Spain's Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Aquaculture

CHAPTER 13 Spain's A lan ic Blue in Tuna Aquacul u e Au elio O ega and Fe nando de Ia Ganda a In oduc ion The A lan ic Blue in una (ABT), Thunnus hynnus, L. 1758, is a scomb id wi h a highly mig a o y beha io . I has been eeding human popula ions, especially in he Medi e anean a ea, o cen u ies. In he middle o he 1990s, a p ocess called " a ening" was de eloped (O olenghi 2008). The blue in una (BFT) schools a e caugh by pu se seine s in he ep oduc i e a eas in he Medi e anean in June and July. A e cap u e, he una a e ans e ed in o anspo cages and owed o he a ening acili ies. Du - ing a pe iod o ime (usually six mon hs, om July o Decembe ) hey a e ed wi h de os ed bai ish. Once a ened, unas a e slaugh e ed and sen mainly o he Japanese ma ke (de la Ganda a e al. 2016). This a' i i y e- sul ed in a~ o e ishing o he wild s ocks, wi h impo an implica ions o he popula ion. To a oid he collapse o he ABT popula ions, he In e na- ional Council o he Conse a ion o he A lan ic Tunas (ICCAT) imple- men ed a mul i-annual eco e y plan in he eas e n A lan ic and he Medi- e anean (F omen in 2009), wi h a maximum allowed cap u e (quo a). One way o alle ia e he p essu e on he wild ishe y o he ABT and aid in i s conse a ion is he domes ica ion o ABT and he de elopmen o a sel -sus ained indus y based on in eg al aquacul u e p ac ice. In his chap e , we ou line he ad an es in Spain's ABT aquacul u e be- ween 2011 and 2015 and conclude wi h he de ails o he new land-based acili y designed o ake us in o he u u e. Resea ch on ABT aquacul u e in Spain s a ed eigh een yea s ago wi h a numbe o Eu opean p ojec s such as REPRODOTT and SELFDOTT, which we e unded by di e en Eu opean F amewo k P og ammes o Resea ch. Th ough hese p ojec s, he basics o ep oduc ion and la al 299 Table 13.1. Mu cia Oceanog aphic Cen e p oduc ion, 2011-2015 2011 season 2013 season 2015 season Numbe o inocula ed eggs 1,500,000 800,000 2,450,000 Numbe o ba ches 4 2 6 Numbe o 0.1 o 0.2 g la ae p oduced 20,000 8,000 41,000 Su i al a e du ing la al ea ing 1.3% 1.0% 1.67% Numbe o 3.0 o 4.0 g inge lings 3,500 3,800 16,000 Su i al a e du ing weaning 15% 48% 39% To al su i al a e om eggs o inge lings 0.20% 0.48% 0.65% No es: La ae om 0.1 o 0.2 g a e 24 o 25 days pos ha ching (dph). La ae om 3.0 o 4.0 g. a e 36 o 38 dph . ea ing o ABT we e es ablished (Ga da-Gomez 2007, de la Ganda a and O ega 2008, de la Ganda a e al. 2012a). Be ween 2011 and 2015, mos o he inge lings p oduced in Spain came om Mu cia Oceanog aphic Cen e (COMU), an aquacul u e esea ch cen- e belonging o he Spanish Ins i u e o Oceanog aphy (IEO). Resea che s a he COMU a e de eloping hei wo k wi hin he amewo k o RDI Span- ish esea ch, de elopmen , and inno a ion p og ams bu a e also suppo ed by p i a e companies such as Calade os del Medi e aneo (CM) and Fo - una Ma e (FM). These companies ha e unded se e al p ojec s in he pas and ha e managed he b oods ock and he ABT inge lings when hey we e s ocked in he cages (O ega 2015). Apa om he lEO, he company Fu u;;a Blue, which is si ua ed in Pue o de San a Ma ia in sou hwes e n Spain, was in ol ed in ~mo he Eu o- pean p ojec , T ansla ion o Domes ica ion o Thunnus