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INVESTIGATOR: Johnson, C.; Cain, KE, .

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
EVERGREEN AQUATICS
12619 NE 359TH ST
LA CENTER, WASHINGTON 986293635

DEVELOPING TOOLS AND PROTOCOLS TO ESTABLISH FRESHWATER COD (BURBOT; LOTA LOTA) AS A NEW COMMERCIAL AQUACULTURE SPECIES IN THE US.

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Burbot is a novel candidate for commercial aquaculture production, it grows well in captivity, its fillets,liver, and roe are highly regarded for human consumption, and its basic husbandry requirements areunderstood. New aquaculture species are necessary to promote aquaculture expansion that willcontribute to increased food security and economic growth in the US. The early life stages of this speciesare associated with relatively high mortality, the research proposed here will improve survival andviability of this species through these stages and allow for consistent, reliable production of young fish ina hatchery setting. If this research is a success, hatcheries producing young burbot may have anenhanced ability to supply farms with fish at a stage where survival is generally high, and this interactionmay benefit many aquaculture farmers and the communities they share.Burbot research conducted at the University of Idaho and Evergreen Aquatics will use larval and juvenileburbot to determine if survival and production can be enhanced through modification of egg fertilizationmethods, larval water quality conditions, and novel vaccine development. The information that islearned from this project will be made available to the public, specifically the industrial and scientificcommunities, interested in producing this species. This project is intended to promote the commercialproduction of burbot, to provide farmers and consumers with an additional agricultural species forproduction and human consumption.

OBJECTIVES: This project aims to increase the efficacy of burbot (Lota lota) commercial aquaculture, with theultimate goal of establishing a commercial burbot production hatchery to supply burbot to the USmarket. To increase efficacy of commercial burbot aquaculture, three objectives are proposed:1. Development and evaluation of a vaccine to reduce mortality from bacterial pathogens infingerling and juvenile burbot.2. Investigation of parameters that may cause swim bladder overinflation related mortality inlarval burbot.3. Determination of conditions that result in reliable and consistent tetraploid burbot production.