Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences reached during the project were as follows: 1. Scientific Peers. In-person scientific presentations on the project occurred at several professional conferences as follows: World Aquaculture Society Conference in Baton Rough, LA, in Feb. 2012 (K.Main). USDA-NIFA Fellows Program, PD Meeting, Washington D.C., Aug. 2012(N.Brennan). Pacific Congress on Marine Sci. & Technology, Kona, HI, in December 2012 (K.Main). World Aquaculture Society Conference in Nashville, TN, in February 2013 (N.Brennan). Pompano Culture Workshop, Harbor Branch, Fl. Atlantic Univ., Fort Pierce, FL, June 2013(N. Brennan). Florida Aquaculture Research Council Proposal Presentations, Winter Haven, FL, June 2013 (N.Brennan & K.Main, separate presentations). Partnerships with scientific collaborators were developed and were maintained during the project. A large component of this included an ongoing and expanding collaboration with the University of South Florida (Tampa & Sarasota-Manatee campuses). PhD and MS projects associated with the NIFA project include studies examining changes in water chemistry and comparative efficiency of the integrated pompano production and wastewater system located at the Mote Aquaculture Research Park (MAP). The project encouraged additional related scientific work through proposal production and some of these were funded by competitive granting agencies. 2. Commercial Stakeholders and potential commercial stakeholders. The PD worked with several commercial stakeholders as follows: Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc. participated throughout the project by providing emergent native plants as part of the pompano integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system based at MAP. The plants provided a functional wastewater-processing component to the system, but also provided valuable data on the economic potential of various plant species reared in the system. Pompano wastewater provided valuable nutrition and fertilizer for the commercially-owned plants that were eventually sold by APF and used in coastal restoration projects. APF produced several media releases relating to the project that included the experimental pompano. Mr. Gil Sharell (APF) has also worked closely with the PD to produce several related research proposals targeting funds from NOAA-SBIR (2012, 2013). Gaiergy Corporation, based in Pompano Beach, Florida, has demonstrated continued commercial interest in applying Mote's pompano production capabilities and integrated land-based aquaculture research findings towards developing a startup commercial operation with pompano. Gaiergy Corp. is focused on using a variety of algae-based technology including its use as a sustainable supplement or replacement for fishmeal in marine aquaculture diets. While commercialization of Florida pompano has not yet been achieved, collaborative efforts between the PD and Gaiergy Corp. have resulted the submission of several research proposals to date. Recently, Mote's commercial demonstration sturgeon aquaculture operation was purchased by a commercial enterprise. The company has also expressed interest in pursuing commercially viable aquaculture operations for marine species including Florida pompano. Distribution and Marketing. This project has indirectly contributed toward exploratory sales and testing of the commercial market for aquacultured pompano. Pilot work has tested purging methods with pompano, begun evaluation of appropriate distribution venues (in Florida and Georgia) and is working with local restaurants to evaluate product acceptance and commercial demand. Using data from the project, the PD teamed with Dr. Main (PD's mentor) and an aquaculture economist to successfully secure a competitive grant award that developed a economic model for commercial production of pompano in land-based IMTA systems. 3. Pompano Aquaculture Workshop. In June, 2013, N.Brennan and K.Main attended and presented at a "Florida pompano culture in recirculating systems" workshop hosted by Harbor Branch, Florida Atlantic University, led by colleague Paul Wills. The workshop targeted potential commercial user-groups and provided up-to-date findings on pompano aquaculture, spanning culture during all stages of pompano rearing, recirculating systems, IMTA systems, and economics of inland pompano aquaculture in recirculating aquaculture systems. 4. College Intern Mentoring. Undergraduate student interns regularly assisted and were mentored by the PD throughout the project. Interns assisted in many aspects of the project including (a) spawning captive broodstock, larval rearing and daily care and maintenance during grow-out of pompano to juvenile and experimental stages, (b) experimental setup, transport and allocation of juvenile pompano into the experimental systems, (c) collection of water quality and water chemistry data, (d) periodic sampling and data collection of the experiments, (e)data entry and database skill development, (f) practice with production of tables and figures for reports and scientific publications, (g) familiarity and discussion of issues and challenges relating to marine finfish aquaculture. 5. Undergraduate Student Instruction. The PD instructed a college undergraduate-level class in "Fisheries and Aquaculture" at New College of Florida during Fall 2013. These students toured the MAP facility as part of a field trip led by the PD. The students were instructed, via power point presentations and onsite viewing, on pompano feeding behavior & physiology, aquaculture feed economics and sustainability, and land-based recirculating aquaculture systems. 