The following remarks are not in chronological order and are not presented according to their relative importance, except where indicated. Other comments in particular subject areas are noted in other portions of this report.
There is a need for a detailed master plan, with priorities, for the warm water mariculture facility at Elat. This should include a projection of plans and objectives over a several-year period, listing scale-up in personnel and equipment and interim and terminal goals. Input should be of both a financial and technical nature geared to local and national needs and the role of the Elat facility as a regional centre in warm water mariculture.
The level of technical input in the programme tinder the combined efforts of Drs. G. Kissil and H. Gordin, is excellent. A clear idea exists of the needs and objectives of the programme from a research aspect as well as that of personnel and facility/equipment requirements. Back-up research personnel are well trained and cognizant of their duties and the role of their activities in the overall programme. As noted earlier (Personnel requirements), there is a critical need for additional personnel, especially at the technician level, to accomplish the objectives of the research planned for 1976.
A major strength of the fish culture operation is the excellent pathobiology programme directed by Dr. Ilan Paperna, the Resident Director of the Elat Marine Biology Laboratory. This effort is being closely coordinated with the experiments designed by Dr. Kissil and associates, and serves as an invaluable diagnostic arm in the analyses of nutritional relationship to fish disease syndromes. Dr. Paperna plans to establish a thorough record of symptomology of various pathological conditions of Sparus auratus which will permit diagnosis of atypical growth and disease at the earliest possible point of inception. The obvious coordination of the nutrition and pathology efforts certainly will contribute greatly towards ultimate success of the fish culture effort.
In view of the common interests of the fish culture facility at Brest, France, and the Elat unit, an acceleration in binational cooperation between CNEXCO and IOLR is desirable. Further efforts should be directed towards long-term support through such programmes as the U.S.-Israel Binational Sciences Foundation. The unique water temperature characteristics at Elat suggest that the facility may have a prime function in establishing baseline parameters for use of heated power plant effluents in mariculture.
The experimental pond system at Slat is a strong feature of the operation and should provide much needed information on the dynamics of salt water ponds in warm areas. Currently, the eight ponds (seven test and one control) are being monitored on a regular basis for temperature, salinity, pH, evaporation and percolation, nutrient analyses (nitrates, phosphates, silicon), controlled inorganic fertilization, chlorophyll, light penetration, plankton growth, benthic organisms (macro and microbenthos), and flow rates. A series of flow rate experiments of from 0 to 160 L/minute are in progress. These ponds have been in operation for three months (from September 1975) and already are revealing meaningful data. Different feeding methods and fish density studies also are in progress, but it is too early to gauge the effect of these two aspects. However, one experimental pond, stocked with large, fast-growing Sparus auratus (from the F-1 population) already has animals of 140 gramme size, giving a growth rate of approximately 1% body weight per day. Preliminary data suggest that stocking of ponds with a select population of fish will produce a marketable size crop in under a year. Tests are in progress to compare growth data of fish in tanks and ponds, as well as relative growth of the different segments of the F-1 group. This programme is well designed and warrants continuation to develop a base of information for ultimate applied purposes.
In view of continuing success in Sparus auratus culture, major effort should be directed to this activity. In this regard, maximal technological effort should be directed to existing programmes, especially in possible reduction of overall hatchery time by use of proper artificial formulations and appropriate growth stimulating materials. Possible extension of project cut-off date should be explored to maximize technological follow-through. Efforts are needed to develop short-term, probe-like tests (i.e., attractants), especially in the early post-hatchery phase. These should provide meaningful data (especially for later formulation use), in minimal time (i.e., 1–2 months) without excessive demand on facilities or personnel. This effort will be enhanced by plans now in progress to develop analytical criteria of growth based on size/length variations, together with weight/T relationship and a percentage survival index.
Experiments at Elat in 1976 with sea bass probably will be only probe-like, or exploratory, in scope due to previously mentioned limitations of personnel and facilities. One major area of attack may comprise evaluation of attractants and feed-stimulants to sea bass fry, with scale-up effort in the 1977 season. The immediate follow-up with the sea bass, in terms of its proposed use as a predatory species in control of Tilapia in ponds and water Bye-terns in Israeli should be given a high priority in further development of the Slat facility. As noted in the FAO report of Dr. M. Girin, there is a developing market for fingerlings of sea bass that may serve to provide a more immediate economic base in the fish culture endeavour. Maximal advantage should be taken of the cooperation between Dr. Girin's laboratory and the Elat operation at all levels of data and material exchange. In any event, development of a sea bass capability at Elat must be considered in projected priority expansion of the mariculture programme.
Where possible, emphasis should be placed on population selection of animals with significantly faster growing rates. Already, analyses of large size group animals in pond culture reveal a potential for genetic selection of a population capable of reaching marketable size in less than a year. Supply of ample quantities of fry should permit a separation of different size/growth response groups to provide more precise information on the nature of the variability. Ultimately, rearing of this population to mature spawning age will be a major breakthrough in the operation, and will dovetail into a needed fish breeding programme for hybrid vigor analyses.
Requirements for various diets and grow-out formulations must be projected for 1976. Planned grow-out experiments, from June–July 1976, will require approximately 100 kilogrammes of feed per month. This is based on eight separate diets over a 32-tank experiment. Separate quantities of feed are needed for the current and proposed (expanded) cage culture operation as well as for any scale-up in pond tests. Due to the restricted feed manufacturing capability of the Elat facility, formulations for these two aspects of the operation will be prepared at a commercial feed installation. Negotiations with animal feed manufacturers in Israel are underway, geared to approximately three ton production runs for a minimum three-month period. Studies of the diet manufacturing capability at Elat are needed, and, in all likelihood, will be restricted to small volumes due to limitations in personnel and facilities.
Numerous other mariculture “candidate” species (including species of penaeid shrimp, mullet, oysters, to name a few) may be well adapted to the Elat facility and warrant serious evaluation. However, due to limited personnel and increasing demands of the on-going programmes, any additional programmatic effort must be kept to a minimum. This does not preclude the acceleration of a new mariculture “candidate” if additional funding (and personnel/facility scale-up) is provided). Any such activities should fit within the master plan of the Elat unit, especially if demands are made for specific components (i.e., feed and dietary formulations, shop time, utility requirements) of the existing denise/sea bass programme.
Comments noted during the ancillary site visits in Israel indicate that the Elat mariculture programme is being well received and has attracted more than incidental interest in terms of its potential in fish farming in the country. Constraints on use of fresh water have necessitated re-evaluation of the current fresh water pond programme, with increasing recognition of the need to develop a salt water fish culture effort. Since a good number of fish ponds currently are located in close proximity to the sea, development of salt water ponds is an economically sound concept. Other efforts to adapt certain of the marine fish to brackish water culture are further evidence of the increasing importance of the Elat operation. Likewise, innovations in fresh water pond fertilization, and definition of the criteria for optimal pond productivity will have eventual spin-off in the mariculture pond programme. Enthusiastic support of the Elat programme by IOLR is evident, and in view of its accomplishments to date, it is well justified and warrants increments in funding to implement its projected goals.
