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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Orono, Maine » National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #368715
Research Project: Genetic Improvement Of Marine Fish and Shellfish

Location: National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center

Title: Genetic improvement of North American Atlantic salmon and the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica at the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center

Author
item Peterson, Brian
item Burr, Gary
item Pietrak, Michael
item Proestou, Dina

Submitted to: North American Journal of Aquaculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/24/2020
Publication Date: 1/28/2020
Citation: Peterson, B.C., Burr, G.S., Pietrak, M.R., Proestou, D.A. 2020. Genetic improvement of North American Atlantic salmon and the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica at the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center. North American Journal of Aquaculture. 82:321-330.

Interpretive Summary: U.S. marine aquaculture industries, which consist primarily of molluscan shellfish and Atlantic salmon were valued at $192 million in 2016. Cold water marine aquaculture production has great potential for expansion, and both Atlantic salmon and eastern oysters are widely accepted as seafood by American consumers. Commercial salmon and oyster producers predominantly utilize stocks that are not many generations removed from wild, unselected stocks, so there is a need for continuous support to this industry through breeding programs. The National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center (NCWMAC) is the only long-term program developing genetically improved salmon and tools for the genetic improvement of eastern oysters in support of the U.S. cold water marine aquaculture industry. Objectives of the program are to: 1) expand and optimize approaches for multi-trait selection in Atlantic Salmon and 2) advance genetic improvement technologies for the Eastern Oyster. The aim of this article is to describe the current status of the NWWMAC research programs and summarize recent genetics gains.

Technical Abstract: U.S. marine aquaculture industries, which consist primarily of molluscan shellfish and Atlantic salmon were valued at $192 million in 2016. Cold water marine aquaculture production has great potential for expansion, and both Atlantic salmon and eastern oysters are widely accepted as seafood by American consumers. Commercial salmon and oyster producers predominantly utilize stocks that are not many generations removed from wild, unselected stocks, so there is a need for continuous support to this industry through breeding programs. The National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center (NCWMAC) is the only long-term program developing genetically improved salmon and tools for the genetic improvement of eastern oysters in support of the U.S. cold water marine aquaculture industry. Objectives of the program are to: 1) expand and optimize approaches for multi-trait selection in Atlantic Salmon and 2) advance genetic improvement technologies for the Eastern Oyster. The aim of this article is to describe the current status of the NWWMAC research programs and summarize recent genetics gains.