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.