W3004: Marketing, Trade, and Management of Aquaculture and Fishery Resources

(Multistate Research Project)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

Project Menu

SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[07/20/2015] [05/20/2016] [02/01/2018] [09/19/2018]

Date of Annual Report: 07/20/2015

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 05/20/2015 - 05/22/2015
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2013 - 09/01/2014

Participants

Quentin S.W. Fong, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Matthew Freeman, Mississippi State University
Sherry Larkin, University of Florida
Gil Sylvia, Oregon State University
Hirotsugu Uchida, University of Rhode Island
Diego Valderrama, University of Florida
Quinn Weninger, Iowa State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Please see attached minutes/report file link below (you must be logged into NIMSS to view the attachment).

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

Project participants published a total of 36 peer-reviewed articles in the reporting period. In addition, 15 papers and a special session on seafood certification were presented at the North American Association of Fisheries Economists (NAAFE) Forum in Ketchikan, Alaska. The accomplishments and associated project objectives are listed below.   <ol> <li>Marketing, Niches, and New Products: the demand for ecolabeled seafood in the Japanese market and the impact of multilabeling on consumer choices in niche seafood markets in Oregon were investigated. In addition, an assessment of the value and role of seafood traceability from an entire value-chain perspective was conducted. The potential for marketing Alaskan seafood through local networks of school cafeterias was also examined.</li> <li>Production for Dynamic Markets: the production economics of a number of species and farming systems were investigated: small-scale commercial aquaponics in Hawaii, in-pond raceway systems for catfish farming in West Alabama, carrageenan seaweed farming in developing countries, and alternative feeds for snakehead farming in East Asia.</li> <li>Regulatory Influences on Sector Development: the ecosystem approach to fisheries management and the performance of marine protected areas as management and conservation tools for global fisheries were examined. Other topics investigated were community-driven fisheries management, bycatch management and the impact of information sharing in commercial fisheries, stakeholders’ perceptions on the relative importance of Better Management Practices for shrimp farming in India, and the potential of social network analysis to improve understanding of fishing quota lease markets. A landmark publication on the Fishery Performance Indicators (FPIs), a management tool for the standardized assessment of environmental, economic, and social sustainability of global fisheries, was released in PLOS ONE.</li> <li>Assessing Infrastructure and Industry Organization: the impact and magnitude of non-market losses to the recreational fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico as a consequence of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill were studied.</li> </ol>

