Broodstock Management and Egg and Larval Quality

Book excerpt: At present, the supply of eggs and fry is one of the major constraints on future aquaculture development. For the majority of farmed species, production is totally dependent on harvesting of broodstocks or seed from wild populations At present we know little about the control of reproduction of most farmed finfish nor of the detailed nutrient, metabolic and husbandry requirements of the broodstock or the ways in which they might be managed to optimize seed production and improve the quality of eggs and larvae. Newer technologies such as ploidy and gender manipulation, induced spawning and cryopreservation are coming to the forefront of modern broodstock management and all of these topics are considered, in detail, in this new text. Broodstock Management and Egg and Larval Quality has been written as a standard text for commercial practitioners and students of aquaculture, fish biology and fisheries and provides a comprehensive review of current and future methods of broodstock and hatchery management. The range of marine and freshwater tropical and temperate finfish species considered, together with contributions from many of the world's most eminent fish biologists, provide comprehensive and international coverage of this increasingly important area of aquaculture.