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Although live food production and its use in marine fish hatcheries is a daily routine there is still need to make productions more predictable and of a higher hygienic quality. The following topics will be addressed: 

- use of probiotics in live food cultures and in larviculture tanks: need to verify at production level the beneficial results obtained at lab scale: how predictability are the results in routine application? what are the risks for beneficial bacteria to become pathogens? need for better documentation of beneficial effects: study of microbial dynamics in the fish gut using culture-independent methods; evaluation of registration modalities and restrictions

- need to further explore methods and procedures to reduce bacterial contamination levels in live food cultures: use of natural antimicrobials

- need for better management of Brachionus cultures: ongoing EU project reveals considerable genetic diversity in the European hatcheries (other species than B. plicatilis) with considerable difference in susceptibility for crashes; need for more specific answers for the hatcheries with regard to the following questions: is the  performance of various strains under hatchery conditions considerably different? is it necessary to work with selected genotypes, cultured over a limited number of generations? are cultures very susceptible to changing culture conditions?  

- need to better document the positive effects of green water cultures. 

Patrick Sorgeloos is a professor of aquaculture and heads the Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center (ARC) at the Ghent University (Belgium). Since its establishment in 1978 the ARC is involved in research and education with regard to production and use of live food in larviculture of fish and shellfish. The ARC is involved in interdisciplinary research projects with public and private entities within and outside Europe. Since 1991 the ARC has been co-organizer of the international Larvi conferences (next edition Larvi’05). Patrick Sorgeloos is a past-president of the World Aquaculture Society, chairman of the ASEM aquaculture platform and aquaculture R&D manager at INVE Technologies SA (Belgium).

Contact details: Patrick.Sorgeloos@UGent.be or  www.UGent.be/aquaculture