Reducing the levels of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in farmed Atlantic salmon by substitution of fish oil with vegetable oil in the feed

Atlantic salmon were fed extruded diets based on either 100% fish oil (FO) or 100% vegetable oil blend (VO) substitution for 22 months. A total of seven distinct feeding periods were studied that incorporated higher levels of dietary oil inclusion, and larger pellet size as fish size increased. Whole fish levels of polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) and dioxin‐like PCBs (DLPCB) were analysed at the beginning and end of each of the seven feeding periods. The PCDD/F and DLPCB concentrations in the FO diets increased from 2.43 to 4.74 ng WHO‐TEQ kg^?1 (TEQ, toxic equivalents), while VO diets decreased from 1.07 to 0.33 WHO‐TEQ kg^?1 as oil inclusion increased. Partial least square regression analyses identified feed concentration, growth rate and feed utilization, but not variations in lipid content, as factors significantly affecting fish PCDD/F and DLPCB levels. Accumulation efficiencies for DLPCB (740 ± 90 g kg^?1) were significantly (P < 0.01) higher than for PCDD/F (430 ± 60 g kg^?1), explaining the increasing dominance of DLPCB levels over PCDD/F levels in whole fish (DLPCB : PCDD/F ratio of 2.4 ± 0.1 for both VO and FO fed fish) compared with feed (DLPCB : PCDD/F ratio of 1.5 and 0.34 for FO and VO feed respectively). Vegetable oil substitution significantly reduced the level of PCDD/F and DLPCB (eightfold and twelve‐fold, respectively) in the fillet of a 2 kg salmon, but, also negatively affected beneficial health components such as fillet n‐3/n‐6 fatty acid ratio.     

Lake-use by juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) and other salmonids in northern Norway

Abstract– The utilization of lakes, and inlet and outlet streams by juvenile Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar L.), brown trout ( Salmo trutta L.) and Arctic charr ( Salvelinus alpinus (L.), were investigated in 16 watercourses northern Norway, all known to inhabit salmon stocks. In lakes, fish were caught by small mesh size gill nets, while in rivers fish were caught electrofishing. In the shallow littoral (0-3 m depth) there were juvenile salmon in 15 of 19 investigated lakes, juvenile trout in 17 and juvenile charr in seven. Trout dominated significantly in numbers in the shallow littoral of seven lakes, while salmon and charr dominated in three lakes each. When trout and salmon were frequent in the shallow littoral, charr was usually not present in this habitat, but were found in the profundal zone in most of the lakes. Atlantic salmon parr utilized both shallow and deep lakes, and used both stones and macrophytic vegetation as shelter. The utilization of lakes by salmon parr seemed to be closely related to utilization of small inlet streams for spawning. In most inlet and outlet streams salmon dominated over trout in numbers, while charr were absent. This is the first documentation of lake-use by naturally occurring salmon parr in Scandinavia.     

Is there lipostatic regulation of feed intake in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L.?

High‐energy feeds, with increased fat concentrations, are often used in salmon farming to improve feed:gain ratio. However, fish are thought to regulate ingestion to meet their energy and nutrient intake requirements. Further, feeds with excessive fat content will lead to increased adiposity, which is thought to exert a negative feedback on feed intake via lipostatic regulation mechanisms. A test of the lipostatic model of feed intake regulation was carried out on juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. (c. 165 g) in which body fat content (5.6% and 9.4% body fat) had been manipulated by feeding feeds with different fat concentrations. Thereafter, the fish were offered the high‐ and low‐fat feeds (15.6% and 26.5% dietary fat content) simultaneously, and our hypothesis was that feed preference and intake would reflect the state of fat storage. Thus, we predicted that, when given a choice of feeds, the lean fish would eat more, and that the body fat status of the groups would converge over time. The results indicated a general preference for the leaner feed irrespective of adiposity level, but leaner fish consumed more feed, grew faster and deposited more body fat than their fatter counterparts. Over time, body compositions converged among treatments, and differences in feed intake ablated. These findings seem to provide supportive evidence for a lipostatic regulation of feed intake in fish.     

