Abstract

Artificial juveniles are crucial for advancing commercial aquaculture in terms of their quality, quantity, and cost. The three key factors for successful aquaculture are egg, feed, and water. Eggs need to be healthy and genetically advanced to exhibit fast growth, superior meat yield, disease resistance, and early maturation. Premium traits were carefully selected and refined through generations (F1 and F2) to stabilize these desirable qualities for commercial applications. Consequently, hatcheries should prioritize the production of premium juveniles to meet growing demands. The aim of this study was to establish a fish seed production method capable of generating premium juveniles at low cost and with ease. The Semi-Intensive Seed Production (SISP) method is tailored for breeders, small investors, and fishermen, who may lack extensive knowledge or access to advanced technology required for intensive microalgae, rotifers, and Artemia cultivation. SISP selects ideal characters by natural selection during the seed production period, and the method can be applied to other species. Furthermore, the method accepted small investments to join aquaculture, which solved one of the bottlenecks of the business, and the method can be applied to other species. The SISP does not require a significant upfront investment or high operational expenses; instead, it requires a sizable tank (20 m3 and 2 m depth), water supply, agricultural fertilizer, an air blower, and artificial feeds. Rather than relying heavily on cultured rotifers and Artemia, SISP leverages wild-bloomed phytoplankton and zooplankton. Research conducted with various fish species in Chile and Cuba from 2010 to 2024 demonstrated that while SISP exhibited a lower survival rate (2%) compared to Intensive Seed Production (ISP) (70%), it offered cost-efficiency and superior quality advantages. Nonetheless, SISP encountered challenges in meeting the demand for mass production culture owing to its dependence on live feeds, which hinge on phytoplankton.