Nik writes:

There are vast amounts of low temperature energy ie (45 - 50 C) that is rejected to the atmosphere through evaporation of water.  I was reading a study about fish and prawn growth rates (particularly Kuruma prawns) adversely affected by lower temperature waters.

I would like to know if anyone had considered coupling the two industries on a large scale (ie 100 ha size farms) and if so, with what result?  The concept is not exactly new, European countries have been utilising the “waste heat” for district heating of dwellings… But there is not much call for district heating in Australia especially since the power stations are located in rural areas.

So I’ve been looking for an industry in Australia that could utilise large amounts of “waste heat” in rural areas.  I think that a primary industry on a large enough scale could warrant some further investigation.  A brief investigation was done during a study for solar thermal desalination of the Murray.

If anyone has any information or would like to discuss this topic, please comment on this post, or create your own post.  Click here for information on how to comment or create your own post.

Plus, stay tuned for the launch of our new partner site envirofinfish.org! You will soon be able to access this from the button in the sidebar.

Explore the site to discover our new information and click here to see the ways you can participate on finfish.org.

A new approach has been developed for marine structures may interest readers.

Researchers at North Carolina State University have created a non-toxic “wrinkled” ship hull coating that resisted buildup of troublesome barnacles during 18 months of seawater tests. Without wrinkles, an identical chemical composition of surface resisted fouling for just one month. The wrinkle solution mimics other surfaces that remain foul free such as shark skin.

Further information about the breakthrough is available via this article.

If anyone would like to share their thoughts on this topics, please comment on this post!

Results from a study released by the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) under the Council of Agriculture, suggest ground bamboo charcoal can be a natural way to boost fish growth and enhance aquaculture production.

Experiments were conducted by feeding Taiwan tilapia with fish food containing ground bamboo charcoal.

It was found that fish fed with the ground bamboo charcoal showed significantly better results in terms of weight gain, growth and length-weight factor than those fed with normal food.

Previous experiments have indicated that wood charcoal and wood vinegar can yield a similar outcome.

AG 175 is made of fermentation products and extracts to give it strong protease activity, which can improve the protein digestibility of fish feeds.

JEFO announced that the stability of the protease has been demonstrated under commercial conditions. 

Several trials in finfish including trouts, carps, and tilapia, were conducting at various water temperatures, which helped determine the best nutritional approach to using AG 175. 

The trials showed that it could be used to improve the performance of fish on standard diets and that it can also be used to reduce feed cost while maintaining normal performance.

The project is involved with research into efficient vaccines against viral fish pathogens.

There are currently no vaccines available that successfully protect from viral infections in fish.  Research on the peptide based vaccination will adapt the technology of its proven success in warm-blooded vertebrates to use in cold-blooded vertebrates.

The objective of the project is to develop a pathogen epitope prediction programme and to design a viral pathogen peptide - vaccine.

The project will develop reagents for use in immunological research in Atlantic salmon.

Another benefit is the reduction of the environmental impact of an outbreak by reducing the spread of disease to wild populations of fish.

If successful, this represents a new approach to developing vaccines against viral agents in fish and may be further developed into a commercial product.

The parasite feeds on the skin, mucous and flesh of the host fish, weakening and, in some cases, killing them.

Sea lice cost the Canadian aquaculture industry millions of dollars in economic losses every year.

Genomics in Lice and Salmon (GiLS) is a three year project, which is using advanced tools to understand the interactions between the lice and their salmonid host.

The study looks at the species of fish that are most susceptible to lice, the significance of fish size, the systems that are affected in the fish, and how temperature and salinity influence infection.

For more information click here

The taints in recirculation systems can be a result of chemicals that are realised by certain bacteria species that inhabit the water and system surfaces.

There is a focus on flavour issues as there is an urgent requirement to supply a consistently high quality product that is comparable to the wild alternative, if these types of systems are going to provide an effective solution to the global fish production gap.

The design is based on preventing compounds being produced in the system at the initial stage rather than treating the water with potentially hazardous agents.

Pisces Engineering Ltd were awarded the SMART award from the Scottish Government for their design and will use this to build a semi-commercial pilot scale system to prove the feasibility and viability of the process.

Due to the  expected economic and nutritional value, the US Grains Council has undertaken an initiative to test DDGS as fish feed in Vietnam.

Trials were conducted using Vietnamese catfish, common carp and red tilapia.

From the study, there was an indication that feeding DDGS at a 15 percent inclusion ratio would improve feed utilisation, enhance growth performance and decrease the cost of feed formulas

The trials also proved that feeding DDGS to all three species did not negatively impact meat quality or affect the colour of the fillet.