5^th Euro-Global Summit on Aquaculture & Fisheries March 30-31, 2017 Madrid, Spain

Yue-Ling Zhang is a PI in Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, School of Sciences, Shantou University. He received his PhD from Xiamen University, China and studied at Uppsala University, Sweden as a visiting scholar. He was a Professor and Group Leader of Department of Biology, Shantou University, China from 11/2011 to 03/2013, 05/2014 to 11/2016, and then moved to Marine Biology Institute, Shantou University, China as a Professor and Group Leader since 11/2016. He is the Director of Guangdong Province Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, a Standing Director of Guangdong Province Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, a Director of Guangdong Province Society for Zoology, and a Director of Guangdong Province Society for Aquaculture. His main research is focusing on shrimp immunology, especially the immune mechanisms of crustacean hemocyanin. So far, he has been the recipient of about 20 foundations as Principal Investigator. In peer-reviewed publications, his group has published 46 research papers in J Proteome Res, Fish Shellfish Immunol, FEBS Lett, Dev Comp Immunol, Immunol Lett, PloS ONE , Mol Immunol, J Shellfish Res and so on.

Hemocyanin (HMC) is a multifunctional protein which plays many essential roles in invertebrate organisms. Recently more and more immune-related functions have been discovered on this protein. Here, the shrimp was infected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus and the shrimp sera were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Totally 15 spots were identified as significantly up-regulated spots and further analyzed by MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. Four of them were identified as HMC derived truncations (HMCS1, HMCS3, HMCS4 and HMCS5). The HMCS4 primary sequence was further determined via Edman N terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF MS and amino acid sequence alignment. The result indicated that the HMCS4 was a 165aa fragment from shrimp HMC small subunit C-terminal. The HMCS4 immunological activities were further analyzed by agglutination experiment and anti-bacterial assay in vitro. The results showed that the recombinant HMCS4 had strong agglutination and antibacterial activities against pathogenic bacteria at the optimum bacteriostasis concentration. In addition, the HMCS4 immunological activities were explored via mortality assay in vivo. The shrimp was challenged with V. parahaemolyticus and HMCS4 V. parahaemolyticus mixture separately. The shrimp mortality rate significantly decreased at 96 h post-infection with HMCS4 injection. Our data showed that shrimp HMC truncation generation upon infection was an effective immune response against invaded pathogens. Moreover, these findings may have some potential applications in shrimp industry.

Carolina Alonso Pozas has completed her graduation in Marine Sciences from the University of Cadiz. In addition to collaborating in various research projects at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography she complemented his training with the completion of a Master’s in Sustainable Management in Marine Systems and a Master’s in Integrated Quality Management. In close connection with the Fisheries sector, she has been a Fishery Observer in vessels of Newfoundland waters (Canada) in support of the control of the Community Fisheries Policy. Since 2005, she has been working in Fisheries and Aquaculture for Andalusian Government in Spain.

TASCMAR is a collaborative research project funded under the EU Horizon 2020 programme and aspires to develop new tools and strategies to overcome existing bottlenecks in the discovery and application of marine-derived biomolecules, with a focus on the theme of anti-ageing. Marine biotechnology remains an emerging field involving the discovery and the application of products and processes derived from marine organisms. In comparison to terrestrial natural products (NPs), marine organisms possess the capacity to produce a huge diversity of molecules with unique structural features and biological potency. On the other hand, ageing of the population has become a worldwide demographic trend. According to WHO by 2040, the global population aged 65 and over is estimated to reach 1.3 billion (14%) of the total population and, consequently, the prevalence of age-related diseases (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, neurodegeneration, cancer, etc.) will significantly increase. Taking into consideration the aforementioned issues, the TASCMAR project aspires to develop new tools and strategies in order to overcome existing bottlenecks in the biodiscovery and industrial exploitation of novel marine derived biomolecules (secondary metabolites and enzymes) with applications in the pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmeceutical and fine chemicals industry. Exploitation of neglected and underutilized marine invertebrates and symbionts from the under-investigated mesophotic zone, of existing and targeted new collections from global marine biodiversity hotpots will be combined with innovative approaches for the cultivation and extraction of marine organisms from lab to pilot-scale. The activities in the project will be continuously evaluated for their socio-economic and environmental impacts to reach a compromise between industrial development and sustainable growth.

Nayana P is a PhD Scholar at Department of Fisheries Resources and Management, College of Fisheries, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India.

