Australasian Biotechnology,
Volume 8 Number 4, July/August 1998, pp. 222-226
Conference Paper: Production and Evaluation of Transgenic Fish for
Aquaculture
Robert H. Devlin
Code Number:AU98030
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The production of finfish such as salmon in intensive
marine aquaculture requires the input of expensive high-energy
feeds to allow maximization of growth rates and thus economic
return for the producer. In addition, faced with high initial
capital startup costs and a myriad of engineering challenges,
biological impacts (e.g. disease) and intensive competition
among international producers, salmon farmers now must
optimize production efficiency to a high level to survive in
the marketplace. Improvements in efficiency are being achieved
through a number of strategies, including enhancement of
nutrition and husbandry procedures, disease therapeutics, and
the application of biotechnologies such as monosex culture,
sterilization, vaccine development and disease diagnostics
(Donaldson and Devlin 1996). The production of transgenic
aquatic organisms also holds great promise for enhancing
aquaculture in the future, but many challenges remain,
including optimizing phenotypes, potential ecological impacts,
public perception, and consumer acceptance.
Copyright 1998 Australian Biotechnology Association Ltd.
