In aquaculture, environmental impacts such as deteriorated water quality and poor pond bottoms are becoming challenging and omnipresent problems. This article highlights measures which can be taken to improve the quality of water and soil in aquaculture ponds, and therefore the immediate environment of fish and shrimp. Better rearing conditions will improve the overall performance of your fish and shrimp.
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1. July | August 2012Enzymes to improve water and soil quality
in aquaculture ponds International Aquafeed is published five times
a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom. All data
is published in good faith, based on information received, and
while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers
accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the
consequences of action taken on the basis of information published.
Copyright 2012 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No
part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any
means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by
Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1464-0058The International magazine
for the aquaculture feed industry
2. FEATUREEnzymes to improvewater and soil quality
inaquaculture pondsby Elisabeth Mayer MSc, BIOMIN, AustriaI n
aquaculture, environmental Somespecificenzymescanbeactive impacts
such as deteriorated in a very wide range of environmental water
quality and poor pond conditions. While some micro-organ- bottoms
are becoming challeng- isms have a narrow range of environ-ing and
omnipresent problems. This
mentalconditionswheretheyareablearticlehighlightsmeasureswhichcan
Picture 1: Samples of the pond bottom to proliferate (pH, oxygen,
availability,be taken to improve the quality of soil of the
AquaStar groups etc.), certain enzymes are able to actwater and
soil in aquaculture ponds, in multiple environments. They remainand
therefore the immediate envi-
activeevenwhenenvironmentalcondi-ronment of fish and shrimp. Better
tions change drastically, especially ifrearing conditions will
improve the they are immobilised on a carrier.
Foroverallperformanceofyourfishand example, protease is able to
workshrimp. effectivelyinpHsbetweenfourand11 Picture 2: Samples of
the pond bottom andwithtemperatureslessthan20C As the aquaculture
industry soil of the control groups and greater than 70 C (Whiteley
etexpands and develops, several chal-
al.,2002).lengeshavearisen.Akeyproblemcausedby
Whenaddedtotheculturewaterorspread Furthermore, another advantage
of thisaquaculture operations is its environmental
ontopofthepondbottomsoil,enzymesare immobilisation is that the
enzyme activity isimpact. Intensive aquaculture pond systems able
to degrade the major organic constitu-
preservedandcanthusbereused(Karamandresultinhighorganicloadingsthatcausedete-
entsnormallyfoundinshrimpandfishponds.
Nicell,1997).rioratedwaterqualityandpondbottomand
Eachenzymehasitsmodeofactionandis There is currently a lot of
interest inthe accumulation of toxic compounds such
veryspecificinthechemicalreactionitcataly- manufacturing such
enzyme preparationsas ammonia, nitrites and hydrogen sulfides.
ses.Forexample,proteasehydrolyzesinsolu-
despitethehighcostsofisolation,purificationThischangesthebacterialcompositioninthe
bleproteinsandamylasepolysaccharidessuch
andproduction.Nevertheless,someofthesewaterandsoilofpondsbyincreasingthepres-
as starch; cellulase catalyses the breakdown
productsarealreadybeingusedasbioreme-enceofpathogenicbacteria,thuscontributing
of cellulose (the major cell wall material in
diationagentsinaquaculture.
plants);-Glucosidaseisinvolvedincatalysinggreatly to the occurrence
of diseases in fishandshrimpfarming. the hydrolysis and
biodegradation of various Proven benefits of bioremediation
-glucosidespresentinplantdebris;andlipase
EnzymeshavethecapacitytostabilizetheDirect enzyme application
worksonlipidsorfats(Table1).
soilorganicmatterandcanbeusedeffectively One way of improving water
and soil Enzymes are also naturally produced
tomanagesoilqualityandrearingconditionsquality in aquaculture and
excreted by some foraquaticspecies.Thereisnotonespecificis the
direct application table 1: a diverse range of microbes. These
extra- enzymethatworksbestinallcases(Ruggaberof enzymes and ben-
enzymes used as bioremediation cellular enzymes, such as
andTalley,2006).Ablendcontainingavarietyeficial micro-organisms
agents in aquaculture cellulase, protease and
ofenzymesmaybethemosteffectivemeansto ponds. This type of enzyme
Substrate amylase, are produced for bioremediation in aquaculture.
