Open Marine Archive

Verhaegen, C.C.

Andrade Vera, S.

Marin Jarrin, J.R.

Kochzius, M.

151 
Poster presentation Competition poster 
DNA barcoding of larvae of commercially important fish species in the 
Galapagos Islands  
Verhaegen Coralie1, Andrade Vera Solange2, Marin Jarrin José3 and Kochzius Marc1 
1  Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Ecology and Biodiversity, Marine Biology, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 
Brussels, Belgium 
 E-mail: coralie.cecile.verhaegen@vub.be 
2  Fundación Charles Darwin/Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador 
3  Department of Fisheries Biology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, USA 
 
The lack of available information on fish species surrounding the Galapagos Islands poses a 
problem in assessing their status and the resilience of their populations. For some of the main 
targeted species by the artisanal fishery, there is little more knowledge than a description of 
adult individuals. Data about the larval stages of fish provide efficient means of understanding 
their distribution, growth and early life history. The aim of this study is to identify fish species 
through the establishment of a link between larval morphotypes and their corresponding 
cytochrome oxidase I sequences by DNA barcoding. Subsequent to this, the occurrence, 
abundance and temporal distribution of the determined species throughout the sampling 
stations will be investigated. To our knowledge, this will be the first study to date identifying 
fish larvae in the Galapagos Islands through DNA barcoding. Therefore, the results will provide 
the groundwork for the design of an identification guide of the documented larvae, an 
important tool for further scientific research. Concurrently, the results of the occurrence, 
abundance and temporal distribution of fish larvae will be relevant information for sustainable 
management of the artisanal fisheries and the coastal waters of the Galapagos Islands. 
 
Keywords: Sustainable management; Artisanal fishery; Mitochondrial DNA; DNA barcoding; COI; 
Galapagos Island 
  


DNA barcoding of larvae of commercially important fish species in the Galapagos Islands

Telliez, S.

Maertens, I.

Moerman, M.

Torreele, E.

Mahé, K.

140 
Poster presentation Competition poster 
Optimization of the preparation technique for the age reading of 
vertebrae of thornback ray (Raja clavata)   
Telliez Solène1, Maertens Ilse2, Moerman Martine2, Torreele Els2 and Mahé Kélig1 
1  IFREMER, 150, Quai Gambetta, 62200 Boulogne-sur-mer, France  
E-mail: info@ifremer.fr 
2  Animal Sciences Unit, Fisheries and Aquatic Production, ILVO, Ankerstraat 1, 8400 Oostende, 
Belgium  
 
Age composition of a fish stock is essential to determine the status of a fish stock and formulate 
advice for ICES and the European Commission. To be able to perform qualitative stock 
assessments, it is imperative to develop reliable age determination methods. The use of 
vertebrae to study age of rays and skates has proved to be a valuable method in the past. 
However, each species requires adapted cleaning, staining and drying methods. Therefore, 
during the SUMARIS project, an optimized protocol for age reading of thornback ray was 
developed. 
 
Before observing and interpreting the growth rings on the vertebrae of rays, some preparatory 
steps are necessary such as vertebrae selection, cleaning, possibly embedding followed by 
sectioning of the vertebrae and band pattern enhancement by staining or burning. A segment of 
10 to 20 vertebrae of the vertebral column were removed starting from behind the eyes up to 
the beginning of the tail. Cleaning is an essential step to observe the growth bands, but care 
needs to be taken not to denature the structure of the centra. Different cleaning methods were 
tested, from using hot tap water and ethanol to enzymatic cleaning using pepsin. Alizarin red, 
chrystal violet and silver nitrate illuminated with an UV-light were tested as staining methods 
for band pattern enhancement. The staining was tested on whole as well as on sectioned 
vertebrae. 
 
