Nutritional evaluation of an indigenous low cost protein food

A study of supplementary feeding was conducted on children with a protein food (edible fish powder in the form of 'chutney') for 35 days and the effect assessed periodically. The most noticeable effect was gain in weight and mid arm circumference in children. 35% children showed a weight gain of 1 kg, 27% 0.5 kg, 21% 1.5 kg and 2.5% 2.5 kg. 48% children registered an increase in their mid-arm circumference by 0.5 cm, 16% 1 cm and 2.5% 1.5 cm. 10% children did not gain weight. However, these children had intercurrent infections like measles, whooping cough and asthma.

Studies on the nutritional value of cassava (Manihot utillisima) peels as energy source in the diet of Oreochromis niloticus fry fed in indoor glass aquaria

This study, though, has as its core objective cost reduction in aquaculture nutrition was equally designed to investigate the value of the peels of cassava (Manihot utillisima) as energy source in the diet of Oreochromis niloticus fry. Three levels of cassava peels diet and a control (100% yellow maize in the carbohydrate mixture) was prepared and tested on O. niloticus fry for ten (10) weeks. The fry with mean weight of 0.32g were grouped fifteen (15) in each of the glass aquaria measuring 60x30x30cm with a maximum capacity of 52 litres of water. The fry were fed twice daily at 10% biomass. Weekly, the fry were weighed to determine the weight increment or otherwise and the quality of feed adjusted accordingly. Water quality parameters like temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen (D.0) were monitored and found to be at desirable level. DT 3 (97 % cassava peels and 3% yellow maize) in the carbohydrate mixture gave the best growth performance. The fry fed, this diet gained mean weight of 1.18g for the period of the experiment. However, the poorest performance in terms of growth was from fry fed the control diet (100%yellow maize in the carbohydrate mixture) fry fed this diet gained mean weight of 0.80 for the duration of the experiment. Analysis of the various growth indices like SGR, PER, FCR and NPU shows that DT3 was the overall best diet with an SGR value of2.40 and FCR of 43.83. However, DT 1 (70% cassava peels and 30% yellow maize) gave the poorest SGR of 1.61 and FCR of 67.58. The difference in weight gain among the fry fed the three levels of cassava peels diet and the control was not statically significant (P>0.05)

An assessment of scup (Stenotomus chrysops) and black sea bass (Centropristas striata) discards in the directed otter trawl fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic Bight

This study was undertaken to re-assess the level of scup (Stenotomus chrysops) discards by weight and to evaluate the effect of various codend mesh sizes on the level of scup discards in the winter-trawl scup fishery. Scup discards were high in directed scup tows regardless of codend mesh — typically one to five times the weight of landings. The weight of scup discards in the present study did not differ significantly from that recorded in scup-targeted tows in the NMFS observer database. Most discards were required as such by the 22.86 cm TL (total length) fish-size limit for catches. Mesh sizes ≤12.7 cm, including the current legal mesh size (11.43 cm) did not adequately filter out scup smaller than 22.86 cm. The median length of scup discards was about 19.83 cm TL. Lowering the legal size for scup from 22.86 to 19.83 cm TL would greatly reduce discard mortality. Scup discards were a small fraction (0.4%) of black sea bass (Centropristis striata) landings in blacksea-bass−targeted tows. The black sea bass fishery is currently regulated under the small-mesh fishery gearrestricted area plan in which fishing is prohibited in some areas to reduce scup mortality. Our study found no evidence to support the efficacy of this management approach. The expectations that discarding would increase disproportionately as the trip limit (limit [in kilograms] on catch for a species) was reached towards the end of the trip and that discards would increase when the trip limit was reduced from 4536 kg to 454 kg at the end of the directed fishing season were not supported. Trip limits did not significantly affect discard mortality.

Assessment of nutritional quality of 'Shidal' a fermented fish product of northeast India

Shidal is a salt-free fermented fish product prepared from Puntius ss. caught in late monsoon period. Shidal is very popular amongst the inhabitants of Northeast India. The fermentation process of this product takes four to six months in anaerobic condition till the product gains a characteristic flavour and colour. Detailed studies on the biochemical and nutritive qualities of this product are very few. Therefore, in this paper we report the results of the proximate analysis, amino acid and fatty acid compositions. The results suggest that Shidal is a rich source of amino acids as well as of essential fatty acids like linoleic and linolenic acids. The n- 3/n-6 ratio was found 0.51.

