INCREASING POTENTIAL OF THE YELLOW PERCH INDUSTRY USING NEW LARVAE CULTURE TECHNOLOGY AND ENHANCING MARKETABILITY IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION

GoalsThe primary goals of this project are to develop technology for production of early stages of feed-trained yellow perch and to evaluate and improve fillet quality to expand and diversify the current yellow perch market. The proposed technology will be up-scaled based on laboratory findings and will strengthen existing grow-out practices, increasing the potential availability of highquality, feed-trained juveniles, year-round at various scales of production. To ensure the 'finished product' is of high quality and marketable, the proposed research on fresh fillet quality will provide new insight into the effects of RAS on off-odors, identifying causes and providing solutions to amajor issue experienced by the aquaculture industry. Thus, resulting knowledge and technology will have applications for other commercially important species, such as walleye Sander vitreus, tilapia Oreochromis sp., and largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides.ObjectivesEvaluate the use of modified 'filter and sprayer recirculating setups' (FSRS) in different sized tanks at the OSU Aquaculture Laboratory facility. Growth, survival, and swim bladder inflation of yellow perch larvae/juveniles after 14 (live food) and 28 days of feeding (including formulated diet) will be evaluated (years 1 & 2, Dabrowski).Evaluate the efficacy of modified FSRS set-up in existing culture tanks at Fresh Harvest Farm, OH (Jeni & Doug Blackburn) and PepperBoy Hatchery, Green Bay, WI (Topher Jacobson) to produce cohorts of feed-trained juvenile yellow perch. Cohorts will then be grown-out to market size at each facility following their routine culture methods (years 1 & 2, Extension & Dabrowski).To use sensory and chemical methods to measure the quality of fillets obtained from two different recirculation systems, ponds, and the wild in order to evaluate the effect of different grow-out technologies on the off-odor taints, lipid characteristics, as well as 'rancid' volatile compounds generated, with a feedback loop to improve grow-out conditions and ensure production of highquality fillets for regional markets (year 2, Barringer & Dabrowski).To transfer the knowledge of improved larvae/juvenile perch rearing technology to aquaculture stakeholders as part of demonstration during workshops and through a variety of outreach products (research and extension personnel, years 1 & 2). To transfer the information of enhanced perch fillet quality and impacts of culture methods on production of off-odor taints and rancid volatiles to the aquaculture industry to improve fillet quality (year 2, Extension, Dabrowski, Barringer).