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Feature: Mediterranean
Feature title: Practical methods of improving health & performance status in
Mediterranean aquaculture species
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Mediterranean
Practical methods of improving
health & performance status in
Mediterranean aquaculture species
by Dr Elizabeth Sweetman, Ecomarine Ltd, Livadi, 28200
Lixouri, Cephalonia, Greece and Dr Ioannis Nengas, Hellenic
Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Aquaculture, Agios
Kosmas, 16777 Athens, Greece
Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) are two of the most important
marine fish species farmed in the Mediterranean region. Currently approximately 100,000 tonnes of sea
bass and 120,000 tonnes of sea bream are produced annually in aquaculture facilities, which are typically
net pen cages although some pond and tank culture does occur.
O
ften in industrial scale
farms unfavourable
environmental condi-
tions (oxygen levels, pH,
water quality, temperature fluctua-
tions), sub-optimal growth conditions
(inadequate nutrition, overcrowding,
overfeeding) and the reality of practi-
cal husbandry practices combine to
result in the development of stressful
situations.
These ultimately express themselves in
poor performance, suppression of immune
defence mechanisms and variable product
quality (Bonga, 1997; Wedemeyer, 1997;
Pickering 1998).
All this combines to make the farmed
fish - Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) and
sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) - more vul-
nerable to ubiquitous opportunistic bacterial
and viral pathogens and parasitic infections.
14
14 || InternatIonal AquAFeed || January-February
The industry reports that average mor-
talities from juvenile to a market size of
330g are about 10 percent for gilthead sea
bream and up to 20 percent for sea bass.
Many of these losses can be attributed to
the development of diseases, which nega-
tively impact profitability, especially so at
times where profit margins are tight.
Constraints in the market prices of sea
bream and sea bass have led the aquacul-
ture industry to consider many approaches
to minimising losses, improving production
and reducing costs. It is possible to protect
against certain diseases with vaccination
strategies but only a limited number are
available for commercial use.
Restrictions on the use and variety
of therapeutics available to the industry,
increasing consumer concerns and social
considerations have led the industry to
consider more environmentally friendly
approaches to disease control (Hansen and
InternatIonal AquAFeed
January-February 09
09
Olafsen 1999 Verscheure et al 2000).
Good management practices and
sanitary prevention measures are recom-
mended including the integrated use of
vaccines and health promotional nutritional
supplementation that help prevent infection
and strengthens immune defence mecha-
nisms. (IUCN 2007).
An important area of research is the
formulation of optimal diets that meet
the specific requirements of each fish spe-
cies and each developmental stage through
the productive cycle. Mineral nutrition in
aquafeeds is important for many reasons
such as skeletal formation, maintenance of
colloidal systems regulation of acid-base
equilibrium and for biological compounds
such as hormones and enzymes (Lall 2002).
Even although the requirements for
these micronutrients has been determined
for several species no reliable data is
available for most marine cultured fish,
Mediterranean
maximize the growth poten- integrity of this system vital to the health,
tial of the species. performance and therefore quality status
of the fish.
Improving Mannan oligosaccharides have been
gastrointestinal shown to modulate the gastrointestinal
performance and integrity of marine fin fish. Dimitroglou et al,
immune status 2007 showed that the inclusion of a specific
Modern agricultural mannan oligosaccharide, derived from yeast
farm practises place heavy cell wall material, Bio-Mos® (Alltech Inc,
emphasis on the quality USA) in the diets of several marine spe-
and performance of young cies including sea bream improved the gut
animals. morphology by increasing the microvilli
It is considered vital that density in both the anterior and posterior
Control the best possible start is gut regions and significantly increasing the
given to the young, as an microvilli length.
animal never performs best These changes in the gut morphology
after a bad start. indicated that the absorptive surface of the
Similarly in aquaculture gut had been improved and that a better
just as poor larval fish sur-
vival rates will limit produc-
tion so will poor juvenile
absorptive capacity appeared to be possible.
