Growth of russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) larvae at different stocking densities in the basins.

Abstract

Due to the growing population of the planet, the fish sector faces a list of tasks to provide people with a sufficient amount of high-quality protein products. The main potential directions for resolving this issue are clearly presented in the Global Sustainable Development Goals until 2030 adopted by the UN. Intensive ecological aquaculture and sustainable fisheries are identified as one of the strategic directions to address the global hunger issue. One of the most valuable and traditional species of commercial fish is sturgeon. World sturgeon breeding has two main directions of development, which are in essence equal. One of them is the intensification of the cultivation of marketable sturgeon products in fish farms of various types. Another is the restoration of the number of natural populations to commercial levels. In the context of an increase in the volume of replenishment of commercial sturgeon populations against the background of a sharp deterioration in the ecological conditions of their natural reproduction, the dominant factor is the intensification of artificial breeding of juveniles at fish hatcheries. This contributes to the improvement of existing biotechnologies in accordance with the regional characteristics and biological uniqueness of individual populations. One of the most important technological factors in sturgeon rearing is stocking density in basins and ponds. The existing technologies for growing sturgeon larvae and fry provide for high standard stocking densities. This is due to the need for the most rational use of the production capacity of sturgeon factories, which are limited. However, when rearing the larvae of the Russian sturgeon from the Dnieper population in the basins using the standard stocking densities, an increased mortality of larvae was observed at all stages of early postembryogenesis. This raised the need for specific research to address issues that need to be taken into account in technological processes in order to improve them. In this regard, the main goal of the work is to obtain data allowing to predict the future quality of sturgeon fry.