WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2015 57 The Argentine Red Shrimp The Argentine red shrimp Pleoticus muelleri (Fig. 1) is an open-thelycum penaeid shrimp species that occurs in cold temperate waters along the South American coast from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (22°S) to Santa Cruz, Argentina (50°S). The complete life cycle takes place in the sea, without the shrimp entering coastal estuaries, although a clear migration occurs between shallow waters and those of greater depth where spawning takes place. Adults occupy mid-water and benthic habitats, associated with mud and fine sand substrates in the subtidal zone, at depths ranging from 3 to 100 m. The dietary feeding approach of this species can be described as omnivorous. The regions of greatest abundance occur at temperatures from 6 to 23 C and salinities between 31.5 and 33.5 g/L. According to the total declared catches for 2001-2011, fishery yields of this species were maximum in 2001 and 2011 at 80,000 t and minimum in 2005 at almost 7,000 t (Fig. 2). Males can reach 50 g and females 90 g. Spawning capacity in captivity can reach over 360,000 eggs per female (Díaz and Fenucci 2004). The aquaculture group from the National University of Mar del Plata has been working on different aspects of the biology, nutrition, maturation, large-scale larval culture and grow-out of Argentine red shrimp. This species has garnered great interest because of its potential use in aquaculture in temperate areas. Carotenes and Broodstock Nutrition Broodstock nutrition is an important factor in the success or failure of reproduction. Feeding captive crustaceans is limited to artificial diets that may lack bioactive metabolites necessary for normal growth and survival. Inadequate bioactive metabolites and Effect of Dietary Carotenoids on Argentine Red Shrimp Broodstock Jorge L. Fenucci, Emiliano Pisani, Ana Cristina Díaz and Susana M. Velurtas their precursors can lead to nutritional imbalances, physiological changes and diseases (Harrison 1990). Despite the commercial benefit of enhancing larval production by providing optimized maturation diets, insufficient research in this topic has been carried out. This article focuses on improving maturation of reproductive Argentine red shrimp broodstock through the use of bioactive substances like carotenes added to artificial diets to finally define its biological function as a dietary supplement. Use of bioactive substances, such as nutritional additives, to improve the yields of cultured shrimp is a topic that has received increasing attention to define the biological function of carotenoids as a dietary supplement. Carotenes play an important role in organism health by acting as biological antioxidants, avoiding deterioration of cells and tissues. In crustaceans, they stimulate the immune system, serve as a source of vitamin A, increase resistance to diseases and enhance the rate of reproduction, weight gain and survival. Penaeid shrimp cannot synthesize carotenes de novo, and consequently, these must be obtained through dietary sources. Variation in pigmentation from different sources can be attributed to the type, composition and concentration of the pigments contained in the diet, digestibility of the material and likely the presence of cofactors involved in absorption and deposition (Díaz et al. 2012). Crustaceans have the ability to transform carotenoids into a limited range of closely related derivatives. Oxidative pathways suggested for metabolism of dietary carotenoids indicate that pure (CONTINUED ON PAGE 58) FIGURE 1. Female Argentine red shrimp Pleoticus muelleri. FIGURE 2. Total catch (t) of Argentine red shrimp between 2001 and 2011. Broodstock nutrition is an important factor in the success or failure of reproduction. Feeding captive crustaceans is limited to artificial diets that may lack bioactive metabolites necessary for normal growth and survival.
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