Aquaculture Diet Development Subprogram: Ingredient Evaluation
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$503,574.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. Determine nutrient digestibility of major terrestrial protein and energy feed ingredients for which information is not currently available. 2. Determine contribution to fish and prawn growth of the most promising new ingredients and identify the maximum amounts which can be included in practical diets. 3. Evaluate carbohydrate utilisation and determine effects of carbohydrate type, content and processing on digestibility. 4. Use results to determine first lim ....Objectives: 1. Determine nutrient digestibility of major terrestrial protein and energy feed ingredients for which information is not currently available. 2. Determine contribution to fish and prawn growth of the most promising new ingredients and identify the maximum amounts which can be included in practical diets. 3. Evaluate carbohydrate utilisation and determine effects of carbohydrate type, content and processing on digestibility. 4. Use results to determine first limiting nutrients for fish and prawn diets based on Australian ingredients, and to formulate practical diets for evaluation in commercially relevant facilities. 5. Communicate results to producers of feed ingredients, feed manufacturers, aquaculturists and the scientific community. Read moreRead less
Evaluation Of Functional Properties Of Fish Muscle Protein For Subsequent Use In Food Systems
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Study functional properties of fish muscle protein, including emulsification, gelling and binding; 2. investigate factors affecting conditions under which these function props could be used in food systems; 3. appn of these props to food systems incl non-fish
SCRC: The Australian Seafood Diet For Intergenerational Health: Development Of A Healthy High Australian Seafood Diet That Will Be Acceptable To Women Of Child-bearing Age.(PhD Student Lily Chan)
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
For pregnant women, the current advice is to keep eating fish but to limit the intakes of orange roughy (Sea Perch), catfish shark, swordfish, marlin or broadbill to once a week or fortnight for the purposes of avoiding contaminants that may be damaging to the sensitive developing foetus. The net outcome of this communiqué may result in fewer women of childbearing age, those who are pregnant or those who wish to become pregnant from consuming fish or consuming inadequate amounts. It is highly ....For pregnant women, the current advice is to keep eating fish but to limit the intakes of orange roughy (Sea Perch), catfish shark, swordfish, marlin or broadbill to once a week or fortnight for the purposes of avoiding contaminants that may be damaging to the sensitive developing foetus. The net outcome of this communiqué may result in fewer women of childbearing age, those who are pregnant or those who wish to become pregnant from consuming fish or consuming inadequate amounts. It is highly important that this key group of consumers receive enough seafood to ensure that the developing foetus obtains adequate levels of DHA.
Therefore, this proposal targets a need in women of child bearing age, to determine if a diet high in DHA (providing an average of at least 200mg/d) obtained from Australian whole seafood (2-4 serves a week) can improve health-related outcomes (plasma phospholipid n-3 concentrations, inflammatory markers, insulin sensitivity, mood) when compared to a 6-week low DHA diet (30 mg/d) and will the diet be at an acceptable cost and without providing adverse levels of methyl mercury and PCBs.Read moreRead less
Aquaculture Diet Development Subprogram - Replacement Of Fishmeal In Diets For Barramundi - Improving Nutritive Value Of Alternative Feedstuffs Using Crystalline Amino Acids
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$172,284.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. Establish the efficacy of crystalline amino acids in sparing dietary protein for juvenile barramundi. 2. Improve the nutritional quality of fishmeal alternatives through the use of crystalline amino acids. 3. Improve the nutritional quality of fishmeal alternatives using complementary intact protein sources.
Investigating Options To Improve Bycatch Reduction In Tropical Prawn Trawl Fisheries - A Workshop For Fishers
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$55,548.90
Summary
A major leap forward in bycatch reduction can be achieved through improved knowledge of factors that affect BRD performance. This can be very effectively achieved in a workshop, focussing on discussion of BRD performance. A workshop also provides fishers an opportunity to discuss new, innovative solutions to bycatch reduction, as well as future directions for related R & D.
