All fish deserve a breeding program

Samenvatting (Engelstalig)

Only a small fraction of the farmed fish species is genetically
improved. Consequently, the majority of the farmed fish species are unable to
provide the benefits of genetic improvement. Integrated breeding programs are
approaches for genetic improvement of fish in which data collection and
selection is performed in the commercial production environment. Due to the low
cost of implementation, the integrated approach is well suited for fish species
that are farmed at a relatively small scale. The main advantage of integrated
breeding programs is that farmers have direct control over the breeding program
and can select the animals that are adapted to their specific needs and
conditions. In addition, the dissemination step is simply transferring the
genetically improved material to on-growing facilities within the same farm.
Breeding programs are complex operations and there are several challenges
associated with their implementation. In this PhD thesis, I aim to contribute
to the improvement of integrated breeding programs for fish species with
innovative research. The knowledge produced in this thesis leads to improved
implementation of integrated breeding programs to achieve
tailored-to-the-location and affordable genetic improvement for fish species.