Scampi aquaculture programme launched Fighting the sea invaders

ISSUE ONE 2014:
Scampi aquaculture programme launched
Fighting the sea invaders
Hi-tech buoys populate New Zealand
Tropical microalgae discovered in New Zealand
Ensuring the safety of dairy exports
And more...
Image: Cawthron ecotoxicologists are studying zebrafish embryos (pictured) to help understand the impact of contaminants on the natural environment.
Fighting the
sea invaders
Scampi aquaculture
programme launched
A Māori fishing company, scientists and engineers have
joined forces to help transform the New Zealand scampi
industry into an estimated $200 million annual export
earner by 2030.
In the future, structures may be
designed to attract or support
predators to control marine pests.
Cawthron and NIWA
scientists have joined
together to take on
every mariner’s bane –
biofoulers.
Biofoulers such as barnacles, sea squirts,
sponges and seaweeds can play havoc on
marine environments and compromise the
integrity of marine structures.
Cawthron Marine Ecologist Javier Atalah
says the scientists are looking for natural
solutions to this ubiquitous problem.
“We’ve set up trials in the Nelson Marina and
Picton Marina to find out which predators
can be introduced into an environment to
control biofouling populations.”
Dr Atalah says that while marine snails, pāua,
kina and sea stars may not strike fear into
the hearts of humans, they are natural and
efficient predators of many biofouler species.
“The goal of this research is to see which of
these predators will eat the biofoulers and
survive in a marina environment.”
To conduct the research, Dr Atalah and
his colleagues are using “cages” to house
predators on structures. So far, a sea snail
– the Cook’s turban – seems to have the
biggest appetite.
“They not only eat through the biofoulers,
but keep them from coming back and they
are extremely hardy.”
Eventually, Dr Atalah and the project team’s
research may influence the way piers and
other structures are built. “Engineers and
industrial designers could build structures
that can facilitate the establishment of
predators or grazers such as sea snails.”
This research was funded by NIWA’s Coasts
and Oceans Research Programme 4.
The project is part of a government-funded
6-year research programme to refocus the
industry from frozen commodity production
to live export trade through the development
of more sustainable, commercially attractive
harvesting methods, and a move to landbased aquaculture.
The programme is led by Cawthron Institute in
collaboration with Waikawa Fishing Company,
University of Auckland and Zebra-Tech.
Current annual New Zealand export earnings
from scampi are $21 million but the team
believe the potential for the sector is far greater.
“Through the development of more efficient,
effective and environmentally friendly
harvesting technologies and species
domestication, we’re aiming to support the
industry to increase this to $200 million in
annual exports by 2030,” programme leader
and Cawthron scientist Shaun Ogilvie says.
The programme marks the first major
advance in the sector since it began in the
late 1980s and Dr Ogilvie says, “its success will
revolutionise the scampi industry”.
A new hatchery has been built at Cawthron
Aquaculture Park to support the research,
improve understanding of New Zealand
scampi and establish the world’s first captive
breeding programme for the species.
Oyster virus research boost
Efforts to combat New Zealand’s devastating Pacific oyster
virus have been boosted with the opening of two new
research facilities.
A new purpose-built laboratory dedicated to
the development of resilient Pacific oysters
has recently been opened at Cawthron
Aquaculture Park. At the same time, a separate,
secure facility for herpes virus research is now
operating at Cawthron Institute’s campus in
Nelson City.
”These two facilities enable our team of
scientists to focus on the problem from
the perspective of both the oyster and the
virus in secure environments, without the
risk of bringing the virus into the hatchery
environment,” Cawthron’s Cultured Shellfish
Programme Leader, Nick King, says.
“The result will be more resilient oysters
available for industry production in 2015.”
Cawthron scientists, together with industry
partners, have been working towards breeding
Pacific oysters resilient to the ostreid herpes
(OsHV-1) since the virus hit in 2010, almost
wiping out the country’s Pacific oyster stocks.
