CCMAR Seminars

16.07.2018 | Anf. B (CP) - Gambelas

Spotted wolfish (Anarhichas minor) broodstock management and reproduction in captivity

José Beirão

(Nord University, Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture)

Abstract

Spotted wolffish (Anarhichas minor) has been considered one of the most promising species for species diversification in cold-water marine aquaculture. Nevertheless, there are some challenges in this potential successful story. Reproduction in captivity is dependent on in vitro fertilization, however, the low sperm volume with low cell concentration, the lack of gametes synchronization (simultaneous availability of mature eggs and sperm) and the long period of eggs incubation, up to 1 000 day-degrees, represent a challenge for the aquaculture industry.

In this talk, I will give an overview of the peculiar reproductive biology of the wolffishes, followed by the last years efforts that we have been conducting at Nord University to solve some of the reproductive bottlenecks faced by the spotted wolffish aquaculture industry. This efforts include the development of tools for gametes quality analysis, development of sperm cryopreservation protocols, development of in vitro fertilization protocols and optimization of the egg incubation and hatching.

Short CV

I was born nearby the romantic city of Lisbon and spent most of my childhood and teen years in the Portuguese coast. I believe this is why I love the sea and its life. This passion led me to the University of Algarve (Portugal) for my Bachelor studies in Marine Biology, and soon I got interested in Aquaculture and Fish Reproductive Biology. During my PhD (2007-2011), in the University of León (Spain), I studied fish sperm quality and cryopreservation in sole (Solea senegalensis) and seabream (Sparus aurata).

In 2012 I decided to cross the Atlantic to do a post-doc at the Memorial University (Canada) working in fish sperm competition between wild and aquaculture escaped Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). After a stay in  Portugal in the Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), since 2015 I have been working at the Nord University (Norway) in marine fish reproduction with a special focus in the spotted wolffish (Anarhichas minor) reproduction in aquaculture.

Poster