Overall, results from the present study suggest that improvements
in harvest weight should be yielded by weight-based
selections between 24 and 32 weeks (post hatching of nauplii). The
moderate correlation found between 16 and 24 weeks also suggests
that selections at earlier ages could produce improvements in harvest
yields. However, if families are reared separately prior to physical
tagging, there is higher likelihood that early life rearing effects will
confound estimates of genetic performance at the earliest measures;
potentially compromising the accuracy of genetic selections at these
younger ages. Based on the moderate correlation between weight at
week 32 and harvest age (week 24), and the likely lower impact of
early life rearing effects on genetic estimates at later ages, it seems
that week 32 would be an appropriate alternative age at which to
perform selections to improve harvest weight. Importantly, due to
the potential influence of early life rearing effects, itmay provemore
efficient to select for weight at later ages (e.g. such as week 32),
rather than at harvest age (week 24), in order to obtain greatest
improvements in harvest yields for breeding programs relying on
separate rearing to maintain family identity during the earliest life
history stages.