Objectives : Presently, most of marine fish farmers around the Mediterranean basin grow genetically wild fish strains, which have not been genetically improved for culture performance (growth, appearance, disease resistance etc.). It is inevitable that the present gap for genetically improved strains of marine fish, and their reliable supply, will be filled. It will ultimately dominate the competitive component of marine culture industries once they evolve into commodity-style agribusiness (with fish prices being set at the lowest possible cost of production and the best quality). Those countries, which can competitively develop and supply the improved strains, will enjoy the benefit (perhaps survival) for their local industries. They will avoid introduction of disease and may also generate new export industries based on the sale of low volume high value "seeds". The countries, which do not, will be obliged to import the improved "seeds" for their industries to remain competitive. FREEZEBASS deals with the setting up of a bank of sperm for the sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax. The needed cryopreservation methods will be transferred from RTDs to SMEs. This bank will gather, in strictly controlled sanitary conditions, the whole genetic variability known to date for the species. Three geographic and genetically differentiated populations exist and will be collected from the Atlantic Ocean (AT), the Western (WM) and Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EM). The bank will enable to close rearing populations with enough variability to ensure the sustainability of the farms from a sanitary point of view but also if future domestication or selection programs are opened. The SMEs involved in this project are presently rearing several species among which they have chosen the sea bass for its great economical importance (European production x 15 fold in 10 years). FREEZEBASS will be the first bank of reference gathering the present wild genetic resources for the sea bass. It will allow: - to increase the genetic variability of farmed populations by adequate mixing of genes, - to avoid all problem related to the displacement of alive wild broodstock, - to realize sophisticated and large crossing scheme necessary to breeding programs, - to utilize seasonal desynchronized males, - to protect the genetic progress when breeding programs are set up.