WILLIAM R. WAYMAN, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Warm Springs Regional Fishery Center, Warm Springs, Georgia 31830, USA

R. GLENN THOMAS, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, P.O. Box 37, Grand Isle, Louisiana 70358, USA

TERRENCE R. TIERSCH, School of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA

Pressure on sciaenid stocks in the Gulf of Mexico has created interest in commercial aquaculture and captive propagation. Cryopreservation of sperm can be used to reduce the number of males needed in hatchery operations, produce crossbreeding or hybridization, preserve genetic resources of endangered stocks, and accelerate genetic research. Sperm were collected from black drum Pogonias cromis, spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus, and red drum Sciaenops ocellatus during spawning seasons by removing and slicing the testis to release sperm. Hanks’ balanced salt solution (200 mOsm/kg) was added as an extender. Sperm were frozen in 0.5-ml straws at three freezing rates (-2.5^oC/min to -45^oC/min). Methanol, glycerol, dimethyl acetamide, and dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) were evaluated as cryoprotectants at two concentrations (5% and 10%) for black drum and spotted seatrout sperm, while only 10% DMSO was evaluated for red drum. Ten percent DMSO yielded significantly higher post-thaw sperm motility than did the other cryoprotectants tested. Red drum sperm were thawed at different temperatures in a water bath or on a bench top. Sperm thawed in a water bath (10^oC to 60^oC) had significantly higher post-thaw motility (P = 0.0138) than did sperm thawed on the bench top (21^oC). Cryopreservation of sciaenid sperm appears possible, but utilization of these techniques in hatcheries and aquaculture has not become established.