World Aquaculture Magazine - June 2021

18 JUNE 2021 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG are obtained by spat collectors deployed in specific waters at specific times when high concentrations of settling larvae are known to occur. The chapter on genetics may be of interest to the practitioner but provides no guidance on the how-to aspects of running a selection program to improve production performance while maintaining suitable diversity of the population. The chapter emphasizes the increasing importance of triploid production in grow-out, made by crossing tetraploid and diploid broodstock, but no instructions were given on how to conduct the shocks needed to induce polyploidy. Certainly practitioners should have an appreciation for the role of genetics and selection programs in molluscan shellfish aquaculture and should strive to obtain and use the best stocks available in terms of production performance and disease resistance, but it is perhaps unreasonable to expect that practitioners would conduct such programs given the size and scale of most programs and the lack of dedicated resources. Only the largest shellfish growing companies would be positioned to do this. Although many of the species chapters make some mention of the important diseases that afflict molluscan shellfish, a stand- alone chapter on shellfish diseases is useful and well-organized and written at a level suitable for a practitioner. For each major disease agent, sections on general information, gross findings, microscopic findings, methods of disease transfer, promoting environmental conditions, diagnostic methods and management/treatment methods are provided. All major (and many minor) parasitic, viral and bacterial diseases of molluscan shellfish are covered. Similarly, biofouling is addressed in several of the species chapters, including those on giant clams and mussels. The stand- alone chapter on biofouling gives due emphasis to the scourge of molluscan shellfish farmers everywhere. The authors point out the sessile invertebrates tend to be more problematic as biofouling organisms than algae. Biofouling can affect shellfish growth and survival directly, but also can increase the weight of gear and lead to the introduction of unwanted and invasive species. The chapter includes sections on controlling, preventing and removing biofouling. A useful table describes the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches. A chapter on regulations, spatial planning, best practices and certification overlaps somewhat with the chapter on site selection and carrying capacity but is useful all the same. The information provided here is most relevant to producers in North America, Oceania and Northern Europe, although producers elsewhere will find information on best management practices and certification systems relevant to broader international contexts. A complementary and overlapping chapter on environmental and social certification follows. Two chapters on marketing and business planning close out the book. The marketing chapter provides a global overview of molluscan shellfish trade but then zooms down to the level of a shellfish grower, providing valuable insights on meeting customer needs, including branding, product forms, publicity and advertising and direct sales. The context of this chapter is clearly shellfish producers in the US, but the advice and information presented is broadly applicable to shellfish producers in developed countries. An appendix to the chapter provides a useful example of the elements of a marketing plan. The chapter on business planning is complementary and somewhat overlapping with the marketing chapter. The chapter covers the basics but there are certainly more comprehensive and relevant sources of information about business planning in aquaculture elsewhere. Overall, this book will be of great interest to practitioners of molluscan shellfish aquaculture, especially hatchery operators and technicians. It will also be of interest to investors in commercial shellfish aquaculture businesses, providing the technical background needed to develop business plans and marketing strategies. The authors and editor are to be commended for bridging the gap between an academic, research-oriented approach and a practical, on-farm, nuts-and-bolts approach by providing an excellent overview of state- of-the-science practices and technologies. — John A. Hargreaves, Editor-in-Chief, World Aquaculture Book Review , continued from page 17 D r. Shakuntala Thilsted, Global Lead for Nutrition and Public Health at WorldFish, has been named the 2021World Food Prize Laureate for her groundbreaking research, critical insights, and landmark innovations in developing holistic, nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquatic food systems, including fisheries and aquaculture. Often referred to as the “Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture,” the World Food Prize is the most prominent global award recognizing an individual who has enhanced human development and confronted global hunger through improving the quality, quantity and availability of food for all. Thilsted was the first to examine the nutritional composition Dr. Shakuntala Thilsted Awarded the 2021 World Food Prize of small native fish species commonly found and consumed in Bangladesh and Cambodia. Her research demonstrated that the high levels of multiple essential micronutrients and fatty acids in these affordable and locally available foods offered life-changing benefits for children’s cognitive development in their first 1000 days of life and the nutrition and health of their mothers. From this breakthrough, Thilsted went on to develop nutrition-sensitive approaches and innovations to food production from land and water that have improved the diets, nutrition, and health of millions of vulnerable women, men, and children living in low- and middle-income countries across Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.