In March, the research team will release the
second generation of healthy, selectively bred
spat from the breeding programme onto farms
in the Northland and Auckland areas. The spat’s
progress will be measured throughout the year.
Supporting the New Zealand oyster industry’s
aim of $100 million in exports by 2025 is a
major focus for Cawthron and “we see the next
2 to 5 years being a key focus on Pacific oysters
to help them achieve that goal,” says Nick King.
“It’s all about compounding those good healthy
traits so eventually we end up with resilient
oysters to pass on to industry.”
Tropical microalgae discovered in
New Zealand waters
Cawthron scientists have identified a species of toxin-producing
microalgae in New Zealand’s marine environment that is usually
associated with tropical and subtropical waters.
Algae experts
gather in
Wellington
“As ocean temperatures rise, the range of some
microalgae, and consequently the range of the
toxins they produce, increases,” says Cawthron
senior scientist Lesley Rhodes.
The scientists found the microalgae
(a dinoflagellate in the genus Gambierdiscus)
in Te Uenga Bay in the Bay of Islands last year,
while researching micro-organism threats to
seafood for the government-funded Safe
New Zealand Seafood programme.
Algae experts from
around the world will
descend on Wellington
in October for the 16th
International Conference
on Harmful Algae,
hosted this year by
Cawthron Institute.
“During our investigation we discovered the
Gambierdiscus species that had not been
identified in New Zealand previously.”
Gambierdiscus species can produce toxins known
as ciguatoxins, which can concentrate in fish and
cause ciguatera fish poisoning in people who
eat them. The microalgae found in Northland,
Gambierdiscus cf. yasumotoi, does not appear to
produce these toxins but the find is significant
The biennial conference is the major
calendar event for the world’s experts
on harmful algal bloom research and
management. Around 500 worldleading scientists and representatives
from government agencies, the
seafood and aquaculture industries,
and environmental organisations are
expected to attend.
because its presence shows Gambierdiscus can
survive in temperate New Zealand coastal waters.
“Australian scientists recently found a related
species blooming in temperate waters off
New South Wales, and now reports are coming in
of ciguatera fish poisoning there,” Dr Rhodes says.
“By being proactive we can stay ahead of potential
threats here so we can be well prepared with the
tools to respond to any new events.”
The scientists have reported the discovery to
the Ministry for Primary Industries and their
findings were published in the
New Zealand Journal of
Marine and Freshwater
Research to raise
awareness about
this potential
health risk. They
continue to
monitor the area.
Hi-tech buoys populate New Zealand
Hi-tech monitoring buoys are rapidly populating New Zealand’s
coastline thanks to enthusiastic councils keen to keep a closer
eye on coastal water quality.
Harmful algal blooms occur in seas,
rivers and lakes worldwide. They can
be highly toxic, are a serious health risk,
threaten our fisheries and aquaculture
sectors through fish and shellfish
poisoning, and cost industries and
governments millions of dollars in
environmental monitoring each year.
Regional councils from Nelson to Auckland have
launched the water quality monitoring buoys off
their coastlines to help them better understand
what is happening in the marine environments
they manage.
The buoys are designed and built by Cawthron
scientists and tailor-made for each council’s
unique situation. They provide long-term,
real-time data on water quality, wind speed,
wind direction, barometric pressure and
temperature. This information is valuable
for scientists, councils and environmental
management agencies for state of the
environment monitoring.
The conference aims to advance
knowledge of this global problem
through shared research and
technology. Knowledge gained
from this event will be used to help
primary industries, governments and
communities better protect seafood
exports and human health.
Hawkes’ Bay Regional Council, Waikato Regional
Council and Auckland Council are the latest to
launch coastal monitoring platforms, joining
Tasman District Council in the South Island.
Register now at
www.icha2014nz.com
Scientists inspect the
TASCAM monitoring buoy
in Tasman Bay, Nelson.
Cawthron builds the buoys in two sizes – standard
and micro – and designs them to meet clients’
specific needs. As well as local governments,
industries are also adopting the technology.
