Sea Pact has announced that the University of North Texas (UNT) and WWF-Chile are the recipients of the coalition’s third round of grants.

UNT's Marine Conservation and Aquatic Physiology Laboratory (MCAPL) is conducting research to compare the effectiveness of probiotics (live microorganisms that benefit their host) to antibiotics, in order to increase growth rates and reduce mortality in commercially important marine fish.

Trials are presently being conducted for yellowtail amberjack and red drum, but the findings and methods developed will be applicable to other species of marine finfish important to aquaculture.

Current mortality rates in some marine fish species can be as high as 90% at the early stages, and use of antibiotics to reduce mortality can lead to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and public health concerns.

Dr Ione von Herbing, pHD, from UNT says, “Our project to use a probiotic (good bacteria) approach to marine aquaculture will hopefully in the long-term provide a sustainable alternative to antibiotics, in order to protect human and animal health while providing a safe and economical global fish supply.”

Sea Pact is also supporting WWF-Chile’s farmed salmon ‘AIP2ASC’ project, which is developing pre-assessments, gap analyses and workplans to credibly transition salmon production towards meeting the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) standard for sites involved.

Tools developed throughout these comprehensive processes will then be available to other farms interested in transitioning toward ASC, including those of companies that are a part of the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI).

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