Benchmarking of hatchery production of cod a means for improving production practice

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Benchmarking of hatchery production of cod a
means for improving production practice?
Ove Nicolaisen, Bodø University College, Norway
Part of the NorthCod project (no. 04/03/67),
funded by the EU Interreg IIIB Northern
Peripheries Programme
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Background

• Hathery production of cod a novel and complex
  industrial process with many challenges

Cod Culture Norway
Egg incubation

• Larval quality
• Feed
• Environmental
• factors

Broodstock
First feeding tanks
Live feed

• Producers face similar challenges with regard to
  production optimisation.

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PROGAM AREA NPP/EU
Participating companies and RD partners

• Lofilab AS, Norway.
• Viking Marine Farms Ltd, Ardtoe, UK
• IceCod Ltd, Iceland
• Orkney Marine Hatcheries Ltd, Orkney Islands.
• Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Research (new member from 2005)
• Bodo University College, Norway.
• Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Russia

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Benchmarking Aims

• Get an overview of current technology and
  production procedures
• Compare growth and larval quality between
  producers, based on larval samples
• Compare data on ultimate production success
  numbers and quality of larvae produced
• Identify best practice in terms of the above

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Overview, technology and production procedures

• Data collected using questionnaires
• Data registered on the following main themes
• Broodfish
• Egg rearing
• Production of algae, rotifers and Artemia
• Larval rearing Technology, rearing and
  production control
• Collected data will support the work on an
  updated manual on cod hatchery production

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Technology and production procedures
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Comparisons of larval growth and quality
Sampling design per producer per year

• Eeach year Sampling max. 3 production cycles
• Each production cycle Sampling three larval
  tanks weekly for 7 weeks
• Each week 30 larvae sampled from each of three
  tanks
• Fixed samples sent to Bodo for analysis maximum
  three times a year

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Comparisons growth and quality Overall sampling
design, Structure and analyses
1
2
3
Year / time (f)
Producer (f)
1
2
3
Production cycle (f/r)
1
2
3
2
1
3
1
2
3
Tank replicates (r)

• ANALYSES WITH REGARD TO
• Differences between producers
• Time (experience?)
• Differences between production cycles

Complete sampling sequence maximum efficiency
of analysis
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Larval growth Between producer comparisons
2005
Figure Standard length at age, various
producers. Points represent tank means. n20 (
day 0) and n10 (all other ages).
Figure 3 Contrasts of slopes, linear model 95
confidence intervals of slopes of length growth
from various producers. Producers coded by
number. Measure of differences in overall pattern
of growth, given linear model.
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Larval growth Single producers

• Detailed information
• on growth patterns
• Information on size variation
• Information on variability between production
  units

Fig Producer 1, SL. Tank 1 open circle, tank
2filled triangle, tank3filled circle
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Larval quality Between producer comparisons
2005
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Larval quality Between producer comparisons 2005

• Some work is needed to
• control for fixation artefacts
• Results should be checked
• against amount of deformities
• seen at later stage

7 dph
14 dph
21 dph
28 dph
35 dph
42 dph
Figure Severe deformities at age for each
producer, 2005. Relative frequency, all tanks
pooled. Sample size per producer per time Day 0,
n20, all other times n10x3.
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Challenges and success factors

• Ownership to and joint understanding of project
  contents
• Dedicated personnel assigned to project tasks
• Coping with confidentiality
• Unpredictability of production Problems with
  missing data affect analysis
• Methodical problems Sampling, fixation etc
• Essential data Actual productiøn Amount and
  quality of fish actually sold!!

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NorthCod Benchmarking
Thank you for your attention