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ISSUE 07 ■ SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 $5.00

Breakthrough in breeding

shortfin eels

The latest news and views

Seahorse farms- conserve wild stocks

Breakthrough in breeding

shortfin eels



2 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 05

EDITOR: Keith Ingram

MANAGER: Vivienne Ingram

ASSISTANT EDITOR:Mark Barratt-Boyes

CONTRIBUTORS:Andrew Morgan, Scott Peddie,Charles Mitchell, Tagried Kurwie,David Cooper

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3 EDITORIALLack of access to coastal space hampers growth

4 NEWSA look at what’s happening in the industry

6 FARMING SEAHORSES AN ENVIRONMENTAL SAVIOURSeahorse farm reduces pressure on wild broodstock

9 EELS DRAW SCIENTIST ACROSS THE OCEANSA profile of Dr Tagried Kurwie of the Mahurangi Technical Institute

10 BREAKTHROUGH IN BREEDING SHORTFIN EELSNew Zealand leads the world in hatching eels

12 THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD BIOSECURITY IN SALMON FARMINGPrevention of pathogens yields financial benefits

14 GROWING DEMAND FOR MUSSELSUnderstanding of market trends important for export growth

CONTENTS

6 10 13

ISSN 1176-5402 ISSN 1176-8657 (web)

Cover photocourtesy of TheSeahorse Farm

ISSUE 07 ■ SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005

$5.00

Breakthrough in breeding shortfin eelsThe latest news and views

Seahorse farms- conserve wild stocksBreakthrough in breeding shortfin eels



SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 05 NZ AQUACULTURE ■ 3

Now the aquaculture law reform package of thelegislation has come into effect, the industry isstill very much at a “wait and see” stage.

So far we have seen little confidence from the governmentor local authorities that will give the industry the reassuranceit requires to develop this important food producing resourcefor the nation.

Coupled to this is the uncertainty surrounding the futurestatus of Maori in aquaculture.The aquaculture industry, bynature, is labour-intensive, and location-wise is suited to ourmore isolated local coastal communities.You might say that itis a sitter for Maori development.

The new act establishes the Maori Commercial AquacultureSettlement Trust, which is to receive and hold settlementassets until they are transferred to iwi aquacultureorganisations.We understand that the trust must also facilitateiwi compliance with the various requirements they must meetbefore receiving any assets as is their right.

However, Maori also face similar challenges as the wideraquaculture industry, and perhaps the greatest challenge to thesuccessful implementation of any arrangements with iwi lies inthe fact that the delivery of any benefits to these trustsdepends almost entirely on new areas being made available foraquaculture development.

Basically, what the aquaculture industry needs, is for localbodies to take the initiative and get on with the task ofcreating new aquaculture management areas, or AMAs.

How the government will be able to honour itscommitments to the treaty settlement and existingaquaculture stakeholders in the future is the burningquestion. Because when one looks around and talks withlocal authorities, industry participants and local iwi, acommon viewpoint evolves. No-one in authority is preparedto take up the cudgels, make a decision and get on with it.They are all frightened of the implications of the ResourceManagement Act where it provides for objectors’ whims

without accountability.The cost of processing aquaculture applications and

developing AMAs is far beyond what ratepayers couldreasonably be expected to fund, we are told. Henceprocrastination reigns.

In saying this, the existing industry is very resilient, as themajority of participants are dedicated entrepreneurs whohave committed their personal resources to invest in theindustry. Research has quietly progressed, with a recentsuccess being the ability to breed eels in captivity.This is thefirst major step towards developing a new billion-dollarindustry in this country.To progress it will need theconfidence of investors to commit resources to the ongoingdevelopment of breeding and growing eels to market sizein captivity.

This will not happen unless local authorities and thegovernment demonstrate sound leadership in facilitating acost-effective process to develop AMAs and farming sites.

Aquaculture has already proven itself to be anenvironmentally friendly tourist attraction.The futurepotential of this to grow is once again only constrained byour ability to have access to water and coastal space.

On a recent visit to Napier we visited The Seahorse Farm,where once again the mix of tourism and sound commercialmarketing is proving to be a success story for both theoperators and the local community.

While it is our intention to showcase the aquacultureindustry, we cannot do it alone. One of the problems facing usall is the age-old shyness of not wanting to talk aboutourselves. If we are to change public perception and negativeattitudes towards aquaculture, we must be seen to bepromoting ourselves as good citizens within the community,and a valuable asset to New Zealand. If you have astory to tell, please contact the editor.

LACK OF ACCESS TO COASTALSPACE HAMPERS GROWTHBY KEITH INGRAM

EDITORIAL

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Breakthrough in breeding shortfin eelsThe latest news and views

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IRONSAND MININGCOULD THREATENMUSSELSThe New Zealand Greenshell musselindustry has reacted strongly to anannouncement that a company is to prospectfor black ironsands along the western coastof the North Island.

Iron Ore NZ Ltd’s permit covers 1270kmof seabed, and initial prospecting started inJuly. If the prospecting confirmed sufficientmaterial, an offshore ironsand mining industrycould become established.