These improvements in gut morphol-
ogy have also been noted in the lar-
quality. Juvenile quality can
be difficult to assess but the
val stages of white sea bream (Diplodus
sargus)(Dimitroglou, 2004) and cobia
industry considers param- (Rachycentron candum)(Salze et al, 2008).
eters such as growth rate, Larval quality was significantly improved by
mortality and susceptibility adding Bio-Mos through the enrichment
to disease, occurrence of media of the Artemia.
fish with skeletal deformi- In these experiments, villi morphology
ties or large size disper- was unaffected, however, microvilli condition
Bio Mos
sions and differing stress was improved and damaged areas of the gut
sensitivities as indicators of reduced with Bio-Mos supplementation.
quality. Similarly, Daniels et al (2005) demon-
Figure 1: Microvilli from white sea bream larvae
fed with enriched Artemia with and without The importance of the strated that adding Bio-Mos to the artemia
Bio-Mos supplementation. In the control group piscine gastrointestinal enrichment media improved survival rate
the microvilli are not continuous and they tract and its mucosa as in larval lobster (Hommarus gammarus) to
contain gaps (G) and are broken (BP) in place. a defensive barrier to stage IV and further noted that Vibrio sp.
The scale bar illustrates a length of 2μm
pathogen attack, its role levels were reduced in the Artemia culture
as a major endocrine and medium.
especially the Mediterranean species like osmoregulatory organ and its function as a One of the key benefits of this specific
sea bream and sea bass. mechanism for nutrient uptake makes the mannan oligosaccharide is its ability to bind
U n d e r
stress condi-
tions dietary
nutrient,
trace mineral
and vitamin
require-
ments often
change and
consideration,
therefore, has
to be given
to adequately
compensate
for this, com-
bat the nega-
tive effects Figure 2: The inclusion of Bio-Mos in sea bass juvenile diets improved the head kidney leukocytes
of stress and phagocytic activity and bactericidal activity
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January-February
January-February 09 InternatIonal AquAFeed
09 || InternatIonal AquAFeed || 15
15
 Mediterranean
or agglutinate a number of strains of bacte-
ria known to cause disease in shrimp and
fish thereby preventing colonization of the
gut and subsequent infection. Dimitroglou
et al, 2007 demonstrated that Bio-Mos
significantly reduced the bacterial load in
the gut of both rainbow trout and sea
Figure 3: The number of cells secreting acid mucins in
the posterior gut significantly increased with Bio-Mos
supplementation (P<0.05). (Torrecillas et al, 2008)
bream by reducing the total aerobically
cultivated bacteria.
In sea bass juveniles Torrecillas et al.
(2007a & b) has reported that the dietary
incorporation of Bio-Mos significantly
increased growth, by approximately 10 per-
Figure 4: Chemiluminescence activity in sea bream as a
function of incorporation of organic iron (Control – no organic
iron, B–ppm Bioplex Iron, F-ppm Ferous iron)
cent and produced a better specific growth trials the presence of Vibrio alginolyticus on
rate at low fish densities. The incorporation the head kidney of sea bass was 33 percent
of Bio-Mos also resulted in improvement for the control group and eight percent and
of the hepatocyte morphology with more 0 percent respectively for the 0.2 percent
regularly shaped hepatocytes and less and 0.4 percent Bio-Mos fed groups.
hepatocytes with displaced nuclei to the Torrecillas et al (2008) reported that in
cellular periphery. The activities of lipogenic sea bass fed two months of Bio-Mos sup-
enzymes in plementation the number of cells secreting
the liver were acid mucins in the posterior gut was signifi-
significantly cantly increased.
reduced at the The increase in mucus secretion with its
different incor- anti-adhesive properties could be directly
poration levels related to the decrease in the number
of Bio-Mos. of infected fish in disease challenge tri-
This devel- als reported previously. (Torrecilas et al
opment work 2007a,b)
has shown In studies by Dimitroglou at the
interesting new University of Plymouth improvements in
trends indicat- the blood health parameters of gilthead
ing the possibil- sea bream were observed with the dietary
ity of interac- inclusion of Bio-Mos. A reduction in the
tion with monocytes/macrophages in blood circula-
nutrient uptake tion was observed and that together with
mechanisms as the increase in the number of lymphocytes
indicated by in the Bio-Mos supplementation groups
the reduced may be responsible for the reduction of the
liver fat depo- haemolytic complement activity (ACH50).
sition and the Increased numbers of lymphocytes in the
improved hepatic composition that may be blood system indicate that a faster immu-
an indicator of better utilization of dietary nological response may occur in the event
nutrients. of an infection.
The immune function was also improved
and the immune parameters, phagocytic Improving health status
activity of leucocytes and the bacterial through mineral nutrition
activity of the Iron is one of the most importantly
sera in the recognised trace minerals for fish health
Bio-Mos fed and production.
groups showed Iron (Fe) plays a key role in oxygen
a statisti- transport in the blood, has an active role in
cally significant oxidation/reduction reactions and electron
improved dose transport associated with cellular respira-
response when tion. Iron deficiency can cause anaemia or
compared to even low haemoglobin levels in fish and in
the control certain conditions iron toxicity resulting in
group.