As a result of the tests, an optimized protocol for age reading of thornback ray was developped. 
The used vertebral segment always needs to be sampled at the same place, because the number 
of growth marks may vary depending on the location of the vertebra on the skeletal axis of the 
same animal. Therefore, the first 10 vertebrae will be used because they are the largest. For 
cleaning the vertebrae, the enzymatic pepsin digestion was selected as best and for the band 
pattern enhancement chrystal violet was selected on whole vertebrae. 
 
Keywords: Thornback ray; Vertebrae; Age reading 
  


Optimization of the preparation technique for the age reading of vertebrae of thornback ray (Raja clavata)

Louis, V.

Jiménez, J.

Yamashiro, C.

120 
Poster presentation Competition poster 
Analysis of genetic stock structure and connectivity of the sea snail 
Thaisella chocolata (Duclos, 1832) along the Peruvian coast for 
sustainable fisheries management  
Louis Victoria1, Jimenez Juana1, Yamashiro Carmen2 and Kochzius Marc1 
1  Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Ecology and Biodiversity, Marine Biology, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 
Brussels, Belgium 
E-mail: victoria.louis@vub.be  
2  Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE), Esquina Gamarra y General Valle s/n, Chucuito, Callao, 
Peru 
 
Thaisella chocolata (or ‘caracol negro’ in Peru, ‘caracol locate’ in Chili) is considered in Peru as a 
species of commercial importance. For the period January/February 2018, T. chocolata 
represented 32.5 % of the total invertebrate landing at the harbour of Callao (Lima). Despite this, 
not much is known about the state of its populations. The analysis of the genetic connectivity 
among those can be a first step to manage the stock efficiently. In this study the mitochondrial 
DNA COI and perhaps microsatellites will be applied on populations from four sampling 
locations along the Peruvian coast. Thaisella chocolata is a mollusc of the family of the 
Muricidae, living on rocky substrate along the Peruvian and the Chilean coast. The species has a 
long pelagic larval phase and the Humboldt current could facilitate long-distance dispersal. 
Nevertheless, there are different possible threats to the Peruvian populations, such as fisheries, 
El Niño southern oscillation and pollution. These impacts can reduce the effective population 
size and genetic diversity. Therefore, even with a good theoretical connectivity the population 
could be endangered. 
 
Keywords: Thaisella chocolate; Muricidae; Peru; Population genetics; Fisheries management 
  


Analysis of genetic stock structure and connectivity of the sea snail Thaisella chocolata (Duclos, 1832) along the Peruvian coast for sustainable fisheries management

Pirlet, H.

Verleye, T.J.

Devriese, L.

Dauwe, S.

Lescrauwaet, A.-K.

Mees, J.

69 
Demo Booth 
Compendium for Coast and Sea 2018, a key guide for the marine expert  
Pirlet Hans, Verleye Thomas, Devriese Lisa, Dauwe Steven, Lescrauwaet Ann-Katrien and 
Mees Jan 
Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), InnovOcean site, Wandelaarkaai 7, 8400 Oostende, Belgium 
E-mail: compendium@vliz.be  
 
On December 7 2018 the Compendium secretariat of VLIZ launched the newest edition of the 
Compendium for Coast and Sea. The Compendium for Coast and Sea 2018 is the third edition in 
this series of multifunctional guides for the marine expert. As in previous editions, the 
Compendium aims to encompass the dispersive information from the Flemish-Belgian marine 
sciences in a scientific and neutral way. For this latest edition all publications were thoroughly 
revised and new products were developed. In doing so a lot of attention was paid to improving 
the recognisability of the Compendium and the user experience. 
 
