Energy and ration requirements of juvenile Pacific halibut ( Hippoglossus stenolepis) based on energy consumption and growth rates

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Authors: Paul, A. J., Paul, J. M., Smith, R. L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1994
• Subjects: Gulf of Alaska; Pacific; northern shrimp; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1994.tb01273.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1095-8649.1994.tb01273.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1994.tb01273.x

Growth of captive juvenile Pacific halibut was linearly related to energy consumption (J g −1 day −1 ) at 4°C by the following equation: growth (% body weight (b.w.) day −1 )=0–007 (consumption J g −1 day −1 )– 0.192; r 2 =0.81. Weight gain was independent of size for fish between 9 and 7000 g when growth was expressed as a function of consumption in J g −1 day −1 . Maintenance ration determined in feeding–growth experiments averaged 27.4 J g −1 day −1 at 4–0°C. Small halibut ate significantly more food than large fish. Single meals following 2 day fasts averaged 4.1% b.w. for halibut under 100 g, 1.72% b.w. for 1.2 kg fish and 1.1% B.W. for 6.8 kg fish. Both large and small size categories of halibut tended to evacuate their meal in about 3 days even though small fish ate relatively larger meals. Minimum estimates for daily ration to achieve growth rates observed in the Gulf of Alaska were approximately 0.5 to 2.4% b.w. day −1 depending on fish size and whether northern shrimp or yellowfin sole were their prey.