This research could help increase the success of raising rare ornamental fish to adulthood. It also has implications for aquaculture, since accelerating the development of fish larvae--the toughest time for survival--could mean a more efficient and safe system for bringing fish to the dinner table.

Tiny zebrafish are often used in genetic research because scientists can easily track changes in their development and the fish grow quickly. They also share many of the same genes as humans and can be used for studying cellular and physiological process ... Read more »

Billy Ocean may not have been thinking of fish when he wrote "The Color of Love," but Sophie Hutter, Attila Hettyey, Dustin Penn, and Sarah Zala from the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna were able to show that zebrafish males and females both wear their brightest colours while wooing a mate.

Elaborate secondary sexual displays are often overlooked because many species attract mates through sensory modalities imperceptible to humans, including ultraviolet light, ultrasound, electrical signals, or pheromones. Also, sexual coloration may only be expressed briefly during courtship (ephemeral courtship dichromatisms) to avoid attracting predators. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are a widely studied model organism, though there have been few studies on their mating behaviour. Like many schooling fish, zebrafish do not appear sexually dichromatic to h ... Read more »

Information on the culture of the Red claw crayfish from the FAO Cultured Aquatic Species Information Programme.

Identity

Cherax quadricarinatus von Martens, 1868 [Parastacidae]

Biological Features

... Read more »

ANALYSIS - The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) is currently holding its annual meeting in which the recovery plan for bluefin tuna is to be reviewed.

The current bluefin tuna management plan, which was adopted in 2010, is due to finish in 2013.

So far, stock assessment for Atlantic bluefin tuna has shown some early signs of recovery thanks to good management practice, but more data is needed to understand the recovery trend.

Environmental groups, WWF and Oceana, are calling on decision makers to follow ICCAT's scientific advice to ensure the bluefin tuna quotas in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean remain the same.

"ICCAT must keep recovery ambitions high for the fragile bluefin tuna. Big achievements are long in the making but in only an instant can ... Read more »

CHINA - The Global Aquaculture Alliance invites new auditor candidates, returning auditors needing refresher training and observers to attend the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Training Course to be held 21 - 27 January, 2013, at the New World Shanghai Hotel in Shanghai, China.

The course will cover the BAP standards for farms, processing plants, feed mills and hatcheries. In addition to the comprehensive BAP material, the course will include seafood HACCP training.

To be considered for participation, candidates must initially complete an online application and submit credentials for review. Auditor candidates must have at least five years of seafood industry-related experience, a degree in a relevant scientific field and/or other relevant education, audit-spec ... Read more »

Threatened to extinct fishes of Bangladesh:
The IUCN Bangladesh has made a list of threatened to extinct fishes of Bangladesh. These species are considered as threatened fishes of Bangladesh. The National Categories of Threatened Animals are based on the Global Threatened Categories of IUCN. Bangladesh National Criteria were developed on the basis of qualitative data due to the lack of quantitative ones.
The National Categories and Criteria are as follows-

Categories:
Critically Endangered (CR): ... Read more »

FRENCH POLYNESIA - The Ministry of Marine Resources of French Polynesia is looking into developing giant clam aquaculture to improve the economic health of the remoter island groups.

Since 2001, the Marine Resources Department, L’Institut de recherche pour la développement and the University of French Polynesia have been conducting research into giant clam stocks. The aim being to gather information on the sustainable collection and farming of this bivalve, PNC reports.

Large densities of giant clam have been found in the Tuamotu archipelago, making it suitable for the development of giant clam aquaculture.

Giant Clam aq ... Read more »

GLOBAL - The world today confronts a water crisis with critical implications for peace, political stability and economic development, experts warn in a new report issued jointly by the InterAction Council (IAC), a group of 40 prominent former government leaders and heads of state, United Nations University, and Canada’s Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation.

"The future political impact of water scarcity may be devastating,” says former Canadian Prime Minister and IAC co-chair Jean Chrétien. "Using water the way we have in the past simply will not sustain humanity in the future. The IAC is calling on the United Nations Security Council to recognize water as one of the top security concerns facing the global community.”

"Starting to manage water resources more effectively and efficiently now will enable humanity ... Read more »