An update on our AE2020 and 2021 events next year
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LOOKING AHEAD TO 2021 VOL. 45 2 SEPTEMBER 2020 An update on our AE2020 and 2021 CORK, IRELAND APRIL 12-15 events next year A Norwegian Portal for aquaculture sustainability Phage therapy for seabass/seabream Madeira, Portugal Oct. 4-7 T H E M E M B E R S ’ M A G A Z I N E O F T H E E U R O P E A N A Q U A C U LT U R E S O C I E T Y 2nd Semester 2020 Afgiftekantoor: 8400 Oostende Mail
AQUACULTURE VOL. 45(2) September 2020 EUROPE EAS is a non-profit society that aims at promoting contacts From the EAS President............................................................ 4 among all involved in aquaculture. EAS was founded in 1976. Aquaculture Europe is the members’ magazine of EAS. FEATURE ARTICLE Secretariat EAS events in Cork and European Aquaculture Society (EAS) Madeira in 2021 – an update .....5 Slijkensesteenweg 4, BE-8400 Oostende, Belgium Tel. +32 59 32 38 59 Email: eas@aquaeas.eu; http://www.aquaeas.eu The prospect of phage therapy in fish hatcheries.................................. 9 Madeira Cliffs, Board of Directors (2018-2020) Portugal President: Gavin Burnell (Ireland) Biofloc Based Fish Farming (BFT): A new approach for employment generation & sustainable President-Elect: Hervé Migaud (UK) aquaulture in India................................................................... 14 Past-President: Bjørn Myrseth (Norway) Member: Henrice Jansen (The Netherlands) Aquaculture in Cuba................................................................ 18 Member: Constantinos Mylonas (Greece) Member: Bente Torstensen (Norway) BarentsWatch – A portal to collect, develop and share information about Norwegian coastal and marine areas........... 20 Member: Luisa Valente (Portugal) Member: Marc Vandeputte (France) Microalgae as an alternative ingredient for high Student Representative : Kathrin Steinberg (Germany) performance sustainable microfeeds......................................... 24 Membership Where is the return on the EU’s aquaculture investment? ...... 27 Membership of the EAS includes the Aquaculture Europe magazine (2 issues/year; institutional Tuna farming in Croatia.......................................................... 30 and corporate members receive 2 paper copies), Aquaculture Europe e-mail publication (6 issues/year), Online access to our peer reviewed journal Aquaculture Experiences of our “Adopt a Student” International (AQUI). Institutional members of mentorship programme............................................................ 34 EAS also receive one free half page advert per year in the magazine. “More plastic than fish…. A young entrepreneur recruits Standard Reduced* fishermen to fight against plastic pollution!”............................ 39 Individual member €90 €60 Institutional member €300 €200 Aquaculture meetings - calendar.............................................. 42 Life member** €720 Student/retiree member FREE *Reduced membership fees are available for: Advertisements - students (copy of current student card required) - retired persons (certification of retired status Aller Aqua.......................................................Inside Front Cover required) - residents of certain countries (see www.aquaeas.eu) Aquaculture Europe 2020.......................................... Back Cover **Individual Life membership offers the general EAS Aquaculture Europe 2021................................Inside Back Cover benefits for full lifetime duration Biomar....................................................................................... 32 See www.aquaeas.eu for more information on BIM........................................................................................... 26 membership categories and benefits. Kaeser........................................................................................ 33 Subscription to the Aquaculture Europe Magazine: Leiber..........................................................................................6 €85 Luke.......................................................................................... 22 For air mail add €16 to prices above Sparos........................................................................................ 41 Design: James Lewis, Wreckhouse Creative Inc. UAB.......................................................................................... 38 EAS does not endorse advertised products or services. © European Aquaculture Society, Oostende, Belgium. On the cover: Background Photo: Norwegian salmon farming Printed in Belgium ISSN 0773-6940 Copyright Nofima/Frank Gregersen Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 3
FRO M TH E E AS PRES I D ENT I was looking forward to handing over to Herve Migaud, the next President of EAS, at our annual conference. This was to have been held in Cork this autumn. Instead the world has been turned upside down by the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore we will now have an online General Assembly on September 30th when he will take over. These are challenging times for the society and one of the biggest areas for concern is the loss of revenue from our annual conference. Even although this year’s event has been rescheduled for Cork in April 2021 and we still have the AE2021 meeting in Madeira in October 2021, it is not yet clear how attendance will be. The majority of booths at both events have however, already been sold, so that is a positive sign. That of course assumes that they both take place. Most airlines have taken a big hit and experts are predicting that it will be 2022 until we get some degree of normality back into international travel. The same experts seem fairly confident that we will get a vaccine next year and this scenario seems to be the only one that allows widespread international travel and large indoor meetings to take place. The EAS peer reviewed journal, Aquaculture International has recently undergone some Gavin Burnell changes which I would like to highlight. Since January this year you may have noticed that President we have taken on 5 Associate Editors who all bring their own expertise to the journal. In no particular order they are Professor Brian Austin (Disease and Health), Professor Pierre Boudry (Genetics), Professor Michael Hartnett (Engineering and Environment), Professor Elena Mente (Crustaceans) and Dr Ronan Sulpice (Micro and Macroalgae). This has not only considerably expanded the areas of expertise covered by the journal, but has also taken a lot of the administrative weight off my shoulders. Next month in the journal we will also be expanding an exciting new feature, Topical Collections. The idea was to stimulate the submission of high quality papers and reviews on several cutting edge topics that we had identified. After a successful 6 month trial period with the topic Aquaponics (curated by Simon Goddek and Hendrik Monsee) we will be extending this section to include: Innovations in disease control and diagnosis (Brian Austin), Epigenetics in aquaculture (Pierre Boudry and Steven Roberts) ), and Smart agro- ecological processes for crustacean farming (Elena Mente). Judging from the increase in excellent aquaponics papers during the trial period we should soon be receiving quality contributions on all these topics. As you can see from the following short CVs, the curators of the topics are well qualified to lead the journal forward into a new more provocative era. Elena Mente, Professor of aquatic animal nutrition and physiology at University of Thessaly, Greece and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen, UK. She was awarded three competitive Fellowships, two European and one from the UK, on research on aquatic animal nutrition for aquaculture. She has more than 20 years’ experience in research on sustainable aquaculture, crustacean nutrition and aquatic animal gut microbiome. She has