ABSTRACT: Maerl beds are formed by the accumulation of free-living coralline algae and have considerable ecological significance due to the high diversity of associated fauna and flora. The rapid expansion of the Atlantic salmon Salmo salar aquaculture industry in Norway may have major impacts on surrounding maerl beds through the release of effluents, including fish faeces. This study is the first

ABSTRACT: Urechis unicinctus is an important commercial and ecological invertebrate that has potential applications in the study of marine invertebrate evolution and marine pharmaceutical development. Here we analyzed the intestinal microbial diversity of U. unicinctus from 2 different habitats using 16S rDNA 454 high-throughput sequencing. The dominant phyla were Proteobacteria, Bacterioidetes, Firmicutes

ABSTRACT: In this study, the variations of the seawater carbonate system parameters and air-sea CO2 flux (FCO2) of Shen’ao Bay, a typical subtropical aquaculture bay located in China, were investigated in spring 2016 (March to May). Parameters related to the seawater carbonate system and FCO2 were measured monthly in 3 different aquaculture areas (fish, oyster and seaweed) and in a non-culture area

ABSTRACT: A trend in Atlantic salmon aquaculture is to establish new production sites that are susceptible to extreme weather conditions; however, strong and persistent water currents may compromise fish welfare. Defining acceptable current conditions necessitates an assessment of sustained swimming abilities that are fuelled solely by aerobic metabolism and do not result in fatigue. In this study

ABSTRACT: The oceans continue to warm due to rising atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Most climate-change studies of aquaculture species use temperature changes based on coarse-resolution climate models and without considering thermal ranges of an animal. Coarse-resolution climate models are generated by global-scale data, which is insufficient to capture the conditions of coastal areas where

ABSTRACT: ADP-ribosylation factors (Arfs) are guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding proteins that play essential roles in membrane trafficking, and they have been recently reported to be involved in innate immunity in crustaceans. However, little information is available on Arfs in the oriental river prawn Macrobrachium nipponense and their response to ammonia nitrogen stress. In this study, we identified

ABSTRACT: Salmon lice Lepeophtheirus salmonis infestation of sea trout Salmo trutta results in both additional marine mortality and behavioral changes which may contribute to sea trout population decline. For effective management of activities that increase exposure to salmon lice, such as salmon aquaculture, it is necessary to have a full understanding of how salmon lice may affect sea trout populations

ABSTRACT: The regulation of aquaculture production in Norway considers the potential impact of salmon lice on wild fish. However, most attention has been focused on impacts on wild Atlantic salmon, despite the fact that anadromous brown trout spend the majority of their marine phase in coastal waters, where salmon lice have the highest impact. In the present study, we first suggest changes in marine

ABSTRACT: Light is a fundamental environmental cue which influences the migration of many marine organisms. For the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis, light is believed to drive the diel vertical migration behaviour of their planktonic larvae. Salmon lice are of critical importance to the salmonid industry due to the damage they cause to wild and farmed hosts. Salmon lice larvae have an eyespot

ABSTRACT: During summer, there is great spatial variability in bottom water temperature on the northern shelf of the Yellow Sea. This variability is associated with a thermal front along the shelf. Oscillatory currents from semidiurnal and fortnightly period tides transport water masses laterally, resulting in oscillations of bottom water temperature at fixed positions, sometimes with large amplitudes

ABSTRACT: Seaweed farming is widely perceived as one of the most environmentally benign types of aquaculture activity. In the past 10 yr, global seaweed production has doubled and reached 31.8 million t. Farmed seaweed also has important functions in local ecosystems. We focus on the production, bioavailability, and bacterial degradation rates of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from cultured kelp Saccharina

ABSTRACT: Large-scale finfish farms are increasingly located in dispersive hard-bottom environments where Laminaria hyperborea forests dominate; however, the interactions between farm effluents and kelp forests are poorly understood. Effects of 2 levels of salmonid fish-farming effluents (high and low) on L. hyperborea epiphytic communities were studied by sampling canopy plants from 12 sites in 2