The effi-biotechnology applica- during the aerobic fer-
cacyandmodeofactionofenzymesrequiretion is often referred to
amylase Starch mentationoforganicmat- thatthey:as bioremediation,
an ter by micro-organisms, Catalyse the degradation of organic
-Glucosidase -Glucosideenvironmentally friendly for example by some
matter (such as feces, undigested feedapproach which involves
Cellulase Cellulose Bacillus species. Bacilli are anddeadalgae)the
manipulation of lipase lipids and fat commonly found in pond Break
apart large sludge particlesmicro-organisms in ponds Protease
Protein sedimentsandcanalsobe (deflocculation) and reduce sludgeto
reduce pathogenic Xylan, addedtothepondwater accumulationbacteria,
enhancing the Xylanase Hemicellulose for bioremediation pur-
Reducesolidscontentmineralization of organic Pectinase Pectin
poses. Some Bacillus sp. Decomposeplantdebrismatter and removing
are also able to degrade Reduce anaerobic conditions in
theundesirable waste com- nitrogenous compounds
pondbottompoundsthroughspecificenzymes. and their large variety of
excreted (extracel- Promote the degradation of certain In the
bioremediation process, enzymes
lular)enzymesadditionallyhelpstospeedup complexnutrientsplay the
role of catalysts that accelerate the degradation of organic matter
and toxic
Facilitatethereleaseofhighlydigestiblebiochemicalreactionsinpondsoilandwater.
compoundssuchasammonia. nutrients 36 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed |
July-August 2012
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a better world.
4. FEATURE quality of the pond, and the performance of the
cultured fish andshrimp. Studies have confirmed that ponds using
bac- terial strains and enzymes showed better soil condi- tions
(yellow soil) Figure 1: Avergae growth rate of shrimp during Figure
2: Feed conversion ratio of control and enhanced the production
period and probiotic test groups shrimp perform- ance, while the
soil Enzymes strongly reduce sludge accu- (FCR) was improved by
nine percent in of ponds without the treatment showed
anmulationandanaerobicconditionsinpond
thetreatmentcomparedwiththecontrol.
accumulationofdeadorganicmatter(blacksoil).bottoms. They promote a
faster degrada- The soil of the treatment ponds in The addition of
specific enzymes (pro-tion of the organic matter that accumu-
Picture1wasyellow,whichisregardedas
teases,amylases,cellulases,xylanases)and/lates in ponds, especially
under intensive thebestbottomtype,whilethesoilofthe or
enzyme-producing bacteria, such
asproductionconditions.Thisorganicmatter
controlpondsinPicture2exhibitedadark Bacillus sp., promotes the
pre-digestion ofcomprises uneaten feed, dead plankton,
blackcolor,anindicationoftheaccumula- cer tain complex nutrients
and facilitatesmineral soils, feces and pathogenic micro-
tionofdeadorganicmatter. the release of highly digestible
nutrients.organismsinthesoilwheretheconditions Results suggested
that with the com- This helps to reduce sludge and organ-are often
anaerobic. However, for all bined use of beneficial bacteria and ic
matter accumulation, as well as thethese bioremediation processes
catalysed enzymes, pond soils containing black and anaerobic
conditions in pond bottoms,by enzymes, the presence of beneficial
glutinous organic sludge turned into a thus improving the rearing
conditions forbacteria is important as well (Boyd and
moreyellowsoil.Fortheanimals,enzymes shrimpandfish.
Gross,1998).Enzymesacceleratemicrobi- improve the growth and
performance ofalprocessesbybreakingapartlargesludge
shrimpbybalancingtheirambientenviron- More InforMatIon:particles,
thus creating more surface areas ment.