Dry with 20-50% less energy
reduced growth, poor feed utilization, feed
Disease refusal, increased mortality and histopatho-
resistance logical damage to liver cells (Lall 2002,
to bacterial Halver & Hardy 2002).
infection, both According to Watanabe et al. (1997), the
by cohabita- major factor that can influence iron absorp-
tive challenge tion is the relative proportion of organic
and by direct and inorganic forms of the metal in the
inoculation in diet, organic forms being more efficiently
the gut, were absorbed when compared to inorganic
enhanced when forms.
Bio-Mos was When the effect of an organic iron
incorporated supplementation (Bioplex Iron®, Alltech Geelen Counterflow / T +31-475-592315
in the diets. In Inc, USA) was studied in healthy sea bream
Geelen Counterflow USA Inc. / T +1-772-559-4338
cohabitation no effect was observed in the haematocrit
Geelen Counterflow América Latina / T +54-9-2362-418899
16 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | January-February 09 PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE
E info@geelencounterflow.com / I www.geelencounterflow.com

Mediterranean
or haemoglobin levels between the control
and the organically supplemented diets.
However the red blood cell counts was
affected by the different levels of the sup-
plemented iron.
Chemiluminescence activity showed an
improved immune response in relationship
Figure 5: Microcotyle sp.
to the incorporation of organic iron at a
level of 100-150 ppm.
At this level the response was sig-
nificantly higher compared to the ferrous
form. Fish fed the ferrous form at 200ppm
demonstrated significantly lower immune
response compared to the 100ppm and
150ppm Bioplex Iron fed groups.
In Greece sea bream juveniles of
between 20 to 50g are susceptible, in the
Spring, to infection with a gill parasite
microcotyle sp.
In challenged juveniles this monogenean
parasite causes anaemia and mortalities can
reach up to 15 percent of the population.
Low haematocrit levels of approximately 10
18 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | January-February 09
percent have been observed and the effect
of this parasite can add an additional two
months to the growth cycle.
To counteract the anaemia 200ppm
Bioplex Iron was added to the diet and
mortalities were reduced to <2 percent
of the population, haematocrit levels
increased to normal levels
of approximately 35 percent
and growth rates increased.
This provides a practical tool
for treating the symptoms
of infected populations of
sea bream and reducing the
negative commercial impacts
associated with the parasitic
infection.
These practical and
functional nutritional
tools provide opportunity
for producers to combat
a number of naturally
occurring specific and non-
specific diseases and their
symptoms by improving
the general health status
of fish stocks. The promo-
tion of improved fish health
status through prophylactic
measures such as these
are environmentally sound,
address the realities of
commercial production and
are welcomed by the mod-
ern consumer.
Acknowledgements
To Arkadios Dimitroglou,
University of Plymouth, UK
and Silvia Torrecillas, ULPCG,
Gran Canaria, Spain for their
contribution to this article.
References
Bonga S.E.W. (1997) The stress response in fish.
Physiol. Rev. 77 (3), 591-625.
Daniels C. (2005) Effects of Bio-Mos on the
growth of lobster, Homarus gammarus larvae.
In: Nutrition and Biotechnology in the Feed and
Food Industries: Alltech’s 21st Annual Symposium
(Suppl. 1 - Abstracts of posters presented)
Lexington, KY, USA.
Dimitroglou A. (2004) The role of mannan
oligosaccharide on the development of white sea
bream (Diplodus sargus) larvae. Thesis submitted
to the University of Plymouth for the degree of
MRes Applied Fish Biology.
Dimitroglou A., Davies S., Moate R., Spring P. &
Images courtesy of FRM Ltd
Fish feed that not only fish rave about. Buhler is the global technology partner for
companies producing fish feed on a commercial scale. With good reason: From
raw material processing to extrusion and drying, only leading technologies are
Sweetman J. (2007) The beneficial effect of Bio-
Mos on gut integrity and enhancement of fish
utilised. Buhler specialists having an intimate understanding of all process stages
health. Presented at Alltech’s Technical Seminar
Series held in Dublin, November 2007.
– mastering them with passion, combine these technologies into clever overall
Halver J.H. & Hardy R.W. (2002) Fish Nutrition. solutions. The result: superior-quality micro-pellets or flakes, shrimp pellets,
Academic Press.