Publications

Aboagye, D.L. and P.J. Allen. 2014. Metabolic and locomotor responses of juvenile paddlefish Polyodon spathula to hypoxia and temperature. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A, Molecular & Integrative Physiology 169:51-59. Alvarez, S., S. Larkin, J.C. Whitehead and T. Haab. 2014. A revealed preference approach to valuing non-market recreational fishing losses from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Journal of Environmental Management 145:199-209. Anderson, J.L., C.M. Anderson, J. Chu, J. Meredith, F. Asche, G. Sylvia, M.D. Smith, D. Anggraeni, R. Arthur, A. Guttormsen, J.K. McCluney, T. Ward, W. Akpalu, H. Eggert, J. Flores, M.A. Freeman, D.S. Holland, G. Knapp, M. Kobayashi, S. Larkin, K. MacLauchlin, K. Schnier, M. Soboil, S. Tveteras, H. Uchida, and D. Valderrama. The Fishery Performance Indicators: A management tool for triple bottom line outcomes. 2015. PLoS ONE 10(5): e0122809. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0122809. Arita, S. and P.S. Leung. 2014. A technical efficiency analysis of Hawaii’s aquaculture industry. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 45:312-321. Asche, F., R.E. Dahl, D. Valderrama and D. Zhang. 2014. Price transmission in new supply chains – the case of salmon in France. Aquaculture Economics and Management 18:205-219. Brown, T.W., T.R. Hanson, J.A. Chappell, C.E. Boyd and D.S. Wilson, Jr. 2014. Economic feasibility of an in-pond raceway system for commercial catfish production in West Alabama. North American Journal of Aquaculture 76:79-89. Carbonetti, B, R. Pomeroy and D.L. Richards. 2014. Overcoming the lack of political will in small scale fisheries. Marine Policy 44:295-301. Danaher, J.J., J.M. Pickens, J.L. Sibley, J.A. Chappell, T.R. Hanson and C.E. Boyd. 2014. Growth of tomato seedlings in commercial substrate amended with dewatered aquaculture effluent. International Journal of Vegetable Science 20:340-353. Evans, K. and Q. Weninger. 2014. Information sharing and cooperative search in fisheries. Environmental and Resource Economics 58:353-372. Fehringer, T.R., R.W. Hardy and K.D. Cain. 2014. Dietary inclusion of salmon testes meal from Alaskan seafood processing byproducts: Effects on growth and immune function of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum). Aquaculture 433:34-39. Fonner, R. and G. Sylvia. 2015. Willingness to pay for multiple seafood labels in a niche market. Marine Resource Economics 30: 51-70. Fox, H.E., J.L. Holtzman, K.M. Haisfield, C.G. McNally, G.A. Cid, M.B. Mascia, J.E. Parks and R.S. Pomeroy. 2014. How are our MPAs doing? Challenges in assessing global patterns in marine protected area performance. Coastal Management 42:207-226. Grimm-Greenblatt, J., R. Pomeroy, B. Bravo-Ureta, L.X. Sinh, H. Van Hien, and T. Getchis. 2015. Economic analysis of alternative snakehead Channa striata feed. Aquaculture Economics and Management 19:192–209. Heenan, A., R. Pomeroy, J. Bell, P.L. Munday, W. Cheung, C. Logan, R. Brainard, A.Y. Amri, P. Aliño, N. Armada, L. David, R. Rivera-Guieb, S. Green, J. Jompa, T. Leonardo, S. Mamauag, B. Parker, J. Shackeroff and Z. Yasin. 2015. A climate-informed, ecosystem approach to fisheries management. Marine Policy 57: 182-192. Lee, K.J., S. Rahimnejad, M.S. Powell, F.T. Barrows, S. Smiley, P.J. Bechtel and R.W. Hardy. 2015. Salmon testes meal as a functional feed additive in fish meal and plant protein-based diets for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) fry. Aquaculture Research 46:1590-1596.   Omar-Ali, A., C. Hohn, P.J. Allen, J. Rodríguez and L. Petrie-Hanson. 2015. Tissue PAH, blood cell and tissue changes following exposure to water accommodated fractions of crude oil in alligator gar, Atractosteus spatula. Marine Environmental Research 108:33-44. Paine, N., F.R. Homans, M. Pollak, J.M. Bielicki and E.J. Wilson. 2014. Why market rules matter: Optimizing pumped hydroelectric storage when compensation rules differ. Energy Economics 46:10-19. Pomeroy, R., K. Baldwin and P. McConney. 2014. Marine spatial planning in Asia and the Caribbean: Application and implications for fisheries and marine resource management. Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente 32:151-164. Pomeroy, R., M.M. Dey, and N. Plesha. 2014. The social and economic impacts of semi-intensive aquaculture on biodiversity. Aquaculture Economics and Management 18:303-324. Pomeroy, R., K. Hiew, K. Ramdass, J.M. Saad, P. Lokani; M. Grizelda, E. Lorenzo, G. Manero, Z. Maguad, M. Pido and G. Goby. 2015. Moving towards an ecosystem approach to fisheries management in the Coral Triangle region. Marine Policy 51:211-219. Pomeroy, R., J. Parks, K. Reaugh-Flower, M. Guidote, H. Govan and S. Atkinson. 2015. Status and priority capacity needs for local compliance and community-supported enforcement of marine resource rules and regulations in the Coral Triangle region. Coastal Management 43:1-28. Purcell, S. and R. Pomeroy. 2015. Driving small-scale fisheries in developing countries. Frontiers in Marine Science 2:44. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2015.00044 Ropicki, A.J. and S.L. Larkin. 2014. Social network analysis of price dispersion in fishing quota lease markets. Marine Resource Economics 29:157-176. Sale, P.F., T. Agardy, C.H. Ainsworth, B.E. Feist, J.D. Bell, P. Christie, O. Hoegh-Guldberg, P.J. Mumby, D.A. Feary, M.I. Saunders, T.M. Daw, S.J. Foale, P.S. Levin, K.C. Lindeman, K. Lorenzen, R.S. Pomeroy, E.H. Allison, R.H. Bradbury, J. Corrin, A.J. Edwards, D.O. Obura, Y.J. Sadovy de Mitcheson, M.A. Samoilys and C.R.C. Sheppard. 2014. Transforming management of tropical coastal seas to cope with challenges of the 21st Century. Marine Pollution Bulletin 85:8-23. Schwarz, D.E. and P.J. Allen. 2014. Effects of salinity on growth and ion regulation of juvenile alligator gar Atractosteus spatula. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A, Molecular & Integrative Physiology 169:44-50. Singh, R. and Q. Weninger. 2015. Harvest efficiency and fishery discards under harvest uncertainty and trading restrictions. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 70:72-91. Singh, R. and Q. Weninger. 2015. Cap-and-trade bycatch management with costly avoidance and stock uncertainty. Marine Resource Economics 30:97-119. Sinh, L.X., H. Navy and R. Pomeroy. 2014. Value chain of snakehead fish in the Lower Mekong Basin of Cambodia and Vietnam. Aquaculture Economics and Management 18:76-96. Sterling, B., M. Gooch, B. Dent, N. Maernick, A. Miller and G. Sylvia. 2015. Assessing the value and role of seafood traceability from an entire value-chain perspective. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 14:2015-2068. Stewart, H.A. and P.J. Allen. 2014. Critical thermal maxima of two geographic strains of channel and hybrid catfish. North American Journal of Aquaculture 76:104-111. Tokunaga, K, C. Tamaru, H. Ako and P.S. Leung. 2015. Economics of small-scale commercial aquaponics in Hawai’i. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 46:20-32. Uchida, H., Y. Onozaka, T. Morita and S. Managi. 2014. Demand for ecolabeled seafood in the Japanese market: A conjoint analysis of the impact of information and interaction with other labels. Food Policy 44:68-76. Uchida, H., C.A. Roheim, H. Wakamatsu and C.M. Anderson. 2014. Do Japanese consumers care about sustainable fisheries? Evidence from an auction of ecolabelled seafood. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 58:263-280. Valderrama, D., J. Cai, N. Hishamunda, N. Reidler, I.C. Neish, A.Q. Hurtado, F.E. Msuya, M. Krishnan, R. Narayanakumar, M. Kronen, D. Robledo, E. Gasca-Leyva and J. Fraga. 2015. The economics of Kappaphycus seaweed cultivation in developing countries: a comparative analysis of farming systems. Aquaculture Economics and Management 19:251-277. Valderrama, D., S. Iyemperumal and M. Krishnan. 2014. Building consensus for sustainable development in aquaculture: a Delphi study of Better Management Practices for shrimp farming in India. Aquaculture Economics and Management 18:369-394. Xu, P., Q. Fong, A. Bersamin and B. Izumi. 2015. Fisheries-to-school in Alaska: A food service directors' perspective. International Journal of Economics and Finance 7:142-149.

Impact Statements

Two seminal publications (FPIs and social network analysis) with an immense potential to guide future research, were released during this period

Date of Annual Report: 05/20/2016

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 03/22/2016 - 03/22/2016
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2015 - 09/30/2016

Participants

Participants Attachment:

