Engineered protein effective against Staphylococcus aureus toxin

A research team led by the University of Illinois has developed a treatment for exposure to enterotoxin B, a noxious substance produced by the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium. The team engineered a protein, which was successfully tested in rabbits, that could one day be used to treat humans exposed to the enterotoxin.

S. aureus enterotoxin B (SEB) is a common cause of food poisoning, but if it is inhaled or produced during an infection it can elicit a systemic – and sometimes fatal – immune response in humans. In purified form, SEB is listed as a potential bioterrorism agent. Other potent S. aureus enterotoxins include the toxic shock syndrome toxin.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Fish Flavored Fish! (I Like It. Really.)

SEATTLE, WA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- May 21, 2007 -- HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries, Inc. (AMEX: HQS), a leader in toxin-free integrated aquaculture and aquatic product processing and the Beijing division of Newly Weds® Foods Inc. announced today that they have signed a Joint-Development Agreement, after having co-developed a process and natural flavoring giving tilapia the taste, texture and aroma of fresh ocean-caught fish.

The product is being produced in block and fillet format, catering to both retail and service industry applications of HQ's branded "TiLoveYa™" tilapia. The new product has successfully met sensory testing with a variety of industry leaders anxious to access a quality-farmed supplement to dwindling ocean-sourced product.

The new product line responds to industry demand for a range of products that better imitate "sea flavor" fish without the drawbacks of ocean-caught product. HQ's "TiLoveYa™" tilapia has the following advantages over ocean-caught fish:

HQ's Pond Raised Solutions

-- Farmed tilapia is 100% sustainable and does not deplete our oceans of
its crucial bio-diversity. If we do not change current consumption practices many are predicting disaster by 2048 (See National Geographic at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/11/061102-seafood-threat.html).
-- Farmed product allows for "just-in-time" delivery to service industry
and retail consumers, unlike limited and often seasonal ocean production from such dwindling species as Pollock.
-- HQ's pond environment controls inflow and outflow of water avoiding the need for any prophylactic use of antibiotics.
-- Natural pond-grown algae provide excellent feed supplements where adequate quantities of dissolved oxygen are present, which eliminates any off-flavor from anaerobic algae cultures.
-- HQ's poly-species approach mimics nature by introducing natural bottom feeder fish and predator fish to maintain the pond eco-system.
-- Tilapia are herbivores and no fishmeal need be added to tilapia feed which could possibly introduce ocean-sourced pollutants such as heavy metals, PCBs or dioxins. Pond stability provides favorable feed conversion rates over cage-raised tilapia.
-- Finally, ponds are located away from mangrove swamp areas to preserve crucial natural habitat, and used pond water provides valuable natural nutrients to neighboring farmers' fields instead of being released into waterways providing downstream concerns to other waterway users.

Wisconsin Outbreak Spreads

The Associated Press reports that fish from Lake Winnebago, in Wisconsin, were testing positive in a virus test for a disease that causes fish to hemorrhage to death, according to state officials Friday.

The DNR held that initial test results in seven sheepshead indicated the fish were infected with viral septicemia. Bob Stark, of Fox River Navigational System Authority, said DNR warned him of the results on Friday. Stark maintains he was informed that the Menasha lock had been blocked to avert the further spread of the virus to Lake Winnebago.

Stark said, "It's a terrible thing that has happened."

Thursday, the state’s Natural Resources Board accepted an emergency ruling intended to prevent the contagion from spreading.

Fish Diseases Impact Profits

A key impediment facing aquaculture is the outbreak of disease, as fish for the harvest are usually cultivated in the stresses imposed by large populations which traditionally result in an elevated risk of bacterial or viral illness, as cited by many studies. In farmed catfish, said to suffer average losses exceeding $100 million annually, this is directly due to infection. One particularly important species in the U.S., the Channel catfish, account for well over 50% of the domestic aquaculture production; nevertheless, they are vulnerable to various damaging bacterial infections, not the least of which is enteric septicemia.

