Monitored fish analyzed for viability

A sample of the first fully pedigreed and monitored rainbow trout are being harvested and processed to assess them for future viability on the commercial market.

The project is a collaboration between Lyndon Fish Hatcheries Inc., of Wilmot, Ont. (south of Kitchener), Cold Water Fisheries of Manitoulin Island, the University of Guelph, the Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association (NOAA), and the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) of Industry Canada.

Records regarding characteristics such as fish size, feed use, and water temperature have been kept in relation to the fish, which were introduced as fingerlings to Cold Water's cage culture site in the Adams Mine near New Liskeard.

Through studies into the genomic makeup, the intended outcome is to develop strains and families of rainbow trout that are better suited for Canadian freshwater aquaculture operations. These include growth rates, resistance to illness, maturity, and many other characteristics.

“The development of broodstock characteristics that maximize our Ontario growing are an essential component in the sustainable growth of the cage culture trout industry in Northern Ontario,” NOAA executive director Karen Tracey said in a news release. “The NOAA represents 230 people working directly and indirectly in the trout farming industry, with a $55-million value.”

Stats show 50 per cent of the fish and seafood consumed globally is now from aquaculture production, demonstrating the tremendous potential for even greater economic activity and job creation right here in Ontario, she added.

Additional data will be collected from the selected fish during processing, and tissue samples will be taken for analysis at the University of Guelph. Replicate research is being conducted at Aqua-Cage Fisheries in Parry Sound, with sample processing at Cole-Munro Foods Groups in St. Thomas.

Clarke Rieck, operations manager at Lyndon, said the process of taking data directly from the processing plant and integrating it into their brood program is a first in the global trout industry.

“We are extremely excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for the Ontario industry as we become equipped to make significant improvements in the growth rates of the fish available to the Ontario market,” he said in the release. “In essence, our brood program will have its foundation based on all the variables that the Ontario industry needs. This is of great importance to us as a company as we are committed to our customers.”