Patterns of use and exchange of genetic resources of the striped catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage 1878)

Abstract

The present paper reviews the use and exchange of genetic resources of the migratory freshwater fish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage 1878) (the striped or sutchi catfish). This species is naturally distributed in the Mekong River and Chao Phraya River basins, and is cultured in several countries, but current production occurs predominantly in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Catfish aquaculture in Vietnam has evolved from extensive systems using wild‐caught seed to an intensified farming system that is entirely dependent on hatchery‐produced seed. Genetic improvement programmes on catfish have started in Vietnam, but are still in their infancy. Genetic studies have revealed several subpopulations of the species. Apart from selective breeding and the production of hybrids with closely related species, no other technologies have been applied to improve the performance of catfish. The use and exchange of P. hypophthalmus genetic resources have brought benefits to rural communities. Aquaculture development of catfish has evolved from being seen as an exploitation of natural resources to an activity that can reduce pressure on wild fish populations. Management of aquaculture stocks need to be rationalised to minimise the potential impacts it might cause to wild populations.

Striped catfish farming in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: a tumultuous path to a global success

“…This practice was also known as 'latrine fish farming' because the latrines of the households were located above the ponds, which received human waste. The seedstock for this activity was wild caught, primarily from Cambodian waters of the confluence of the Mekong, Bassac and Tonle Sap Rivers, the main nursery grounds of these catfish species (Nguyen 2009). This practice gradually began to expand with a transformation into cage and pen (also referred to as fence) culture of the two catfish species in the two main lower branches of the Mekong, Tien Giang (upper) and Hau Giang (lower), which are under the jurisdiction of four provinces, An Giang, Can Tho, Dong Thap and Vinh Long.…”

“…This practice gradually began to expand with a transformation into cage and pen (also referred to as fence) culture of the two catfish species in the two main lower branches of the Mekong, Tien Giang (upper) and Hau Giang (lower), which are under the jurisdiction of four provinces, An Giang, Can Tho, Dong Thap and Vinh Long. However, the Cambodian authorities banned the capture of wild stocks in 1994 (Ngor 1999;Nguyen 2009). This ban eventuated a hiatus in the expansion of catfish farming, but lead to a concerted effort to artificially propagate striped catfish, which grew faster than the other two species and was considered to be an ideal candidate for intensive farming.…”

Selective Breeding in Fish and Conservation of Genetic Resources for Aquaculture

“…We recognize that many other fish species are subject to conservation or population management strategies, such as for managed capture fisheries; however, for the purpose of this review, we will deal with those issues pertinent to the aquaculture sector. Recent accounts of the use and exchange of genetic resources in aquaculture can be found for carps (Jeney and Jian 2009), tilapia (Eknath and Hulata 2009), salmonids (Solar 2009), shrimps (Benzie 2009), catfish (Na‐Nakorn and Brummett 2009; Nguyen 2009), molluscs (Guo 2009) and other emerging aquaculture species (Nguyen et al. 2009), which provide additional detail complementary to this review.…”

Optimizing de novo transcriptome assembly and extending genomic resources for striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus)

“…This is because striped catfish culture lines with tolerance to raised salinity conditions can contribute to long-term sustainability and growth of the industry in the Mekong Delta where most catfish farming is practiced. To date however, there have been relatively few physiological or genetic studies Marine Genomics xxx (2015) xxx-xxx of striped catfish and information on genetic resources in this species is also very limited (but see Ha et al (2009), Na-Nakorn and Moeikum (2009), Nguyen (2009) for microsatellite studies; Wong et al (2011) who employed DNA barcoding for species identification; and a study of hypoxia tolerance by Lefevre et al (2011)). Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have opened many opportunities to develop molecular resources for non-model species that are of biological and economic interest.…”