Habitat utilization of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.), brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) and Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus (L.)) in two lakes in northern Norway

Abstract— Habitat utilization of juvenile Atlantic salmon, brown trout and Arctic charr was investigated in two lakes in northern Norway during the icefree season. Both the vertical distribution and the distribution among different habitat types were studied by gillnetting with small mesh sized gillnets (8-15 mm) in different habitats. Salmon and trout were predominantly caught in the littoral and sublittoral zones (0-6 m depth). Access to shelter seemed to be the most important factor determining the horizontal distribution of small salmon and trout. Most of these fish were caught in stony or vegetated habitats, while few salmon and trout were caught on sandy locations or in the pelagic zone. In one of the lakes, there were significantly higher catch rates of salmon than of trout in the stony littoral (0-3 m), while in the other lake there were no significant differences in spatial distribution between these two species. Charr were primarily found in the profundal, sublittoral or pelagic zones of the lakes.     

Iron status and dietary levels of iron affect the bioavailability of haem and nonhaem iron in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar

The absorption of haem iron and nonhaem iron in 155-g Atlantic salmon Salmo salar was studied by simultaneous labelling of the two forms of iron with ⁵⁹Fe or ⁵⁵Fe, respectively. Iron absorption was measured after incorporation of this element into blood and tissue 2 days after oral administration. Fish with a low iron status showed a significantly greater absorption of both haem and nonhaem iron than iron-loaded fish. The low-iron group distributed a larger proportion of the iron to kidney and spleen than the iron-loaded or control fish. Absorption of both forms of iron increased with higher doses administered, but absorption relative to dose administered decreased. There was a trend suggesting that increased levels of dietary haem iron resulted in the reduced uptake of nonhaem iron, but not vice versa . The results of the present study suggest that factors affecting bioavailability of haem and nonhaem iron in Atlantic salmon are similar to those of other vertebrates.     

Nutritive value of partially dehulled and extruded sunflower meal for post-smolt Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in sea water

This study determined the digestibility of protein in partially dehulled sunflower meal (SFM) and then, as the main goal, the nutritive value of high‐temperature extruded (≤149°C) partially dehulled SFM (SFM_EX) for post‐smolt Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in sea water. The digestibility study was conducted using the settling column approach (‘Guelph system’) for faeces collection as described by Hajen, Higgs, Beames and Dosanjh. In the nutritive value study, triplicate groups of 50 salmon (mean weight ～116 g) in 4000‐L outdoor fibreglass tanks supplied with 25–40 L min^?1, filtered, oxygenated (dissolved oxygen, 7.0–8.5 mg L^?1), 11–12°C sea water (salinity, 29–31 g L^?1), were fed twice daily to satiation one of five steam‐pelleted dry diets that contained 422 g of digestible protein (DP) kg^?1 and ～16.4 MJ of digestible energy (DE) kg^?1 on a dry weight basis for 84 days. Low‐temperature‐dried anchovy meal (LT‐AM) comprised 68.2% of the basal diet protein whereas in four test diets, SFM_EX progressively replaced up to 33.0% of the DP provided by LT‐AM in the basal diet (SFM_EX≤271 g kg^?1 of dry matter). Sunflower meal had 87.9% DP. Diet treatment did not significantly affect specific growth rate (1.39–1.45% day^?1), feed efficiency (1.19–1.26), percentage of dietary protein retained (45.8–47.5), gross energy utilization (46.5–49.4%), per cent survival (96.0–99.3) or terminal whole body and muscle proximate compositions. We conclude that SFM_EX can comprise ≥271 g kg^?1 of the dry diet or ≥22.7% of the digestible dietary protein of post‐smolt Atlantic salmon in seawater without any adverse effects on their performance.     

Unstable release strategies in reared Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.