Lorna Holton, the Executive Officer of theNew Zealand Mussel Industry Council, saysprospecting and large-scale ironsand miningalong the seabed from Taranaki to north ofKaipara could devastate the industry, whichproduces 78,000 tonnes of farmed musselsworth about $250 million each year.Production is expected to reach 100,000tonnes by 2010.

The industry relies on wild mussel spat,with over 80 percent of the juvenile musselstock coming from Ninety Mile Beach, and isvulnerable to environmental damage thatoccurs along the seafloor.

Holton says that in March the councilcommissioned a report from the NationalInstitute for Water and AtmosphericResearch on the sensitive and complexmarine environment along the westerncoast of the North Island.The reportidentified several wild adult mussel beds upto 1km offshore in depths up to 30m fromManukau Harbour north to North Cape.“Itis highly likely these adult populations are

authorised marine farming areas by 13.05ha,70 percent more than its consent allowedfor, and Houhora Bay Marine Farms by2.35ha.

Bruce Howse, the council’s coastalmonitoring team leader, says bothcompanies pleaded guilty after their ownmeasurements confirmed council figurestaken last July showed that their farms wereoversized.

Judge CJ Thompson of the AucklandDistrict Court said he took into account thatthere had been no discernable adverse effecton the environment, the fact that both farmshad been reduced to their permitted sizes (inFebruary this year) and the prompt guiltypleas by both parties.

HATCHERY PROJECTSPAWNS AWARDThe New Zealand Salmon AnglersAssociation recently honoured GraemeDavidson, who helped them restore salmonstocks to the Rakaia River catchment.

Davidson, the manager of New ZealandKing Salmon’s Tentburn Hatchery, waspresented with the Athol Price Plaque foroutstanding service to the salmon sportsfishery at the association’s annual generalmeeting.

Davidson has more than 20 years’experience in the industry, and for nearlythree years he has been working with theassociation’s volunteers to try to halt thedecline in Chinook salmon numbers in theRakaia River.Working mostly in conjunctionwith New Zealand King Salmon, he has beensupplying returning salmon, and providingadvice on how to get an old hatchery up andrunning, plus spawning, egg incubation andfeeding.

The hatchery is owned by Ad and MarjoBruijn, who lease it to Fish and Game NorthCanterbury.The couple say they areenthusiastic about what has been achievedand take an active part in the operation.

The results have far exceeded expectationsfor a new project, says the association.Returns - fish coming back to spawn - areshowing about two percent of the numberreleased, with 40 percent of salmon caught in2005 originating from the first eggs hatchedin 2002.

Davidson says the project is an importantstarting point in helping to sustain the salmonfisheries in New Zealand for the salmonanglers of the future.

“I am delighted to receive this award. It isa privilege to help such a dedicated group

NEWS

the source of the large quantities of musselspat washing up along Ninety Mile Beach,”she said.

Mussel spat drift on currents and feed onplankton for weeks before they develop theirsmall, distinctive shells and settle, she said.

“Seabed mining could physically damage theadult breeding stocks, or the adults may besmothered if large amounts of sediments arestirred into the water and drift on currentsalong the coast.”

Both spat and adults become stressed andstop feeding if there is too much finesediment in the water.Their natural reactionis to clean the sediment out of their shells,but after extended periods they slow downand wait it out.

In a move to protect the wild musselresource, the government introduced Green-lipped mussels into the quota managementsystem from October.A 180 tonne totalallowable catch limit was set for the westerncoast north New Zealand mussel stock.

OVERSIZED MARINEFARMS FINEDTwo oversized Northland marine farmswere fined $30,000 recently after asuccessful prosecution by the NorthlandRegional Council.

Westpac Mussels Distributors Ltd wasfined $20,000 and Houhora Bay MarineFarms $10,000 after both admitted illegallyoccupying the coastal marine area anderecting marine farming structures inHouhora Bay.

Westpac Mussels had exceeded its

FARM WINS ENVIRONMENT AWARDWhat may have started as a dare by his land-based farming mates turned into a major winfor a Greenshell mussel farmer, Peter Vitasovich, when he took away special honours at thisyear’s Ballance Farm Environment Awards on April 14.

“My land-based farming mates were talking about entering the awards one night, and Ithought my mussel farm should be up for that,” says Vitasovich, the owner of GreenshellNZ Ltd.“Marine farmers take sustainable environmental practices very seriously becausewe rely on New Zealand’s clean, coastal waters to grow our Greenshell mussels.“

The awards attracted a record 179 entries, and Peter’s entry was the only mussel farm.The awards are for farmers who show how their environmentally sensitive approach canbe part of a profitable farm business.While the judges were familiar with environmentalland management, few knew about sustainable mussel farming practices.

In summing up, dairy farmer and head judge Ted Coates said,“We were all amazed by thestrong parallels between marine farming and land-based farming.There are certainly a lot oflessons to be learnt from Peter’s operation.“

“We saw close parallels between managing a public water space and managing a highcountry farming lease. Issues of public access, downstream effects and waste disposal wereall very similar environmental challenges.What made Peter’s operation stand out was thathe sees real value in meeting the consent requirements and quality standards imposed onand accepted by the marine farming sector,” Coates said.

of enthusiastic salmon anglers.A great dealof credit goes to all those volunteers whogave so freely of their time to be involvedin the project.”

