Improve technology and scale-up production of offspring for European eel aquaculture (ITS-EEL) (39513)

The vision of the consortium is to establish a hatchery production of glass eels for the European eel aquaculture industry. ITS-EEL focuses on improving egg and larval quality through enhanced breeding protocols as well as increasing offspring survival and on-growing by designing and optimising larval culture systems and diets. The goal is to establish protocols for glass eel production and develop a suite of targeted products that, in combination, provide the complete technology required for novel and innovative eel hatcheries. Together, this will generate opportunities for the aquaculture sector to exploit the extensive and profitable markets for eel aquaculture.

Success criteria include: i) high gamete quality and year-round viable offspring production through tailored broodstock feeds and enhanced hormonal treatments; ii) high growth and survival rates during embryonic and larval stages through custom-engineered culture systems and refined water quality management; iii) established ongrowing of leptocephalus larvae through specifically designed feeds for production of glass eels. To meet these success criteria, ITS-EEL uses a research and knowledge-based approach to application and technology development in order to enhance breeding protocols and scale-up production methods for larval culture.

Partners
National Institute of Aquatic Resources, DTU Aqua (coordinator)
Billund Aquaculture, Denmark
STMI Aqua System, Denmark
Danish Aquaculture Association, Denmark
Bioneer, Denmark
SPAROS, Portugal 

Funding
The project is funded by Innovation Fund Denmark and ENV-"Fonden".

Research area: Fish Biology
Research area: Population Genetics