6. High School Studentsfrom Riverview High School (a local public high school) toured the aquaculture systems at MAP and were instructed in the project research findings and were shown details about the related integrated aquaculture multi-trophic systems. The students used the current project's integrated recirculating aquaculture system as a model for a new system they subsequently developed at their school property. The Mote/Riverview HS partnership also resulted in three intensive student internships during the project period. 7. Elementary School Students. The PD and a Mote colleague (C. Neidig) collaborated to receive fishing clinic grants that enabled elementary school children from Title-I Schools (those serving under-privileged areas) and the public to actively engage in onsite fishing clinics and tours of MAP. These seasonal events have resulted in approximately 340 children (mostly 3rd-5th grade) participating during the project period. The tours involve an active walk-through of the marine aquaculture facility that includes pompano rearing systems, greenhouses containing emergent native plants, and a commercial sturgeon aquaculture demonstration project. During the tours, the students were instructed in issues relating to aquaculture production of pompano, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems, and sustainable aquaculture practices. 8. Other. Personalized tours of MAP were conducted throughout the project duration. These tours included first-hand viewing and vocal information on the project's goals and research findings. Tour groups were represented by localized businesses, school groups (elementary - college & adult educational), government officials, national and international collaborators and colleagues, professional aquaculture and related vendors, local and national commercial aquaculture operators, natural resource clubs and organizations, commercial and private investors, and news and media representatives. Changes/Problems: The primary changes to the project were in redirecting the feed studies from a smaller experimental tank system to a larger commercial-scale rearing system. Repeated studes found significant treatment effects in the larger system whereas the results from the small-scale system were confounded by tanks effects, behavioral issues and water chemistry problems. Small changes to the study included lengthening the duration between the growth measurement periods, and re-arranging the order of the objectives. The need to repeat some of the feed studes resulted in timeline complications. Cohorts for the study were produced annually so having to repeat the study significantly increased the study timeline. Also pompano growth is strongly linked to water temperature, and the rearing systems available for the studies were not equipped with temperature control. Therefore the timing of the studies were targeted during warmer seasons further extending the overall timeline. We experienced some complications relating to equipment failure (electrical outage) and manifestation of a bacterial outbreak dring one of the cohort production runs. The bacterial outbreak caused mortality and delay, and the fish were treated with a veterinary-perscribed medicated feed which eventlually cured them. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Professional development of the PD occured throughtout the project. Development occured through a variety of avenues including: (I) first-hand experience in conducting aquaculture feed studies. This involved several logistical changes to the study to overcome challenges and refine the study. Experience was gained in understanding individual variation effects on growth, the influence of confounding variables, issues related to stress and behavior with feeding studies relating to tank effects and feeding techniques. The PD also developed a solid understanding of pompano natural behavior and was able to apply his background in juvenile fish ecology and fiseries sampling toward aquaculture operations and how aquaculture environments requrie a sensitivity to the natural capabilities and attributes of the reared animals. (II) interacting and collaborating with peers and user groups on the project. This occured by working with feed vendors to identify appropriate commercially-available feeds for the study, working with and discussing with peers aspects of the feeding studies and logistical issues. The PD also presented project findings to comercial interests and discussed collaboration through future work and presented information at workshops and conferences (below). (III) Mentoring and managing staff, college-level interns, high school interns, elementary school students, and project volunteers (see below). The PD worked directly with several MS and PhD students working on a related wastewater aspect of the project. The PD worked with the students to provide direction, discussion, and quantitative information on system biomass loading, feeding levels, water chemistry and related variables. A manuscript of this work (Boxman et al. ) is listed below. (IV) Gaining experience in managing administrative aspects of the project including budgets, reports, and project updates. (V) Presentation of project restults at professional scientific conferences and workshops (see below). (VI) Pursuing followup proposals with peers, collaborators, and industry participants. USDA-NIFA Fellows Program, PD Meeting, Washington D.C., Aug. 2012(N.Brennan). World Aquaculture Society Conference in Nashville, TN, in February 2013 (N.Brennan). Pompano Culture Workshop, Harbor Branch, Fl. Atlantic Univ., Fort Pierce, FL, June 2013(N. Brennan). Florida Aquaculture Research Council Proposal Presentations, Winter Haven, FL, June 2013 (N.Brennan & K.Main, separate presentations). Partnerships with scientific collaborators were developed and were maintained during the project. A large component of this included an ongoing and expanding collaboration with the University of South Florida (Tampa & Sarasota-Manatee campuses). PhD and MS projects associated with the NIFA project include studies examining changes in water chemistry and comparative efficiency of the integrated pompano production and wastewater system located at the Mote Aquaculture Research Park (MAP). The project encouraged additional related scientific work through proposal production and some of these were funded by competitive granting agencies. 