hynnus in o an Inno a i e Applica ion (TRANSDOTT), and i has s a ed o cul u e ABT inge lings (Ch is ophe C. B idges, coo dina o o he TRANSDOTT p oj- ec , pe s. com. 2015). See Table 13.1. B oods ock Th ee b oods ock g oups we e used be ween 2011 and 2015: 1. The eldes b oods ock g oup, consis ing o 30 app oxima ely 30 kg indi iduals, was held in a ening cages, a e being caugh in he Balea ic Sea, un il being placed in cage l a he end o 2007 (de Ia Ganda a e al. 2010). This g oup was spawning un il 2012, a e which hese spawne s we e los due o sabo age. 300 AQUACULTURE 2. 3. i e nun 201 2. The second b oods ock g oup was also cap u ed in he Balea ic Sea, in June 2008. The ish we e a ened du ing he ollowing se en mon hs, and in ea ly 2009, 25 o he blue in unas we e mo ed o cage 2. These unas we e app oxima ely 40-45 kg, and hey spawned om 2010 o 2014 (O ega 2015). Bo h cages we e placed in El Go guel (Ca agena, in sou heas e n Spain). Thei dimensions we e 25 min diame e and 20 min dep h. The cages we e i ed wi h a 2 em mesh ne o es ic he en y o oppo unis ic small pelagic ish ha could ea he eggs being eleased. Cages we e managed by CM du ing he i s h ee yea s and by FM in he 2014 season (O ega 2015). 3. A b oods ock g oup om a comme cial cage was used du ing he 2015 season. Tunas we e cap u ed a ound he Balea ic Islands in May 2014 and hen mo ed o San Ped o del Pina a (Mu cia, in sou heas e n Spain), whe e CM owns a second acili y. Fish we e placed in a 50 m diame e cage, wi h 16 m wall dep h (app oxima ely 25 m in dep h in he cen e o he cage), and hey we e a ened o e a pe iod o 11 mon hs. A he end o May he e we e -400 unas, weighing app oxima ely 230 kg each (O ega 2015), and hei eggs we e collec ed du ing June and July. Egg collec ion was ca ied ou by placing a solid PVC shee ( a pau- lin) in o he cage; i su ounded he inside pe ime e o he cage om 0.5 m abo e he wa e su ace o a dep h o 1.5 m (Figu e 13.1). This allowed he loa ing eggs o be main ained wi hin he cage and no • ., washed ou owing o ligh cu en s. E e y nigh he cage was checked om 03:00 o 06:00 a.m., and i spawned eggs we e obse ed, hey we e collec ed by hand ne and anspo ed o COMU acili ies (de la Ganda a e al. 2010). The spawning season usually ex ends om ea ly-mid June o mid July, al hough se e e wea he , in which he e is a signi ican d op in empe a- u e, can cause an ab up end o he season. See Figu e 13.2. The a paulin sys em is mos e ec i e du ipg low cu en s and a ela- i ely calm sea; i is much less so du ing s o my condi ions, which occu a nu :nbe o imes du ing he season. The sho es seasons we e in 2012 and 2014, when egg collec ion was limi ed o 15 days. Bu in 2015 he spawning season inc eased o 50 days, om June 1 o July 20. Spain's A lan ic Blue in Tuna Aquacul u e 301 Figu e 13.1. Egg collec ion om he solid PVC shee ( a paulin) ha su ounded he inside pe ime e o he cage. - cage1 - cage2 -Tempe a u e 14 I 30 ~ 12 ~ 27 "' gpo E ., "0 8 24 ; ., Q ~ .! 0 6 ., ... 21 ~ 0 4 ., .8 Q 1- 18 § 2 .1, l z 0 .