Live fish transportation

The transportation of live aquatic animals over long distances. It is an essential process for aquaculture, including the production of seedlings, release, and farming. Freshwater fish such as carp and eels have long been transported and traded live from fish farms to consumer areas, but in the 1980s, fresh marine fish and shellfish became especially valued in consumer areas and sold at high prices, so it became common to transport live fish for consumption from farms in the production area to tanks in fish markets in consumer areas. When large quantities of live fish are being transported, they are often transported by ship, when small quantities are required and speed is required, by airplane, and when it is somewhere in between, by freight car or truck. In aquaculture, eggs, larvae, and yearling fish are transported for purposes such as fattening, transplantation, and winter and summer escapes, but when transporting them as seedlings, it is most effective to transport the eggs without water, and this has long been done for cold-water fish such as salmon, trout, and smelt, which require a long time for the eggs to hatch. Fish eggs are sensitive to physical stimuli such as light, heat, and vibration until the body is formed inside the egg after fertilization, and there is a risk of producing deformed fish. However, after the eye-development stage when the eyes can be seen, the eggs become highly resistant to stimuli, so they are transported during this period without being dried. Warm-water fish have a short hatching time, so they are transported in trucks as larvae with oxygen gas blown into the tanks, and if the number of eggs is small, they are sealed in vinyl bags containing oxygen and transported by air. Fish species that are transported as larvae and juveniles include sweetfish, goldfish, carp, and eel, as well as rainbow trout, tilapia, American catfish, red sea bream, and yellowtail (yellowtail). Food fish are transported by truck or ship, and almost all farmed carp and eels, as well as 30% of rainbow trout produced for stream fishing, are transported by truck. In addition to food fish such as yellowtail and red sea bream, farmed marine fish seedlings are also transported by ship, as well as caught marine fish and shellfish. Transporting eggs and larvae for farming can lead to the transmission of fish diseases, so they are disinfected before transport to prevent disease.

[Yoshiaki Deguchi]

"Live Fish Transportation" edited by the Japanese Society of Fisheries Science (1982, Koseisha Kouseikaku)" ▽ "Live Fish Encyclopedia" edited by Akio Homma et al. (1990, Fuji Techno System)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

水産動物を生きたままの状態で遠くへ輸送すること。種苗の生産、放流、蓄養などの増・養殖事業にとって、欠くことのできない過程である。古くから淡水魚のコイやウナギなどは養魚場から消費地まで活魚で輸送して取引されていたが、1980年代には、鮮度のよい海産の魚貝類も消費地においてとくに高く評価され、高価で取引されるので、産地の蓄養施設から消費地の魚市場の水槽まで、食用魚を生きた状態で輸送するのが盛んになった。活魚を多量に運ぶときは船で、少量で迅速性が求められるときは航空機で、その中間のときは貨車またはトラックで輸送されることが多い。増・養殖においては卵、仔稚魚(しちぎょ)、越年魚などが肥育、移殖、避寒、避暑などの目的で輸送されるが、種苗として輸送される場合は卵を水なしの状態で運ぶのがもっとも効果的で、卵の孵化(ふか)に長い時間を必要とする冷水性魚類のサケ・マス類、ワカサギなどで古くから行われてきた。魚卵は、受精後の発生により卵内で体が形成されるまでは、光、熱、振動などの物理的刺激に対して鋭敏で、奇形魚などを生ずるおそれがあるが、目が確認できる発眼期以後は刺激に対して強い耐性をもつようになるので、この時期に乾燥しない状態で輸送する。温水性魚類は孵化時間が短いので仔稚魚の状態でトラックを用い、水槽内に酸素ガスを吹き込みながら輸送し、少量の場合は酸素を封入したビニル袋に密封して航空機で運ぶ。仔稚魚で輸送されている魚種はアユ、キンギョ、コイ、ウナギのほか、ニジマス、ティラピア、アメリカナマズ、マダイ、ブリ（ハマチ）などである。食用魚はトラックや船で運ばれ、養殖されたコイ、ウナギではそのほぼ全量が、ニジマスは渓流釣り用として生産量の30％がトラックで輸送される。海産養殖魚のブリ、マダイは食用魚のほか種苗も、また漁獲された海産の魚貝類も船で運ばれる。養殖用種苗としての卵や仔稚魚の輸送は、魚の病気の伝播(でんぱ)を生ずることもあるので、防疫のため輸送する前に消毒を行う。

［出口吉昭］

『日本水産学会編『活魚輸送』（1982・恒星社厚生閣）』▽『本間昭郎他編『活魚大全』（1990・フジ・テクノシステム）』

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