"We know very little about hagfish reproduction, and no-one has ever gotten hagfish to breed in captivity - amazing as that sounds, " says Douglas Fudge, who heads the Guelph research project.

BBC: Hagfish slime: The clothing of the future?

Under the auspices of a foundation co-ordinating zoos across the globe, these seek to breed animals in captivity and reintroduce them (and their much-needed genes) into the wild.

ECONOMIST: From zoo cage to modern ark

He wants to breed southern bluefin in captivity, rather than just fatten them up in cages.

FORBES: The Future Is Fish