authored/co-authored/edited five books (two in Greek), more than 70 peer-reviewed papers and ten chapters in books. Professor Brian Austin is a microbiologist with a long history of research in fish diseases, emphasising the diagnosis and control of bacterial fish pathogens. He has researched the taxonomy of pathogens, their diagnosis by serology and molecular methods, and control by vaccines, probiotics and medicinal plant products. Until 2015, he was Director of the Institute of Aquaculture and Professor of Microbiology at the University of Stirling. strategies based on vaccines, probiotics and medical plant products. He has published over 300 scientific articles and 20 books, to date. Pierre Boudry is a French geneticist working at Ifremer (National Institute for Ocean Science). Since 1994, Pierre’s research is dedicated to genetics and genomics of marine bivalves. Most of his research is connected with aquaculture or conservation issues and has led to over 150 publications, resulting in his designation in a bibiographic analysis as the most productive author in of oyster research worldwide from 1991 to 2014. Based in Brest, he is leading Ifremer's Research Unit Functional Physiology of Marine Organisms and is Associate Director of the joint research unit LEMAR – Marine Environmental Sciences Laboratory. Steven Roberts is a comparative physiologist with a particular interest in functional genomics as it applies to aquaculture. For the past decade he has been studying epigenetic mechanisms, primarily DNA methylation, in marine invertebrates including oysters and clams. He has published over 70 scientific articles and contributed two book chapters. Steven is an Associate Professor and the Associate Director of the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, USA. continued on page 6 Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 4
FE ATURE ARTIC LE EAS events in Cork and Madeira in 2021 AN UPDATE You will probably have seen that there will be no Aquaculture Europe event this year. However, EAS will organise two events in 2021. AE2020 in Cork, Ireland from April 12-15 and AE2021 in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 6 months later from October 5-8. Here’s the latest update. Cork, Ireland April 12-15, 2021 #AE20CRK AE2020. Cork, Ireland April 12-15, 2021 There is now a momentum in all aspects of food production The AE2020 Opening Ceremony, conference plenary and towards a circular economy whereby we no longer regard Student Spotlight Award will take place on Monday, April waste as a problem to be disposed of, but instead look 12th at 6pm in the Cork City Hall. We have one plenary for ways to make it a resource which can be re-used at AE2020 and it will be presented by Pedro Encarnação, - thereby closing the loop on aquaculture inputs and outputs Director Aquacultura at Jerónimo Martins Agri-Business. and reducing environmental impact. His presentation Aquaculture can take the lead in the Blue - Green Bio- “Vertical Integration – Economy and is well placed to lead by example with new Securing supply, quality technologies such as land-based marine aquaponics, large- and sustainability: The scale recirculating marine farms and innovative, integrated JMA fish case” will cover freshwater initiatives on brown field sites. When it comes vertical integration in to having a societal impact, recent research has shown that the supply chain, going aquaculture products, from seaweed to salmon, should be from farm to the grocery included as part of a balanced diet from the first 1000 days store, but also projects right through to promoting healthy ageing. of circular economy, using the food waste This conference will bring together stakeholders from from supermarkets to many diverse disciplines to discuss and debate cross cutting produce insect meal that issues such as new circular economies, life-long health and can be used to feed fish Pedro Encarnação environmentally sustainable production. The conference production. His company parallel sessions will address the overall topic and abstract is also focusing on locally produced fish products or placing submission is now open at the AE2020 web site www. production close to markets so as to increase the freshness of aquaeas.org the fish and reduce the carbon footprint. AE2020 will take place in Cork, at the Clayton Hotel Silver Pedro Encarnação is an aquaculture expert with extensive Springs Congress Centre, from April 12 to April 15, 2021. experience around the world. He has a bachelor’s degree in The Silver Springs is 5km from Cork city centre and shuttle Marine Biology and a PhD in Fish Nutrition. In 2005, he buses will be provided morning and evening to transport moved to Asia as Technical director for Biomin (Biotech delegates. in animal nutrition). After 10 years in Asia, he returned to Portugal to join the Jerónimo Martins Agri-Business continued on page 7 Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 5
FEATU RE A RTI C LE President's message STRONG ENOUGH continued from page 4 TO FACE EVERYTHING! These are not the only changes which are influencing our journal. After 8 years as the publishing editor of Aquaculture International, Alexandrine Cheronet has moved to a new position within Springer Nature and will head the Earth and Environmental Sciences editorial group. She has done an excellent job over the years helping to increase the Impact Factor of the journal and many of you will have met Alex on the EAS stand at our AE events. We wish her well in her new appointment. She is replaced by Mariana Biojone Brandão, who is heading Springer Nature Publishing Development in Latin America and is based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She is an experienced editor who has been working with Springer for many years. I remain as Editor-in-Chief and look forward to working with her. In this issue of the magazine we have a compilation of adopt a student testimonials, an article on phage therapy by Pantelis Katharios who recently gave an excellent EASTalk webinar on the subject, an overview of sustainability indicators for Norwegian aquaculture on a new portal and a visit by EAS staff member Ana Viskovic to tuna farms in Croatia. That very neatly gives me 2 relevant topics to talk about in this editorial. First of all there is the “Adopt a Student” scheme which I am delighted to report is gaining momentum with 12 students currently receiving mentorship and another 3 that have already been through the scheme. As you will read in their testimonials their experiences have been very rewarding so far. I should also add that from my personal experience this is just as satisfying for the mentors. Once again, I would encourage any experienced aquaculturists from industry or academia who might be interested in acting as mentors, to Leiber® Beta-S – get in contact with Alistair, Ana or myself to learn more about what is involved. Secondly, there are the β-glucans for: webinars which have proved to be a big hit with our members. So far Ana has organised 16 of them and they are all available in the members’ section of our website for Improvement of the cellular & you to see. Altogether, more than 1500 people have logged humoral defence mechanisms on and listened to these both informative and entertaining presentations. They are also openly available on our YouTube channel for one month after the webinar date, Support of immunological and total views of those videos total more than 3000. The competence in larval & EASTalk series also includes podcasts, and to date 5 of these have been recorded for EAS members to listen to. However, juvenile stages we need more volunteers for a webinar or podcast, so if you have a topic that you would like to share with our EAS community, then please get in touch with Ana. Improvement of feed conversion For my final words I would just like to thank everyone who supported and advised me during my Presidency. As with any international organisation there is a large team involved and in the case of our society this would include Alistair, Linda and Ana in the office, the entire Board of EAS and Mario and John - the conference team. Altogether you have made EAS a very successful enterprise and I am honoured to have guided it through the last 2 years. Over to you Herve! leibergmbh.de Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 6
