Acronym NA
Category
Aquaculture
Title Copepoder i akvakultur - Copepods in aquaculture Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator Gunvor Øie Coordinator email gunvor.oie@sintef.no
Coordinator institution
NA
Institutions involved
NA - CroMaris (Croatia) ,
NA - Lerøy ASA (Norway) ,
Start year 2016 End year 2018 Funding (€) € 375,000 Website https://prosjektbanken.forskningsradet.no/en/project/FORISS/256192?Kilde=FORISS&distribution=Ar&chart=bar&calcType=funding&Sprak=no&sortBy=date&sortOrder=desc&resultCount=30&offset=330&TemaEmne.2=Energi%2C%20petroleum%20og%20mineralressurser Summary "Most marine fish species produce small larvae that need live feed organisms during the first weeks after the yolk sac has been expended. A successful start feeding is paramount to achieve good growth and survival in marine larviculture. Copepods are the natural prey organisms of most marine fish larvae and are acknowledged as a superior live feed compared to traditional live feeds such as rotifers and Artemia. C-Feed AS produce copepods in a land-based pilot plant in Vanvikan (Trøndelag). The companys' production technology is unique in a global context and their business concept builds on more than 15 years of method and technology development at SINTEF Ocean AS, in close cooperation with NTNU.
C-Feeds' product aims to increase production efficiency for established marine aquaculture species, and using intensively produced copepods can also enable production of new species previously considered impossible to rear due to a complicated start feeding. The product is intended for both national and international markets, and currently C-Feeds copepods receives a lot of attention from abroad. The main goal of the project ""Copepods in Aquaculture"" was to develop new technology and procedures to optimize intensive copepod egg production in order to achieve increased cost efficiency, stability and predictability in all aspects of the production. Further on, the project involved industrially scaled start feeding experiments on Ballan wrasse (Labrus berggylta) and sea bream (Sparus aurata) in commercial hatcheries.
Industrial copepod production is an industry still in its infancy. By scaling up intensive copepod and microalgae production from lab to industrial scales, new challenges arise. Hence, there is a substantial need for research in the start-up phase. Development and optimization of production technology to monitor production parameters such as population density, egg production and feed concentrations, as well as automated regulation of microalgae supply to egg production tanks has been amongst the core activities of this project (WP1). Further on, alternative designs for egg production tanks and testing of novel methods to harvest and collect copepod eggs has been assessed. The project has contributed to extensive testing of new technology in lab and commercial contexts which have been, or is about to be, implemented in the factory.
In order to achieve a higher degree of control and stability in intensive copepod farming, the environmental production parameters must be tailored to both the production line and instrumentation (WP2). During the project we investigated how the light climate affected egg production rates and egg quality. Copepods are usually fed live unicellular phytoplankton (microalgae), and the biochemical and physical properties of the different species of microalgae can affect copepod performance in terms of EPR, growth rates and survival. We conducted feeding trials where the dietary effects of different species of microalgae and combinations thereof were compared to the C-Feeds' standard operating procedures. We also assessed how different water treatment methods affected EPR, survival and the microbial profile of on-grown copepods for live feed purposes. WP2 has provided important answers to previously unclarified questions which have led to a change of practice in several operational areas for the company.
Three industrial scale start feeding experiments were conducted in this project (WP3); two on sea bream together with CroMaris (Croatia) and one on Ballan wrasse together with Lerøy (Bømlo, Norway). In the sea bream trials, different feeding regimes comprised of either a period of exclusively feeding with copepods from the onset of exogenous feeding, co-feeding together with Artemia and rotifers, or day to day alternating feedings with copepods and rotifers/Artemia were tested. Sea bream larvae and juveniles fed copepods showed better growth, higher survival and had fewer individuals with operculum deformities, a common problem for farmed sea bream. The results from the sea bream experiments were presented at AQUA2018 in Montpellier. The industrial trial on Ballan wrasse was conducted at Lerøys' newly established hatchery in Bømlo in 7 - 23 m3 tanks. In general, Ballan wrasse larvae that received copepods showed high survival and quality.
The results obtained in this project has been communicated through different newspaper articles, the industry magazine Hatchery International, conferences such as Aquaculture Europe and World Aquaculture and seminars at the cleaner fish and AquaNor conferences."
Keywords
Feed composition;
Larval rearing;
Technology;
Wrasse;
Seabream;
Diets;
Zooplankton;
Land-based aquaculture;
Fish;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
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