Breeding Program Update
Date: 22/12/2009
Brief Description:
January 2010 will see the Wayne O'Connor and the Port Stephens Research Station "turn on the tanks", commencing the production of thirty family lines selected from wildcaught stock.
Description:
The future development of broodstock is currently being progressed by the Department of Investment and Innovation in NSW. January will see the Research Station at Port Stephens doing hatchery runs of wildcaught stock, some contributed by growers (farmers favourites!), from various estuaries along the coast.
The selections for the Breeding Program focus on representing the diversity of NSW estuaries.
The aim is to establish 30 families which will become part of the CRC conditioning project, and part of a greater number of families which will include some selected from current broodstock holdings of fast growth, Qx resistant and winter mortality resistant lines.
Careful consideration has been given to how best to progress the breeding program, and the practice known as ‘single pair matings’ to develop family lines, has been identified as offering greater information regarding family characteristics, and therefore more predictive capacity and more consistent outcomes for the commercial operator. The number of family lines developed will allow for significant culling as performance in various estuaries and conditions is assessed.
While this is a somewhat lengthy process from the commercial operators viewpoint, SOCo is supportive of the strategy and very positive about the longer term outcomes.
<< Click Here To Go Back To News & Events Listing