Development of high performance Chinook salmon stocks for commercial aquaculture: Genetic hybridization to maximize culture efficiency and minimize environmental impact

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Capture fisheries alone are unable to sustain demand for seafood, and aquaculture is a growing source for that demand. Salmon farming is one of Canada's growing industries and is extremely valuable ($1,000 million in 2010; Stats Canada). However, salmon farming must balance production economics with environmental impacts. Farmed Chinook salmon are a valuable niche market with substantial growth potential, coupled with lower perceived environmental concerns (being a native species); however, their performance has not been systematically assessed. We will develop a performance-enhanced hybrid Chinook salmon stock with higher survival and growth and reduced feed costs. The new stock will use less wild-sourced lipid and protein for feed and minimize drug & chemical use for disease control, thereby minimizing the environmental footprint. The project will generate data on Chinook salmon production stocks that will serve to improve salmon farming efficiency which will help make Canada a global leader in Pacific salmon farming. The proposal involves close collaboration among leading researchers at three Universities, commercial salmon farms & related industries, and government and NGO agencies charged with fish management. Performance will be measured in offspring from crosses between inbred farmed and wild stocks: those offspring are expected to exhibit hybrid vigour, analogous to hybrid corn lines. We will rear the offspring in a range of environments (varying density and food type), and compare performance as measured by molecular, physiological, and behavioural aspects of growth, survival and flesh quality. Specifically, we will test for stock, environmental and interactions effects on growth, feeding and competitive ability, disease resistance, immune function, gene expression, and metabolic processes. The optimized commercial hybrid stocks, calibrated for variation in rearing conditions, will be marketed domestically and internationally, supporting the economic and environmental development of Canada's large and growing aquaculture industry. Our research will also address important questions in the conservation of salmonids.