The effects of year, size, sexual maturity and release date on the probability of recapture of tagged Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., released from a Swedish hatchery in the Baltic Sea were examined. The probability of recapture varied among years for individuals which were juvenile when released (1988, 13.5%; 1989, 4.4%; 1990, 1.2%) or previously mature males (1988, 1.9%; 1989, 0.5%; 1990, 0.4%). Body size was positively associated with the probability of recapture in each release year for both life-history types. Inter-annual changes in recapture rates were similar for both large and small smolts. There was a significant effect of life-history type on recapture rates in 1988 and 1989, but not in 1990. There was a significant effect of release date on recapture rates in 1988 and 1990, but not in 1989. The maximum recapture rates were associated with different release dates in each year, i.e. 27 May 1988, 6 June 1989 and 21 June 1990.     

Content of synthetic astaxanthin in escaped farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., ascending Norwegian rivers

Abstract  Isomeric ratios of astaxanthin in eggs and alevins of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., have proven useful in identifying female spawners of farmed origin, but the method underestimates the proportion of fish of farmed origin. The rate of underestimation was studied by analysing astaxanthin content in tissue of 55 farmed Atlantic salmon ascending two Norwegian rivers in the autumn of 1991. The astaxanthin content fell into two distinct classes. Fifty-one per cent of the adult escaped salmon had isomeric ratios similar to salmon fed synthetic astaxanthin, whereas all the remaining fish had ratios similar to wild fish. Discriminant analysis classified 96.4% of the fish with known astaxanthin content into the correct astaxanthin class on basis of tail-fin erosion, length, weight and gill-cover damage. This discriminant function was used to estimate the astaxanthin classification of 1017 farmed salmon caught in nine rivers during 1989–1991. The classification success varied among years from 52 to 64%. Corresponding numbers for females and males were 45–48% and 54–70%, respectively. Thus, estimates of spawning rates of farmed female salmon via astaxanthin content in eggs or alevins from redds should be adjusted accordingly. The observed isomeric ratios of astaxanthin in the escaped farmed salmon and the relationship with morphology indicates that a significant proportion of the escapees ascending rivers have spent more than 1 year in the wild after escape.     

Lipostatic regulation of feed intake in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. defending adiposity at the expense of growth?

Production of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. utilizes feeds with high fat concentrations to give low feed:gain. However, increased dietary fat content inevitably leads to increased body fat deposition, and salmon with very high fat concentrations in the muscle (fillet) are regarded as being of inferior quality. Adiposity is thought to participate in the regulation of feed intake by means of negative feedback control. Thus, elevated adiposity is predicted to result in lower feed consumption, and thereby possibly impair growth. We tested the hypothesis that high body fat content in salmon would lead to reduced feed intake and growth. Salmon (740 g) were preconditioned with high‐ or low‐fat feed (38.8 and 27.8% dietary fat content) for 10 weeks to establish differences in body fat storage (build‐up phase). Thereafter, fat and lean fish (19.4% and 16.7% body fat content) were fed the high‐ and low‐fat feeds for an additional 7 weeks (Phase Two). During Phase Two, the fat fish consumed 30% less feed than lean fish, which resulted in corresponding differences in growth. The differences in adiposity seen at the end of the build‐up phase were still evident at trial end. Groups of fish, which were preconditioned with the same feed during the build‐up phase, had similar feed consumption and growth to each other during Phase Two, indicating that body fat was playing an important role in the regulation of feed intake.     

