Having made tuna breeding a possibility in Australia, Clean Seas Tuna has just repeated the feat in European waters.

 

The company developed breeding techniques for the Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) in March, the first organization in the world to create an artificial breeding regime for the endangered species.

 

Now, using the same techniques and working with European research consortium Allotuna, the company has managed to achieve productive spawning of the Altlantic Bluefin Tuna, a sister species of the SBT.

 

Prof Chris Bridges, a member of Allotuna's international research team and Clean Seas' advisory panel, said the development is a major boost for the fishing industry worldwide, which faces a critical shortage of the Bluefin Tuna due to overfishing.

 

By making it possible to supply hatcheries with eggs "on demand", the development would contribute to the sustainable farming of the endangered Bluefin Tuna, he added.

 

Over 10 million eggs were collected last weekend after hormone induction trials held on a tuna farm in Italy.

 

The spawned eggs were then transferred to a commercial hatchery in Bari, where the larvae will feed and mature. Eggs were also transferred to key hatcheries in the EU for further rearing and research.

 

Clean Seas Chairman Hagen Stehr said the development in Europe is a boost to the company's ongoing research, proving further that commercialization of Bluefin Tuna is not too far away. Stehr also expressed confidence the experiments would follow the success the company has already achieved with species such as Yellowtail Kingfish and Mulloway. Clean Seas first managed the breeding of Yellowtail Kingfish in 1998/1999.   

 

In March this year, the company successfully collected SBT sperm and spawned eggs in its breeding facility at Arno Bay. This breeding regime helped the company establish a SBT sperm bank and secure sustainable production of the fish.

 

As fish stocks in major consumer countries such as Japan, China, the US and the EU are seriously depleted, barriers would be unlikely for the commercialized fish, making tuna breeding a viable proposition.