The Compendium for Coast and Sea 2018 is composed of the following elements: 
- Indicator Report Marine Research and Innovation 2018: Trends and figures on marine 
research and marine innovation in Flanders and Belgium (NL/EN: digital + print); 
- Knowledge Guide Coast and Sea 2018: Information portal on the use of the coast and sea in 
Flanders and Belgium (NL: digital + print; EN: digital); 
- Expert Guide Marine Research 2018: Portfolio of marine research in Flanders and Belgium 
(NL: digital; EN: digital + print); 
- Catalogue Marine Research Infrastructure 2018: Overview of the available infrastructure for 
marine research in Flanders and Belgium (NL/EN: digital); 
- Marine Policy - Policy instruments and legislation 2018: Overview of the most pertinent 
international, European, federal and Flemish marine policy context (NL/EN: digital); 
- A communication product (envelope) with handy sheets that quickly guide the marine expert 
through the Compendium for Coast and Sea 2018 (NL/EN: print). 
 
Following the Open Access policy, all Compendium publications can be freely consulted and 
downloaded via the Compendium website and via the integrated marine information system 
(IMIS) of VLIZ. Also visit our website for handy search modules that assist you with a more 
targeted search. 
 
If you want to learn more about the Compendium for Coast and Sea 2018 and experience it first 
hand, come visit our demonstration booth. 
 
Keywords: Compendium for Coast and Sea; Knowledge broker; Scientifically based; BNS + 
Coastal zone and Scheldt estuary 
  


Compendium for Coast and Sea 2018, a key guide for the marine expert

De Keukelaere, L.

Moelans, R.

Knaeps, E.

Strackx, G.

99 
Poster presentation Competition poster 
Drone technology in support of suspended sediment mapping, test case 
at the Prins Hendrik dike in Texel (NL) 
De Keukelaere Liesbeth, Moelans Robrecht, Knaeps Els and Strackx Gert 
Vlaamse overheid: Teledetectie en Aardobservatieprocessen (EWI-TAP), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, 
Belgium 
E-mail: liesbeth.dekeukelaere@vito.be  
 
A pilot test case at the Prins Hendrikzanddijk project in Texel, the Netherlands, was organized 
end October 2018 to demonstrate drone technology for water quality monitoring. A new dune 
area seaward of the existing dike is created, which takes over the coastal protection function of 
the existing dike and combines it with nature development, public services and recreational 
appeal. For the demo an octocopter drone platform, Altura Zenith ATX8, was used with a 
multispectral camera, MicaSense RedEdge M, underneath. During drone flights, a base station 
shows real-time information on the location of the drone, a projected true-colour image 
captured by the camera and the position of neighbouring boats through Automatic 
Identification System (AIS). Thanks to this information it is easy to adapt flight missions 
according to the situation. The drone data were processed with dedicated software into Total 
Suspended Solids (TSS) maps. This independently from in-situ observations. Water samples, 
collected simultaneously with drone flights were used for the validation of the derived 
products. 
 
Keywords: Drone technology; Optical sensor; Water quality   


Drone technology in support of suspended sediment mapping, test case at the Prins Hendrik dike in Texel (NL).

Zheng, X.

Bossier, P.

35 
Oral presentation Pre-doc level 
Evaluation of the anti-Vibrio activity of essential oils and their 
components  
Zheng Xiaoting and Bossier Peter 
Universiteit Gent: Laboratorium voor Aquacultuur en Artemia Reference Center (UGent-ARC), 
UGent BW13, Coupure Links 653, Blok F, 9000 Gent, Belgium 
E-mail: xiaoting.zheng@ugent.be  
 
Vibrio harveyi is a major pathogen of marine fish and shrimp, which causes significant losses in 
the aquaculture industry worldwide. Essential oils and their components are 
concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants.  
 
Since the past a few decades, they have been widely used for bactericidal or fungicidal, which 
not only in the pharmaceutical industry but also in the agricultural industry, especially in 
aquaculture. Furthermore, a variety of essential oils and their components have been claimed 
they are quorum sensing inhibitors, which can interfere with the virulent quorum sensing signal 
in bacteria. However, knowledge on the impact of essential oils and their components on the 
volatile antimicrobial activity and quorum sensing inhibition in V. harveyi is lacking.  
 