Minutes - 2016 Meeting.docx

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Minutes - 2016 Meeting.docx

Accomplishments

Project participants published a total of 17 peer-reviewed articles in the reporting period. In addition, eight papers were presented at the Fifth National Forum on Socioeconomic Research in Coastal Systems – CNREP 2016 – in New Orleans, LA. Four of the papers were presented at a special session showcasing the research activities of the multistate project. Selected research accomplishments are highlighted below. <ol> <li> Marketing, Niches, and New Products:</li> </ol>  Market effects of fisheries certification schemes were further explored by examining the effect of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification on ex-vessel prices from three different fisheries: salmon and halibut in Alaska, and flathead flounder in Kyoto, Japan. Results were mixed: while significant increases occurred in the differences between ex-vessel prices for certified chum and pink salmon and flathead flounder relative to their uncertified counterparts, the price difference between certified and uncertified sockeye salmon declined. No significant effects were found for chinook and coho salmon and halibut. This research added to the literature on market and environmental effects of fisheries certification, which in aggregate continues to show ambiguous results across a landscape of fisheries globally. The preferences and expenditures on fish and shellfish species by Mississippi seafood restaurants were investigated through a survey of 292 restaurants operating in the state. The survey generated valuable information on the major species of seafood products handled, sources of seafood products served, and annual gross sales and direct employment generated by the restaurants.  The marketability of oysters locally grown in Hawaii is currently being investigated. A major goal of this research is to assess the premium – if any – that wholesalers, retailers and restaurant chefs would be willing to pay for the local product.   <ol start="2"> <li>Production for Dynamic Markets:</li> </ol> Researchers investigated a number of important issues for the U.S. Southeast catfish industry such as the risk factors leading to outbreaks of Aeromonas hydrophila, a pathogen that has resulted in the loss of millions of pounds of catfish production since 2009, especially in West Alabama. The potential of intensive aeration practices to increase yields in the industry was also examined, as well as the potential of aquaculture effluents to enhance substrates for tomato production.  The water chemistry and economics of a zero-discharge, commercial-scale inland marine integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system, which combined commercial nursery production of wetland plants with a marine recirculating aquaculture system to treat saline solid waste, was investigated. The facility – based in Sarasota, FL – successfully produced Florida pompano, and the fish waste and uneaten feed provided enough nutrients to produce multiple cohorts of wetland plants over a two-year period. The economic analysis indicated that the system is profitable but the production of Florida pompano alone would not result in a positive net return. Research on the production economics of oyster production in Hawaiian fishponds continued during the reporting period. A model farm has been developed based on operational parameters and production cost information from a Hawaiian fishpond on Oahu. The model has been used to 1) calculate pre-tax return, 2) determine sensitive input parameters, and 3) apply stochastic modeling to determine the likelihood of different economic outcomes. At the assumed 50% mortality rate at a market price of $1.25 per oyster, decision reversal analysis showed that key parameter values are near the breakeven point. Out of seven parameters investigated, market price, oyster mortality rate, and part-time labor wage were found to have the greatest impact on the profitability of the model farm. In addition, stochastic simulation indicated that prospective oyster operators can only expect to achieve a 6% return about 50% of the time. A manuscript summarizing results from this research is currently under preparation. Although Pacific salmon forecasting models predict stock composition, abundance, and distribution, the influence of biophysical factors on year-to-year fluctuations in migratory distributions and stock-specific survival is typically not accounted for. This deficiency was addressed by inferring the ocean distribution and relative abundance of chinook salmon stocks in the California Current marine ecosystem using catch-per-unit- effort (CPUE) fisheries and genetic stock identification data. This line of research will enhance understanding of seasonal migration patterns, which is critical for effective management of Pacific salmon stocks.   <ol start="3"> <li>Regulatory Influences on Sector Development:</li> </ol>                                   A regional fisheries stakeholder assessment was conducted to identify key regional issues and trends facing marine capture fisheries in Southeast Asia, as well as relevant considerations and strategies that could be used to address such regional issues and trends. This analysis provided a better understanding of the interplay between stakeholders, identifying key points of influence as well as strengths and weaknesses within the framework of promoting sustainable fisheries in a multi-stakeholder context. Researchers also demonstrated that a monopoly renewable resource manager, such as a harvester cooperative, may create a gain relative to a rent-dissipating sector, such as an open-access fishery, because of its internalization of the impact of harvesting on the resource stock. As the monopolist reduces harvest, resource stocks recover and resource rent is generated through reduced harvesting costs. Thus, it is possible that the monopoly harvest exceeds the rent-dissipated harvest over time, leaving both producers and consumers better off. It is then argued that local resource management institutions that exert market power should not be considered violations of antitrust laws without first considering the costs and benefits of monopoly management. In cases where outside management has not had success, local management with monopoly power could represent a second-best solution. Research was also conducted to improve ecological models currently used to determine target densities for invasive lionfish stocks in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. A target density is defined as that density under which prey consumption by lionfish equals production of prey biomass in a local reef ecosystem. This line of research fills a critical gap as management frameworks for the containment of the lionfish invasion continue to evolve.     <ol start="4"> <li>Assessing Infrastructure and Industry Organization:</li> </ol> Reflecting the growing need to establish a global, secure, interoperable support system for seafood traceability, an Issues Brief was prepared to describe factors associated with enterprise-level traceability systems that will impact the design of an Interoperable Seafood Traceability Technology Architecture suited to enabling whole chain interoperable traceability. The Brief details why a technology architecture is required, what it means for industry in terms of benefits and opportunities, and how the architecture will translate into practical results. The Brief concludes with a series of recommendations that industry can act upon to design a technology architecture suited to enabling effective global interoperable traceability. The results of an economic survey of the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on business operations of Mississippi seafood and commercial and saltwater recreational fishing establishments were released during the reporting period. The 331 Mississippi businesses that participated in the survey accounted for 25–65% of the total annual gross sales or employment in the sector. The oil-spill-related closures of state and federal waters resulted in the shutdown of business operations of participating establishments for about 4.21 months on average. In 2010, the direct economic impacts of the oil spill resulted in a decline of almost one-half of the annual total sales and one-third of the total employment as compared with 2009.

Publications

Impact Statements

The research conducted during the reporting period addressed a number of important issues for the improved management of aquaculture and fishery resources. Emerging farming systems and species were examined, new frameworks for fisheries management were explored (e.g., harvesting cooperatives, target densities for invasive species), and the impacts of innovative marketing approaches (certification) were studied. In particular, a seminal paper on social network analysis of price dispersion in fishing quota lease markets was honored with the 2014 Marine Resource Economics Outstanding Article Award. This recognition will likely lead to further research efforts in this promising field.

Date of Annual Report: 02/01/2018

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 03/23/2017 - 03/24/2017
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2016 - 12/04/2017

Participants

Current members present:
• Sherry Larkin (slarkin@ufl.edu) – University of Florida
• Kwamena Quagrainie (kquagrai@purdue.edu) – Purdue University
• Hirotsugu Uchida (uchida@uri.edu) – University of Rhode Island
• Diego Valderrama (d.valderrama@uniandes.edu.co) – Universidad de los Andes [new location]

Absent members:
• Terry Hanson (hansontr@auburn.edu) – Auburn University
• Bob Pomeroy (robert.pomeroy@uconn.edu) – University of Connecticut
• John Bovay (john.bovay@uconn.edu) – University of Connecticut
• Hui Jiang (hgong@uguam.uog.edu) – University of Guam
• PingSun Leung (psleung@hawaii.edu) – University of Hawaii
• Ron Hardy (rhardy@idaho.edu) – University of Idaho
• Quinn Weninger (weninger@iastate.edu) – Iowa State University
• Frances Homans (fhomans@umn.edu) – University of Minnesota
• Peter Allen (pallen@cfr.msstate.du) – Mississippi State University
• Ben Posadas (ben.posadas@msstate.edu) – Mississippi State University
• Quentin Fong (qsfong@alaska.edu) – University of Alaska

Notes: Rich Kazmierczak (rkazmierczak@agcenter.lsu.edu) – Louisiana State University [retired],
Matt Freeman (matt.freeman@gulfcouncil.org) – Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council [new location]

