Fish Farm Equipment Suppliers, Sportfish, Foodfish, Brown Trout

The official web resource of the Colorado Aquaculture Association

Current News

	The October 2008 newsletter is now available in print.
	It's time to renew your CAA membership for 2009. Please send your dues (Active Member, $60; Sustaining Member, $250; Agencies and Associations, $200; Subscribing Member [non-permit holders], $15), payable to Colorado Aquaculture Association. You may download a membership form from the Contact Us page. Alternatively, use the membership form in the printed newsletter that you regularly receive. Please renew today!
	The annual meeting of the Colorado Aquaculture Association will be held on January 23-24, 2009 at the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort in Nathrop, Colorado. We hold our meeting about this same time each year. Contact Jeremy Liley for more details.
	All listings in the membership list have been updated. Please check your listing now for accuracy. If your listing is incorrect, please e-mail Bill Manci with a correction.

October 2008--Newsletter Fish Bits

To view a PDF version of Fish Bits, please click here (includes one-click access to all links cited below).

Quagga mussels as well as zebra mussels have been confirmed in Lake Pueblo: Quagga mussel veligers - the larval stage of the invasive species - were confirmed by both the Bureau of Reclamation and the Colorado Division of Wildlife from water samples taken from Lake Pueblo. The finding of quagga mussels is worse news than when zebra mussels were found in January, since quaggas live in deeper water, can breed in a wider range of water temperatures and are more aggressive. (From: The Pueblo Chieftain: September 29, 2008.) Quagga mussel larvae have also been found in Jumbo Reservoir in Logan County, and Tarryall Reservoir in Park County. (CDOW News Release, 10-9-08 http://wildlife.state.co.us/NewsMedia/PressReleases)

In Lake Michigan, the quagga mussel has nearly exterminated its cousin the zebra mussel, outnumbering zebra mussels 98-to-2. The report indicates that round gobies are developing a taste for quaggas, starting some new food chains and food webs within the Great Lakes ecosystem. Quagga mussels may be more troublesome than zebras to water treatment and power plant intakes. (From: http://www.protectyourwaters.net, October 3, 2008)

Idaho, Fish Farms and New Zealand Mudsnails: “According to a proposed invasive species rule [IDAPA 02 – Idaho Department of Agriculture, 02.06.09 - Invasive Species Rules, Docket NO. 02-0609-0801], if a NZMS crawls into your facility you’re in violation of possessing an invasive species and subject to penalties including having your business shut down. The same holds true when transporting fish from farm to processing plant or farm to farm – although these critters have been in Idaho since at least 1987 and are very well established in the Snake River system.” “The rule determines which species are invasive in Idaho and establishes procedures for testing, sampling, inspection, certification, permitting, compliance verification and recordkeeping.” To view the rule, visit http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules, look under scheduled hearings. (Communication from Gary Fornshell, University of Idaho.)

Safe bacterium found to kill zebra mussels: The New York State Museum’s laboratory and Marrone Organic Innovations Inc., a private laboratory in Davis, CA, will share a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to improve the kill rate of a bio-pesticide derived from a common soil bacterium. The U.S. Department of Energy-funded study showed that when ingested in large quantities, the bacterium is lethal to zebra and quagga mussels but harmless to non-target organisms, including native freshwater mollusks. (Excerpted from: http://www.protectyourwaters.net, October 3, 2008)

Trout Unlimited, in a September 12th news release asked manufacturers of waders to eliminate production of felt-soled waders and equipment by 2011 to help prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species such as New Zealand mud snails, the algae didymo and whirling disease. In New Zealand, a ban has been placed on felt boots for the upcoming 2008 season to help stop the spread of didymo. (http://www.tu.org/ and http://www.protectyourwaters.net/, Sept 8, 2008)

Rich Kolecki, CDOW Chief of Hatcheries, retired September 30, 2008. See page 5 for comments by Rich.

National Aquaculture Association has a new address: In July the National Aquaculture Association (NAA) and affiliated associations, U.S. Trout Farmers Association, Striped Bass Growers Association and American Tilapia Association, moved its office to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff campus. NAA has been located in Charles Town, West Virginia, since its inception in 1989. Office Administrator Mary Lee Supplee, who retired after 19 years, has been replaced by Kelly Goodwin, a trained research biologist. Goodwin has worked in Pine Bluff as a research assistant at the University of Arkansas Aquaculture/Fisheries Center for nearly 10 years, conducting laboratory and field research as well as administrative duties. The New address is: P.O. Box 1647, Pine Bluff, AR 71613, Telephone: 870-850-7900, Fax: 870-850-7902, Email: naa@thenaa.net, Webpage: http://www.thenaa.net/ (Excerpted from July 15, 2008 NAA News Release)

U.S. Trout Farmers Association office has moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The new Executive Administrator, Kelly Goodwin, can be reached at P.O. Box 1647, Pine Bluff, AR 71613. Phone: (870) 850-7900, Fax: (870) 850-7902, Email: ustfa@thenaa.net, Webpage: http://www.ustfa.org/

Linda Stafford, CDOW Fish Stocking Permit Administrator, Aquatic Animal Health Lab, Brush, notified us that her last day was September 30th. Linda worked for the Division for twelve years. Due to the hiring freeze, Linda’s duties have been assumed by existing personnel. Fish stocking permits will be taken care of by Anita Martinez, Mandy Colburn will be logging in all new case information and Vicki Milano will be in charge of everything else.

Aquaplant is an online plant identification web site developed by Texas A & M University, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Science. It was designed to help pond owners and their advisors with identification and management of aquatic vegetation using photos, drawings, and descriptions. The web site can be found at http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/

The new Seafood Strategic Outlook published by the U.K. Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish) lists Aquaculture’s top five challenges as: (1) Production issues: Aquaculture technology has grown but the number of species that can be farmed in a commercially viable manner remains limited. (2) Disease; (3) Fishmeal supply: Fishmeal prices are only going to continue rising. Prices could reach a point where it becomes uneconomical for many small-time farmers to continue producing fish. Making matters worse for the aquaculture industry, where fishmeal comes from will continue generating negative publicity. (4) Social opposition (5) Fragmented supply (Excerpted from Issue 141, September 12, 2008, Intervet AAA News Issue 141)

Farmed rainbow trout makes top 10 Eco-Best Fish list of The Environmental Defense Fund. The other seafood on the list are: farmed arctic char, anchovies, Atlantic mackerel, farmed oysters, sablefish, wild Alaska salmon, Pacific sardines, albacore tuna and mussels. (From: Green MSN, 9/8/2008, http://green.msn.com/articles/article.aspx?aid=649&GT1=45002)

VHS Weapon: Researchers with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, have found that walleye eggs treated with iodophore hatched uninfected, while eggs from the control group hatched with infected fish. In the experiment, both sets of eggs, in clean water, were exposed to VHS. One set was treated with iodophore and the other was not treated. Future research will be necessary to determine whether VHS is transmitted vertically and is so, if iodophore still will be effective. (From AFS, FHSupdate 8/24/08, link to article: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20080812/NEWS03/976730572/Success+against+virus+in+fish)

Mr. Dave Westerman, a May 2008 graduate of Trinidad State Junior College, Aquaculture Technician Program, was offered a permanent Hatchery Technician III position with the Colorado Division of Wildlife at the Native Aquatic Species Restoration Facility located in Alamosa. Dave scored the second highest mark on the competitive state examination in July and started his new career on October 1st. Congratulations to Dave! (From: Ted.Smith@trinidadstate.edu)

For additional information, contact: Bill Manci

• Home •