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N-01-06-002
Cod Aquaculture – Strategies for Improved Hatchery Broodstock Management
Successful global development of the Atlantic salmon aquaculture
industry, coupled with growing market demand for white-fleshed fish at a
time of declining supply from the traditional capture fisheries, has
spurred considerable interest in alternative marine finfish species.
Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, is one such species currently under
investigation in Norway, Scotland, the United States, and Canada.
Newfoundland has an abundance of sheltered inshore areas with potential
sea cage culture sites unsuitable to salmonid aquaculture due to lethal
low winter water temperatures. However, these are believed highly suited
to culture of a hardier species such as Atlantic cod.
An ongoing partnership between three private companies and Memorial
University in recent years has resulted in the establishment and operation
of a pilot scale cod hatchery at the University’s Ocean Science Center.
Supported by major financial support from the Atlantic Canada Opportunity
Agency, other public agencies, and private investment, two sea cage R&D
sites have been established on the province’s south coast and a
commercial-scale hatchery owned by the private industry partners is under
construction at Bay Roberts. The current ACRDP-funded project partners DFO
N&L Region in a joint collaborative initiative with industry and the
University to support commercialization of Atlantic cod aquaculture by
developing improved strategies for hatchery broodstock management. Such
techniques are necessary to optimize the production performance of eggs
and larvae in the hatchery. Furthermore, establishment of a high quality
hatchery broodstock will reduce dependence on annual capture of wild
broodfish and reduce inter-annual variability in broodstock condition. It
also permits manipulation of their reproductive cycle resulting in the
capacity for multiple annual spawnings, increased hatchery juvenile
production, and improved economics. Specifically, the objectives are to a)
determine relationships among broodstock husbandry practices, feeding
schedules, spawning success, and post-spawning mortality, b) conduct
photomanipulation experiments on cod broodstock to determine egg quality
and hatching success of cod larvae resulting from photomanipulated
spawnings, and c) generate a reliable annual supply of cod eggs for
industry use.
Project beginning date: October 29, 2001
Project ending date: March 31, 2005
For more information, contact: DFO project leader: Randy Penney (Penneyra@dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
or Regional ACRDP Coordinator: Cynthia McKenzie (E-mail: MckenzieC@dfo-mpo.gc.ca) |