Fat distribution in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. in relation to body size and feeding regime

Tissue (fillet, viscera and carcass) distributions of fat were examined in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. (≈740→≈1400→≈2000 g) to test the hypothesis that the fillet becomes increasingly important as a fat depot when fish increase in size. The salmon were fed for 11 weeks on either a high‐fat feed (H: ≈39% fat) or a low‐fat feed (L: ≈28% fat), and half of the fish were then subjected to a dietary switch to create four feed treatments (HH, HL, LL and LH). Fillet fat concentration increased with the passage of time, and the fillet also represented an increasing percentage of the body mass (≈48.5→≈55→≈58.5%) as the fish increased in size. As a consequence, the fillet became increasingly important as a fat depot, containing ≈30% of the body fat in the small fish at the start of the experiment, and ≈50% in the fish sampled at the end of the trial. The proportion of fat localised in the viscera was little influenced by either fish size or feeding treatment, and was within the range of 19–25%, whereas the carcass held a decreasing percentage of the body fat stores as fish size increased. There was a highly significant negative correlation between the percentages of body fat found within the carcass (C) and fillet (F): F = 73.589–0.9285C (R² = 0.973; n = 13). Although the fillet became more important as a fat depot as fish increased in size, the percentage of the body fat reserves found within this tissue appeared to plateau at 50–55%.     

Protein to carbohydrate ratio in high-energy diets for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

The effect of dietary protein to carbohydrate ratios (P/CH, weight percentage) of P34/CH21, P39/CH15 and P44/CH10 was studied in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) with respect to growth and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in one medium-scale experiment (Experiment 1) and to slaughter quality in two production scale experiments (Experiments 2A and 2B). The dietary fat was maintained at 290 g kg⁻¹ whereas the protein (fish meal) was exchanged with carbohydrate (wheat). Fish grown from approximately 1 to 4 kg were fed a restricted diet (iso-energetic on gross energy basis) or to satiation. Nitrogen, fat, starch and energy digestibilities were measured in a separate experiment. There were slight tendencies for lower growth (P = 0.06) and for higher FCRs (P = 0.06) in Experiment 1, and a slight tendency for a lower dress-out percentage in Experiments 2A and 2B (P = 0.10 and 0.20 respectively) with decreasing P/CH. The P/CH had no effect on the fat concentration of fillets, flesh colour or sexual maturation. The digestibility of starch decreased from 62.1% to 46.1% and the digestibility of energy from 84.9% to 79.5% when P/CH decreased from P44/CH10 to P34/CH21. Growth per unit digestible protein increased with decreasing P/CH. Feeding to satiation improved the growth but the FCR was higher than it was for restricted feeding. The calculated starch load per kg of fish growth increased with decreasing P/CH, whereas the effluent nitrogen decreased.     

Use of stable isotopes to distinguish farmed from wild Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar

Abstract –  Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen ( δ ¹³C and δ ¹⁵N) were examined in wild and aquaculture origin Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar , to evaluate their utility to identify escaped farmed fish. Samples of muscle tissue obtained from wild Conne River, Newfoundland, salmon were significantly more enriched in nitrogen ( δ ¹⁵N: mean = 12.75; SD ± 0.38‰) but depleted in lipid corrected carbon ( δ ¹³C': mean = −20.51; SD ± 0.23‰) by comparison with aquaculture specimens obtained from Bay d'Espoir, Newfoundland ( δ ¹⁵N = 10.96 ± 0.19‰;  δ ¹³C' = −19.25 ± 0.17‰) resulting in a complete separation of the two groups. Aquaculture specimens differed in δ ¹³C' from analyses of commercial salmon diet by 0.24‰, within the enrichment range associated with trophic transfers, while the δ ¹⁵N values in salmon muscle were enriched by 5.01‰. Although differences occurred in direct comparisons of white muscle and adipose tissue ( N  = 49), the average δ ¹³C' and δ ¹⁵N signatures varied in absolute amounts by only 0.5‰, supporting the use of adipose tissue as a nonlethal means to determine isotopic signatures of Atlantic salmon.     

