Delaware, USA became the final east coast state to have a shellfish aquaculture industry after an aquaculture bill was passed on August 28, 2013.
The bill allows the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to direct and control aquaculture activities within the Inland Bays and to set criteria for leasing sites.
It's hoped the new shellfish aquaculture industry will provide economic benefits and improve water quality in the state's inland bays.
Canada salmon company, Gray Aquaculture has filed for bankruptcy protection days after the Supreme Court ordered the company to pay a $650,000 outstanding bill for feed.
The protection gives the company 30 days to restructure its finances.
Gray Aquaculture suffered from three outbreaks of ISA over the last year which cost the company greatly.
At present the company represents 10-15 percent of aquaculture production in Newfoundland.
Ocean acidification can affect microbes according to research conducted at the University of Western Australia.
Disrupting just one process in the important relationship between microbes and bigger plants and animals that live in ocean floor sediment may have knock-on effects that could reduce the productivity of coastal ecosystems, according to international research published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
The team, which included partners from Australia, the UK and the US are the first to investigate the impacts of ocean acidification on the interactions between macro and micro-organisms in sediments.
"There has been very little work done so far on the microbial responses to ocean acidification in the benthic (sea floor) zone," said lead author Dr Bonnie Laverock.
"In particular, little is known about how microbial processes may be affected by the responses of larger animals or plants.
"We show that the presence of the mud shrimp can perform the useful task of increasing nitrification rates in coastal sediments, but that this enhanced ecosystem function is inhibited by ocean acidification. Our results indicate the importance of multi-species interactions in determining how individual organisms or groups of organisms will respond to environmental change."
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| English: This sensor, attached to a NOAA CREWS station, collects pCO2 and temperature data every hour and transmits it via satellite to a NOAA laboratory where data are utilized in understanding ocean acidification effects on coral reef ecosystems. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