Potential members recruited (guests):
• Gil Sylvia (gil.sylvia@oregonstate.edu) – Oregon State University
• Andrew Ropicki (andrew.ropicki@ag.tamu.edu) – Texas A&M AgriLife
• Jim Anderson (james.anderson@ufl.edu) – University of Florida
• Frank Asche (frank.asche@ufl.edu) – University of Florida
• Keith Criddle (kcriddle@alaska.edu) – University of Alaska
• Sara Sutherland (sara.sutherland@usu.edu) – Utah State University
• Eric Edwards (eric.edwards@usu.edu) – Utah State University
• Tracy Yandle (tyandle@emory.edu) – Emory University
• Dan Holland (dan.holland@noaa.gov) – NOAA Fisheries
• Robby Fonner (robby.fonner@noaa.gov) – NOAA Fisheries
• Akbar Marvasti (akbar.marvasti@noaa.gov) – NOAA Fisheries
• Larry Perruso (larry.perruso@noaa.gov) – NOAA Fisheries
• Christopher Liese (christopher.liese@noaa.gov) – NOAA Fisheries
• Scott Crosson (scott.crosson@noaa.gov) – NOAA Fisheries
• Dan Williard (dwillard@edf.org) – Environmental Defense Fund
• Vishwanie Maharaj (vishwanie.maharaj@wwfus.org) – World Wildlife Fund

Participants Attachment:

2017 W3004 v4.docx

Brief Summary of Minutes

The business meeting was called to order by Sherry Larkin, Interim Chair (May 22, 2017):

Two members that were officers have relocated in the past year and, until they officially transfer or revise an Appendix E, new officers are needed. The following assignments were agreed upon until new elections at the 2018 annual meeting to carry the group through termination in 2019.

Chair: Kwamena Quagrainie

Vice-Chair: Hiro Uchida

Secretary: Sherry Larkin

To help the group re-organize, and maintain connected, conference calls were suggested. It was agreed that quarterly conference calls should begin June 2017. The secretary will organize calls via Doodle Poll. The first call will be for current members only and will include discussion of ideas for future group activities and a brainstorming session on plans to formally recruit additional members.

Diego Valderrama reminded the group of the impact flyer that was created to highlight the significance of accomplishments of W2004 (2009-2014).

The new advisor (David Thompson, dathomps@ad.nmsu.edu, New Mexico State University) was announced. Hopefully he will be able to attend, and even join one of the conference calls in 2017-18.

The 2017 NAAFE Forum presentations (May 22-24) by W3004 members and interested guests were announced by W3004 objective:

Objective 1: Improve the development of seafood markets by focusing on analyses of new marketing themes, market niches, and alternative seafood products

Session: Seafood Markets & Trade
- SP037 Hiro Uchida
- SP009 Kwamena Quagrainie

Objective 2: Enhance fishery and aquaculture production by developing decision support tools to integrate management and marketing

Session: Aquaculture Model and Applications
- SP014 Diego Valderrama

Session: Bioeconomic Models and Applications
- SP121 Keith Criddle
- SP125 Chris Anderson (not presented since had to withdraw)

Objective 3: Increase the organizational and institutional efficiency of the aquaculture and fishery sectors by analyzing the regulatory environment and developing ideas to support the sectors

Session: Rights-based Management
- SP112 Sherry Larkin, Andrew Ropicki

Objective 4: Increase the organizational and institutional efficiency of the aquaculture and fishery sectors by analyzing the regulatory environment and developing ideas to support the sectors

Session: Small-Scale Fisheries

SP124 Sherry Larkin, Liliana Alencastro

Special Session: The Fishery Performance Indicators – Value for Fisheries Management, Impact Investing, and Recreational Fisheries

SS160 Jim Anderson

SS161 Frank Asche

SS162 Jim Anderson

SS166 Chris Anderson (not presented since had to withdraw)

Session: Distribution and ITQs

SP168 Sara Sutherland

SP143 Eric Edwards

Note: The Special Session will include case studies on how the FPI’s have been applied and used. The resulting peer-reviewed paper was published in PLos ONE:

Anderson, J.L., C.M. Anderson, J. Chu, J. Meredith, F. Asche, G. Sylvia, M.D. Smith, D. Anggraeni, R. Arthur, A. Guttormsen, J.K. McCluney, T. Ward, W. Akpalu, H. Eggert, J. Flores, M. A. Freeman, D. S. Holland, G. Knapp, M. Kobayashi, S. Larkin, K. MacLauchlin, K. Schnier, M. Soboil, S. Tveteras, H. Uchida, and D. Valderrama. 2015. The Fishery Performance Indicators: A management tool for triple bottom line outcomes. PLoS ONE 10(5): e0122809.

The meeting ended with a call to engage these related projects and collaborators during the 2017 NAAFE Forum and beyond. Follow-up discussion revolved around the special session by Anderson/Asche/Anderson under Objective 4; the project is an extension of the working group of W3004 members held prior to the 2013 NAAFE Forum. That session developed primary data for the indicators and now the FPI project has more than 100 fisheries included and the database is being extended from commercial fisheries to aquaculture and recreational fisheries, which will require new or revised measures of key metrics in order to effectively incorporate for comparison.

The group proposed and agreed to hold the 2018 W3004 meeting in conjunction with the 19^th Biennial IIFET (International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade) Conference in Seattle, which will be held July 16-20 (https://www.facebook.com/events/1075451839231150/). There was discussion about holding a W3004 workshop prior to the conference to again support the FPI project.

Minutes Attachment:

