AZTI patents method to identify a sturgeon's sex

Editor/Mohamed Shihab

Pasaia, Spain-headquartered AZTI, a science and technology center working to promote the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, has developed and patented what it has called the world’s first real-time method for early sex identification in sturgeon. 

The method responds to a common challenge in sturgeon farming: Only female sturgeon produce caviar, but farmers have not had a way to determine sturgeon sex and, thus, have had to raise both sexes for several years, increasing both environmental and economic costs.

According to AZTI, its DNA-based innovation, which requires just a small tissue or blood sample, could help aquaculture businesses cut costs and enhance sustainability in caviar farming. 

“There was a clear need in the industry for an efficient and accurate method to determine sturgeon sex at early stages," AZTI researcher and specialist in food traceability and genetics Miguel Ángel Pardo said in a release. "This tool enables more sustainable, cost-effective caviar production.” 

Sturgeon farming is a time-intensive process, which sometimes takes more than 20 years to produce caviar.

AZTI research mostly focuses on technology that can make marine environments and food systems more sustainable. It has developed tools to standardize ecosystems-based marine planning methods, supported initiatives to reduce ghost gear, used AI to monitor identity in fish schools, and studied bluefin tuna genetics to support conservation and management.