FT. PIERCE, FL — Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded grants from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund in support of two research projects currently underway at the Institution. The first project involves the conservation of Southern Flounder — a leading candidate for aquaculture development in Florida’s marine foodfish industry. The second project is centered on the conservation of Caribbean Sea Fan Corals. An official presentation of these grant awards will be conducted at the Disney Vero Beach Resort on Friday, August 27, 1999 at 9:00 a.m.
The overall goal of the Southern Flounder project (now in its third year) is to develop the aquaculture techniques to produce the Southern Flounder, or Paralichthys lethostigma, in captivity. Controlled reproduction of marine fishes is an important step in conserving wild fishery stocks, which have been over-harvested and are in increasingly short supply. Once Harbor Branch Aquaculture Division staff are able to produce Southern Flounder, the technology will enable the researchers to produce juvenile fishes for stock enhancement and for commercial aquaculture production. The results to date have been very successful. Broodstock fish have been captured, acclimated to aquaculture systems and have produced hundreds of thousands of eggs. Larvae have been successfully reared and we are beginning to grow out the juvenile fish in enclosed greenhouse raceway tanks.
Background:
With fishery stocks suffering from over-harvesting, habitat loss and pollution, it is critical to develop alternative fishery resources. Aquaculture is an obvious alternative for seafood production. Flatfish are a highly valued commercial fishery resource in the United States. Southern and Summer Flounder are among the top priority species for aquaculture development nationwide. By developing aquaculture techniques for land-based aquaculture of Southern Flounder, scientists can minimize the impact of commercial fishing on the species.
One of the unique aspects of the Southern Flounder species is that it has a wide tolerance to different salinities. This means scientists could potentially acclimate juvenile flounder to freshwater resource instead of having to use salt water. This acclimation would allow farmers to produce flounder using freshwater in inland locations.
During the first year of the project, Harbor Branch researchers collected wild broodstock fish, developed the techniques to mature and spawn flounder in captivity and began solving early larval rearing problems. In the second year, scientists improved the larval rearing techniques by testing different early larval rearing strategies and different diets.
HBOI has just received a third year of funding for the Southern Flounder project and will focus on improving broodstock nutrition, extending the reproductive season and improving larval rearing success. The project funding, provided by the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, has resulted in additional funding from private companies in Texas and Florida to support the HBOI flounder aquaculture effort.
In addition to the Southern Flounder research grant, Harbor Branch scientists have received funding from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund to design a closed system to culture the Caribbean sea fans Gorgonia ventalina and Gorgonia flabellum. Caribbean sea fans were nearly harvested to extinction in the 1950’s and 60’s when they were collected and dried for sale in shell shops. The state of Florida has since passed a law making it illegal to harvest these two sea fan corals and the coral stocks have recovered in the Florida Keys. However, scientists are now finding that diseases are impacting the wild stocks and could potentially threaten their survival.
Thanks to the funding received from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, Harbor Branch researchers are now developing the culture techniques that will enable us to produce corals to restock areas where the coral populations have declined. Another aspect of this project is the aquaculture of the sea fan corals for the saltwater aquarium industry. The demand for reef species continues to increase and the delicate sea fans are high prized in reef aquariums. Both species of corals being studied here are photosynthetic. That is, they derive 99% of their nutrition from algae called zooxanthellae that lives within their tissues. Therefore, these corals require little to no food to survive. Harbor Branch researchers are fragmenting cuttings of these corals, attaching them to substrates and developing the techniques to produce colonies for restocking and aquaculture.
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Inc. is one of the world’s leading not-for-profit oceanographic research organizations, dedicated to the exploration of the earth’s oceans, estuaries and coastal regions, for the benefit of mankind.
The Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund promotes the survival of wildlife and wild places. The Fund was established in 1995 by Walt Disney Attractions to promote and enable global wildlife conservation through partnerships with qualified scientists, educators and organizations committed to preserving the earth's biodiversity. Through the Fund, annual cash awards are distributed to non-profit organizations to protect and study endangered and threatened animals and their habitats.