Finfish Aquaculture
Cawthron has developed a new eDNA tool for determining the enrichment status of sites under or around aquaculture farms.
eDNA Services for Finfish Aquaculture
Discover how the B-MBI tool can save your operation time and money.
eDNA for Consent Monitoring in Aquaculture
Traditionally, the assessment of site enrichment has involved using morphological methods to evaluate the organisms living in the mud. This requires highly skilled scientists and takes alot of time and resources.
Cawthron researchers have developed a new eDNA-based method which identifies indicator bacteria in the mud. This method has been compared to the traditional approach at many farms over many months with strong correlations shown.
Assessing Enrichment State with b-MBI
Cawthron's new tool, the bacterial Metabarcoding Biotic Index (b-MBI), identifies the bacteria present in the mud samples.
It then compares the bacterial species found in the sample with Cawthron's DNA library. Our computer programme then generates an enrichment score which can be used for reporting, meeting consent conditions or general surveillance.
Cawthron's Aquaculture Monitoring Services
Cawthron's aquaculture monitoring and impact assessment team provides services beyond eDNA. Our water quality scientists have the expertise to undertake catchment-to-coast assessments of water pollution, ports surveys, aquaculture, and monitoring potential effects of human activities on our environment.
More about our ocean monitoring
