ABSTRACT
After collection, storage of gametes at sub-zero temperatures is required in several situations. Storage of gametes can eliminate the need to keep breeders available for artificial fertilization. It allows the collection chore to extend over a several day period, especially for fish caught in the wild, before the artificial fertilization can be performed in adapted facilities. The shipping of gametes from the fish farm to other breeding sites becomes possible. Some pathological diagnosis can be performed on the gametes and the results can be obtained before the gametes are released for use. In the case of
sperm, the cryopreservation procedure of fish strains with many different male samples is easier to set up some time after the collection. In some species, surgical removal of the testis is the only possibility to get sperm, and storage of this testicular-extracted sperm for several days allows the subsequent handling of egg collection and fertilization. Considering the poor initial quality or the intrinsic fragility of sperm in some species, cryopreservation is difficult to achieve and chilled storage remains one mean to diffuse the genetic progress.