In the present study, we evaluated the vapour-phase-mediated antimicrobial activity (VMAA), 
different concentration of antimicrobial activity and specific quorum sensing-inhibitory activity 
(AQSI) of 22 essential oils and 12 essential oil components, against V. harveyi. Results showed 
that the VMAA of a volatile spread symmetrically across a microtiter plate and one-quarter of 
the tested essential oils and their components showed growth-inhibitory VMAA at 24h. Then, six 
essential oils and three essential oil components inhibited 50% of the growth at 0.0001%, 
compared to the control. Moreover, just the four most active essential oils inhibited quorum 
sensing at 0.001%, with AQSI higher than 2. In conclusion, the anti-Vibrio activity of essential oils 
and their components both in broth cultures and via their vapour-phase. Not all the essential 
oils and their components are able to inhibit quorum sensing in V. harveyi. And two essential 
oils and one essential oil component were considered to be highly promising to control V. 
harveyi in aquaculture. 
 
Keywords: Essential oil; Vibrio harveyi; Vapour-phase; Quorum sensing 
  


Evaluation of the anti-Vibrio activity of essential oils and their components

Vandendriessche, S.

48 
 Meet the Company 
From farm to fork, from sea to spoon  
Vandendriessche Sofie 
Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Ankerstraat 1, 8400 
Oostende, Belgium 
E-mail: ilvo@ilvo.vlaanderen.be  
 
Flanders’ Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) performs 
multidisciplinary, innovative and independent research aimed at economically, ecologically and 
socially sustainable agriculture and fisheries. Through this research, ILVO accumulates 
fundamental and applied knowledge which is vital for the improvement of products and 
production methods, for quality control and the safety of end products, and for the 
amelioration of policy instruments as a foundation for sector development. 
 
Every day, more than 600 ILVO employees work to make this mission a reality, but we still need 
new, driven colleagues! ILVO works on a diversity of challenging research questions. To achieve 
our goals, we need a motivated, multidisciplinary team where every employee can develop his 
or her talents. We therefore have several career paths where our employees can grow according 
to their potential and their ambition. Beginning researchers (masters and doctoral students) 
have the opportunity to work on groundbreaking research in a wide range of topics. In addition 
to research work, we have a great number of supportive and technical functions: management, 
ICT, field workers, technicians, engineers, veterinarians, lab techs, and financial and 
administrative functions. Working at ILVO means continual learning and professional 
development: ILVO invests greatly in its employees and offers plenty of opportunities to learn 
new techniques and procedures via workshops, professional trainings, internships and 
networking. 
 
Keywords: Research; Jobs; Marine; Fisheries 
  


From farm to fork, from sea to spoon

Semmouri, I.

De Schamphelaere, K.

Janssen, C.R.

Asselman, J.

138 
Poster presentation Competition poster 
Metatranscriptome of a marine pelagic crustacean community using 
nanopore sequencing  
Semmouri Ilias1, De Schamphelaere Karel1, Mees Jan2, Janssen Colin1 and Asselman Jana1 
1  Universiteit Gent, Onderzoeksgroep voor Milieutoxicologie (UGent-ECOTOX), Coupure Links 
653, 9000 Gent, Belgium  
E-mail: ilias.semmouri@ugent.be  
2  Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), InnovOcean site, Wandelaarkaai 7, 8400 Oostende, Belgium 
 
Due to their rapid responses to environmental variation, planktonic organisms are used as bio-
indicators of ecosystem changes. With the need for better understanding the impact of a 
changing environment on zooplankton communities, zooplankton monitoring programs have 
been carried out in the marine environment globally since the early 20th century. Most 
zooplankton monitoring studies focus mainly on variability in biodiversity and biomass. 
However, this approach is hindered by challenges in the identification, which is time-consuming, 
complicated and requires biological expertise. Advances in practical, cost-effective molecular 
approaches, such as (meta)barcoding, helped overcome the issues with morphology-based 
biomonitoring. Yet, a more comprehensive molecular data set would be able to identify and 
assess the impact of the main drivers of changes in the marine ecosystem, rather than only 
determining species richness. Studying the functional activities of a community has been 
facilitated by metatranscriptomics, the study of community gene transcription. 
Metatranscriptomics is generally employed to assess both the functional and the taxonomic 
components of a community. Here, we sequenced the metatranscriptome of a pelagic 
crustacean community in the BPNS, using the MinION™, a portable nanopore-based DNA/RNA 
sequencing platform (Oxford Nanopore Technologies). We establish a method for capturing the 
metatranscriptome of zooplankton communities in marine samples. 
 