Vietnam's Shrimp Farming: Portents for US Gulf Coast?

Photo coutesy Wikimedia Commons.

According to a story on the UPI wire, dated May 4, 2007, Vietnam – like most of the third world, is now a leading shrimp supplier to the U.S. Most of the harvest is raised in its southern sections. That whole region is quite reliant upon its fishing industries. But it is there, in this particular Southeast Asian country that shrimp farming is performed much like an industry, and as such, also threatens the coastline.

Specifically, Vietnam’s fish farming industry imperils the coral reefs. Districts with highly concentrated shrimp farming operations depend upon hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, fertilizers, and disinfectants to keep shrimp productive. Many of these objectionable byproducts (and the EDCs) are discharged into the ocean, where they destroy both the reefs and the supplies of fish, which serve as a staple to locals.

Shrimp farming is a fickle business. Unseasonable variations in salinity, as well as that of temperatures can effectively kill off a shrimp crop. As shrimp become sick, the illness often spreads swiftly through waters from one pond to the next.
However, successful fish farming creates income wherever in the world it is located, be it in the more rural regions where poverty is high, or along the Gulf Coast of the United States -- so long as the operators apply high-quality sustainable practices that don't devastate the ecology or their own shrimp ponds.

It is my fervent wish to help in the development of healthier and less destructive fish farming practices through the use of affordable and effective technologies.

FDA Clears Fish of Melamine in Washington State

Read the story here, from NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10226419

Whew! I feel better now.

Melamine Found in Fish Feed

Why do some folks want to grow their own fish, while others clamor for organic farm grown fish, and that from domestic sources? I presume the whole “melamine mess” has something to do with it. A brief backgrounder on the stuff wouldn’t hurt, right?

Justus von Liebig, way back in 1834, first synthesized Melamine. Many consider the German chemist as "father of the fertilizer industry." Whatever. (He can go back upon his pedestal after a short time, says I).

After reports emerged linking melamine to pet illness and deaths, a recall of pet food by Menu Foods and additional pet food producers subsequently ensued, followed by a media barrage.

Sorry, but truth be told, the stuff’s also in poultry feed; in hog feed; and has been additionally discovered in some fish feed. Yep, it’s that old white melamine, got us in its spell – a.k.a. Plastic. Didn’t my mom have some of the first Melamine® non-ceramic dinner plates? First time I dropped a plate, it went: "clack." Oh, well.

Web watchdog group Food & Water Watch recently condemned industrial fish operation “Kona Blue,” after it was announced that its fish were supplied with melamine fortified feed and the firm subsequently suspended its sales.

I chronicled the dearth of FDA bottled water inspectors in my book: “The Cancer Link.” Seems that there was all of ONE full time inspector(s) on hand to monitor the whole of the multi-billion dollar American bottled water industry. The denuded budgets of the U.S. federal regulatory agencies are surely doing their part in jeopardizing American fish consumers, especially with rising fish imports.

The Buzz Builds...

With some trepidation, I placed a call to the very busy editor of a fish-farming publication. I needed some advice, but instead ended up leaving just a voicemail.

A couple of days afterwards, said editor unexpectedly called me back, and after some polite banter I told her that this call would probably be an imposition on her important time, so I would be brief. We ended up talking for about an hour, and she thanked me for the diversion. She was wonderfully informative, and we ended up having more than a few laughs.

She happened to mention that on those days when she can no longer stand the intensity, she sometimes finds herself in a casual conversation that somehow comes back around to her job as an editor of a fish-farming magazine. She said: “It seems everybody has been asking me the same question lately: ‘Do you think I might be able to raise my own fish?’” I laughed a little too loud, I guess, and she asked: “Does that sound dumb to you?”

