Herring is one of the unique freshwater aquaculture species in China and is considered one of the four major fish. For over 30 years, researchers have been working on the artificial breeding of this fish. While techniques for grass carp, common carp, and silver carp have been widely applied across the country, herring breeding still faces significant challenges.
One of the main issues is that, under pond culture conditions, herring gonads often fail to develop fully during the breeding season. According to domestic reports, herring oocytes frequently experience developmental arrest, with only up to 8% reaching full maturity. Moreover, male development is generally poor, with testis maturation coefficients as low as 0.2%, and they are unable to release semen even after oxytocin stimulation. This contrasts sharply with grass carp, which has a maturation coefficient of around 15%. The most critical problem is that the reproductive organs of herring do not reach the IV stage of maturity, which is essential for successful reproduction.
Another challenge is that artificial breeding of herring usually relies on manual spawning rather than artificial insemination. Since the gonads of males and females do not mature at the same time, fertilization rates are often low, and sometimes no fertilization occurs at all. These problems have drawn attention from fish breeders, but reliable methods to solve them have remained elusive for many years.
In traditional aquaculture practices, only three of the four major fish were commonly bred. However, in Pingjiang County, Hunan Province, local fish breeders have conducted extensive research on herring germ cell regulation, fertilization biology, and embryonic development. Through their efforts, they uncovered the reproductive patterns of herring and developed methods for cultivating and producing blue broodstock. As a result, the two major breeding challenges have been successfully addressed.
Now, when herring reaches sexual maturity, female reproductive development can meet the required standards. Artificial spawning between synchronized females and males leads to complete synchronization in spawning and fertilization. These breakthroughs have been successfully implemented in fish breeding facilities in Pingjiang County. Over the past 40 years, more than 30 million herring larvae have been produced. The resulting herring fillets are highly popular in areas such as Dongting Lake, Honghu Lake, and Poyang Lake, and are in high demand year after year.
Medica Wound Dressing Kit,Disposable Wound Dressing Kit,Sterile Medical Wound Dressing Kit,Disposable Surgical Wound Dressing Kit
Xinxiang Huaxi Sanitary Materials Co., Ltd. , https://www.huaximedical.com