Keywords: Zooplankton; Copepods; Metatranscriptome; Nanopore sequencing; MinIon 
  


Metatranscriptome of a marine pelagic crustacean community using nanopore sequencing

Malcorps, W.W.

Kok, K.

van 't Land, M.

Fritz, M.

van Doren, D.

Servin, K.

Van der Heijden, P.

Palmer, R.

Auchterlonie, N.

Rietkerk, M.

Santos, M.

J. Davies, S.

21 
Oral presentation Pre-doc level 
The sustainability conundrum of fishmeal substitution by plant 
ingredients in shrimp feeds  
Malcorps Wesley1,2, Kok Bjorn2, van ‘t Land Mike3,2, Fritz Maarten2, van Doren Davy2, Servin Kurt4, 
van der Heijden Paul2,5, Palmer Roy6,5, Auchterlonie Neil7, Rietkerk Max8, Santos Maria9,8 and 
J. Davies Simon10 
1  Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA, United Kingdom 
E-mail: wesley.malcorps@stir.ac.uk 
2  MatureDevelopment B.V., Pr. Margrietplantsoen 33, 2595 AM Den Haag, The Netherlands 
3  Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Fisheries and Aquatic 
Production, Ankerstraat 1, 8400 Oostende Belgium 
4 Mexico Aquaculture Research Inc. 
5  Association of International Seafood Professionals 
6  Universidad Tecnológica del Mar de Tamaulipas, Municipio de Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, 
México, Carretera Estatal N° 52 Soto La Marina - La Pesca, Km. 46+400, S/N, La Pesca, 87678 
Soto La Marina, Tamps., Mexico 
7  IFFO, The Marine Ingredients Organization, IFFO Ltd Unit C, Printworks, 22 Amelia Street, 
London SE17 3BZ, United Kingdom 
8  Department of Innovation, Environmental and Energy Sciences, Copernicus Institute of 
Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 8, 3584 CS Utrecht, 
The Netherlands 
9  University Research Priority Program in Global Change and Biodiversity and Department of 
Geography, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland 
10  Fish Nutrition and Aquaculture Group, Department of Animal Production, Welfare and 
Veterinary Sciences, Harper Adams University, Newport Shropshire TF10 8NB, United Kingdom  
 
Aquaculture is central in meeting expanding global demands for shrimp consumption. 
Consequently, increasing feed production is the main responsible for overall environmental 
impact. Significant amounts of fishmeal are included in shrimp diets, causing dependency on 
finite marine resources. Driven by economic incentives, terrestrial plant ingredients are widely 
viewed as sustainable alternatives. 
 
We modelled the incremental fishmeal substitution by plant ingredients in shrimp feed and 
assessed effects on marine and terrestrial resources, such as fish, land, freshwater, nitrogen and 
phosphorus. We find that complete substitution of 20-30% fishmeal totals led to increasing 
demand for freshwater (+63%), land (+81%) and phosphorus (+83%), while other substitution 
rates lead to proportionally lower impacts. These findings suggest added pressures on essential 
agricultural resources, socio-economic and the environment, as a trade-off to pressures on 
finite marine resources. The importance of utilizing by-products and novel ingredients such as 
microbial biomass, algae and insect meals in mitigating the use of marine and terrestrial 
resources is discussed. 
 
