Michael Tlusty

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor at University of Massachusetts Boston

The human population is growing and, globally, we must meet the challenge of increased protein needs required to feed this population. Single cell proteins (SCP), when coupled to aquaculture production, offer a means to ensure future protein needs can be met without direct competition with food for people. To demonstrate a given type of SCP has pot...

North American dining customers like to have a singular large piece of protein in the center of the plate. When fish is the protein of choice, the portion size from many species is limited by the overall size of the fish. Therefore, for these species, the means to achieve a singular larger portion of “center of the plate” protein is to grow a large...

The collection of marine taxa for the aquarium trade continues to demand live animals be extracted from reefs, but in doing so, offers economic benefits for local communities. To improve our understanding of the status of marine aquariumtrade in India, information on harvested species and their volume was gathered at the major collection hubs (Tuti...

The American lobster Homarus americanus supports a valuable commercial fishery in the Northeastern USA and Maritime Canada; however, stocks in the southern portion of the lobster's range have shown declines, in part due to the emergence of shell disease. Epizootic shell disease is a bacterially induced cuticular erosion that renders even mildly aff...

The trade of live marine animals for home and public aquaria has grown into a major global industry. Millions of marine fishes and invertebrates are removed from coral reefs and associated habitats each year. The majority are imported into the United States, with the remainder sent to Europe, Japan, and a handful of other countries. Despite the rec...

Ornamental aquaculture and fishkeeping are very popular with millions of enthusiasts worldwide. The number of newly imported fish species for ornamental purposes grew slowly from World War I until the 1980s. It then exponentially increased until now with more than 7900 species and a large number of scientifically undescribed morphotypes. Here we pr...

The unsustainable use of wildlife is a primary driver of global biodiversity loss. No comprehensive global dataset exists on what species are in trade, their geographic origins, and trade’s ultimate impacts, which limits our ability to sustainably manage trade. The United States is one of the world’s largest importers of wildlife, with trade data c...

Threats to ocean health are not distributed equally among nations: low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) are disproportionately impacted by conservation threats, which are frequently driven by high-income countries (HICs). These inequities and resultant challenges have been driven by a long history of colonialism and resource exploitation by HICs...

Notably, 56 worldwide experts gathered for the Antimicrobial Assessment on Global Aquaculture Production (AGAP) series of workshops to (1) evaluate the current state of knowledge on antimicrobial use and identify existing gaps; (2) formulate strategies to identify ecologically relevant impact indicators and establish thresholds for assessment; (3)...

International and transnational cooperation is needed to strengthen environmental governance initiatives with advanced technologies. In January 2023, Ontario Tech University hosted a symposium entitled Tech With a Green Governance Conscience: Exploring the Technology–Environmental Policy Nexus. Attendees spanned diverse disciplines, sectors, and co...

The aim of the Species Knowledge Index (SKI) is to map gaps, challenges, and opportunities for research to support evidence-based decision-making by policymakers, management authorities, the zoo and aquarium community, and conservation practitioners. The methodology for the SKI was first developed by Conde et al., (2019) to map demographic knowled...

The marine aquarium trade is a significant global industry harvesting millions of live coral reef fishes annually. Wild-caught fish dominate public and private aquaria markets in the USA and Europe, supporting fisher livelihoods in the Indo-Pacific. This diverse and species-rich trade is considered data-limited, creating barriers to quantify the su...

The American lobster, Homarus americanus, H. Milne Edwards, 1837 is an ecologically, economically, and culturally valuable marine resource for the coastal communities in the Gulf of Maine. Lobsters in the Gulf of Maine are experiencing the effects of rapid warming and acidification due to climate change. Lobster shells are comprised of chitin with...

The unsustainable use of wildlife is a primary driver of global biodiversity loss. No comprehensive global dataset exists on what species are in trade, their geographic origins, and trade's ultimate impacts, which limits our ability to sustainably manage trade. The United States (US) is one of the world's largest importers of wildlife, trade data b...

The influence of feeding Atlantic salmon for 90 days on diets that excluded fishmeal (FM) and fish oil (FO) was examined for influence on various quality traits. In addition, the effect of adding krill meal (KM; 0%, 2.5%, and 5%), as a putative feed palatant was also examined. Total replacement of FM/FO had a limited effect on production characteri...

