A comparison of triploid and diploid Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) performance and welfare under commercial farming conditions in Norway

Avoiding genetic interactions between wild and farmed Atlantic salmon is regarded as one of the major requirements for a sustainable salmon aquaculture industry. For this reason, farming functional sterile triploids has been suggested as a possible solution. However, knowledge about how triploids co...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Applied Aquaculture
Main Authors: Madaro, Angelico, Kjøglum, Sissel, Hansen, Tom Johnny, Fjelldal, Per Gunnar, Stien, Lars Helge
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2982469
https://doi.org/10.1080/10454438.2021.1916671
Description
Summary:Avoiding genetic interactions between wild and farmed Atlantic salmon is regarded as one of the major requirements for a sustainable salmon aquaculture industry. For this reason, farming functional sterile triploids has been suggested as a possible solution. However, knowledge about how triploids cope under commercial conditions is lacking. In the present study, we compared the performance of diploid and triploid Atlantic salmon among four Norwegian aquaculture companies. Diploid and triploid groups of the same genetic line were farmed in western, mid, and northern Norway under commercial conditions from seawater transfer until slaughter.Overall, triploid salmon exhibited reduced survival, higher incidence of emaciated fish, and scored, on average, a lower quality rating during primary processing. The results highlight the need for further research on how to improve the welfare and performance of triploid salmon in commercial aquaculture operations. publishedVersion