Extend Travel Time – Reduce Mortality

Use of FISH ALIVE to Reduce Fish Mortality During Live Fish Transport Solution

This study was conducted by the India College of Fisheries, Professor Jayaraj (principle investigator).  The purpose of the study was to evaluate the ability FISH ALIVE  Live Fish Transport Solution batches (procedures outlined below) in reducing fish mortality during transport.  The study included evaluation of spawn, fry, and fingerlings.  In all cases, the fish were placed in 18 liter bags at stocking densities comparable to those used in fish transport in India. FISH ALIVE Transport Solution was added to test bags, while no FISH ALIVE was dosed to the control bags.  The spawn, fry, and fingerlings were examined in the laboratory setting, and the time to 50% mortality was recorded.  Procedures for batching FISH ALIVE and results for all phases are shown below.

A. Batching  for Use in Live Fish Transport Solution  Initial batch

16 liters of FISH ALIVE (4 gallons)

600 gram FISH ALIVE Activator (1 and 1/3 pounds)
Into 200 liter drum (55 gallon drum), filled with water
Aerate 14 days
Use half
Ongoing batches
Refill with 4 liters FISH ALIVE Transport Solution (one gallon)
600 grams FISH ALIVE  Solution Activator (1 and 1/3 pounds)
Aerate 7 days
Use half
Repeat
B. Standard dose during India testing:

Use 5 liters of water with spawn, fry, or fingerlings (equivalent stocking density of fish in the tranport truck), in 18 liter plastic bag, filled with 6 to 8 liters pure oxygen (medical oxygen)

Add 250 ml of solution from the batching of FISH ALIVE Transport Solution described in Part A above.
5000 / 250 = 1 part FISH ALIVE Transport Solution bioreactor product per 20 parts fish transport volume

C. Volume of Fish Transport Trucks:
The fish transport containers range from small specialty tanks, up to specially designed trucks.  The general range of volume for specially designed trucks is about 300 to 3000 gallons in size.  The larger trucks may be equipped with temperature control (cooling) and pure oxygen generation.

D. FISH ALIVE Dose Used During India College of Fisheries Study:

For a 500 gallon truck, based on the dose used in the India College of Fisheries tests, a 25 gallon batch of prepared FISH ALIVE would be needed.  The following components scale up for a 500 gallon transport truck volume:

For 500 gallon tank volume, use 25 gallons of prepared FISH ALIVE batch, which requires:
1 gallon of FISH ALIVE
600 grams ( 1 and 1/3 pounds) of FISH ALIVE Activator
In a 50 gallon drum, aerated 7 days (ongoing batching), using one half of the batch or about 25 gallons

Results – Spawn Transportation
Spawn loading information:
· Mean length of spawn: 0.52cm
· Mean weight of spawn: 0.0015g
· Packing density: 10,000 spawn/bag
· 8 liters medical oxygen

Test spawn received 250 ml FISH ALIVE bioreactor product, control spawn did not.  Bags were observed under laboratory conditions until 50% mortality
Control reached 50% mortality in 2 days and 22 hours (70 hours)
Test reached 50% mortality in 7 days and 5 hours (173 hours)

Addition of FISH ALIVE bioreactor product extended the time to 50% mortality by 2.5 times from 70 hours (control) to 173 hours (test)
Results – Fry Transportation
Fry loading information:
· Mean length of fry: 1.72 cm
· Mean weight of fry: 0.0296g
· Packing density: 600 fry/bag
· 8 liters medical oxygen

Test fry received 250 ml FISH ALIVE bioreactor product, control fry did not.  Bags were observed under laboratory conditions until 50% mortality
Control reached 50% mortality in 8 hours
Test showed ZERO mortality at 8 hours
Test showed ZERO mortality at 24 hours

Without FISH ALIVE bioreactor product addition, mortality of fry reached 50% in 8 hours.  With addition of FISH ALIVE bioreactor product, ZERO mortality was exhibited at 8 hours, and also at 24 hours.
Results – Fingerling Transportation
Fingerling loading information:
· Mean length of fingerlings: 6.30 cm
· Mean weight of fingerlings: 2.13 g
· Packing density: 250 fingerlings/bag
· 8 liters medical oxygen

Test fingerling received 250 ml FISH ALIVE bioreactor product, control fingerling did not.  Bags were observed under laboratory conditions until 50% mortality
Control reached 50% mortality in 5 hours and 30 minutes (330 minutes)
Test showed 50% mortality in 1 day, 14 hours, and 30 minutes (2310 minutes)

FISH ALIVE bioreactor product dosing increased the fingerling time to 50% mortality by a factor of 7 (2310 minutes compared to 330 minutes).
Results – Fingerling Transportation – No Pure Oxygen Added
Fingerling loading information:
· Mean length of fingerlings: 6.30 cm
· Mean weight of fingerlings: 2.13 g
· Packing density: 250 fingerlings/bag
· 8 liters ATMOSPHERIC oxygen

This test was conducted to assess the performance of FISH ALIVE dosing with just atmosphere, compared to control but with pure oxygen
Control, with pure oxygen, reached 50% mortality in 5 hours and 30 minutes (330 minutes)
Test, with atmospheric oxygen, showed 50% mortality in 6 hours and 30 minutes (390 minutes)

FISH ALIVE bioreactor product with atmospheric oxygen outperformed pure oxygen addition, withoutFISH ALIVE by about 20%.In the situation where pure oxygen is available, using FISH ALIVE with pure oxygen compared to control and pure oxygen, the FISH ALIVE dosing extended the time to 50% mortality by a factor of 7.
When comparing FISH ALIVE dosing (with atmospheric oxygen) to control (but using pure oxygen), FISH ALIVE still showed a 20% improvement.  In this situation, where pure oxygen might not be available, the results showed that dosing with FISH ALIVE but with just atmospheric oxygen provided slightly better results than using pure oxygen (without FISH ALIVE addition)

Live Fish Transport Solution: with FISH ALIVE