https://theconversation.com/wild-fish-are-a-precious-resource-heres-how-aquaculture-can-bolster-food-security-276701

Feed represents roughly 50% to 70% of global aquaculture operating costs. While operational adjustments (feeding tables, sensor-driven automatic feeders, novel feed ingredients) offer marginal, recurring gains, selective breeding offers permanent, multi-generational efficiency improvements.

A recent scientific review synthesized empirical findings across species (tilapia, Atlantic salmon, shrimp, turbot, abalone). Here are the key technical takeaways:

1. Heritability & Gains: FCR and RFI (Residual Feed Intake) show moderate-to-high heritability (e.g., 0.32 for Nile tilapia FCR). Long-term phenotypic selection achieved a 17%–20% cumulative reduction in rainbow trout FCR over 10 generations, and the GIANT tilapia strain exhibited a 15.7% FCR advantage over standard commercial lines.
2. Polygenic Nature: There is no single "feed efficiency master gene." Efficiency is driven by thousands of small-effect loci, which is why genomic selection (evaluating thousands of SNPs across the entire genome) outperforms single-QTL tracking, boosting prediction accuracy by up to 34% in tilapia.
3. Genotype × Environment Pitfall: The highest-ranking genetic families under one diet (e.g., fishmeal) or culture system (tanks) frequently re-rank when shifted to alternative diets (all-plant/insect meal) or pond conditions. Broodstock must be evaluated in environments matching commercial grow-out.
4. Gene Editing (CRISPR): While knockouts (e.g., myostatin in red sea bream, mc4r in catfish) show early proof-of-concept improvements, widespread adoption remains limited by regulatory fragmentation and consumer acceptance.

Full article and review analysis:https://aquahoy.com/feed-efficiency-selective-breeding-aquaculture/

Curious to hear from breeders or hatchery managers: are low-density SNP panels becoming viable for your operations, or is individual phenotyping still the main bottleneck?

https://www.aims.gov.au/seasim-enabling-coral-restoration-scale

https://sustainability.stanford.edu/news/stanford-scientists-discover-way-to-reverse-coral-bleaching-record-speed/

https://research.rutgers.edu/news/innovation-impact-rutgers-advances-disease-resistant-oysters

https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/news/can-microalgae-replace-fish-fish-feed

https://www.irri.org/news-and-events/news/mechanization-and-digital-tools-support-sustainable-rice-shrimp-farming

A commercial study recently published in Aquaculture (Mortensen et al.) provides direct histological evidence on a long-suspected industry issue: maximizing growth rates in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) significantly increases the prevalence and severity of coronary artery lesions.

Key takeaways from the research:

• Freshwater footprint: Fast-growing smolts in hatcheries exhibited a 67% prevalence of coronary lesions just one month after seawater transfer, compared to only 26% in moderate-growth cohorts.
• Marine convergence: Prior to slaughter, 90%–100% of evaluated salmon displayed coronary damage across all sampled sites.
• The tipping point for operational stress: Between 14% and 28% of salmon exhibited arterial luminal narrowing above 26%. In salmonids, this level of vascular restriction impairs cardiac output during acute metabolic spikes—such as wellboat transport, pumping, and mechanical/thermal delousing.

The authors suggest the underlying mechanism is biomechanical: rapid somatic growth increases hemodynamic strain over the bulbus arteriosus, causing intimal smooth muscle hyperplasia.

When salmon succumb to "unexplained handling stress," the mortality might not originate on that day, but rather from months of cumulative cardiovascular compromise.

Full summary and reference details:https://aquahoy.com/rapid-salmon-growth-heart-arteries/

Do you think breeding programs and feeding strategies will need to adjust targets to prioritize cardiac durability over pure growth speed?

A paper recently covered on AquaHoy (based on research by Kumar, Engle, and Sun in the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society) broke down five years of retail scanner data covering frozen and refrigerated fillets in the U.S. market.

