Tech Strengthens Cobia Research
Over the last two years Virginia Tech researchers have completed a broad range of successful studies with the candidate aquaculture species cobia. Together with larval rearing projects undertaken by Michael Schwarz at the VSAREC in Hampton, Virginia Tech’s Aquaculture Center has completed a number of nutritional trials with juvenile animals under the leadership of Dr. Steven Craig. These have included studies upon dietary protein to energy ratios and carbohydrate utilization experiments. As a follow-up to this research, new studies will further examine the dietary requirements of juvenile cobia with an emphasis upon carbohydrate utilization. As part of the Center’s continuing program on organic feeds, future trials are being planned to evaluate the potential for replacing the fishmeal component of cobia diets with an organically certified alternate, non-animal protein source.
A major component in support of cobia investigations has been the construction of a new, custom-designed, 24 tank recirculating system serviced by biofilter, UV disinfection, bead filter, in-sump heating system, and side-looped protein skimmer. This system, which was constructed in record time, was assembled by the Aquaculture Center’s manager, Rob Woods, assisted by David Kuhn of the University’s Environmental and Water Resources Engineering department, and Bradley French, an aquaculture technician funded jointly through Virginia Sea Grant and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Juvenile animals that will be used in all studies were obtained from the Aquaculture Center of the Florida Keys, an ongoing collaborator with Virginia Tech and the only commercial cobia hatchery in the United States. “The immediate research that will be undertaken in the new system will be studies that will evaluate the response of cobia to diets containing graded levels of carbohydrate,” said Dr. Craig. This research will be followed by other trials that have been designed to examine the impact of diet upon immune function and growth of young cobia. According to the Center’s Director, Dr. Ewen McLean, “The importance of these studies, like most that are embarked on at the Aquaculture Center, is their applied nature. All products that we plan to evaluate are commercially available and many of the trials include industrial collaborators.”
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