From November 21st to 25th, 2022, the 11th Ibero-American Forum on Marine Resources and Aquaculture – XI Firma 2022, with the motto ‘Strengthening Sustainable Development Goals for Fisheries and Aquaculture,’ took place. The event had the participation of over 3424 registered attendees from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The Organizing Commission of the XI FIRMA 2022 announced the publication of the book that brings together the papers and research presented during the event.
‘The XI Firma 2022 proceedings book is a work of 829 pages that presents the event’s proceedings. The book includes a summary of the 12 interesting sessions and 52 scientific papers on topics such as biodiversity, biotechnology, fishing, crustacean farming, mollusks, fish, and other organisms, as well as marketing,’ highlighted César Lodeiros, General Coordinator of FIRMAs and lecturer at the Technical University of Manabí.
Working Sessions
FIRMA 2022 consisted of 12 working sessions where topics related to aquaculture and FAO’s sustainable development goals, climate change and its impact on regional aquaculture, small-scale aquaculture, disruptive technologies, nutrition, sustainability, and governance were discussed.
The working sessions were led by renowned specialists in the field of global aquaculture.
Over 200 Scientific Papers
According to Lodeiros, the book is interactive and allows access to over 200 presented posters and videos, all recordings of the sections, opening and keynote speeches, the RRACUA (Recognition in Aquatic Resources and Aquaculture) awarded to Dr. Albert Tacon for this edition, including the event’s closing. Participants will also have access to the award ceremony for the best scientific papers and the PhotoFIRMA photography contest.
The 200 scientific papers were published in the form of posters and videos, classified into 12 areas of knowledge, mainly in the areas of biodiversity and resource conservation, fish and crustacean farming, biology, physiology, and ecology, as well as biotechnology and bioproducts.
Fish Farming
The XI Firma book includes studies related to the feeding of juvenile Centropomus viridis (white snook), physiological parameters of benzocaine and eugenol anesthetized Cyprinus carpio (koi carp), and the replacement of fishmeal with insect meal in juvenile Totoaba macdonaldi.
Additionally, studies were presented on the effect of insect use on the growth and metabolism of Dicentrarchus labrax, a description of an ornamental strain of Poecilia reticulata, and the evaluation of hydrogen peroxide for the control of ectoparasites in marine fish.
Crustacean Farming
Crustacean farming was also one of the topics discussed in the XI Firma.
The book includes research on the extensive farming of Macrobrachium rosenbergii (Malaysian prawn) in rural communities, the evaluation of marine bacteria as probiotics for Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Litopenaeus vannamei (white shrimp), and a comparison of production variables and sediment effects in L. vannamei (white shrimp) ponds.
Mollusk Farming
Regarding mollusk farming, the book includes studies on oyster and sponge farming in the northeastern platform of Cuba, the effect of seed density and size selection on the growth and survival of Magallana gigas (or Crassostrea gigas) Pacific oysters, and final cultivation of Pacific oysters in shrimp farming systems.
Likewise, research was also presented on the effect on the growth and survival of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) under suspended cultivation, neoplasia in bivalve mollusks and its effect on the immune response, growth of the apple snail Pomacea bridgesii using two artificial diets, and mabé pearl production in the pearl oyster Pteria sterna.
Cultivation of Other Organisms
This section includes the presented studies related to the optimization of breeding conditions for seahorse Hippocampus kuda, welfare markers in the sea anemone Anemonia sulcata in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system, and the impact of Anemonia sulcata reproduction in an IMTA environment.
Biotechnology
The studies presented at the XI Firma 2022 also included research on the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of ink from the common octopus Octopus vulgaris, acid hydrolysis of chitin extracted from pre-cooked lobster head flour, and antibacterial activity of Thymus vulgaris essential oils.
Furthermore, the advances in vegetative cultivation of the seaweed Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis on the coast of Peru are described.
Posters and Videos
The book also includes a section with links to access the posters and videos.
The posters related to aquaculture include rural aquaculture for animal protein production in the State of Sucre (Venezuela), identification and antimicrobial susceptibility of Aeromonas hydrophila isolated from Amazonian fish, feeding frequency of juvenile Centropomus viridis (white snook), among others.
XII Firma 2023
“The AFIRMA Family (International Association for FIRMAs) would like to thank all the participants, especially those who shared their extensive experience through their works, as well as the book reviewers and, undoubtedly, the sponsors of the XI Firma 2022 online, without whom we could not have achieved being the largest and most important online event in Latin America, focusing on aquatic resources and aquaculture,” concluded Lodeiros.
Finally, Lodeiros announced the organization of the XII Firma 2023 online, which will take place from November 27th to December 1st, 2023.
Reference (open access)
Baltazar-Guerrero P. M., González-Henríquez N., Rey-Méndez M., Alió Mingo J.J., Zapata-Vivenes E., De Donato M., Lodeiros C. 2023. XI Foro Iberoamericano de los Recursos Marinos y la Acuicultura: Fortaleciendo los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible para la pesca y la acuicultura. Ediciones AFRIMAR-AFIRMA, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España, 821pp
