Waddell Mariculture Center

Waddell Mariculture Center
Facilities and Programs
Al D. Stokes, Theodore I. J. Smith, and Craig L. Browdy
Waddell Mariculture Center
Serves as aquaculture
research and development
platforms to identify
potential marine species
for commercial food
production and to assist in
rebuilding recreationally
important wild fish stocks.
Although the WMC is focused on mariculture
research and technology development, the
center’s staff is involved in public out reach and
educational assistance programs.
The WMC works with local communities and
private land owners to develop best management
practices for coastal storm water systems, ponds
and impoundments.
The WMC is part of the Port Royal Sound
Conservancy to provide guidance in protecting
this extraordinary ecological system.
The WMC serves as the southern most coastal
region for SCDNR Marine Mammal Stranding
Network. WMC Staff responds to the needs of
stranded or entangled marine mammals, turtles
and injured birds.
The WMC offers educational programs, summer
internships for college students and research
partnerships
The WMC provides management services for
the adjacent 500 ha Victoria Bluff Heritage
Preserve and Marine Reserve.
The Waddell Mariculture Center’s primarily
function is research and technology
development
In the past, staff have produced clams, oysters,
scallops, and 8 species of shrimp including South
Carolina’s three native stocks.
Staff have also produced a number of fish
species important to the state. These include
sturgeon, red drum, black drum, flounder,
whiting, black sea bass, sea trout, striped bass
and striped bass hybrids.
2005
Research and Development Programs
Developing intensive environmentally
friendly – zero exchange production systems.
Also created a bio-security protocol
model to prevent disease introduction.
Biologists are developing microbial community
enhancement and sludge management practices
that can be applied to the next generation of
intensive marine production systems. These
systems require no water exchange, accelerate
microbial recycling of waste, improve control of
important water quality parameters and reduces
sludge buildup.
Finfish Aquaculture Programs
Working on developing spawning
and rearing techniques for:
– Black Sea Bass (National Sea
Grant)
– Cobia (National Sea Grant )
Also receive funding from several
sources for red drum stock
enhancement research.
Black Sea Bass
Conducting larval
rearing experiments
Spawning wild caught
fish using hCG
Growth and diet
studies (WMC,
GA, and TX)
Winter temperatures
major constraint
Black Sea Bass
(opportunities)
Very hardy
Growth of Black Sea Bass fed on Live diet
1400
1200
Weight (gm)
Grow well on
natural diets
1000
2 lb
800
600
1 lb
400
200
100g
0
0
2
4
6
8
Month
10
12
14
Cobia
SCDNR is part of a national cobia research
program to develop culture technology.
egg incubation
cobia eggs
cobia larvae
24 hours post-spawn
cobia larvae
cobia larvae
cobia larvae
14 days postpost-hatch
cobia larvae, night feeding
Day 42 post-hatch
Stocked 1,000
fingerlings in June 2004
Sent some fingerlings to
cooperators in VA and TX.
Released 861
13-inch
juveniles in
October 2004
Research supporting
development of
offshore cage culture
Red Drum
Red Drum is a …..
Highly important recreational &
commercial species along Atlantic and
Gulf coasts.
Focused fisheries from NC through TX.
Over-harvesting has caused substantial
population decline.
Many harvesting restrictions have been
established.
Rebuilding Stocks
Traditional fishery management
techniques
– Size, season, creel limits, etc.
Non-traditional fishery management
approach
– Stock hatchery produced fish
Maturation and Spawning
Detecting Stocked Red Drum
Chemical tag (OTC)
Genetic fingerprinting
Determination of Origin
(wild or hatchery)
Genetic samples collected on
all fish captured.
Red Drum Coastal Stocking Research
2004
Number of Fish Body of Water
County
140,000
Broad Creek
Beaufort
680,000
N. Edisto River
Charleston
1,600,000
Murrells Inlet
& Winyah Bay
Georgetown
Total: 2,420,000
Shrimp Farming
Research
South Carolina has a temperate
climate with approximately 150
days of growout time in open
pond production systems.
Open pond systems produce one crop of shrimp
per year. Open ponds are not biosecure and
disease outbreaks can not be controlled.
Land costs for large parcels of property with
access to seawater are very high.
Seasonal storms could wipe out production for
the year.
Open pond systems are burdened by permits and
regulations.
Shrimp prices are low and market development
potential is limited because of one harvest per
year.
Greenhouse Raceway Intensive
Shrimp Production System
These systems produce 3 to 4 crops of shrimp
per year.
Year round production systems would open
new marketing opportunities to improve
shrimp prices (local fresh, never frozen
product).
Shrimp farms hit by seasonal storms would
be able to restock.
Greenhouse systems operate with zero
discharge, thereby making these operations less
burdened by government regulations and
permit requirements.
Another advantage to these greenhouse covered
shrimp farms is that they can be constructed
further inland on less expensive land.
This next generation of shrimp farms will be
both closed and covered. These farms will be
able to operate at an increased level of
biosecurity.
Commercial Prototype
Zero water exchange, no discharge system
282 m2 surface area
Sludge Removal
Commercial type
bead filtration system
installed to remove
heavy solids
Improved water color
Sludge Removal
Raceway installed to
contain solids removed
by bead filtration
Effluent returned to the
greenhouse after
settling is completed
Solids removed and
used to amend soils
Oxygen
Oxygen generator
installed with
injector system
D.O. levels are
maintained at
5.0mg/l or greater
Raceway Harvest
Greenhouse Raceway Harvest Data
Stocking
Rate #/m2
Size
(g)
Harvest Prod.
G.O.
(g)
(Kg/m2) Days
300
1.00
16.6
4.5
75
91
1.5
420
0.01
21.3
6.8
113
80
1.9
450
1.00
25.6
6.3
123
54
2.6
Surv. FCR
(%)
Our goal is to develop shrimp
production technology to be used
here so we become less dependent on
imported shrimp.
These new raceway systems will
provide new marketing opportunities
by offering fresh-never frozen shrimp
year-round.
Finding alternatives for fish meal and fish oil
in aquaculture diets: recent progress with
marine shrimp
Response of shrimp (L. vannamei) stocked in production ponds (n=3) at 1 g
and offered a commercial fish meal based shrimp ration versus a diet
formulated with plant based ingredients, including algal meal, and 1% squid
meal as the only marine animal protein source.
Diet
Mean wt. Productio
n
(g)
(kg/ha)
Survival
(%)
FCR
Plant-based
19.2
4560
93.8
1.36
Commercial
18.7
4468
98.8
1.33
Research conducted by Drs. Browdy (SCDNR) and Bullis
(ABN) at South Carolina’s Waddell Mariculture Center
Waddell Mariculture Center Staff
Thank You!
Thank You