Egg production in a whitefish (Coregonus shinzi palea) brood stock: effects of photoperiod on the timing of spawning and the quality of eggs

Abstract

The results of preliminary experiments in the development of a hatchery brood stock of whitefish of Lake Geneva, Coregonus shinzi palea Cuv. and Val. (lavaretus), are described. Factors likely to influence the date of spawning and the quality of eggs were studied by reference to the performance of wild spawners from the Lake Geneva. Fish were reared in tanks and the ovulation of females occurred spontaneously at the same spawning time as in wild spawners from the lake. Reared females have produced 30 000 eggs/kg against 45 000 in wild fish. The survival rate of a domestic egg was about 10% less than that of wild females. Since the overripening of the ova was rapid it was necessary to check the ripe females twice a week. The exposure of fish to long days in autumn delayed spawning by two months and permitted the synchronization of hatching under optimal conditions of growth. The ovulations were spread over a period of 3 months when the fish were subjected to long days until spawning. In contrast, termination of the long day regime in December induced a synchronization of the ovulations over just one month.