علی نکوئی فرد

In recent years, the country's aquaculture industry has been growing, especially in the ornamental fish sub-sector, with the production of healthy products. It has a special place in creating employment, providing food security and creating vitality, happiness and currency. Like other agricultural sectors, the low level of coordination between different parts of the supply chain is one of the main problems of small businesses in Iran's aquaculture sector. Poor communication and coordination between input suppliers, producers, processing industry, warehousing industry, transportation industry, retail networks, wholesale and consumers has led to a high gap between producer and consumer price of aquaculture products. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the communication of different parts of the production chain, especially the communication between producers and related industries, by using a suitable mechanism. The development and completion of value chains of aquaculture products based on contract aquaculture can solve many of these shortcomings and solve the problems of small businesses in the aquaculture sector. The purpose of this research is to assist applicants in implementing contract aquaculture in the sub-sector of ornamental fish, as well as policy-making and regulation of relations between various government agencies and departments with the private sector to support the correct implementation of this model.

Ornamental fish farming, as one of the main aquaculture sectors, has seen a significant increase in Iran in recent years. Iran has considerable potential for developing the sector, with more than 200 native fish species and diverse aquatic ecosystems. Although the world trade in ornamental fish exceeds 15 billion dollars per year, Iran's share remains limited due to its traditional focus on food-producing fish and imports. Native species such as goldfish, guppies and gourami are ideal for farming because of their adaptability to local conditions and their visual appeal. Not only do these species offer economic benefits, but they also contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development. However, native ornamental fish farming is facing challenges such as lack of technical knowledge, over-exploitation of natural resources and supply chain weaknesses. These problems have put some valuable species at risk. Investments in this sector could offer opportunities such as preservation of genetic resources, local job creation and access to international markets. Iran's rich biodiversity includes more than 43 native ornamental fish species spread over different regions of the country. The most important families are the Cyprinidae, Balitoridae and Cyprinidae. These species are highly valuable because of their aesthetic appeal and their robustness. Advancing scientific research, training of farmers and the creation of sustainable supply chains can strengthen Iran's position on the global ornamental fish market.

Freshwater Crayfish is one of the most valuable and economic fisheries of West Azarbaijan Province, Iran. But unfortunately, with the reduction of reserves since 2014 and the implementation of the fishing ban plan since 2017, the yield from Aras Reservoir Dam is still zero. In this regard, the reproduction and artificial breeding of crayfish with the aim of restoring the reserves and developing native species from the native genetic reserves of the country is important. Therefore, it is essential to know more about the physiology of crayfish, especially the function of the immune system and resistance to stress and disease. Immunity of freshwater crayfish has received much attention due to the urgent need for its conservation. Today, the understanding of the cellular and humoral defense systems of the freshwater crayfish has increased, although the regulatory mechanisms involved in these processes need to be updated.The  present study includes an overview of the immunity of freshwater crayfish, including a classification system of hemocyte subtypes, molecular factors involved in hematopoiesis, and the role of hemocyte subpopulations in cellular responses, including hemocyte infiltration, inflammation, encapsulation, and Extracellular Trap cell death pathway (ETosis), as well as the identity and function of hyaline cells, the production of neoplasia, and the emerging topic of the role of sessile hemocytes in peripheral immunity. Stressful conditions increase maternal care and delay the growth and development of juvenile crayfish. Serotonin, but not dopamine, controls stress response and anxiety-like behavior in the freshwater crayfish. To produce a breed of crayfish with the desired phenotype of disease resistance and fast growth, it is possible to improve the disease resistance traits of the parents through phenotypic selection and crossing to produce stress and disease resistant generation to reduce mortality and increase production as well as increasing the time and distance of transportation.

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is a ciliated parasite of freshwater fish with global distribution, which causes economically important infection in cold-water fish. The aim of this research was to conduct an experimental study on the effects of hydro-alcoholic extracts of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) plants on theronts of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis isolated from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Ingredients of hydro-alcoholic extracts of thyme and lavender were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Hydro-alcoholic extracts of thyme (0.05 mg/µl) and lavender (0.05 mg/µl) were prepared using methanol and Soxhlet apparatus. In this study, concentrations of 40, 20, 10, 5, 2.5, and 1.25 mg/L were prepared from hydro-alcoholic of thyme and lavender with three replicates for each concentration. The duration of fatality of the extracts was evaluated at 23°C for 4 hours. GC-MS analyses elucidated that there were 36 (25.75%thymol) and 23 (17.04% lavender) components of hydro-alcoholic extracts of thyme and lavender, respectively. Fatality effect of hydro-alcoholic extracts of thyme and lavender had significant association with different concentrations. The highest effect of the extracts was at 40 mg/L of hydro-alcoholic extract of thyme (82.77 ± 1.71) and lavender (62.77 ± 1.79). The numbers of theronts were decreased with increasing concentration and exposure time in different concentrations of aqueous alcoholic hydro-alcoholic extracts of T. vulgaris and L. angustifolia. The fatality effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of T. vulgaris was higher than L. angustifolia. This study uncovered that different concentrations of hydro-alcoholic extracts of garden thyme and lavender destroyed I. multifiliis theronts under laboratory conditions.

