Research > Mariculture

Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing agricultural sectors globally and already accounts for more than half of the seafood produced globally each year. However, unlike most other agricultural sectors, many important species in aquaculture have not been domesticated and improved relative to wild populations. Our research involves selective breeding – the process by which important traits, such as growth rate and resistance to disease, in domesticated populations are improved over time by selecting the best individuals to breed the next generation. Recent developments in genomic technology have revolutionized modern selective breeding, providing a set of tools and techniques for identifying elite individuals with high accuracy, even for traits that are difficult or impossible to measure on breeding candidates, such as disease resistance or meat yield. Developing improved lines of important species through selective breeding is a well-established way to improve sustainability, production efficiency, and profitability of the aquaculture industry in Texas.