The Effects of Substituting Selected Oilseed Protein Concentrates for Fish Meal in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Diets

Three oilseed protein concentrates (soybean, canola, and sunflower) were evaluated to determine their potential, when supplemented with deficient essential amino acids, to partially or completely replace fish meal in diets fed to rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss . Triplicate aquaria of juvenile trout (average weight of 12 g) were fed the experimental diets for 10 wk, at which time the average weight of the fish was approximately sixfold higher than the initial weight. Average fish weight gains on diets in which the protein component was 100% fish meal; 75% fish meal, 25% soybean protein concentrate; 50% fish meal, 50% soybean protein concentrate; and 75% fish meal, 25% sunflowerseed protein concentrate were not significantly different ( P < 0.05). The average weight of fish fed a commercial feed was significantly lower than that of fish fed the 100% fish meal diet, but not significantly different from fish fed the three other formulations mentioned above. Fish fed diets containing 50% fish meal, 50% canola protein concentrate; and 25% fish meal, 75% sunflowerseed protein concentrate had significantly lower average final weights than those of fish fed the other diets. Feed conversion ratio patterns among the dietary treatment groups reflected those of weight gain. Fish survival exceeded 95% on all diets. Apparent protein digestibility coefficients ranged from 79.5% (75% soybean protein concentrate, 25% canola protein concentrate) to 90.6% (100% soybean protein concentrate). The results of this study demonstrated that certain oilseed protein concentrates have good potential as protein sources in rainbow trout feeds when properly supplemented with essential amino acids.