FE ATURE ARTIC LE 2021 update continued from page 5 division as their Aquaculture Director to develop the group expansion in this new area. He is now focussing on developing aquaculture projects to supply the wide group supermarket network. The Aquaculture Europe events are all about communication with the sector. AE2020 will feature a special international trade exhibition, where Irish and international companies will present their latest products and services. Standard and Corner booths are available and each booth is 6m2 (2x3m) EAS thematic groups also organise special sessions and/or and features walls, carpet, two chairs and one table, spotlights, workshops within AE2020. Other industry panels will take one power outlet, fascia identification sign and two free full place around the trade exhibition, and technical tours will be delegate registrations for the conference. Additional staff can organised. register through the booth contract at significantly reduced rates. A special forum will be arranged for students attending AE2020 to enable networking and exchange of ideas. The The AE Industry Forum is a place where presentations forum will have a dedicated programme and include a special and panel discussions focus on relevant and timely issues student reception. Students receive the full registration for the sector. The Industry Forum in Cork will put the package plus the student reception. To qualify for the student emphasis on cold water marine species and is being organised rate, a copy of your student I.D. is required. in cooperation with the Aquaculture section of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and AE2020 Silver Sponsor, A NEW FEATURE of AE2020 will be the organisation of Bord Iascaigh a 1 day RAS@EAS workshop to be held on Monday, April Mhara (BIM). It 12th just before the main event. To complement the science will be held all presented in the parallel sessions of the AE conference, day on Tuesday, RAS@EAS looks to take a different approach, with the April 13th. The emphasis on bringing together key figures from science and programme industry to focus on key issues, present the latest knowledge is under and share experience with different species and systems. development. Each RAS@EAS event will focus on a specific challenge in RAS systems, with several sub-sessions based on interactive Since 2019, the AE Innovation Forum looks to help discussion and audience participation. accelerate new companies with innovation potential within the aquaculture sector. EAS is teaming up again with HATCH BLUE to organise a full day event on Wednesday, April 14th. The event will feature short presentations and pitches from (young) companies selected through an application process. As we move forward to develop the programme, we are specifically interested in attracting applications from new companies with innovative ideas and projects that they would like to pitch during the Forum and hearing from investors interested in supporting promising aquaculture initiatives. The event in Cork takes the theme “Creating an Optimum Applications to pitch can be sent to EAS through this Environment”, organised in three sessions addressing these link. The deadline is December 31 this year and successful key questions – How do we best approach disinfection? applicants will be informed by end January latest. The full Where are we going with monitoring & autonomy? And programme will be available early next year at the AE2020 What are the most problematic interactions between fish web page. & their environment? Each session will have an introductory The AE event is a focal point for meetings of European presentation, followed by a moderated panel discussion. associations, satellite workshops of EU projects and other Registration for this event can be made separately, or included events. We can provide options for your meeting. The in the full AE2020 registration package. continued on page 8 Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 7
FEATU RE A RTI C LE Madeira, Portugal October 4-7, 2021 CONFERENCE - ae2021@aquaeas.eu #AE21MAD TRADESHOW & SPONSORSHIP - mario@marevent.com www.aquaeas.eu AE2021. Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. October 4-7, 2021 Europe faces important societal challenges arising from global environmental and social-economical threats. These include climate change, depletion of natural resources including water and energy, pollution, food security and safety and human migrations. But Europe, and particularly the European Union, is also in the forefront in facing these challenges with innovative policies regarding environmental protection, sustainable use of living resources, marine and coastal planning and leading technological developments and innovation. We look forward to Aquaculture has a clear place in securing food production welcoming you to in Europe and presents “Oceans of Opportunities” for Cork and to Madeira ! development and investment if given the political and social licence to expand and develop, with public awareness/ acceptance of its role. As all our AE event, AE2021 will feature a special international trade exhibition, where Portuguese and AE2021 will take place from October 4-7, 2021 in Funchal, international companies will present their latest products Madeira. Madeira is part of the archipelago with the same and services. Standard and Corner booths are available and name, one of the Autonomous Regions of Portugal, and each booth is 6m2 (2x3m) and features walls, carpet, two situated about 1,000 km south of Lisbon and 650 km east of chairs and one table, spotlights, one power outlet, fascia the African coast. Madeira is also part of the Macaronesia identification sign and two free full delegate registrations ecoregion composed of the Azores, the Republic of Cape for the conference. Additional staff can register through the Verde and the Canary Islands. booth contract at significantly reduced rates. The conference plenary and parallel sessions will address the AE 2021 will also feature an Industry Forum, where overall topic and abstract submission will be available within presentations and panel discussions focus on relevant the coming weeks at the AE2021 web site. We are currently and timely issues for the sector and our AE Innova- working hard with our local organising committees, headed tion Forum looking to help accelerate new companies. by Carlos Andrade (ARDITI, CIIMAR-University of Porto, The EAS thematic groups also organise special sessions Portugal) and Luís Conceição (Sparos, Portugal) to prepare this event and the AE2021 Programme Co-chairs Maria and/or workshops within AE2021 and there will be Teresa Dinis (CCMAR-University of Algarve) and Sachi satellite workshops of EU projects and other events Kaushik (INRAE and EAS Past President) are finalising the taking place around the trade exhibition. Technical and list of sessions for abstract submission. touristic tours will also be organised. Important dates: Contacts: AE2020 Cork - April 12-15, 2021 General conference and EAS Abstract deadline: December 31 membership: eas@aquaeas.eu Early Bird registration deadline: February 15 Booth sales, exhibitor contracts, AE2021 Madeira - October 4-7, 2021 sponsorship and media partners Abstract deadline: May 1 mario@marevent.com Early Bird registration deadline: July 15 Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 8
