EIFAC TECHNICAL PAPER
48

Cover
The transport of live fish A review
CONTENTS


by
R. Berka
Fisheries Research Institute
Scientific Information Centre
389 25 Vodňany
Czechoslovakia

EUROPEAN INLAND FISHERIES
ADVISORY COMMISSION
(EIFAC)

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

M-47
ISBN 92-5-102380-8

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

The present document is based on a general review of the existing literature concerned with live fish transport. It has been prepared by the author in 1983–84 as a voluntary contribution, for which EIFAC is most grateful.

The cover photo graph is by A.G. Coche. It represents the transport of carp fry in plastic bags with addition of oxygen.

ABSTRACT
The basic principles of fish transport and the main factors affecting it (fish species, fish developmental stages and quality, transport time, temperature, oxygen content, fish metabolism products, etc.) are evaluated on the basis of an analysis of the pertinent literature. For the two basic fish transport systems, the closed and the open ones, the transport units are described and the densities of transported fish per unit volume under actual conditions are tabulated for guidance. The survey is complemented by the description of the existing methods for the chemical treatment of the environment inside the transport systems and for the treatment of the fish transported, such as fish anaesthetics, chemical water conditioning and antibacterial treatment.

Distribution:For bibliographic purposes this document should be cited as follows:
Author
EIFAC Mailing List
FAO Fisheries Department
FAO Regional Fishery Officers
 
Berka, R., 1986 The transport of live fish. A review. EIFAC Tech.Pap., (48):52 p.

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, © FAO 1986


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CONTENTS

1.   INTRODUCTION

2.   THE MAIN FACTORS AND PRINCIPLES ASSOCIATED WITH FISH TRANSPORT

2.1   Quality of Fish

2.2   Oxygen

2.3   pH, Carbon Dioxide and Ammonia

2.4   Temperature

2.5   Density and Activity of Transported Fish

2.6   Biochemical Changes and Stress in Transported Fish

2.7   General Notes

3.   CLOSED SYSTEMS OF FISH TRANSPORT

3.1   Polyethylene Bags

3.2   Other Sealed Containers

3.3   Fry Densities in Plastic Bags

3.4   General Notes on the Transport of Juvenile Fish in Bags

3.5   Transport of Large Fish in Bags

3.6   General Notes on the Transport of Brood Fish in Bags

4.   OPEN SYSTEMS OF FISH TRANSPORT

4.1   General Technological Notes

4.2   Technical Designs of Transport Units

4.2.1   Small Transport Units

4.2.2   Large Transport Tanks

4.2.3   Single-purpose Transport Trucks

4.3   Water Aeration/Oxygenation and Temperature

4.4   Fish Densities in Transport Units

4.5   Transport of Pike-Perch

4.6   Railway Fish Transport

5.   CHEMICAL METHODS FOR WATER AND FISH TREATMENT DURING TRANSPORT

5.1   Use of Fish Tranquilizers

5.2   Application of Sodium Chloride and Calcium Chloride

5.3   Chemicals as Oxygen Sources

5.4   Bacteriostatic Chemicals

5.5   Buffers

5.6   Ammonia Control

5.7   Antifoam Chemicals

6.   CONCLUSION

7.   REFERENCES