Influence of a dietary shift on temporal changes in fat deposition and fatty acid composition of Atlantic salmon post-smolt during the early phase of seawater rearing

The proportion of body fat in farmed fish correlates with the concentration of fat in the feed, and the fatty acid composition of the storage fat usually reflects that of the lipids in the feed. We examined the time course of changes in fatty acid compositions of fillet, viscera and carcass of Atlantic salmon post‐smolt over 14 weeks after transfer from fresh water to seawater. The fish had been fed either high‐(34%) or low‐ (22%) fat feeds based upon either fish or vegetable oils during freshwater rearing. Changes in tissue fat concentrations and fatty acid compositions were studied to assess the extent to which lipid turnover and fatty acid metabolism might contribute to temporal changes in fatty acid profiles. When given a 41% protein, 31% fat, fish oil‐based feed, the tissue fatty acid profiles of salmon fed vegetable oil‐based feeds in fresh water gradually came to resemble those of fish fed the fish oil‐based feed throughout freshwater and seawater rearing. The changes in tissue fatty acid compositions were greatest during the second half of the study, corresponding to the time at which growth rates of the fish were highest (SGRs weeks 0–6, 0.3–0.6% day^?1; weeks 0–14 SGRs > 1% day^?1). As the fish increased in size and body fat increased, their tissue fatty acid compositions seemed to be influenced more by deposition of fatty acids obtained from the feed than by lipid turnover and fatty acid metabolism.