The proposal meets the research priorities of the ComFRAB in the following ways:
Innovative approaches t ....A major leap forward in bycatch reduction can be achieved through improved knowledge of factors that affect BRD performance. This can be very effectively achieved in a workshop, focussing on discussion of BRD performance. A workshop also provides fishers an opportunity to discuss new, innovative solutions to bycatch reduction, as well as future directions for related R & D.
The proposal meets the research priorities of the ComFRAB in the following ways:
Innovative approaches to fisheries management: Bringing fishers together provides a unique opportunity for accelerated learning (about successful BRDs) in the industry. Innovative BRD designs will also be a focus of the workshop to provide a basis for new thinking and solutions to bycatch reduction.
Economics of fisheries: Improved BRD performance may translate to reduced codend drag and fuel consumption, improved catch value (per litre of fuel consumed) and possibly increased prawn catches through improved swept-area performance.
People and industry development: This workshop aims to help change the culture of the industry re use of BRDs from ‘minimise their impact’ to maximise their performance’. This change in thinking has occurred for TEDs but the leap has not been made for BRDs. Effective BRDs (in conjunction with the already effective TEDs) will substantially reduce the ecological impact of prawn trawling and improve the reputation of prawn-trawl fisheries.
Cross-fishery issues: This workshop has application to all Australian prawn-trawl fisheries, especially the NPF, Qld ECTF and the Torres Strait fishery, and fishers, managers and researchers from each of these will be involved in the workshop.
This workshop also meets a (high) research priority of NORMAC and QFIRAC by contributing to the development of effective bycatch reduction devices. Objectives: 1. Increase fishers knowledge of latest developments in bycatch reduction. 2. Assess a suite of innovative options to reduce bycatch and their potential application to the fishery. 3. Engage fishers and others in the identification and uptake of suitable BRDs for tropical prawn trawl fisheries. 4. Engage fishers and others in the development of a coordinated plan for future BRD R & D. Read moreRead less
Investigation Of The Impact Of The Seastar Coscinasterias Calamaria On Commercial Mollusc Fisheries
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Evaluate how much of a threat Coscinasterias calamaria poses to demersal mollusc fisheries 2. Estimate feed rate on important molluscs, by examining density & feeding strategy of adult starfish; time to digest before searching further; how prey avoid capture.
Cephalopod Beak Identification And Biomass Estimation Techniques: Tools For Dietary Studies Of Southern Australian Finfishes
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$56,636.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. To produce a diagnostic illustrated key for identification of cephalopod beaks in the diets of marine vertebrates from southern Australian waters. 2. To analyse relationships between beak morphometrics and whole animal attributes, in order to develop back-calculation formulae for estimation of prey size and biomass.
Seafood CRC: Australian Seafood Compositional Profiles Portal
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$149,889.98
Summary
INDUSTRY NEEDS Seafood CRC participants need a common platform that provides easy accessible baseline compositional profiles in suitable formats about their products to enable them to meet their individual needs. The establishment of a secure web based portal will assist industry in identifying and removing barriers to uptake of labeling requirements.
The information needs to be robust, consistent and cover the minimum needs of the Seafood CRC participants for nutritional and contam ....INDUSTRY NEEDS Seafood CRC participants need a common platform that provides easy accessible baseline compositional profiles in suitable formats about their products to enable them to meet their individual needs. The establishment of a secure web based portal will assist industry in identifying and removing barriers to uptake of labeling requirements.
The information needs to be robust, consistent and cover the minimum needs of the Seafood CRC participants for nutritional and contaminant information. Existing information held by individual Seafood CRC participants will be able to be housed in the web portal. Additional testing beyond that in this project would need to funded elsewhere.
Where there is a need to develop new analytical capability this will be done outside this project in the related methods development project.
The project will assist in meeting industry needs for: - Promoting the public health benefits of seafood consumption more generally. - Rapid access to credible information to counter negative media claims. - Assist in addressing current and future technical market challenges. - Anticipate and quickly respond to market access threats.
