AquaTrace
The development of tools for tracing and evaluating the genetic impact of fish from aquaculture
Escapes or releases of domesticated aquaculture fish pose a potential risk of adverse
effects on native fish gene pools. In order to assure a prosperous and sustainable future
for European aquaculture, the development of tools for identifying wild and farmed fish,
interbreeding between them and effects on key fitness traits (survival and reproduction)
is essential. AquaTrace will develop innovative molecular genetic tools, which will vastly
improve the ability for tracing farmed fish in the wild and for documentation of their
potential effects on wild conspecifics. The project will also contribute to environmental
protection under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) with focus on biological
diversity and non-indigenous species. |
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The rationale behind AquaTrace is to develop
reliable and cost-effective molecular tools
for the identification of the genetic origin of
both wild and farmed fish (genetic traceability),
as well as for the detection of interbreeding
between farmed and wild stocks. This work
will be carried out on three marine fishes of
economic significance and with growing aquaculture
activities, the European sea bass, gilthead
sea bream and turbot. Until now, samples
of fish have been collected across their | native distribution areas and from the majority
of the main farms across Europe. Controlled
experiments are ongoing with farmed and wild
Atlantic salmon and brown trout in order to
address the expected magnitude of effects of
interbreeding of farmed fish on wild conspecifics.
Such experiments serve to examine links
between key fitness and life-history differences
and specific functional genetic differences at
the DNA level. AquaTrace scientific objective is
to address and assess the genetic impact of |
aquaculture escapees. Such non-indigenous
fish can potentially introduce genes to wild
populations that have been undergoing adaptation
to farmed conditions through breeding
and domestication selection. The methods and
aims developed in the project also contribute
to general knowledge on adaptation to local
environmental conditions in wild populations,
and thus also apply in a restocking context.
It is further essential that the tools under development
are validated to internationally recognized
forensic standards to allow uptake by
end-users. The application of tools for monitoring
and mitigation must be seen as being supportive
to the industry. It represents one of the
many approaches that should be used to secure
growth, economic prosperity and social acceptance.
Similarly, traceability of products has
become a specific request of consumers, sustained
by national and European policies. Here,
genetic tools offer cost-effective strategies for
supporting quality plans, enforceable by law
where required, aimed at tracing and monitoring
the origin of aquaculture products. |
The project is using cutting-edge genomic methods
for developing thousands of SNP (Single
Nucleotide Polymorphisms) genetic markers
for the marine species and will start to apply
these markers to baseline samples of wild and
aquaculture fish. Subsequently, small, specific,
powerful and cost effective SNP panels for
determining the origin of the fish are developed
as end-user traceability tools. Already developed
large SNP panels for salmon and trout are
now being applied to these species maintained
under controlled experimental conditions, allowing
identification of the genetic background
of the fitness effects of domestication and
interbreeding. |
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