Protein requirement for Atlantic salmon

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

Achieving high growth performance with lowest feed cost is a key component for successful salmon farming. It is known that dietary digestible protein (DP) levels are a major driver for growth performance in Atl. salmon diets. It is obvious that dietary DP levels below requirement will reduce growth performance. On the other hand, DP levels above the requirement for growth would increase significantly feed cost and therefore reduce profitability but also sustainability of salmon operations. The optimal dietary DP content is supposed to change by fish size and the environment conditions (water temperature, day light, disease pressure). Another influencing factor is the constant genetic selection for growth performance. Genetically improved growth performance is usually a result of increased protein deposition capacity of an animal and might require diets with increased protein levels. Digestible protein requirements might therefore have changed due to genetic selection and changed environmental conditions.