QUALITY CONSIDERATIONS AND SURVEILLANCE IN MARINE STOCKING PROGRAMS.  

Marine stocking programs can be helpful for conservation of important species, providing ample food sources for growing human populations and producing sustainable fish products.  Many variables must be considered to manage a marine conservation program including proper husbandry and nutrition while minimizing costs; with successful outcomes measured via fish morphometrics and release numbers.  Additional consideration should be given to external fish quality prior to release, understanding the influence of rearing variables, limiting the possibility of a recognizable cultured fish phenotype and maximizing the success of the conservation program by emulating wild stocks.

We rear Atractoscion nobilis (white seabass) for stock enhancement and have developed a quality assessment and control that incorporates a training program to document and reduce the incidence of abnormal physical attributes in the seabass prior to their release.  This information is utilized to design research trials that may determine which rearing or nutrition factors may be influencing the final external quality of the fish.  Other facets of the program include the use of clearing and staining techniques to define normal processes of ossification, and surveys of wild fish to better understand variability in morphology in natural stocks.

In the hatchery, seabass are examined in lots of 125 fish per group at specific ages during their development by trained staff.  Malformations are classified into 13 categories of bony malformations.  Additionally during the exam, soft tissue abnormalities are classified into 6 categories.  Within these categories, the malformations are graded 0-3, with 3 being most severe.  In seabass, the most common malformations are bony malformations, particularly those associated with the head region, which typically account for 86 percent of all malformations.  Within the head, malformations of the jaw account for 43 percent on average.