Taiwan - Breeding and cultivation of low-temperature-resistant farmed grouper

Issues and Objectives

Taiwan is frequently affected by typhoons every summer. The powerful typhoons Morakot and Fanapi that struck in 2009 and 2010 caused massive damage to aquaculture ponds in the Kaohsiung-Pingtung area due to the heavy rainfall they brought in a short period of time. This resulted in seawater intrusion, loss and death of farmed fish, causing huge losses to aquaculture farmers.

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Improvement Measures Taken

When breeding grouper fry that are resistant to low temperatures to combat the invasion of extreme cold waves, their own conditions are sufficient to resist sudden death caused by low temperatures, thus avoiding serious losses for fish farmers.

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Results

To develop low-temperature tolerant aquaculture fish species and increase the diversity and yield of farmed grouper, the Fisheries Research Institute of the Executive Yuan began domestication and breeding in land-based fishponds in 2007. They also applied sex-change technology to shorten the rearing time of male broodstock. In 2013, they successfully established breeding and fry rearing techniques, producing 12,000 white-bodied brown grouper fry with a survival rate of 8%. Since brown grouper is a large temperate marine fish, its optimal rearing temperature is 20-28℃, and it can tolerate water temperatures of 10-32℃, even feeding at temperatures as low as 13-14℃. Compared to spotted grouper (tolerant water temperature: 13-35℃), giant grouper (tolerant water temperature: 14-35℃), and tiger grouper (tolerant water temperature: 16-35℃), it is better adapted to the low water temperatures of Taiwan's winters. If successful in its future aquaculture promotion, it will reduce the impact of winter or climate change-related cold damage on the grouper aquaculture industry. In addition, the grouper farming area can be expanded to central and northern Taiwan and Penghu, opening up new territory for the grouper farming industry and accelerating the achievement of the government's plan to double the value of grouper production.

Glossary

Climate change risk assessment: Using effective assessment tools to understand the medium- and long-term impacts of climate change on various sectors, and to propose corresponding adaptation strategies and actions to reduce the risks brought about by climate change.

Case type:

Structural and physical options: engineering techniques or reinforcement of existing structures, integrated technology development

Social options: learning and exchanging disaster knowledge in the community, and developing and applying early warning information.

Institutional options: Establishing institutions at the economic, policy, and legal levels

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References

Fisheries Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan (2013). Successful Breeding of Cold-Resistant Grouper in Response to Climate Change. Source: https://www.tfrin.gov.tw/News_Content.aspx?n=241&s=54665. Accessed: 2019/05/25.

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Reference Websites

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