ds
October
see
5 / 2009
d p rofitab
U P D A T E
of
an
E G G
ty
G E N
ili
A Q U A
vitality
Continuing Good Results from Egg Production
The stripping of about 90 million early eggs that are required
for delivery in weeks 44 – 50 is now complete. These eggs
are being incubated at Aqua Gen Hemne and Tingvoll. The
high fertilization percentage which was reported for the first
batches has continued, and has been confirmed by tests carried out at 120 day-degrees post-fertilization. Because of
the large size of the brood fish, egg production per female is
quite satisfactory.
Indications are that, when we sum up all quality-control
measurements after five weeks of stripping, this is an excellent season for both quantity and quality of the eggs that are
being produced.
Great Demand for Gene Marker Selected Salmon Eggs
This season, for the first time, we will deliver eggs which are selected based on the presence
of a gene variation for increased IPN-resistance. The demand for this new and unique product has been great, so we have therefore begun a new round of genetic testing of brood
fish. These are fish which have only recently been transferred to land facilities. They will
produce eggs from December to end of March (normal eggs). So far we have orders for
over 40 million salmon eggs from genetically tested brood fish in this season. This represents at least 10 % of all the salmon eggs which will be delivered to Norwegian fish farms in
2009/2010. The advantage of selection based on the gene marker is that:
-Selection occurs at the individual level. This will produce a more reliable and more homogeneous IPN resistant population in the offspring, when compared with selection at the family level.
- Choice of IPN resistance does not come at the cost of other desirable characteristics which
have been developed over time through traditional selective breeding methods.
These advantages apply specifically to selection by means of the gene marker. Generally
speaking, breeding for IPN resistance is advantageous because the resistance is present
from day one in the fish’s life. This is based on the fact that the IPN infection tests are carried out on start-feeding ready fry. At this stage the specific immune defense is poorly developed and therefore the non-specific immune defence is the one that is functioning. We
find that results from infection tests in fry also correspond to what happens in natural IPN
outbreaks in smolt.
SMS Notification of Egg Deliveries
Information on the status of production of egg orders can now be sent to the recipient via
SMS (short message service). We send out messages such as: notification that the eggs
have been produced, projected date of delivery, and notification when they have been shipped. At the present time only certain individuals at the various customers’ production facilities receive SMS, but it can be advantageous that several people at the plant or firm are
informed. Send names, name of the firm, and telephone numbers to [email protected]
if you wish to receive information via SMS.
TM
Aqua Gen AS • PO Box 1240 • Pirsenteret • N-7462 Trondheim
Phone +47 72 45 05 00 • Fax +47 73 54 62 91 • [email protected] • www.aquagen.no