Pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) adaptive or maladaptive reactions to environmental stressors؟ a review.

The pikeperch (Sander lucioperca, Linnaeus, 1758), with its unique characteristics, has gained increasing attention in the aquaculture sector. These include its highly valued and delicious meat, soft white tissue with few intermuscular bones, commendable growth performance, and favorable market acceptance. It is farmed in North, Central, Western, and East Europe through recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS), net pens, and pond aquaculture. Nevertheless, the sensitivity of pikeperch to environmental changes and other aquaculture activities has made the need to provide optimal rearing conditions for the growth and survival of this valuable species a priority in its propagation and rearing industry, whereas the aquaculture stressors (e.g., handling, transporting, stocking density) and environmental conditions (e.g., photoperiod, temperature, oxygen status, water quality, oxidative stress) are inevitable factors in pikeperch aquaculture industries that affect the entire life cycle. Meanwhile, examining the adaptive or maladaptive responses of pikeperch to these stressors, in addition to being able to determine the tolerance limit of the fish, sheds light on the type of tissue, involved organs, and adaptive or maladaptive drivers of the fish. Certainly, identifying this tolerance limit and the organs involved is crucial to optimize the breeding conditions and provide the welfare of these valuable species. Hence, the effects of environmental stressors on pikeperch physiological changes deserve further investigation. Therefore, to help ameliorate management methods in pikeperch culture, this review discussed the pikeperch adaptive or maladaptive reactions to various environmental stressors. Accordingly, this paper identified the leading and complementary indicators (effective causes) inducing stress in pikeperch during aquaculture operations and identified management errors to conserve its safety, welfare, and survival. It will prevent destructive stress consequences that lead to disease, retardation, or lack of growth and reproduction in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]