AGENCY WINS SALMONCOMPANY PITCHAuckland’s Republik Communications haswon the Regal Marlborough Salmonadvertising account after a five-way pitch.Republik director Paul McNamara says Regalis making a big splash in New Zealand andexport markets.“With the business in brand-building mode, its potential is enormous, andwe believe we can provide new impetus forRegal’s growth.”

AQUACULTURE COULDFACE CRIPPLINGCHARGESExcessive regional council and governmentcharges could force some small and medium-sized aquaculture farmers out of business,says the New Zealand Mussel IndustryCouncil.

Farmers were looking down the barrel of ahost of new charges, including coastaloccupancy charges, bonds, line levies,reporting requirements and extraadministration fees,” said the council’sexecutive officer, Lorna Holton.

Government officials were reviewing anaquaculture implementation plan thatlisted 14 separate projects led by theMinistry for the Environment, theDepartment of Conservation, the Ministryof Fisheries or regional councils. “Not oneof these projects adds up all the extracosts (the) industry is likely to face if theprojects are implemented in their currentform”, she says.

A strong New Zealand dollar, rising fueland regulatory charges had all affectedprofitability in the last two years, and farmerscould not absorb additional fees and charges.Exporters also faced added costs in sendingtheir products to key markets in the UnitedStates, Europe and North Asia, including arange of tariffs and stringent product andphytosanitary testing.

Industry leaders from across NewZealand were coming together to work onan aquaculture sector strategy to buildvalue across the industry.The aim was toimprove market access for aquacultureproducts such as Greenshell mussels,oysters and salmon.“Part of the strategywill focus on identifying the increasingnumber of regulatory barriers facing the

industry as well as tariff and trade issues.”The industry needed to expose costs

across the sector, remove trade barriers anddevelop export agreements with key tradingpartners.“We want some of these key tradeissues raised at the next World TradeOrganisation negotiations in Doha, Qatar”.

If the industry was to grow, thegovernment needed to clearly understandhow regulatory charges impacted onprofitability.

IMPRISONMENT FORPAUA OFFENCEWun Yin Chow of Lower Hutt wassentenced to eight months imprisonmentwhen he appeared at Wellington DistrictCourt on July 18 for sentencing on a chargein relation to paua offending. He hadpreviously pleaded guilty.

Chow was apprehended at Johnsonville on

August 25, 2004, while buying 1003individual shucked ordinary paua for $2250from two Johnsonville men, Iakopo Faatauand Moevao Neti.

The paua, packed in 11 supermarket bags,weighed 117.9kg and had an estimated valueof $10,600.The offence was in breach ofsection 233 of the Fisheries Act 1996.

Judge Bruce Davidson said he took astarting point of 12 months imprisonmentand reduced the sentence by four months inresponse to the defendant’s guilty plea andother mitigating factors.The custodialsentence was not deferred pending anapplication for home detention.

Faatau and Neti, who had pleaded guilty inNovember 2004, were imprisoned for 12months on March 9, when the court orderedthe 117.9kg of paua, the sale proceeds of$2250 and the vehicle the paua wasfound in to be forfeited to the Crown.


KINA RESEARCH WINS AWARDKina roe can fetch $70per kilo on the domesticmarket, substantially morethan rock lobster. Butholding kina in sea cageswith the right diet andhandling can more thandouble their roe yield.

The research, by PhilJames of the NationalInstitute for Water andAtmospheric Research,won him the agriculture,forestry and fishingsection of theMacDiarmid YoungScientist of the YearAwards.

Phil works at NIWA’scold-water aquaculture base atMahanga Bay in Wellington. Heplaced wild-caught kina in seacages out in the bay and fed thema specially formulated diet for 10weeks. Not only did the kina dowell in the cages, they didn’t mindbeing removed from the water forcleaning and feeding. Divers fed halfthe kina, and he pulled the otherhalf up regularly for feeding. Itmade no difference to the roe yield.

Phil also investigated the effects ofwaves on the kina, and found water movement was beneficial. He got 31 percent more roefrom kina in cages suspended from a mussel longline at 6m than from kina in cages held inplace by a sub-surface longline on the seabed.

Phil James, winner of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectionof the MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year, receives his award

from the Minister of Research, Science and Technology. SteveMaharey - Foundation for Research, Science & Technology

Divers feed kina in sea cages at Mahanga Bay,Wellington - NIWA

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In recent years the demand for seahorses to satisfy the ever-growing Chinese medicinal market has cause huge localdepletions worldwide of this friendly critter of the sea.

Even our local waters are not exempt, as a steady privatemarket practice has been happening under our very noses foryears.With the increase in new arrivals to New Zealand, manyof these folk have recognised an opportunity to catch andquietly export them as dried seahorses.The sad part about thisis that while customs and other management agencies knew itwas happening - no one recognised the risk.This factor andrecent focus on the CITES agreement encouraged us to lookdeeper at the opportunity to farm seahorses as a viableaquaculture activity.

Situated on the southern end of Napier’s Marine Parade asone heads towards Clive, in what was an old wool scourer’sbuilding, is one of New Zealand’s two seahorse farms.