ARTIC LE The prospect of phage therapy in fish hatcheries Bacteria and aquaculture Aquaculture hatcheries are environments of high complexity, where the developing larvae are in a delicate equilibrium with many different organisms, including bacteria, microalgae and live preys, such as rotifers and copepods provided by the fish farmers at the early developmental stages of fish. The role of microbiota at these stages is crucial and only recently have we begun to understand its significance. The establishment of a healthy microbiome in the developing larvae is not only important for their survival but also for their future development and performance during grow out. Environmental and food-borne bacteria shape the gut microbiome of the developing larvae which will be later involved in digestion, immune system development and subsequently growth and survival. Recent studies have indicated vast differences between the various culture systems (e.g. RAS vs flow-through) but also between individual larvae of the same tank (for a review see Vadstein et al 2018). However, it is largely accepted that fast- growing opportunistic bacteria pose the most significant threat in these systems. Vibrio is likely the most significant genus of opportunistic bacteria associated with disease outbreaks not only in marine fish but also in other farmed aquatic animals, including crustaceans and bivalves. Recent advancements in genomic sequencing technology have revealed a very big diversity of Vibrio species that were previously misidentified or overlooked because of the resolution limitations of biochemical tests commonly used at the diagnostic labs. In the past, Vibrio anguillarum was acknowledged as the most devastating member of the Vibrio genus. Now, we know that several other species can be at least equally or even more virulent than V. anguillarum such as V. harveyi and V. alginolyticus. Other species considered as bivalve pathogens are now increasingly implicated in morbidity and mortality of fish larvae like V. tubiashii and V. splendidus. And as we advance our analytical capabilities it is certain that more species will be added in the pathogenic/opportunistic members of the Vibrio genus. Controlling bacterial populations in the hatchery environment has for long been recognized as critical for sustaining good health and development of fish larvae. Many tools have been or are being used towards this direction. Water treatment PAN T E L I S K AT H A R I OS through mechanical or UV and ozone filtration, is by far the most commonly I N ST I T U T E O F M A R I NE B I OLOGY, employed in aquaculture. In addition to water treatment, many hatcheries BI OT E C H N O LO GY A ND “disinfect” live feeds before administration to fish larvae. Water treatment and AQ UA CU LT U R E, H E LLENI C disinfection may seem rational, however this process destabilizes the microbial C E N T R E FO R M A R I N E R ESEA R CH , ecology of the aquaculture systems, providing niche to fast-growing opportunistic HERA K L I O N 7 1 5 0 0 , C R ETE, GR EECE bacteria to recolonize the available surfaces (from fish mucosa to physical AQ UAT IC B I O LO G I CA LS substrates of the tanks). Another widely studied tool is the probiotics, beneficial (WW W. A Q UAT IC- B IOLOG I CA LS.COM ) bacteria that colonize the fish gut and compete pathogenic microbes. Probiotics E M A I L : KAT H A R I OS @ H CM R .GR have good potential, however research towards the sustained and prolonged colonization of the fish gut and towards the use of aquatic vs terrestrial probiotic strains is still needed for improving their efficacy. Prebiotics which are non- digestible feed ingredients that selectively promote growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut have also gained attention of the aquaculture industry. Lately, synbiotics (combination of pro- and prebiotics) have also been considered as a means of controlling bacteria in the hatchery environment. All these tools however have one common denominator; they are not specific or targeted. In an ideal situation, an intervention for controlling bacteria should be targeted exclusively to the unwanted or pathogenic bacteria, leaving the beneficial ones unaffected. Phage therapy is such a tool. continued on page 10 Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 9
ARTI C LE 1. A. Schematic representation of the structure of a Myoviridae bacteriophage (by Chelsea Bonnain, Mya Breitbart and Kristen N. Buck licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0). B. Transmission Electron Microscopy image of a Myoviridae bacteriophage showing the contractile tail (courtesy of Dr. Pantelis Katharios) Bacteriophages and phage therapy host cell, a lytic phage will start producing its structural proteins and genetic material which will be self-assembled Bacteriophages or phages are viruses that exclusively infect and packaged inside the host cell making up the progeny bacteria. They are the most abundant life entity1 in the virions. After the completion of this process, the newly planet. Their number is astronomical; it has been estimated assembled phages will secrete lytic enzymes that will degrade that there are approximately 1031 phages in the biosphere. the bacterial cell wall from the inside resulting in a burst Phages were discovered more than 100 years ago; initially that will release them to the external milieu. The number of Ernest Hanbury Hankin, an English microbiologist working new virions produced in a single bacterial host cell is called in India made the first hypothesis of their existence before the burst size and can vary significantly between different the end of the 19th century. In 1915, another English phages but also between different types of infections. The microbiologist, Frederick William Twort published the other type of phage is the temperate one. After infection, first scientific paper in the journal Lancet, describing the DNA of this phage is inserted inside the chromosome the activity of bacteriophages. But it is Felix d’ Herelle, of the bacterial hosts. Once the viral DNA is integrated in a French microbiologist of the Pasteur Institute who is the bacterial one, the phage (now called prophage) becomes considered by many the discoverer (and also the name-giver) “dormant” and replicates along with the bacterium until it is of bacteriophages. D’ Herelle published a paper in 1917 induced by either a DNA damage of the host or following describing bacteriophages as viruses parasitic on bacteria. an environmental cue. When the prophage is induced, its DNA is excised from the host’s DNA and the phage follows Before we examine the potential of phage therapy in aquaculture, the lytic cycle which was described previously to release the we need to discuss some basic notions of phage microbiology. new virions (Figure 3). During the prophage stage (when Bacteriophages are the most efficient “predators” of bacteria a temperate phage is integrated in the bacterial host), its in nature. Their ecological significance is huge as they control genes may become functional genes of that host. Therefore, the number of bacteria in the environment. The structure the infected bacterium which is called a lysogen may carry of phages (Figure 1) comprises a proteinaceous capsid that and express new traits that originally belonged to the phage. encapsulates their genetic material (DNA or RNA) and The problem arises when such phage genes encode toxins in many cases a tail which is attached to the capsid. There and proteins implicated in antibiotic resistance. It is known are many different morphologies of bacteriophages, tailed that transduction is one of the most commonly observed and non-tailed, but here we will mostly focus on tailed ways of gene-transfer in bacteria and it is facilitated by the bacteriophages. Bacteriophages’ tails can be long or short, temperate bacteriophages. Such an example is the cholera contractile and non-contractile and this character is also used toxin, which is the main virulence factor of Vibrio cholerae, for taxonomical purposes. At