Tracing fish farm waste in the northern shrimp ­Pandalus borealis (Krøyer, 1838) using lipid biomarkers

Abstract

A large amount of organic effluents are released annually from coastal fish farming locations primarily in the form of faeces that settle to the seabed, where they become a substantial food source for benthic communities. The inclusion of marine and vegetable oils as sources of lipids in salmon feed has resulted in a fatty acid (FA) composition that differs markedly from marine-derived material, and thus they can be used as an efficient tracer for the distribution of fish farm waste in both sediments and fish. To obtain a better understanding of the flux of organic fish farm waste through the benthic food web, we sampled northern shrimp Pandalus borealis at fish farming and reference locations in 4 regions along the Norwegian coast. Analyses of the FA compositions of muscular tissue demonstrated that shrimp collected within 800 m from fish farms had a higher content of the vegetable-derived FAs 18:2n6 (linoleic acid) and 18:3n3 (α-linolenic acid) and the marine FAs 20:1n9 and 22:1n11, compared with shrimp collected from reference locations. This difference in specific FA contents allowed us to separate shrimp collected at fish farming locations from those collected at reference locations. Our results demonstrate that shrimp within the distribution range of fish farms can incorporate organic fish farm waste into part of their diet, either directly through the consumption of waste feed and faeces or indirectly by feeding on influenced infauna.

Attraction and repulsion of mobile wild organisms to finfish and shellfish aquaculture: a review

“…Northern shrimp ( Pandalus borealis ) fatty acid signatures were altered close to salmon farms in Norway relative to those caught away from farms (Olsen et al . ). Izquierdo‐Gomez et al .…”

Whole‐animal accumulation, oxidative stress, transcriptomic and metabolomic responses in the pink shrimp (Pandalus montagui) exposed to teflubenzuron

“…Spreading of teflubenzuron associated to organic material has been found up to 1100 m from a farm using the agent. In white meat of the northern shrimp ( Pandalus borealis ), a species known to feed on fish farm waste in the field (Olsen, Ervik, & Grahl‐Nielsen, ), the highest concentration of teflubenzuron observed during treatment was 200.4 ng/g, while the highest concentration documented in shrimps sampled between 235 and 249 days after terminated treatment was 16.1 ng/g (Samuelsen et al, ). Samuelsen et al () estimated a half‐life for teflubenzuron to be 170 days in a fjord in Norway.…”

Effects of coastal fish farms on body size and isotope composition of wild penaeid prawn

“…Although much is known about the effects of coastal farms on fish assemblages, comparatively little is known about their effects on invertebrates, some of which such as the penaeid prawns are highly valued and may be endangered (Olsen et al, 2009;Olsen et al, 2012).…”