It is owned and operated by HBA Aquaculture Ltd, whooriginally developed the site in 1996 for on-growing wild rocklobsters.The spiny red lobster pueruli (Jasus edwardsii) was

caught in the wild and then on-grown primarily for therestaurant trade.

Unfortunately, new rules for catching wild pueruli ended theviability of this business opportunity.Today the farm trades inlive paddle crabs and various species of ornamentals, includingwhitebait, inanaga, banded kokopu (Galaxias fasciatus) andkoaro as supporting products.

The primary function of the farm is now breeding andgrowing two saltwater species of seahorse, with the mainstaybeing the New Zealand potbelly seahorse Hippocampusabdominalis, which thrives in the temperate waters and wasonce abundant on our coastline.These seahorses are mainlysold in pairs as a cold saltwater aquarium species.

A site on the foreshore of a coastal beach was an essentialfactor in setting up the farm, as it must have a consistent supplyof good quality water.

“We are fortunate to have access to both fresh and seawater,” says the company’s administration officer, Lisa Welch.Seawater comes from two intake wells capable of providingover 200,000 litres per hour drawn from several metres under


FARMING SEAHORSESan environmental saviour

BY KEITH INGRAM

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The New Zealand potbelly seahorse

Juvenile seahorses

The nursery

the gravel on the beach.The water is stored in a 500,000 litrereservoir, from where it is fed to a variety of flow-through andreticulated systems.

The fresh water supply originates from a deep aquifer, whereit is drawn at a cool eight degrees Celsius.

In the nine years of its existence, HBA Aquaculture has hadto change direction and diversify greatly.“To aid in futuregrowth we have a strong emphasis on research anddevelopment of new species and products,” says Lisa.

The farm is also open to the public and operates guidedtours daily.Visitors get to see not only seahorses but the rangeof ornamentals, including large rock lobsters and packhorsecrayfish, and of course the hundreds of paddle crabs which passthrough the farm.

This diversification into tourism has enabled the farm tocontinue to fund its development. On a busy day duringsummer up to 1000 visitors, ranging from families to travellersand school parties, can visit the farm. But it was the seahorsesthat we had come to look at.

The potbelly seahorse was once common around thecoastline of New Zealand and Australia.Today it is quicklybecoming a rarity in many accessible parts of our coast.

The National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research(NIWA) is currently studying the numbers in the wild, andhopes to have this research available soon.

While the farm’s original broodstock came from localsources in the wild, it is now entirely self-sufficient, and growssome 50,000 seahorses each year from babies to adults, with


the capacity to increaseproduction to 200,000 oreven 300,000 seahorsesannually.These animals areready for sale at aroundeight to ten months of age.

A recent new addition to thefarm’s breeding programme isHippocampus kudu, which istropical and requireswarm water.

“There are two vastlydifferent uses for ourseahorses,” says Lisa.“We market themthroughout New Zealand to petshops, where the potbelly variety sells for $50per pair, and the tropical kuda variety for $100 per pair.”

On the international market, export orders go to Japan, theUnited States and Canada.With the introduction of CITESregulations controlling the international trade and sale ofseahorses, the farm has been successful in being able to obtainCITES export approval for all orders to date.

“Air-dried seahorses make up the balance of our seahorsesales,” says Lisa.“These are being increasingly used asornaments and in selected art works, with a large portioncatering for the traditional Chinese medicinal market.”

Currently there are around 75,000 seahorses on the site,

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Spiky andYellish are twoof the popularresidentcritters


Every seahorse must be counted and recordedto meet both the CITES agreement and NewZealand aquaculture rules on seahorses.

Out in the ocean, the survival rate of theselive fry is less than one percent. In thecontrolled environment of the farm, thesurvival rate is around 50 to 60 percent.

The fry are on-grown for six months,during which their diet is changed to hardtucker consisting mainly of frozen mysisshrimps.After another two months, they areready for sale as live seahorses.

Seahorses which die naturally or ascontrolled culls are dried for the touristtrade as ornamentals.The CITESagreement allows a person to possess upto four seahorses in captivity.This is toprotect the threat to wild stocks beingharvested for the Chinese medicinalmarket. In world demand, China currentlyconsumes some 20 million seahorses formedicinal use annually.

The second species at the farm, thetropical species Hippopotamus kuda, hasbeen developed to meet marketdemand and diversity. Kuda will breed

five or six times a year.Around 100 broodstock animals arekept in a 3000 litre tank made up of an equal number of malesand females.To reduce any chance of interbreeding, once theseahorses give birth, their offspring are removed and kept indifferent tanks.

The hatchling seahorses are removed every morning andplaced into separate tanks, where the top of the water isdarkened.These young fry are fed for the first three months ona diet of 72-hour-old enriched artemia three times a day.Afterthat, the hatchlings are trained to take the larger live mysisshrimps and then at six months on to frozen shrimp.

The Seahorse Farm is another example of how a bit of lateralthinking can add value in developing the core aquaculturebusiness by diversifying into tourism, with the added bonus ofrelieving pressure on our wild stocks.For further information email [email protected] see www.theseahorsefarm.co.nz ac

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of which three-quarters are the potbelly variety and the rest kuda.Broodstock from mature seahorses are kept separate and are

all over 12 months old.The potbelly seahorse can live to 10years in the wild and breed three times a year, although incaptivity they have a life expectancy of around six years.

