Sea Pact, a Rancho Dominguez, California-headquartered coalition of seafood industry US companies, has announced the recipients of its third round of grants to finance worthy seafood sustainability endeavors. They are the University of North Texas (UNT), for a research project utilizing probiotics as an alternative to antibiotics for improving growth and survival in marine finfish aquaculture, and WWF Chile’s Aquaculture Improvement Project to transition the Chilean farmed salmon industry towards Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ACS) certification as part of the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI).
UNT’s Marine Conservation and Aquatic Physiology Laboratory (MCAPL) is conducting research to compare the effectiveness of probiotics (live microorganisms that benefit their host) to antibiotics, in order to increase growth rates and reduce mortality in commercially important marine fish.
Trials are presently being conducted for yellowtail amberjack and red drum, but the findings and methods developed will certainly be applicable to other species of marine finfish important to aquaculture. Current mortality rates in some marine fish species can be as high as 90% in the early stages, and use of antibiotics to reduce mortality can lead to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and public health concerns.
Dr. Ione von Herbing of UNT commented: “Our project to use a probiotic (‘good’ bacteria) approach to marine aquaculture will hopefully in the long-term provide a sustainable alternative to antibiotics, in order to protect human and animal health while providing a safe and economical global fish supply.”
Sea Pact is also supporting WWF Chile’s farmed salmon “AIP2ASC” project, which is developing pre-assessments, gap analyses and work plans to credibly transition salmon production towards meeting the ASC standard for sites involved. Tools developed throughout these comprehensive processes will then be available to other farms interested in transitioning toward ASC, including those of companies that are a part of the Global Salmon Initiative, a leadership drive among salmon producers who are seeking to provide a global and sustainable supply of farmed salmon, while minimizing their environmental footprint and keeping social issues in mind.
“We are committed to the environment in Chile and to working with the salmon industry to measurably reduce its impacts,” said Cristina Torres Trujillo, WWF Chile’s seafood program manager.
About Sea Pact
Albion Fisheries, Fortune Fish & Gourmet, Ipswich Shellfish Group, Santa Monica Seafood, Seacore Seafood, Stavis Seafood, Seattle Fish Co., JJ McDonnell and A.C. Covert comprise Sea Pact, which is a project under New Venture Funds 501c3 non-profit status. The organization receives sustainability counsel from non-profit organizations FishWise and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP).
