30 years of pejerrey research at the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology: a tail of discoveries and friendships

Abstract

The pejerrey Odontesthes bonariensis is probably the most popular and iconic fish in Argentina. This species and another inland-water, large-sized species of the same genus, the Patagonian pejerrey O. hatcheri, have been introduced to several countries and most notably to Japan, where they have been the subject of basic biological research and applied studies aimed at testing and developing their potential for aquaculture. Breading, cultivation, and marketing methods were developed to high standards, culminating with the establishment of commercial pejerrey aquaculture and the status of "luxury seafood”. For economic reasons pejerrey aquaculture in Japan has dwindled, but the biological and applied knowledge gathered during the nearly five decades it has been in Japan and the related academic network could be applied to the management of natural pejerrey populations and development of pejerrey aquaculture in Argentina.