the end of the tail there is the encoded in a prophage integrated in the chromosome of baseplate on which there are the tail fibers and the spike. the bacterium. Likewise, marine pathogenic vibrios like V. At the distal end of the tail fibers there are receptor binding harveyi, V. alginolyticus, V. vulnificus and many others carry proteins which interact with specific surface receptors of the prophage-encoded toxins which make them more virulent bacterial host. Spike proteins display enzymatic activity which than the non-phage-infected ones. This process of acquiring is used for the degradation of the lipopolysaccharide layer new properties that may increase the bacterial fitness or more of bacterial surface to facilitate binding of the phage to the importantly their virulence is called lysogenic conversion. bacterial receptors. Once the phage is irreversibly attached to And it is exactly this feature that creates the biggest the bacterial surface it will inject its genetic material inside risk in using phages as a therapeutic tool: the accidental the cell (Figure 2). From this moment on, the phage, as all transformation of non-virulent bacterial strains to virulent. viruses do, will hijack the bacterial cell machinery for its It is of the greatest importance therefore to select only lytic own purpose which is propagation. There are at least four phages and discard the temperate ones in phage therapy. different types of phages according to their life cycle. The Moreover, nowadays a more precise selection of appropriate two most well-known and studied are the lytic or virulent phages is based on genomic analysis. Following whole and the temperate. Following its DNA injection to the genome sequencing we can now screen the genomic arsenal 1 there is an ongoing scientific debate whether viruses are nonliving or living organisms, see: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-viruses-alive-2004/ Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 10
ARTIC LE bacterial cell. But even after the penetration of the bacterial wall, the bacterium has mechanisms that confer resistance against phage infection. The CRISPR-Cas system is actually a bacterial “adaptive immune system” against phages. On the other side, phages also very rapidly adapt and develop counter-resistance measures. Since the ability of bacteria to develop resistance against phage infection is often related to a downregulation of receptors which are being used for nutrient acquisition or by modification of the LPS which is a virulence determinant, in many cases, resistant strains are less fit or less virulent than the wild type3. Therefore, the development of resistance has a significant cost for the bacteria. The rapid development of bacterial resistance against phages is one of the main drawbacks in phage therapy. This resistance development is almost certain to happen over a period of time. To overcome this problem, phage therapy should be carefully designed. Combination of different phages termed as “phage cocktails” is the solution. However, the use of the 2. Schematic representation of phage attachment to the bacterial correct ingredients for these cocktails requires expertise and cell and injection of its nucleic acid (licensed under CC) knowledge. In the past, phage cocktails were created with phages displaying different host ranges. Now, we know that a successful phage cocktail should ideally contain phages of phages to discard those who have “suspicious” or unwanted that use different receptors for the initial attachment to the genes. Temperate phages for example carry “signature” genes bacterial host. This is because development of resistance like integrases required for the successful integration of their from the bacteria is costly, and changes (like downregulation DNA into the host’s DNA. Modern bioinformatics tools can or mutations) in more than one or two receptors might easily detect this type of genes if the genome of a phage is jeopardize their viability. Lately, phages with very large available. genomes termed as “jumbo” phages have demonstrated wide host range which is probably related to a wider diversity of Phages are usually highly host specific. Sometimes their receptor binding proteins in their tails. These phages are also host specificity is down to the strain level. However, there very promising ingredients of phage cocktails. are also phages with a broad host range2 spanning most commonly different species of the same genus. This feature Phage therapy trials in aquaculture differentiates phage therapy from all other tools we currently have for controlling bacteria in aquaculture. Phage therapy is The initial attempt to use phages against fish pathogenic a targeted and precise treatment. Host specificity of phages bacteria goes back to the 80s. The first scientific report was depends on complex molecular interactions between the from Taiwan and was published in Fish Pathology in 19814 phage and the bacterium throughout the infection cycle, and regards phage therapy against Aeromonas hydrophila which is outside the scope of this article. However, one of the infection of loach. Since then, many scientific papers from most important factors is the type and diversity of receptor various countries describe phages with therapeutic potential binding proteins found on the phage tail, which will be or use phages as a means of therapy in aquaculture. The used for the first interaction between phage and bacteria. In majority of the first research trials focused on the use of Gram-negative bacteria like vibrios, the main target of these phages as a method to treat infected fish and the results phage proteins are the components of their outer membrane were variable. In the challenge tests which have been used to like the lipopolysaccarides (LPS) which are major virulence assess the efficacy of phage therapy, phages are commonly factors, the flagella, and the porins which are receptors used administered simultaneously with the infectious agent. by the bacteria to obtain nutrients from the extracellular This results in a significant decrease of the number of the milieu. bacteria available for initiating the infection and subsequently in positive results. However, there are very few properly Phages and bacteria are in a constant arms race in the designed studies which would be useful to explore the true environment. Bacteria are continuously exposed to phage efficacy of phages as therapeutics. Ideally, these should use “predation” and in order to survive they must devise strategies a variety of pathogenic strains of the bacterial target and a to resist phage infection. Bacterial resistance against phage phage cocktail that would be administered after the onset of infection may develop very fast. Usually, bacteria will sacrifice the infection. the receptors to which phages are attached. This is controlled at a molecular level and involves the downregulation of The administration of the phages in aquaculture is usually the genes which encode for the proteins of these receptors. done either directly in the water or in feed. Coating of phages Resistance can also be developed through genetic mutations in feed pellets has been proven effective in studies conducted of these proteins that will result in compatibility loss of the with rainbow trout as the phages could be detected in various phage binding receptors proteins and the receptors of the organs of the experimental fish after feeding, showing the ability of the phages to survive passage through the fish stomach. Of course, there are several things that should be 2 Host range: The taxonomic diversity of hosts a phage can infect considered when designing a proper therapeutic scheme. The 3 a strain which prevails among individuals in natural conditions, as distinct from an atypical first is the target bacterial pathogen and the diversity of its mutant type strains. Then it is the dose, which is called Multiplicity of 4 Wu, J.L., Lin, H.M., Jan, L., Hsu, Y.L. and CHANG, L.H., 1981. Biological control of fish Infection (M.O.I.) in phage microbiology and it is the ratio bacterial pathogen, Aeromonas hydrophila, by bacteriophage AH 1. Fish Pathology, 15(3-4), pp.271-276 continued on page 12 Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 11
