PERU fishing with guts to report…
A team of researchers from the University of San Pablo is working on a breeding project or garopa Mero (Epinephelus marginatus) in captivity.
The main goal of scientists is to contribute to the conservation of this fish from aquaculture, offering an alternative that can relieve fishing pressure on wild populations and allow its possible repopulation.
Mero stocks are small at present as a result of overfishing, a situation that has led the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) to classify this resource as endangered.
Researchers belonging to the Laboratory of Metabolism and Reproduction of Aquatic Organisms (Lameroa) Department of Physiology of the Institute of Biosciences (IB) of USP.
Mero meat is tasty and has a wide acceptance among diners restaurants in the region. Furthermore, an advantage of playing Mero in captivity is the possibility of decreasing the physical risks involved catch for fishermen.
At present, this fish is caught by free diving, a risky activity that can result even in death of fishermen.
In addition, it is expected that the development of grouper fish in captivity to obtain a controlled meat from the point of view of health and nutrition, better than fish taken in the natural environment, which are susceptible to parasites and pollutants from water.
In Lameroa, scientists are conducting studies aimed at better understanding the reproductive cycle of Mero. Research spanning the analysis of sex hormones, the study of diet and larval growth, influence the metabolism of fatty acids in developing and adult Groupers feed manufacture, among others.
One of the main obstacles is the difficulty of obtaining vitelogénicas captive females, ie with mature and fertilizable eggs, for proper development of the larvae to the juvenile stage.
In nature, the Meros are females for most of his life, and develop male sexual characteristics in old age and in certain environmental conditions. In captivity, the problem of the lack of males was solved through the use and monitoring of sex hormones.
Other major progress made by the team were the cryopreservation of semen, in vitro fertilization and the study of embryonic stages.
SOURCE: Fis.com
