Kippers are not the only kind of herring to be exported from the Isle of Man. The University's Port Erin Marine Larval Centre has just completed shipment of 10,000 live juvenile herring to Portugal. These fish have joined the numerous other marine species on display at the new Oceanario de Lisboa. Lisbon's new aquarium was built for Expo '98, and is the largest public aquarium in Europe.
The Larval Centre is part of the School of Biological Sciences' Port Erin Marine Laboratory, located in the Isle of Man. Dr Audrey Geffen (above), a larval fish biologist in SoBS, and Nick Fullerton, an aquaculture consultant, opened the Centre for business in early 1997. The goal is to grow the y oung stages of a large number of marine fish species, in conditions as close as possible to the natural environment.
Most marine fish begin life as small (1.5-2mm) eggs which float in the surface ocean layers. The larvae which hatch are fragile, and have particular food requirements. The recruitment dynamics of all commercially important fisheries are dependent on events during the early life history stages. The study of the early life history of fish is a basic requirement for solving problems in fisheries and aquaculture, as well as for understanding fundamental scientific processes in development and ecology. Fish larvae are difficult to study live in the wild, and their rearing and maintenance requires special expertise. Many researchers study the early life history of fish in order to understand marine productivity, and to better predict changes in fish populations. Rearing young fish for aquarium displays has increased the number of species the Larval Centre produces. The Larval Centre has ra ised fish for Deep Sea World, Scotland's National Aquarium in Fife, for the new London Aquarium in the historic south bank County Hall, and for the Berlin Zoo.
For more information contact: Marine Laboratory Web Page: http://www.liv.ac/~jludders/infosir/pemlc.htm email: fishlarvae@liv.ac.uk
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