Sturgeon Hatchery Technology Development
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| Research at Mote has primarily focused on larval and juvenile diet practices and preferences. Traditionally, sturgeon are cultured with live foods (such as Artemia or tubificids) as part of their first feeding regime. However, practices have been shifting to providing only formulated feeds for many sturgeon species.
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| Sturgeon Nutrition Research at Mote evaluated the long-term growth and survival of Siberian sturgeon using live food vs. formulated feed. We also examined the potential benefit of overfeeding during early development. Results showed that although this species experiences a temporary decrease in growth rate when they are initially fed a formulated diet, they are able to ultimately reach the same weights as those initially fed live food. We also found that Siberian sturgeon do not require administration of excess feed to achieve adequate growth rates and survival, given proper tank design. These findings translate into reduced labor and food costs for commercial farmers. We also conducted a research trial to examine the effects of four commercially available feeds (microparticulate diets) on growth and survival of Siberian sturgeon larvae. Differences in growth and survival were used to develop operating protocols for culturing Siberian sturgeon larvae. A second research trial evaluated the effect of four commercial diets on growth, food conversion ratio and system maintenance requirements using fingerling-stage Siberian sturgeon (0.2 kilogram fish). Food conversion ratio was the best with a 45% protein to 19% fat diet. |
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Mote Marine Laboratory has been a leader in marine research since it was founded in 1955. Today, we incorporate public outreach as a key part of our mission. Mote is an independent nonprofit organization and has seven centers for marine research, the public Mote Aquarium and an Education Division specializing in public programs for all ages.
