WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • SEPTEMBER 2013 57 Achotines Laboratory: Captive Culture of Yellowfin Tuna for Research and Investigation Vernon P. Scholey, Daniel Margulies, Jeanne B. Wexler and Maria S. Stein The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) operates the Achotines Laboratory in the Republic of Panama, where captive yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares have been spawning almost daily since 1996. The Achotines Laboratory is the only facility in the world with nearly year-round availability of tuna eggs and larvae for research purposes. Yellowfin tuna eggs, larvae and juveniles resulting from near-daily spawns are used for a variety of studies, including investigations of the effects of various environmental and biological factors on growth and survival of tunas in their early life stages. Research focuses on areas of tuna ecology and biology that will provide important information for population estimates and management of stocks, but additional areas of research are also ongoing. The research is carried out by members of the Early Life History (ELH) Research Group of the IATTC. Researchers from other institutions also carry out investigations at Achotines Laboratory, often in collaboration with the IATTC’s ELH scientists. The Laboratory also supports research on coastal marine fish species carried out by biologists of the Autoridad de los Recursos Acuáticos de Panamá (ARAP). The Laboratory is adjacent to Achotines Bay, in Los Santos province, on the southeastern tip of the Azuero Peninsula on the Pacific coast of the Republic of Panama (Fig. 1). The annual range of sea-surface temperature in these waters is approximately 21 to 29 C. The continental shelf off Achotines Bay is quite narrow: the water reaches depths of over 200 m less than 8 km from shore, affording scientists ready access to oceanic waters where spawning of tunas occurs during every month of the year. On land, the laboratory site includes a 120-ha tropical dry forest, now the rarest of the major tropical ecosystems (Fig. 2). The majority of the trees in Los Santos province have been cleared for pasture and farming, but forest still covers over 120 ha immediately surrounding the Laboratory, with over 200 ha of neighboring land undergoing rapid reforestation. These forests provide a buffer zone against development and greatly reduce rainyseason sediment runoff, maintaining the high quality of ocean water feeding the laboratory seawater system. The region is characterized by marked rainy and dry seasons and dynamic marine circulation patterns, resulting in a wide natural variability of nearshore habitat. More than 150 species of fish have been collected in Achotines Bay and its immediate vicinity, including at least 10 species of tunas and billfishes. Achotines Bay contains the largest continental coral reef in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The nearby Frailes Islands are well-known seabird rookeries. A major nesting site for sea turtles is located nearby at Isla de Cañas and several species of whales and dolphins can be sighted locally. History and Facilities Inasmuch as tunas are pelagic fish, they are difficult to study in their natural habitat. In the early 1980s, the IATTC decided that a field laboratory was needed to study the reproductive biology and early life history of tunas and, in 1984, purchased the site of the present Achotines Laboratory. Research activities were initiated in 1985 and a large expansion of laboratory infrastructure occurred from 1994-1996. Early research through 1993 involved laboratory and field studies of early life stages of nearshore tropical tunas. During this period early-juvenile and adult tuna, and other closely related species of the Scombridae family, were captured and grown in laboratory tanks. This allowed the Achotines Laboratory staff to rapidly accumulate knowledge and experience in captive culture (CONTINUED ON PAGE 56) FIGURE 1. Location of Achotines Laboratory. FIGURE 2. Aerial view of Achotines Laboratory (Photo: Liam Scholey).
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