Aurelio Ortega and Fernando de la Gándara

Session 9, Talk 3, 20/1/16 @ 0900 hrs

Since 2000 the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) is participating in several European research projects (DOTT, REPRODOTT, SELFDOTT) on Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT) culture with the aim of contributing of the Domestication of this species, for improving the productive process and reducing the pressure on the wild stock as it has already happened with other full cycle cultured species.  Greatest efforts are being developed from 2011 in collaboration with the companies Caladeros del Mediterraneo and Fortuna Mare (FM). As a result of that, between 3 and 15 thousand tunas have been produced in the IEO experimental hatchery and transported every year to offshore cages placed in El Gorguel (Cartagena, SE Spain) and the Fortuna Mare company has nowadays some thousands of tunas belonging to 0+ to 4+ age classes. It is expected that oldest tunas start to spawn from next summer, closing by the first time the life cycle of ABFT in captivity.

Results have been improved the last season, and more than 15.000 fingerlings 35-40 days old (average weight of 3 gr) have been produced in July-August by the IEO. They have been moved to three 25 m diameter cages (FM property) and some of them have been moved to a new IEO land based facility named ICRA (Infraestructure for the Control of the Reproduction of Atlantic bluefin tuna). The target of the ICRA is to hold a broodstock to control the reproduction in indoor big tanks, and some large tunas will be move in the upcoming months.

Contact:  A. Ortega, Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), Spain, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.