Feed intake of Atlantic salmon parr Salmo salar L. in relation to temperature and feed composition

The design and testing of a feed intake monitoring system based on feed waste collection is described. The system was used in a study of feed intake and growth of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. parr in relation to temperature (2 °C or 8 °C) and feed composition (21% fat, 50% protein and 22.5 MJ kg^?1 or 34% fat, 40% protein and 24.8 MJ kg^?1). Fish had lower feed intake and slower growth at the lower temperature, but temperature‐corrected growth (TGC) was better in fish held at the lower temperature. There was an increase in TGC over time at low temperature, probably as a result of long‐term thermal acclimation. Feed conversion for an increase in body size from 19 to 38 g was better for the fish held at low temperature. Feed consumption of low‐fat feed was higher than that of high‐fat feed, and growth of the fish fed the low‐fat feed was better at the higher temperature. These data are consistent with the ideas that the fish compensated for differences in feed energy densities to maintain energy and nutrient intakes, and that lipostatic factors may be operating to regulate feed intake and growth.     

Target spawning requirements for Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., in Newfoundland rivers

Abstract In recent years, there has been increasing pressure from user groups in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to manage Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., on a river-specific basis. The requirement to maximize benefits to users while ensuring that conservation goals are met has resulted in an initiative to develop river-specific target spawning requirements. In Newfoundland, anadromous juvenile Atlantic salmon make widespread use of lacustrine habitat for rearing. Depending on the river, lacustrine habitat can account for a substantial proportion of total production. Therefore, target spawning requirements for a number of rivers in several management areas were derived in terms of the contribution of both riverine and lacustrine habitats. The approach adopted, and derivations of associated parameter values, are reviewed, and limitations and research needs are discussed.     

Differences in the time of river entry of Atlantic salmon,Salmo salar L., spawning in different parts of the River North Esk

Abstract Spawning adult Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., were sampled in five tributaries of the River North Esk, Scotland, during the winters 1989/90 and 1990/91. The fish furthest upriver had higher sea- and smolt-ages and the one-sea-winter fish were smaller and more coloured than those spawning further downstream. These differences indicate that the uppermost tributaries are populated by fish which enter the river early in the year and the lowest tributaries by fish entering late in the year. Exactly why such a structure exists is not clear, but it is suggested that these differences may be adaptive and that selection effects may continually be modifying these populations.     

Digestibility of diets with precooked rye or wheat by Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, L.

Four extruded diets, differing in grain supplementation, were fed to triplicate groups of Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar , L.) with a mean weight of 0.5 kg in a digestibility trial. The diets contained 100 or 150 g kg⁻¹ of precooked rye or wheat, replacing fish meal. There were no significant differences in apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of protein, fat or starch which could be related to dietary carbohydrate source or inclusion level. The ADC of dry matter and energy were higher for the diets with wheat than for those with rye, and higher for the diets with wheat than for those with rye, and higher for the diets with 100 g precooked grain kg⁻¹ than for those with 150 g kg⁻¹. The mean ADC of starch was 52% for rye, and 53% for wheat.     

Effects of dietary moisture content of extruded diets on physical feed quality and nutritional response in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Feeds in modern aquaculture must be of high physical quality to withstand mechanical impacts. However, physical quality of feed has been shown to affect nutritional responses. In this study, different physical feed qualities were created using different drying time. Effects on physical feed quality, feed intake, nutrient digestibility and growth in Atlantic salmon were investigated. Different drying times of four commercial‐like diets resulted in dry matter contents of 95.9%, 94.1%, 92.3% and 90.8%. A fifth diet containing 70% dry matter was made by soaking pellets. Triplicate groups of Atlantic salmon (961 ± 12.1 g ind^?1, mean ± SEM) were first fed ad libitum and thereafter a restricted ration. The diets differed significantly in bulk density, DORIS durability, hardness, water stability after 60 and 120 min, but not in water stability after 240 min. Feed intake and growth were not affected by physical quality of the dry diets, whereas soaking had a positive effect on feed intake. Restricted compared with ad libitum feeding increased nutrient digestibility, but digestibility was not affected by varying drying time among diets. However, soaking resulted in slightly reduced digestibility of starch. Most methods used to analyse physical quality did not correlate with feed intake and growth; only long‐term water stability affected feed intake.