Micro buoys are being used by the Marlborough
Shellfish Quality Programme to monitor water
quality around aquaculture farms in Golden Bay.
Port Otago Limited has launched three micro
buoys as part of resource consent monitoring for
their dredging programme in Dunedin Harbour.
There is also a growing demand from researchers
interested in leasing the buoys short-term for
specific one-off projects.
Go to www.cawthron.org.nz/tascam
for live data from Cawthron’s TASCAM
buoy in Tasman Bay, Nelson.
To find out more, email Paul Barter at
[email protected].
Ensuring the safety of dairy exports
Charlie’s
corner
Get behind
our rivers!
An important part of our job as
scientists is to provide reliable,
accurate information and tools
that make it easier for the people
and industries we work with to
make sound, informed decisions.
Since 2012, we’ve been working with Local
Government New Zealand, the Ministry for
the Environment and Massey University on an
innovative project designed to do just that.
The Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) web
platform launched in March presents state
and trend information for more than 1100
rivers throughout New Zealand under one
roof, and in an easy to understand format.
Users can share news, report pollution, or
promote clean-up or riparian planting days.
They can compare rivers, check if water
quality is improving or not and see if their
local swimming hole is safe to use.
Hopefully it will encourage people to take
greater ownership of the rivers in their
own communities.
This is a fantastic initiative for New Zealanders
and we applaud all those involved.
We are now looking ahead to collaborating
on the next stage of LAWA, which will be
water quantity and coastal water quality.
A demand for robust testing to ensure the
safety of dairy exports has seen Cawthron
Analytical Services launch a suite of
new services.
The new dairy and micronutrients section
focuses on testing for high-value dairy
ingredients, dairy isolates, micronutrients and
key chemical contaminants.
The new development has been greeted with
approval by industry.
The team, headed by experienced microbiologist
and chemist Sam Murray, work with
ingredient developers and suppliers, contract
manufacturers and finished product producers.
“This greatly supports and enhances our product
innovations and enables us to focus on the
production, delivery and commercial success of
our products in the marketplace,” says Michael
Teen, Research and Development Manager of
Westland Milk Products.
“We’re definitely seeing more demand for
specialised testing and technical support, in
particular with dairy nutrition products and
ingredients, and specific high-value dairy isolates
like colostrum and lactoferrin,” says Mr Murray.
Cawthron science helps
Antarctic predators
An international team of scientists are hoping to understand
more about Antarctic predator diets by examining their poo
Cawthron scientist Jonathan Banks, who
specialises in faecal DNA, is one of nine
researchers working on the year-long study
that examines the diets of orca whales, Weddell
seals and Adélie penguins to help understand
critical food resources needed for their survival.
The research, funded by the New Zealand
Antarctic Research Institute (NZARI), will also
provide reference points for detecting future
changes and allow for responsible management
of the Ross Sea.
“As fishing pressure is increasing, we need to
understand what these species are eating and
how fishing activity will affect the top predators
in Antarctica,” Dr Banks says.
Dr Banks recently spent three 3 in Antarctica
collecting faecal samples from seal and penguin
colonies. He also ice-fished for fish samples to
compare with the faecal DNA.
“I’ll match the DNA sequences from the poo
with the DNA sequences from the fish samples
and then we’ll know what they’re eating.”
Dr Banks has previously studied penguin lice to
understand their evolution and used genetics
to identify the faecal bacterial communities of
seals, penguins and skuas.
At Cawthron he works on faecal source tracking,
working with councils throughout New Zealand
to identify the sources of contamination in
marine and freshwater environments.
His methods are so precise that, through DNA
finger printing, he is able to identify the source
of faecal contamination in a river, lake or sea,
down to the species responsible.
Jonathan Banks’ expertise in faecal
DNA is aiding research into the diets
of Antarctica’s top predators.
Check it out at
www.lawa.org.nz
Professor Charles Eason CHIEF EXECUTIVE CAWTHRON INSTITUTE
Science Matters is a quarterly magazine by Cawthron Institute, New Zealand’s largest independent science organisation.
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