Scientists at the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have successfully spawned and hatched Arctic cod in a laboratory, and while the breakthrough is aimed at researching the effects of climate change on the species, the work could also have benefits for aquaculture.
Young Arctic cod were collected during the summer months in the Beaufort Sea for three consecutive years between 2012 and 2014 before being shipped live via plane in small breathable bags on ice to the Alaska Fisheries Science Center laboratory in Newport, Oregon — a facility able to simulate Arctic environments to grow fish by mass chilling natural seawater pumped from the Pacific.
While