Minutes W3004 2017.docx

Accomplishments

Accomplishments – by Objective <ol> <li>Improve the development of seafood markets by focusing on analyses of new marketing themes, market niches, and alternative seafood products <ol> <li>One project examined whether price premiums often observed at the retail level are sufficiently transmitted to ex-vessel prices, that is, whether fishermen are benefiting from certification programs such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This was collaborative work with Cathy Roheim (University of Idaho, W2004 member) and produced a Master’s thesis paper that was published.</li> <li>Another project examined the overall ‘seascape’ of seafood certifications – meant to convey information that would increase demand by consumers – using the evolution of Theory of Change over the entire supply chain. The goal was to suggest what may come next that would mitigate many of the issues currently faced by various players along the supply chain. This was a collaborative work with Cathy Roheim, Simon Bush (Wageningen Univ., The Netherlands), Jim Sanchirico (UC Davis), and Frank Asche (UF). The paper was presented at the 2017 NAAFE Forum. This project also supported (partially) a PhD student from China, who analyzed the Chinese consumer market for sustainable seafood as part of his dissertation. Preliminary results from that study were also presented at the 2017 NAAFE Forum.</li> <li>A current project involves a survey of Connecticut residents’ interest in and demand for Connecticut aquaculture products—specifically, oysters, clams, and seaweed. The survey involves a choice experiment and participants will be given various information treatments about the health/nutrition and environmental benefits of (local) aquaculture. The survey will launch June 2017. This is collaborative work with Tessa Getchis and Anoushka Concepcion from Connecticut Sea Grant and Miriah Kelly from UConn Extension. External grants cover parts of the work, including supervision of an MS student. Findings will be submitted to Agricultural and Resource Economics Review later this year and presented at the 2018 IIFET, AERE, and/or NAREA meetings next year.</li> <li>Another study investigates the potential for local oysters to command a price premium over imports. A discrete choice experiment was administered to seafood restaurant chefs to examine how they value different attributes related to price, grow-out site, freshness, and supply constancy. This effort is a joint endeavor between W3004 members from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the University of Alaska – Fairbanks.</li> <li>Invasive lionfish in the Caribbean are causing concern for the sustainability of reef systems, especially in affecting the supply of fresh fish upon which small island nations depend. One project, funded by the NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy program, seeks to assess the viability of seeking to grow a commercial fishery for lionfish in the USVI. This is a collaborative effort with Emory University (Tracy Yandle) and Georgia Southern University (Jenn Sweeney-Tookes) and involves mapping fishing areas and assessing willingness to sell and buy lionfish. Surveying was completed during the summer of 2016 and several events are being held on the islands in mid-June 2017 to share the results and train fishermen and consumers on how to catch, handle, fillet, and cook lionfish.</li> </ol> </li> <li>Enhance fishery and aquaculture production by developing decision support tools to integrate management and marketing <ol> <li>There are currently dozens of computer-based models being used to evaluate and implement Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM)-inspired fisheries management policies (in fisheries throughout the world). All of these models rely on ad hoc and frankly indefensible assumptions for the role and behavior of fishermen, i.e., the top predator in most ecosystems. One recent paper from this project entitled, “Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management under Rational Ecological-Economic Equilibrium” incorporates state-of-the-art principles for modeling economic behavior in regulated environments. The methodology introduced in the paper generates robust predictions of ecological and economic outcomes of management interest (harvests, discards across time and space) within competitive markets and importantly, under rational expectations equilibrium behavior of fishermen. This work represents a fundamental departure from currently available approaches and is expected to significantly advance EBFM.</li> <li>The production of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) in indoor facilities has gained a lot of interest in the Midwest and attracts premium prices. Fish farmers are benefiting from the local foods movement and consumers’ willingness to pay for locally grown food products. However, the economics of indoor shrimp production is not well understood and the current high prices are not sustainable. Workshops were conducted on indoor shrimp production with experts in the field speaking on various topics related to the subject. Then, a study was conducted to assess the profitability of indoor production of the marine shrimp in the Midwest, under different production scenarios that involved stocking size, market size, survival rate, and selling price.</li> <li>Working to advance aquaculture as a business involves research into different production systems with an attempt to increase efficiencies in production while decreasing cost of production. Working with a variety of aquaculture producers, three projects are investigating the economics of (i) indoor greenhouse aquaculture of tilapia and using the fish effluent to fertigate vegetable production; (ii) developing a new intensive production technology called the in-pond raceway system; and (iii) development of vaccines to reduce disease mortalities in the US farm-raised catfish industry. Graduate students are being funded to support each project and are presenting results in journals and at aquaculture association meetings.</li> <li>Traditional fishpond aquaculture in Hawai‘i has declined since global trade provided access to cheaper imports, but stakeholders in Hawai‘i hope to develop a local oyster farming industry. This study investigates the production economics of a fishpond-based oyster farm by 1) assessing profitability, 2) determining sensitive input parameters, and 3) using stochastic modeling to determine the likelihood of different economic outcomes. Findings showed a marginally negative profit, with the bulk of operating costs from labor. Decision reversal analysis indicated the model farm can be profitable with an increase in market price from US $1.25 to US $1.35 per oyster or a decrease in mortality rate from 50% to 45.9%.</li> <li>The overall goal of a rather unique sub-project (for W3004) is to develop a methodology for assessing the socioeconomic impacts of aquatic animal diseases and estimate the adverse economic impacts. Specifically, one project aims to measure forgone (i) output or sales by businesses within the economic region affected by the disease outbreaks; (ii) personal income including wages and salaries and proprietors' income or income from self-employment from fish farming and related businesses; (iii) employment in fish farming and related businesses; (iv) contribution made to the value of fish products at each stage of harvesting, processing and distribution; and (v) tax revenues associated with harvesting, processing and distribution of fish products. The project is a result of an international working group built upon an existing relationship with FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) to assist with methodology selection and to conduct a socioeconomic assessment baseline study of the impacts of Epizootic ulcerative syndrome, which is a type of fungal infection, affecting aquaculture production in Zambia and Zimbabwe. The group held a three-day workshop in Durban, South Africa on October 24-26, 2017 was attended by 28 participants coming from the African continent, Italy, Sri Lanka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway, Canada and United States (including a W3004 member).  </li> </ol> </li> <li>Increase the organizational and institutional efficiency of the aquaculture and fishery sectors by analyzing the regulatory environment and developing ideas to support the sectors <ol> <li>A recently completed project investigated the effect of information on health benefits and risks of consuming seafood. An experimental auction method was used to actual consumers to collect data. Key findings include that consumers react more readily to health risk information (e.g., mercury contamination in swordfish) while almost no reaction to health benefit information (e.g., omega-3 in salmon). The paper was recently published in AJAE. This was a collaborative work with Cathy Roheim (U of ID) and Robert Johnston (Clark U in MA). The sequel paper is currently under development led by a PhD student as part of his dissertation. Preliminary results of that second paper was presented at 2017 NAAFE Forum.</li> <li>An Aquaculture tour was conducted that connected foodservice professionals with Indiana fish producers. This is important because much of the fish produced in Indiana is sold live to ethnic markets, direct to consumers on farms, and in limited amounts, to the food service sector. With the increasing emphasis on eating local foods and knowing where your food comes from as part of a healthy lifestyle, there was an opportunity to increase awareness and improve perception of the aquaculture industry in Indiana foodservice businesses. The tour provided chefs and culinary professionals the opportunity to interact with fish producers at their farms to learn about aquaculture practices and products in Indiana. The tour resulted in new business contacts and markets for the aquaculture industry.</li> <li>An ongoing project is examining the impact of foodborne disease outbreaks in the context of oyster farming. Oyster farmers face two kinds of foodborne disease-related risks: an outbreak risk in his own farm, and negative influence they face through markets when an outbreak occurs in a neighboring farm. This project focuses on the latter risk, and asks what oyster farmers can do to shield themselves from such adverse impacts. Data collection is scheduled to begin in June 2017.</li> <li>Improving the regulation of quota-managed commercial fisheries is a universal goal. Theoretical and empirical evidence of the impacts of flexibility provisions in multiple-species catch shares fisheries is currently unavailable. Regulators are nonetheless implementing flexibility provision in quota-managed fisheries without knowledge of their implications. The paper titled “Quota flexibility in multi-species fisheries” fills an important gap that will improve the design of catch-share regulatory systems.</li> </ol> </li> <li>Improve the understanding of how infrastructure investment, location, and sector organization affects the stability of both the aquaculture and capture fishery industries. <ol> <li>Fishery Performance Indicators: the paper based on the first round of FPI implementation began under W2004, led by collaborators Jim Anderson (UF, past member) and Chris Anderson (UW, past member), was published in online journal PLoS One.</li> <li>Developing the economic impact of recreational and commercial shellfish sector is a top priority in the northeast U.S. region. IMPLAN is being used for this analysis. A project has already completed two surveys of shellfish commissions to obtain the numbers of permits, associated product sales, and agency budgets for managing recreational shellfishing. Preliminary economic impact estimates of employment, output and value added have been generated and are now being reviewed.</li> <li>Workshops were conducted on aquaponics to practitioners. Aquaponics has significant appeal because of the sustainable aspect of producing vegetables from the waste product from the fish, lending itself to diversified, small-scale, local niche producers. The practice of aquaponics is technically difficult as it combines two separate rearing strategies of aquaculture and hydroponics. The 1-day workshop brought together hydroponics practitioners and experts in food safety of vegetables, fish production, pest control in aquaponics, sustainable horticultural systems, hydroponic crops, greenhouse structures, and economics and marketing. The presenters provided latest research results in their various fields relating to issues associated with aquaponics. As a result, current and potential aquaponics practitioners were educated on structures for an aquaponics operation including greenhouses; potential fish and vegetable combinations and their requirements; pest control in green houses; types of aquaponics production systems; economics of aquaponics; marketing of fish and vegetable products; and food safety and handling of produce. Aquaponics practitioners also had the opportunity to network and benefit from one-on-one interactions with the scientists.</li> </ol> </li> </ol>