The type of food and the way of feeding is one of the most important challenges in the culture and reproduction of aquatic species. The marine ornamental fish business generates more than $1.5 billion annually and is still growing. However, only 35 species of fish, a small fraction of the 1,800 species recorded in the trade, are thought to be produced commercially today. A limiting factor in marine ornamental fish production is the need for live food of suitable size as starter food due to the small mouth gap size of many commercial fish species. Therefore, the need for suitable live feed has created a bottleneck in the production of marine ornamental fish species, and it is necessary to enable the expansion of this industry.  In this review, the use of common live foods, including Artemia, rotifers, copepods, and ciliates, and the advantages and disadvantages of each for commercial marine ornamental fish culture are presented. Live foods are often larger than the mouth gap size of marine ornamental fish larvae at the start of exogenous feeding. Advances are reviewed with a focus on new and existing live foods for these valuable species. These advances enable aquaculture to meet the growing demand for marine ornamental fish instead of exploiting wild populations.

The type of food and the way of feeding is one of the most important challenges in the culture and reproduction of aquatic species. The marine ornamental fish business generates more than $1.5 billion annually and is still growing. However, only 35 species of fish, a small fraction of the 1,800 species recorded in the trade, are thought to be produced commercially today. A limiting factor in marine ornamental fish production is the need for live food of suitable size as starter food due to the small mouth gap size of many commercial fish species. Therefore, the need for suitable live feed has created a bottleneck in the production of marine ornamental fish species, and it is necessary to enable the expansion of this industry.  In this review, the use of common live foods, including Artemia, rotifers, copepods, and ciliates, and the advantages and disadvantages of each for commercial marine ornamental fish culture are presented. Live foods are often larger than the mouth gap size of marine ornamental fish larvae at the start of exogenous feeding. Advances are reviewed with a focus on new and existing live foods for these valuable species. These advances enable aquaculture to meet the growing demand for marine ornamental fish instead of exploiting wild populations.

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is one of the economically and nutritionally important famed species of cold-water fish in Iran. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is a parasitic infection; that causes economic losses in aquaculture industry. The present study aimed to investigate the in-vitro effect of Aquastart on I. multifiliis theronts isolated from Rainbow trout. From a rainbow trout fish farm, 20 infected fish (average weight: 20±4 gr and average length: 14±2 cm) with I. multifiliis were trapped. They were exposed to 80 non-infected fingerling fish in three phases. The theronts were isolated from throphonts on the skin and gills of infected fish and counted. The concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg of Aquastart were provided from stock Aquastart (400 mg/kg), and 300 theronts were added. The lethal effect of Aquastart against the examined theronts were determined along with two control groups of Malachite green (0.05 mg/kg), and 50 ml dechlorinate water without Aquastart. The minimum and maximum lethal effects of Aquastart were at 0.67 ± 0.038 (200 mg/L) and 150 ± 1.2 (5 mg/L), respectively. The duration of the lethal effect of Aquastart had a significant association with concentration. From the results of this study, it was concluded that Aquastart had a toxic effect on theronts of I. multifiliis isolated from Rainbow trout and different concentrations of Aquastart at different time durations eliminated them.

In this research, 30 farms from five cities of Markazi province were assessed and biosecurity audited. The forms for examining danger crossings, mechanization equipment used on the farm, and biosecurity audit (standard of the country's veterinary organization) were completed for each farm. The relationship between mechanization and the level of biosecurity was done using correlation analysis and a semi-quantitative model was used to assess the probability of risk. The obtained results showed the maximum probability of risk with a numerical index of 0.40 for the trout farms of Arak and Farahan and the maximum mean probability of risk (± standard error) with 0.205±0.022 in Farahan city and the minimum probability of risk with a numerical index of 0.03 for Arak and Shazand, the mean of risk probability (± standard error) was obtained with 0.15±0.016 in the trout rearing farms in Shazand. The mean probability of risk at the level of all the selected farms of certain studied cities of Markazi province was calculated as 18.009 ± 0.009, which indicated that all the selected farms studied were in the category of medium possible risk (level B). In order to test the relationship between two variables, the probability of risk and the degree of mechanization from Pearson's correlation test were used. No significant correlation was observed between the probability of risk and the degree of mechanization (P = 0.41, n = 30, and r = 34). As a result, from the statistical point of view, it was determined that the variables of risk probability and the degree of mechanization were not related to each other. This component was also similar for production capacity and mechanization level. The obtained results showed that due to the weakness of biosecurity equipment in the mechanization of dual-purposed agricultural farms for fish farming in the Markazi province, the risk in some of these farms has increased to the level of being placed at probability of high risk (level C), which can easily reduce the risk in these farms significantly by taking necessary measures and establishing biosecurity plans.

