Import spat and/or eggs to aquaculture facilities rather than juveniles and adults to reduce the risk of introducing hitchhiking species

Overall effectiveness category No evidence found (no assessment)
Number of studies: 0
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Effectiveness

not assessed
Certainty

not assessed
Harms

not assessed

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

The expanding aquaculture industry has led to the accidental introduction of diseases, and non-native and other problematic species into the wild marine environment (Arechavaia-Lopez et al. 2013; Bax et al. 2003; Campbell & Hewitt 2008; Manchester & Bullock 2000). There, they can impact on native subtidal benthic invertebrate species through predation, competition for resources (food & space), contamination (for pathogens and diseases), or hybridization (through reproduction) (Bishop et al. 2010; Fitridge et al. 2012). In aquaculture, importing juveniles (young adults) or adults into farming facilities is a common practice, but can lead to the accidental release of non-native or problematic species that hitchhiked on/in them during transport. By importing spat (very young shellfish, usually mussels or oysters) and/or eggs instead, the risk of transporting and releasing these hitchhikers can potentially be reduced.

_{Arechavaia-Lopez P., Sanchez-Jerez P., Bayle-Sempere J.T., Uglem I. & Mladineo I. (2013) Reared fish. Farmed escapees and wild fish stockes – a triangle of pathogen transmission of concern to Mediterranean aquaculture management. Aquaculture Environment Interactions, 3, 153–161.}

_{Bax N., Williamson A., Aguero M., Gonzalez E. & Geeves W. (2003) Marine invasive alien species: a threat to global biodiversity. Marine Policy, 27, 313–323.}

_{Bishop M.J., Krassoi F.R., McPherson R.G., Brown K.R., Summerhayes S.A., Wilkie E.M. & O’Connor W.A. (2010) Change in wild-oyster assemblages of Port Stephens, NSW, Australia, since commencement of non-native Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) aquaculture. Marine and Freshwater Research, 61, 714–723.}

_{Campbell M.L. & Hewitt C.L. (2008) Introduced marine species risk assessment – aquaculture. Pages 121–133 in: M.G. Bondad-Reantaso; J.R. Arthur. & R.P. Subasinghe (eds). Understanding and Applying Risk Analysis in Aquaculture. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 519. Rome, FAO.}

_{Fitridge I., Dempster T., Guenther J. & de Nys R., (2012) The impact and control of biofouling in marine aquaculture: a review. Biofouling, 28, 649–669.}

_{Manchester S.J. & Bullock J.M. (2000) The impacts of non‐native species on UK biodiversity and the effectiveness of control. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 845–864.}

Key messages

We found no studies that evaluated the effects of importing spat and/or eggs to aquaculture facilities rather than juveniles and adults to reduce the risk of introducing hitchhiking species on subtidal benthic invertebrate populations.

‘We found no studies’ means that we have not yet found any studies that have directly evaluated this intervention during our systematic journal and report searches. Therefore, we have no evidence to indicate whether or not the intervention has any desirable or harmful effects.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Please cite as:

Lemasson, A.J., Pettit, L.R., Smith, R.K. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Subtidal Benthic Invertebrate Conservation. Pages 635-732 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Subtidal Benthic Invertebrate Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Category
Use native species instead of non-native species in aquaculture systems Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Source spat and juveniles from areas or hatcheries not infested with diseases or non-native or problematic species Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link
Remove biofouling organisms/species in aquaculture Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link