-- 1 15 6/1 6/8 6/15 6/22 6/29 7/6 7/13 7/20 Da e Figu e 13.2. Tempe a u e and numbe o eggs collec ed in cages 1 and 2 du ing he 2012 season. La al Rea ing The la al ea ing sys em consis s o anks 40-55 m3 ound and 2 m deep, wi h an upwelling wa e inle and ae a ion. These ea u es keep he la ae in suspension and homogeneously dis ibu ed o help p e en sinking dea h. A ew ml o ish oil a e equen ly added o he wa e su ace om 0 o 7 days pos ha ching (dph) o p e en su ace dea h (Hon yo e al. 2016), which occu s when he la ae adhe e o he wa e su ace, sec e e s ess- 302, AQUACULTURE A: l 4 A a ia YS I- C y ood j Figu e 13.3. Feeding schedule o blue in una la al ea ing. DPH =days pos ha ching; YSL =yolk sac la ae. modula ed mucus, and a e immobilized he e. A su ace skimme is also used o keep he wa e su ace as clean as possible, o allow he la ae o y o gulp ai bubbles o in la e hei swim bladde s. Acco ding o Ku a a e a!. (2015), his happens in he i s week a e he la ae ha ch. Sea wa e empe a u e and pho ope iod is ypical o he a ea. I anges be ween 21 and 27"C and be ween 14 and 15 hou s o ligh o 9 o 10 hou s o da k. As he anks a e placed in a g eenhouse, he la ae a e exposed o na u al sunligh , al hough a i icial ligh is supplemen ed. The s ocking densi y is -10 eggs/ li e , and he pseudog een me hod desc ibed in de !a Ganda a e a!. (2012b) is used. A low- h ough sys em is employed om he i s day, and he in low a e inc eases wi h ime. To main ain a speci ic densi y o mic oalg, !le in he anks, he phy oplank on species Nannochlo o"p- sis sp ., Chia ella sp., and/o lsoch ysis galbana a e added wice pe day. The li e ood sequen ially ed du ing la al ea ing (Figu e 13.3) consis s o en- iched o i e s (B achionus plica ilis), ollowed by en iched A emia, and hen sea b eam (Spa us au a a) yolk sac la ae (YSL). The weaning on o a d y die s a s when la ae a e app oxima ely 25 dph. Du ing 2014 and 2015, we s a ed o p oduce copepods (Aca ia onsa) o eplace o educe o i e and A emia eeding. The ad an age o using co- pepods o ma ine la al ea ing is well known, as hese zooplank on ha e excellen nu i ional quali y and a sui able size' om i s -s age nauplii o las -s age copepodi s (Aba e e a!. 2015; Figu e 13.4). The i s ials ca - ied ou in 2014 imp o ed su i al and g ow h, bu in ensi e copepod p o- duc ion is s ill a challenge, and he cul u e p o ocol needs o be imp o ed (O ega e a!. 2015). Consequen ly, in 2015, copepods we e ed o he ish along wi h o i e s and no as a sole al e na i e. Spain's A lan ic Blue in Tuna Aquacul u e 303 a Figu e 13.5. Li le unny (Eu hynnus alle e a us) a (a) 5 and (b) 12 days pos ha ching. The younge la ae a e shown wi h he eyes o eshly ea en A lan ic blue in una la ae. b Figu e 13.4. (a) Aca ia ons a nauplius; (b) las s age o cope pod i . The main challenge du ing his pe iod is o educe ea ly mo ali y, which is caused by se e al ac o s, including egg and la al quali y, sinking dea h, su ace dea h, and unbalanced nu i ion in he li e p ey. Ano he se- ious p oblem is ha EFT eggs collec ed a sea may also include eggs om o he species spawning close o he cages, whose as -g owing la ae a e ha d o iden i y and may p ey upon he smalle una la ae. This was he case when eggs om boni o (Sa da sa da), ba acuda (Sphy aena sphy aena), ho se macke el (T achu us sp.), and g oupe s we e mixed oge he wi h he EFT eggs. Fi e-dph li le unny (Eu hynnus alle e a us) in pa icula a e able o eed on i e-dph AET la ae, whe eas one 12-dph li le unny la a can 304 AQUACULTURE weigh mo e han 0.1 g and is able o ea se e al dozens, e en hund eds, o ABT la ae e e y day (Figu e 13.5). Weaning In gene al, he la ae a e aken om he la al ea ing anks a 24-26 dph, when a e age weigh is -0 . 