8^th International conference on Fisheries & Aquaculture October 02-04, 2017 Toronto, Canada

Ernesto A Chavez did his PhD in 1978. He is the Professor of the Marine Sciences Research Centre of the Polytechnic Institute in La Paz, Mexico. His research interests are Bio economic assessment of fisheries by simulation, impact of climate on fisheries, coral reef ecology. He is the teacher of the courses, fisheries simulation, fisheries management and coral reef ecology at the graduate program of his research centre. He has been adviser of 25 MSc thesis B Sc, 16 at the MSc Program and 5 at Ph D level. He has led 17 research projects and has collaborated on another 16. He has published more than 150 scientific papers, including the co-edition of a book on the coral reefs of the south Gulf of Mexico (2007), translated into Spanish (2010).

Traditionally, the management of fisheries is based on the goal of maximum sustainable yield (MSY), benchmark of fisheries biology, but over time it has become apparent that at this point, sustainability was not reached completely; thus it has been established as a benchmark target, the maximum economic return (MEY), if it is known. Because, estimated values of the Fishing mortality (F) are based on the MSY, and since this is the threshold of production, fisheries easily exceed its value. Then, it has been necessary to establish other levels as reference targets in an arbitrary fashion, because of the ignorance of MEY. Each benchmark target is fixed below the FMSY, since the FMEY always lies in a value lower than apex of the MSY curve. Only a small proportion of fisheries take into account the complexity of the activity and the resource capacity to regenerate itself. At this point, a little variation in F generates significant changes. It is remarkable to realize that the maximum yield of the world oceans approaches very close to 100 Mmt and the biomass of all the exploited stocks is near to 200 Mmt. Another important point to call the attention is that in most cases, the MSY was attained more than a decade ago and the current yield and stock biomass are nearly 40 per cent below those maxima. This is something to be concerned and should be considered as a possible indicator of excessive pressure on the fish stocks. Evidently, the over exploited fisheries have passed by several stages already pointed by several authors and unfortunately, the perspective suggests that other world oceans apart from those of the Antarctic, will follow the same steps towards depletion, if no action is taken by the nations to ensure exploiting the sea in a sustainable way.

Cassio Aurelio Suski holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (2001), a Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (2004), and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at UFSC (2011). He did his Post-doctorate in Steel Research Project Maraging 350. He is currently a Professor, Researcher and is the Head of Teaching, Research and Extension of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Santa Catarina - Campus Itajaí. He has experience in Mechanical Engineering, with emphasis in Materials Engineering, Business Administration and Risk Management, as well as in Educational Management and Equipment Development.

Nowadays, in general, all the crabs processed in Brazil are produced clandestinely and there are few national companies, legal and with SIF (Federal Inspection Services) producing the species at the present time. The few brands that display the product on the national market, label holders approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, inadvertently buy the raw material already processed by clandestine informal beneficiaries and only pack it. In the last decades, some equipment for the processing of crabs has been patented, but none is intended for the extraction of the dried meat of the crabs, that is, all have as their end result the crab pate (wet meat). The developed prototype provided a more efficient alternative in the extraction of crab meat in relation to traditional techniques of purely manual extraction and Mechanically Separated Meat (CMS). Manual extraction is practiced by the national processors, whose productivity is low and the operational cost high, preventing Brazil from exporting the product to demanding countries, such as the USA and China, and even increasing domestic consumption. The extraction of CMS is already carried out, but the product obtained by this method (crab pate) does not meet the internationally required specifications nor by the domestic market. The developed prototype results in two distinct products, the crab pate and the dried meat. The extraction of the dried meat, by means of the principle of the generation of vacuum and without crushing it, that is to say, maintaining the natural fibers, added a greater value to the product, reduced the cost of the process and made possible the export. In this way the general goal of this prototype was to develop a new method, based on new technology, for the extraction of crab meat, capable of replacing the traditional fleshing practiced in Brazil, unproductive, slow and costly.