ABSTRACT: Sea lice are one of the most economically costly and ecologically concerning problems facing the salmon farming industry. Here, we validated a coupled biological and physical model that simulated sea lice larvae dispersal from salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago (BA), British Columbia, Canada. We employed a concept from ecological agent-based modeling known as ‘pattern matching’, which

ABSTRACT: Farmed fish released in a native environment can display different spawning behaviour compared to their wild conspecifics. In our study, farmed and wild burbot, a species recently introduced for aquacultural production, were equipped with electromyogram (EMG) radio tags. EMG biotelemetry allows a description of the spatial distribution of fish together with simultaneous measurements of individual

ABSTRACT: Securing the welfare and maximising the lice removal efficacy of ~60 million cleaner fish used each year on salmonid farms is essential to develop a productive and ethical industry with low salmon lice Lepeophtheirus salmonis levels. We tested whether ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta welfare and lice consumption differed depending upon whether they were acclimatised in cages with either no Atlantic

ABSTRACT: Commercial off-bottom aquaculture of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica is challenged by repeated summer mortality events that appear to affect triploid oysters disproportionally. Many farmers believe common farming practices, especially when performed during hot summer months, may increase triploid mortality. The goal of this study was to investigate how diploid and triploid oysters

ABSTRACT: Managing salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis outbreaks is a crucial part of salmon aquaculture in sea cages. Treatment management strategies can be optimized with the aid of salmon-louse population dynamic models. These models, however, need to be calibrated and validated with biologically meaningful parameters. Here, based on a time-series of lice data, we estimated 2 essential model parameters:

ABSTRACT: Ecolabels are increasingly being used to notify consumers that the labeled product imposes minimal harm to the environment or other natural resources. A growing number of studies have signaled that consumers respond to these labels, which can promote environmentally friendly production of consumable goods and incentivize growers to produce sustainably sourced goods. Shellfish are noticeably

ABSTRACT: The accumulation of organic matter (OM) in the sediment of aquaculture ponds is a potential threat for aquaculture ecosystems and the surrounding environment. The snail Bellamya purificata is a potential bioremediation species which may solve this problem. To investigate the effects of B. purificata on OM degradation in surface sediment, an 84 d experiment was carried out. The experimental

ABSTRACT: Shielding skirts are widely used as a non-invasive preventive measure against salmon lice Lepeophtheirus salmonis infestations on Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in sea-cages. Low levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) are reported from some sites, but not others. This disparity is usually explained by local variations in current flow and hydrography. The aim of the present study was to investigate

ABSTRACT: Bivalve predation by seabream has been observed worldwide and is a major concern for bivalve farmers. Farmed bivalve-seabream interactions must be better understood to ensure the sustainability of bivalve aquaculture. The objectives of this study were to characterize gilthead seabream Sparus aurata presence in a bivalve farm in Prevost Lagoon (Mediterranean Sea) using acoustic telemetry and

ABSTRACT: Estuaries are subject to diverse anthropogenic stressors, such as shellfish aquaculture, which involve extensive use of estuarine tidelands. Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas aquaculture is a century-old practice in US West Coast estuaries that contributes significantly to the regional culture and economy. Native eelgrass Zostera marina also commonly occurs in intertidal areas where oyster

ABSTRACT: Vibrio aestuarianus infection in oyster populations causes massive mortality, resulting in losses for oyster farmers. Such dynamics result from host-pathogen interactions and contagion through water-borne transmission. To assess the spatiotemporal spread of V. aestuarianus infection and associated oyster mortality at a bay scale, we built a mathematical model informed by experimental infection

ABSTRACT: The global proliferation of marine artificial habitats is rapidly altering the physical structure of coastlines, with knock-on effects on physical, chemical, and ecological processes at seascape scales. Ecological consequences of maritime sprawl associated with aquaculture are poorly understood, despite the fact that these suspended structures are particularly prone to biofouling, which can