The aim of the study was to determine the quality of the inlet and outlet water of five selected rainbow trout breeding farms in Mazandaran Province (Haraz, Chalous, Tonekabon, and Sari) based on environmental parameters during four seasons in 2021-2022. Forty samples were collected and measured based on standard methods. According to the results, the range of water temperature (3.0-24.0°C), air temperature (2.0-25.0°C), DO (6.16-12.24 mg/l), BOD5 (0.24-2.76 mg/l), COD (2.40-93.70 mg/l), EC (284-783 µs/cm), turbidity (1.12-220-0 NTU), TSS (2-288 mg/l), pH (7.44-8.62), total phosphorus (0.2-2.12 mg/l), phosphate (0.01-0.206 mg/l), ammonium (0.012-0.538 mg/l), ammonia (0.001-0.018 mg/l), nitrite (0.001-0.426 mg/l), nitrate (0.52-6.10 mg/l), fecal coliform count (6-1000 CFU/100ml) and water quality index (WQIIR) (62.0-91.0) were registered. The water quality of this river was placed in class III (low pollution) based on the average parameters of organic pollution (BOD5 and COD) and human activities were not one of the main factors in the increase of organic matter in the river. The concentration of ammonium and nitrite was within the threshold limit, but the concentration of phosphate in all the inlet and outlet stations and in different seasons was more than the maximum limit of unpolluted rivers. The results showed that the WQIIR was in the range of 62-91. 7.5% of the total data and the mean of this index indicated the relatively good quality of the inlet and outlet water of the rainbow trout breeding farms. The highest quality of water, i.e. very good quality, is recorded in 12.5% of all data, which is observed at the inlet water of rainbow trout breeding farms. The outlet quality index of the farms was lower than its inlet, but it was categorized as good quality. The overall WQIIR (77.4±6.6) in all inlet and outlet stations indicates that the water of this farm is suitable for fish and wildlife and also suitable for rainbow trout breeding.

This research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of the mechanization status on energy efficiency in the dual-purpose farms of rainbow salmon breeding in the central province. This research was conducted by field method and through the analysis of questionnaire data regarding the state of mechanization in the farms of this province. For this purpose, after designing the questionnaires, the input information includes the area of cultivation and equipment such as feeding system, electric pumps, drainage pump, diesel generators and fans. The farms have been selected from 5 cities of Central Province, including 30 production units that have the largest share. Then the outputs, including degree, capacity and mechanization level, as well as production efficiency, production capacity, and energy efficiency were calculated by multi-input-output modeling and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The results showed that the variance of the degree of mechanization in the farms of this province is 0.96. Also, considering the optimal efficiency index level of 1 for farms, it was observed that 40% of farms in this province are in a favorable condition. The results of examining the performance of each unit in terms of energy efficiency index also showed that only 20% of farms in the province have an efficiency index higher than 0.4, and 80% have an energy efficiency of less than 1. The results show that the distribution pattern of mechanization in all farms of the province is not uniform and needs to be improved.

The country's ornamental fish farming industry has been growing progressively and live spawning guppy is one of the top-selling ornamental fish in Iran and the world. Spirulina algae is rich in nutrients such as protein, amino acids, essential fatty acids and natural pigments and has many uses as a supplement for livestock, poultry and aquatic animals, especially ornamental fish. This research was conducted with the aim of comparing the effect of diets spirulina algae-supplemented and concentrate diets without spirulina algae on the reproductive and survival indices of guppy broodstock for 90 days. The rearing environment included glass aquaria under controlled conditions with an exposure time of 12 hours light and 12 hours of dark and a water temperature of 28 ± 1 °C. The four test groups included Treatment 1 (concentrate feed), Treatment 2 (concentrate feed with 5% spirulina algae), Treatment 3 (concentrate feed with 10% spirulina algae) and Treatment 4 (concentrate feed with 15% spirulina algae). Each treatment consisted of three replicates and five female and three male breeding specimens of Big Air Dumbo guppies imported from Thailand were kept in each replicate. The results showed the highest rate of relative fecundity (39.3±1.62) and productive larvae (150.0±2.65) and the lowest survival rate in the diet containing 15% spirulina algae supplement. During the breeding season, a significant difference in the survival rate of fish was observed with different treatments (p<0.05), such that the highest and lowest survival rates in female breeders were 93.33 ± 6.67 and 33.67 ± 6.67, respectively male breeders were observed 33.33 ± 0.0% and 88.88 ± 11.11 in treatments one and four, respectively. As a result, spirulina algae can be used as a suitable supplementary food in an environmentally friendly way in the diet in order to achieve optimal reproduction and survival in guppy ornamental fish.

