Efficacy of iodine for disinfection of Lake Sturgeon eggs from the St. Lawrence River, New York

North American Journal of Aquaculture
By: , and 

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Abstract

Optimal fish husbandry to reduce the risk of disease is particularly important when using wild fish as the source for gametes. The propagation and reestablishment of Lake Sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens in New York waters to become a viable self-sustaining population is considered a high priority by managers. While standard hatchery egg disinfection practices have been used to prevent the transmission of diseases, data on the bacterial loads present on egg surfaces following iodine disinfection is lacking. Our study investigated the bacteria present on the outer surface of Lake Sturgeon eggs and the effectiveness of an iodine disinfection treatment in eliminating bacteria that could pose a threat to egg survival and cause hatchery disease outbreaks. During the springs of 2011–2013, 12 to 41 different species of bacteria were recovered from the outer egg surfaces prior to an iodine treatment; Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Shewanella, and Chryseobacterium were the most common genera identified. Cohort eggs treated using the standard protocol of a single treatment of 50 mg/L iodine for 30 min resulted in an average of 57.8% reduction in bacterial CFU/g. While this is a significant reduction, bacteria were not completely eliminated and hatchery managers should be aware that pathogens could remain on Lake Sturgeon eggs following the standard iodine disinfection treatment.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Efficacy of iodine for disinfection of Lake Sturgeon eggs from the St. Lawrence River, New York
Series title North American Journal of Aquaculture
DOI 10.1080/15222055.2014.963768
Volume 77
Issue 1
Year Published 2014
Language English
Publisher American Fisheries Society
Publisher location Bethesda, MD
Contributing office(s) Great Lakes Science Center
Description 8 p.
First page 82
Last page 89
Country United States
State New York
Other Geospatial St. Lawrence River
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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