SPECIES/STOCK
The wide spectrum of research carried out here at CSAR has required us to work with a variety of species.
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Finfish
Temperate marine
Cod (Gadus morhua)
Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
Turbot (Psetta maxima)
Temperate freshwater
Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)
Brown Trout (Salmo trutta)
Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus)
Tropical freshwater
Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
Tropical marine (ornamental)
Clown Anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Orange Clownfish (Amphiprion percula)
Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula)
Damselfish (Pomacentrus sp.)
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Invertebrates
Temperate marine decapods
European lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Tropical marine shrimp
Pacific White shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)
Temperate marine worms
King Ragworm (Nereis virens)
Estuary ragworm (Nereis diversicolor)
Live feeds
Marine zooplankton
Brine Shrimp (Artemia salina)
Copepod (Acartia tonsa)
Rotifer (Brachionus sp.)
Microalgae
Nannochloropsis galbana
Tetraselmis suecia
Isochrysis galbana
Chaetoceros muelleri
Thalassiosira weissflogii
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Finfish
Temperate marine
Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua)
Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
Turbot (Psetta maxima)
Cod are typically caught wild in the North Atlantic, although recent efforts using open cage systems have enabled significant production in recent years, with a global production of 21,000 tonnes, valued at $84 million. The majority of Sea Bass are farmed in the Mediterranean, also in sea cages (global production 91,000 tonnes, value $627 million) although high tech operations in RAS farms in Wales have proved very successful, both in terms of sustainability and quality of the product. Annual global turbot production is growing, with production at around 10,000 tonnes ($76 million). Turbot farming operations are land based, throughout Europe, and often in RAS.
The majority of finfish projects at CSAR have sought the improvement of growth and performance of stock, through sustainable protein replacement of novel feeds and optimisation of water quality.
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Turbot (Psetta maxima) |
Temperate freshwater
Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)
Brown Trout (Salmo trutta)
Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus)
Salmonid farming is the mainstay of the UK aquaculture industry, and makes a significant contribution to global production (over 2 million tonnes per year, with a value of nearly $10 billion). In addition, private and governmental bodies often release hatchery reared fry into watercourses to maintain natural stocks of native salmonids and to supply recreational anglers.
In some circumstances post-release survival can be poor, and this is believed to be caused by naivety of fry to predatory birds, mammals and fish. In association with the Environment Agency Wales, research efforts at CSAR have investigated reducing post-release mortality, and the salmonid-parasite disease dynamics of larvae of the swan mussel, Anodonta cygnea.
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Arctic Charr (salvelinus alpinus) |
Tropical freshwater
Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
Cichlids, such as Tilapia, are a robust species that are grown in many tropical countries, usually in artisanal fisheries, and are considered a staple protein source. Increasingly, larger commercial aquaculture operations have enabled export to European and American markets, with global production currently 2.3 million tonnes (value $3.2 billion). Research at CSAR has focused on nutrition and growth of juveniles using sustainable feeds, composed of microalgae.
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Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) |
Tropical marine (ornamental)
Clown Anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Orange Clownfish (Amphiprion percula)
Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula)
Damselfish (Pomacentrus sp.)
Marine ornamental species, including Orange Clownfish, were immortalised by the Walt Disney production “Finding Nemo”. This film introduced the world to the consequences of collecting tropical fish for supplying the exotic aquarium industry.
Nearly all tropical marine fish for the ornamentals trade are sourced directly from coral reefs, placing wild stocks under pressure and in some instances causing direct destruction. While this trade provides important income to coastal fishers, there is great scope to alleviate pressure on stocks and to diversify income through captive cultivation. Naturally, reared individuals must be of perfect quality, and techniques are constantly reviewed to minimise developmental problems.
In addition to private contract research focusing on nutrition and development, ornamental stock at CSAR were recently filmed by the BBC natural history unit as part of the “Life” series, narrated by David Attenborough.
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Clownfish (Amphiprion percula) |
Invertebrates
Temperate marine decapods
European lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Lobsters are a popular luxury seafood item caught by offshore potting, typically around the UK and northwest Europe. However, natural stocks remain small, resulting in expensive retail prices and imports of other species from the USA and Canada.
Although lobsters are not farmed commercially, a small number of hatcheries routinely raise small juveniles from eggs, as part of local wild stock enhancement programmes. Gravid adult females are collected from fishermen and are allowed to spawn. Free swimming larvae are then raised through a brief larval stage lasting a few weeks. Postlarvae, which have the appearance of tiny adults, are ongrown for a further 1-3 months before careful release offshore.
CSAR is investigating the potential to farm European lobsters, by continuing the ongrowing process until individuals are adult size, and improving success by optimising nutrition, hygiene and husbandry.
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European lobster (Homarus gammarus) |
Tropical marine decapods
Pacific White shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)
Tropical Penaeid shrimp represent the majority of farmed crustacea, and are mainly grown in shallow ponds in south-east Asia and south America. Global annual production of Pacific White shrimp is currently 2¼ million tonnes, with an estimated value of approximately $9 billion.
In the UK, recirculating aquaculture systems are the only viable method to maintain the temperatures (28-30°C) required to culture tropical shrimp. Our breeding stock in CSAR mate at dusk and release several hundred thousand fertilized eggs in the middle of the night, so have been gradually accustomed to an inverse photoperiod (“Australian time”) to assist with husbandry.
CSAR reared juvenile shrimp have been used for a variety of industry relevant projects, such as monitoring growth on novel feeds, vaccine testing and physiological studies. These are designed to improve productivity and sustainability of shrimp farming operations, while minimising losses from disease.
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Pacific White Shrimp (litopenaeus vannamei) larvae |
Temperate marine worms
King Ragworm (Nereis virens)
Estuary Ragworm (Nereis diversicolor)
Ragworms are found in plentiful supply on sandy shores across Europe. These ecologically important animals are a food source for fish species at high tide and for wading birds when exposed; consequently, they are often harvested and used as sport fishing bait around the UK.
In south Wales, ragworms are cultured in shallow ponds to maintain high quantity and quality throughout the year. In addition to selling worms to anglers, worms can also be processed and form the bulk of ecologically sustainable pelleted feed for the shrimp aquaculture industry. CSAR has been involved in optimising ragworm growth and nutrition.
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King Ragworm (Nereis virens) |
Live feeds
Marine zooplankton
Brine Shrimp (Artemia salina)
Copepod (Acartia tonsa)
Rotifer (Brachionus sp.)
In addition to commercial pelleted and crumbed feeds, larval aquatic animals require nutrition from motile, microscopic animals (zooplankton). CSAR maintains stocks of three species of zooplankton, which are typically enriched with commercial oils or with microalgae before they are offered to larvae. Brine shrimp are also used in CSAR as model species for efficacy testing of commercial aquaculture products.
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Calanoid Copepod (acartia tonsa) |
Microalgae
Nannochloropsis galbana
Tetraselmis suecia
Isochrysis galbana
Chaetoceros muelleri
Thalassiosira weissflogii et al.
A wide variety of freshwater and marine species are grown at CSAR, currently an integral part of the nutritional requirements for ongoing larval rearing.
For more information and further insight into the biotechnological uses of microalgae, please visit www.algaektc.com.
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Tetraselmis suecia
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