Strengthening salmon farming with better selection
Benchmark Genetics has hired Eric Ignatz as a new senior geneticist at the company's office in Iceland.
Ignatz, from Canada, moved to Iceland over the weekend and is now in place in his new role as senior geneticist for Benchmark Genetics.
"I look forward to working with the genetics team in Iceland to further develop the salmon breeding programme, continuously improve trait and broodstock selection, and contribute to the company's innovative research work," the 32-year-old tells LandbasedAQ.
Benchmark Genetics has its Icelandic headquarters in Hafnarfjordur, just outside Reykjavik. The company also operates several biosecure, land-based facilities on the southwest coast of Iceland, where it produces family material, broodstock, and ova for the global market.
This is Ignatz's first time living and working in Iceland.
"I am really looking forward to getting to know the country, the local area and my colleagues better," he says.
Will apply research to industry
After several years in research, Ignatz wanted to work more closely with commercial production and achieve greater impact for the research in practical operations.
"I have been working with genetics and breeding of Atlantic salmon for about ten years. It is exciting to work from the academic side, but I have long had a desire to see how the knowledge can be used directly in the industry. Benchmark Genetics provides a very good opportunity for just that."
Genetic differences in tolerance are something we can exploit to a much greater extent in breeding work in the future.
Genetics and temperature tolerance
Ignatz has extensive experience in genetics and breeding of Atlantic salmon, and for the past two years has also worked on breeding programmes for mussels and oysters in Canada.
He has a doctorate in genetics and genomics, where he identified genomic biomarkers linked to upper temperature tolerance in Atlantic salmon – knowledge that can be used directly in modern breeding work.
“Temperature is one of the most central environmental factors in salmon production, and genetic differences in tolerance are something we can exploit to a much greater extent in breeding work going forward. This will be especially important in the face of climate change and more controlled production systems,” says Ignatz.
In a post on LinkedIn, Benchmark Genetics writes that this work has contributed to the development of more climate-resilient fish, an increasingly important focus area for the aquaculture industry.
"I am particularly motivated to contribute to the further development of traits that strengthen biological robustness and provide better adaptation to different production environments," says Ignatz.
Importance for land-based farming
On social media, Benchmark Genetics highlights Ignatz' combination of industrial experience and strong expertise in data analysis and computational genetics as an important contribution to the company's further development.
According to the company, genetic advances will play an increasingly important role for both traditional and land-based farming, including through increased biological robustness, better predictability, and reduced production risk.