USDA Breeds Sterile Trout and Salmon for Aquaculture

Prologue

Here is another interesting news.  While many Filipino scientists have been finding  ways to propagate fish to increase its supply, the USDA developed ways to protect the environment by preventing reproduction in fish. 

This could very well be adapted in the Philippines particularly for introduced species.  It is indeed difficult to control the escape of introduced species in open waters just like the menace that the janitor fish brought to Laguna Lake.  Lately, the Featherback Knife fish, another aquarium fish, has been part of the regular catch of fish in the Lake. 

Perhaps it is time to seriously look at this new technology.

source: USDA Agricultural Research Service

http://seafood-news.blogspot.com/2010/07/usda-breeds-sterile-trout-and-salmon.html

Fast-growing farm-raised salmon and trout that are sterile can now be produced using a method developed by USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. Blocking reproduction can enhance growth, and is important for fish being reared in situations where reproduction is undesirable.

Bigger fish for consumers and sterile fish for producers and anglers are the goals of ARS scientists who are working with the aquaculture industry on genetic methods to more efficiently produce fish that grow faster on less feed and can't reproduce in the wild.

According to the USDA Agricultural Research Service, scientists have made improvements studies are expanding to include to Atlantic salmon, brook trout and brown trout. Experiments involving these species could determine whether sterile fish offer improved production traits such as growth to market size, stress tolerance, and disease resistance.