Application of genetics and genomics to aquaculture development: current and future directions

Global aquaculture production continues to grow rapidly yet a small proportion of the animals and plants being used come from managed breeding and improvement programmes. The biology of aquatic organisms offer many opportunities for rapid genetic gains as new genetic and genomic techniques make the management of improvement programmes feasible in a wider range of species. The current paper describes the application of a wide range of techniques, many unique to aquatic organisms, and their potential to secure aquaculture production in the future.