Publications

Publications – Journal Articles Aboagye, D. L., and P. J. Allen. In press. “Effects of acute and chronic hypoxia on acid-base regulation, hematology, ion, and osmoregulation of juvenile American paddlefish.” Journal of Comparative Physiology B. doi: 10.1007/s00360-017-1104-7. Amankwah, A., K. K. Quagrainie, and P. V. Preckel. 2016. Demand for Improved Fish Feed in the Presence of a Subsidy: A Double Hurdle Application in Kenya. Agricultural Economics 47(6): 633-643. Camp, E., R. Ahrens, K. Lorenzen, and S. Larkin. 2017. “Trade-offs between Socioeconomic and Conservation Management Objectives in Stock Enhancement of Marine Recreational Fisheries.” Fisheries Research 186(2): 446–459. Chen, J. Q., M. C. Haws, Q. S. Fong, and P. S. Leung. 2017. “Economic feasibility of producing oysters using a small-scale Hawaiian fishpond model.” Aquaculture Reports 5: 41–51. Chen, J. Q., M. C. Haws, Q. S. Fong, and P. S. Leung. 2017. “Locally Grown Oysters in Hawai‘i: Chef Preference and Local Premium?” Journal of World Aquaculture Society. doi: 10.1111/jwas.12430 Danaher, J. J., J. M. Pickens, J. L. Sibley, J.A. Chappell, T. R. Hanson, and C. E. Boyd. 2016. “Tomato seedling growth response to different water sources and a substrate partially replaced with dewatered aquaculture effluent.” International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture, DOI 10.1007/s40093-016-0114-x Darko, F. A., K. K. Quagrainie, and S. Chenyambuga. 2016. Consumer Preferences for Farmed Tilapia in Tanzania: A Choice Experiment Analysis. Journal of Applied Aquaculture 28(3): 131-143. Gorospe, K.D., W. Michaels, R. Pomeroy, C. Elvidge, P. Lynch, S. Wongbusarakum and R. E. Brainard. 2016. “The mobilization of science and technology fisheries innovations towards an ecosystem approach to fisheries management in the Coral Triangle and Southeast Asia.” Marine Policy 74: 143–152. Liu, S., C. Courtwright, Y. Wang, T. R. Hanson. 2016. “Chemical Treatments to Reduce Off-Flavor in Farm-Raised Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) Fillet.” Journal of Food Processing and Preservation DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.12886 Liu, S., T. Liao, S. T. McCrummen, T. R. Hanson and Y. Wang. 2017. “Exploration of volatile compounds causing off-flavor in farm-raised channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fillet.” Aquaculture International 25: 413-422. Li, Y., Y. Wang, C. E. Boyd, T. R. Hanson and S. Liu. 2016. “Evaluation and Optimization of Chemical Treatments for Reducing Yellow Discoloration of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) Fillets During Cold Storage.” Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology DOI: 10.1080/10498850.2015.1099068. Manning, D. and H. Uchida. 2016. “Are Two Rents Better than None? When Monopolies Correct Ill-defined Property Rights.” Marine Resource Economics 31(2): 141-164. Morcom, S., D. Yang, R. S. Pomeroy, and P. A. Anderson. In press. “Marine Ornamental Aquaculture in the Northeast U.S.: The State of the Industry.” Aquaculture Economics and Management http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13657305.2016.1206994. Navy, H., T. H. Minh, and R. Pomeroy. 2016. “Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Snakehead Fish Value Chains in the Lower Mekong Basin of Cambodia and Vietnam.” World Aquaculture 47(4): 52-55. Pomeroy, R. 2016. “A Research Framework for Traditional Fisheries: Revisited.” Marine Policy 70: 153-163. Pomeroy, R., A. Ferrer, and J. Pedrajas. 2017. “An Analysis of Livelihood Projects and Programs for Fishing Communities in the Philippines.” Marine Policy 81: 250-255. Posadas, B. C., and B. K. A. Posadas, Jr. 2017. “Economic Impacts of the Opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway to the Mississippi Oyster Fishery.” Journal of Food Distribution Research 48(1): 42-45. Pomeroy, R., J. Parks, K. Courtney, and N. Mattich. 2016. “Improving Marine Fisheries Management in Southeast Asia: Results of a Regional Fisheries Stakeholder Analysis.” Marine Policy 65: 20-29. Rhodes, M. A., Y. Zhou, G. P. Salze, T. R. Hanson, and D. A. Davis. 2016. “Development of plant-based diets and the evaluation of dietary attractants for juvenile Florida pompano Trachinotus carolinus L.” Aquaculture Nutrition, 1-11. doi: 10.1111/anu.12474. Rosales, M., R. Pomeroy, I. J. Calabio, M. Batong, K. Cedo, N. Escara, V. Facunla, A. Gulayan, M. Narvadez, M. Sarahadil, and M. A. Sobrevega. 2017. “Value Chain Analysis and Small-Scale Fisheries Management.” Marine Policy 83: 11-17. Saavedra-Díaz, L. M. R. Pomeroy, and A. A. Rosenberg. 2016. “Managing Small-Scale Fisheries in Colombia.” Maritime Studies 15(6): 98-118. Singh, R., and Q. Weninger. 2016. “Cap-and-Trade under Transactions Costs and Factor Irreversibility” Economic Theory, DOI 10.1007/s00199-016-0991-2. Stemle, A., H. Uchida, and C. A.Roheim. 2016. “Have Dockside Prices Improved after MSC Certification? Analysis of Multiple Fisheries.” Fisheries Research 182: 116-123. Uchida, H., C. A. Roheim, and R. J. Johnston. 2017. “Balancing the Health Risks and Benefits of Seafood: How Does Available Guidance Affect Consumer Choices?” American Journal of Agricultural Economics. doi:10.1093/ajae/aax025. Uchida, H. 2017. “TURFs, collective fishery management, and fishery cooperatives.” Bulletin of Marine Science 93(1): 83-99. Valderrama, D. and K. A. H. Fields. 2016. “Flawed evidence supporting the Metabolic Theory of Ecology may undermine goals of ecosystem-based fishery management: The case of invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish in the western Atlantic.” ICES Journal of Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsw223. Valderrama, D., L.A. Velasco, and N. Quiroz. 2016. “Economic assessment of hatchery production of Argopecten nucleus spat to support the development of scallop aquaculture in the wider Caribbean.” Aquaculture Reports 4: 169-177. Zhou, X. and T. Hanson. 2017. “Economic optimization of super-intensive biosecure recirculating shrimp production systems.” Aquaculture International doi 10.1007/s10499-017-0129-y.

