Gonad quality of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus cultured in an offshore pilot-scale trial on the south-east Italian coast

Abstract

A pilot project aimed at testing roe enhancement strategies based on offshore Paracentrotus lividus cultures was conducted off the south‐east coast of Italy (Apulia Region). Adult sea urchins were reared in sea cages located 700 m offshore at a depth of 12 m for 3 months. The animals were fed once a week on two formulated diets, prepared mixing nutrients with agar 20 g/Kg and differing only in terms of the protein source: anchovy flour (Diet A) or krill flour (Diet K). At the end of the rearing trial, the gonad somatic index of sea urchins fed on formulated diets significantly exceeded that of wild sea urchins. Total FAA content in the gonads of wild sea urchins and Diet A‐fed sea urchins was similar, whereas in Diet K‐fed sea urchins it was significantly higher. In terms of fatty acids, the gonads contained SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs. In visual and sensory assessment of gonads by panel test and electronic nose, the gonads of reared sea urchins were rated as being of better size, while no differences were recorded for coloration, taste and odour. This study shows that under these experimental conditions, commercial‐grade Paracentrotus lividus roe enhancement can be achieved after 3 months in sea cages.

Effect of three diets on the gametogenic development and fatty acid profile of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816) gonads

“…Some aspects of P. lividus nutrition have been studied by several authors, including the use of different macroalgae (Cook, Bell, Black, & Kelly, ; Cyrus, Bolton, Wet, & Macey, ; Doumenge, ; Frantzis & Grémare, ; Le Gall, ; McBride, ; Pearce et al, ; Prato, Chiantore, et al, ; Prato, Fanelli, et al, ; Schlosser et al, ), extruded and/or moist feeds (Cook & Kelly, ; Fabbrocini et al, , ; Lawrence, Olave, Otaiza, Lawrence, & Bustos, ; Prato, Chiantore, et al, ; Prato, Fanelli, et al, ; Sartori et al, ; Schlosser et al, ; Shpigel et al, ; Spirlet et al, ; Volpe et al, ; Zupo et al, ), along with fresh vegetables (Robinson & Colborne, ; Sartori & Gaion, ; Sartori et al, ; Silva, ; Vizzini et al, , ). Namely, single macroalgal diet (Basuyaux & Blin, ; Gago, Luis, & Repolho, ; Luis et al, ; Silva, ), as well as maize and spinach, have often been used to feed sea urchins in captivity (Basuyaux & Blin, ; Sartori & Gaion, ; Sartori et al, ,; Silva, ).…”

Impacts of Marine and Lagoon Aquaculture on Macrophytes in Mediterranean Benthic Ecosystems

“…It is likely that they contribute to further accentuating the artificialization of the environment, for the possible benefit of humans needs, and not to the restoration of its naturalness. In order to mitigate the supposed decline of P. lividus populations, and to respond to the growing market demand, land-based and offshore aquaculture, and the reseeding of depleted sites, with juveniles reared in hatcheries, has been considered (e.g., Couvray, 2014;Couvray et al, 2015;Sartori et al, 2015Sartori et al, , 2016Shpigel et al, 2018;Volpe et al, 2018;Zupo et al, 2019). For example, 250,000 hatchery produced juveniles were released in eastern Provence (France); a year after release, they represented 3 and 12% of total recaptured urchins at two experimental sites (Couvray et al, 2015).…”

“…In contrast, other authors accuse farming of carnivorous fish of being "the aquatic equivalent of robbing Peter to pay Paul": it transforms small pelagic and other fishes perfectly fit for human consumption into animal feeds the nutritive value of which is lost to humans (Goldburg and Naylor, 2005;Pauly et al, 2005;Jacquet and Pauly, 2008;Grigorakis and Rigos, 2011). It is worth noting that the pilot trial of offshore aquaculture of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, on the Italian coast, was based upon anchovy and krill flour (Volpe et al, 2018), although this sea urchin is actually a herbivore Verlaque, 2013, 2020).…”

The effect of fresh seaweed and a formulated diet supplemented with seaweed on the growth and gonad quality of the collector sea urchin, Tripneustes gratilla , under farm conditions

“…One of the main constraint to urchin aquaculture is the availability of cost‐effective diets that can boost both somatic and gonadal growth and produce gonads with the desired colour and taste (Eddy, Brown, Kling, Watts, & Lawrence, 2012). Numerous studies have tested a variety of formulated feeds for culturing sea urchins to improve both somatic growth and gonad quality (Barker, Keogh, Lawrence, & Lawrence, 1998; Cyrus, Bolton, De Wet, & Macey, 2013; Grosjean, Spirlet, & Jangoux, 1996; Prato et al., 2018; Volpe et al., 2018; Watts, Boettger, McClintock, & Lawrence, 1998). However, many formulated diets have been reported to produce large gonads with a poor, whitish colour (McLaughlin & Kelly, 2001; Robinson & Colborne, 1997; Shpigel, McBride, Marciano, Ron, & Ben‐Amotz, 2005; Shpigel, Shauli, Odintsov, Ashkenazi, & Ben‐Ezra, 2018; Watts et al., 1998).…”