World marine food farming production (aquaculture) is dependent on hatchery and nursery production of large quantities of high quality larvae and juvenile shellfish, shrimp and fish. Bacterial diseases, particularly vibriosis, are a major cause of mortality in hatcheries and nurseries and cause large losses and great expense for fish and shellfish growers along the nations coasts. Simple, specific tests to detect vibriosis are lacking. Our research will result in a simple dipstick test (much like a pregnancy test dipstick) that hatchery workers can use to quickly and easily test forvibriosis. It is risky and cost prohibitive for hatcheries to operate with the uncertainty of larval survival and without the tools to determine the presence of vibriosis. The proposed test will provide the shellfish industry with a simple, straight-forward, and effective means to detect vibriosis in shellfish hatcheries, as well as an increased understanding of fundamental biological concepts that allow blooms of these bacteria in hatcheries. This information will likely also be applicable to help understand and control contamination by other harmful bacteria associated with aquatic animals and therefore offers potential wide-ranging applications. Consumers, rural communities, and the oyster industry can all be expected to benefit from this project.