I told her of the story that comprises the very first entry in this blog. (It was the same story, just different people). I said I thought that perhaps we were witness to something that was generating a lot of buzz. We decided that people were suspicious about all the things being put into their food. Together, it seems that organic everything is more and more in demand, as each year goes by. We spoke about the perceived increase in consumer demand for domestic-raised fish. Altogether, a grand discussion with someone who is out there with an ear to the tracks, well ahead of the world as it is currently reported, albeit in the non-industry press. Thank you, Fraun. By the way, there is a great article here: http://www.thefishsite.com/articles/35/shifting-the-seafood-market-to-aquaculture and here: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=us-has-huge-appetite-for&chanId=sa003&modsrc=reuters

Grow Your Own Fish - In a Greenhouse.

Greenhouse Aquaponics: here is easily the most complex aquaculture process. (Photo from eagelspringcom.net) Situated inside a greenhouse, it requires intensive management and machinery: pumps, oxygenators or aerators. Using plants, the need for filtration is greatly reduced or eliminated. While you can grow herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, remember that fish live in the water. Nutrient resources for greenhouse aquaculture need be completely organic. Fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides are a definite no-no.

Grow Your Own Fish - redux!

Recall, if you will what I posted early-on. I said:

There are 4 basic types of aquaculture (simple to complex):
Home Systems
Cage Systems
Flow-Through
Greenhouse Aquaponics

Well, I never blogged about aquaponics...mea culpa! I repent. See the next 2 posts, oh interested readers. New and Improved! (Yech!) Learn how to grow your own fish. Again.

I Visit Kurtz's Fish Hatchery

A mélange of feisty fish - (Kurtz Fish Hatchery)

Aerial View of Kurtz Fish Hatchery

What a visit! KURTZ'S FISH HATCHERY has been in the neighborhood since 1958, and I never stopped by until the other day. They carry fish for stocking. While I was shown around their ponds, I just kept saying: "Wow!" Richard Kurtz just chuckled. He's still as excited about the business that his dad started so long ago as I was, there for the very first time. Must be catching. (Pun intended). Think about it, though - here was almost 100 acres of Bass, Bluegills, Stripers, Catfish, Crayfish, Tadpoles, Koi, and Aquatic Plants - all in 35 ponds, and I was just dumbstruck at the irony of it all.

Up on the adjacent hill I saw the very buildings where "Schooled Fish" and I used to stock our grain bins, and fan systems. I must've seen the place a hundred times, but never noticed it until now. I mean, this is where everybody around these parts goes to stock their lakes, ponds, and their own hatcheries - for going on 50 years now. I guess the whole Zen of the moment was from all that life. I've never felt that sort of vibrant electricity before. I feel like I'm writing another cheesy "advertorial" the likes of which I would be compelled do monthly for the paper, but I really am quite moved.

Closest feeling to this was flying my plane out of the whipcrack world of the Northeast corridor's air traffic controllers, at night, and waking up in the morning to miles and miles of grain fields, blowing to and fro in the wind, to travel in and around the small towns and businesses, visiting all the interesting people, doing our "human thing." Life there seemed less complicated, but always, somewhere in the background, was the subsonic buzz of all that life bursting forth from those fields that stretched out from horizon to horizon.

Then again, maybe it's that cough syrup I took after lunch.

Christine Mitchell

Christine has a heart as big as Texas, with a mind that grabs hold of technology issues like a steel trap onto a groundhog's hind parts. Plays a good guitar, and don't be messing with this girl at Scrabble, if you value your ego. Chris is the culprit who persuaded me to start blogging, so blame her.

A seriously good writer, (she'll deny it, likely as not), her blog posts manage to range as far afield as do her travels, lecturing as she does at college campuses in: Dubai, London, Victoria, Al Ain (UAE), and Pittsburgh, and from topics as varied as her notorious rants on David Hasselhoff, thoughts on Maria Muldaur, Content Management (CMS), Dreamweaver, politics, and poetry to her thoughts on race relations.

Check her out at: http://www.christinemitchell.com/