The present investigation was taken up to assess the status of pelagic fish biodiversity of Mangalore coast (Lat. 12°50'54"N; Long. 74°50'11"E). The data for the present study was collected from the trawlers and purse seiners operating from Mangalore fishing harbour over a period from September-2012 to April-2013 and sampling was done once in fortnight. A total 69 species belonging to 49 genera, 20 families and 6 orders were recorded during the study period. Oil sardine contributed 26.97% of total landing followed by Indian mackerel (26.30%). The family Carangidae contributed 21.74% of total number of species, followed by Clupeidae 17.39%. Diversity indices such as Margalef's richness index, Shannon- Wiener index (Hꞌ), Simpson index (λ), Hill diversity number (N1) and (N2) and Evenness (Jꞌ) were calculated. The values of Shannon-wiener index (H’) (at log10) ranged between 1.1553 and 1.2679. The average value recorded was 1.20, whereas highest value was recorded during month of October 2012. The Simpson index (λ) ranged from 0.0650 to 0.0979, the average value was 0.0836. Highest values for Hill diversity number (N1) and (N2) were recorded during the month October 2012 and lowest during the month of November 2012.The value of evenness (Jꞌ) ranged from 0.8134 to 0.9311. It was found to be lowest during the month of October 2012 and highest during January 2013. Hierarchical cluster analysis technique showed the similarity in species composition and abundance was observed between the month of October and December 2012 (97.92%) and minimum inter-relationship was between September and December 2012 (64.27%). The same pattern was also evident in the Non-metric Multi Dimensional Scaling plot where samples from Monsoon fell on one side and those from post-monsoon and pre-monsoon on the other side of the map demonstrating the close similarity with (80%) in species composition and abundance during different seasons. The stress value, which was overlying on the MDS plot (0.01), showed an excellent ordination of the samples collected. Studies have indicated that the Mangalore coast is one of the major fishing harbour and having rich biodiversity, during the study period there was good recruitment to the fishery immediately after the ban period, but the increased recruitment did not last for more than 2 to 3 months, a good deal of pelagic biodiversity was observed.

Pedro Antonio Alvarez Molina has completed his graduation in Marine Sciences from the University of Cadiz and has taken PhD course in Biotechnology. In addition to collaborating in various research projects, he is working as Associate Investigator at the Zoology Department of the University of Granada. In close connection with the Fisheries and Aquaculture sector, he has been working in many national aquaculture projects focused on production of new species of commercial and biotechnological interest, as echinoderms and cnidarians. Since 2004, he has been working in Fisheries and Aquaculture for Andalusian Government in Spain.

Mesophotic choral ecosystems (MCEs) invertebrates are poorly investigated. Studies have demonstrated that MCEs species feature a variety of interesting metabolic and physiological strategies. TASCMAR Project is focused on the study of these species as potential resources of target biomolecules with pharmacological, biomedical, cosmetic or nutraceutical interest. Imare natural is one of the partners of this Project. Our efforts are now focused to produce the desired amount of biomass of each target species. Marine mesophotic invertebrates are very sensitive to the dissolved nitrogenous compounds. Similarly, other physical-chemical parameters of water (Tª, salinity, pH, phosphate, calcium, and trace elements) must be perfectly balanced to ensure the viability of cultures. Selected species isolated from mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs), (cnidarians, sponges and echinoderms) are being cultivated under specific technics, taking into account the environmental conditions of the collecting site. These studies are focused to generate a standard operating protocol for the cultivation of MACLIB organism that maximizes the production of target molecules, considering how production and environmental sustainability can be maximized. For example, this is done by integrating cultivation in the framework of multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA).

Rajanna K B is working at Fisheries Research and Information Centre, Hebbal, Bengalore, Karnataka, India.

The ‘fringe-lipped’ peninsula carp Labeo fimbriatus (Bloch) is a potential and an abundant fish species of rivers and reservoirs of peninsular India. It contributes a part of inland fish production and also plays a role in rural economy in major carp deficient regions of India. The fish is locally called as “Kemmeenu” in Karnataka. Month wise samples were collected from the Vanivilasa Sagar Reservoir fish landing centre and fishing villages around the reservoir. For this study, a total of 1,126 specimens were examined during March, 2013 – February, 2014. Studies on the reproductive biology showed the occurrence of ripe gonads more during October, November, December and January. Thus it may be concluded that spawning season coinciding with monsoon season and the size at maturity was found to be 36 and 37 cm total length (M and F). Fecundity ranged from 63,897 to 5,10,824 with an average of 2,43,304 eggs and the predominance of female was reported. The pooled sex ratio (M:F) was found to be 1:1.09. This study will throw light on reproductive biology of fish for captive brood stock development, breeding and rearing of Labeo fimbriatus. Since this fish is commercially important, the study would help to take up hatchery production.

Rajesh DP is a PhD Scholar at Department of Fisheries Resources and Management, College of Fisheries, Mangalore.

