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Pond farming plays the key role in inland aquaculture of Central and Eastern Europe. Common carp is the main fish species which takes 86-90% of the entire production inponds. Additional fish produced are other Cyprinids, among whom tench seems to hold an interesting perspective for future market development.

Until now, pond management has focused more on natural food development than on systematic breeding programmes. However, the rules of the EU will demand from new Accession States the decrease or the elimination of supplying fertilisers and manure to all surface water resources, including ponds. The traditional management of pond culture will have to change towards more sustainable fish production with a higher emphasis on the improvement of the genetic quality in fish. At present, molecular genetic methods can support the most used breeding methodology for the common carp – crossbreeding to look for the best hybrid combinations or to elaborate the possible use of systematic mass selection on quantitative and qualitative traits in pond fish. Genome manipulations are another way to attain better performance.

Results from trials of crossbreeding, genome manipulations and heritability estimates for growth made on common carp and tench are presented. Crossbreeding is, and will be in the near future, still the most effective method for production of marketable fish. Interestingly, mass selection on fast growth, done similarly as for salmonids, could bring significant progress in the genetic potential of common carp strains, because the heritabilty for growth-related traits was evaluated as being between 0.34-0.37.

Ing. Martin Kocour

Education:
1993 – 1998 - M.Sc. - University of Agriculture, Brno, Czech Republic, specialisation: fishery
2001 – present - Ph.D.student - University of South Bohemia, Biological faculty, České Budějovice, speciality Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics
Occupation:
2000 - present – Research and developmental scientist and deputy head of breeding station at genetics department, University of South Bohemia České Budějovice, Research Institute of Fish Culture and Hydrobiology,
Vodňany, Czech Republic
Current Research Program:
Artificial reproduction, quantitative genetics - selection programme and breeding in European catfish (Silurus glanis), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), common tench (Tinca tinca), growth performance in normal and genome manipulated fish

Contact details: University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice - Research Institute of Fish Culture and Hydrobiology, Department Genetics and Breeding, Zatisi 728/II, 389 25 Vodnany (Czech Republik).
Tel. +420 38 3382 402, fax. +420 38 3382 396, Email: kocour@vurh.jcu.cz