ARTI C LE 3. The lytic and lysogenic life cycle of phages. Lytic or virulent bacteriophages follow exclusively the lytic cycle, whereas temperate bacteriophages follow the lysogenic cycle and are integrated in the bacterial chromosome as prophages. Once induced they will be excised from the bacterial chromosome and will follow the lytic cycle. The diagram is a modification of a diagram licensed under CC. of phage particles to bacteria. This is determined in the lab that biofilm might enhance their survival. This is a very during the characterization of the phage. A high M.O.I. important finding since it suggests that phages can survive suggests that a large number of phages should be used for the water treatment processes of RAS and can be used treatment which of course is directly related to an increased prophylactically in those systems to control unwanted production cost. Another important parameter is the location pathogenic bacteria in a targeted way. of the target pathogen (water, mucosa, internal organs, intracellular, etc.). However, it is the use of phages as a means of controlling bacteria in the hatcheries that has the greatest potential. Phage therapy is very attractive for aquaculture. Even though modern marine hatcheries are areas of increased Bacteriophages are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment. biosecurity, pathogenic bacteria continue to find their way The aqueous nature of the water facilitates their diffusion into the fish rearing tanks causing morbidity, mortality, and increases the likelihood of colliding to the target bacteria. and inconsistency in the production performance. The Moreover, phages in the water can pass through the gills administration of live feeds is the vehicle for their entrance. and stomach (marine fish drink water) into the blood flow As stated at the beginning of this article, the disinfection and may reach the internal organs. Since phages are natural of the live feeds will have an impact on the much-needed inhabitants of the aquatic environment, their medicinal healthy colonization of the fish gut by beneficial bacteria. use could be compatible with organic farming. Phage will A recent use of phages proposed by our group is the use not leave residues as it is in the case of antibiotics and are of phages as a “smart disinfectant” of live feeds. We have completely harmless to fish, humans, and the environment. developed and used wide host range phage cocktails that can Phages are viruses which are self-replicating agents and in selectively reduce vibrios in the live feeds. We have shown theory, phage therapy would not require multiple dosing. that following a single administration of vibriophages during Moreover, the high host specificity of phages makes the enrichment process of live Artemia for four hours, a them the ideal solution of controlling bacteria in sensitive reduction of 93% was observed in the vibrio load of the environments like the fish hatcheries and the RAS. Finally, treated group vs the untreated one. We are developing phage- phages can be used at the early developmental stages of fish based disinfectants against vibrios of the Harveyi clade like V. where vaccination cannot be applied because the immune harveyi, V. owensii, V. alginolyticus etc. which include serious system is not mature. opportunists commonly found in live feeds. These pathogens are linked to the larval enteritis of gilthead seabream which In a recently published research conducted in Finland5, results in mass losses in many Mediterranean hatcheries. One phages of Flavobacterium persisted for 14 days in the tanks of the benefits of this method is that the treatment is done in of a RAS following single administration. Moreover, the the batch cultures of live feeds, thus significantly reducing the persistence of phages was longer in the biofilters suggesting 5 Almeida, G.M., Mäkelä, K., Laanto, E., Pulkkinen, J., Vielma, J. and Sundberg, L.R., 2019. The fate of bacteriophages in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS)—towards developing phage therapy for RAS. Antibiotics, 8(4), p.192.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/8/4/192 Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 12
ARTIC LE chances of bacteria to develop resistance against the phages. that significantly differentiates their licensing process from Such innovative products as the phage “smart disinfectant” the accepted norm. More importantly, the ingredients of a are developed by Aquatic Biologicals6, a spin-off company of phage therapy product should be revised and replaced often the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research which was recently to overcome resistance issues. Since every single element of established to develop innovative aquaculture health products. a pharmaceutical product should be extensively tested for safety and efficacy before allowing it as a new component Similar actions have been documented for salmon hatcheries of a licensed product, it is more than evident that licensing where bacteriophages have already been used as a biocontrol of phages will be impossible for the pharma industry. agent for Yersinia ruckeri. This pathogen is responsible for Furthermore, the production of phages as pharmaceuticals Enteric Red Mouth disease or Yersiniosis. A Norwegian at GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) level is more company, ACD Pharmaceuticals has developed and licensed than challenging and of course extremely costly. There is a for Norway a commercial phage product that could be used strong lobby pushing the regulatory authorities for adjusting prophylactically to control Yersinia in salmon tanks. the legislation in a way that phage therapy will become an economically feasible and safe option especially in the era Challenges of phage therapy of antimicrobial resistance where alternatives are urgently Although it is more than a century of phage research, phage needed. therapy faces significant challenges before it is widely adopted On the other hand, licensing phage products not as as a treatment/prevention method at an industrial scale. pharmaceuticals but rather as biocontrol agents or water Culot, Grosset and Gautier, researchers of INRA, France, quality enhancers might be a more viable solution for the have recently provided an excellent review of the challenges of time being. Companies like ACD Pharmaceuticals have phage therapy for commercial aquaculture7. already followed this path and a commercial product based on The results of phage therapy are still inconsistent. This is phages under the trade name CUSTUS is already available in mainly due to the improper design of the phage therapy Norway as a biocontrol agent of Yersiniosis in salmon. products and application schemes. An extremely important prerequisite for efficacious and safe phage therapy is the Acknowledgements thorough characterization of the phages. The elements of Dr. Katharios has received funding to develop innovative phage microbiology which were presented previously in this phage therapy methods for marine fish hatcheries by the OP article need to be studied at the laboratory very carefully. Fisheries and Maritime 2014-2020 Innovative measures, Knowledge of the burst size, the host range, the life cycle and Innovation 2019 co-funded by Greek and EU funds. the genetics of any candidate phage will dictate not only how suitable the phage is as a therapeutic agent but also the best Further reading way of its application (how much to give, when, etc.) Readers seeking more information on the topics developed A