. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Disease can spell disaster (Continued from p. 1) Two years ago a shrimp culture operation in Hon- duras was on the verge of bankruptcy. For six months production had come to a virtual standstill. A persistent problem with fungal disease was rapidly gobbling up profits. After local efforts to pinpoint the source of the dis- ease failed, company officials turned to Sea Grant researcher Chuck Bland of East Carolina University for help. With his guidance they were able to clear up the disease and get productio
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Disease can spell disaster (Continued from p. 1) Two years ago a shrimp culture operation in Hon- duras was on the verge of bankruptcy. For six months production had come to a virtual standstill. A persistent problem with fungal disease was rapidly gobbling up profits. After local efforts to pinpoint the source of the dis- ease failed, company officials turned to Sea Grant researcher Chuck Bland of East Carolina University for help. With his guidance they were able to clear up the disease and get production rolling again. Bland is a mycologist by training. Over the last seven years he has become an authority on the many fungal diseases which affect cultured Crustacea. His work with shrimp, crab and lobster has shed light not only on the biology of these diseases but on possible Bland (left) and graduate researcher Laddie Crisp According to Bland, pathogenic fungi enter culture operations in basically two ways. They are either in- troduced via the water system or carried in by cap- tured wild stock. Once in the system, the fungi mul- tiply and infect the cultured organisms, breaking down their muscle tissue and eventually killing them. Bland believes that filtration and chlorination of the water system are essential steps in reducing the incidence of fungal attack. But, he warns, water treatment alone is no guarantee that the fungus will be controlled. "Some sort of treatment of the organism is necessary," Bland emphasizes. Currently Bland is testing various chemicals to see how well they work as fungicides on cultured Crustacea. To date his most encouraging work has been with a chemical compound known as malachite green. Researchers have known for some time that the chemical is effective in controlling fungal diseases in fish culture. Bland was the first to confirm its effec- tiveness on Crustacea. Although no one is certain how the chemical works, Bland spe
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
