The Tasmanian salmon industry is Australia’s most valuable seafood sector. Salmon Enterprises of Tasmania (SALTAS) has operated a selective breeding program since 2004. Genomic information was included for the first time in the prediction of breeding values within the selective breeding program nucleus in 2016 with the scheme finalised in 2018. An efficient genotyping scheme is essential for genomic selection. Custom low and high density genotyping platforms were designed, manufactured and are deployed, allowing all individuals in every year class to be genotyped while maximizing the genetic gains and minimizing costs.
Significant increased rates of genetic gain attributed to the implementation of genomic selection in the breeding nucleus have been shown across both the primary and secondary traits. Substantial improvement in the ability to accurately select parents prior to progeny testing is observed across multiple years for all traits and the index. The resultant gains have allowed the industry to add a new primary trait without compromising the relative gains of the existing traits.
Subsequent developments and utilisation of genomics data have focussed on exploiting the potential for genomic selection to improve commercial production. A scheme was developed to allow all commercial male multipliers to be selected using genomic selection using the existing genotyping tools. This scheme also allows for the industry to produce smolt that are tailor-made for the specific environment of their marine grow-out, for example, the ability to prioritise disease resistance or thermal tolerance for fish going to certain sites. The resultant economic impacts for the industry are considerable based on the increases in genetic gain for traits achieved within the breeding program and the use of genomics for commercial production.