BIOTECHNOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PADDLEFISH (POLYODON SPATHULA (WALBAUM)) REPRODUCTION IN UKRAINE

The sexual products of paddlefish (Polyodon spathula (Walbaum)) females in their first year of maturation were of low quality. The highest reproductive indices were observed in broodfish that had been used repeatedly. Testing different hormonal substances indicated that the best paddlefish , arti- ficial reproduction was observed with the application of LHRH-A to stimulate female maturation. The method of obtaining mature oocytes by puncturing the female abdominal wall near the genital opening was noted to be very efficient. There were conducted successful experiments with low-temperature preservation of paddlefish sperm. Survival rate of defrosted sperm cells was not less than 77%.