ABSTRACT: In this study, we investigated if juvenile European lobsters Homarus gammarus would eat waste from Atlantic salmon Salmo salar cages in a coastal integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) setup and if there were any impacts on growth. Trophic interactions between salmon and lobsters were assessed using δ15N and δ13C stable isotope analysis and fatty acid profiling from fish feed as indicators

ABSTRACT: Closed recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS) in combination with integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) are considered best management practices, but high material costs and difficult maintenance still hinder their implementation, especially in developing countries and the tropics. Few case studies of such systems with tropical species exist. For the first time, an extremely low-budget

ABSTRACT: Three Ecopath models were built to reproduce 3 experimental treatments carried out in earthen ponds located in Olhão, southern Portugal, to understand the energy transferred and the ecosystem state in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). These earthen ponds behave as simplified ecosystems or mesocosms, with well-defined borders, where the relationships between trophic groups can be

ABSTRACT: For successful evaluation of the overall effects of salmon louse infestation on brown trout population dynamics, it is crucial to have a realistic understanding of how lice infestation distributions are generated and how they should be interpreted. Here, we simulated the potential effects of spatio-temporal variance in lice larvae densities, temporal variance in sea trout marine migration

ABSTRACT: Cultured Atlantic salmon Salmo salar are of international socioeconomic value, and the process of domestication has resulted in significant behavioural, morphological, and allelic differences from wild populations. Substantial evidence indicates that direct genetic interactions or interbreeding between wild and escaped farmed Atlantic salmon occurs, genetically altering wild salmon and reducing

ABSTRACT: Aquaculture studies are often faced with data limitations when carrying out a quantitative risk assessment. Consolidating results from a literature search of potentially applicable methods, we propose a stepwise integrated methods approach that incorporates foundations from an antimicrobial resistance framework, the Office International Epizooties risk model, quantitative microbial risk assessment

ABSTRACT: Sustainable expansion of global aquaculture depends on a thorough understanding of environmental impacts. Open-water culture operations produce waste food and faeces, the benthic impacts of which are a focus of regulation. Seabed interactions of wastes are complex, depending on current velocity, seabed substrate and waste material characteristics. The accuracy achieved in modelling intensity

ABSTRACT: Development of benthic components within integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems warrants more attention, and the development of polychaetes as an extractive component in IMTA systems is ongoing. This study estimates the bioremediation potential of Capitella sp. and Ophryotrocha craigsmithi for coupled and decoupled salmon-driven IMTA. In coupled IMTA, polychaetes receive fresh

ABSTRACT: To gain more knowledge about escaped farmed salmon Salmo salar in the wild, we investigated the proportion of escapees, body length at escape, proportion escaped as smolts/post-smolts (≤300 mm) and number of winters in the wild (winter zones in the growth pattern in the scale samples) in catches on the Norwegian coast and in an adjacent fjord from 2013 to 2017. The mean proportion of escapees

ABSTRACT: The yellow drum Nibea albiflora is a marine fish of great economic value in China. Despite efforts to improve yields, aquaculture of this species has been hindered by increases in winter-related mortalities associated with cold temperatures and associated natural fasting periods. To better understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate stress responses in yellow drum during periods of

ABSTRACT: Worldwide bivalve aquaculture is expanding rapidly. Simultaneously, there has been a loss of natural bivalve reefs due to anthropogenic activities. As bivalve reefs support several ecosystem functions disproportionate to the area they cover, there is interest in their restoration. The Firth of Thames (FoT) in northern New Zealand once supported dense populations of green lipped mussels Perna

ABSTRACT: The frequency of water exchange and reducing the risk of eutrophication to surrounding water bodies have always been water-quality control issues in recirculating aquaculture systems. In this study, maize straw biochar prepared through pyrolysis showed great potential for both bacterial immobilization and pollutant adsorption. Heterotrophic bacterial strains of Sphingomonas sp. PDD-57b-25

