**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND POPULATION GROWTH HAVE INCREASED SEAFOOD DEMAND. CONTINUED EXPANSION OF THE AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY REQUIRES IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCT QUALITY. RAINBOW TROUT IS THE MOST CULTIVATED COLD-WATER FISH IN THE U.S., AND MUSCLE FILLET IS ITS MOST VALUABLE PRODUCT. THEREFORE, INCREASING FILLET-YIELD AND REDUCING FILLET QUALITY DOWNGRADING IN RAINBOW TOUT CAN IMPROVE AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS.CLASSICAL BREEDING APPROACHES CAN IMPROVE FILLET-YIELD AND QUALITY BUT ARE TIME-CONSUMING BECAUSE OF LONG GENERATION INTERVALS. A MORE EFFICIENT APPROACH IS TO USE GENOMIC SELECTION, WHERE THOUSANDS OF GENETIC MARKERS (SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS) ARE USED TO INCREASE THE ACCURACY OF THE BREEDING PROCESS AND REDUCE GENERATION INTERVAL. THERE IS IMMENSE INTEREST FROM THE INDUSTRY TO IMPLEMENT GENOMIC SELECTION IN THEIR BREEDING POPULATIONS, SIMILAR TO WHAT HAS BEEN RECENTLY ACHIEVED IN LIVESTOCK.OUR GOAL IS TO UTILIZE GENOMIC ANALYSES TO IDENTIFY GENETIC MARKERS PREDICTABLE OF MUSCLE-YIELD/QUALITY AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO IMPLEMENT GENOMIC SELECTION TO ACHIEVE A HIGHER GENETIC GAIN IN THESE IMPORTANT TRAITS IN SELECTIVELY-BRED FISH GENETIC LINES AT THE USDA/ARS AND MAJOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCERS.THE IMPACT OF APPLYING GENOMIC SELECTION IS THAT IT CAN REDUCE ANIMAL SELECTION TIME (FROM 2-3 YEARS TO 3 WEEKS) AND INCREASE PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY BY 30-50 PERCENT.