Production and Evaluation of Transgenic Fish for Aquaculture

Australasian Biotechnology, Volume 8 Number 4, July/August 1998, pp. 222-226 Conference Paper: Production and Evaluation of Transgenic Fish for Aquaculture Robert H. Devlin Code Number:AU98030 Sizes of Files: Text: 24K Graphics: Photograph (jpg) - 37K The production of finfish such as salmon in intensive marine aquaculture requires the input of expensive high-energy feeds to allow maximization of growth rates and thus economic return for the producer. In addition, faced with high initial capital startup costs and a myriad of engineering challenges, biological impacts (e.g. disease) and intensive competition among international producers, salmon farmers now must optimize production efficiency to a high level to survive in the marketplace. Improvements in efficiency are being achieved through a number of strategies, including enhancement of nutrition and husbandry procedures, disease therapeutics, and the application of biotechnologies such as monosex culture, sterilization, vaccine development and disease diagnostics (Donaldson and Devlin 1996). The production of transgenic aquatic organisms also holds great promise for enhancing aquaculture in the future, but many challenges remain, including optimizing phenotypes, potential ecological impacts, public perception, and consumer acceptance. Copyright 1998 Australian Biotechnology Association Ltd