2. Commercial Stakeholders and potential commercial stakeholders. The PD worked with several commercial stakeholders as follows: Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc. participated throughout the project by providing emergent native plants as part of the pompano integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system based at MAP. The plants provided a functional wastewater-processing component to the system, but also provided valuable data on the economic potential of various plant species reared in the system. Pompano wastewater provided valuable nutrition and fertilizer for the commercially-owned plants that were eventually sold by APF and used in coastal restoration projects. APF produced several media releases relating to the project that included the experimental pompano. Mr. Gil Sharell (APF) has also worked closely with the PD to produce several related research proposals targeting funds from NOAA-SBIR (2012, 2013). Gaiergy Corporation, based in Pompano Beach, Florida, has demonstrated continued commercial interest in applying Mote's pompano production capabilities and integrated land-based aquaculture research findings towards developing a startup commercial operation with pompano. Gaiergy Corp. is focused on using a variety of algae-based technology including its use as a sustainable supplement or replacement for fishmeal in marine aquaculture diets. While commercialization of Florida pompano has not yet been achieved, collaborative efforts between the PD and Gaiergy Corp. have resulted the submission of several research proposals to date. Recently, Mote's commercial demonstration sturgeon aquaculture operation was purchased by a commercial enterprise. The company has also expressed interest in pursuing commercially viable aquaculture operations for marine species including Florida pompano. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Pompano Aquaculture Workshop. In June, 2013, N.Brennan and K.Main attended and presented at a "Florida pompano culture in recirculating systems" workshop hosted by Harbor Branch, Florida Atlantic University, led by colleague Paul Wills. The workshop targeted potential commercial user-groups and provided up-to-date findings on pompano aquaculture, spanning culture during all stages of pompano rearing, recirculating systems, IMTA systems, and economics of inland pompano aquaculture in recirculating aquaculture systems. Professional Symposia. In February 2012, K.Main hosted a "Pompano Culture" symposium at the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) conference in Baton Rouge, LA. and presented preliminary project findings. In February 2013, the PD attended a "Finfish Nutrition" symposium at a WAS conference in Nashville, TN and presented detailed findings of the project research. Scientific Publications: Project results and findings are in the process of submission to peer-reviewed manuscripts for publication. Communications and Media. Gil Sharell (Commercial Collaborator, Aquatic Plants of Florida) created and posted video presentations of the pompano project on their company website and distributed video DVDs to interested stakeholders and educational groups: "People, Plants & Pompano: Restoring coastal wetlands documentary" (Educational Version, 30 min; Demo version, 7.5 minutes, www.apofl.com/outreach/video). Project Snook (www.projectsnook.com) was launched prior to the pompano study, but video coverage included production of emergent plants from pompano wastewater, which further contributed to project dissemination and education of the public on aquaculture sustainability issues. Elementary School Student Tours. The PD and a Mote colleague (C. Neidig) collaborated to receive fishing clinic grants that enabled elementary school children from Title-I Schools (those serving under-privileged areas) and the public to actively engage in onsite fishing clinics and tours of MAP. These seasonal events have resulted in approximately 340 children (mostly 3rd-5th grade) participating during the project period. The tours involve an active walk-through of the marine aquaculture facility that includes pompano rearing systems, greenhouses containing emergent native plants, and a commercial sturgeon aquaculture demonstration project. During the tours, the students were instructed in issues relating to aquaculture production of pompano, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems, and sustainable aquaculture practices. An economic model was indirectly produced through collaboration with Terry Hansen using pompano growth data and operational costs of the integrated system at MAP through a grant to K.Main from NOAA Sea Grant. A study examining the changes in water chemistry of the pompano wastewater system was published as part of a conference proceeding as follows: Boxman, S., A. Kruglick, B. McCarthy, K. Main, N. Brennan, S. Ergas. 