Eyal Seroussi is a geneticist oriented towards genomics and bioinformatics. As a principal investigator at the Institute of Animal Science, of the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), the agricultural research arm of the Israeli government, he oversees projects involved with animal genomics. Current aquaculture projects mostly deal with characterization of sex determination (SD) systems in species in which mono-sex cultures have an important impact on the production; including tilapia, mullet, grouper and guppy. In the late 90's, he completed postdoctorate research at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, where he was part of the team that sequenced the first human chromosome. In the post genomic era, he helped to identify major milk QTLs in Holsteins, critical miss-identified genes in chicken (e.g., leptin) and mutations underlying blindness in sheep. He also developed methodologies for the study of DNA copy number variations (CNVs). He hypothesizes that in fishes, SD systems are manifestations of CNVs.

Effective farming of tilapia requires all-male culture, characterized by uniformity and high growth rate. Hybrids between males of O. aureus (Oa) and females of O. niloticus (On) produce all-male offspring, but there is a behavioral reproductive barrier between the two species that prevents mass production. We showed that in repeated crosses between Oa and On, few female "responders" that have On alleles at their sex determination sites on LGs 1, 3 and 22 are attracted to the Oa male nests; and thus resulting in mass fry of males. However, without selection for the alleles underlying this interaction, the parental stock loses its capability of interspecies communication along several generations. Hypothesizing that marker-assisted selection for female responders would allow sustainable broodstocks, we applied Genotyping-By-Sequencing using Illumina HiSeq platform, to DNA samples of 22 and 47 responding and non-responding females, respectively. Sequence reads were mapped onto the On genome (Release 103) using mrsFAST-Ultra, and alleles were called by the GenomeAnalysisTK module (GATK3). Following flirtation, 5019 informative SNPs were used in a genome-wide-association study, which after accounting for multiple comparisons, pointed to candidate loci for female responsiveness on LGs 9 and 14 (p<0.001). To further validate this finding, the sample was genotyped for 2 and 3 microsatellite markers located near these loci, respectively. Using haplotype analysis based on these microsatellite alleles, we independently determined the pedigree structure and confirmed the association of distinct haplotypes with the female-responsiveness trait (p<0.001). The LG14 haplotype spanned a cluster of olfactory receptors, in which a gene coding for a V2r-like vomeronasal receptor was expressed in tilapia ovary. An allele of the microsatellite marker located within this gene 3’-untranslated-region was highly associated (p=1.2×10-4) with this trait suggesting that genes orthologous to receptors that stimulate sexual activity in mice may also be involved in tilapia female responsiveness.

Khaled M Selim has completed his PhD from Niigata University, Japan and Postdoctoral studies from Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Japan. He was the Lecturer of Fish Diseases and Managements, Zagazig University, Egypt. At present, he is a Researcher in Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. He has published more than 10 papers in reputed journals; 6 of them are published in international journals, while 4 of them were published in local journals.

The aim of this study is to isolate beneficent probiotic bacteria from the gut of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus. This study could be the first specific study to isolate and characterize indigenous potential probiotic strains from the gut of the African catfish. Eighty-nine isolates from Clarias gariepinus gut were screened for in-vitro antibacterial activities against five fish pathogens, strains Aeromonas sobria (A. sobria), Aeromonas hydrophila (A. hydrophila), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Pseudomonas putida (P. putida) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Seven isolates had antibacterial activities with at least one pathogen, and safe after injection intraperitoneally. Confirmatory tests showed that such isolates can survive in the presence of high bile concentrations (10%) and at highly acidic pH. Three strains are sensitive to selected antibiotics. Four and three out of seven strains had amylase and protease activities, respectively. Based on morphological, biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene analysis, the isolated strains were identified as follows: B. subtilis; Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus cereus, Citrobacter freundii (2 isolates), Leuconostoc sp. and Edwardsiella sp.

