Marine fish specialists focus on puffer fish

摘要

Over a three-year period, researchers in the CIAD A.C. Mazatlan Unit for Aquaculture and Environmental Management, Sinaloa, Mexico, have successfully applied and modified protocols to develop the culture of the bullseye puffer (Sphoeroides annulatus) from broodsfish to juvenile. Important advances have been made in all aspects of culture: broodfish maintenance, spawning, egg incubation, larval rearing, juvenile culture and disease control. The bullseye puffer is a commercially important species inthe North West of Mexico, an area with a strong shrimp aquaculture industry that is looking to expand and diversify production into other species. The marine aquaculture industry has developed rapidly in Mexico. Dominated by shrimp, total production hasincreased from 35 tons in 1985 to 29,120 tons in 1999 (FAO 2000). The majority of the shrimp farms are situated in the northwest of Mexico, where support and diagnostic industries also have developed. The CIAD A.C. Mazatlan Unit for Aquaculture and Environmental Management is situated in the center of this region and supports the industry through well established laboratories of disease diagnostics, water quality and nutrition and monitors industry development through remote and direct assessment of environmental impact. However, in common with the world shrimp industry, the Mexican farms have suffered from the destabilizing effects of disease outbreaks, such as taura syndrome and white spot syndrome,, and although shrimp production continues to increase, the industry is calling for and investing in research to enable diversification into other species. CIAD Mazatlan has responded by contracting specialists, investing in a marine fish research facility and proposing research projects that the MexicanCouncil for Science and Technology (CONACYT) has funded, providing an opportunity to investigate a promising species that may enable the aquaculture industry to diversify.