very big challenge is to overcome the resistance in this article may refer to the selected literature below (open development from the side of bacteria. As explained in this access articles freely accessible for the public): article, resistance development is the outcome of coevolution of phages and bacteria and it is a natural phenomenon. Phage Vadstein, O., Attramadal, K.J., Bakke, I., Forberg, T., cocktails will provide the solution, however the formation Olsen, Y., Verdegem, M., Giatsis, C., Skjermo, J., Aasen, of potent cocktails is still challenging and requires advanced I.M., Gatesoupe, F.J. and Dierckens, K., 2018. Managing knowledge and analytical skills. the microbial community of marine fish larvae: a holistic perspective for larviculture. Frontiers in microbiology, 9, Mass production of phages is also a very big challenge for the p.1820. pharma industry. Production of phages in bioreactors is not an easily standardized process. Moreover, in the case where Kalatzis, P.G., Castillo, D., Katharios, P. and Middelboe, phages are to be used as a therapeutic agent, specific quality M., 2018. Bacteriophage interactions with marine pathogenic standards should be met, like the absence of endotoxins vibrios: implications for phage therapy. Antibiotics, 7(1), which are released after the lysis of the Gram-negative p.15. bacterial hosts. Although this is technically feasible, it Kalatzis, P.G., Bastias, R., Kokkari, C. and Katharios, significantly increases the production cost. P., 2016. Isolation and characterization of two lytic The biggest challenge, however, is the regulatory barriers bacteriophages, φSt2 and φGrn1; phage therapy application found in many countries including the EU and USA. for biological control of Vibrio alginolyticus in aquaculture Licensing of phage products as pharmaceuticals is a live feeds. PloS one, 11(3), p.e0151101. nightmare. Phages are unconventional pharmaceuticals, a fact 6 www.aquatic-biologicals.com 7 Culot, A., Grosset, N. and Gautier, M., 2019. Overcoming the challenges of phage therapy for industrial aquaculture: A review. Aquaculture, 513, p.734423. Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 13
ARTI C LE Figure 1- Biofloc Fish Farming tank. Biofloc Based Fish the filamentous microorganism, or held together by electrostatic attraction. The biofloc community also includes animals Farming (BFT): that are grazers of floc, such as some zooplankton and nematodes. Large biofloc can be seen with the naked eye, but most are microscopic. A New Approach For The nutritional quality of biofloc to Employment Generation & the cultured animal is good but rather variable. Sustainable Aquaulture in India The dry-weight protein content of biofloc ranges from 25 to 50 per cent, with most estimates between 30 and 45 Aquaculture production depends on feed, percent. Fat content ranges from 0.5 to M R DE BTA N U BA R MA N, dissolved oxygen and maintenance of 1.5 per cent, with most estimates between A Q UA CO N S ULTA NT, FO U N D E R & CEO, A QUA D OCTOR water quality parameters in an optimal 1 and 5 percent. There are conflicting S O LU T IO N S, KOLKATA , range. There are strong economic reports about the adequacy of biofloc to W EST B EN G AL, I ND I A incentives for aquaculture businesses to provide the often limiting amino acids EM A IL : D E BTA NU0 80@G M A I L.COM be more efficient with production inputs, methionine and lysine. Biofloc is a good especially feed and those required for source of vitamins and minerals, especially managing feed-induced water quality phosphorus. The core advantage in biofloc issues. High-density rearing of fish systems is whatever the waste around typically requires some waste treatment from feed or faecal matter from fish infrastructure. Bio-floc systems use a which accounts for about 70% of the total counter-intuitive approach to allow energy given in feed, goes to the system or encourage solids and the associated as the waste. Thus at intensive culture microbial community to accumulate in operation maintaining water quality the water. As long as there is sufficient becomes a challenge. So reusing the mixing and aeration to maintain an active lost nutrients through floc development floc in suspension, water quality can be becomes a wise way for increasing feed controlled in a better way. Managing efficiency and the maintaining water biofloc systems is not as straight forward quality. as that, however, and some degree of technical sophistication is required for the Dried biofloc has been proposed as an system to be fully functional and the most ingredient to replace fishmeal or soybean productive. meal in aquafeeds. Its nutritional quality is good, and trials with shrimps fed Biofloc is a collection (flocs) of algae, diets containing up to 30 percent dried bacteria, protozoans and other kinds biofloc show promise. Nonetheless, it is of particulate organic matter such as unlikely that dried biofloc could replace faeces and uneaten feed. Each floc is the animal or plant protein sources held together in a loose matrix of mucus used in commercial-scale aqua feed that is secreted by bacteria, bound by manufacturing because only limited Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 14
ARTIC LE quantities are available. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness of producing and drying biofloc solids at commercial scale has to be demonstrated. Floc stimulate immune response in fish. Its is well established that the immune response of animal reared in the biofloc based systems is better than the other control culture. A possible reason is the presence of bacteria and other microbial assemblages give specific nutraceutical and immunogenic effects. Heterotrophic bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licgenuformis, Bacillus coagulus, with a mix of Nitrobacter and Nitrosomonas) are required for initial floc growth, then assemblage of algae, green algae, diatoms, zooplankton including rotifer nematodes copepods etc also required for floc growth. In greenwater systems, biofloc algae dominate and in brown water biofloc Figure 2. Harvested Vietnam Koi (Anabas sps.) bacteria dominates. Floc species show natural growth and succession so the floc quality and water colour is monitored and managed regularly. Biofloc Systems and species Biofloc technique is waste treatment method. Biofloc provides two critical services—training waste from feeding providing nutrition to the fish from floc consumption. Biofloc systems can operate with low water exchange rates (0.5 to 1 percent per day). This long water residence time allows the development of a dense and active biofloc community to enhance the treatment of waste organic matter and nutrients. In biofloc systems, using water exchanges to manage water quality is minimized and internal waste treatment processes are emphasized and encouraged. The potential benefit of biofloc systems is the capacity to recycle waste nutrients through microbial protein into fish or shrimp. About 20 to 30 percent of the nitrogen in added feed is assimilated by fish, implying that 70 to 80 percent of nitrogen added as feed is released to be to the culture environment as waste. In biofloc systems, some of this nitrogen is incorporated into bacterial cells that are main components of biofloc. Consumption of this microbial protein, in effect for a second time, contributes to growth. The biofloc system is benifecial for the species that to be cultured that are able derive some nutritional benefit from the direct consumption of floc. Biofloc systems are also most suitable for species that can tolerate high solids concentration in water and are generally tolerant of poor water quality such as Tilapia, Pangassius, Anabas, Magur, Singhi and Common carp etc. Some of them like Tilapia, Common carp and Shrimps have physiological adaptations that allow them to consume biofloc and digest microbial protein, thereby taking advantage of biofloc as a food resource. Figure 3 : Greenwater Biofloc System Only a relatively few types of biofloc systems are used in commercial aquaculture or have been evaluated in detail in research. The two basic types are those that are exposed to natural light and those that are not. Biofloc systems exposed to natural light include outdoor, lined ponds for shrimp & fish culture in greenhouses. A complex mixture of algal and bacterial processes control water quality in such “Green Water” biofloc systems (Fig:-3). Most biofloc systems in commercial use are green water. However, some biofloc systems (raceways and tanks) have been installed in a closed building with no exposure to natural light. These systems are operated as “Brown-Water” biofloc systems Figure 4: Brownwater Biofloc System (Fig-4), where only bacterial processes control water quality. continued on page 16 Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 15
