Marine Finfish Aquaculture Research and Development at the University of Miami.

The University of Miami Aquaculture Program has been playing a major role in spearheading advanced aquaculture technologies. Research and academic programs are centered on innovative approaches to ensure that seafood production is science-based, wholesome, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable.

By: Daniel Benetti, John Stieglitz, Jorge Suarez, Ron Hoenig, Carlos Tudela, Zack Daugherty, Charles James McGuigan, Jia Geng, Shubham Mathur, Yole Buchalla, Julio Camperio, Luiz Anchieta*

The University of Miami Aquaculture Program is engaged in collaborations around the world and is recognized for our contributions to the field –particularly for the development of challenging and high-value marine species, technology transfer activities, and the education and training of top professionals at all levels.

The academic program encompasses undergraduate and graduate level courses covering everything from basic concepts to science, environment, management, social and economic aspects of sustainable aquaculture, regulatory issues, business and production models, all the way to seafood market and marketing.

At the graduate level, students have the opportunity to pursue Master of Professional Science (MPS), Master of Science (MS), or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees.

Undergraduate and graduate students are trained in state-of-the-art aquaculture techniques and technologies, as well as advanced research skills that prepare them for careers in the public and private sectors.

The program thrives on innovative research and development concepts focusing on emerging technologies.

The UM Aquaculture Program has graduated and trained over 150 professionals who are leading the field operating in all aspects of aquaculture from academic, research, and government positions, with a majority working in the private sector.

The UM Aquaculture Program consistently attracts highly-motivated and hardworking applicants, and the majority of our graduate students engage in paid internships with most being hired before or just after graduating. Job placement for our graduates has historically been nearly 100 percent. Our network extends literally the world over, and our talent pipeline is the program’s best asset.

A central component of the Program is the renowned, Global GAP-certified, University of Miami Experimental Hatchery (UMEH), with dry and wet laboratory facilities, numerous broodstock maturation systems for conditioning fish to spawn volitionally, a number of larval rearing and nursery tanks of various volumes for experimental trials and commercial-scale fingerling production, and a variety of replicated systems with tank volumes ranging in size from 50 L to 5,000 L for nutrition studies, nursery, and on-growing trials.

Professor and Director of the University of Miami Aquaculture Program, Dr. Dan Benetti, with a red snapper broodfish.

Beyond research and academic activities, the UMEH is an incubator of technology and oftentimes a production facility. We work collaboratively with hatcheries and grow-out facilities around the world including the US, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil, Peru, the Bahamas, Turkey, Australia and multiple countries in Asia.

These international connections are very important when it comes to developing, adapting, perfecting, and implementing successful production technologies for the aquaculture sector.

At the UMEH, we develop technologies for maturation, spawning, larval husbandry, live feeds, fingerling and juvenile production as well as grow-out trials of high-value marine species.

Current and past species with which we have conducted research and development and technology transfer activities at various feasibility levels include:

- Cobia: Rachycentron canadum,

- Mahi-mahi: Coryphaena hippurus,

- Red snapper: Lutjanus campechunus,

- Yellowtail snapper: Ocyurus chrysurus,

- Nassau grouper: Epinephelus striatus,

- Hogfish: Lachnolaimus maximus,

- Almaco jack: Seriola rivoliana,

- Florida pompano: Trachinotus carolinus,

- Blackfin tuna: Thunnus atlanticus,

- Olive flounder: Paralichthys olivaceus,

- Goggle-eye: Selar crumenophthalmus,

- Tripletail: Lobotes surinamensis,

- Red drum: Sciaenops ocellatus,

- Sea trout: Cynoscion nebulosus,

- Snook: Centropomus undecimalis and

- Stone crab: Menippe mercenaria.

One of the primary goals of our program is to conduct research to develop and perfect technologies to explore the aquaculture feasibility of high-value species that are not yet commercially produced.

The research program is science-based and centered on advanced hatchery, land-based (RAS and flow-through), and open-ocean grow-out technologies of marine fish.