Today, the multi purpose use of the potential of water resources is considered with the construction of Rainbow trout farms upstream of permanent rivers in order to make optimal use of these resources and increase employment. The direct entry of the effeluent of theses pools into the water of these rivers can affect their water quality. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of rainbow trout farm waste water on benthic macroinvertebrate of Peredanan River(West AzarbaijanProvince) in 2015 using Hilsenhoff biotic index. Sampling was performed seasonally from 6 sites including entrance, exit, and 4 sites with 700 m distance intervals from first farm (700, 1400, 2100 and 2800 m). Some important physicochemical factors such as TDS, pH, DO,EC and water temperature were determined. Four divisions, four orders and 14 families from macroinvertebrates were identified. The results showed that Shironomidae had the highest density. Site 1 indicated very good water quality during the study period, whears site 2 on the exit of farm had the lowest quality than other sites. Hilsenhoff index for the river was 1.99 which indicated that Peredanan river water quality was excellent. This showed there are no organic pollutents in the river. The lowest and highest Hilsenhoff was observed in site 4 (1.74) and site 2 (2.44), respectively. On the other hand, this index was lowest in spring (1.79) and highest in autumn (2.15). The apropeiate rate of the index on the farest site (1400 m from exit) may be due to higher self filteration capacity which resulted in waste water dilution and decrease in any unwanted effects.

In this study, the effect of Nauplius Artemia (Nauplii Guard) and adult Artemia (Artemia Guard) in the preservative based on hydro alcoholic extract of Melissa Officinalis and Allium sativum, in order to introduce new Artemia products as aquatic food with domestic production capacity for use in ornamental fish breeding centers. Its effect on the rates of reproductive mortality, reproduction and survival rate of Poecilia reticulata were studied and evaluated. The obtained farm results show decreases the mean (±SE) significantly difference of mortality (percentage) of guppy breeding fish in feeding treatment with nauplii guard in female breeders compared to other experimental groups (p <0.05) and also increased the mean (±SE) survival rate of larvae in different treatments with significantly differences in the nutritional experimental group with live Artemia (p <0.05). Based on the results of this study, it can be suggested to use Artemia Guard and Nauplii Guard technology by replacing feeding with live and frozen Artemia in ornamental fish breeding centers. Firstly, biosafety in these centers is observed by preventing the entry of dangerous pathogens and these products are environmentally friendly. Secondly, the need to hatchery system for Artemia eliminated and thirdly, it is easy to access and easy to use.

Despite the important role of fish consumption in providing the needed protein by the body and health of people and the existence of many benefits in their production, the consumption of seafood in the country is low. So, this study was conducted to investigate the rate and factors affecting the per capita consumption of fish in West Azerbaijan province (urban and rural areas). The present applied study is non-experimental in terms of controlling variables and in terms of data collection method was a survey. The statistical population of this study included all urban and rural households in West Azarbaijan province. The sample size was determined based on the Cochrane 2096 formula and with proportional assignment, 1440 people in urban areas and 657 people in rural areas were selected as the sample. The main research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire which its validity was confirmed using a panel of experts. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was also used for the reliability of the measuring instrument, which was at an acceptable level. In the present study, the results were presented in two parts, descriptive and inferential, using SPSS18 software. The results showed that the average per capita fish consumption in urban areas was 7.60 kg per year and in rural areas was 7.48 kg. Regarding the per capita consumption, it shows that the highest amount belongs to Urmia city equal to 8.94 kg per year and the lowest was in Naghadeh city with 6.21 kg per year. The results of the study of factors affecting fish consumption using multiple regressions showed that the variables of price, awareness and fish diversity have the greatest impact on consumption in West Azerbaijan province and according to the R2; these variables totally explained 37% of the dependent variable.

