Taking into account the EIFAC country reports, the review and experience papers presented, as well as the discussions during the Workshop, the following actions concerning research priorities and future EIFAC activities for further improvements of mass rearing of fry and fingerlings in the EIFAC region are recommended:
Research Priorities
Recommendation 79/1
In order to remove a major constraint in mass production of at least some species and to intensify the existing production in outdoor and indoor facilities the study of following problems in feeding fry with live and other foods is recommended:
Recommendation 79/1.1
Factors governing the food intake by fry: studies such as feeding behaviour, food intake, stimulation, selectivity and particle size in different cultivated species.
Recommendation 79/1.2
Digestive capacity such as studying and mapping of morphological, histological, enzymatic and physiological development of digestive systems in fry of cultivated species.
Recommendation 79/1.3
Improvement of food materials for the economical production of fry such as by the study of dietary requirements at various stages of fry and fingerling development.
The research on growth rates, food and feeding in fry and fingerlings should be reported in quantitative and qualitative terms perferably of standardized types, such as recommended by the study group on Standardization on Methodology in Fish Nutrition Research of EIFAC, IUNS and ICES (Hamburg, 21–23 March 1979).
The terms “fry” and “fingerlings” should be defined in terms of weight and/or length to facilitate the interpretation of the results.
These recommendations should be brought to the attention of research institutions and organizations interested in ichthyology, mass culture and nutrition.
Recommendation 79/2
The study of the rearing environment in order to optimize it for mass production of fry and fingerlings through research on:
Recommendation 79/2.1
Development of dependable methods for required water quality management and prevention of excessive deterioration of the rearing environment.
Recommendation 79/2.2
Development of methods for control of predators.
Recommendation 79/2.3
Design of fish-rearing facilities in order to maximise production commensurate with economic factors (oxygen and water utilization, food uptake, disease prevention, etc.).
Recommendation 79/3
Investigations aimed at developing quality control methods to assess the quality of fry and fingerlings reared for aquacultural and/or restocking purposes. This Recommendation should be brought to the attention of EIFAC Sub-Commission I.
Recommendation 79/4
To improve the health protection of fry and fingerlings, the research aimed at the introduction of more efficient prophylactic measures for diseases into aquacultural technology, should be intensified. This Recommendation should be brought to the attention of the next session of the EIFAC COPRAQ - Fish Diseases.
Future Activities
Coordinated and cooperative research efforts in the EIFAC Region and discussions on the results of such efforts at regular intervals can speed up the rate of progress of fish culture in Europe. The Workshop is therefore recommending that:
Recommendation 79/5
The next EIFAC session explores the possibility to establish a cooperative programme of research on controlled reproduction of fish and rearing of fry and fingerlings.
Results of research on selected topics under this programme could be reported at sessions held at 2-year intervals in the form of original scientific papers or scientific communications. The programme of such sessions could be also widened by in-depth reviews on latest worldwide research results in selected areas.
