February 14, 2014
True love makes Pacific salmon healthier
Female salmon that choose their own mates produce healthier babies than those that have their mates selected for them, research finds
Salmon can spot their true love across a crowded stream.
On a commercial salmon farm in Canada, researchers allowed female salmon to follow their heart and mate with the male of their choice rather than selecting their mates for them.
The result? Healthier babies.
Unconventional breeding strategies
Open breeding is just one of many unconventional practices in salmon aquaculture developed by the University of Waterloo, Yellow Island Aquaculture Ltd. and five other Canadian universities.
Brian Dixon, a Waterloo professor in the Department of Biology involved in the research, is investigating the immunology of the fish on a molecular level to understand why these breeding strategies produce a superior salmon. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Fish and Environmental Immunology.
The research team’s work has helped Yellow Island to be become the first commercial salmon farm in Canada to raise certified organic Pacific Chinook salmon.
“Our research has resulted in high-quality salmon for some of the best restaurants in Vancouver,” said Dixon. “The biggest challenge with raising native Pacific Chinook salmon is keeping them healthy. One sick fish can wipe out an entire stock. By creating a more robust stock from the ground up we avoid using antibiotics and vaccines, which are both costly to producers and stressful for the fish.”
To boost resistance, Dixon exposes some salmon to different diseases. Next, the survivors are reintroduced to the main stock and allowed to breed naturally. The new immunity is passed onto the next generation and the overall strength of the stock increases.
“Diseases and parasites that should normally produce up to 80 to 90 per cent mortality, now only cause 20 per cent mortality in the stock,” said Dixon.
Award-winning research
This innovation has earned the company and the researchers a 2013 NSERC Synergy Award which will help the team expand their breeding program. This award recognizes outstanding partnerships between industry and universities.
This project highlights the vital role and benefit of aquaculture research, said Dixon. Wild fisheries peaked 18 years ago but the human population continues to grow.
"If we expect to continue eating fish as a main source of protein, we need to work out ways to make aquaculture environmentally friendly and socially acceptable," said Dixon.
