Aquaculture for all

Weekly Overview: Can Shrimp Aquaculture Succeed Without Eyestalk Removal?

Sustainability

ANALYSIS - This week, Bonnie Waycott reported for TheFishSite on a recent study that has shed light on the possibility of shrimp farming without the use of the eyestalk ablation procedure.

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Removing, or the ablation of, one of a shrimp's eyestalks reduces the levels of a hormone that prevents reproduction, allowing shrimp to mature faster and release more eggs, as well as making egg production more predictable and efficient.

However, concerns are rising about the practice, and the study found that shrimp aquaculture could still be successful without using eyestalk ablation.

"We're producing a better animal," said Bradford Price, VP of operations and sales at Seajoy, one of the project collaborators. "We did not expect things to be as easy as they were. The non-ablated shrimp also look so healthy it's astounding." – Click here to read more.

Continuing our Brexit vote coverage of the last few weeks, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) recently met with Scotland’s Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing in Glasgow to put forward the Federation’s views on the positive opportunities of Brexit.

Bertie Armstrong, SFF chief executive, said: “We outlined to the Minister the unanimous view of our membership of the real and positive opportunities that leaving the EU would bring to our fishing communities.

“The minister listened carefully to our points of view and we both acknowledged that there was a significant divergence in our approach to EU membership. However, there was also recognition from both parties of the need to maintain close dialogue and a good working relationship.” – Read more.

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