Muruganandam Muthiah is a Fulbright Visiting Scientist at Department of Natural Resource Management, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, USA. He is a Founder Scientist of Fisheries/Aquatic Science Department at ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (ICAR-IISWC), Dehradun. At IISWC, he is Faculty Member and In-Charge of Fisheries Science. He has over 25 years’ experience on Watershed-Based Fisheries/Aquaculture Research and Training. He has completed/handling 17 research/demonstration projects and published over 100 research/technical papers including five books, two manuals, six technology brochures and two theses. He organized two national conferences besides much training/camps/field demonstrations to diverse stakeholders. He is an active member in over 16 professional societies. He is recipient of over 12 professional recognitions including three National Fellowships and Fulbright award. He was resource person in about 70 national/international training/extension programs. He has attended over 75 national/international conferences/symposia and many technical workshops/meetings and co-chaired few technical sessions. He also visited Auburn University, Alabama, USA as a Visiting Researcher.

Streams and rivers provide various socio-economic and ecological goods and services and are viewed as source of religious entity in most part of the world including India. About 40% of the households settled near the vicinity of rivers in mid-Himalayas depend on fish for food and hence fishing sustains huge population of western Himalayas. Fishing in nearby streams/rivers is observed to be one of the avenues for food and livelihood security after agriculture and animal husbandry especially during agriculture offseasons, food-scarce periods, festivals and visits of guests, at least to part of the population. Culture and traditions are influencing fisheries resources and production over centuries in India, more particularly in Himalayan states. While culture and traditions help conservation of plant and animal resources globally, at times, some of the unique cultural traditions affect natural resources variously on which presently limited knowledge exists. Considering the necessity of analyzing culture and traditions considering its potential for both conservation and destruction field surveys and a review during 2005-2015 were made on the subject with the focus on the impacts of fish and aquatic resources and ecosystems. Religious pollution and ceremonial fishing during fishing festivals, locally known as Maund mela that are organized in medium-order (5-6th) rivers by local communities during last week of every June when monsoon sets-off and the tradition of fishing using 7-8 prominent gears and techniques during different seasons and locations affect fish biodiversity of the region significantly. The indigenous ideas, their scientific and resource management rationale and impacts associated with fishing festivals and fishing traditions are discussed in this paper.

Punhal Khan Lashari is working as an Associate Professor in the Department of Fresh Water Biology and Fisheries, University of Sindh, Pakistan. He is responsible to conduct research in the field of Fish genetics/Fisheries Biology/Aquaculture from various aspects. His research mainly focuses on aquaculture, aquatic ecology, fish biology, fish genetics, and fish health management.

Order Siluriformes includes many commercially and economically important species throughout the world. Here, we investigated genetic relationships and diversity in this order. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses revealed considerable variations between mitochondrial CO1 genes among twenty-four siluriformes species. The nucleotide frequencies are A=23.80%, T/ U=29.62%, C=26.63%, and G=19.95%. For estimating ML values, a user specified toplogy was used. The maximum Log likelihood for this computation was -9413.645. Estimates of average evolutionary divergence over all sequence and the numbers of base substitutions per site from averaging over all sequence pairs were 4.984. Our results suggest that Batasio tranvancoria formed a single clade; R. Rita, W. Attu, M. Montanus and B. Bagarius comprised a single separate family; and M. Vittatus, M. Horai, B. Tengana, M. Malabaricus, M. Bacourti, M. Singaringan, M. Bleekeri, M. Gulio, M. Multiradiatus, M. Rhegma, M. Cavasius, M. Tengara, S. Aor, S. Seenghala, B. Bajad, B. Filamentosus, B. Macracanthus, P. Siamensis, E. Vacha and B. Travancoria formed single subfamily.

Nyanchiri Elizabeth Mwikali has strong background training in Fisheries and Aquaculture. She has acquired B.Sc Fisheries, M.Phil Aquaculture and now undertaking her Ph.D in Fisheries and Aquaculture. Her expertise and passion is in fish breeding, conservation of endangered fish species and community empowerment. She has demonstrated passion for designing and re-engineering operational processes. As a Lead Consultant-Aquaculture value chain in Kenya, she has mobilized smallholder fish farmers to form cooperatives leading to increased income. I have a special talent in monitoring and evaluation to catch any errors before they ripple outside the production chain, prepare Enterprise Development Plans including costs of implementation, enhance Public Private Partnership (PPP), manage and oversee appropriate utilization of farmer grants. She has developed and expanded network, linkages and collaborations with farmers, institutions and other relevant stakeholders. She has also offered extension services to farmers on Best Management Practices in aquaculture and have taught at the University level.