The female produces the eggs, and when she is ready shereleases a chemical scent into the water to tell the male thatshe is “hot to trot”.

On receiving this scent, the males start displaying and struttingtheir stuff, after which she will choose her mate. During thetwo-day courtship the male opens the top of his pouch and thefemale sits on it and injects the eggs during an upward matingspiral. He then fertilises the eggs internally, and around 30 to 35days later he gives birth to up to 900 live babies, or fry.

These are then transferred to the nursery for on-growing.

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Adults ondisplay


Five years of study into the New Zealand short-finned eel hasyielded a rich reward for Dr Tagried Kurwie and her team atMahurangi Technical Institute.

She has finally achieved her goal ofsuccessfully breeding theNew Zealand shortfin eel,Anguilla australis, repeatedly producingviable ova and hatching them in commercial quantities.

In some ways it has been a labour of love, for she leaves herhusband and three sons behind in England several times a yearto fly to New Zealand and lead the research at the institute.

Dr Kurwie emigrated to New Zealand with her family in1997 after fleeing Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. She earnedher doctorate at Aston University in Birmingham in fishnutrition, in particular the common carp, salmon and rainbowtrout.Tagried is now based in England, and leaves her husbandand family several times a year to fly to New Zealand forextended periods each eel season.

Japanese aquaculture researchers had previously tried tobreed freshwater eels. In Japan they were fed with dried sharkeggs. It comes as no surprise to hear that these are verydifficult to obtain in New Zealand, so they had to try adifferent formula.They experimented with different foodproducts but found the eels difficult to keep alive, due to theshape of their mouths.

Another problem was trying to synchronise male and femaleeels so they were both sexually productive at the same time. Ittook two years to achieve this breakthrough, but last year they

found that few of the fertilised eggs hatched. Nor did theyhave the correct incubators, as it takes seven to 13 weeks forthe eels to spawn.

Following her appointment to the institute, Dr Kurwiedeveloped a programme for biological weed and algae controlby hatching and rearing grass carp and silver carp to 250g ofweight. Dr Kurwie has also spent time researching NewZealand native fish, such as grey mullet.

Earlier in her career, she spent 1999 and 2000 at the KestrelValley Fish Farm breeding and raising ornamental and coldwater fish. She was able to improve egg size and quality, leadingto robust offspring and much higher customer satisfaction.

Dr Kurwie, who has New Zealand nationality, says she is notin favour of using hormones for native species.“We have abetter growth rate in the laboratory and then in the field.”

Tagried is in international demand, but she enjoys Mahurangibecause of the challenge.“When I first worked with eels I waseven scared to handle them,” she says. Now she has bondedwith them and finds the work very satisfying.

Limited funding at the college means compromises oftenhave to be made.“We can’t do several trials. Nor can we gethormones from overseas,” she says.Another example is abroken microscope which sits on a bench. Repairing orreplacing it will cost thousands of dollars, and the decision willhave to be made about whether to spend moneyrepairing it or use the funds for research. ac

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EELS DRAW SCIENTIST ACROSS THE OCEANS

Dr TagriedKurwie

In a major scientific and technological breakthrough that islikely to have major economic and conservation benefits,the aquaculture research team at Mahurangi Technical

Institute has successfully bred the New Zealand shortfin eel,Anguilla australis.

After five years of trying and a considerable investment inmoney, the team, led by Dr Tagried Kurwie, finally achieved itsgoal of reliably and repeatedly producing viable ova andhatching them in commercial quantities.

“We were at the point of giving up,” she says.“If we hadnot succeeded this season we would have ended the project,as we were running out of ideas.”

The eel breeding project is the brainchild of Paul Decker,the director of MTI, who confesses to being “aquaculturecrazy”.The major breakthrough came on June 30 this year.Up to this point the team had been able to successfullymature the adult eels, fertilise the eggs and take themthrough to nearly hatching stage, and had been able toachieve this more or less to order for some time.

However, on this occasion not only did the eel eggs hatch,they hatched in the thousands, nay tens of thousands. In factit was an “embarrassment of riches”, and the logisticalproblem then became what to do with them all.This feat wasrepeated later that same week, and Dr Kurwie is nowconfident that the procedure can be repeated reliably.

One unforeseen challenge that arose at this point was thefact that the newly hatched larvae, at less than 2mm andtotally transparent, were almost impossible to see. So muchso that the team is certain that an earlier hatching wentunnoticed, as an empty egg was found at one stage duringmicroscopic examination of the embryos in a batchpreceding the spectacularly successful ones.


FROM LEFT:DavidCooper,Dr TagriedKurwie andKim Pierce

The visibility issue was eventually overcome by using ablack light of the type teenagers often use in their bedroomsto view fluorescent posters. Incidentally, it is amazing howsilicon air tubing glows in this light.At one point the hatcherylooked more like a 1960s disco than a research laboratory!

As of this writing the larvae have been taken through tofive days old from hatching.This far exceeds any expectationsfor this year’s research project.

The focus now is to raise the larvae through the marineleptocephalus stage and on to the glass eel stage, which iswhen eel farmers take them for rearing. Dr Kurwie is quietlyconfident that she can achieve this over the next two years,and this of course becomes the focus of the research for thenear future.

