SPERM QUALITY IN ATLANTIC HALIBUT (HIPPOGLOSSUS HIPPOGLOSSUS L.) THROUGHOUT THE REPRODUCTIVE SEASON

摘要

A decline in wild captures, in parallel with a high market value, has made Atlantic halibut a potential candidate for cold-water marine aquaculture. Todays production suffers from a bottleneck during fry production and there is a demand to improve broodstock management to increase cost efficiency and stable production of high quality fry all year round. Atlantic halibut do not spawn spontaneously in captivity and gametes have to be hand-stripped. An asynchrony in spawning between sexes often resultsin absence of gametes of satisfactory quality and quantity during the reproductive season. Towards the end of the reproductive season Atlantic halibut males often produce very viscous sperm of poor quality (Billard et al, 1993; Vermeirssen et al., 2004).We have quantified sperm quality parameters throughout the season, established a protocol for refrigeration and cryopreservation of halibut sperm, as well as studied seminal plasma proteins and spermatozoa fatty acid composition.