Predicting bad eggs: developing a high throughput respirometry system to portend growth, hatching, and survival rates of fish embryos for the aquaculture industry.
PI: Nishad Jayasundara (Marine Sciences, UMaine)
Sector: Aquaculture
Partners: Cooke Aquaculture, Center for Corporate Aquaculture Research
Abstract: Aquaculture is a multibillion-dollar global industry that is valued at ~$130 million dollars in Maine. Atlantic salmon farming is the highest valued (over $50 million) finfish aquaculture in the State. Maine salmon is a major contributor to the national salmon production and has tremendous potential to be a leader in the billion dollar global salmon industry. However, a critical bottleneck in salmon and other finfish aquaculture industry is the unpredictability of embryo survival rates. Additionally, wild Atlantic salmon are reared in hatcheries as part of this Endangered Species’ recovery plan. Early prediction tools to portend egg survival and larval growth rates can dramatically improve early-life resource investment strategies and broodstock selection in culturing of these fish. Here, we propose to utilize a high-throughput respirometry approach utilizing a low-cost instrument we have built to measure embryo metabolic rates as a predictor of embryo survival and rapid-growth. The positive link between embryonic metabolic rate (MR) with embryonic survival and growth is well established in various fish species. In collaboration with industry partners, we aim to measure MR in salmon embryos and link to fitness measures (hatching, survival, and growth rates) in eggs from commercial and conservation hatcheries.