2012. Land-based integrated aquaculture systems: Sustainability assessment of a pilot scale system. Proceedings of the 2012 Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference, New Orleans, LA. Project Collaborations: Gil Sharell Jr. (Aquatic Plants of Florida), Jason Masters (Gaiergy Corporation), Paul Wills (Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Florida Atlantic University), Serina Ergas and Maya Trotts (Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, USF), Suzie Boxman, Alex Kruglick, Brian McCarthy, Steve Heppler (Graduate Students, Dept. of Civil and Env. Engineering, USF), Robert Reigh (Aquacultutre Research Station, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA), Rebecca Cook, Melanie Rhodes (Graduate Students, Auburn University, Dept. of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures), Terry Hansen (Auburn University, School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Science), Qian Ma (Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences), Blair Wiggins, Patrice McCabe, Kevin McCabe (Addictive Fishing, Project Snook) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Development of sustainable aquaculture of healthy, high-quality seafood in the US is needed to meet increasing demands worldwide and the US aquaculture production is underdeveloped-valued at only 1.57 % of total US expenditures on seafood. Considering high costs and low availability of suitable coastal lands, and the diverse issues relating to open water aquaculture, a dominant refocus of worldwide aquaculture is toward developing sustainable, land-based, zero-discharge, marine aquaculture technology for seafood. This project is broadly focused on producing high-value, nutritious marine finfish (Florida pompano Trachinotus carolinus) in sustainable zero-discharge, land-based, recirculating systems based at Mote Aquaculture Research Park, in Sarasota, Florida. As aquaculture feed typically represents about 40% of operational costs, the specific focus of this project is to develop efficient feed strategies for juvenile pompano to improve growth performance, reduce feed waste, and further progress in this area of agriculture. This fellowship research evaluated feed delivery schedules, identified optimal pellet size relative to mouth gape, and feed pellet buoyancy effects on growth performance of juvenile pompano outgrown to market stages. Nocturnal meal schedules only indicated slight improvements in growth but incorporating round-the-clock feed delivery is reasonable considering pompano's highly active behavior, small mouth and short evacuation rates. Juveniles fed pellet sizes 25-40% of mouth gape had significantly improved growth performance compared to those fed smaller pellets because of reduced foraging effort for the larger pellets. Floating pellet treatments also showed significantly better growth performance compared to slow-sinking pellets of equal economic cost and this was also attributed to better feeding efficiency. This work demonstrates that Florida pompano aquaculture operations incorporating these simple feeding strategies could directly improve profit margins and strong potential also exists for growing pompano with integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems. Objective 1: Compare the effects of feed delivery schedules on growth performance of pompano. Florida Pompano Trachinotus carolinus were produced from wild-sourced captive broodstock held at Mote Aquaculture Research Park (MARP) and engaged in an 8 week feed delivery schedule experiment was from January - March 2012. Eight fiberglass circular treatment tanks (1.54 m diameter x 0.6 m depth, operating volume 700 L, coated with a light blue gelcoat) were each stocked with 22 fish and fed a commercial diet (Otohime, EP2,46% protein, 16.5% lipid) at a daily rate of 9% body weight day-1 (BWD) as follows: (1) diurnal feeding where 100% of the daily feed was delivered from 8:30 - 18:30; (2) supplemental nocturnal feeding where 60% the daily ration was delivered from 0900 - 1400, and 40% from 14:00-8:30 the following day. Study pompano were examined for growth performance biweekly and daily feed ration was readjusted after sampling based on mean weight of the heaviest treatment. Mean weights of pompano subjected to the nocturnal supplemental feeding were slightly higher than the diurnal feed treatment (86.8g ± 7.9g and 83.2 ± 10.0g), but differences were not significant (p>0.05), nor were Food Conversion Efficiencies (FCE). Poor water chemistry (ammonia) during the first three weeks of the study and low water temperature (mean 25.8oC) likely contributed to the marginal growth performance, but these it may more realistically reflect expected growth rates for pompano production during winters in Florida. Individual growth rates, mortality due to jumping, and tank effects assumed greater influences on fish growth performance and size variance increased throughout the study (i.e. CV of the mean weight changed from 9% to 23%). Growth variability was attributed in part to competition for food because the belt feeders only delivered small amounts of feed at a given time, but the shallow and light-colored tanks, biweekly harvesting and lack of hand feeding increased the pompano's already-active behavior which further reduced FCEs. Objective 2: Compare growth performance of pompano fed three pellet sizes during 3 stages of the growout period. (Study 2A). This objective was tested in the above system from March - June 2012. Twelve juvenile pompano (85g) were stocked into each of 8 treatment tanks and fed a commercial diet (Ziegler Finfish (46% crude protein, 16% lipid) at a daily rate of 5% BWD consisting of either