Evaluation of Alternate Diet Formulations Designed to Enhance Flesh-Quality of Canadian Farmed Salmon

Description

The research will involve full-scale real-life field experiments where farmed salmon will be fed alternate diets and contaminant bioaccumulation will be examined as a function of fish size, feeding practices and growth characteristics. The levels of the target contaminants (PCDDs, PCDFs, PCBs, PBDEs, and 20 OC pesticides) will be measured in the flesh of a wide range of farmed Atlantic salmon of all sizes fed three different composition diets. By examining the contaminants burden as a function of fish size, life cycle and growth patterns of the fish we will be able to assess the rate of contaminant bioaccumulation over the entire sea water culture period. Concurrently we will examine the impact of the alternate feeds on the profiles of the omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids in the flesh of the target species. The 2 year program of research will be conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers with expertise in nutrition, contaminants, health and aquaculture science.

Program Name

Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP)

Year(s)

2008 - 2010

Ecoregion(s)

Atlantic: Gulf of Maine, Scotian Shelf

Principal Investigator(s)

Michael Ikonomou
Email: Michael.Ikonomou@dfo-mpo.gc.ca