ABSTRACT: Ocean acidification (OA) is usually thought to change the speciation of trace metals and increase the concentration of free metal ions, hence elevating metal bioavailability. In this study, embryos of the oyster Crassostrea angulata and abalone Haliotis discus hannai were cultured under 4 pCO2 conditions (400, 800, 1500 and 2000 µatm) with Cu and Zn added. Fertilization rate was measured

ABSTRACT: Piscirickettsiosis is one of the most important diseases affecting farmed salmonid in Chile. Several studies have demonstrated the survival of Piscirickettsia salmonis in seawater and the horizontal transmission from infected to non-infected fish; however, the extent of waterborne transmission between farms has not been quantified. In this study, we used a stochastic hydrodynamic connectivity-based

ABSTRACT: In the Baltic Sea, rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss is the most common species used in marine aquaculture, but further increase in production is problematic due to environmental legal regulations, especially in the coastal zone. A solution could be to place the fish farms offshore and use mussel mitigation cultures to extract nutrients released from the fish farms. We used 3D ecological

ABSTRACT: Sea trout are known for seeking out sources of freshwater to rid themselves of salmon lice. However, the effect of natural haloclines in fjords on parasite dynamics is not well understood. We tagged 48 naturally infested wild sea trout with acoustic depth sensors. The fish were kept inside a small net-pen (4 × 4 × 5 m), 12 at a time, in western Norway during 4 separate time periods in spring

ABSTRACT: In Chile, salt (NaCl) use per salmon fish farm ranges between 20-30 t yr-1 and is used to prevent and control fungal infections. An increase in salinity in freshwater can have adverse effects on freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. We studied the effects of fish-farm effluents on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in a northern Patagonian stream (Chile). Benthic

ABSTRACT: Salmon lice infestation is a challenge for wild post-smolt salmon during migration from their natal river to the sea in several regions of Norway. The traffic-light management system regulates growth in the aquaculture industry, where growth in production (6%) is only allowed if the impact of salmon lice on wild fish can be kept at a minimum and up to 10% mortality of wild salmonids are considered

ABSTRACT: Models for mapping and forecasting infective pressure from salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis larvae are of major importance in the Norwegian government’s management of salmonid aquaculture. These models use site-reported temperature and number of egg-producing female adult lice present within cages to calculate how many lice eggs and larvae are released from individual farms. The reported

ABSTRACT: Research into the effects of soundscapes on aquaculture species in key production systems is sparse, despite potential impacts of sound on animal welfare and commercial yields. In the following study, 2 high-value global aquaculture species, whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and Atlantic salmon Salmo salar, were exposed to aquaculture production system soundscapes. For shrimp, sound recordings

ABSTRACT: Peracetic acid (PAA) is a widely applied disinfectant in aquaculture. Knowledge on PAA decay in seawater (SW) is crucial for its successful implementation in SW aquaculture systems. We investigated the decay dynamics of PAA in SW under controlled conditions to assess the potential effect of temperature, salinity and light. We also applied PAA to 22 tanks with post-smolt Atlantic salmon Salmo

ABSTRACT: Methods have been proposed to mitigate the environmental footprint of aquaculture, including co-culture of species occupying different trophic levels. In this study, sea cucumbers Cucumaria frondosa, either from production tanks fed with effluent water from land-based salmon culture over 4 yr or collected from the field, were compared using stable isotope, lipid and fatty acid (FA) signatures

ABSTRACT: Aquaculture is a rapidly expanding industry and is now one of the primary sources of all consumed seafood. Intensive aquaculture production is associated with organic enrichment, which occurs as organic material settles onto the seafloor, creating anoxic conditions which disrupt ecological processes. Bacteria are sensitive bioindicators of organic enrichment, and supervised classifiers using

ABSTRACT: The influence of substrate type and particle age on the remobilization of settled Atlantic salmon Salmo salar faecal material was studied through a set of controlled experiments in horizontal flow flumes, simulating different bottom conditions present in fish-farming locations along the coast of Norway. There was no significant effect of pellet age on remobilization for up to 1 week old faecal