Singidia tilapia (Oreochromis esculentus) endemic to Lake Victoria and once the most important commercial fish species in the Lake is now enlisted in the World Conservation Union Redbook (IUCN) of endangered species as critically endangered. To rescue this highly valued fish from total extinction, urgent conservational measures, including captive propagation and reintroduction are required. A 120 day experiment was undertaken to investigate the effect of different broodstock sex ratio on the growth and seed output of Oreochromis esculentus reared in hapas. Three different broodstock sex ratios: 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 (male ♂: female ♀) of O. esculentus were tested using spawning hapas each measuring 4 (2×2×1 m3) suspended in an earthen pond (1000 m2) at a depth of approximately 0.5 m. Broodfish were stocked at a density of 6 fish/m2 equivalent to 12 (6♂: 6♀), 12 (4♂:8♀) and 12 (3♂:9♀) fish per spawning hapa, respectively for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd experimental sex ratios. The broodfish were then fed with 35% crude protein feed. Female final weight at harvest was significantly different (f=7.03, p=0.002, df=2) among the different sex ratios with the 1M: 1F attained the highest. The 1♂:1♀ sex ratio recorded significantly (f=4.21, p=0.019, df=2) the highest average weight gain and 1 ♂:3♀ the lowest. Similarly, females in the (1 ♂:1♀) sex ratio produced significantly (f=145.82, p=0.00, df=2) more seed, followed by the (1♂:2♀) and (1♂:3♀) recording the lowest. Broodstock sex ratios also did not significantly affect female survival rates and all treatments had 100% survival rates. From the results of the present study, it is recommended to stock Oreochromis esculentus brooders in the spawning hapas at a sex ratio of 1male:1 female in order to obtain the highest growth and seed output.

Abdulrahman Abubakar Kotos research focus of recent has been informed by the concern on contamination of our water environments, which is a valuable resource. For the past 20 years, he has engaged students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels to identify problems with apparent human and anthropogenic activities in our precious water environments. He has been generally involved in research on the characteristics of rivers and lakes and their effects on the biota and particularly on fish species diversity.

Statement of the Problem: Upper Benue River receives a wide variety of waste from almost every significant human activity. These include mostly the dumping of domestic wastes, sewage and agricultural wastes. Extensive Agricultural activities involving the usage of various forms of fertilizer contribute largely to contamination through run-off. Sediments have also been recognized as the ultimate sink for heavy metals that gives vital information such as the sources, distribution and degree of pollution. The ability to release back the sediment- bound contaminants into the water column and consequently into the food chain within an aquatic environment pose a serious health and environmental hazard. In order to effectively control and manage water pollution, it is imperative to have its clear assessment. Findings: Assessment of physiochemical parameters and heavy metal levels in water, sediments and selected fish species was conducted for the period of 18 months (May,2014- Oct,2015). Data were collected and analyzed appropriately using standard procedures from four different sites monthly, in triplicate. Ranges of water parameters observed were within permissible limits recommended by the various Environmental Protection Agencies and WHO. Copper, nickel and lead were found to be above permissible limits in water. This is same for Cadmium, Chromium and Lead in sediments. Lead was found to be above permissible limits in fish organs A. occidentalis, C. gariepinus and O. niloticus exhibited negative allometric growth (b<3) with significant correlation (P<0.05) between length and weight in A. occidentalis while C. gariepinus and O. niloticus did not correlate significantly (P>0.05) in the study area. The mean condition factor values indicated that not all the fish species were not in good condition during the period of investigation. From this study, Upper Benue River is said to be moderately polluted with heavy metals contamination.