Volume 21 Issue 4 JULY/AUGUST 2020
COVID-19 UPDATES: For up-to-date coverage of the pandemic's impact on hatcheries, visit hatcheryinternational.com
MARINE SPECIES
COVID-19
Japan’s quest to conquer
bluefin farming
Photo: tumsasedgars / iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
Global pandemic takes its toll on hatcheries
Despite researchers successfully closing the loop, full-cycle tuna farming remains a challenging feat
Photo: Maruha Nichiro
BY BONNIE WAYCOTT
acific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) have long been held in high regard, sought after for sushi and sashimi, and worth billions of dollars. But this fondness for the species has triggered a crisis: overfishing has drastically reduced numbers in the wild, so much so that bluefin is now on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. With wild bluefin populations continuing to tumble, Japan has taken the lead in trying to bolster supply. In 2002, Kinki University (or Kindai, a blend of the district name Kinki and Daigaku, meaning university) became the first in the world to successfully raise bluefin in cap-
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Clean tech
Exploring anaerobic digestion for waste management in RAS
Photo: Vladimir Zapletin / iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
tivity. Since then, a number of Japanese seafood firms have followed suit. One such firm is Maruha Nichiro. Headquartered in Tokyo, the listed company has been on a decades-long search for the answers to farming bluefin. Research began in 1987 but work was discontinued in 1997 after no significant progress was made. In 2006, however, the company decided to try again and, with the help of six universities, successfully reared bluefin in captivity for the first time in 2010. Five years later, its first commercial shipment of farmed bluefin was delivered to Japan’s private business sector.
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BY ABHINAV CHOUDHURY AND CHRISTINE LEPINE
ecirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) have become increasingly popular for land-based intensive aquaculture production due to their biological security, year-round operation, control of the culture environment, and reduced water usage. Development of new RAS facilities near local markets may also lead to improved food security, especially considering the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Closed-loop RAS also allows for efficient solid waste capture and collection. However, the intensive nature of the process also results in the production of a concentrated waste stream, with waste treatment and disposal leading to additional costs for farmers. Farmers may also have to bear disposal costs of offal or other byproducts from harvesting and fillet processing. In addition, fish mortalities, which can range from 6.6 to 9.5 percent for salmonid strains (Davidson et al., 2016), also create disposal challenges. The utilization of waste as a valuable resource can be an effective way to increase the sustainability of aquaculture facilities and promote a circular economy.
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BY MATT JONES
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he COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant impacts to almost every aspect of modern life and business, and the fish culture sector is no exception. Business has been impacted at every level, including the operations of hatcheries. Hatchery International spoke with representatives for the industry from around the world about the impacts of the pandemic-related orders for citizens to remain at home and for non-essential businesses to close. EUROPE
The biggest impact on the industry worldwide has been the closures of restaurants, hotels and catering services. Javier Ojeda, interim general secretary for the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP), says that over 35 percent of farmed fish in Europe cannot be sold currently. Retail sales may be slightly increased, but nowhere near enough to offset the loss of the other markets. As a result, the industry is experiencing a liquidity problem due to lost revenues. And, with stocks in the water, farm production cycles have been disrupted as the pens and tanks are not empty in time to put in new juveniles. Ojeda identifies two significant impacts on hatcheries. continued on page 10
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