The emerging seaweed aquaculture industry in the United States is facing unique legal challenges, particularly in the regulation of whole seaweed as a food product to address potential food safety risks. Currently, there is a lack of federal guidance on the food safety risks associated with whole seaweed, which has led to uncertainty among states i...

Seafood contamination with Vibrio bacteria is a problem for aquaculture, especially with oysters, which are often consumed raw. Current methods for diagnosing bacterial pathogens in seafood involve lab-based assays such as polymerase chain reaction or culturing, which are time consuming and must occur in a centralized location. Detection of Vibrio...

The pet trade is known to be one of the most important pathways of aquatic non-native species introduction and Indonesia is a significant trade partner. Popular ornamental South American river stingrays (Potamotrygon spp.) were introduced to Indonesia in the 1980s and the culture was established. Here we present a detailed Indonesian market and aqu...

Temperate oyster and tropical coral reefs are analogous systems that create habitat for economically, ecologically, and culturally important species, and they provide countless ecosystem services to human coastal communities. Globally, reefs are imperiled by multiple anthropogenic stressors, particularly climate impacts. Using aquaculture to suppor...

Efficiency assessments of marine ingredient use in aquaculture are required to fully understand their con- tribution to global seafood supply and their impacts on all UN Sustainable Development Goals. Fish In: Fish Out (FIFO) ratios have become the principal metric used to ensure aquaculture does not negatively impact wild fish stocks. However, sev...

The contribution of seafood to global food security is being increasingly highlighted in policy. However, the extent to which such claims are supported in the current food security literature is unclear. This review assesses the extent to which seafood is represented in the recent food security literature, both individually and from a food systems...

The illegal practice of cyanide fishing continues throughout the Indo-Pacific. To combat this destructive fishing method, a reliable test to detect whether a fish has been captured using cyanide (CN) is needed. We report on the toxicokinetics of acute, pulsed CN exposure and chronic thiocyanate (SCN) exposure, the major metabolite of CN, in the clo...

Seafood supply chains are complex, not least in the diverse origins of capture fisheries and through aquaculture production being increasingly shared across nations. The business-to-business (B2B) seafood trade is supported by seafood shows that facilitate networking and act as fora for signaling of perceptions and values. In the Global North, sust...

Seafood supply chains are complex, not least in the diverse origins of capture fisheries and through aquaculture production being increasingly shared across nations. The business-to-business (B2B) seafood trade is supported by seafood shows that facilitate networking and act as fora for signaling of perceptions and values. In the Global North, sust...

Humans under-consume fish, especially species high in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Food-based dietary guidelines are one means for nations to encourage the consumption of healthy, nutritious food. Here, associations between dietary omega-3 consumption and food-based dietary guidelines, gross domestic product, the ranked price of fish, and the pr...

Background Seafood has a nutritional profile that can be beneficial to human health, which gives it a role to play in healthy diets. In addition, because its production and harvesting can have fewer environmental impacts than some forms of animal protein, it can contribute to sustainable diets. However, the positive health and environmental outcome...

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns are creating health and economic crises that threaten food and nutrition security. The seafood sector provides important sources of nutrition and employment, especially in low-income countries, and is highly globalized, allowing shocks to propagate. We studied COVID-19-related disruptions, impacts, and...

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns are creating health and economic crises that threaten food and nutrition security. The seafood sector provides important sources of employment and nutrition, especially in low-income countries, and is highly globalized, allowing shocks to propagate internationally. We use a resilience ‘action cycle’ fr...

Each year, millions of marine aquarium fish and invertebrates are harvested from coral reefs and enter the complex and largely unregulated marine aquarium trade (MAT). It is challenging to identify species at risk of overexploitation in this trade due to its data-limited and poorly monitored nature. We developed a new analytical approach based on a...

The detection of foodborne pathogens is critical for disease control and infection prevention, especially in seafood consumed raw or undercooked. Paper-based diagnostic tools are promising for rapid fieldable detection and provide a readout by eye due to their use of gold nanoparticle immunoprobes. Here we study different strategies to overcome the...

