{"id":14671,"date":"2021-03-08T10:28:45","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T15:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=14671"},"modified":"2024-09-04T10:44:38","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T14:44:38","slug":"magic-at-64-4-degrees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/magic-at-64-4-degrees\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic at 64.4 Degrees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Diligence and hard-earned expertise contributed to a recent breakthrough that has positioned farmed striped bass for commercial success. And scientists behind the innovation say they couldn\u2019t have done it without another key ingredient: luck.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he was 34, the Swiss engineer George de Mestral set off with his dog into the alpine countryside on a hunting trip. After crossing flowering fields in the crisp, glacial air on his return, he discovered that burdock burs thoroughly covered his dog\u2019s coat. At home, he picked the persistent clingers from his pet\u2019s fur, one by one, marveling at their tenacity, so much so that he had to examine them under a microscope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What he saw under the lens would impact the aerospace and apparel industries, as astronauts, scuba divers, skiers \u2014 even toddlers too young to tie their own shoes \u2014 would come to use his invention. His microscope revealed hooks by the hundreds covering each bur. Thanks to that hunting trip with his dog, George de Mestral had discovered the mechanism for what he would call \u201cVelcro.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The worlds of invention and discovery have long relied on chance, even on sheer, dumb luck. From the detection of X-rays to that first accidental culture of penicillin, from Silly Putty to the Big Bang\u2019s cosmic signature, from insulin to Vulcanized rubber to Vaseline \u2014 benevolent happenstance has led to groundbreaking advances of all sorts.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Linnea<\/a>
Linnea Andersen, Ph.D. student at NC State University, collaborator on cutting-edge research. Photo by Benjamin Reading.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The expectation that such twists of fate will lead to great discoveries has long made its way into pop culture \u2014 to such an extent that an old marketing campaign sold Reese\u2019s Peanut Butter Cups on the notion of invention by collision between two lovestruck moviegoers. One held a broken candy bar, the other a jar of peanut butter with a chunk of chocolate lodged in it. Anybody with a sweet tooth knows the rest is history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why shouldn\u2019t we have expected fate to intervene when NC State University scientists tried to get farmed striped bass to reproduce?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prize<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since the 1980s, in a Beaufort County town of 520 residents, known for its phosphate mine and fossil museum, scientists have been breeding hybrid striped bass. The epicenter for their research, the Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory, sits in Aurora, North Carolina, not far from the southern terminal on the Pamlico River ferry route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lab has access to numerous sources of freshwater and seawater. It also includes 16 ponds, a hatchery with recirculating water systems, a 300-foot pier, and a boat ramp. There\u2019s even a dorm for the diehards who want to sleep overnight where they work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NC State scientist Benjamin Reading (top photo), who began working at the field lab nearly two decades ago, says the research in Aurora has been essential in supporting an industry flooded with fish from abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNine out of 10 seafood products that Americans consume are imported,\u201d says Reading, who also serves as program coordinator for StriperHub, a National Sea Grant initiative to advance the commercialization of marine striped bass. \u201cBut there\u2019s a significant untapped demand for striped bass \u2014 and we can help to satisfy those consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hybrid striped bass, a cross between striped bass and white bass, already is a successful freshwater farmed fish, grossing $50 million annually, pre-pandemic. Both striped bass and its hybrids find eager consumers at markets, restaurants, and sushi bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Since<\/a>
Since the 1980s, scientists have been domesticating hybrid striped bass and striped bass at the Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory in Aurora, North Carolina. Courtesy of NC State’s Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the hybrid striped bass, however, the striped bass also thrives in saltwater and grows to a larger size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re building on NC State\u2019s research and development of six generations of striped bass that have been bred in captivity,\u201d Reading explains. \u201cAnd the early reception from consumers and servers of traditionally wild-caught striped bass shows they love the farm-fresh taste, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NC State\u2019s Russell Borski, StriperHub\u2019s southeast regional coordinator, says taste, in fact, is part of what makes striped bass a prized species for aquaculture \u2014 and a rarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA candidate species has a premium price, high consumer demand, and adapts well to localized production,\u201d Borski says. \u201cAmong white-fleshed marine fishes in the U.S., there aren\u2019t many of these. But striped bass meets all the criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is why, Reading says, researchers probably would have raised striped bass from the start, instead of hybrid striped bass \u2014 if they had possessed the knowhow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Reading<\/a>
