Responsibility

Threats from overfishing and climate change highlight the need for alternative methods of local seafood production and economic advancement throughout the Pacific Islands. Ongoing work with giant clams, pearl oysters and crabs helps meet consumer needs and replenish stocks. 

Although relatively expensive, mechanical aeration increases production. Asian-style paddlewheel aerators are widely used but are inefficient. Testing has led to more efficient designs that are now widely used in U.S. catfish and shrimp ponds. 

The British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association releases its first annual Sustainability Progress Report as the Global Aquaculture Alliance hosts its GOAL conference in Vancouver, B.C. The group intends to share progress on environmental, social and economic impacts. 

At the GOAL 2015 pre-conference workshop in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a panel of aquaculture management experts determined that producers sharing water resources must work together to prevent the spread of disease and to become more attractive to investors. 

The Global Aquaculture Alliance's Standards Oversight Committee (SOC) met on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. GAA's annual GOAL conference will be held at the hotel this week. 

Social license – a community’s acceptance and support of an industry’s presence – is a key factor in aquaculture’s growth prospects. It’s a major obstacle U.S. waters, in particular. Michael Rubino of NOAA Fisheries discusses the challenges. 

Zone management is an emerging field of interest among industry stakeholders. Experts say it will aid in controlling diseases and in determining carrying capacities. We take a closer look at the management tool’s potential. 

The chairman of the NSERC-Cooke Industrial Research in Sustainable Aquaculture extols a comprehensive approach to aquaculture and other marine activities. Farm location and density, he says, have strong impacts on disease risk, waste dispersal and growth rates. 

In line with the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s mission to advocate, educate and demonstrate responsible aquaculture worldwide, the Advocate is a forum for information and insight into one of the world’s most important and fastest-growing industries. 

Aquatic plants and animals get the essential nutrients calcium and magnesium from water and food. Calcium concentrations impact the hydration and development of eggs in a hatchery, where calcium carbonate precipitation can be troublesome. 

A project in Florida is studying the feasibility of a marine aquaponic system containing red drum and two native saltwater species. Water that exits the plant raceways is filtered and recirculated to the fish tanks. In tests, sea purslane grew rapidly, while saltwort took almost four months to adapt. The fish exhibited high survival and achieved a feed-conversion ratio of 1.2. 

A few anions and cations, and un-dissociated silicic acid represent the largest fraction of dissolved inorganic solids in water. The total concentration of ions is called the salinity. The total dissolved-solids concentration usually is roughly equal to salinity in freshwater. Unlike seawater, freshwater varies greatly in salinity and proportions of individual ions. Calcium and bicarbonate are dominant ions in river water, but sodium and chloride are dominant in seawater. Water contains many other inorganic substances, as well as many trace elements. 

Aerators, especially paddlewheels, are often used to mix the water and address oxygen stratification in ponds. However, most aerators do not provide the most efficient and power-conscious service. Due to thermal and oxygen stratification in ponds, the efficiency of paddlewheel aerators is low, and other present-day aerators have other problems. Emerging designs should better address effective mixing and aerating of pond water. 

Dozens of land-based, closed-containment salmonid RAS systems are coming on line. New projects are bringing new principles into the salmon industry. Industry expansion hinges upon the development of pollution-mitigating technologies to reduce nutrients in effluents. 

Aquaculture certification programs essentially mark milestones on the journey toward more sustainable practices. There is a role for a clearly defined starting point of “minimum acceptable standards,” but it is equally important to create incentive structures to enable producers to “move up the ladder” and differentiate themselves regarding what constitutes best practices and highest quality.