Factors such as increased global consumption of fish reduced marine fish harvesting, profitability and economics have increased the interest in fish culture in the cage. Fish culture needs a desirable water quality which is the best way to achieve optimum survival and growth. The purpose of this research is to investigate the water quality in terms of being suitable for fish cage culture in the Aras Dam Reservoir in West Azarbaijan. Sampling was carried out from 3 sites each with seasonal period from summer 2017 to spring 2018. Sampling was performed on the entrance, middle of the Lake and the crown of the dam from the water surface. Water temperature (º C), E.C. (µs/cm), T.D.S.(mg/L), was measured with WTW E.C.meter, pH with WTW pH meter, DO (mg/L) using oximeter WTW model 320. The TSI trophy index was calculated based on the parameters of total phosphorus and secshi-disc depth.  The transparency of water varied from 0.5 to 1.3 m between sampling sites. Generally, the TP at each sampling site was higher in summer than the other seasons. The trophic condition of the Aras dam is the hypertrophy which indicates the high phosphorus load and contamination from the agricultural runoff in the lake. The concept of carrying capacity, shortage of fresh water sources and the presence of hypertrophic conditions in all sites and seasons indicate that the ecological conditions of the Aras dam are not suitable for fish cage culture, and therefore is not recommended.

Microbial contaminants entering the aquatic environments can endanger the health of swimmers, sailors, tourists, fishermen, fish cage culture personnel, as well as the production and quality of aquatic food. In the present study, some bacterial contamination characteristics of Hassanlu Reservoir Lake were investigated for fish cage culture monthly at different sites (stations 1, 2 and 3: the south shore of the lake / the villages adjacent to Hasanlu; station 4: the dam’s exit; stations 5, 6 and 7: the north shore of the lake / the Mahabad-Urmia road; station 8: the middle of the lake where cage culture of rainbow trout were installed; and station 9: the mouth of the Godar River) during April 2017 to March 2018. The results showed an increase in total and fecal coliforms as well as E. coli contamination in seasons with higher temperature. The amount of microbial load in the upstream station – station 9- (river inlets) and also the station 1 (rural area) were greater than the middle and crown stations of the Hasanlu reservoir lake. The microbial indices of Hassanlou lake indicated that if other biological and non-biological factors are in the range of bio-economic life of cultured fish, it would be suitable for fisheries exploitation such as catching and culturing of narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus), however, caution should be exercised about culturing of edible oysters and aquatic life and cage culture. Therefore, it is suggested that management and monitoring programs be adopted with the cooperation of all relevant agencies to prevent or reduce the entry of various pollutants into these water bodies so that in the future the potential of Hasanlu Lake to develop other aquaculture production, and to reduce fishing pressure in water bodies as well as to help sustainable production and job creation in the region.

In the nature, ornamental fish have a variety of beautiful colors that becomes pale or dull colored in conditions of intensive culture in breeding halls. Feeding these fish with algae can improve their color. For this purpose, rainbow trout larval stage feed was used as the base feed. The treated foods obtained from the powdering of the basic food were impregnated with different percentages of algae, which because of the high fat content of the food, this impregnation was done efficiently. They were then boiled in semi-cooled boiling water and passed through the pelletizer and crushed with cramplers to reach the ornamental fish's mouth .In this study, feeding on carotenoid-rich microalgae Spirulina platensis and 1% of Hematococcus pluvialis significantly improved body color of swordfish, ornamental trout and Cichlid in 1.5 to 2% for 3 weeks.

This research investigates the effect of Artemia urmiana replacement in Salmo trutta caspius larvae feeding on its survival index. The present study was carried out in a complete randomized design with four dietary groups including: treatment1 (control diet with commercial formulation), treatment 2 (diet with 25% decapsulated Artemia cyst and 75% concentrate), treatment 3 (diet with 50% decapsulated Artemia cyst and 50% concentrate), treatment 4 (75% decapsulated Artemia cyst and 25% concentrate) to final weight of1 gram. This experiment was performed in 4 sectioned trays, each divided into three equal parts with a fine metal mesh net and 300 larvae per part with 2 replicates and a total of 900 larvae. The larvae were prepared from the propagation center of Kelardasht .They were firstly weighed accurately and their average weight and biomass in each treatment was determined. The mean initial weight of larvae was 25 ± 120 mg, respectively. During the experiment, the survival rate (SR) was calculated. Comparison of mean (± SD) of survival percentage of the experimental groups showed that treatment 2 with 98.71 ± 19.19% and treatment 1 with 86.83 ± 1.21% had the highest and lowest survival rates, respectively. Comparison of this index in treatments 2 to 4 showed no significant difference (p> 0.05), but there was a significant difference compared to treatment 1 (p <0.05). According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that feeding with decapsulated A.urmiana cyst significantly reduces the mortality rate of S.trutta caspius larvae.