In this article, we provide an update on some current activities being conducted with some of the selected species.

Larval rearing tanks used for research and development and production at UMEH.

Broodstock Establishment, Maturation Systems and Breeding Programs.

The UMEH facility is located on Virginia Key, Florida, adjacent to Bear Cut, which connects the Atlantic Ocean to Biscayne Bay.

This unique location allows for ready access to a variety of fish species that can be collected and delivered to the facility.

The UM Aquaculture Program’s faculty and staff possess skills to utilize the University’s small-boat fleet to independently conduct collection operations whenever weather permits.

For species that are not readily available in Miami waters, we work with professional charter boat captains to target that broodfish.

Reliable, safe, and effective broodstock collection protocols have been established for the species at the UMEH over the years, and the UM Aquaculture Program has earned a reputation of being able to collect and maintain many challenging species.

With virtually all species onsite, our main objective is closing the life cycle and achieving reliable, cost-effective production of high-quality fingerlings of the selected marine fish species.

It all starts in the hatchery. The UMEH is currently equipped with six maturation systems ranging in size from 20 to 80 m3. Two flowthrough systems and four independent, partially recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are used for environmental conditioning of selected species of broodfish to induce volitional spawning activity.

The RAS systems are fitted with typical water filtration equipment, including temperature control, and we have implemented dozens of such maturation systems for over 15 species the world over and they invariably achieve the desired results.

The majority of species we work with (including cobia, mahimahi, red snapper, goggle-eye and olive flounder) spawn naturally yearround, on and off season, in our hatchery.

Although some species on site have remaining reproductive challenges that must be overcome to achieve consistent spawning, in general the reliable spawning methods we have developed for species at the UMEH allow for consistent production throughout the year.

A commonly overlooked yet critical factor in any successful marine finfish maturation program is having well-trained and reliable personnel, as well as excellent water quality.

Other key factors we implement are improved nutrition, periodic prophylaxis, removal of aggressive or non-performing individuals and parasite control (a symbiotic “cleaning station” using cleaner fish such as neon gobies Gobiosoma oceanops is recommended for certain species).

A veterinarian or fish health specialist on site or routinely visiting to assess overall fish welfare is also necessary.

The University of Miami’s Division of Veterinary Resources provides that service for UMEH.

Broodstock management is complex; it is as much of an art as it is a science.

For some species, smaller fish may perform better than larger fish, and for other species, it is the opposite.

Likewise, the best sex ratio varies from 2 females:1 male to 2-3 males:1 female.

Finally, contrary to anecdotal and popular belief, it is recommended that broodfish be moved routinely to allow tanks to be cleaned to maintain superior quality rearing environments and allow for close inspection of individual broodfish.

At the UMEH, fish are moved, on average, every three months and over the years this regimen has proven to be extremely beneficial to the fish and to management.

During such procedures, all fish are checked for parasites and diseases, undergo prophylaxis treatments, and are moved to a new tank to resume spawning.

Larval rearing tanks used for research and development and production at UMEH.

The basic breeding program utilized at the UMEH is aimed at domesticating the stock to create independence from natural stocks.

In the case of cobia, we have third-generation (F3) offspring of selectively bred broodstock that have been identified as producers of high-quality offspring.

Our cobia breeding program is funded by Open Blue Sea Farms. We are expanding this mutually beneficial agreement to conduct genotype analysis of cobia as well as other species of interest, such as the red snapper, to determine fish fitness, in collaboration with the Center for Aquaculture Technologies.

These genotypes are used to select groups of fish with high grow-out performance and track them back to their origin.

Genes are then identified that correspond to productive performance parameters such as growth rate, survival rate, disease resistance, feed conversion ratio, and fillet yield.

These concepts are being applied to cobia and will be used for the red snapper and other species we work with.

Optimizing Aquaculture Production Technologies Through Physiological and Bioenergetics Research.

The development of hatchery technology for marine species is only part of the equation in developing viable commercial-scale aquaculture operations.