Reading and his team are the latest in a long line of pioneers at the Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory. Earlier groundbreakers included Craig Sullivan (back row, left), former North Carolina Sea Grant director Ron Hodson (back row, middle), Andy McGinty (back row, right), and Mike Hopper (kneeling). Photo by Becky Kirkland.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ernest Hemingway, who knew something about fish, once famously told his son, \u201cYou make your own luck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank L\u00f3pez, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s extension director, says scientific breakthroughs similarly often require a longterm commitment. \u201cFor years, North Carolina Sea Grant has been supporting striped bass aquaculture research and extension, including hybrids,\u201d says L\u00f3pez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFarming striped bass provides an opportunity to develop and sustain the population of these fish,\u201d Reading says. When scientists at the Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory first began breeding captive striped bass without hybrids, though, they had to rely on hormones to induce spawning. The process was expensive and complicated, requiring technical expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persistence, dedication, educated guesses, and trial and error propelled their research. Of course, the \u201cerror\u201d in \u201ctrial and error\u201d is never as glamorous as the trial or the overall pursuit. After telling his son to make his own luck, the rest of Hemingway\u2019s advice was more cynical: \u201cYou know what makes a good loser?\u201d he asked. \u201cPractice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But The Old Man and the Sea<\/em> author had forgotten to add that practice was also the foundation for breakthroughs on spawning farmed striped bass. In collaboration with David Berlinsky at the University of New Hampshire, Reading and his colleagues hypothesized about the effects of injecting only half a sample of striped bass with hormones, and then they found that doing so prompted the others to spawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to discovering a method that saved half the money and hassle, the team learned critical new information: that hormonefree fish could spawn in captivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe realized we were in new territory,\u201d Reading says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mishap<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a>
A penny dwarfs striped bass eggs. Photo by Becky Kirkland.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always tell people this story is about serendipity,\u201d Reading says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, he explains how when scientists at the Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory want their striped bass to spawn, they carefully set the environmental conditions in their 30,000-liter tanks to fool the fish into thinking they\u2019ve gone upriver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStriped bass typically migrate from cold, salty estuary waters in winter and head upstream into warmer and fresher waters in springtime, when they spawn,\u201d he says. \u201cWe try to emulate those conditions in the tanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a matter of practice, they also hold males and females in different tanks for the sake of tracking the precise ratios of each when they then bring them together. The proportion of male to female striped bass can affect how efficiently they spawn, which is why Reading\u2019s team always took special care to keep them separate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne day we came in, and we had accidentally mixed some males and females without any hormones,\u201d Reading says, laughing. \u201cFrom the standpoint of running a rigorous scientific experiment, at first we thought it was a catastrophe. But the striped bass had spawned. And then we thought, well, why the heck would they do that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team quickly switched from \u201cOh, no, what are we going to do?\u201d to \u201cLet\u2019s sit down and write down everything we know about what just happened and see if we can recreate it.\u201d Then they spent several months trying to emulate environmental conditions for the accident, studying how it worked, and refining the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure enough,\u201d Reading says. \u201cWe showed you could replicate it. Dial up the temperature and drop the salt. Then boom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magic at 18\u00b0 C, or 64.4\u00b0 F, with no salt \u2014 and, most importantly, no hormones \u2014 all with a single species. It was a feat no one ever before had reported achieving with captive striped bass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Over<\/a>
Over the years, Reading and his team refined their methods, determining that bringing together 25 male and 25 female striped bass maximizes efficiency. \u201cThe process has come a long way,\u201d says Andersen (here). Photo by Erin Ducharme\/NC State News.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur new method simplifies the whole spawning process,\u201d Reading says. \u201cNow, you don\u2019t need two species on site. You also don\u2019t need the hormones, which are expensive, require a prescription from a veterinarian, and are much more technically difficult to work with. Compare all that to just putting fish in a tank now and letting nature go to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Market<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

