Effects of Stocking Density on Survival and Yield of North American Burbot Reared under Semi-Intensive Conditions

• Published in: Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
• Main Authors: Barron, JM, Jensen, NR, Anders, PJ, Egan, JP, Ireland, SC, Cain, K
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2013
• Subjects: Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences; Fisheries Sciences; Aquaculture; Burbot; Lota lota; lota
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/00028487.2013.788557; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/88783

The effects of six stocking densities on the survival and yield of larval Burbot Lota lota in a semi-intensive culturesetting were investigated over a 3-year period. A stocking initiation trial indicated that a stocking date of at least 45 dafter the first exogenous feeding (DPEF) would yield surviving juveniles after a 108-d semi-intensive culture period.Following this, stocking density was investigated, and larval Burbot were stocked into in-ground outdoor tanks 45DPEF at densities of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 larvae/m2. Tanks were harvested after 65 d, and the trials wererepeated over two consecutive years. At harvest, the mean TL of fish ranged from 41 to 68 mm and the mean weightfrom 0.5 to 2.1 g over both years. Survival ranged from1.0% to 12.7%, with lower stocking densities exhibiting highersurvival. An exponential decaymodel revealed a significant influence of stocking density on survival, with 50 larvae/m2being predicted to provide the highest survival and the maximum yield being predicted to occur at 100/m2. Theseresults indicate that a stocking density of 100 larvae/m2 should not be exceeded under the conditions described inthis study. This experiment demonstrated that semi-intensive culture strategies can be successfully adapted for NorthAmerican Burbot. Relative to other culturemethods, this semi-intensive approachmay represent a less labor-intensiveand less costly method of efficiently producing Burbot for conservation or commercial production programs.