Procedures to prevent the occurrence of potentially dangerous situations during the operation of the Mackereth 1-metre mini or short sediment corer

During the 1950s and 1960s, F.J.H. Mackereth developed and published plans for a series of pneumatic samplers for lake sediments. Unfortunately, as the equipment was continually evolving during ensuing research, no user manuals, beyond the original publication, had been produced. Over the last few years there have been a few potentially very serious accidents with the 1-metre corer, which has prompted the authors to carry out a risk assessment. This highlighted two weaknesses in the design and its later developments. They can be corrected simply by checking for screw threads that may have been added to the exhaust port on the mini-corer, and by changing the operating procedure. An A4 nine-page user manual is now available from the authors. A small charge ( pound sterling 10 in 1998) will be made to cover handling costs and postage.

Biological Characteristics and Fishery Assessment of Alaska Plaice, Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus, in the Eastern Bering Sea

Alaska plaice, Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus, is one of the major flatfishes in the eastern Bering Sea ecosystem and is most highly concentrated in the shallow continental shelf of the eastern Bering Sea. Annual commercial catches have ranged from less than 1,000 metric tons (t) in 1963 to 62,000 t in 1988. Alaska plaice is a relatively large flatfish averaging about 32 cm in length and 390 g in weight in commercial catches. They are distributed from nearshore waters to a depth of about 100 m in the eastern Bering Sea during summer, but move to deeper continental shelf waters in winter to escape sea ice and cold water temperatures. Being a long-lived species (>30 years), they have a relatively low natural mortality rate estimated at 0.20. Maturing at about age 7, Alaska plaice spawn from April through June on hard sandy substrates of the shelf region, primarily around the 100 m isobath. Prey items primarily include polychaetes and other marine worms. In comparison with other flatfish, Alaska plaice and rock sole, Pleuronectes bilineatus, have similar diets but different habitat preferences with separate areas of peak population density which may minimize interspecific competition. Yellowfin sole, Pleuronectes asper, while sharing similar habitat, differs from these two species because of the variety of prey items in its diet. Competition for food resources among the three species appears to be low. The resource has experienced light exploitation since 1963 and is currently in good condition. Based on the results of demersal trawl surveys and age-structured analyses, the exploitable biomass increased from 1971 through the mid-1980’s before decreasing to the 1997 level of 500,000 t. The recommended 1998 harvest level, Allowable Biological Catch, was calculated from the Baranov catch equation based on the FMSY harvest level and the projected 1997 biomass, resulting in a commercial harvest of 69,000 t, or about 16% of the estimated exploitable biomass.

Assessment of the carp seeds value chain in southern Bangladesh (final draft)

The Aquaculture for Income and Nutrition (AIN) project implemented by World Fish and funded by USAID, aims at increasing aquaculture production in 20 districts of Southern Bangladesh (Greater Khulna, Greater Barisal, Greater Jessore and Greater Faridpur) to reduce poverty and enhance nutritional status. As part of its initial scoping activities World Fish commissioned this value chain assessment on the market chains of carp fish seed (spawn, fry and fingerlings) in the southern region of Bangladesh. The purpose of this study is to obtain a clearer understanding of the volumes of fish produced and consumed in Southern Bangladesh and their origin (by system and location), their destination (by type of market, type of consumer and location), and to gain a clearer understanding of potential market based solutions to farmer’s problems, which the project could implement.

Ecological condition of coastal ocean waters along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Bight: 2006

In May 2006, the NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS), in conjunction with the EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory (NHEERL), conducted an assessment of the status of ecological condition of soft-bottom habitat and overlying waters throughout the mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) portion of the eastern U.S. continental shelf. The study area encompassed the region from Cape Cod, MA and Nantucket Shoals in the northeast to Cape Hatteras in the south, and was defined using a one nautical mile buffer of the shoreline extended seaward to the shelf break (~100-m depth contour). A total of 50 stations were targeted for sampling using standard methods and indicators applied in prior NOAA coastal studies and EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) and National Coastal Assessment (NCA). A key feature adopted from these studies was the incorporation of a random probabilistic sampling design. Such a design provides a basis for making unbiased statistical estimates of the spatial extent of ecological condition relative to various measured indicators and corresponding thresholds of concern. Indicators included multiple measures of water quality, sediment quality, and biological condition (benthic fauna). Through coordination with the NOAA Fisheries Service/Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NFS/NEFSC), samples of summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) also were obtained from 30 winter 2007 bottom-trawl survey stations in overlapping portions of the study area and used for analysis of chemical-contaminant body burdens.

