© Marine and Freshwater Research Institute
Using intensive aquaculture methods, scientists at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MFRI) have successfully reared capelin from egg to adulthood in a laboratory setting for the first time.
Hatching at the Grindavík research station 30 days after fertilisation, the capelin showed a remarkably steady growth and reached maturity as early as one year after hatching. By their second year, growth slowed, and the capelin reached their maximum length of 18.4 cm in just over 2.5 years - a significantly shorter time compared to their wild Icelandic counterparts.
Whilst the first successful rearing of a species is a significant research milestone, this achievement opens the door to much more future research into capelin which – as a forage fish – are a very important species, ecologically. The newly published study documenting the rearing of capelin will no doubt be followed by many more papers investigating the growth and development of the fish.