Hansen G.H. & Olafsen J.A. (1999) Bacterial
floating and sinking feeds that not only fish rave about.
interactions in early life stages of marine cold
water fish. Microb. Ecol. 38, 1-26. www.buhlergroup.com/extrusion
Guide for the Sustainable Development of
Mediterranean Aquaculture, Interactions between
Aquaculture and the environment, (2007) IUCN,
Edinburgh Conference Centre, Heriot-Watt Univerity,
Gland, Switzerland and Maliga, Spain, 110 pages
ISBN 97884-491-0767-2.
Edinburgh
Scottish Aquaculture - A sustainable future
Lall S.P., (2002), The Minerals. In: Fish Nutrition
(ed. by Halver J.H. & Hardy R.W) Academic Press,
pp260-366.
Scotland is a leader in seeking to use science based policy, regulation and voluntary industry
Pickering A.D. (1998) Stress responses of farmed
fish. In: Biology of farmed fish (ed. by K.D. Black & codes to increase the sustainability of the aquaculture sector within the context of increasingly
A.D. Pickering AD), CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp focused regulation and global environmental and economic forces. The symposium will explore
222-255. sustainability under four broad themes of the environment, fish health and welfare, the role of
Salze G., Mclean E., Schwarz M.H. & Craig S.R. science within regulation and policy, together with the socio-economic impact of aquaculture. The
(2008) Dietary mannan oligosaccharide enhances
symposium is being organised by the Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum (SARF) in conjunction
salinity tolerance and gut development of larval
cobia. Aquaculture 274, 148-152. with The Royal Society of Edinburgh and The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and
aims to engage delegates from a wide range of backgrounds with an interest in aquaculture and
Torrecillas S., Makol A., Caballero M.J., Montero
D., Robaina L., Real F., Sweetman J., Tort L. & bring together the extensive portfolio of SARF sponsored research, complemented by interna-
Izquierdo M.S. (2007a) Immune stimulation and tionally recognised keynote speakers.
improved infection resistance in European sea bass
(Dicentrarchus labrax) fed mannan oligosaccharides.
Fish & Shellfish Immun. 23, 969-981. PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME
Torrecillas S., Caballero M.J., Sweetman J., Makol A. Tuesday 21st April Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th April
& Izquierdo M.S. (2007b) Effects of feeding Bio-
Mos on European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) Plenary Session 1: Aquaculture- Current EU and Global Status Field Trip to Stirling, Institute of Aquaculture,
juvenile culture. Presented at Alltech’s Technical Session 1: Understanding our environment Oban, Scottish Association of Marine Science
Seminar Series held in Dublin, November 2007. Session 2: Science into Policy and Regulation Laboratory and boat trip in Loch Creran to visit
Torrecillas S., Makol A. Caballero M.J. Montero D. fish and shellfish farms.
Sweetman J. and Izquierdo M.S. (2008) Enhanced Evening: Conference Dinner
nutrient utilization and bacterial infection
We anticipate presentations from 34 invited
resistance in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus experts and an open call for posters. The sym-
labrax) fed mannan oligosaccharides. Poster posium programme will deliver a co-ordinated
presented at the XIII International Symposium on Wednesday 22nd April series of presentations designed to meet the
Fish Nutrition and Feeding, Brazil 2008. needs of delegates from a broad spectrum of
Plenary Session 2: The Future- Challenges and Opportunities specialist and non-specialist backgrounds. The
Verschuere L., Rombaur G., Sorgeloos P. &
Verstraete W. (2000) Probiotic bacteria as
Session 1: Fish health and welfare proceedings will be published in a special volume
biological control agents in aquaculture. Microbiol. Session 2: Sustainability of Aquaculture Research.
Mol. Biol. Rev. 64, 655-671.
The symposium is receiving generous support form SARF Members with additional support from:
Watanabe T., Kiron V. & Satoh S. (1997) Trace
minerals in fish nutrition. Aquaculture 151, 185-
207.
Wedemeyer G.A. (1997) Effects of rearing
conditions on the health and physiological
quality of fish in intensive culture. In: Fish stress Further information and on-line registration is available at:
http://www.sarf.org.uk/symposium.htm
and health in aquaculture. (eds G.K. Iwama, A.D.
Pickering, J.P. Sumpter and C.B. Schreck CB).
Society for experimental biology seminar series
62. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
pp35-71.
The
SARFsolution behind
is Scottish Charity the solution.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s National Academy, is Scottish Charity No SC000470
No. SC035745
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