NATIONAL ENGAGEMENT Seafood CRC participants require an expert facilitated process to undertake this activity. The panel fulfils a need of industry to have an entry point into national and international processes undertaken by State and Commonwealth agencies. Without the project the loss of market access share in international markets such as Hong Kong (due to labelling requirements being introduced currently) would be commercially damaging. For example the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) "Proposal P293 - Nutrition, Health and Related Claims" could be implemented with no seafood industry input or through this project a process of engagement with Commonwealth regulators could be initiated to secure industry outcomes. There is a need for any data capture activities to be compliant with FSANZ technical specifications. Objectives: 1. To establish by March 2010 a common scientifically robust information platform that provides Seafood CRC participants with timely access to information about the nutritional and contaminant compositional profiles of their traded products. Read moreRead less
Aquaculture Diet Development Subprogram: Development Of Marine Fish Larval Diets To Replace Artemia
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$523,903.00
Summary
The major problem area in the cultivation of marine fish is the culture of the early life stages and control of larval nutrition is a key element. The use of live food for hatchery culture of marine fish larvae is currently considered obligatory for successful culture. However, their use is costly, especially during recent years where global harvests of Artemia cysts have decreased sharply leading to a global shortage. To produce 10,000 snapper or barramundi juveniles (50 days old) past metamorp ....The major problem area in the cultivation of marine fish is the culture of the early life stages and control of larval nutrition is a key element. The use of live food for hatchery culture of marine fish larvae is currently considered obligatory for successful culture. However, their use is costly, especially during recent years where global harvests of Artemia cysts have decreased sharply leading to a global shortage. To produce 10,000 snapper or barramundi juveniles (50 days old) past metamorphosis, 1.5 kg of Artemia cysts is needed. The production cost of Artemia nauplii is 10 cents / juvenile (Frankish, pers. Comm.), which includes Artemia cysts, enrichments, labor and running costs (e.g. heaters, air etc.). Currently, 1 kg of Artemia cysts cost $AU-400-500; however, it is now almost impossible to obtain them in Australia. Replacing even 50% of imported Artemia cysts may result in substantial cost savings leading to more efficient hatchery production and facilitating industry expansion. The FRDC R&D plan for hatchery feeds (the outcome from the FRDC hatchery feeds workshop, Cairns, Qld.) put a high priority on R&D projects to find local solutions to overcome the ‘Artemia crisis’ and reduce dependence on imported Artemia cysts. More specifically, it emphasised three particular research needs: (1) to assess the potential of Australian Artemia strains; (2) to determine the effectiveness of currently available artificial diets for finfish larvae; and (3) to develop ‘local’ artificial diets and protocols for weaning and co-feeding of live and dry diets. The R&D priorities (FRDC plan) for Artemia and artificial diets are attached as Appendix 1. Objectives: 1. To develop a standard testing system for evaluating live and artificial feeds for finfish larvae 2. To test currently available artificial (commercial) diets 3. To formulate artificial larvae diets 4. To assess the use of ‘local’ Artemia and improve their nutritional value 5. To develop the use of co-feeding live and dry diets for partial or full replacement of Artemia nauplii Read moreRead less
Aquafin CRC - SBT Aquaculture Subprogram: Application Of The Use Of Dietary Supplements For Improving Flesh Quality Attributes Of Farmed SBT
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$1,032,255.00
Summary
