Publication Abstract

A reappraisal of the potential of thesole, Solea solea, for commercial cultivation

B.R. Howell

Renewed interest in the farming of solehas been stimulated largely by a desire, if not a need, for the existing marine fishfarming industry to diversify. Despite the extensive studies of the 1960s and 1970s,commercially viable cultivation techniques for this valuable species were not realised.This species proved relatively easy to rear through the larval stages but the juvenilestages performed poorly on formulated feeds, displaying low growth rates and an apparentlyhigh susceptibility to disease. Consequently, effort was directed to other species whichdid not present such difficulties. Recent research has demonstrated that the technicalproblems may not be as intractable as was once thought. This paper reviews the results ofthese studies, which have focused particularly on the problems of providing adequatenourishment to the larvae and juvenile stages. They have demonstrated (a) the ease withwhich larvae may be reared to the juvenile stages and a link between larval diet qualityand juvenile performance, (b) that the reputedly virulent disease, black patch necrosis,may be associated with nutritional deprivation and that juveniles may be grownsuccessfully without a sand substrate, (c) that juveniles can attain a growth rate of over3 cm per month on natural prey and (d) that diets may be formulated which support survivalrates in excess of 90% during weaning and subsequent growth rates approaching those onnatural prey. The implications of this work on the prospects for developing commerciallyviable culture methods is discussed with reference to other important biologicalcharacteristics of the species, such as their response to crowding. It is concluded thatthere are no insuperable problems to the development of cultivation methods for the sole,but further work is required in certain critical areas before economic feasibility can bedemonstrated unequivocally.

Reference:

B.R. Howell, 1997. A reappraisal of the potential of the sole, Solea solea, for commercialcultivation. Aquaculture, 155: 355-365