Photoperiodic manipulation and its use in the all year round production of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar

Abstract

The Atlantic salmon tSalmo safar) has two developmental processes which are clearly seasonal; smoltification is restricted to the spring and maturation to late autumn. In the farming industry the seasonality of juvenile production is primarily responsible for the seasonal production in market-sized fish. Both smoltification and maturation appear to be controlled by mechanisms timed by photoperiod. This thesis investigates the effects of photoperiod on smoltification and maturation. The performance of both out-of-season eggs and particularly smolts are closely examined and the possible application of photoperiod techniques in the industry discussed. Both potential SI and S2 parr were subjected to natural photoperiods or a range of artificial photoperiods under constant and ambient temperature conditions. S I and S2 smolts reared under natural photoperiods were transferred to sea water during April and May. A 2-3 month period of short days followed by a period of long days was observed to advance smoltification; 0+ and 1+ smolts were transferred to sea during December (4 month advance) and October (6 month advance), respectively. A 12 month seasonal photocycle delayed by 3 months delayed smoltification by 2 months. Out-of-season smolts were produced in January, March, April, May, June, July, October, November and December. All groups of out-of-season smolts exhibited the same growth potential as natural smolts. The different transfer date of out-of-season smolts therefore resulted in different harvest periods compared to natural smolts. The age at maturity of out-of-season smolts was positively related to the length of the seawater growing period prior to the completion of maturation. Out-of-season smolts exhibited increased maturation in association with an increased size (compared to natural smolts) for a particular time of year. These large maturing fish were generally harvested as superior salmon prior to flesh deterioration. Mortality during the first month in sea water was significantly higher in a number of out-of-season smolt groups compared to natural smolts. This was considered to be related to site-specfic environmental conditions rather than the smoltification process. Smoltification was also examined under constant photoperiods and a 4 week period of short daylengths. Dissociation and suppression of certain aspects of smoltification were observed. The different aspects of smoltification: the development of bimodality, hypoosmoregulatory ability, decrease in condition and smolt coloration appeared to be controlled by different independent mechanisms. The development of bimodality, hypoosmoregulatory ability and possibly coloration appeared to be controlled by independent endogenous rhythms. The decrease in condition factor, associated with the parr-smolt transformation required a period of short day length greater than 2 months followed by a period of long daylength. Smoltification and maturation were examined in salmon retained in constant 1DOC borehole water. Smolts held in fresh water grew steadily and matured producing eggs and sperm both in- and out-of-season. There was, however, a period of increased mortality after smoltification and egg quality was reduced especially in fish subjected to photoperiod manipulation. The salmon responded to photoperiodic manipulation. Abrupt changes in photoperiod advanced spawning by 12 weeks and a reciprocal seasonal photoperiod (6 month out of phase with a natural photoperiod) advanced spawning by 22 weeks. The maturation process in the Atlantic salmon would appear to be controlled by similar mechanisms to those described for the rainbow trout. Freshwater holding conditions appeared to decrease the age at maturity and reduce egg quality. The progeny of freshwater broodstock (FI generation) successfully completed smoltification and seawater transfer. Photoperiodic manipulation can be used to produce out-of-season smolts and eggs. Through the use of photoperiod, farms could increase and target production. This could remove the seasonality from the production cycle and help stabilise the pricing structure for market salmon.