This research aims to improve the product quality (the colour and flavour shelf-life (shelf-life)) of farmed SBT, which is perceived by the Japanese market to be shorter than wild tuna. The main aim in farming SBT is to produce a product that is high in lipids and this is achieved by feeding baitfish that is itself high in lipids, which may be rancid thus accelerating rancidity in farmed SBT. Improving the shelf-life of farmed SBT will provide an advantage for the Australian product be a high ....This research aims to improve the product quality (the colour and flavour shelf-life (shelf-life)) of farmed SBT, which is perceived by the Japanese market to be shorter than wild tuna. The main aim in farming SBT is to produce a product that is high in lipids and this is achieved by feeding baitfish that is itself high in lipids, which may be rancid thus accelerating rancidity in farmed SBT. Improving the shelf-life of farmed SBT will provide an advantage for the Australian product be a high fat product, with the additional benefit of an extended post mortem window of sale (ie shelf life). Previous experiments on the Tuna Research Farm by Thomas and Buchanan and others, has demonstrated that: • feeding SBT pellets fortified with boosted levels of vitamin E, C and selenium will raise the level of these natural anti-oxidants in the fish muscle and the appropriate colour of sashimi grade tuna flesh is retained for longer. • pellet feeds with higher levels of Vitamin E, C, and selenium were more effective in extending the shelf life of SBT flesh than those with a higher level of vitamin E alone. • baitfish coated with vitamin E, C and selenium was also effective in raising the fish tissue level of vitamin C however, it was less effective at raising the tissue level of vitamin E and selenium. • SBT with a higher tissue level of vitamin C had a sightly extended shelf life compared to those not fed fortified baitfish. • a combination of higher levels of Vitamin E, C, and selenium increases colour shelf-life and stabilises the muscle activity of glutathione peroxidase (one of the key antioxidant enzymes).
There is now a need to improve the shelf life of farmed SBT which can be achieved by (1) gaining better understand oxidative protection systems in SBT and (2) adapting our field experiment results and diagnostic tools to the commercial environment. This can be achieved by: • developing an alternative method of anti-oxidant delivery which can be used within the existing commercial feeding system. • use of in vitro cell culture techniques to gain a better understanding of oxidative protection system in SBT and as a rapid and cost-effective method of assessing vitamin supplement formulations that have the potential to improve flesh quality and extend shelf-life. • use surrogate experiments to obtain basic information on the level of oxidative products that require specific antioxidant feed supplementation use and as an intermediate step in the application of invitro findings to commercial SBT farming.
This research will provide valuable information on the effects of oxidized feed on flesh quality and also baseline information on the oxidative status (i.e. degree of rancidity) of farmed SBT fed currently available feeds. It will provide diagnostic tests for industry to monitor the oxidative status of fish feed and farmed SBT. The current proposed research is focused on product quality and will continue our investigations into the physiology, nutrition and muscle biochemistry of SBT that underpins developments in tuna husbandry. This project will utilise project 2001/248 results including the current adopted PhD students research. The project recruit a PhD student to the tuna quality project and will continue to support collaborative ties between Flinders University (Adelaide), CSIRO (Geelong), SARDI and the South Australian SBT industry. This proposed research addresses the South Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture Research and Development Strategy 2002-2007 in the following areas: Program 2 Industry Production – Post Harvest enhancement/supply chain management Farm husbandry and the nutrition of farmed species Objectives: 1. Adapt existing assays for oxidative stress from SBT muscle extracts and mammalian cell cultures to SBT cell cultures. Develop a supplement, delivered by a manufactured pellet, which can be fed to tuna that are being fed predominately on baitfish on a commercial farm. 2. Investigate the effects of simulated oxidative stress on SBT cell cultures and identify the most effective concentrations and combinations of antioxidants that combat this stress. Test the effectiveness of on farm vitamin supplement delivery systems in rasing tissue level of antioxidants and incresing quality characteristic and shelflife. 3. For the purpose of SBT surrogate experiments, manipulate and control the level of lipid oxidation in commercial fish feeds. Compare the flesh quality of SBT fed high vitamin supplement to SBT raised using existing industry standard farming practice. 4. Use a surrogate for SBT to assess the effects of oxidized feeds on flesh quality and shelf-life. Measure endogenous antioxidant vitamin levels in baitfish typically used in the tuna industry. 5. Use a surrogate fed oxidized feeds to test the protective effects of the antioxidants identified in cell culture expeiments of Objective 2 Read moreRead less