Survey results

The main goal of the AquaTrace project is to assess the genetic impact of aquaculture on wild populations. Among the factors worthy of attention are the selective breeding programs implemented on farmed broodstock. From 33 surveyed programs we depict the breeding strategies, with a hint to the eggs market, on six major European aquaculture species.

The oldest programs are on rainbow trout and salmon (14 and 11 generations, respectively), the carp being a separate case as the species has undergone selective breeding for centuries. In most programs the increase of inbreeding is estimated at each generation (71%) and the number of broodfish involved is above 200 (68%). Artificial fertilisation is systematically implemented on salmon, trout, carp and turbot, while for seabass and seabreamthe technique of mass spawning is preferred. Among the most popular selected traits growth comes first, followed by morphology and disease resistance. The breeding schemes are characterized by a higher proportion of family-based designs on salmonids and turbot. Molecular tools play a key role, as illustrated by the six genomic selection programs running today, the multiplication of marker-assisted selection or the greater use of molecular fingerprinting for pedigree assignment. Alternative genetic improvement technologies (triploidy, tetraploidy, monosex populations, hybrids) are also implemented to increase the production quality and performance.

Spain, Greece and Turkey are the major producers of turbot, seabream and seabass juveniles, respectively. Norway and Turkey, for their part, dominate the salmon and rainbow trout eggs market. These countries are also the major producers (in tons) for the respective species.For a majority of programs the supplied seeds represent less than 30% of the national market, while a dominant position (above 70%) is observed for three programs. Regarding the percentage of selected material in the European seeds market, two broad trendsemerge: on one hand the salmon production is highly penetrated by genetically improved fish (above 87% of the market) and, on the other hand, the other species are characterized by low to medium levels of selection (25 to 48% of the market). Beyond trends these values disguise strong geographical heterogeneity across countries.

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