Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Workshop

Transcription

1 Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Workshop St. Andrews: Nov , 2012 Tillmann Benfey UNB Fredericton

2 Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Workshop

3 Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Workshop Objectives Discuss current state of fish welfare practices and technology in aquaculture Identify any knowledge gaps Provide a forum for developing one or more research proposals

4 Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Workshop Relevance Genuine concern for the fish s well being Best farm practices (healthy fish, good feed conversion, high quality product, etc.) Addressing consumer/market demand and any regulatory requirements Feeds into certification programs

5 Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Workshop Session 1 (invited speakers): The Science and Management of Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Session 2 (facilitated discussion): Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities Session 3: Education and Training in Fish Welfare

6 Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Workshop Session 1 (invited speakers): The Science and Management of Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Session 2 (facilitated discussion): Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities Follow-up meeting (Guelph, June 6, 2013)

7 The Science and Management of Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Victoria Braithwaite (Penn State) How can we provide good welfare for the fish we rear?

8 The Science and Management of Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Don Stevens (Univ. Guelph / UPEI) Pain and analgesia in fish: What we know, don t know and need to know!

9 The Science and Management of Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Gilly Griffin (CCAC) Guidelines for animals used in science: can these inform welfare practices for production animals?

10 The Science and Management of Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Michael Szemerda (Cooke Aquaculture) Commercial salmon farming: the Cooke Aquaculture perspective

11 The Science and Management of Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Rich Moccia (Univ. of Guelph) Fish welfare in closed containment systems

12 The Science and Management of Fish Welfare in Aquaculture Larry Hammell (UPEI) Population-level approaches to animal welfare in farmed fish

13 Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities Lack of quantitative and objective welfare assessment metrics to determine when an endpoint for euthanasia is reached Influences fish health management practices E.g., moribund individuals may be left alive despite signs of distress, and may become source of infection to other fish maine.gov

14 Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities Benfey Current salmon farming practices (SOPs) not well understood by the general public More public scrutiny than for wild-caught fishes (sport fishing & commercial harvesting) Communications issue No active partnerships between Canadian aquaculture sector and recognized animal welfare organizations wilsonscamps.nb.ca

15 Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities Limited treatment options to manage disease (including sea lice) Major fish welfare issue; environmental impacts trump fish health Influenced by slow approval process and high regulatory burden

16 Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities Breeding programs for disease resistance relatively new compared to terrestrial livestock Little experience with high densities in landbased closed-containment systems Lack of knowledge of long-term effect of chronic stress on fish populations

17 Follow-up Meeting (Guelph, June 6, 2013) 1. Development of quantitative, objective and practical metrics for chronic stress linked to production standards and improvements Proposal outline (MacCormack & Lamarre): a) identify specific, quantitative biomarkers of chronic stress responses in fish using novel biochemical approaches and next generation genomic tools

18 Follow-up Meeting (Guelph, June 6, 2013) 1. Development of quantitative, objective and practical metrics for chronic stress linked to production standards and improvements Proposal outline (MacCormack & Lamarre): b) characterize physiological effects of low-level chronic stress in aquaculture systems using sentinel animals equipped with physiological telemetry tags

19 Follow-up Meeting (Guelph, June 6, 2013) 2. Summarize current standards with respect to production-relevant activities Harvest, transportation, slaughter, rearing density, grading, vaccination, etc. Proposed as industry association initiative

20 Follow-up Meeting (Guelph, June 6, 2013) 3. Access to therapeutants Being addressed by the National Fish Health Working Group Disease resistance Already incorporated into breeding programs, with specific traits of interest dependent upon species and location

21 Follow-up Meeting (Guelph, June 6, 2013) 4. High stocking densities in land-based closed-containment systems Included within #1

22 Questions? Cooke Aquaculture