The illegal practice of cyanide fishing continues to damage coral reef ecosystems throughout the Indo-Pacific. To combat this destructive fishing method, a simple, reliable test to detect whether or not a fish has been captured using cyanide (CN) is needed. This study analyzed the toxicokinetics of acute, pulsed CN exposure as well as chronic expos...

The marine ornamental fish trade is expanding and still largely relies on wild fish from tropical coral reef ecosystems. There are unknowns in the wild harvest so that the sustainability of marine ornamental fish trade can therefore be questioned with aquaculture being perceived as a responsible alternative for the procurement of these ornamental m...

Efficiency assessments of marine ingredient use in aquaculture are required to fully understand their contribution to global seafood supply and their impacts on all UN Sustainable Development Goals. Fish In: Fish Out (FIFO) ratios have become the principal metric used to ensure aquaculture does not negatively impact wild fish stocks. However, sever...

Maintaining animal health is the central tenet to all captive animal production including aquaculture. Farmers must provide for their captive charges; as the moment practices providing for adequate health are sacrificed, the animals will underperform and mortality may ensue. Animal health is the most important factor for the farmer to address given...

The dominant sustainable seafood narrative is one where developed world markets catalyze practice improvements by fisheries and aquaculture producers that enhance ocean health. The narrow framing of seafood sustainability in terms of aquaculture or fisheries management and ocean health has contributed to the omission of these important food product...

The relationship between seafood eaten during pregnancy and neurocognition in offspring has been the subject of considerable scientific study for over 25 years. Evaluation of this question led two scientific advisory committees to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations with the World...

Representations of wildlife in television and films have long been hypothesized to shape human-wildlife interactions. A recent example is Pixar’s film Finding Dory, which featured a blue tang fish (Paracanthurus hepatus) as the main character and was widely reported in the popular press to have increased the number of such fish in the pet trade. We...

The annual trade in exotic vertebrates as pets is a multi‐billion‐dollar global business. Thousands of species, and tens of millions of individual animals, are shipped both internationally and within countries to satisfy this demand. Most research on the exotic pet trade has focused on its contribution to native biodiversity loss and disease spread...

The sustainable seafood movement has gained increased momentum during recent years and while most eco-labelled seafood originates from capture fisheries, the fastest growth of seafood eco-certification can be observed in the aquaculture sector. The extent to which certification have overall positive environmental impacts however remains uncertain....

Ocean acidification, the ongoing decline of surface ocean pH and [CO²3⁻] due to absorption of surplus atmospheric CO2, has far-reaching consequences for marine biota, especially calcifiers. Among these are teleost fishes, which internally calcify otoliths, critical elements of the inner ear and vestibular system. There is evidence in the literature...

Aquaculture is receiving increased attention from a variety of stakeholders. This is largely due to its current role in the global food system of supplying more than half of the seafood consumed, and also because the industry continues to steadily expand (UN Food and Agriculture Organization 2018). A recent article in Environmental Research Letters...

Aquaculture is receiving increased attention from a variety of stakeholders. This is largely due to its current role in the global food system of supplying more than half of the seafood consumed, and also because the industry continues to steadily expand (UN Food and Agriculture Organization 2018). A recent article in Environmental Research Letters...

There has been an increase in the presence of alopecia among gray seals Halichoerus grypus atlantica in Massachusetts, USA. To understand the prevalence and describe the presentation of this condition, data records and photographs of 10070 gray seals from 2004-2013 were reviewed; there were sufficient data to confidently assess the presence or abse...

Ocean acidification, the ongoing decline of surface ocean pH and [CO 3²⁻ ] due to absorption of surplus atmospheric CO 2 , has far-reaching consequences for marine biota, especially calcifiers. Among these are teleost fishes, which internally calcify otoliths, critical elements of the inner ear and vestibular system. There is evidence in the litera...

Ocean acidification, the ongoing decline of surface ocean pH and [CO 3²⁻ ] due to absorption of surplus atmospheric CO 2 , has far-reaching consequences for marine biota, especially calcifiers. Among these are teleost fishes, which internally calcify otoliths, critical elements of the inner ear and vestibular system. There is evidence in the litera...

