BIO-ECONOMIC COSTS AND BENEFITS OF USING TRIPLOID RAINBOW TROUT IN AQUACULTURE: REDUCED MORTALITY

Abstract

Analysis of data collected from rainbow trout farms in the United Kingdom found that mortality levels in triploid rainbow trout were lower than those in diploids. The consequences of rearing triploids, as opposed to diploids, as an intervention to reduce mortality in the U.K. trout farming industry were quantified using a bio-economic model. The model showed that growing triploids could be more profitable than growing diploids, and this was achieved through improvements in productivity (in terms of better survival) and potential for increased product value, and despite the extra costs attributed to purchasing triploid fingerlings.