Robust Tilapia

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

Developing a strain of more robust tilapia Tilapia is one of the most popular aquaculture species in the world and is farmed in more than 120 countries and territories, and the global tilapia market reached a volume of 6.6 million tons in 2019. The fish is reared in many different conditions, with environments ranging from shallow earthen ponds to industrialized cage farms in lakes. Other factors also vary a lot, e.g., temperature (high, low or fluctuating), feeding rate and quality of feed or water. Also, the ongoing climate change has an impact on the production conditions leading to more varying and unpredictable environments in several important production areas. We know from other livestock and fish species that there can be significant genotype by environment interactions (GxE); animals with genetics that perform well in one environment may not be the best choice in a different location with different conditions. Evidence of GxE have also been seen in Tilapia but have not been thoroughly studied until now. With this background we want to develop a more robust tilapia strain that can perform well over a broad range of environmental conditions. The initial step for developing the robust tilapia will be to test the current product to different climatic conditions and managemental practises to see the performance in different environments. The current commercial fingerlings will be sent to multiple countries in Asia and to Brasil; and will be grown in ponds and cages of farmers. We will collect data for growth and survival, and the extent of GxE for various sites will be estimated. The 3 most important trait/environment combinations based on the estimated GxE effects will be chosen and used in an selection index for selection of the new robust line.Using genomic selection tools the best fish will be selected from our breeding nucleus based on the robust performance index. These fish will be used as parents for the new robust tilapia product line.