The USDA-ARS National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center (NCWMAC) in Franklin, ME has been supporting the U.S. coldwater marine aquaculture industry for the past sixteen years by developing a genetically improved North American Atlantic salmon. The St. John River (SJR) strain was chosen because of fast growth, certification of North American (NA) origin, and widespread utilization by industry. Objectives of the program are to: 1) develop a selection index for carcass weight, fillet color, fat content, and sea lice resistance, 2) evaluate and validate the usefulness of incorporating genomic information into the salmon breeding program, and 3) evaluate the usefulness of a lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) selective breeding program.
Our selected and unselected (control line) Atlantic salmon are evaluated with the assistance of industry partners in net pens to simulate commercial conditions. We have observed an increase in growth by approximately 15% for each generation while survival has been similar between groups of fish. With the increase in land based aquaculture systems in the U.S., other strains of Atlantic salmon such as the Gaspe strain may also need to evaluated. Efforts are being made to determine whether the SJR strain will grow as well in recirculating aquaculture systems as the Gaspe strain, which has been selected for growth in land based systems. There is no information regarding genotype by environment (G×E) interactions among different genetic lines of Atlantic salmon and this information is important to producers who have interest in identifying genetic lines that are best suited for their production environment and management style.
Efforts have been initiated to generate genomic research resources for the NCWMAC breeding program. We used high coverage whole genome Illumina resequencing for SNP discovery in 80 NA Atlantic salmon individuals from three aquaculture stocks that are propagated by the NCWMAC. Incorporating genomic selection into our population of Atlantic salmon should enhance the efficiency of our selective breeding program.
Lumpfish nutritional requirements and reproduction techniques are currently being assessed. Developing sustainable methods to culture lumpfish will be another important tool to mitigate the effects of sea lice in Atlantic salmon grown in net pens. Research accomplished during the proposed project plan will result in the development of genetically improved Atlantic salmon for release to U.S. producers.