COD HATCHERY PROTOCOLS: PLUSES AND PITFALLS
J.A. Brown, V. Puvanendran
Abstract:
Cod farming is not new to Atlantic Canada as it first
appeared in Newfoundland in the mid 1980’s. However, with the moratorium
imposed on the wild fishery in 1992, the capture of small cod was prohibited
and it was during this time interest in the hatchery production of cod for
grow-out in sea pens first appeared. This interest in the “egg to plate”
approach required that hatchery production protocols be scaled up and
improved. Over the years, our laboratory at the OSC has conducted research
geared towards optimising the hatchery production of cod. We have conducted
research through our involvement with the cod farming industry and have
depended on the industry to identify “bottlenecks” in production which
we could address. Over the years we have conducted research on a number of
factors critical to hatchery production. Most recently we have begun to
examine the performance of different stocks of cod under farming conditions.
In this talk I will review the research and present update protocols for the
hatchery production of Atlantic cod.
(Ocean Sciences Centre, Memorial University of
Newfoundland, St. John’s, Nfld. A1C 5S7, Canada)