Aquaculture America 2024

February 18 - 21, 2024

San Antonio, Texas

ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF CRYOPRESERVATION TOOLS AND PROTOCOLS TO IMPROVE UTAH FISHERIES

Connor Schwepe*

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Aquatic Animal Health and Research Center

1465 W 200 N

Logan, Utah 84321

cschwepe@utah.gov

 



Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) has developed a cryopreservation program for the long-term storage of fish milt. Utilizing a mobile freezing lab, UDWR has successfully cryopreserved Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and Muskellunge Esox masquinongy milt, each achieving post-thaw motility >50%. The goals of the program are to supplement statewide spawning efforts, conserve imperiled populations, and create disease-resistant crosses. Efforts are ongoing to increase fertilization rate of eggs using cryopreserved milt, expand the number of species which can be cryopreserved, and create a milt cryobank. This presentation will discuss the development of cryopreservation technology in Utah and the ongoing work of UDWR to improve and expand the program.