Feeding and growth of exercised and unexercised juvenile Atlantic salmon in freshwater,and performance after transfer to seawater

Juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), selected from the upper modal group, were first held for 122 days (from December to May) in freshwater, and then for 49 days in seawater (34% salinity). In freshwater, the fish were exposed to either standing water or water currents corresponding to a swimming speed of 1 Bl s^–1. Natural light conditions prevailed throughout the whole experiment.In the freshwater phase, food intake, growth rate and condition factor of the fish increased with increasing daylength. Condition factors, however, decreased slightly during the last month of the freshwater period, suggesting that the fish underwent parr-smolt transformation. The growth rate and food intake of the fish subjected to standing water were approximately 15% lower than those of fish exposed to water currents.Transient suppression of appetite and growth, and an increase in plasma concentration of Cl^–, were seen after exposure of the fish to seawater. Within 28 days, all these parameters had been restored to pre-transfer levels. Previous exercise did not appear to have influenced the hypoosmoregulatory capacity of the fish. Growth rate and food intake observed during the seawater phase were similar, irrespective of the treatment experienced by the fish during freshwater rearing.