discuss topics of interest pertaining to aquaculture in the Great Lakes region. The most emphasized included fish health and diseases, regulations and COVID-19 impacts. We expand on thoughts and discussions elicited on each of these topics below. Introducing the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative: Fostering an Aquaculture Event during COVID-19 Lauren N. Jescovitch, Elliot Nelson, Titus Seilheimer, Emma Wiermaa and Amy J. Schrank ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 4 6 )