a 6.5mm diameter pellet (about 50% the mouth gape) or a 3.0 mm diameter pellet (20-25% mouth gape) delivered with automatic belt feeders. After 11 weeks mean weights of pompano fed the 6.5 mm diameter pellets were higher than those fed the smaller pellets increased in weight to 194g ± 27.8g SD, but treatment means were not significantly different (p>0.05) nor were FCE's. The pellet size study was repeated in a larger commercial-scale recirculation system at Mote Aquaculture Research Park. Four replicate tanks of were each stocked with 688 juvenile pompano (104 g mean weight, 248 DPH) and fed either a 3mm or a 5mm pellet of the same nutritional composition: Ziegler Finfish Silver? floating diet (40% protein, 10% fat) at a rate of 3% BWD. After 7 weeks pompano fed the larger pellets showed significantly larger mean weights (179 g ± 4.2g SD) compared to those fed smaller pellets (164 g ± 2.2g SD). Standard length and mouth gape were isometrically related although mouth gape was more variable than body length (R2 = 0.577). The better growth performance from those fed the larger pellet size represented a 10% improvement in growth without any additional cost to the operation. The better growth from the larger pellets can be attributed to shorter search times and a relatively large food item is more energetical in the water the increased time required to capture numerous smaller pellets, relative to a larger pellet of the same mass, results in a relatively decreased nutritional gain. Objective 3: Measure growth responses in pompano fed three commercially-available diets. This objective was adjusted to measure the effects of pellet buoyancy for commercial diets of the same nutritional profile. This study was conducted in the commercial-scale grow-out system described above. These fish originated from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) and 30 DPH post-larvae were transferred to MML in November 2012. Six replicate tanks (8900L each) were each stocked with 212 fish (131.2g ± 6.4g, 214 DPH) and these were fed either a floating pellet feed or a slow-sinking pellet feed of the same nutritional profile (Skretting, Steelhead ,45% protein, 16% lipid) delivered during the hours 9:00 - 22:00 with automatic belt feeders at a daily rate of 4% BWD. Pompano fed floating pellets were grew significantly better than those fed slow sinking pellets (T-Test, p=0.001, t-stat=6.406, df=4). Measurement of pellet diameter and pellet counts per unit weight and volume showed that floating pellets are 33% larger, but 28% lighter than slow-sinking pellets. The per unit weight cost of both types of pellet are the same however. Therefore, the gain in growth obtained by the floating pellets represents a substantial savings in the cost of the feed and the operational costs are reduced because fish attain target weights faster. The gain in feeding efficiency is likely because (1) a floating object is well contrasted against the light background of the surface, (2) the floating pellets are 33% larger than a sinking pellet, and (3) the lighter weight of the larger floating pellet actually accounts for 40% more pellets available for consumption.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Boxman, S., A. Kruglick, B. McCarthy, K. Main, N. Brennan, S. Ergas. 2012. Land-based integrated aquaculture systems: Sustainability assessment of a pilot scale system. Proceedings of the 2012 Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference, New Orleans, LA. Session 41 through Session 50, pp. 3616-3631(16)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Brennan, N.P. 2013. Feed Strategies and Growth Performance of Florida Pompano Reared in a Commercial-scale Inland Recirculation System. Finfish Nutrition Section, World Aquaculture Society Conference, Nashville, Tennessee, 22 February, 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Main, K.L., Brennan, N.P., Nystrom, M., Sharell, Jr., G., 2012. Integrated Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) and Plant Production in a Low Salinity Recirculating System. World Aquaculture Society Meeting. Baton Rouge, LA, 27 February, 2012.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Brennan, N.P., Main, K.L., and Reigh, R, 2013. Feed Strategies and Growth Performance of Florida Pompano Reared in Commercial-scale Inland Recirculation Systems. Pompano Culture Workshop, Harbor Branch, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, Florida. June 3, 2013.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Main, K.L., Brennan, N.P., Boxman, S., Nystrom, M.N., and Sharell, Jr., G., 2013. Integrating Production of Marine Fish and Plants for Food and Restoration. Pompano Culture Workshop, Harbor Branch, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, Florida. June 3, 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Main, K.L., Brennan, N.P. 2013. Enhancing land-based seagrass propagation and production capabilities using integrated recirculation systems. Proposal presentation to the Florida Aquaculture Research Council. June 26, 2013. Winter Haven, Florida.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Brennan, N.P., 2012. Feed Strategies and Growth Performance of Florida Pompano Reared in a Commercial-scale Inland Recirculation System. USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture Fellows Program, Project Directors Meeting. August 16-17, 2012, Washington, DC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Brennan, N.P., Main, K.L., 2013. Seaweed production potential with integrated marine aquaculture systems. Proposal presentation to the Florida Aquaculture Research Council. June 26, 2013. Winter Haven, Florida.
|