Effect of Aquaculture-Related Diets on the Long-Term Performance and Condition of the Rock Crab, Cancer irroratus

Shellfish and salmonid aquaculture operations in Eastern Canada attract several mobile epibenthic species as a result of added structural complexity and increased food availability (bivalve fall-off and waste salmonid feed). It is not clear whether the aggregation of predators and scavengers below coastal farms contributes positively or negatively to their population dynamics, due to concerns about the quality of food items found under farms. We conducted an 18-month laboratory study to investigate the effect of diets composed of 1) mixed items, 2) mussels (Mytilus edulis), and 3) salmonid feed on the performance and condition of the rock crab, Cancer irroratus. Diet had no impact on crab survival but several negative consequences were observed in crabs fed the salmonid feed diet when compared to the mixed diet: reduced 1) moulting rates during the second growing season, 2) inter-molt growth, 3) gonad and hepatopancreas indices, 4) hemolymph dissolved compounds, 5) hepatopancreatic glycogen, and 6) shell hardness. Crabs fed the mussel diet had similar performance and condition when compared to the mixed diet. Fatty acid composition of muscle, gonad, and hepatopancreas tissues revealed that a salmonid feed diet decreased n3/n6 ratio when compared to a mixed or a mussel diet; those differences were mostly due to increases in the proportions of terrestrial (18:1n9 and 18:2n6) and decreases in proportions of marine essential (20:5n3 and 22:6n3) fatty acids. Together, these results point to a minimal impact of a mussel-only diet on crabs, whereas the salmonid feed diet resulted in negative impacts on condition. Our experimental results explored the consequences of a ‘worst-case scenario’ in which crabs were forced to feed on a single item for a long period of time; the realized impact in field settings will depend on other factors such as consumption of alternate food items underneath a farm, proportion of time spent in farms, and level of overlap between crab habitat and aquaculture facilities.

[1]  N. Keeley,et al.  Effects of fish farm activities on the sponge Weberella bursa, and its associated microbiota , 2021 .

[2]  Heidi K Alleway,et al.  Habitat value of bivalve shellfish and seaweed aquaculture for fish and invertebrates: Pathways, synthesis and next steps , 2021, Reviews in Aquaculture.

[3]  L. Falconer,et al.  European lobsters utilise Atlantic salmon wastes in coastal integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems , 2020 .

[4]  C. McKindsey,et al.  Consumption of organic wastes from coastal salmon aquaculture by wild decapods. , 2020, The Science of the total environment.

[5]  P. Sanchez‐Jerez,et al.  Influence of aquaculture waste on fatty acid profiles and gonad maturation of wild fish aggregations at fish farms. , 2020, Marine environmental research.

[6]  Tingting Zhu,et al.  Effects of different dietary lipid sources on growth performance, antioxidant enzyme activities and biochemical composition of juvenile swimming crab, Portunus trituberculatus , 2019, Aquaculture Nutrition.

[7]  N. Keeley,et al.  Fate and longevity of terrestrial fatty acids from caged fin-fish aquaculture in dynamic coastal marine systems , 2019, Ecological Indicators.

[8]  S. Jónasdóttir.  Fatty Acid Profiles and Production in Marine Phytoplankton , 2019, Marine drugs.

[9]  P. Nichols,et al.  Terrestrial fatty acids as tracers of finfish aquaculture waste in the marine environment , 2019 .

[10]  R. Filgueira,et al.  Far-Field and Near-Field Effects of Marine Aquaculture , 2019, World Seas: an Environmental Evaluation.

[11]  C. McKindsey,et al.  Attraction and repulsion of mobile wild organisms to finfish and shellfish aquaculture: a review , 2018 .

[12]  S. Swearer,et al.  Limited evidence for differential reproductive fitness of wild Atlantic cod in areas of high and low salmon farming density , 2018, Aquaculture Environment Interactions.

[13]  S. Swearer,et al.  Impacts of marine and freshwater aquaculture on wildlife: a global meta-analysis , 2018, Reviews in Aquaculture.

[14]  P. Nichols,et al.  Aquaculture-derived trophic subsidy boosts populations of an ecosystem engineer , 2018, Aquaculture Environment Interactions.

[15]  Ø. Strand,et al.  Mobile epibenthic fauna consume organic waste from coastal fin-fish aquaculture. , 2018, Marine environmental research.

[16]  P. Nichols,et al.  Dispersal and assimilation of an aquaculture waste subsidy in a low productivity coastal environment. , 2017, Marine pollution bulletin.

[17]  P. Nichols,et al.  Consumption of aquaculture waste affects the fatty acid metabolism of a benthic invertebrate. , 2017, The Science of the total environment.

[18]  P. Nichols,et al.  Future aquafeeds may compromise reproductive fitness in a marine invertebrate. , 2016, Marine environmental research.

[19]  I. McGaw,et al.  Potential use of Mussel farms as Multitrophic on-growth sites for American lobster, Homarus americanus (Milne Edwards) , 2016 .

[20]  Sophia Decker,et al.  Design And Analysis Of Ecological Experiments , 2016 .

[21]  T. Åsgård,et al.  Utilisation of feed resources in production of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Norway , 2015 .

[22]  S. Dernekbaşı.  The Fatty Acid Composition of Cultured Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck 1819) in Offshore Longline System in the Black Sea , 2015 .

[23]  P. Southgate,et al.  Effects of Dietary Fish Oil to Soybean Oil Ratio on Survival, Development, and Growth of Early Juveniles of the Blue Swimmer Crab Portunus pelagicus , 2015 .

