Services

About ULPGC: The Marine Science & Technology Park (PCTM) is a European Excellence Aquaculture Complex (RI). It includes all culture phases (reproduction, larvae, juvenile) for different marine species (fish and molluscs), tanks and cages, and recirculation systems. It is a singular European RI included in MERIL because of the Semi-intensive Experimental Production Plant (PPPA) and the Biofactory of Natural Marine Products (AFPP). The PCTM is supported by University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, through the Aquaculture Research Groupwhich has several dry labs (Biochemistry and Chromatography, Marine Genetics, Histology and Health, Quality, Bacteriology and Virology).

It is composed of eight specialized wet labs, three offered for Transnational Access: 1. Warm Water Species Selection Unit, 2. Marine Bio-Assays Station, 3. Feed Ingredients and Additives Testing Unit. In these three installations, biosensor technology, based on the use of the FishBIT datalogger developed in AQUAEXCEL2020 is also available for individual monitoring of physical activity and respiratory frequency in juveniles and adult seabream and seabass, depending on availability.

Warm Water Species Selection Unit (WWSSU) offers 82 tanks of different volumes (0.5, 1 and 2 m3), all of them equipped with automatic control of feeders and photoperiod, and monitoring of water renewal, temperature and oxygen (environmental parameters). In addition, under caudal disruption and air supply fail, oxygen is injected automatically in main water line or tank. According to IoT approach (Internet of Things), the information of environmental parameters is available at the website, for any user level.

WWSSU allows genetic experiments - crossbreeding, inbreeding, epigenetic crosses - or selection programs for families of, at least, 48 half sibs or 96 full sibs, or more when mass spawning is used. Fish culture is possible from larvae until adults. This installation is complemented with different labs for molecular and quantitative genetics, morphology lab based on image processing for detecting deformities among physical features, and meat and fish quality analysis.

Bioresources available

• Fish: gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili), longfin yellowtail (Seriola rivoliana), golden grey mullet (Chelon auratus), thicklip grey mullet (Chelon labrosus) and meagre (Argyrosomus regius).

• Crustaceans: whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei)

• Molluscs: abalone (Haliotis tuberculata coccinea)

• Echinoderms: Holothuria spp.

• Macroalgae: Ulva spp. and Gracilaria spp.

Support offered

PCTM has a logistic organisation in terms of administration, technicians for automation and fish and molluscs rearing, postdoctoral and senior researchers in Genetics, Nutrition, Pathology, Stress, Fish and Meat quality, and new species. The trials would be developed under a scientific environment of quality and interaction, and participation in workshops or seminars during the visits.

Modality of access

The method used to declare access costs is unit cost. The unit of access is tank/week for the three installations. A typical access for user or user group to stay for 10 days corresponding to 139 units of access for WWSSU, 99 units of access for MBS and 144 units of access for FITU. The unit of access includes in addition to the use of tanks, preparatory training according to species, technique, culture system.

Expected output/deliverables for users: High quality data, interactions with local researchers (harmonization of procedures, standardization of traits), possible collaborative research.