Wiktionary
n. (context aquaculture English) A group of sexually mature individuals of a cultured species that is kept separate for breeding purposes.
Wikipedia
An amberjack broodstock, Seriola dumerili
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Broodstock, or broodfish, are a group of mature individuals used in aquaculture for breeding purposes. Broodstock can be a population of animals maintained in captivity as a source of replacement for, or enhancement of, seed and fry numbers. These are generally kept in ponds or tanks in which environmental conditions such as photoperiod, temperature and pH are controlled. Such populations often undergo conditioning to ensure maximum fry output. Broodstock can also be sourced from wild populations where they are harvested and held in maturation tanks before their seed is collected for grow-out to market size or the juveniles returned to the sea to supplement natural populations. This method, however, is subject to environmental conditions and can be unreliable seasonally, or annually. Broodstock management can improve seed quality and number through enhanced gonadal development and fecundity.
Usage examples of "broodstock".
The genes for good warrior broodstock also carried other linked characteristics, characteristics that had little to do with the traits the Morkth sought.
The less intelligent and less logical worker brood sows, kept separately from the warrior broodstock, had never realized that they could talk, so long as one kept speech quiet and away from high-pitched sounds.