News

While Tasmanians may look forward to the warmth of summer, rising temperatures are bad news for the state’s Atlantic salmon.

Each summer water temperatures rise, resulting in less dissolved oxygen for the salmon. The higher water temperatures can also cause them to eat less, or to poorly digest the feed they do eat. This affects growth and significantly slows production. And the problem looks set to worsen if predictions of rising global temperatures prove correct.

Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Award winner, Dr Robin Katersky from the University of Tasmania, thinks she may have the solution.

Robin hopes to identify individual Atlantic salmon that do well in the face of high water temperatures and the resulting reduced levels of dissolved oxygen.

“Preliminary research has suggested that a proportion of the Tasmanian salmon are ‘oxygen regulators’,” said Robin.

“This means they can regulate their metabolic rate to survive during low levels of dissolved oxygen.

“My project will have applications for both the kingfish and barramundi aquaculture industries, which are facing similar problems with rising water temperatures.”

“Being able to selectively breed fish that can adjust to suboptimal temperatures would be a great benefit to these industries.”

“These resilient salmon can be incorporated in selective breeding programs to ensure that the Tasmanian Atlantic salmon industry continues to be robust and profitable.”