ARTI C LE Maintaining active bioflocs A suspended solids concentration of 200 to 500mg/L is sufficient for good system functionality and will control Intensive turbulent mixing is an essential requirement of ammonia without excessive water respiration. The best biofloc systems. Solids must be suspended in the water increase in suspended solids concentration (250 to 500 mg/L) column at all times or the system will not function. Without and the associated rapid increase in water respiration (6mg mixing, biofloc settle out of suspension and may form piles O2/L per hour). This requires a five-fold increase in aerator that rapidly consume nearby dissolve oxygen. These anaerobic power from 30to 150hp/ha to match the oxygen demand. zones can lead to the release of hydrogen sulphide, methane Most of this increasing energy demand is required to and ammonia that are highly toxic to shrimp and fish. Solids maintain biofloc in suspension. can be removed by periodic flushing or by pumping sludge from the pond centre. In intensive, green water raceways Dynamics of Ammonia for shrimp, water respiration rates range from 2 to 2.5mg O2/L per hour, although it can be as high as 6 mg O2/L A major goal of water quality management in any aquatic per hour. It is absolutely essential to providing sufficient animal production system is maintaining ammonia aeration or oxygenation to meet this high oxygen demand concentration below toxic levels. In Biofloc systems, there and to maintain concentration at safe levels. These high are three main processes that control ammonia, algal uptake, respiration rates also indicate that the response time in the bacterial assimilation and nitrification. The transformations event of a system failure is very short, often less than 1 hour. and dynamics of ammonia in biofloc system are complex, Thus monitoring, alarms, and emergency power systems are involving interplay among the algae and bacteria that required elements of biofloc systems. compete for ammonia. The relative importance of each process depends on many factors, among them the daily Floc develops gradually in this system and first, the system feeding rat, suspended solids (biofloc) concentration, will abruptly transition from green water, an algal system ammonia concentration, light intensity, and input carbon-to- to brown water, bacterial system. As daily feeding rate nitrogen (C:N) ratio. increases from 100 to 200kg/ha (10 to 20g/m2), the water will appear green with the dense algae blooms. Algal uptake In Biofloc system, a major factor that controls ammonia con- is the main mechanism for ammonia control. The aerator centration is the C:N ratio. A feed with 30 to 35 per cent pro- power required at this feeding rate is about 25 to 30hp/ha. tein concentration has a relatively low C: N ratio, about 9 to At a daily feeding rate of 300 kg/ha, there is an abrupt shift 10:1. Increasing the C:N ratio of inputs to 12 to 15:1 favours when the lack of light at very high algal density hinders the heterotrophic pathway for ammonia control. The low C:N photosynthesis. Bacteria begin to grow and biofloc develops, ratio of feed can be augmented by adding supplement materi- as indicated by feed consumption in shrimp raceway biofloc als with a high C: N ratio. Or the inputs C: N ratio can be systems at an e solids concentration of 100 to 300mg/L. increased by reducing feed protein content. Ammonia Control Imhoff or setting cones are a simple way to index suspended through the heterotrophic pathway is often, more stable and solid concentration. The cones have marked graduation reliable than algal uptake or nitrification. on the outside that can be used to measure the volume of solid that settles from 1 liter of system water. The interval of For every 1kg of 30 to 38 per cent protein feed added add 0.5 time should be standardized and convenient, usually 10 to to 1kg of a carbohydrate source such as sugar. It is clear that 20 minutes. Solids also can be measured with a TDS meter. relatively large quantities of carbohydrate must be added to Maintaining a settleable solids concentration of 15 to 30ml/L control ammonia concentration this way. will provide good functionality in biofloc systems. Bacterial Assimilation, nitrification and Alkalinity is the capacity of water to buffer or resist changes algal uptake in pH in response to additions of acids or base. Water in biofloc systems should be maintained with sample reserve Many of the early names for biofloc systems included the of alkalinity because it is constantly depleted by reaction word “ heterotrophic”, which describes a group of bacteria with acid added to water. The activity of nitrifying bacteria is that, by definition, obtains carbon from organic sources. responsible for most losses of alkalinity in intensive biofloc Despite large inputs of feed to intensive systems, the growth systems. Over time, acid produced by nitrification wears of heterotrophic bacteria in biofloc systems is limited by down the reserve of alkalinity in the water. Once alkalinity is dissolved organic carbon. To stimulate the production of depleted, pH can drop steeply, inhibiting bacterial function, heterotrophic bacteria, the C:N ratio of inputs is raised by including that of the important nitrifying bacteria. adding a supplement source of carbohydrate or reducing feed protein level. By this manipulation, heterotrophic bacteria Alkalinity can be recovered in denitrification units. Nitrate create a demand for nitrogen(as ammonia) because organic accumulates in most intensive biofloc systems because of carbon and inorganic nitrogen are generally taken up in a ongoing nitrification. If unchecked, nitrate concentration fixed ratio that reflects the composition and requirement of reflects the cumulative feed loading to the system. Nitrate bacterial cells. Thus ammonia can be controlled by adding accumulation can be tempered by partial dilution through organic carbon to stimulate the growth of heterotrophic water exchange. bacteria. Solids Management and sludge treatment Similar to algae, ammonia is “immobilized” while packaged In biofloc systems, waste solids are allowed to accumulate in heterotrophic bacterial cells as protein. Because the growth and additional solids are encouraged by intensive aeration rate of heterotrophic bacteria is so much greater than that of and carbohydrate additions. Over time, and with sufficient nitrifying bacteria, ammonia control through immobilization mixing, solids can be accumulated to undesirably high levels by heterotrophic bacteria occurs rapidly, usually within hours (2,000 to 3,000 mg/L). Biofloc systems are typically operated or days if sufficient quality of simple organic carbon(e.g. sugar at suspended solids concentrations less than 1,000mg/L and or starch)is added. The packaging of nitrogen in bacterial the most often less than500 mg/L. cells is temporary because cell turns over rapidly and release Aquaculture Europe • Vol. 45(2) September 2020 16
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