[24]  S. Dufour,et al.  Lipid Classes and Fatty Acids in Ophryotrocha cyclops, a Dorvilleid from Newfoundland Aquaculture Sites , 2015, PloS one.

[25]  C. Parrish,et al.  Invertebrate uptake of lipids in the vicinity of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) aquaculture sites in British Columbia , 2015 .

[26]  P. Archambault,et al.  Influence of mussel aquaculture on the distribution of vagile benthic macrofauna in îles de la Madeleine, eastern Canada , 2015 .

[27]  P. Cranford,et al.  Availability and utilization of waste fish feed by mussels Mytilus edulis in a commercial integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system: A multi-indicator assessment approach , 2015 .

[28]  N. Loader,et al.  Effects of coastal fish farms on body size and isotope composition of wild penaeid prawn , 2015 .

[29]  I. McGaw,et al.  Use of Serum Protein Concentration as an Indicator of Quality and Physiological Condition in the Lobster Homarus americanus (Milne-Edwards, 1837) , 2014 .

[30]  S. Robinson,et al.  Enhanced Growth Rates and Condition Index of Blue Mussels (Mytilus edulis) Held at Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture Sites in the Bay of Fundy , 2012 .

[31]  K. Reitan,et al.  Discharge of nutrient wastes from salmon farms: environmental effects, and potential for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture , 2012 .

[32]  K. Reitan,et al.  Incorporation of fish feed and growth of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) in close proximity to salmon (Salmo salar) aquaculture: Implications for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture in Norwegian coastal waters , 2012 .

[33]  O. Grahl-Nielsen,et al.  Tracing fish farm waste in the northern shrimp Pandalus borealis (Krøyer, 1838) using lipid biomarkers , 2012 .

[34]  R. Scheibling,et al.  Fatty acids as dietary tracers in benthic food webs , 2012 .

[35]  M. Fréchette.  Self-thinning, biodeposit production, and organic matter input to the bottom in mussel suspension culture , 2012 .

[36]  P. Archambault,et al.  Influence of suspended and off-bottom mussel culture on the sea bottom and benthic habitats: a review. , 2011 .

[37]  T. Dempster,et al.  Waste feed from coastal fish farms: A trophic subsidy with compositional side-effects for wild gadoids , 2011 .

[38]  T. Dempster,et al.  Proxy Measures of Fitness Suggest Coastal Fish Farms Can Act as Population Sources and Not Ecological Traps for Wild Gadoid Fish , 2011, PloS one.

[39]  M. Holmer.  Environmental issues of fish farming in offshore waters: perspectives, concerns and research needs. , 2010 .

[40]  G. Sarà,et al.  Growth of Mytilus galloprovincialis (mollusca, bivalvia) close to fish farms: a case of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture within the Tyrrhenian Sea , 2009, Hydrobiologia.

[41]  P. Archambault,et al.  Shellfish-DEPOMOD: Modelling the biodeposition from suspended shellfish aquaculture and assessing benthic effects , 2009 .

[42]  C. Pipper,et al.  Failure Time Analysis , 2009 .

[43]  G. Turchini,et al.  Fish oil replacement in finfish nutrition , 2009 .

[44]  M. Tlusty,et al.  Effects of dietary DHA and EPA on neurogenesis, growth, and survival of juvenile American lobster, Homarus americanus , 2009 .

[45]  P. Archambault,et al.  Local enhancement of epibenthic macrofauna by aquaculture activities , 2008 .

[46]  P. Archambault,et al.  Distribution and productivity of fish and macroinvertebrates in mussel aquaculture sites in the Magdalen islands (Québec, Canada) , 2008 .

[47]  F. Pernet,et al.  Lipid nutrition and settlement behaviour in American lobster Homarus americanus , 2007 .

[48]  R. J. Thompson,et al.  Role of fatty acids in cultured mussels, Mytilus edulis, grown in Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland , 2007 .

[49]  T. Dempster,et al.  Changes in body condition and fatty acid composition of wild Mediterranean horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus, Steindachner, 1868) associated to sea cage fish farms. , 2007, Marine environmental research.

[50]  E. Navarro,et al.  PHYTOPLANKTON COMPOSITION OF THE STOMACH CONTENTS OF THE MUSSEL MYTILUS EDULIS L. FROM TWO POPULATIONS: COMPARISON WITH ITS FOOD SUPPLY , 2009 .

[51]  G. Inglis,et al.  Potential indirect effects of shellfish culture on the reproductive success of benthic predators , 2003 .

[52]  S. Sheen,et al.  ESSENTIAL FATTY ACID REQUIREMENTS OF JUVENILE MUD CRAB, SCYLLA SERRATA (FORSKÅL, 1775) (DECAPODA, SCYLLARIDAE) , 2002 .

[53]  G. Godbout,et al.  The importance of rock crab (Cancer irroratus) for growth, condition and ovary development of adult American lobster (Homarus americanus). , 2001, Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology.

[54]  B. A. Johnson,et al.  A Device to Measure Shell Hardness of Dungeness Crabs and Trial Application in the Kodiak Island, Alaska, Commercial Fishery , 1999 .

[55]  X. Xu,et al.  Essential fatty acid requirement of the Chinese prawn, Penaeus chinensis , 1994 .

[56]  G. Lepage,et al.  Improved recovery of fatty acid through direct transesterification without prior extraction or purification. , 1984, Journal of lipid research.

[57]  T. Bigford.  Synopsis of biological data on the rock crab, Cancer irroratus Say / , 1979 .

[58]  R. Lowe,et al.  Biology of Rock Crab (Cancer irroratus) in Northumberland Strait , 1972 .