The length-weight relationship of Atropus atropos was estimated and corresponding equation was W=0.0185 L2.8647 for male and W=0.01398 L2.9575 for female. Analysis of covariance showed that there is no significant difference in length-weight relationship between the male and female. Hence, the pooled equation for both sexes was obtained at W=0.0031L2.8915. Data on seasonal variation in condition (Kn) of both male and female during the study period showed that the values were more or less similar in both the sexes, indicating almost identical metabolic activity in male and female which may be attributed to gonadal development and high feeding intensity. Mature gonads appeared conspicuously from April onwards which further supported rise in Kn values. The fluctuation in the relative condition factor (Kn) value with respect to size indicated that condition of fish more or less showed an increasing trend with size of fish. The seasonal fluctuations in the relative condition factor of both the sexes could be attributed to the sexual cycle, food intake and environmental factors. From the present study, it can be said that the variation in the condition of Atropus atropos was due to feeding activity.

Sergio Calle Lobo performed his Master’s thesis in IMIDA (Murcian Institute for Investigation and Development of Aliments). His research is focused on life cycle assessment, a very useful tool to determine the impacts produced during the production process of any product. The main goal of his study was to create an alternative aqua feed with less environmental burdens by using alternative raw materials. Currently this aqua feed is only theoretical and the next step is to test it in living animals.

The culture of aquatic organisms is spreading worldwide as it has the potential to decrease global hunger and relieve pressure on fishing. However, it is also important to evaluate the impacts caused by this activity – a perfect tool to fulfil this aim is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which calculates impacts caused during a production process. Several aquaculture LCAs have identified aquafeed production as the main impact contributor on aquaculture. In the following study, a LCA on gilt-head sea bream (Sparus aurata L.) has been performed using different diets in order to see which protein sources produce fewer impacts. Standard diet was the commercial standard aquafeed, Diet 1 was rich in glutens, Diet 2 was rich in vegetal protein sources, Diet 3 was rich in animal by-products (Blood meal and poultry by-product meal) and Diet 4 had an equal distribution of every raw material. Results obtained indicate that, as in other species, aquafeed is the main impact contributor for S. aurata aquaculture and that blood meal and poultry by-product meal are the protein sources with fewer environmental burdens. It is also concluded that fishmeal and soybean meal are the most important contributors for global warming out of the raw materials used. Furthermore, that the LCA technique needs a unification of the criteria since the results vary widely depending on the allocation technique. This unification would enable future researchers to compare different studies more easily.

Katherinne Valderrama Rios is a Chilean PhD student. In the field of research, her interest focused on the descriptive study of parasites in marine invertebrates. She is currently interested in deepening the pathologies of aquatic organisms, their preventive management, palliative therapies and disease control. One of the most important measures of control of diseases in aquaculture is vaccination, and within this, massive and low-cost vaccination is paramount. For this reason, she has spent her last years researching on the effect of gene mutations on Aeromonas salmonicida, a bacterium known worldwide for its negative effects on aquaculture. Mutation of certain genes related to virulence produces attenuated organisms that can be effective in the development of economic and mass application vaccines in the industry. Following her research, she has been accepted by the Memorial University of Newfoundland as a visiting Graduate student and will make a two-month stay at this institution to complete her PhD thesis.

Precise deletion of genes related to virulence can be used as a strategy to produce attenuated bacterial vaccines. Here, we study the deletion of the cyclic 3’,5’-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) receptor protein (Crp) in Aeromonas salmonicida, the causative agent of furunculosis in marine and freshwater fish. Crp is a conserved bacterial global regulator, controlling physiology processes, like sugar utilization. Deletion of the cyclic 3’,5’-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) receptor protein (crp) gene has been utilized in live attenuated vaccines for mammals, birds, and warm water fish. Here, we characterize the crp gene and reports the effect of a crp deletion in A. salmonicida, virulent and non-virulent isolates. We found that A. salmonicida Δcrp was not able to utilize maltose and other sugars, and its generation time was similar to the wild-type. Also, A. salmonicida crp mutant showed a low frequency of VapA- strain conversion after thermal shock, suggesting that Crp plays a role in activation of chromosomal insertion (IS) elements that cause genome rearrangements in A. salmonicida. A. salmonicida crp showed a higher ability of cell invasion than the wild-type. Fish assays showed that A. salmonicida ∆crp mutant is attenuated in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and triggered protective immunity against the intra coelomic challenge with A. salmonicida wild type. We concluded that deletion of A. salmonicida crp influence sugar utilization, intracellular infection and virulence. Furthermore, deletion of crp in A. salmonicida diminished endogenous chromosomal modifications making this deletion an effective strategy to develop immersion live attenuated vaccines against furunculosis.