Production of sterile salmon –
ready for sea
cages?
Arne Storset, Aqua Gen AS
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Why sterile salmon?
• Reduction of early sexual maturation.
• Production of Atlantic salmon in freshwater (“All
female”)
• Protect wild salmon from genetic interactions
with escaped farmed fish.
• “Green licenses”, new regulations as of June 24,
2013
• “Trade-off” effects:
• Growth of filet vs. gonads
androgens.
anabolic effect of
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How to produce sterile fish?
• Hybrides
• Inhibit the hormon function, e.g. the
GnRH-system.
• Primordial germ cell (PGC) ablation.
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PGCs
© Nofima
Primordial Germ Cell (PGC)
In 2012 The Norwegian Research Council allocated 40 million NOKs to the project
"SalmoSterile" under the leadership of IMR and with the participation of NOFIMA,
Universities of Tromsø, Bergen, Utrecht and Freiburg and Aqua Gen, Lerøy Seafood,
Vaxxinova and MSD Health.
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How to produce sterile fish?
• Hybrides
• Inhibit the hormone function, e.g. the
GnRH-system.
• Primordial germ cell (PGC) ablation.
• Triploidisation
• The only commercial available method today.
• «Old» technology – research since the early
1980s.
• Commercial production of triploid rainbow
trout in Europe and Atlantic salmon in
Tasmania.
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Induction of triploidy
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Following proper protocols, triploidisation is practically100% effective.
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Are we tampering with nature?
Spontaneous/natural occurrences
of triploid salmonids.
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• EU-funded research project (2008-2011)
• Work packages:
1. Production of triploid salmon
2. Smoltification
3. Performance under suboptimal environmental
conditions.
4. Large scale production
5. Market perception
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Growth rate
• At least as good as
diploids in fresh water
• Also as good in sea
water until 2-3 kg.
Lower slaughter
weight at 5-6 kg
(approx. – 10%)
© University of Stirling
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Other important factors/traits
Factor/trait
Measures
Higher mortality from fertilisation
to first feeding
• Good gamete quality
• Gentle handling of the eggs
during triploidisation
More skeletal deformities and
ocular cataract.
• Increase P and histidine in the
feed.
• Egg incubation at ≤ 6 °C.
More susceptible to suboptimal
oxygen/temperature
• Good sea sites
• Geography?
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So what?
• Commercial production of triploid salmon is
feasible.
• Triploid salmon is a different «species» – the
production must be learned throughout the value
chain.
• Therefore the project: “Large-scale production of
triploid salmon under commercial conditions”
(2012-2017)
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Six research licences
«Farming of Sterile
Salmon Will Help
Preserve Wild Salmon»
«The Directorate of Fisheries has
issued six research licences for
rearing sterile salmon for commercial
production. The aim is to preserve
wild salmon stocks.»
The research permits are valid for triploid
production only, not for the diploid control
groups.
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Consortium:
• Industry partners:
• Eide Fjordbruk AS
• Midt-Norsk Havbruk
AS
• Mainstream Norway
AS
• Nordlaks AS
• Nova Sea AS
• Aqua Gen AS
• Research partner:
• The Institute for
Marine Research
(IMR)
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Production plan
Egg production
Sea transfer
Harvest
Autumn 2012
S0 2013
S1 2014
6-9/2015
9-12/2015
Autumn 2013
S0 2014
S1 2015
6-9/2016
9-12/2016
Autumn 2014
S0 2015
S1 2016
6-9/2017
9-12/2017
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Prior to fertilization the eggs from each
female fish are divided in two. One-half is
triploidised and the other half is produced as
normal diploids (controls).
280’
Egg production
Dip
220’
Smolt
production
Ongrowth
Dip
200’
Pressure
280’
Trip
220’
Trip
X5
Smolts are to be
transferred to sea
cages three
consecutive years –
both S0 and S1.
200’
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Results from egg delivery till first feeding:
KJ Eide
Triploid
# eggs delivered
Hopen
Diploid
312 150
Triploid
276 850
Hatch window
Mortality, %
Ave. mortality 3N, %
Ave. mortality 2 N, %
Diploid
367 750
2 - 4 dager
Temperature, average, °C
8,26
2,16
Smolten
Triploid
434 425
2 - 4 dager
2,80
7,6
Diploid
563 976
ca. 4 dager
7,71
Sundsfjord Smolt
Triploid
518 364
ca. 4 dager
3,6
740 108
646 193
"fort overstått"
7-8
4,5
Diploid
6,5 (2,4 - 6,5)
3,7
3,2
2,4
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2,6
1,0
Triploidisation will be a bottleneck in egg production in terms of capacity,
and ----
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--- quality. Handling of eggs means physical stress during a
very vulnerable stage.
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New automated egg handling and fertilization equipment at Aqua Gen
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Ploidy test of the new pressure chamber (Flowcytometry of yolk sac fry)
DNA 3N/2N=1,5
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