Genetic Parameters of the Growth Rate, Survival Rate and Feed Efficiency Ratio of Turbot () at an Early Growth Stage.

Genetic improvement, including improving the growth rate, survival rate and feed efficiency ratio (FER), can maximize the production efficiency of turbot. Genetic evaluations of the growth rate, survival rate and FER are required for determining the practicability of including these three traits in a breeding programme. In this study, 20 full-sib families were produced. A method involving a small sample was used to calculate the growth rate, survival rate and FER to represent the corresponding data of an individual. Then, the genetic parameters of the three economic traits were evaluated. The heritabilities for the survival rate, growth rate and FER in turbot were 0.109001, 0.232335 and 0.101866, respectively. The heritabilities of the survival rate and FER were low, while that of the growth rate was moderate. The phenotypic correlations between the survival rate and growth rate, the survival rate and FER, and the survival rate and FER were 0.0919, 0.4609 and 0.2472, respectively. The genetic correlations between the growth rate and survival rate, the survival rate and FER, and the growth rate and FER were 0.0984, 0.3732 and 0.5654, respectively. Apart from a low phenotypic and genetic correlation between the survival rate and growth rate, the correlations among the other traits were moderate.