Research and Innovation in Malaysian Mahseer, Tor sp., Broodstock Development Programme

Abstract

Malaysian Mahseer (Tor spp.) is a highly priced native freshwater fish in Malaysia and much sought after as food, ornamental and recreational fish. However, the production of mahseer is still insignificant. Due to the decline in the wild stock population of mahseer, farmers are compelled to rely heavily on imported broodstock or hatchery-produced fingerlings. The R&D on mahseer is also limited with only several reports on breeding techniques, feed requirement and genetic distance between populations. The availability of superior breeding stocks, efficient hatcheries management and formulation of maturation diet that could expedite the maturation process could greatly assist in increasing mahseer aquaculture productivity. This paper presents the R&D carried out by the Fisheries Research Institute, Department of Fisheries Malaysia starting from the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016 to 2020), particularly on the broodstock development, breeding, disease, seed management, formulation and validation of maturation diet. In this programme, broodstocks obtained from five different states namely Pahang, Johor, Sarawak, Perak and Terengganu, Malaysia were used as a base population and mated using full diallel method to produce a total of 75 families. The maturation diet enhanced the breeding capacity and shortened the maturation period of mahseer from 3.0 years to only 1.8–2.0 years. Three innovations, hatching system, nursing system and maturation diet were produced from this programme were also registered innovations. This paper also deliberates the challenges faced in broodstock development programme and the way forward.