Keywords: Aquaculture; Shrimp feed; Aquafeed; Fishmeal; Plant ingredients; Marine resources; 
Terrestrial resources; Feed transition; Food system; Food security 
  


The sustainability conundrum of fishmeal substitution by plant ingredients in shrimp feeds

Vasarmidis, P.

Stratigaki, V.

Suzuki, T.

Troch, P.

150 
Poster presentation Competition poster 
Internal wave generation in numerical models 
Vasarmidis Panagiotis1, Stratigaki Vasiliki1, Suzuki Tomohiro2 and Troch Peter1 
1  Department of Civil Engineering, Ghent University, Technologiepark 60, 9052 Zwijnaarde, 
Belgium 
 E-mail: Panagiotis.Vasarmidis@UGent.be 
2 Flanders Hydraulics Research, Berchemlei 115, 2140 Antwerp, Belgium 
 
One of the most important ecological and economic issues related to coastal engineering is the 
protection of the coastal areas and the unique ecosystems and economic activities they host. 
Moreover, coastal areas around the world should be able to cope with new challenges caused 
by sea level rise and by more frequent and intense storms due to climate change, phenomena 
that require human’s high attention. 
 
Nowadays, numerical models are commonly used as engineering tools for the study of wave 
propagation and impact on coastal areas. Depending on the problem under investigation and 
the corresponding time and space scales, different numerical models are used. In the field of 
wave transformation in coastal areas, SWASH (Zijlema et al., 2011), which is a phase-resolving 
wave propagation model based on the nonlinear shallow water equations with added non-
hydrostatic effects, has already reached a fairly mature stage (Suzuki et al., 2017). 
 
In order to simulate waves in the nearshore zone correctly, the generation and absorption of 
waves at the boundary of models need to be modelled accurately. In the SWASH model, waves 
are generated by prescribing the horizontal velocity component normal to the boundary of the 
computational domain over the vertical direction. However, this method is weakly reflective for 
directional, dispersive waves. The purpose of this research is to deal with these issues and 
improve the performance of the generated wave fields. To achieve this aim, an internal wave 
generation technique has been implemented in SWASH, where a source term in the form of 
mass is added to the governing equations. The first obtained results show that the method is 
working very well. 
 
References 
- Suzuki, T., Altomare, C., Veale, W., Verwaest, T., Trouw, K., Troch, P., Zijlema, M., 2017. Efficient 
and robust wave overtopping estimation for impermeable coastal structures in shallow 
foreshores using SWASH. Coast. Eng. 122, 108–123. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2017.01.009 
- Zijlema, M., Stelling, G., Smit, P., 2011. SWASH: An operational public domain code for 
simulating wave fields and rapidly varied flows in coastal waters. Coast. Eng. 58, 992–1012. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2011.05.015 
 
Acknowledgement 
The first author is Ph.D. fellow of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), Belgium (Ph.D. 
fellowship 11D9618N). 
 
Keywords: Numerical modelling; Coastal and offshore engineering; Wave generation; SWASH 
  


Internal wave generation in numerical models

Flanders Marine Institute

Not a member yet

DNA barcoding of larvae of commercially important fish species in the Galapagos Islands

Optimization of the preparation technique for the age reading of vertebrae of thornback ray (<em>Raja clavata</em>)

Analysis of genetic stock structure and connectivity of the sea snail <em>Thaisella chocolata</em> (Duclos, 1832) along the Peruvian coast for sustainable fisheries management

Compendium for Coast and Sea 2018, a key guide for the marine expert

Drone technology in support of suspended sediment mapping, test case at the Prins Hendrik dike in Texel (NL).

Evaluation of the anti-<i>Vibrio</i> activity of essential oils and their components

From farm to fork, from sea to spoon

Metatranscriptome of a marine pelagic crustacean community using nanopore sequencing

The sustainability conundrum of fishmeal substitution by plant ingredients in shrimp feeds

Internal wave generation in numerical models

21,275

32,181