Developing Successful Breeding Programs for New Zealand Aquaculture: A Perspective on Progress and Future Genomic Opportunities

Abstract

Over the past 40 years New Zealand (NZ) aquaculture has grown into a significant primary industry. Tonnage is small on a global scale, but the industry has built an international reputation for the supply of high quality seafood to many overseas markets. Since the early 1990s the industry has recognized the potential gains from selective breeding and the challenge has been to develop programs that can overcome biological obstacles (such as larval rearing and mortality) and operate cost-effectively on a relatively small scale while still providing significant gains in multiple traits of economic value. This paper provides an overview of the current status, and a perspective on genomic technology implementation, for the family based genetic improvement programs established for the two main species farmed in NZ: Chinook (king) salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and GreenshellTM mussel (Perna canaliculus). These programs have provided significant benefit to the industry in which we are now developing genomic resources based on genotyping-by-sequencing to complement the breeding programs, enable evaluation of the genetic diversity and identify the potential benefits of genomic selection. This represents an opportunity to increase genetic gain and more effectively utilize the potential for within family selection.

Potential of genomic technologies to improve disease resistance in molluscan aquaculture

“…Outbreaks of OsHV in 2010 led to the production of 49 full-sib families in 2013, which descended from survivors to OsHV-1 exposure in the natural environment. These families have formed the basis for the ongoing breeding programme to develop disease resistance in very young spat [22,59]. In this case, breeding from survivors of family-tracked material has been highly effective and will capture both within- and between-family genetic variation in resistance.…”

Optimizing hatchery practices for genetic improvement of marine bivalves

“…2013) and the green‐lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) in New Zealand (Symonds et al . 2019) still rely primarily on natural spat. This process is an inexpensive but unreliable practice, which is vulnerable to habitat disturbances and restricts the development of cultivation technologies such as selective breeding.…”

Unraveling the complex genetic basis of growth in New Zealand silver trevally (Pseudocaranx georgianus)

“…Aquaculture is the fastest growing food-production sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. Currently, the local industry relies almost exclusively on the farming of 3 species: Greenshell mussels ( Perna canaliculus ), Pacific oysters ( Crassostrea gigas ), and only 1 finfish, king/chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ), which is an introduced species ( Camara and Symonds 2014 ; Symonds et al 2019 ). Hence, there is a strong interest in diversifying the range of species available for aquaculture.…”