Impact Statements

In Utah, more onion growers are getting soil tests done prior to planting rather than just applying a set amount of fertilizer regardless of what is present in the soil. Research by Dan Drost and Diane Alston showed that thrips populations are often higher on onions grown with high nitrogen levels and Claudia Nischwitz showed that potassium levels can affect IYSV symptom expression.

Date of Annual Report: 09/19/2018

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 07/18/2018 - 07/18/2018
Period the Report Covers: 05/25/2017 - 07/18/2018

Participants

Participants Attachment:

2018 W3004 minutes.docx

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

1) Marketing, Niches and New Products: Improve the development of seafood markets by focusing on analyses of new marketing themes, market niches, and alternative seafood products <ol> <ol> <li>A project that examined the overall ‘seascape’ of seafood certifications using the evolution of Theory of Change over the entire supply chain was completed. The study outlined four possible next phases of this seascape ranging from race to the bottom (certification standards converging to the least rigorous standard – least preferred outcome) to emergence of a new entity the project called sustainable seafood aggregator (SSA). A paper based on this study was recently accepted for publication. This was a collaborative work with Hiro Uchida (URI), Cathy Roheim (U of ID), Simon Bush (Wageningen Univ., The Netherlands), Jim Sanchirico (UC Davis), and Frank Asche (UF).</li> <li>Above project also motivated and produced a PhD dissertation, that resulted in two conference presentations and two papers in preparation. First paper that examined and compared the presence of price premiums for sustainable seafood and perceived food safety in Chinese market using online merchants data; this was presented at NAAFE 2017 conference. The second paper is also on the consumers demand for sustainable seafood but uses economic experimental auction method to investigate further into the details of how the demand in Chinese seafood market is formed. This paper will be presented at IIFET 2018. The student, Chao Zou at URI, has successfully defended his dissertation and now works at NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center.</li> <li>Conducted and completed the experimental auction sessions investigating the change in consumers’ demand for farmed oysters when an outbreak of food-borne disease occurs. The project focused on the market negative spillover effect (disease outbreak in farm A affecting the sales of neighboring farm B through market) and how oyster farmers may be able to proactively mitigate such effect. This was a collaborative work among the different branches of social science at URI, and trained two graduate students from different disciplines.</li> <li>Recently began a study, with a PhD student at URI, on the consumers’ demand for genetically modified farmed seafood. This was motivated by the FDA approval of GM salmon by the company based in MA, but also incorporates the effect of varying degree of GM-ness such as farmed seafood fed with GM grain-based feed.</li> <li>A current project involves a survey of Connecticut residents’ interest in and demand for Connecticut aquaculture products—specifically, oysters, clams, and seaweed. The survey involves a choice experiment and participants were given various information treatments about the health/nutrition and environmental benefits of (local) aquaculture. The survey launched in November 2017. This is collaborative work with Tessa Getchis and Anoushka Concepcion from Connecticut Sea Grant and Miriah Kelly from UConn Extension. External grants cover parts of the work, including supervision of an MS student. Findings will be submitted to Agricultural and Resource Economics Review later this year and presented at the 2019 IIFET, AERE, and/or NAREA meetings next year.</li> <li>Guam has unique geographic and strategic advantages because of its close proximity to Asia, the center of world aquaculture production. Guam also plays a pivotal role economically among the surrounding islands in Micronesia, which is distinguished among the Western Pacific region for leading the island sustainable development for food security. The major aquaculture species cultured on Guam remain as Tilapia, milkfish and shrimp, and their production levels have not been clearly monitored and recorded in the recent years, with little public data accessible. And there is no regulatory government agency being specifically assigned to watch over and guide the aquaculture development section on Guam, even the data collection and data tracking are lacking. However, the needs and interests of aquaculture development are still present in the community, mostly due to the strong local demand for high quality seafood products in the market. Hui Jiang and staff from University of Guam focus on establishing the baseline information of local aquaculture products and their market via survey on Guam, by adopting Fishery Performance Index (FPI) or other established systemic platform to develop the questionnaire, and collect the data via interview.</li> <li>Lionfish are an invasive species in the U.S. that are adversely affecting reef systems and associated food webs, with implications for commercial and local subsistence fisheries in the Southeast U.S. and U.S. Virgin Islands. This study, funded by NOAA’s Saltonstall Kennedy program, brought together economists, anthropologists and political scientists (from UF, Emory and Georgia Southern) – and in cooperation with the Experiment Station in the USVI - to address the potential for a market for lionfish from the social science perspective. Consumers and producers were interviewed for both their WTP and WTA values, respectively, for lionfish meat. Preliminary analysis shows that while an official commercial fishery is not likely to be established under current federal law, both the supply and demand seem sufficient to support a sustained market. Significant outreach was conducted in order to help develop the market including teaching fishermen how to catch, handle and fillet lionfish and conveying to consumers that lionfish cooks the same as other fish and may taste and handle even better.</li> <li>In Indiana, one study led by Dr. Quagrainie sought to explore expanded market opportunities in the local food systems for the aquaculture industry to stimulate market-driven production, particularly for small- to medium-scale producers who have traditionally relied on the live ethnic markets. Another study compared the economics of aquaponics production of fish and vegetables versus hydroponics production of only vegetables. The study compared investment and operating costs that included the production of the vegetables under organic system of production.</li> </ol> </ol>   2) Production for Dynamic Markets: Enhance fishery and aquaculture production by developing decision support tools to integrate management and marketing <ol> <ol> <li>An aquaponic research project involving aquaculture, economics, horticulture, biosystems engineering and poultry science (pathogen detection) was funded by USDA-NIFA. The project interdisciplinary nature is filling knowledge gaps in the tilapia-vegetable-algae system. In areas away from population centers, finding markets for large-scale quantities of co-products is challenging and needs further work.</li> <li>An in-pond raceway system is being developed and research trials conducted to improve catfish production efficiencies, cost reduction, ease of operation and reducing bird depredation. These systems are being adopted in SE Asia but finds far less acceptance in the US catfish producing regions.</li> <li>Excel spreadsheets for the above two projects are being developed into production decision products to help entrepreneurs in their investment decision-making.