Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) silage, a possible low trophic marine protein source for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

• Published in: Aquaculture
• Main Authors: Sartipiyarahmadi, Sahar, Philip, Antony Jesu Prabhu, Forshei, Aksel N., Sveier, Harald, Steinsund, Silje, Kleppe, Malin, Lock, Erik Jan Robert, Madaro, Angelico, Hansen, Tom Johnny, Strand, Øivind, Wiech, Martin, Jakobsen, Jan Vidar, Remø, Sofie C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3132271; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2024.740829

Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) could be a promising marine protein source in fish feeds and is of great interest since it can be cultivated along the Norwegian coastline. However, the use of blue mussels in feeds is dependent on developing suitable preservation and processing methods to produce a feed grade raw material. The present studies were conducted to investigate whether blue mussel silage could be used in the feed for Atlantic salmon post-smolt. Two feeding experiments were conducted using the same reference diet with FM inclusion of 25%, giving a mix of ∼59–63% plant-based ingredients vs ∼34–36% marine ingredients to simulate a standard grower feed for salmon post-smolts in SW. In experiment 1, fish were fed diets containing three different inclusion levels of blue mussel silage (BMS 3, 7, and 11%), a diet containing blue mussel meal (BMM) (12%) as well as the reference feed. In this experiment, the fish that were fed a diet containing BMS had a decline in both weight gain and condition factor when compared to the fish given the reference and BMM. The daily feed intake was similar in all groups, but the feed conversion ratio (FCR) increased in the fish fed BMS. The inclusion of BMS and BMM did not affect the digestibility of nutrients, but reduced retention of whole-body lipid and protein retention was observed. Salmon given BMS in the diet also had lower iron (Fe) concentrations in liver and whole body, indicating lower Fe uptake, irrespective of inclusion level. These findings were followed up in a second feeding experiment aiming to investigate whether different processing methods of blue mussel silage could influence the bioavailability of iron, as well as feed utilization and growth. The reference feed was formulated similar to the feed in exp. 1. Additionally, fish were fed diets containing BMM (9%) and the same batch of BMS (9%) used in exp. 1 as well as two diets containing new productions of BMS (9%) using either a lower acid level or only formic acid at the same level. In experiment 2, no ...