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Title: Status and prospects for the yellow perch genetic improvement program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Author
item Shepherd, Brian
item Sepulveda Villet, Osvaldo
item GOETZ, FREDERICK - Water Institute
item BINKOWSKI, FRED - Water Institute

Submitted to: World Aquaculture Society Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/29/2012
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In 2004, a broodstock improvement program was initiated with the aim of developing defined geographic strains of yellow perch that have been selected for improved growth. Following a survey of 19 populations ranging from the Mid-West to the Eastern coast of the United States, and subsequent efforts to evaluate suitability for domestication, three geographic strains were selected for further development. These strains originated from the Choptank River (Chesapeake Bay, MD), the Perquimans River (Albemarle Sound, NC) and Lake Winnebago (Fond du Lac, WI). Since initial efforts in 2004, F2 broodstocks have been developed and mature individuals were spawned (within strain pairwise crosses) in early 2011 to produce F3 progeny. Due to poor reproductive performance, and slow growth, the Winnebago strain was discontinued. The Choptank and Perquimans F3 progeny underwent an on-site performance trial in Spring 2012, and select performers were identified, tagged, genotyped and are being cycled to induce spawning in 2013. As a result of two generations of selection, the time needed for each strain to reach market size (mean tank size) has been reduced from 11 months to ~7 months. However, there still exists substantial size and performance variation within each population. Likely sources of this variation are the sexually-dimorphic growth seen in this species, the selection parameters used and lack of a nutritionally-adequate diet for genetically-improved yellow perch. This presentation will address the present status of the F3 yellow perch broodstocks and cover some strategies to reduce size variation, increase genetic gain for growth, and improve overall productivity within these genetically-improved broodstocks.