</li> <li>Several studies toward identifying and reducing off-flavors and yellow color producing compounds in channel catfish have resulted in FDA approved washes that work to reduce many odors but not all, making the process less acceptable to processors desiring 100 percent elimination. </li> <li>Several studies toward replacing fish meal feed ingredients with amino acid enriched soybean meals has proven acceptance by fish and reduces feed costs.  Studies have also used squid hydrolysate and squid meal supplemented with enzymes to improve acceptance of soy-based marine diets for Florida pompano.</li> <li>A shrimp study comparing four feeding methods showed significantly better growth and net returns came from the technique using microphones that detected shrimp feeding noises and continued feeding until they stopped. This technique resulted in much greater quantities of larger, high-valued shrimp than from the manual feeding treatments (2) and timed feeder applications.</li> <li>One study found organic and inorganic micronutrient pre-mix mineral packets mixed into all-plant tilapia diets did not result in any growth, survival or body composition differences, except organic selenium diets did have more in the tilapia flesh than from the inorganic selenium diets.</li> <li>A hybrid catfish study found certain factors increased growth variability resulting in more large, less-valued catfish in a production cycle. Enterprise budget analysis showed that split pond systems had greater economic benefits than traditional systems (single and multiple-batch) and in-pond raceway systems. Best management practices (BMP) developed from this study included using ungraded hybrid fingerlings and average stocking densities (15-20,000 fingerlings/ha) because they provided the highest net returns. The most economically profitable BMP for split pond users was to use the large-sized graded fingerling with intensified stocking (40-80,000 fingerlings/ha) and feeding at a high rate (50-80,000 kg/ha).</li> <li>Another study being conducted in commercial catfish ponds is investigating vaccine development to reduce annual losses of 7 million pound of fish to bacterial diseases. We are evaluating a trivalent vaccine to counter the virulent Aeromonas hydrophila, enteric septicemia of catfish and columnaris. Thus, no disease outbreaks have occurred in the commercial ponds so the vaccines have not yet been challenged.</li> <li>Dr. Mount (Clemson) hypothesized that the development of a conopeptide-based antifouling system could provide a non-toxic, stable, and effective deterrent to biofouling on aquaculture nets and gear. Dr. Mount in collaboration with Engineered Marine Coatings Inc. of Charleston, South Carolina obtained Phase 1 STTR funding from the National Science Foundation (2017-18; $227k). The project developed and tested a novel conopeptide based coating based on the lab’s patent pending technology. The synthetic conopeptide antifoulant, Miata57, invented by Dr. Mount was designed to be covalently linked to a surface. It has shown a promising ability to deter fouling marine invertebrate larvae from settling, thus preventing biofouling when it is included as part of a coating. The project also successfully innovated an alkyne rich reactive coating that effectively conjugates Miata57 in various quantities to demonstrate its high effectiveness as an antifouling surface, which was tested by the company on glass bead substrates. The cyprid bioassay results revealed that conjugated Miata57 is highly effective in defeating cyprid biofouling at a much lower density than previously hypothesized. This discovery sharply reduces the cost of the final formulations, necessary for subsequent testing. Once perfected, the Miata57 conjugated coating can be added to any number of commercial antifouling marine products thus obviating the need for a copper based marine antifouling paint. It can also be directly conjugated to films and fibers which would benefit finfish production for the aquaculture industry. In September, 2018 the Mount laboratory has recently received additional funding from the South Carolina Research Authority to begin limited field testing of the Miata57 coatings in the marine environment.</li> </ol> </ol>   3) Regulatory Influences on Sector Development: Increase the organizational and institutional efficiency of the aquaculture and fishery sectors by analyzing the regulatory environment and developing ideas to support the sectors <ol> <ol> <li>Portfolio selection is a flexible tool that can be used to support natural resource decision-making to optimize provision of ecosystem services. The natural resource portfolio literature includes applications in fisheries, forestry, agriculture, spatial planning, invasive pest and disease surveillance, climate change adaptation, and biodiversity conservation, among others. We contribute to this growing literature by proposing a set of essential questions to guide the development and implementation of empirical portfolios for natural resource management that deal with (1) the nature and objectives of the portfolio manager, (2) the definition of assets to be included in the portfolio, (3) the way in which returns and risk are measured and distributed, and (4) the definition of constraints in the programming problem. The approach is illustrated using landings data from the Colombian Pacific, a data limited fishery, to set catch limits in fisheries at the ecosystem level. We also develop a set of constraints in the programming problem to simulate potential policy options regarding resource sustainability and social equity. The resulting efficient catch portfolios can be used to optimize the flow of provisioning ecosystem services from this fishery (Alvarez, Larkin and Ropicki, 2017).</li> </ol> </ol>   4) Assessing Infrastructure and Industry Organization: Improve the understanding of how infrastructure investment, location, and sector organization affects the stability of both the aquaculture and capture fishery industries. <ol> <ol> <li>The U.S. commercial red snapper IFQ program was the first catch share management system implemented in the Gulf of Mexico. The program has been successful in meeting its major goals of ending derby-style fishing and reducing overcapacity in the harvest sector, but several concerns regarding the socioeconomic impacts of the program have been raised. To address these concerns, the management agency initiated a fishery management plan amendment to develop potential modifications to the program. This analysis describes the proposed policy changes, identifies the key outcomes, and assesses the impacts on distinct participant types using historic harvest data, quota trading patterns, and existing estimates of industry concentration. There are three implied regulatory objectives, as all proposed modifications would either increase ownership of shares by harvesters, limit consolidation in the harvest sector, or increase harvest flexibility. The corresponding effects on stakeholders could vary quite substantially as each objective and the associated alternative policies would affect the size and composition of multiple markets that collectively affect socioeconomic outcomes. The approach to evaluating existing catch share programs and the associated findings in this paper are important for management agencies charged with adhering to federal policies and guidance concerning distributional outcomes (Ropicki, Willard and Larkin, 2018).</li> </ol> </ol>

Publications

Impact Statements

5. Aquatic fish diseases create economic hardships among fish farming households and owners and operators of backwardly- and forwardly-linked businesses. Economic recovery requires long-term remedial measures to restore healthy and productive fish populations and allow the resumption of harvesting, processing, distribution and consumption of fish products. Estimates of the adverse socio-economic impact of aquatic animal diseases are necessary information to justify the implementation of appropriate government programs for the fish farming industry.