Since 2000, the use of wild fish inputs in the production of farm raised fish outputs, also known as the Fish In:Fish Out (FI:FO) ratio, has been a primary concern of the sustainability dialogue surrounding aquaculture production. Far less attention has been placed on the sustainability of downstream processing, including how byproducts are managed...

Bacteria in the genus Vibrio can be opportunistic pathogens for organisms in marine and estuarine systems. Consumption of seagrass by the blue crab Callinectes sapidus or macroalgal kelp by the lobster Homarus Americanus reduced epibiotic bacteria in the Vibrio genus. Bacterial Vibrio spp. densities were estimated by colony growth on thiosulfate ci...

Emerging infectious diseases caused by fungal taxa are increasing and are placing a substantial burden on economies and ecosystems worldwide. Of the emerging fungal diseases, chytridomycosis caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (hereafter Bd) is linked to global amphibian declines. Amphibians have innate immunity, as well as addition...

Approaches to counter the overfishing and aquaculture production crisis include those imposed by public governing bodies, as well as those implemented by businesses and non‐governmental organizations (NGOs). In the case of the latter, private actors govern fisheries consumption and production through corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this c...

As the need for aquaculture continues to grow, expansion of marine aquaculture into the coastal ocean and beyond will require an understanding of ocean use and attention to spatial planning with engagement from a variety of industry sectors and stakeholders. The easiest means to site aquaculture will be to demonstrate locations that lack of conflic...

Emerging infectious diseases caused by fungal taxa are increasing and are placing a substantial burden on economies and ecosystems worldwide. Of the emerging fungal diseases, chytridomycosis caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (hereafter Bd) is causing a global amphibian extinction. The host frog does have come internal innate immun...

Emerging infectious diseases caused by fungal taxa are increasing and are placing a substantial burden on economies and ecosystems worldwide. Of the emerging fungal diseases, chytridomycosis caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (hereafter Bd) is causing a global amphibian extinction. The host frog does have come internal innate immun...

Public aquaria offer numerous educational opportunities for visitors while touch-tank exhibits offer guests the ability to directly interact with marine life via physical contact. Despite the popularity of touch-tanks, there is a paucity of research about animal health in these exhibits and, in particular, there is little research on the microbial...

Between 2008 and 2014, mechanical positive pressure ventilation (PPV) was used to manage 48 critically ill, cold-stunned sea turtles during their first week of treatment. Twenty-nine turtles had complete records for analysis and no ventilator complications, including 21 Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), four loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and fou...

KBM raw data

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were assessed in subadult to adult captive lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) (n = 26) at two institutions with different husbandry and management practices. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 OH D) concentrations for gorillas managed predominantly indoors was low (14.2 ± 5.9 ng/ml), despite consuming com...

Ornamental aquarium fishes have been traded globally for centuries. In the last few decades, the trade in marine species has expanded to over 40 countries supplying tropical and temperate marine life for both public and private aquariums. Accurate trade data covering the diversity and magnitude of species are elusive. The poor record keeping by bot...

Public aquaria have an intimate relationship with the commercial trade in ornamental aquatic species. They rely in part on the global aquatic animal trade to acquire their exhibit specimens, both directly sourcing from the trade itself or by collecting animals in the same locales as commercial collectors. Being centers of research, education and co...

Public aquarium exhibits offer numerous educational opportunities for visitors while touch tank exhibits offer guests the ability to directly interact with marine life. However, despite the popularity of these exhibits, the effect of human interactions on the host-associated microbiome or the habitat microbiome remains unclear. Microbial communitie...

Public aquarium exhibits offer numerous educational opportunities for visitors while touch tank exhibits offer guests the ability to directly interact with marine life. However, despite the popularity of these exhibits, the effect of human interactions on the host-associated microbiome or the habitat microbiome remains unclear. Microbial communitie...

Over the past decade, the sustainability of seafood production has improved and is cause for ocean optimism. In an attempt for recognition of ongoing efforts, many producers and food retailers now claim products are ‘sustainable’. What exactly does this mean and could we limit further improvement using this claim? Here, we discuss the sustainable/s...

