Aquaculture in a fish-eat-fish world
Photo: A juvenile common snook raised by Mote
In nature, many fish eat other fish—and some naturally engage in cannibalism, eating members of their own species. However, fish farming (aquaculture) operations strive to reduce that behavior and aim to raise as many healthy fish as possible to meet important needs for sustainable seafood and environmental restoration. Common snook, a Florida sportfish raised by Mote Marine Laboratory to enhance wild fisheries, are capable of snacking on their fellow snook as they grow up in aquaculture systems. Mote Postdoctoral Scientist Dr. Flavio Ribeiro is studying how to curb this behavior by investigating its biology and environmental causes. In this episode, Dr. Ribeiro tells hosts Hayley and Joe about tackling cannibalism, also known as "intraspecific prediation," during his career with multiple aquaculture-raised species.