Reproductive physiology and broodstock management of soles

This chapter provides a state-of-the-art review of sole reproduction including the anatomy, morphology and maturation of the gonads, the annual reproductive cycles, the endocrinology of reproduction and the hormonal stimulation of reproduction. It provides work on both sole species, but especially on the Senegalese sole that has received a far greater research effort, as it has become the favoured species for aquaculture development due to better growth rates compared to common sole and perhaps a greater industrial interest in sole culture in the Iberian Peninsula. Galanin is a neuropeptide that mediates multiple physiological processes in vertebrates, including learning, food intake and reproduction. Consistent with the suggestion that differences between Senegalese sole wild and cultured broodstock are related to cultured male behavioural dysfunctions, is the observation that cultured broodstocks produce viable gametes. Under natural photoperiod and temperature, spawning and egg collection from broodstocks is highly seasonal in both sole species.