Seasonal variations in seminal plasma and sperm characteristics of wild-caught and cultivated Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua

The objective was to investigate changes, throughout the spawning season, in body size attributes and quantitative semen characteristics of wild-caught and cultivated Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua L. Sperm velocity increased significantly throughout the spawning season of cod from both origins. Curvilinear velocity (VCL; 30sec post-activation) increased from 78.9±6.5 to 128.2±6.5μm/sec (mean±SEM) between the beginning and end of the spawning season, respectively, for wild-caught cod, whereas for cultivated fish, it increased from 26.6±2.4 to 48.9±3.1μm/sec between January and March. Spermatocrit did not undergo a significant seasonal change in wild-caught cod but did thicken for cultivated cod (24.6±4.2% in January to 40.5±4.4% in April; P