To this end, the MTI will be seeking interest from potentialinvestment partners to fund the required research anddevelopment of the process through to fullcommercialisation.

“This has now got too big and too important to plod alongon our limited budget, and we now need to get serious,” saysDecker.“It is our preference to try and keep the benefits ofthis research in New Zealand as much as possible. However,we have had serious interest already from overseas, especiallyJapan, and we need to keep up the momentum.You can betthat others are also working in the same area somewhere inthe world and the need to stay one step ahead isparamount.”

The work so far has been carried out in the laboratory atMTI and in a “mini-lab” specifically constructed within afibreglass shipping container.The plan now is to securecommercial premises nearby and construct an entire newfacility with the best in containment and filtration equipment.

The feeding trials alone will require 20 differentpopulations (at least) and therefore 20 different holdingsystems.Then there are the holding facilities for thebroodstock, of which there will of course be greaternumbers than previously, plus the laboratory, temperaturecontrol equipment and a never-ending list of bits and bobs.All this will need to be in place by January 2006, so the teamhas a busy time ahead.

One luxury the research team is anticipating is havingenough room to move.As can be imagined, with so muchgoing on in such a small space there have been considerablelogistical nightmares to contend with.

The responsibility of building and maintaining the newfacility falls to the technicians on this project,Adrian Paarmanand Kim Pierce. Adrian, the head “techie”, is also the tutor ofthe Diploma in Marine Technology. Before joining the MTI,Adrian was involved for many years in constructing andinstalling live seafood-holding systems.

BREAKTHROUGH in breeding shortfin eels

BY DAVID COOPER


As well as having a firmunderstanding of the biologicaland engineering requirements,Adrian has that rare and valuableability to make anything, oftenfrom not much.At present he isworking on our own nuclearreactor made entirely from string!

In addition to caring for thelivestock on a day-to-day basis and assisting Dr Kurwie, KimPierce has been documenting the entire projectphotographically.All the photographs of various adult eels,eggs, embryos and larval eels are his.

The final member of the team is myself, David Cooper.Despite the rather grand title of “project manager”, my roleis really to do the paperwork and procure the necessarysupplies. It’s not nearly as much fun as playing with the eels,but I guess somebody has to do it.

As with all projects, the support of suppliers and otherorganisations has been instrumental in bringing this exercisethis far. In particular we would like to credit GouldAquahaven from Canterbury. Gould’s has supplied migratingeels to the project from day one and has never failed tosupply good quality, well packaged eels on time.

As a large commercial eel processor and shipper, Gould’smust surely rank the MTI as its smallest customer.Yet thecompany has never failed to supply anything other than aquality service and we are grateful for this.

Although Paul Decker has largely funded the project to thisstage, it has received some timely financial support from theFoundation for Science Research and Technology via aTechnology for Business Growth grant over the last twoyears.These funds have made this milestone possible, andtheir investment has secured a significant scientific andeconomic achievement for New Zealand.

The TBG grant was made possible by the professionalservices of Ian Gray of Ibis Group, who acted as aninvestment consultant. His enthusiasm for the project,interest in the whole field of aquaculture and knowledge ofthe funding application and reporting procedures (not tomention his patience) have been greatly appreciated.

As always, there have been many challenges along the way,and some of these have been quite humorous.The adult eel-

holding tanks are isequipped with an electricfence to keep them in.Thisequipment provides muchamusement when visitorshave been “shocked” todiscover that we really domean it when we say thereis an electric fence aroundthe inside edge of the tanks!

There was also the timein 2004 when the electricfence failed due to a powercut (it now has a batteryback-up system). Of coursethe eels noticed thisunexpected path to libertyand decided that a massmigration to the floor wasin order.As some werealready a little on the “stiff ’side by the time thesituation was discovered, itwas decided that weneeded to get some back-up eels, just in case.However, the original eels all recovered well from theiradventure, although it did set progress back a bit, and by thetime the back-ups arrived they were surplus to requirements.

The back-up eels were all quite large, as this was all thatwas available at the time, and they would have soaked up apositive fortune in hormones if they had been used in theresearch. So it was off to the smokehouse for the new eels,and staff at the MTI were all treated to a sample of the endproduct, so to speak!

Internationally, the farming of Anguillid eels is a significantindustry. Unfortunately, due to the complex nature of theeel’s biology, the entire industry relies on wild-caught stocksof glass eels and elvers to provide animals for raising.

Of course this resource is under pressure from a degradingenvironment and pressure of fishing, not to mentionincreasing regulation.The weak point in this industry istherefore the reliable supply of juveniles to grow on.

According to a recent Australian government report on theinternational eel industry, wild-harvested glass eels currentlyfetch between US$750 per kilo to US$10,000 per kilo.Theworld-wide take per year is between 350 and 1150 tonnes!

You can see from the above figures that even using themost conservative estimates, there is considerablescope for a commercial venture supplying glass eels.

PAUL DECKER HAS been involved in many aquacultureventures in New Zealand, most notably the breeding of grasscarp and silver carp under contract, an activity also carried outat the Mahurangi Technical Institute campus in Warkworth.