University of Miami aquaculture researchers use advanced techniques and technologies to optimize production of marine fish.

Through bioenergetics and physiological research, it is possible to determine the optimal culture conditions throughout the life cycle of each species.

Late-stage cobia embryos.

We have been conducting studies aimed at assessing the impacts of environmental conditions on metabolic endpoints in species across all life stages, including assessment of swimming metabolism, through the use of swim tunnel respirometry and energy partitioning.

Such work has allowed for quantification of environmental and energetic requirements under site, and system-specific conditions, thereby allowing for optimization of system design, operation, and production management.

One example is a recent collaboration with Open Blue Sea Farms for studying energetics and swimming speeds to understand the effect of offshore currents on metabolism and growth of cobia for optimized production.

Research activities in this area also allow for design and operation of production systems that offer improved sustainability, such as integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems that exploit waste production from higher trophic level species for production of other crops at lower trophic levels that also have market value.

Findings from this physiological and bioenergetics research, along with improved understanding of energy flows, are critical to optimizing the production process while helping improve the overall efficiency, sustainability, and profitability of marine finfish aquaculture.

Nutrition Research.

Aquaculture nutrition research at UM is driven by the needs of the commercial sector, which is also the primary source of funding for this research.

In a commercial marine finfish operation, feeds can represent as much as 70 percent of the production costs, of which a majority is used on fish near harvest size.

Hence, we work primarily with near harvest-size fish, aiming at finding solutions for the stages where 80-90 percent of all feeds consumed in a production cycle are used.

There is a need and strong demand for the development of ecologically efficient, economically viable and nutritionally adequate diets for commercially important tropical and subtropical marine finfish species.

Our nutrition program works closely with the commercial sector to conduct practical research, such as digestibility trials, to improve the ecological and economic efficiency of aquafeeds.

Further, in addition to probiotics, we are studying and conducting research with bacteriophages, organic acids, essential oils, and trace minerals to improve fish health.

Over the years, the UM Aquaculture Program has been conducting extensive nutrition trials with multiple marine fish species from juvenile through harvestable size.

Some of the species currently being investigated are primarily cobia, olive flounder, red snapper and Florida pompano.

Furthermore, the UM Aquaculture Program has been working closely with industry leaders such as Open Blue Sea Farms, Panama, and Martec S.A., Costa Rica, to improve feed efficiencies while maximizing fish performance.

In addition to work with these groups, the United Soybean Board, the Illinois Soybean Association, and the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) have been strong supporters of nutrition research at the UM over the years.

These partnerships led to the development of nutritional requirements, apparent digestibility of different ingredients and the replacement of fishmeal and fish oil in diets for cobia.

We are continuously seeking and routinely developing collaborations with feed companies in the US and abroad to conduct digestibility studies of the ingredients used in the formulation and manufacture of specialized diets for commercially important marine finfish species.

Research and development collaborations have also been made with multiple partners (UJAT of Mexico and the US-based company Aquaculture Intelligence) to promote fish health through the use of probiotics, essential oils and organic acids.

Through this collaboration, a repository of tropical fish enzymes of high commercial value has been set up to evaluate the enzymatic activity of commercial ingredients and diets.

Additional nutrition research is underway to assess the nutritional profile and possible use of black soldier fly meal and oil for the manufacturing of commercial diets for marine fish and shrimp.

Based on a preliminary review of studies, it appears that different meal and oil extraction methods will modulate the nutritional profile of the meal and oil.

Additionally, black soldier fly meal seems to be comparable to plant-based meals rather than animal-based meals.

Testing feeds during nursery and grow-out of olive flounder.

Furthermore, proximate analysis of the meal can be altered depending on the food source of the fly larvae, usually reflecting the profile of the food source.

In summary, nutrition is key at broodstock, larval, live feeds, fingerling, juvenile and grow-out stages.

Performance studies are required for understanding the selected species’ nutritional requirements and digestibility of proteins, amino acids, lipids and energy of the various ingredients used for diets at all stages of the production cycle, while maximizing the use of high-quality ingredients and additives.