1-0 .2 g. A e coun ing and emo ing he small and la ge ju eniles, he emaining ish a e spli in o di e en anks (20-55 m3) a a densi y o 100-200 inge lings/m3. The na u al empe a- u e o seawa e a his ime anges be ween 24 and 28°C. Al hough he ish a e exposed o he na u al pho ope iod, a low-in ensi y ligh is placed abo e he ank du ing he nigh . The success o weaning he BFT ju eniles on o an ine die o bai ish has been mixed; i esul ed in only 15% su i al in 2011. Consequen ly, bai ish (Ammody es sp.) has been used since. Ne e heless, d y die pe o mance is imp o ing. Figu e 13.6 shows li le di e ence in su i al wi h age when weaning wi h bai ish and wo d y die s-a comme cial die (Magoko o, by Ma ubeni Nisshin Feed Co. L d.) and an expe imen al die made by Sk e ing. In 2015 he d y die Magoko o was used wi h p omising esul s: he su i al a e was close o 40% du ing he weaning p ocess in la ge anks (O ega, unpublished da a). Du ing he i s days o weaning, YSL a e also supplied, bu om 30 dph onwa d, when unas weigh be ween 0.5 and 1 g, only ine die is p o ided. ~ 100 ~ 90 80 70 ~ 60 -;;; so > '2: :::1 40 V> ~ ~ """ ~ ~ ~ "-- ----- -- 30 . 10 10 0 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 Age (dph) Spain's A lan ic Blue in Tuna Aquacul u e 305 Figu e 1 3.6. Su i al a e (%) in he weaning p ocess ob ained in an expe imen ca ied ou in 2014. Blue line shows su i al wi h bai ish, and ed and g een lines show su i al wi h a couple o d y die s. dph =days pos ha ching. Figu e 13.1 0. G ow h o ju enile A lan ic blue in una in he cages. DPH = days pos ha ching. Figu e 13.11. G ow h o ju enile A lan ic blue in una in oceanic cages and empe a u e p o iles in sou heas e n Spain. 1200 1000 800 :§ 1- ::1: 600 '-.!> w :s: 400 200 30 40 50 8,000 7,000 6,000 :§ 5,000 ~ ..<= 4,000 = ~ 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 Jul-12 60 70 Oc - 12 Jan-13 80 DPH May-13 90 Aug-13 Age (dph) - Weigh (g) - Tempe a u e (0 () 100 110 120 130 30,0 25,0 E 20,0 E::! .a 15,0 ~ "" 0.. 10,0 E ~ 5,0 0,0 No -13 win e when empe a u es we e below l8°C, and s opping al oge he when empe a u es we e below 16 oC (O ega e al. 2014). Imp o ing he success o g ow-ou , unde s anding he nu ~i ional e- qui emen s a di e en s ages o g ow h, and de eloping a sui able d y die a e essen ial o indus ial ABT aquacul u e o ad ance and o be able o close he li e cycle in cap i i y. Land-Based Facili y o Con ol he Rep oduc ion o A lan ic Blue in Tuna A new land-based acili y o con ol ABT ep oduc ion in anks, In as uc- u e o Con olling he Rep oduc ion o A lan ic blue in una (ICRA), was buil by lEO in 2015 (O ega 2015), and he b oods ock was in oduced du - ing 2016. The ICRA (Figu e 13.12) was 80% unded by he Eu opean Regional De elopmen Fund (FEDER), and he lEO con ibu ed he emaining 20o/o. 308 AQUACULTURE a a I I I I ; I e E 3 Figu e 13.12. Land-based A lan ic blue in una aquacul u e acili y in Mu cia, in he sou heas o Spain. (a, b) Gene al design and (c) in e io o one o he big anks.