Nr. 2 / 2009

New methods in salmon breeding and egg production will be used in this year’s production of Aqua Gen eggs. The world’s first selective breeding company in aquaculture will use so-called gene markers to choose brood fish having offspring with predictably high resistance to the viral disease IPN. This marks a new era in selective breeding work, and will contribute to increased cost-effectiveness and better animal welfare in the fish farming industry.

Nr. 1 / 2009

Eyed eggs from the Aqua Gen population of Rainbow Trout stripped in 2009 are the first generation with parents selected for increased resistance for IPN. Using selective breeding to reduce the extend of the disease is new within commercial breeding programs.

Nr. 2 / 2008

During the 2007-2008 season Aqua Gen carried out a programme of exhaustive quality controls at the time of delivery of salmon eggs in Norway. This investigation covered the period from egg delivery to 4 weeks after the beginning of feeding. Generally the results showed a low incidence of non-viable eggs and a high survival rate throughout the whole period. Feedback concerning growth rates after the start of feeding has also been very positive.

Nr. 1 / 2008

Different research results imply that breeding for IPN resistance produces an increase in the general resistance to several infectious diseases in addition to IPN. Aqua Gen has recorded these results in a field test where salmon from strongly IPN resistant families had a lower mortality at the outbreak of both gill infection and Pancreas Disease than families with weak IPN resistance.

Nr. 3 / 2007

Any breeding program should focus on maximizing the genetic gain. In our last generation of Atlantic salmon, Aqua Gen has implemented several improvements in the breeding program. These improvements give an annual increase in genetic gain of more than 33%, and will provide the customer with a better genetic material and a more uniform product from year to year.

Nr. 2 / 2007

Our title reflects the fact that the eradication of the IPN-virus from salmon farming is no longer considered to be a viable strategy. This is one of the most hardy of all the viruses, and it has developed cunning strategies to ensure that it will be reproduced in its fish host, and survive in the environment. However, the industry as a whole, and individual fish farmers, can make substantial efforts to reduce its damaging effects.

Nr. 1 / 2007

Aqua Gen is at the forefront of the implementation of new technology that will have a wide range of benefits for its customers. A new, automatic device, for the high quality grading and counting of eyed Salmonid and Trout eggs has been developed in a project partnership that involved Aqua Gen, SINTEF Fishery and Aquaculture (a semi-governmental institution for technology development) and the automation company Maskon. Part-funding for the project came from Innovasjon Norge and “Skattefunn”.

Nr. 1 / 2006

Norwegian aquaculture regulations state that fish breeding shall stress the importance of generating a healthy and robust fish. Reducing loss and mortality is economically important for the fish farmer and is equally important from an animal welfare perspective. The salmon’s story as a domestic animal is short; just a few salmon generations have passed since the progenitors of today’s farmed salmon were collected from the rivers. During this short space of time production intensity in the salmon industry has increased considerably, which demands an increased ability of the salmon to adapt.