Genetic improvement of cold‐water fish species

By T. Gjedrem. 2000

511 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Carnivorous fish are two to three times as efficient as pigs and broilers in converting energy and protein to edible food for humans. As the domestication of fish continues, they will become more and more efficient and competitive with these industries. In the future, this will be very important, as more efficient utilization of available food resources is required to supply the growing human population with enough food. Today, about 1% of aquaculture production is based on genetically improved fish and shellfish. For salmonid fishes, we have the necessary knowledge to establish efficient breeding programmes. Large genetic variation has been associated with important economic traits. For growth rate, heritability ranges from 0.2 to 0.3, with a coefficient of variation of 20–30%. This implies that it is possible to obtain large responses from selection for growth rate. In several large-scale experiments and in breeding programmes, 10–15% genetic change has been obtained per generation, which is much higher than that reported for other farm animals. In Norway, extensive breeding experiments with Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout were started in 1971. For the first two generations of selection, the breeding goal was growth rate. Age at sexual maturation (measured as frequency of grilse) was then included. From the fifth generation, disease resistance (measured by challenge test for furunculosis and the virus ISA) and meat quality (measured as fat percentage, fat distribution and flesh colour) were included. Today, Norsk Lakseavl AS (Norwegian Salmon Breeding Company Ltd) or NLA runs the National Breeding Programme and has two breeding stations where 400 full-sib and half-sib families of Atlantic salmon are tested in each of four year classes. For rainbow trout, the number of families totals 120 in each of three year classes. In 1997, the Norwegian production was 310 000 tons of Atlantic salmon and 33 000 tons of rainbow trout. At present, about 65% of the salmon and trout produced in Norway use genetically improved fish from NLA and multipliers. The cost–benefit ratio for the National Breeding Programme in Norway is estimated to be 1:15.

Subfields: Aquatic Science, Genetics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/174d0f689f42e612f507d20611365f3974dcd5d6

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Citations in the corpus

Rapid and non-invasive measurements of fat and pigment concentrations in live and slaughtered Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) (2008, background): “Fillet fat and colour show significant heritability ( Gjedrem,1997, 2000 ) and have been included in salmon breeding programs for decades.”
Development of an Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) genetic improvement program: Genetic parameters of harvest body weight and carcass quality traits estimated with animal models (2005, background): “This approach has been taken in other Atlantic salmon selection programs (Gjedrem, 2000).”
Trade-off between growth rate and aggression in juvenile coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (2003, background): “This fact is clearly evidenced by the large increase in productivity obtained by selecting for rapid growth in species used in aquaculture (Gøen & Bentsen 1997; Gjedrem 2000).”
Investment appraisal of genetic improvement programs in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (2007, background): “There is evidence that genetic improvement programs implemented in aquatic animal species can have the same positive effect they have had in livestock and crops (Gjedrem, 1998, 2000; Hulata, 2001).”
Estimation of additive and dominance genetic variances for body weight at harvest in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (2002, methodology): “Ž. salmonid species as estimated from sire components of variance Gjedrem, 2000 .”
Genetic analysis of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) strains I: Genetic parameters and heterosis for growth traits and survival (2010, background): “In several large-scale experiments and selective breeding programs in other fish species, up to 15% genetic change has been obtained per generation (Gjedrem, 2000).”
The social, economic, and environmental importance of inland fish and fisheries (2016, background): “Genetic diversity within species provides the building blocks for selective breeding and stock improvement, and enables the creation of transgenic fishes, such as genetically modified Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) that grow more quickly and require less food than non-modified fish (Gjedrem 2000).”
The development of large scale aquaculture production: A comparison of the supply chains for chicken and salmon (2016, background): “Eventually, this challenge resulted in the creation of a genetically improved breed of salmon with a growth rate of even up to 77% faster than in the wild (Gjedrem, 2000; Gjerde et al., 1997).”