Using Weighted Goal Programming Model to Achieve Genetic Gain in a Beluga Sturgeon Breeding Program

We estimated the desired genetic gains for important traits in Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) using an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and weighted goal programming (WGP). Two questionnaires were distributed to 122 private Beluga sturgeon farmers in Iran in two stages. The initial stage involved the first questionnaire, which aimed to gather information on the environmental and management aspects of the farms. Additionally, farmers were requested to rate 4 important traits from a list of 12 traits for genetic improvement in the Beluga breeding program. Based on the results, four traits, that is, ovarian fat lobe weight (OFW), total caviar weight (CW), body weight of broodstock (BW) and larval body area at hatching (LBA) were rated highest. In the second stage, the second questionnaire asked farmers to make six pairwise comparisons between the above traits to determine preferences of these traits. The analytical hierarchy process was used to estimate individual preference (Ind-P) values using Super Decisions software. The medians of the Ind-P values were OFW and CW (0.30), BW (0.27) and LBA (0.10). Social group preference (Soc-P) values were estimated for five categories, with 13 social groups using the WGP model in LINGO software. Most disagreements in Soc-P values were found between the commercial products and water temperature categories. Consensus preference values (Con-P) for the above two categories were obtained by the extended WGP model with the range of λ between 0 and 1 in LINGO software. The average best Con-P values were OFW = BW (0.29), LBA (0.21) and CW (0.19). Desired genetic gains (%) were calculated using the percentage genetic improvement (G%) multiplied by the mean of Con-P, yielding values of 2.09, 1.88, 1.44 and 0.62 for BW, CW, LBA and OFW, respectively. The most important achievements of this research are the determination of the economic traits importance and multi-traits selection in the Beluga breeding program.