Here are the standout economic takeaways:

1. Own-price elasticity: Salmon is the only species with inelastic demand (−0.76). Trout is hyper-elastic at −5.71%, followed by Catfish (−2.83%) and Pangasius (−2.49%).
2. Cross-price substitution:
   • A 1% increase in Tilapia prices drives a +5.83% surge in Pangasius demand.
   • A 1% increase in Salmon prices triggers a +5.12% increase in Trout purchases.
3. Promotions & discounts: Price promotions were statistically effective at driving volume only for salmon and trout. For catfish, tilapia, and pangasius, in-store discounts did not yield significant gains.
4. Total seafood expenditure expansion: When U.S. consumers spend more on seafood overall, salmon and catfish absorb most of that growth, whereas tilapia barely sees any upside.

Full article and breakdown: https://aquahoy.com/us-fish-prices-salmon-trout-tilapia/

For those involved in aquaculture economics or retail distribution: does this align with what you're seeing in terms of private-label whitefish vs. premium finfish margins?

https://time.com/article/2026/10/09/china-xinjiang-fish-farming/

https://oceana.org/press-releases/new-investigation-exposes-the-human-and-environmental-costs-of-turning-fish-into-feed/

https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/278995/identifier/15651/alert/true

https://www.gu.se/en/news/strong-interest-in-small-scale-landbased-fish-farming

https://www.slu.se/en/news/2026/09/forskare-undersoker-hallbar-fiskodling-i-kraftverksdammar/

https://www.wri.org/research/strengthening-role-blue-foods-national-climate-planning-and-action

https://theconversation.com/how-pond-algae-led-to-a-nobel-prize-and-a-new-way-to-study-the-brain-293579

https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2026/10/aquaculture-employees-enjoy-their-work-but-worry-about-health-and-safety/

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0pf69fb/watch

Ornamental fish culture: A niche-sector pillar for advancing the sustainable development goals

https://enaca.org/?id=1529

https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/scientific-guidelines/design-studies-evaluate-safety-efficacy-fish-vaccines

Hyperpigmentation on the non-eyed (blind) side of turbot has always been a frustrating defect in flatfish farming. Even if fish growth and health are optimal, consumers reject fillets or whole fish that deviate from the normal clean white underside.

A recent breakdown on AquaHoy covers research identifying the candidate genes responsible for this trait. Rather than tweaking lighting, tank color, or feed formulations with inconsistent results, the focus is shifting to genomic selection in broodstock management to breed out the defect systematically.

Full article and study details: https://aquahoy.com/turbot-pigmentation-genomic-selection/

Are any hatcheries here already applying marker-assisted or genomic selection for pigmentation traits, or are most still relying on phenotypic sorting?

Para quienes trabajen en el sector de la economía azul o biotecnología en Latinoamérica:

Hatch Blue y CI Ventures acaban de lanzar la convocatoria para la cohorte 2027 de Women in Ocean Food Innovation Studio, que tendrá su fase presencial en La Paz, México.

Un dato relevante sobre la efectividad del programa: las empresas egresadas de las 3 ediciones anteriores en la región han levantado colectivamente más de USD 11.7M en capital privado y subvenciones (casos como AquaViridi en Brasil o SOS Biotech en el Caribe).

Puntos clave:

• Áreas elegibles: Acuicultura regenerativa/sostenible, biotecnología marina, aquatech, aprovechamiento de descartes/residuos marinos y proyectos de carbono azul.
• Fases: 9 días en La Paz (noviembre/inicio de cohorte) + 12 meses de acompañamiento en estructuración de negocio, levantamiento de capital y red de inversores.
• Fecha límite: 7 de noviembre de 2026.

Detalles de la convocatoria y requisitos:

https://aquahoy.com/women-ocean-food-2027-convocatoria-emprendedoras-acuicultura/

https://www.conservation.org/news/who-profits-from-sustainable-seafood-not-the-fishers-study-finds

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/741965

https://www.chula.ac.th/en/highlight/427670/