Effects of reduced diameter of bag cultures on content of essential fatty acids and cell density in a continuous algal production system

Cell density and fatty acid (FA) content of Pavlova lutheri and Chaetoceros muelleri were analysed in a continuous algal production system (250-L bags) with reduced diameter. The cell density and FA content and composition in the algal production system were determined in replicate bags over a period of 5 weeks. The results showed that the cell density and essential FAs increased during the experiment for both species. After 5 weeks the mean cell numbers had increased to 6.0 ± 0.3 × 106 cells mL−1 in the P. lutheri bags and 6.0 ± 0.4 × 106 cells mL−1 in the C. muelleri bags. The content of total FAs increased significantly (p < 0.05) in all of the bags during the experiment. At the end of the experiment the mean total FA content were 2.7 ± 0.3 pg cell−1 in the P. lutheri bags and 1.8 ± 0.1 pg cell−1 in the C. muelleri bags. Maximum total FA content registered was 3.0 pg cell−1 in one of the P. lutheri bags. The content of the essential FAs (ARA, EPA, DHA) increased over time in both of the species. At the end of the experiment the content of EPA (0.6 ± 0.1 pg cell−1) and DHA (0.3 ± 0.0 pg cell−1) were highest in the P. lutheri bags, while ARA (0.1 ± 0.0 pg cell−1) was highest in C. muelleri. EPA and DHA constituted 22% and 11%, respectively, of total FA content in P. lutheri, while ARA constituted 6% of total FA content in C. muelleri. The results from this experiment indicate that flagellates such as P. lutheri perform better in narrow bags with improved light conditions, while diatoms like C. muelleri perform better in wider bags under light limitation. Implications for bivalve hatcheries are discussed

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

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 (a-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

Anglo-Norwegian oil programme - intercalibration of analytical methods

An attempt has been made to intercalibrate the analysis of three groups of aromatic compounds present in a sample of Ekofisk crude oil using gas chromatography - mass spectography. The results are not as good as was hoped. Two possible sources of error have been identified, one instrumental and the other related to the assumptions which had to be made regarding the responses given by different compounds of the same group but of different molecular weights or isomers of the same group. Proposals are made for overcoming these difficulties. Wider participation is invited in a repeat exercise and in a similar exercise involving the simpler u/v fluorescence method of analysis