Formation of
domesticated broodstocks as a guarantee of sustainable hatchery reproduction
of sturgeon for sea ranching
I.A. Burtsev, A.I. Nikolaev, S.A. Maltsev,
L.V. Igumnova-2002
Journal of
Applied Ichthyology, 18(4-6): 655-658
Abstract:
Illegal fishing for sturgeons in both
river and sea environments has increased the difficulty for sturgeon
hatcheries to obtain spawners. This has resulted in reduced hatchery output
for stocking in the Caspian and Azov seas. Long-term holding of wild
broodstocks, with repeated spawning in the hatcheries, is one possible
solution to the problem. From 1997 to 2001, 105 female Russian sturgeon (Acipenser
gueldenstaedtii) were spawned at the Volgograd Sturgeon Hatchery using a
surgical technique for egg removal. Seventy-four (71%) females survived
until the spring of 2001. Five females that spawned in 1997 matured again in
2001, with four of them producing eggs of high quality. These results
indicate the potential for a captive bloodstock programme that will assure
continuity of hatchery operation, independent of the availability of
spawners from the wild.
(Russian Federal Research Institute of
Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), 17 V. Krasnoselskaya St, Moscow, 107140,
Russia. E-mail:
maricul@vniro.ru)