Controlling preharvest maturity in farmed Arctic char: A review from the Canadian perspective

• Published in: Journal of the World Aquaculture Society Vol. 50; no. 5; pp. 894 - 907
• Main Authors: Yossa, Rodrigue, Bardon‐Albaret, Agnès, Chiasson, Marcia A., Liu, Qi, Duston, Jim, Manning, Tony, Benfey, Tillmann J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2019; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Aquaculture; Arctic char; Breeding; breeding programs; Canada; feed intake; fillets; fish; Fish fillets; Fish hatcheries; flavor; Flavors; Flavour; Freshwater fishes; Growth; hatcheries; Individual rearing; industry; Low temperature; Maturation; Northern European region; Photoperiods; preharvest maturity; salmonids; Salvelinus alpinus; Seafoods; Sexual maturity; stocking rate; temperature; Temperature tolerance; texture; triploidy; United States; Northern European region; Canada; United States
• ISSN: 0893-8849; 1749-7345
• DOI: 10.1111/jwas.12622

Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus L. is a promising candidate for aquaculture expansion in Northern Europe, Canada, and the United States because of its excellent growth at low temperature, tolerance to high rearing density, high fillet yield, and superior flesh texture and flavor. To support this industry, several breeding programs in these regions currently focus on selection for growth and delayed maturation. While the growth potential of existing strains has been improved, preharvest sexual maturation remains a problem in this industry. This article describes current knowledge on the control of preharvest maturation in Arctic char at the hatchery level through the production of single‐sex and triploid populations and during the grow‐out phase through the manipulation of photoperiod and feed intake. Research perspectives on the subject are also suggested in order to complement the efforts of ongoing breeding programs.