^a Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Agricultural University of Norway, 1432 Aas-NLH, Norway

^b Resource Services Branch, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, West Vancouver Laboratory, 4160 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, B.C. V7V 1N6, Canada

Cryopreservation was carried out with milt from Atlantic salmon and sea trout (Salmo trutta). Semen mixed with extender was frozen on dry ice (pellets) with subsequent storage in liquid nitrogen. Sperm pellets were thawed in a 0.12-M NaHCO₃-solution (10° C) before insemination. The suitability of an extender as previously described by Stoss and Holtz and of a 0.3-M glucose solution with the addition of 10% DMSO, was tested on two different batches of sperm and eggs in Atlantic salmon and sea trout. In addition, the extender earlier reported by Mounib and an aqueous solution of 10% DMSO were only used in Atlantic salmon with one batch of gametes.

Insemination with cryopreserved Atlantic salmon sperm resulted in 36 to 91.3% eyed eggs (control = 100). The differences were caused by the type of extender and the batch of gametes employed. The very simple extender consisting of 0.3 M glucose and 10% DMSO only was the most successful. Results with cryopreserved sea trout sperm ranged between 38.6–54.8% eyed eggs, showing no difference between treatments.