Decker started the MTI in 1990, and the privately ownedtertiary provider runs mostly marine-based courses andqualifications.

The Diploma in Marine Technology, the MTI’s leadingqualification, has a strong focus on training people for theaquaculture industry, and the students have undoubtedlybenefited greatly from the opportunities offered by being insuch a “hands on” aquaculture environment and so close togroundbreaking research.

Eel hatchling one hour old Eel hatchling 4 days old

Eel hatchling 24 hours old

Kim Piercewith a very

active eelbent onescape

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THE IMPORTANCE OFGood Biosecurity in Salmon Farming

BY DR SCOTT PEDDIE (PATTERSON PEDDIE CONSULTING LTD)

Good biosecurity is a key feature of responsibleaquaculture wherever it is practised. In manycases, infectious disease outbreaks have forced

fish farmers to think about the principles of biosecurity andhow it applies to them and their practices. Although NewZealand salmon farmers are perhaps more fortunate thanmost as a consequence of the absence of serious infectiousdiseases, farm-level biosecurity is still of the utmostimportance. Indeed, effective biosecurity is essential tomaintain the status quo and guard against disease outbreaksoccurring in the future.

This article explains what biosecurity is, discusses theadvantages of having effective protocols in place at the farmlevel, outlines the key elements of a good biosecurityprogramme, and emphasises the importance of effectivecleaning and disinfection procedures.

WHAT IS BIOSECURITY?In simple terms, biosecurity is defined as preventingpathogens (disease-causing agents) from entering or leaving afish-farming unit.The same principles apply within a farm unit,where the goal is to prevent disease from spreading betweengroups (eg from salmon broodstock to smolts reared in thesame locality).

A multitude of financial benefits flow from theimplementation of a comprehensive biosecurity programme.The most obvious of these include❚ reduced diseased treatment costs❚ improved productivity via enhanced fish performance❚ improved quality of the final product reaching the

marketplace (ie fewer “downgrades” as a result of visiblelesions and poor external condition), and

❚ enhanced image of the product in the marketplace.The principles of hazard analysis and critical control point,

or HACCP, are traditionally associated with the foodprocessing industry. However, primary production sectors,including aquaculture, commonly use the HACCP approach asan integral part of biosecurity planning and control.TheHACCP process consists of several steps, the most importantof which are outlined below.

HAZARD ANALYSISThe key disease “hazards” in the production process can beidentified by asking the question,“Where can pathogens enterthe system?” In this respect, one should be cognisant of thefact that disease can be introduced or transferred by amultitude of routes, including❚ equipment and nets❚ the movement of personnel

Figure 1: Examples of critical control points and the preventative actions required

Disinfectant footbath and sprayat the entrancepoint of a cage

unit. Thefootbath is

positioned toensure that

staff and visitorshave to walk

through itbefore enteringthe farm. – Dr

Mark Sheppard,Sakana

VeterinaryServices Ltd,

Canada


❚ boats and vehicles❚ stock transfer❚ wild fish and other aquatic life❚ avian and mammalian predators, and❚ incoming water supply

CRITICAL CONTROL POINTSOnce the hazards have been identified, action can be taken atthe critical control points to either reduce or eliminatespecific hazards. Some examples of critical control points andthe potential actions that can be put in place toreduce/eliminate hazards are presented in figure 1.

CRITICAL LIMITSIn this phase of the process, the acceptable limits for eachhazard is determined and documented.

MONITORINGProcedures should be put in place to regularly monitor theefficacy of cleaning/disinfection procedures. Periodical processaudits by outside agencies is often the most effective way ofdoing this.

REMEDIAL ACTIONInstructions should be made available to determine whatremedial action should be taken when critical limits arenot met.

RECORD KEEPINGComprehensive records should be kept containing details ofthe cleaning and disinfection procedures undertaken (ie thestaff involved, timing, chemicals used and outcomes).This stageis essential to ensure effective auditing.

CLEANING AND DISINFECTINGEffective cleaning and disinfecting procedures are central to agood biosecurity programme.As the efficacy of a disinfectant ismarkedly reduced in the presence of organic matter, the firststep is always to thoroughly clean surfaces and equipment withan appropriate detergent. Detergents work by❚ wettening - decreasing surface tension❚ dispersing - split up dirt particles❚ emulsifying - floating oil and fat❚ suspending - floating dirt particles❚ carrying - of the dirt to waste, and❚ sequestring - dissolving salts.

As a rule of thumb, removing dirt and debris allows for an85 percent reduction in the number of micro-organismspresent in any given situation. Once cleaning has taken place,the disinfectant can act effectively to remove the remainingpathogens.The mode of action of the disinfectant depends on

its chemical composition, acomplex topic beyond thescope of this short article.

CONCLUSIONBiosecurity is a vitalelement in the effectiveprevention andmanagement of disease in the fish-farming industry. Byimplementing simple HACCP procedures the farmer can helpminimise the risk of disease introduction and transfer. Such aproactive approach is essential to ensure the continuedfinancial viability of aquaculture enterprises in New Zealand.

