ARS | Publication request: Evaluation of family growth responses in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)fed two fishmeal free diets and a fishmeal reference diet

Submitted to: Aquaculture America Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 10, 2011
Publication Date: February 29, 2012
Citation: Wolters, W.R., Burr, G.S., Barrows, F., Hardy, R.W. 2012. Evaluation of family growth responses in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)fed two fishmeal free diets and a fishmeal reference diet [abstract]. Aquaculture America Conference. p. 594.

Technical Abstract: Improvements have been made in the development of cost-effective salmonid diets while maintaining optimal growth. Due to these changes in diets it is important to evaluate the response of families in breeding programs to determine if interactions between families and diets are observed. This study evaluated family growth responses in Atlantic salmon fed three different diets (two fishmeal free diets and one fishmeal control diet) for 18 weeks. Pit tagged salmon (mean weight 182.22 +/- 1.70 g) from 37 families were stocked communally (5 fish per family) into triplicate tanks. Fish were fed at 1.5% of their body weight for the first six weeks, 1.0% of their body weight for the next six weeks, and 0.75% of their body weight for the final 6 weeks. Fish grew to an average final weight of 591.97 +/- 5.44g. There was a significant difference in growth between diets with fish fed an plant protein blend diet (mean weight gain 423.44 g) having significantly greater gain compared to fish fed the fishmeal reference diet (mean weight gain 395.47 g), but not significantly different than a poultry/plant protein blend diet (mean weight gain 411.15 g). There were also significant differences in growth among families. We did not detect a family x diet effect, indicating that salmon performing best on the fishmeal diet also had good performance on the fishmeal free diets formulated with alternative feed ingredients. Results show that Atlantic salmon in a breeding program selected for growth when fed a typical fish meal diet will also have superior performance when fed diets containing alternative protein sources.