ABSTRACT: The role of aquaculture systems in the global carbon cycle is poorly understood to date. We investigated the carbon budgets in 2 polyculture systems (PM: swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus with kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus; and PMR: crab, shrimp and short-necked clam Ruditapes philippinarum) during the farming season (125 d in total). The main carbon input occurred via water (PM:

ABSTRACT: We investigated the effects of Manila clam aquaculture on the rates and pathways of anaerobic organic carbon (OC) oxidation in highly bioturbated (HB) and poorly bioturbated (PB) sediment in Keunso Bay, Yellow Sea. Due to the labile organic matter supply via sediment reworking by Manila clams, the anaerobic OC oxidation rate in HB sediment (38.8 mmol m-2 d-1) was ~1.5 times higher than that

ABSTRACT: Farms for eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, which are commonly located along shallow estuarine shores of the eastern USA, use a range of farm equipment and require regular access to care for and harvest oyster livestock. In some cases, these farms are located in areas used by Atlantic horseshoe crabs Limulus polyphemus as they come ashore during spring to spawn. The sandy shores of the

ABSTRACT: Over the last 2 decades, cleaner fishes have been employed to remove external sea lice parasites from Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in sea cages. Norway, Scotland, Ireland, and the Faroe Islands combined now use ~60 million cleaner fish per year. While small-scale experiments demonstrate the efficacy of cleaner fishes, industrial-scale sea cages have multiple structures and conditions that

ABSTRACT: Coral aquaculture is expanding to supply the marine ornamental trade and active coral reef restoration. A common pest of Acropora corals is the Acropora-eating flatworm Prosthiostomum acroporae, which can cause colonial mortality at high infestation densities on Acropora spp. We investigated the potential of 2 biological control organisms in marine aquaria for the control of P. acroporae

ABSTRACT: Genetic interactions (i.e. hybridization) between wild and escaped Atlantic salmon Salmo salar from aquaculture operations have been widely documented, yet the ability to incorporate predictions of risk into aquaculture siting advice has been limited. Here we demonstrate a model-based approach to assessing these potential genetic interactions using a salmon aquaculture expansion scenario

ABSTRACT: Stocking cleaner fish to control sea lice infestations in Atlantic salmon farms is widespread and is viewed as a salmon welfare-friendly alternative to current delousing control treatments. The escalating demand for cleaner fish (~60 million stocked worldwide per year), coupled with evidence that they experience poor welfare and high mortality in sea cages, requires that the lice removal

ABSTRACT: Anti-parasitic drugs used to control sea lice infestations in the salmonid aquaculture industry are a growing environmental concern due to their potential impacts on non-target crustacean species. This study examined the lethal effects of teflubenzuron, a common in-feed pharmaceutical drug used on Norwegian salmon farms, on a non-target species, rockpool shrimp Palaemon elegans, following

ABSTRACT: Biofouling is generally considered a serious threat for human coastal activities such as aquaculture, and the ecological role of fouling organisms associated with fish-farm cages remains one of the most debated topics in the ecological field. However, although biofouling may cause significant problems related to human health, environmental impact and financial losses, in the past decade there

ABSTRACT: Salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis, a key parasite of salmonids, is managed by multiple methods at both salmon farm- and ecosystem-scale that are informed by an understanding of the abundance and distribution of the infective, planktonic stage of the lice. Dispersal modelling using hydrodynamic models relies on accurately estimating larval depth and how environmental variables modify distributions

ABSTRACT: Risk of mortality of wild salmon caused by salmon lice is used as an index for managing aquaculture production in Norway and is based on monitoring of lice attached to wild salmonids and modelled concentrations of lice larvae in fjords. Direct sampling of lice from Norwegian waters to determine concentrations has never been published scientifically and has been considered non-feasible for

ABSTRACT: The emergence of the microvariant genotype of Ostreid herpesvirus 1 (OsHV-1 μVar) has caused mass mortalities of Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas, resulting in significant economic losses in Europe, New Zealand and Australia. There is variability in the occurrence and severity of disease caused by OsHV-1, with the disease incompletely described by the known complex interactions between host