These are crucial for aiding in the formulation of specific diets, reducing fish in-fish out ratios, reducing use of fishmeal and fish oil with alternative sources of animal and plant protein.

Knowledge of the nutritional requirements and digestibility of nutrients of large fish is necessary to optimize growth and minimize waste in commercial marine finfish farms.

This will be more rapidly attained with synergistic collaborations among all stakeholders in the productive chain, from suppliers of raw materials and aquafeed manufacturers to commercial farmers and research institutions.

The overall goal is to improve the economic and ecological efficiency of farming operations and nutrition research by the UM Aquaculture Program plays an important role in meeting this goal.

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.

In recent years, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) has been introduced into commercial aquaculture.

AI has the potential to play a role in critical processes of the aquaculture production cycle, from spawning to grow-out stages, to improve efficiency and decrease operational costs.

The UM Aquaculture Program is engaged in research activities dedicated to innovative approaches to improve aquaculture hatchery technologies with state-of-the-art AI techniques.

Current efforts focus on developing machine learning-based computer vision pipelines for autonomous rotifer (Brachionus sp.) culture system (ARCS).

The procedure is to use a systematic combination of object detection, object tracking, convolutional neural networks, and sequential neural networks to empower the machine vision to accurately detect, recognize and classify rotifers under the microscope and estimate rotifer motility and ciliate concentration.

The AI-driven compute vision will unblock, simplify and optimize the critical obstacles toward a fully automatic rotifer culture system.

If successful, this will improve the efficiency of commercial-scale rotifer culture and reduce human labor, thereby reducing the overall cost of the operation.

As part of this research, we are also working on a publicly accessible rotifer culture image dataset designed for deep learning experiments and modeling packages.

These resources will encourage both the aquaculture and the AI communities to participate in developing next-generation aquaculture hatchery technologies.

Aquaculture graduate students handling broodstock and conducting routine husbandry activities during research projects.

Interactions with the Seafood Industry and Marketing.

Efforts With aquaculture products representing over half of the seafood consumed by humans globally, it is critical that aquaculture research and development activities be conducted with the global seafood industry, markets, and seafood marketing efforts in mind.

The UM Aquaculture Program is involved in numerous initiatives aimed at improving the seafood industry through establishment of effective and sustainable seafood production technologies.

New projects on yellowtail snapper and olive flounder are examples of research aimed at assisting working waterfronts and coastal communities through development of sustainable aquaculture technologies for these species.

With support from NOAA and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council (ASMFC), such projects offer an opportunity to bridge the gap between wild and farmed seafood production, while offering resiliency for communities that have historically been reliant solely on wild-catch fisheries.

Through research into not only the technological barriers of raising and marketing the fish but also the social and economic challenges associated with such projects, these research efforts are expanding the impact of the UM Aquaculture Program in new and exciting directions in the seafood industry.

Additionally, researchers of the UM Aquaculture Program are looking at improving the ecological, physiological, and economic efficiencies of producing, marketing, and consuming fish through promoting the value of whole, plate-size fish for the North American market.

This work has focused on the ecological and economic advantages of producing whole plate-size fish and proposes a marketing strategy to develop and implement this widely successful worldwide concept in the US.

The large North American seafood market is a vast field for implementing this concept because the composition of the American population has an important contribution from foreigners and immigrants of different origins, particularly from countries where plate-size whole fish are routinely consumed.

The greater physiological and ecological efficiencies of harvesting fish just before they reach sexual maturity and begin reproducing is well known and documented.

For several commercially important species such as snappers, groupers, pompanos and others, this generally occurs at 400-600 grams at 10-12 months of age, corresponding precisely to plate-size whole fish.

Aquaculture is the most sustainable alternative to meet the increasing demand for plate-size whole fish, benefiting from greater business attractiveness and profitability, and helping mitigate environmental impacts of capture fisheries.

A paradigm shift to this modality of product would lead to the expansion of the activity.

