Fish transport in the aquaculture sector: An overview of the road transport of Atlantic salmon in Tasmania

doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2008.09.034

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

Volume 4, Issue 4, July–August 2009, Pages 163-168

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2008.09.034 Get rights and content

Abstract

Although species-specific aquaculture production systems typically operate over reduced geographical ranges relative to many other terrestrial animal production systems, it is nonetheless often necessary to transport live fish between facilities by road to permit on-growing or finishing. Road transport is therefore common in Australian salmonid (trout and salmon) production and is a particularly significant feature of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) culture in Tasmania, where it is necessary to transport juvenile fish (smolts) from inland freshwater hatchery facilities to coastal marine farms for grow-out to slaughter.

The most obvious respect in which road transport of live fish differs from that of terrestrial livestock is the requirement to provide a life-support system for the duration of the process. Aside from an inherent requirement for water, it is essential to provide oxygenation to support basic respiration. Thereafter, water quality must be managed to limit the accumulation of potentially toxic metabolites. Among these, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is of particular concern. Without appropriate management, CO₂ can rapidly accumulate to levels as high as 80 mg/L^-1 and result in hypercapnia, respiratory dysfunction, narcosis, and ultimately death. Current life-support systems typically function to maintain CO₂ at acceptable levels of 20-30 mg/L^-1. Water temperature changes during and at the end of the transport process may also be an issue but are typically only a relatively minor consideration.

In common with other livestock transport systems, the loading process and associated handling can evoke a physiological stress response which, though intended to be adaptive, may interact synergistically with aspects of the life-support system. Increased rates of oxygen consumption and CO₂ excretion place additional demands on the life-support system while, from the fish's perspective, the changes in gill perfusion and circulation that facilitate such alterations in gas exchange can also operate to increase solute loss and result in diuresis and ionoregulatory dysfunction. As a consequence, once a suitable life-support system has been provided, the efforts of salmon farmers are focused on the need to minimize handling stress. The majority operate sophisticated pumping and counting systems that are intended to minimize aerial exposure of fish and, in a manner consistent with the natural behavior of the animal, mimic as far as is practicable the process of being washed downstream.

Section snippets

Background

It is often necessary to transfer live fish between aquaculture facilities to permit on-growing or finishing, and within the commercial culture of salmonids (salmon and trout), a number of transport methods may be employed. The most common are coastal transport using well-boats or towing of culture cages by tugs, road transport in insulated tanks, and helicopter transport over short distances (EFSA, 2004). Although well-boat transfers dominate international practice, the nature of Australia's

Providing a life-support system for land transport of fish

In marked contrast to the road transport of terrestrial livestock, live fish transport involves the requirement to provide a life-support system for the duration of the process. Beyond the obvious requirement to provide a volume of water in which to contain the animals, the most critical component of the life-support system is a means of providing oxygen (O₂) to support their normal respiration (Wedemeyer, 1996a, Wedemeyer, 1996b). Failure to do so will rapidly result in hypoxia, followed by

Fish respiration

The physiological needs of fish during transport do not differ significantly from those during general culture. Therefore an understanding of the processes of gas exchange in fish is central to designing an effective life-support system. Because the extent to which O₂ dissolves in water is limited, fish must move large volumes of water over their gills by mouth and opercular movements or ram ventilation (Bone and Marshall, 1982). Gill anatomy facilitates countercurrent flow of water and blood

Complications—respiratory physiology and life-support interactions

In spite of CO₂ stripping during transport, it remains possible, through the use of oxygenation systems that employ pure O₂, for O₂ supersaturation of as much as 200% to occur in the transport water (particularly if manual systems are operated inappropriately) (Wedemeyer, 1996b). This situation raises the possibility of gas bubble disease (GBD) as O₂ comes out of solution in the blood and tissues, forming bubbles that can impair circulation. However, such hyperoxia is more likely to induce

Further complications—stress, respiration, and osmoregulation

As in other vertebrates, when fish are exposed to a single simple stressor (e.g., handling), 2 sets of endocrine processes are activated. Catecholamines are rapidly released from the chromaffin cells, and the hypothalamo-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis is stimulated, resulting in increased plasma cortisol concentration (Sumpter, 1997). The catecholamine secretion induces rapid changes in the vascular and respiratory systems. Heart rate and gill perfusion are increased, as is the gill

Management of stress

From the preceding discussion, it is clear that provision of a life-support system for live fish transport is an important but nonetheless relatively straightforward consideration, whereas the stress response of fish and the potentially vicious cycle of interactions among components of that stress response and aspects of the transport process can generate a much more complex set of issues to be addressed. As a consequence, it is to be expected that with respect to live transport of their

Knowledge gaps

From overseas sources, where well-boat transfers of salmon smolts are widespread, there have been anecdotal reports that suggest that fish can exhibit evidence of suffering from seasickness, and it is noteworthy that fish are now being used as model animals for the study of motion sickness in vertebrates (Hilbig et al., 2002). However, the question of whether motion sickness occurs in the road transport of fish does not appear to have received consideration. Furthermore, in view of the

Summary of current practice

Currently in Tasmanian Atlantic salmon culture, life-support system operation and fish-handling practices combine to permit the routine transport of batches of 15,000-18,000 smolts (mean weight approximately 100 g) at transport tank stocking densities of 70-80 kg m^-3. Following a loading process that may take up to 2 hours to complete, typical transport times range between 3 and 6 hours. During transport, fish are held in darkness and DO is maintained at levels approximating saturation for the

Future Directions

Looking forward to consider the requirement for continuous improvement in husbandry practices and the need to take account of emerging trends in salmonid aquaculture, 2 issues of immediate significance to the road transport of live salmon are apparent. First, as the study of fish welfare progresses and our understanding of noxious stimuli in fish expands, it is becoming apparent that some fish, such as salmonids, are more acutely sensitive to elevated CO₂ than previously thought. In fact,

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Transportation process, a key procedure during the fish culture and management, is closely related to the meat quality of fish after harvest. Several factors in the transportation such as shaking, water conditions (temperature and ammonia nitrogen content et al.), and loading density, would result in the physiological and biochemical disorders of fish (Becker et al., 2012), expressed as the increasing plasma cortisol and glucose levels (King, 2009), further the deterioration of meat qualities. Refaey et al. (2017) found that the water and fat contents of channel catfish muscle decreased after 24 h transportation.
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2008 Australian RSPCA Welfare SymposiumFish transport in the aquaculture sector: An overview of the road transport of Atlantic salmon in Tasmania

Abstract

Section snippets

Background

Providing a life-support system for land transport of fish

Fish respiration

Complications—respiratory physiology and life-support interactions

Further complications—stress, respiration, and osmoregulation

Management of stress

Knowledge gaps

Summary of current practice

Future Directions

Aquacult. Eng

Immune-endocrine interactions

Biology of Fishes

Fish Welfare

2008 Australian RSPCA Welfare Symposium
Fish transport in the aquaculture sector: An overview of the road transport of Atlantic salmon in Tasmania