Hormone Application for Artificial Breeding towards Sustainable Aquaculture – A Review

Aquaculture has been the fastest-growing area of worldwide food production and is becoming a vital component of the global economy to feed the rising world population. Hence, directed toward continuing the current level of per head consumption, comprehensive aquaculture production needs to attain eighty million tonnes by 2050. However, some cultured marine fish species, such as salmonids, striped bass, and gilthead seabream, as well as freshwater fish, such as captive Mediterranean amberjack populations (Seriola dumerili) and Mekong River giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas), exhibit reproductive dysfunction, especially in female brood stock when reared in captivity. Captive females face complications with unsynchronised ovulation, fail to undergo final oocyte maturation (FOM), and no longer spawn due to a lack of luteinising hormone (LH). Thus, artificial breeding has been widely used in aquaculture practices to increase cultured fish production. Farmer has extensively applied commercial hormones such as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), Ovaprim, Ovatide, and Ovaplant, through injection and implantation of hormones to stimulate breeding in many farmed fish species. However, artificial breeding is still in its development phase, and some methods are still unable to induce spawning in certain fish species. Different methods, doses, and delivery systems of artificial hormones could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of artificial breeding. This paper discusses the current research on artificial breeding in various fish species as well as new approaches or techniques to be applied in the area to regulate the reproductive process in captive fish for sustainable aquaculture.