L\u00f3pez, who also serves as StriperHub\u2019s principal investigator, likens the surprise behind the Reading team\u2019s discovery to \u201cthat Alexander Graham Bell moment,\u201d when the inventor startled his assistant with the line from the famous first phone call: \u201cMr. Watson, come here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Reading team\u2019s new method had been born from the \u201cerror\u201d in \u201ctrial and error,\u201d but it was also, of course, the product of decades of research and hard work. Reading and his colleagues soon could produce 5 million larvae from a single spawning event with captive striped bass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat yield is the equivalent of what used to take the time and resources of an entire season\u2019s effort for our team,\u201d says Reading. \u201cIt\u2019s a revolutionary change, and it suggests high potential for scaling up to commercial levels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point, Reading\u2019s team has optimized the process, determining that bringing together 25 males and 25 females maximizes efficiency. Two recent research articles in the journal Aquaculture describe their findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe process has come a long way,\u201d says coauthor Linnea Andersen, a Ph.D. student at NC State. \u201cIt\u2019s become so standard for us, but when I first started on the project in 2017, we were developing this brand new approach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only does the new production method cut costs and reduce challenges, he adds, farm-raised striped bass can weigh in at 3 pounds apiece, roughly twice the size of domesticated hybrid striped bass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to L\u00f3pez, the StriperHub project will help streamline commercialization of the species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough StriperHub, we\u2019re disseminating new findings like these about state-of-the-art production techniques and tips,\u201d L\u00f3pez explains. \u201cWe\u2019re also developing education and training programs, clarifying permitting and licensing procedures, and promoting outreach and visibility among producers and consumers of striped bass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers at North Carolina Sea Grant and NC State are collaborating with experts along the Atlantic Seaboard on the project, which also includes other Sea Grant programs, industry partners, government researchers, policymakers, and university scientists. Barry Nash, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s seafood technology and marketing specialist, also will play a key role on the project as StriperHub helps make the farmed striped bass increasingly available to consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In<\/a>
In addition to serving as program coordinator for StriperHub, NC State\u2019s Ben Reading (right) directs the National Program for Genetic Improvement and Selective Breeding for the US Hybrid Striped Bass Industry. Photo courtesy of NC State’s Department of Applied Ecology.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Reading believes many farmers will see the value of diversifying their crop by also raising striped bass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur production of larvae at this level positions us well to supply producers of fingerlings\u201d (finger-sized juvenile fish). \u201cProducers can use the larvae to create fingerlings for distribution,\u201d he says. \u201cLast year, we also grew 150,000 fingerlings ourselves that we sent out to farmers in our state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019 and 2020, Reading says, StriperHub supported bringing roughly 8,500 pounds of farm-raised striped bass to North Carolina markets \u2014 and the project continues to distribute 200 to 400 pounds every month during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Future<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Eric Herbst, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s coastal aquaculture specialist, says having the Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory as ground zero for cutting-edge research and practice also provides unique educational opportunities for college students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStudents in aquaculture programs at Carteret Community College and Brunswick Community College can observe and get valuable hands-on experience at the facility,\u201d says Herbst. \u201cSome of the field\u2019s most innovative work is happening in our own backyard, and the next generation of fish farmers gets to see it first-hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Cerino, chair of the Aquaculture Department at Carteret Community College, also collaborates on the StriperHub project. Herbst says the facility provides students in the program invaluable experience in applied research, growing striped bass from fingerlings to market size in aquaculture systems at commercial densities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing like working with the actual fish,\u201d Reading adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the field lab provides a training ground for new scientists and fish farmers, more questions remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan we speed up the spawning process and make it even more efficient?\u201d he says. \u201cAnd what about wild striped bass? Can we do this with them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the rest of us already can feast on such delicacies as Southwest striped bass with black bean salsa, striped bass chowder, striped bass tacos with creamy guacamole, or Parmesan-encrusted striped bass \u2014 or, for that matter, any of the many other dishes that rely on the succulent fish. For diners enjoying a mouthwatering striped bass entr\u00e9e, the Reading team\u2019s discovery was always meant to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The StriperHub team is looking for more partners interested in distributing and retailing striped bass. Email Eric Herbst, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s coastal aquaculture specialist: echerbst@ncsu.edu<\/a><\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n