NEWS UPDATES Fish behavior studied after fish farms - TopicsExpress

NEWS UPDATES Fish behavior studied after fish farms escapes Wednesday, October 08, 2014 SPAIN :A group of aquaculture researchers and farmers is working on the prevention and mitigation of fish escapes from floating sea cages located in Andalusia and Murcia. Through this collaboration, the proponents of the initiative intend to protect the coastal ecosystem and wildlife populations, and reduce economic losses faced by the companies involved in offshore aquaculture. The research is conducted and coordinated in the framework of the project Prevention and mitigation of fish escapes in offshore aquaculture. ESCA-FEP. One of the most important issues is the development of a re-capture plan for mitigating the escapes. Developing this plan requires some prior knowledge, including fish spatial distribution over time, how and what they are fed on and how they are recaptured through the different types of fisheries (driftnet, seine or longline). To do this, under ESCA-FEP, the technicians of the University of Alicante, of the Andalusian Aquaculture Technology Centre Foundation (CTAQUA) and of Culmarex Group are performing releases of different farmed species in centres located along the coast of Malaga, Almeria and Murcia. So far, 3,000 tagged specimens have been released including sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), sea bream (Sparus aurata) and meagre (Argyrosomus regius). The first of these experiments was conducted in August and consisted of releasing 1,000 sea bass specimens in Malaga. The second release, carried out in Almeria last week, included 1,000 sea bream specimens. And this month a release of 1,000 meagre specimens is scheduled in Murcia. Before the releases, each specimen is marked with standard yellow labels, which are printed with a unique number, a phone number and an email address to contact the project technicians. Those fishermen catching a specimen of this initiative will receive a reward after contacting the technicians and handing in the corresponding label. As soon as the scientists have collected the necessary information, the fish will be released. The researchers also plan to develop a prevention plan and a document with recommendations to implement safer aquaculture facilities. This project has a budget of EUR 196,261, of which EUR 147,195 will be co-financed by the 2007-2013 European Fisheries Fund and the Biodiversity Foundation.FIS