Exploring determinants for the implementation of mixed TURF-aquaculture systems

Territorial use rights in fisheries (TURFs) have been highlighted as a means to deter the race for fish. Nevertheless, in many situations TURFs are not able to meet all their goals, jeopardizing their continuity. Here we explore one of several innovations on TURFs, mixed TURF-aquaculture systems, which can help overcome the challenges of maintaining sustainable socio-ecological systems. We analyzed the history of mixed TURF and small-scale aquaculture systems in Chile, particularly 8 recent learning platforms in the Coquimbo region. Additionally, we assessed the impact of 6 variables, from multiple spheres, on the implementation of mixed TURF-aquaculture systems. Despite low values in several variables, 75% of the learning platforms managed to implement aquaculture systems and 38% have been successful in developing monitoring efforts. Social capital was key in the implementation of the mixed systems. By investing in social capital policy makers can contribute to the successful implementation of mixed TURF-aquaculture systems, thus promoting a livelihood diversification strategy for fishing communities that encompasses the economic benefits of aquaculture with the socio-ecological benefits of TURFs. However, their development and enabling conditions must be monitored to embrace their synergies.

A Description of a Noninvasive Surgical Training Pathway Using Translational Tools to Teach Intracoelomic Implantation of Acoustic Transmitters in Fish

Researchers engaged in surgical implantation of acoustic transmitters into fish must receive adequate and appropriate training to ensure the welfare of their subjects and the quality of the data collected. Increasingly, researchers are being encouraged to partner with veterinarians to improve training and to consider the principles of animal welfare in training. Here, we describe a five-stage training pathway, including implementation of new training tools (the Translational Training Tools and field certification), that was developed collaboratively by researchers and veterinarians and addresses the "three Rs" of animal welfare in the context of surgical training. The three Rs include animal replacement, reduction of the number of animals used, and refinement of techniques to decrease or eliminate pain or distress. The Translational Training Tools, described in the context of the training pathway, use tools as replacement models during training to reduce the number of animals used and allow for refinement of surgical skills prior to working on live animals. The purpose of this paper is to document the Translational Training Tools and the training pathway, which will be useful in developing de novo protocols for review by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees and similar bodies.

Something fishy: Chile's blue revolution, commodity diseases, and the problem of sustainability

The United Nations describes aquaculture as the fastest-growing method of food production, and some industry boosters have heralded the coming of a sustainable blue revolution. This article interprets the meteoric rise and sudden collapse of Atlantic salmon aquaculture in southern Chile (1980-2010) by integrating concepts from commodity studies and comparative environmental history. I juxtapose salmon aquaculture to twentieth-century export banana production to reveal the similar dynamics that give rise to "commodity diseases"—events caused by the entanglement of biological, social, and political-economic processes that operate on local, regional, and transoceanic geographical scales. Unsurprisingly, the risks and burdens associated with commodity diseases are borne disproportionately by production workers and residents in localities where commodity disease events occur. Chile's blue revolution suggests that evaluating the sustainability of aquaculture in Latin America cannot be divorced from processes of accumulation.

"Esteeme a little of fish": fish, fishponds, and farming in eighteenth-century New England and the Mid-Atlantic

Prior to the advent of scientific aquaculture in the mid-nineteenth century, English farming manuals of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries instructed American colonists in the "art of husbandry," imparting advice and passing on the best-known strategies for keeping and rearing fish in enclosed ponds. The development of such ponds in the New England and Mid-Atlantic colonies during the eighteenth century marked the culmination of a long process by which British-American colonists adapted to declines in natural fish populations brought on by over-fishing and disruption of habitat by water-powered mills. The development of private fishponds as an increasingly important component of American mixed husbandry practices in long-settled areas by the end of the eighteenth century illustrates early American farmers' ability to successfully adapt to self-wrought changes in their physical environment.

Opportunities for training in shrimp diseases

Opportunities for formal training in shrimp diseases were not available 30 years ago. This was because the shrimp farming industry was in its infancy with few significant disease issues and even fewer shrimp disease specialists investigating the causes of production losses. In 2006, more than two million metric tons of the marine penaeid shrimp were farmed, accounting for more than half of the world's supply. With most of the world's shrimp fisheries at maximum sustainable yields, the ratio of farmed to fished shrimp appears likely to continue to increase. The remarkable growth of sustainable shrimp farming was made possible through the development of methods to diagnose and manage disease in the world's shrimp farms. This occurred as the result of the development of training opportunities in shrimp disease diagnosis and control methods and the application of that knowledge, by an ever increasing number of shrimp diseases specialists, to disease management at shrimp farms. The first type of formal training to become generally available to the industry was in the form of special short courses and workshops. The first of these, which was open to international participants, was given at the University of Arizona in 1989. Since that first course several dozen more special short courses and workshops on shrimp diseases have been given by the University of Arizona. Dozens more special courses and workshops on shrimp diseases have been given by other groups, including other universities, industry cooperatives, governments and international aid agencies, in a wide range of countries (and languages) where shrimp farming constitutes an important industry. In parallel, graduate study programs leading to post graduate degrees, with shrimp disease as the research topic, have developed while formal courses in shrimp diseases have not become widely available in veterinary or fisheries college curricula in the USA and Europe, such courses are appearing in university programs located in some of the shrimp farming countries of SE Asia. The trend towards more formal training programs in shrimp diseases and disease management is likely to continue as the industry continues to mature and become increasingly sustainable.

Experiences in providing training and education in aquatic animal health

The Institute of Aquaculture brings together cross-disciplinary researchers to meet the wide range of training challenges faced as the global aquaculture industry grows. The Institute offers training in a range of academic levels from short courses, aimed at farm operatives, to BSc (Hons), MSc and PhD levels. The focus of training at the Institute is on promoting a holistic approach, emphasising the importance of understanding the aquatic production system as a whole as well as detailed knowledge of specific pathogens. To make training more accessible, the Institute has made the provision of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) a strategic objective and provides distance learning and flexible study options.