Deep-water shrimp (Pandalus borealis, Krøyer 1838) as indicator organism for fish-farm waste

Tracing fish farm waste in the northern shrimp ­Pandalus borealis (Krøyer, 1838) using lipid biomarkers

“…The general FA profile of the reference shrimp in these investigations resembled the profiles reported earlier by Ackman & Eaton (1967) and Hopkins et al (1993). The FA composition in shrimp and the changes that occurred when experimentally influenced by farm-originated matter was thoroughly described by Olsen et al (2009). Shrimp were fed salmon feed pellets and had a sudden response to the feed.…”

“…Shrimp were fed salmon feed pellets and had a sudden response to the feed. Not only were the levels of FA 18:2n6 elevated in muscle tissue, but FAs 18:3n3, 20:1n9 and 22:1n11 were also present after 11 d; thus, they were suggested for use as tracer FAs for organic fish farm waste in shrimp, as the levels in tissues rose in response to the increased dietary level (Olsen et al 2009). In this present field study, the same 4 FAs were, in various degrees, the most important ones to separate shrimp from their farm and reference locations and as such provide validation that these FAs are useful tracers for tracking fish farm waste in shrimp.…”

“…Samples of shrimp muscle tissue from the dorsal abdomen were submitted to methanolysis and gas chromatography as described in Olsen et al (2009), and the FA 19:0 was used as an internal standard. The detector signal was digitally recorded in the Atlas software (Thermo Labsystems) and peaks were identified by comparing them with a standard mixture and by using previous knowledge of relative retention times of FA methyl esters (FAMEs) and mass spectrometry.…”

“…Northern shrimp is considered a key species and an important link between the benthic and higher trophic levels, as it is an important food source for several fish species, particularly gadoids, as well as for larger crustaceans, squid and seals (Shumway et al 1985, Parsons 2005. Furthermore, high abundances of shrimp are normally found to be associated with high organic sediment content (Wigley 1960, Ramseier et al 2000; thus, they potentially can be used as an indicator organism for aquaculture-derived effluents (Olsen et al 2009). …”

“…In a previous study we conducted an experiment where shrimp were fed salmon feed pellets (Olsen et al 2009). The results showed that the FA content and composition are suitable biomarkers for tracing fish farm organic waste to shrimp.…”