Aquaculture America 2024

February 18 - 21, 2024

San Antonio, Texas

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRIPLOIDY INDUCTION METHODS FOR HYBRID STRIPED BASS PRODUCTION IN COMMERCIAL AQUACULTURE

Samuel García- Vázquez*, Sujan Bhattarai, David Straus,  and Dayan A. Perera

Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff AR 71601. garcias5184@uapb.edu

 



 Sunshine bass are a hybrid produced by crossing W hite bass females and Striped bass males. The se  bass  hybrids  are an important food fish in the United States. The average production cycle for this species can range from 10 to 20 months to reach a marketable size of 0.6 – 1.0 kilometers . As with many commercially produced aquaculture species, controlling reproduction can be important to optimize growth and energy allocation efficiency in this production cycle.  Triploidization is an effective method for production of sterile fishes. This project aims to evaluate three triploidy induction methods that have been used successfully with other commercial aquaculture species. Our goal is determining an optimum methodology for triploid production  with special attention being placed on  maximizing embryo survival and obtaining high triploidy induction in sunshine bass. The three methodologies include thermal shock, hydrostatic pressure shock, and electrical shock. In year one of this study h ydrostatic pressure shocks were evaluated for the production of  triploid sunshine bass embryos. Three pressures (6000, 7000, and 8000 PSI) and shock durations of 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 5 minutes were evaluated. All shocks were administered 4 minutes post-fertilization. The produced fry were evaluated for triploidy using a flow cytometer. The initial results yielded very low survival and triploidy percentages. We believe the pressure may have been too intense and the duration too short. We will adjust the pressure shocks by lowering the pressure to 5000 PSI and lengthening the shock duration beyond five minutes. In year two , we will start the evaluation of thermal shocks and electrical shocks.