Nearly two decades ago, significant concern about the environmental impacts of aquaculture production gave rise to environmental certification schemes as a means to ensure production adhered to less impactful environmental standards. Currently, some governments with more robust regulations are also engaging by creating national voluntary sustainabi...

The trade of marine ornamental animals for home and public aquariums has grown into a major global industry. Since the 1990s, the aquarium hobby has shifted focus from fish to miniature reef ecosystems. Millions of marine fish and invertebrates are removed from coral reefs and associated habitats each year, and the majority are imported into the Un...

The trade of marine ornamental animals for home and public aquariums has grown into a major global industry. Since the 1990s, the aquarium hobby has shifted focus from fish to miniature reef ecosystems. Millions of marine fish and invertebrates are removed from coral reefs and associated habitats each year, and the majority are imported into the Un...

The trade of marine ornamental animals for home and public aquariums has grown into a major global industry. Since the 1990s, the aquarium hobby has shifted focus from fish to miniature reef ecosystems. Millions of marine fish and invertebrates are removed from coral reefs and associated habitats each year, and the majority are imported into the Un...

Diseases of lobster shells have a significant impact on fishing industries but the risk of disease transmission between different lobster species has yet to be properly investigated. This study compared bacterial biofilm communities from American (Homarus americanus) and European lobsters (H. gammarus), to assess both healthy cuticle and diseased c...

Data S1. Supporting experimental procedures. Figure S1. Lack of correlation between time since last molt versus the risk of lesion formation following experimental damage to claw or carapace. A, B, C = carapace; D, E, F = claw. Time zero refers to the start of the experiment. Figure S2. Lack of correlation between duration of intermolt period and r...

The emergence of epizootic shell disease in American lobsters (Homarus americanus) has presented many new challenges to understanding the interface between disease and the management of the lobster fishery. While a variety of the potentially causative and correlative factors for shell disease have been explored, a clear etiological agent remains el...

The sustainable seafood movement is over a decade old. It has done much to raise awareness regarding improper production and harvest of seafood and to derive a course to lessen the deleterious environmental impacts of this industry. Certification has been a key tool, yet few programmes have demonstrated comprehensive improvements. Here, the degree...

The integument of arthropods is an important first-line defence against the invasion of parasites and pathogens. Once damaged, this can be subject to colonisation by microbial agents from the surrounding environment, which in crustaceans can lead to a condition termed shell disease syndrome. This condition has been reported in several crustacean sp...

The human population exceeds the earth's capacity for sustenance, and because of this, we need to grow our own food supplies. Seafood has many benefits including being nutritious and more efficient compared to other protein sources. We can catch fish from the wild, but fisheries are at their maximum limits, and cannot increase to meet growing deman...

As the oceans acidify due to increasing atmospheric CO2, there is a growing need to understand the impact of this process on marine organisms. Field observations are difficult because of multiple covarying factors (e.g., temperature, salinity). As such, there is interest in conducting controlled, laboratory experiments to best understand how change...

While the collection of fish for the aquarium pet trade has been flagged as a major threat to wild populations, this link is tenuous for the unregulated wild collection of endemic species because of the lack of quantitative data. In this paper, we examine the extent and magnitude of collection and trade of endemic and threatened freshwater fishes f...

The cuticle morphology of the American lobster Homarus americanus is a highly studied area, however its European counterpart, Homarus gammarus is not so well examined. Recent studies show a difference in diseases found between the species, as well as reports of H. americanus as an invasive species in European waters. This study looked into the diff...

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence, distribution, and progression of radiographic abnormalities in the lungs of cold-stunned Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) and associations between these abnormalities and body weight, carapace length, and hematologic and plasma biochemical variables. Design: Retrospective case series. Animal...

The global aquatic pet trade encompasses a wide diversity of freshwater and marine organisms. While relying on a continual supply of healthy, vibrant aquatic animals, few sustainability initiatives exist within this sector. Public aquariums overlap this industry by acquiring many of the same species through the same sources. End users are also simi...