Influence of pejerrey Odontesthes bonariensis (Valenciennes, 1835) broodstock age on gamete quality, reproductive performance and plasma sex steroid levels during the spawning season

This study evaluated the effect of pejerrey Odontesthes bonariensis (Valenciennes, 1835) broodstock age on gamete and spawning quality and its relationship with sex steroid plasma levels. Sperm was analysed using a computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) developed for pejerrey. Semen samples were taken from all fish from mid age groups (5- and 7-year fish), but it was not possible to obtain stripped semen samples from all fish of younger (3-year) or older (10-year) groups. The highest relative sperm weight and sperm concentration were recorded in 5- and 7-year groups respectively, while viability was not different between age groups. It was not possible to identify an effect of age on sperm quality by CASA. Non-viable spawned eggs were obtained in the 3-year group and, the relative fecundity and the relative number of fertilized eggs decreased with age in other groups. Fertilization and hatching rates showed the highest values in the 10-year group. However, the estimated number of hatched larvae was similar in 5-, 7- and 10-year fish. A clear effect of age on 11 ketotestosterone (11-KT) and estradiol (E2) levels was identified, with the highest values in the 5- and 7-year groups. These results might be related to the onset of puberty in the 3-year group and ageing in the 10-year group. Considering that the estimated number of larvae obtained was similar among age groups, the results of this study suggest that broodstock maintenance cost could be reduced by using mid-age fish rather than older fish in pejerrey hatcheries.