A sudden collapse in distribution of Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) off southwestern Australia enables an objective re-assessment of biomass estimates

Fishery-independent estimates of spawning biomass (BSP) of the Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) on the south and lower west coasts of Western Australia (WA) were obtained periodically between 1991 and 1999 by using the daily egg production method (DEPM). Ichthyoplankton data collected during these surveys, specifically the presence or absence of S. sagax eggs, were used to investigate trends in the spawning area of S. sagax within each of four regions. The expectation was that trends in BSP and spawning area were positively related. With the DEPM model, estimates of BSP will change proportionally with spawning area if all other variables remain constant. The proportion of positive stations (PPS), i.e., stations with nonzero egg counts — an objective estimator of spawning area — was high for all south coast regions during the early 1990s (a period when the estimated BSP was also high) and then decreased after the mid-1990s. There was a decrease in PPS from the mid-1990s to 1999. The particularly low estimates in 1999 followed a severe epidemic mass mortality of S. sagax throughout their range across southern Australia. Deviations from the expected relationship between BSP and PPS were used to identify uncertainty around estimates of BSP. Because estimation of spawning area is subject to less sampling bias than estimation of BSP, the deviation in the relation between the two provides an objective basis for adjusting some estimates of the latter. Such an approach is particularly useful for fisheries management purposes when sampling problems are suspected to be present. The analysis of PPS undertaken from the same set of samples from which the DEPM estimate is derived will help provide information for stock assessments and for the management of purse-seine fisheries.

Assessment of sampling methods to estimate horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus L.) egg density in Delaware Bay

Each spring horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus L.) emerge from Delaware Bay to spawn and deposit their eggs on the foreshore of sandy beaches (Shuster and Botton, 1985; Smith et al., 2002a). From mid-May to early June, migratory shorebirds stopover in Delaware Bay and forage heavily on horseshoe crab eggs that have been transported up onto the beach (Botton et al., 1994; Burger et al., 1997; Tsipoura and Burger, 1999). Thus, estimating the quantity of horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay beaches can be useful for monitoring spawning activity and assessing the amount of forage available to migratory shorebirds.

Quality assessment of traditional, rotary and solar tunnel dried small indigenous fish species products

Studies on the quality assessments of three traditional, rotary and solar tunnel dried SIS products were conducted. Organoleptic quality of traditional dried SIS products available in the markets was poor compared to those produced in rotary and solar tunnel dryer. Reconstitution of samples were in the range of 54.26% to 75.24%, 69.37% to 83.73% and 55.08% to 80.24% when soaked at 80°C for traditional, rotary and solar tunnel dried products, respectively. The percentage of reconstitution increased with the increase of soaking time and the uptake of water was maximum after 60 min of soaking. The moisture contents of traditional, rotary and solar tunnel dried products were in the range of 26.02% to 27.33%, 16.23% to 22.84% and 13.71% to 19.30%, respectively. The protein contents were in the range of 60.78% to 72.59%, 62.17% to 76.27% and 61.11% to 76.00%, respectively; lipid contents were in the range of 12.26% to 22.60%, 14.00% to 24.71% and 13.92% to 22.39%, respectively and ash contents in the range of 15.11% to 16.59%, 8.32% to 13.51% and 8.71% to 16.45%, respectively on dry matter basis. The TVB-N content of rotary and solar tunnel dried products was low compared to traditional one ranging from 10.64 to 17.52 mg/100g and 14.34 to 15.68 mg/100g, respectively whereas the TVB-N content of traditional samples was in the range of 15.46 to 20.36 mg/100g. The bacterial load of traditional, rotary and solar tunnel dried products were in the range of 1.43x10 super(8) CFU/g to 2.89 x10 super(80 CFU/g, 1.91x10 super(8) CFU/g to 2.84x10 super(8) CFU/g and 1.95x10 super(8) CFU/g to 2.59x10 super(8) CFU/g, respectively. The results of the study indicated that dried fish products from rotary dryer and solar tunnel dryer were found to be of better quality in nutritional and food quality aspects than those of traditional dried products.

Production and quality assessment of fish pickles from mola (Amblypharyngodon mola) fish

Fish pickles (with olive and tamarind) were prepared from mola fish (Amblypharyngodon mola) and their nutritional and food quality were assessed. The quality of the pickle prepared with olive was excellent and the pickle prepared with tamarind was found good. Moisture content of the two pickle products were 43.85% (with tamarind) and 50.89% (with olive). The protein and lipid contents of tamarind added pickle were 19.13 and 35.64% respectively; pickle with olive contained less protein (13.16%) compared to tamarind added mola pickle. Lipid contents were almost same in both cases. Ash content of two pickles was also found similar (1.00%). The quality of mola pickles stored either in cool condition (4°C) with vinegar or at room temperature with Na-benzoate were found good for consumption up to 90 days of storage. All of the fish pickles preserved under different condition were found in acceptable condition up to 240 days storage and pickle with vinegar stored at 4°C was found good for consumption at the end of 240 days.