The strategy must combine adequate sourcing, marketing and educational campaigns to literally put plate-size whole fish in the center of the plate.

Plate-size whole fish is sustainable, easy to cook, tasteful, healthier, and definitely a great product ideal for individual meals.

To that end, we have been testing the market for red snapper, olive flounder, and mahimahi. Trials with these species have been promising and work in this area is ongoing.

Complementing the research into issues of direct relevance to the seafood industry is work aimed at improving traceability and quality of seafood inspected in the US.

Recent research trials at the UM Aquaculture Program have utilized bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to examine hatchery-raised Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus and hatchery-raised olive flounder as case studies.

Most (around 90 percent) of seafood consumed in the US is imported and only a small fraction of imports are inspected.

Through collaboration with Seafood Analytics and use of their Certified Quality Reader (CQR), we are assisting in developing technology to combat this systemic problem and aid in the inspection of seafood and seafood products, especially those imported.

The Seafood Analytics CQR is a handheld device that measures the resistance and reactance of a sample that determines the overall quality of the sample.

By comparing fresh tilapia fillets to fillets that had been frozen and then defrosted, and examining the differences between the four distinct fillet portions that can be found on the olive flounder, changes in flesh quality as time elapses were measured.

Aquaculture graduate students handling broodstock and conducting routine husbandry activities during research projects.

This type of research should aid in improving assessment and objectivity of quality control in the seafood industry in the future.

Researchers at UM will be further examining the use of BIA in yellowtail snapper as part of an expansive research project centered around this high-value species.

Seafood market analysis and marketing strategies are key to realizing the potential of any species being introduced.

In this area, collaboration is critical in the industry and, in addition to the well-established Beaver Street Fisheries in Florida and Tropic Seafood in the Bahamas, we are collaborating on seafood market and marketing efforts with MarePesca LLC in Puerto Rico to commercialize farmed red snapper raised at UMEH as part of the NO- AA-Sea Grant funded project.

The red snapper is a species in great demand in North America and the Caribbean region, and Puerto Rico has a large latent market for this fish.

Recent trials in Puerto Rico testing the market acceptance of this product indicated that plate-size farmed red snapper was very well received, scoring above snapper currently found in the market in all criteria, including overall impression, ease of preparation, and taste.

Furthermore, 93 percent of surveyed establishments expressed a strong desire to consume this product.

With commitments from restaurants and distributors to purchase whole, plate-size farmed red snapper, MarePesca LLC is enthusiastic about facilitating commercial farming operations in the region.

This illustrates how research and development activities can translate to real-world benefits in commercial farming sectors.

Upcoming market analysis and marketing trials with olive flounder in the Atlantic States region, as part of a research project centered around this species, will continue our work in this sector and will help establish effective strategies for development of economically viable aquaculture production of such species.

Collaborations – A Global Network.

The UM Aquaculture Program thrives on collaborations with a number of universities and research institutions, government agencies and the private sector.

We have a long list of partners and collaborators from the private and public sectors with a solid track record of success and aim to continue to directly address industry needs through advanced research and development activities.

Our expertise and experience in the field have led to numerous collaborations and consulting arrangements with private and public sector operations throughout the US, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Caribbean, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East.

As aquaculture continues to expand throughout the world, we will continue to assist in advancing technologies for marine finfish aquaculture globally.

Operating the University of Miami Experimental Marine Fish Hatchery is a team effort, with many past and current collaborating partners.

* Corresponding author: Daniel Benetti, PhD, Professor and Director of Aquaculture, dbenetti@miami.edu Author’s note: We have published over 200 scientific articles in aquaculture technology, production, reproduction, physiology, nutrition, environmental issues, toxicology and systems operation and management. References about most topics covered in this article are available upon request directly from the authors. Editor’s note: This is a summarized version of an article originally published on December 2020 in the volume 51 of the World Aquaculture Magazine of the World Aquaculture Society. This original publication can be accessed at: https://www.was.org/Magazine/Vol/51/4#.YDfrqe_sa00