Aquaculture Agriscience Applications

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AquacultureAgriscience Applications

• By Johnny M. Jessup
• FFA Advisor/Agriculture Teacher

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Introduction

• Aquaculture
• The management of aquatic environments to
  increase the harvest of usable plant and animal
  products.
• Aquaculturist
• A person trained in aquaculture who must
  understand where and how organism live eat, grow,
  and reproduce in the water.

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Aquaculturists include.

• Nutritionists
• Feed Mill Operators
• Pathologists
• Fish Hatchery Manager
• Processing Managers
• Researchers
• Growers

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Natural Fisheries

• Fish production areas that occur in nature
  without human intervention.
• They include oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds.
• Are fished with sophisticated fishing fleets.

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The Aquatic Environment

• The ocean is the largest expanse of water in the
  world.
• Represents a reservoir of water containing
  soluble nutrients and materials washed from the
  land.
• The salinity has built up over time.
• Land plants animals cant survive this water if
  used for irrigation or drinking.

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The Aquatic Environment

• Rain contains only small amounts of salts.
• Accumulation of water on land and its flow
  creates a gradient (measurable change over time
  or distance) in salinity.
• This affects the types of organisms that can
  flourish.

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Aquaculture Crops
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Shellfish

• Aquatic animals with a shell or shell-like
  extensions.
• Types
• Clams
• Mussels
• Oysters

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Clams, Crabs, Oysters

• Cultivated in bays estuaries with tidal flows.
• Production improves on cultivated sites when
  young oysters are developed for stocking.

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Crustaceans

• Aquatic organisms with exoskeletons.
• Molt (replace) their outer shells as
  they
  grow.
• Examples include.
• Lobsters
• Crawfish
• Crabs
• Shrimp

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Crawfish

• Thrive in freshwater lakes streams.
• Prefer warm water (70-84oF)
• Kind of like freshwater lobsters.

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Shrimp

• Being cultivated in brackish water ponds
  estuaries.
• Requires warm water with high level of
  microorganisms.
• Hatchery techniques are complex and involve
  several distinct growing stages.

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Trout/Salmonids

• High quality fish
• High demand
• High quality water
• Adapted to systems in cold, running water.

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Catfish

• One of the fastest growing aquaculture crops in
  the United States.
• 130,000 acres of ponds growing catfish.
• Warm water, slow water systems.

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Striped Bass

• Important species fish that has been adapted to
  aquaculture systems.
• Has been cultured in cages in Maryland
  California.

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Tilapia

• Important species fish that has been adapted to
  aquaculture systems.
• Easily adapts to poor water quality and can be
  cultured in fresh or salt water systems.

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Production Systems
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Production Systems

• Three types of aquaculture systems
• Open ponds, rivers, bays.
• Caged culture
• Recirculating tanks

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Open Ponds, Rivers, Bays

• Stocked with natural or cultured young.
• Maintained with densities that are balanced with
  the existing ecosystem.
• Competing species are controlled.
• Natural recycling techniques encouraged.
• Must be careful of toxins and low oxygen levels
  that cause fish kills.

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Open Ponds, Rivers, Bays

• Harvesting accomplished through draining or
  seining (netting).

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Cage Culture

• Contains the aquatic animals or plants in a small
  area of a pond.
• Fish can be monitored better for growth rates and
  feeding purposes.

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Cage Culture

• Represents a more capital-intensive program.
• Successful Operations
• Atlantic salmon in Norway, Nova Scotia, Maine.
• Striped Bass in Maryland
  California.
• Shellfish in Japan the United States.

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Cage Culture

• Water quality must be monitored to insure that
  the fish are not stressed or killed since fish
  cannot move to other sections of the pond during
  stressful weather conditions.

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Roll Over

• Condition where a ponds water quality suddenly
  changes during certain weather conditions.
• During roll over, less oxygenated water is
  brought to the surface and low levels of
  dissolved oxygen cause fish to die.

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Recirculating Tanks

• Used where there is a lack of sufficient water
  resources.
• Water quality must be closely monitored.
• Process waste water through a biological filter
  return it to the growing area.

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Recirculating Tanks

• Extensive research has been done for.
• Yellow perch
• Striped bass
• Trout
• Tilapia
• Catfish

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Difficulties

• Difficulty in managing an aquaculture production
  system is directly related to the density of fish
  in the system.

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Difficulties

• Dissolved oxygen levels in any fish system can
  become so low that fish die.
• They reach their lowest levels in early morning.
• Aerators are used to improve oxygen levels during
  dry, hot periods.

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Hatcheries

• Supply fry or larvae to units for
  fingerling production.
• The future development of the industry depends on
  a constant supply of high quality young
  organisms.
• These hatcheries are trying to.
• Induce spawning
• Improve genetic lines
• Increase domestic ornamental fish production.

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The Aquaculture Industry

• The U.S. is the 3rd largest consumer of seafood
  in the world.
• Per capita consumption is 15.6 pounds per year.
• 76 of the seafood in the U.S. is imported.
• The top imports are.
• Shrimp
• Lobster
• Tuna

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Top Suppliers to the U.S.

• 1. Canada
• 2. Thailand
• 3. China
• 4. Chile
• 5. Ecuador

• 6. Vietnam
• 7. Mexico
• 8. India
• 9. New Zealand
• 10. Argentina

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The Future

• The demand is expected to increase.
• The U.S. fish landings are approximately
  9.5 billion pounds per year.
• U.S. fisheries have reached capacity and future
  consumption increases will have to made up
  through more imports or domestic aquaculture.
• Therefore, the future for aquaculture is bright.

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Designed By

• Johnny M. Jessup, FFA Advisor
• Hobbton High School