Grant: Engage Grants Program

Acipenserids are an ancient group of fishes, whose lineage diverged from teleosts over two hundred million years ago. They are long-lived anadromous species' of which 90% are endangered worldwide (Sine 2005). In Atlantic Canada there are only 2 companies producing sturgeon related aquaculture products (meat and caviar, etc.), however recently Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar Inc., has developed a captive broodstock for shortnose sturgeon and produced fertilized eggs, larvae and juveniles of both Atlantic (Acipenser Oxyrhynchus) and shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) at their Carters Point Sturgeon Hatchery. While wild sturgeon captures dropped substantially (from a maximum of 30,959 MT in 1977 to 1989 MT in 2009), the prices for caviar on the world markets increased sharply. Shortnose sturgeon can grow to 10 kg in 7 years, with a minimum caviar yield of 10%. At the actual low-end price of $75 USD per ounce (www.acadian-sturgeon.com), the caviar from a single female can be worth more than $2500 USD. This makes shortnose sturgeon one of the most valuable fish in North America.Two successful NSERC Engage grants and a Springboard Atlantic Pre-POC grant, with Northeast Nutrition (Cooke Aquaculture Ltd.) [395997-10] and EWOS Innovation [402726 - 10], have provided proof of concept for several different feed additives enhancing protection (up to 50%) of salmon to parasitic infection (Covello et al., 2011) and reduced non-specific inflammation within the intestines. As first feeding in larvae and feeding in juveniles, are significantly stressful events leading to high mortality rates in the life history of sturgeon, immunostimulants can enhance the innate defenses of skin and intestines and substantially increase survival and growth in larval fish.