FURTHER READINGLee C-S and O’Bryen PJ (2001). Biosecurity in AquacultureProduction Systems: exclusion of pathogens and otherdesirables. World Aquaculture Society.ISBN 1888807121 ac

A farmerdisinfects hiswaterproofclothingbeforeentering amarinefarming unit.– Dr MarkSheppard,SakanaVeterinaryServices Ltd,Canada

EFFECTIVE CLEANING ANDDISINFECTING PROCEDURES ARE

CENTRAL TO A GOOD BIOSECURITYPROGRAMME

PLEASE CONTACT:

SHIPWRIGHTAGENCIES LIMITEDPO Box 37-741, Parnell, Auckland. Ph: 09 524 8639

Fax 09 524 8731 Mob: 021 986 341 Email: [email protected]

UNISEAL

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Jonathan Large of Elaine Bay Aquaculture Ltd and theNew Zealand Mussel Industry Council and I were theNew Zealanders among the 50 delegates at the

second International Mussel Forum. It was held in St John’s,Newfoundland (Canada) from July 3 to 5.

This article summarises my notes from the marketingpresentations. In a later contribution I will focus on technicalaspects of production.

There is a strong demand in the United States for both freshand frozen mussels, and this has been aided by the involvementof celebrity chefs in promotion.

New Zealand leads the countriesexporting to the US, followed byCanada (mainly Prince Edward Island)and Chile.These two countries farmblue mussels, which are exported to theUS live. Canadians exporting to the USface a similar exchange rate problem tothe New Zealand industry, and are alsoconcerned about growing competitionfrom Chile, both at home and in the US.

GROWING DEMAND for musselsBY HENRY KASPARMANAGER, AQUACULTURE GROUP, CAWTHRON INSTITUTE

Although the frozen Greenshell mussel is a different product,US growers of blue and Mediterranean mussels say that thelow GSM price hurts them.

European demand for mussels is also strong.The EU is theworld’s biggest mussel producer, and in addition, it imports 17percent of its consumption, mainly from Chile.This leaves fourpercent of the EU market for GSM.

Consumers worldwide are currently learning about thehealth benefits of seafood.This will lead to a growing demandover many years for mussels, as well as other seafood.

New, convenient products make mussel cooking easier andconsumption more enjoyable. Consumers and the hospitalitytrade want longer shelf life, precise portion control, quick andeasy cooking, no drip loss, no mess, and consistent supply,quality and price.

Modified atmosphere packaging, or MAP, brings all thesebenefits, at least to some extent. Mussels stay alive for up to 10days in a no-leak bag filled with a mixture of oxygen and carbondioxide. MAP has quickly become the dominant packagingmethod in Belgium and France, Europe’s largest mussel-consuming countries.

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Consumers increasingly demand food safety and productdifferentiation.These demands can be met with quality schemesoperated by individual companies, countries or regions (forexample, brands, protected designation of origin, eco-labelling),food safety monitoring (microbiological, biotoxins), and producttraceability. Consumers will respond to these confidence-generating schemes with more product loyalty.

Production in the traditional mussel-growing areas has beensteady in the past few years and is unlikely to grow as fast asproduction in new areas.The US Congress is currently debatingoffshore aquaculture legislation.This may well lead to moremussel production in US national waters and a reduction of theUS seafood deficit of more than $8 billion per year.

Worldwide, industry attention is focusing on areas with goodmussel production potential. Last year, Newfoundland sent agood portion of its 2300 tonnes of blue mussels to Europe, andcould not keep up with the demand. Newfoundland has largetracts of water waiting to be developed, and boasts a fast andhassle-free consent process.

The Netherlands is a major processor and trader of mussels.Production has been declining and may well fall even more, dueto restrictions on wild spat collection. However, theNetherlands adds more than 50 percent value to mussels bypackaging them for the retail market!

Why should an aquaculture scientist listen to two days ofmarketing presentations? Cawthron’s GSM research is increasinglyfocused on future product characteristics: a good understandingof market trends is required for planning long-term research.

IWI HAVE BIG FUTUREIN AQUACULTUREThe government has appointed Te Ohu Kai Moana, the body responsible forallocating fishing assets to Maori, to allocate aquaculture space to iwi underthe Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act passed late lastyear. It also signals a change from allocating fishing assets to Maori underthe Treaty of Waitangi.

The Chairman of the TOKM, Shane Jones, says the allocations will notsuffer from the same delays that occurred over the allocations of theresources of wild fisheries.

It would learn from the experience of its predecessor, the WaitangiFisheries Commission.“The allocation of this settlement will be efficient and,depending on when space is transferred from the government, expeditious.”

Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope said on July 27 that the settlementwas an integral part of the Aquaculture Act, and would assist in regionaldevelopment.“It’s clear that iwi are going to play a much greater role inaquaculture in New Zealand.”

TOKM will receive about $1 million to fund allocations to mandated iwi,the beneficiaries set out in the Maori Fisheries Bill, also passed late last year.Under the act, Maori get 20 percent of all aquaculture space in NewZealand, both new or existing.

Jones said the allocated space would first be sought from aquaculturemanagement areas being created by regional councils. If that does not reach20 percent,TOKM will consider buying existing marine farms.

“The settlement has lifted a cloud of uncertainty from the aquacultureindustry,” Benson-Pope said.“The certainty will boost investment,development and employment.”

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