Good news.

Researchers at Tokyo University have come up with ways to breed endangered fish using more plentiful species to generate sperm and eggs of the endangered species.

They implant sperm-growing cells of endangered fish into the newly hatched sterile common fish. The fish grow to produce sperm--and sometimes eggs--of the endangered species which then can be used successfully for breeding.

'In Japan, Yoshizaki is focused on bluefin tuna, noting that standard "marine ranching" techniques are difficult for tuna that can reach man-size.

He has begun experiments into how to produce baby tuna from mackerel, which are nearly a thousand times smaller than adult tuna. If it works, "we can save space, cost and labor," he predicted in an e-mail interview.'


This could have enormous ramifications for boosting the depleted numbers of fish that humans eat as well as protecting some of the many unique species that contribute to the complex diversity of the oceans and rivers.


See AP article by Lauran Neergard
09-13-07
"Salmon Spawn Baby Trout in Experiment"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070913/ap_on_sc/trout_from_salmon&printer=1;_ylt=Ao32gPkuaHjmbijRU7p4VKpxieAA