Historical aspects, current status and prospects of pejerrey aquaculture in South America

Abstract

The pejerrey Odontesthes bonariensis (Valenciennes, 1835) is an inland water ¢sh from the Pampas region comprising part of Argentina, Uruguay and the South of Brazil. Pejerrey is a very popular ¢sh in this region and has a long history of domestic and international introductions, which attests to the high quality and market value of its £esh, as well as its attractiveness as a game ¢sh. The desirable characteristics of pejerrey also make it a good candidate for aquaculture, and the ¢rst trials on pejerrey cultivation (atheriniculture) were started more than a century ago in Argentina. In spite of the considerable interest in its development, little progress has been made and atheriniculture is still restricted to propagation and stocking for sport ¢shing purposes. In this review, we summarize the history of atheriniculture and the biological, technological, scienti¢c, cultural and infrastructural constraints to pejerrey aquaculture development thus far. We also suggest possible scenarios of pejerrey aquaculture development compatible with the socio^economic conditions of South American countries. Our projections also take into consideration recent scienti¢c ¢ndings on the biology of pejerrey and technological advances in seafood processing, storage and transportation, as well as the latest trends of seafood consumption and international markets. The best production strategy remains to be determined by trial and error but it is likely that, initially, production should focus on a di¡erentiated, high-quality ¢sh for the premium or international markets rather than attempting to compete with the cheap ¢sh from natural sources. An international cooperation project with Japan has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of breeding pejerrey in captivity and mass producing seeds e⁄ciently in Argentina, and has provided the foundation for the development of intensive and extensive farming of this species.

Populations of Odontesthes (Teleostei: Atheriniformes) in the Andean region of Southern South America: body shape and hybrid individuals

“…In consequence, brood stocks were never established in Argentina before 2001, when Somoza et al (2008) implemented spontaneous spawning of O. bonariensis in captivity. Thus, the southernmost hatchery (Piscicultura Río Limay) participating since 1930 in 'pejerrey' stocking programs throughout the Andean Cuyan and Patagonian Provinces (Crichigno et al, 2013) always stocked fish obtained from adults caught in neighboring sites, e.g.…”

“…This ubiquitous species is highly valued as food and as a sport fish. In consequence, it has been introduced in Argentina and Chile and also exported overseas to Japan and Italy (López et al, 1991;Somoza et al, 2008). This species is able to establish populations in environments where mean summer air temperatures are higher than 20ºC (Cussac et al, 2009).…”

“…Odontesthes bonariensis, a commercially important species that has been used extensively in aquaculture since the early 1900s (Somoza et al, 2008), is a dominant species in the limnetic zone of the 'lagunas' (Gómez et al, 2007) of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina and in diverse environments within the Plata-Paraná basin (Fig. 1).…”

Preface: Shallow lakes from the Central Plains of Argentina

“…Colautti et al (2015) highlight the importance of long-term assessments to understand the influence of climatic factors and the need to maintain or restore natural ecological processes as the basis to support dynamic sustainable fisheries in Pampean shallow lakes. Elisio et al (2015) evaluate the influence of the thermal conditions of a shallow lake (as a consequence of the climate variations) on the reproductive phenology of pejerrey (Odontesthes bonariensis) a highly appreciated, native silverside (Somoza et al, 2008). Moreover, the impact of the increment of water salinity on pejerrey fisheries is analyzed by Berasain et al (2015).…”

Utilization of microsatellite markers to form families of "pejerrey" Odontesthes bonariensis in a genetic breeding program

“…In 1925, atherine fish ("pejerrey") incubators were installed in the city of Chascomús, Argentina, furnishing fertilized eggs and larvae for introduction in public and private waters. However, these programs were precarious with little support and were limited to embryo allotment or newly ecloded larvae and without supervision of water courses (Somoza et al, 2008). The Chasqueiro dam, built at the end of the 1970s, has a channel system approximately 50km long and physical infrastructure contributing for regional agricultural production (ALM, 1994).…”