PERU fishing with guts to report…
A scientist from the University of Sunshine Coast (USC) leads an international team working on the development of new ways to raise giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) in captivity, in order to establish a profitable aquaculture industry and protect vulnerable wild populations Southeast Asia.
The “Queensland pits”Known as giant grouper out of Australia, is one of the largest reef fishes that inhabit the world. This species lives up to 50 years and grow to 3 meters and despite 400 kg. It is the aquatic emblem of Queensland.
While the giant grouper is protected in Australia, is a resource threatened in parts of Asia, where it is prized as a centerpiece of the traditional feasts, which means abundance. In places like Hong Kong can reach a price of up to AUD 180 per kilogram in live fish markets.
The Director of the Centre for Research in Genetics at USC, Abigail Elizur, who is Professor of Aquaculture Biotechnology, leads a group of research scientists from Vietnam, the Philippines and Cairns involved.
“In the wild, giant groupers, both males and females, take many years to reach sexual maturity, so the fishing is unsustainable because they are caught before they have a chance to reproduce”Explains Professor Elizur.
“He also protogynous develop first as females and males-later become, so that all males are older and can be very large and unwieldy.”
“Here at USC we're seeing the different genes associated with this change of sex and the reproductive process. We would like Fishes change from female to male at a younger age, when they are smaller, since it would be much easier to breed in captivity. "
“We are also seeing the management of players. A female can produce hundreds of thousands of eggs, but when developed will all 'sisters' without sufficient genetic diversity, so that genetic management is a very important step when you are configuring Aquaculture operations.”
“In addition, because these fish are so big, we are analyzing a replacement technology to see if we can take germ cells of giant groupers and incorporate them into smaller species of groupers, so players are smaller species but generate Meros giants .”
This collaborative project five years is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and involves scientists from USC, Company FishFin Enterprise Cairns, Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 1 in Vietnam and Development Center Fisheries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines.
Professor Elizur indicates that this project will use techniques developed in genecology Research Center at USC, as the identification of genetic markers as well as slow-release hormone therapies and stem cell transplantation, developed by international partners in the US and Japan, respectively.
Finfish Enterprise provide expertise in the management of breeding giant grouper spawning and larval rearing, while partners of Vietnam and the Philippines will share their extensive knowledge of aquaculture of other species of groupers.
Is awaiting the results of research done to develop a reliable farming industry giant grouper and very lucrative in the three countries as possible and also help alleviate the pressure on existing wild populations.
SOURCE: Fis.com