BIOMINwhichcanthenbeattackedandfermented The improvements of enzyme
appli- www.biomin.netby microbes. This reduction of sludge and
cation may bedead organic matter can be seen visually greater in
pondsnotonlythroughbetterwaterquality,but with even
higheralsothroughbettersoilquality. stocking densities and feeding
ratesCombining bacteria where the waterand enzymes and soil quality
To test the effects of a combination deteriorategreatlyof
beneficial microbes and enzymes on during the pro-soil quality
under practical pond condi- ductionperiod.tions, a field study was
conducted usinga commercial probiotic product (2 x 10 9
PromisingCFU/g, AquaStar PondZyme, BIOMIN resultsGmbH, Austria)
containing an enzyme For the
amel-blend(amylases,xylanases,cellulases,pro-
iorationofaquaticteases) under intensive farming conditions
environmentalforwhiteshrimp(Litopenaeus vannamei)in conditions
underZhuhai,China. intensive farming Fourearthshrimpponds(0.70.8ha/
operations, thepond) with a depth of 1 1.2 m were combined
applica-stocked with juvenile shrimp (approxi- tion of
enzymesmately 1.4 g/shrimp) with a density of 50 and
beneficialshrimp/m. The trial was carried out for a bacteria as
anperiodof57dayswithadosageof500g/ effective
manage-haofproductappliedonceamonthtothe ment tool
seemstreatmentgroup(twoponds).Thecontrol very
promising.pondsconsistedoftwopondswithnormal Enzymes
playproductionoperations.Theshrimpinboth
importantrolesastreatmentsreceivedthesamediets. biological control
Figure 1 shows that the average daily agents in pondgrowth of
shrimp in the treatment group culture, particu-increased by 36
percent. It can be seen larly with respectfrom Figure 2 that feed
conversion ratio to water and soil July-August 2012 | InternAtIonAl
AquAFeed | 37
5. Aqua
NewsIFFOBacksMarineMammalandTurtleConservationinSouthAmericaI
FFO(theInternationalFishmealandFish IFFO, said,IFFO is delighted to
see this Oil Organisation) is backing an initiative excellent
initiative from Camanchaca in by one of its members, the Compaa
Chile and indeed other recent develop-Pesquera Camanchaca
(Camanchaca), ments in South America regarding thewhich aims to
teach fishermen the art of quantification and avoidance of the
inci-environmental stewardship, better pro- dental catches of
marine mammals andtecting marine animals including dolphins, sea
tur tles. In creating the IFFO RSseaturtlesandsharks. standard we
were hopeful that this type The initiative provides training for
the of conser vation programme would
beseniorcrewwhoworkaboardCamanchacas
developedbyourmembersandwelookvessels that land in the northern
Chilean forward to hearing more good news
inportofIquique.Theschemewillcontribute thefuture.towards the
gathering of vital research The Chile based project follows
oneinformationthatwillbeusedtohelpinthe takenlastyearinPeru,
inwhichanumberconservation of protected marine species. of fishing
companies working with envi-The first seminar took place
duringApril ronmental NGOs such as the Marine2012. Conser vation
Society (MCS) and IFFO has developed a Global Standard
ProDelphinusdistributedaseriesofturtlefor Responsible Supply (IFFO
RS) for identification and resuscitation guides andFishmeal and
Fish Oil. Its overarching pro- heldaseriesoftrainingcourses.gramme
includes the goal to reduce any Dawn Purchase, Senior
Aquaculturepotentialenvironmentalimpactarisingfrom Officer at MCS,
said,I am delighted withfishing catches made within its responsibly
thesuccessofthisprojectandthespin-offmanagedfisheries. conservation
courses being run for fish- Camanchaca was one of the first com-
ermen.The IFFO RS standard provides apanies in Chile to have its
factories cer- real opportunity to promote change ontified under
the IFFO RS standard earlier the water, which is what MCS strives
tothis year. It has now formed a partnership achieve. Increasing
the identification skillswiththeDepartmentofMarineSciencesof
andconservationknowledgeofthesefish-theArturoPratUniversityanditsTechnical
ermen in both Peru and Chile is a greatTrainingCentre,
toofferspecialisedtraining way of achieving environmental
steward-seminarstothefishermen. ship. Large marine animals are
sometimescaptured in the fishing nets designed
tocatchsmalloilyfishsuchasanchovyandsardine, ingredients used in
the pro-duction of fishmeal for animal feedand fish oil for human
consumption.IFFO is keen to ensure that its members More
InforMatIon:areawareoftheimportanceofconserving Website:
www.iffo.netmarinecreaturesaspartofthemarineeco-system. Topics
covered at the seminars include IFFOthe ability to identify and
correctly record TheInternationaldataonprotectedmarinemammalsfound
FishmealandFishOiloff the coast of northern Chile, as well as
Organisationrepresentslearning how to safely return these crea-
thefishmealandfishoilindustrytures to the sea with the minimum risk
of worldwide.IFFOsmembersresidedamage. MrAdolfoCarvajal,
Camanchacas
inmorethan30countries,accountManagerfortheNorthernFishingArea,said,
fortwo-thirdsofworldproductionSustainable development requires us
to and80percentoffishmealandfishtake action in order to control the
impact
oiltradedworldwide.Approximatelyofouractivitiesonthemarineenvironment
5milliontonnesoffishmealareand without a doubt we have now under-
producedeachyearglobally,togethertakenactionsinthisrespect.Thesetraining
with1milliontonnesoffishoil.seminarsforourseniorcrewmemberswill
IFFOsheadquartersarelocatedinStallow them to demonstrate
Camanchacas AlbansintheUnitedKingdomanditcommitment to the
responsible sourcing alsohasofficesinLima,Peru,andinoffish.
Beijing,China. Andrew Jackson,Technical Director at July-August
2012 | InternAtIonAl AquAFeed | 7
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