| Summary: | Atlantic salmon disappeared from our rivers in the 1930s due to pollution, dam construction and overfishing. Therefore, the reintroduction of the natural life cycle of this species in the Meuse system has a high ecological value. Furthermore, salmonid and salmonid egg consumption are of nutritional interest as they provide us with health-promoting omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 HUFA) (EPA and DHA). The present work was designed to evaluate the way to (1) optimise the Atlantic salmon reintroduction in our region and (2) introduce their eggs in our diet. Regarding the first objective, we worked in association with the CoSMos centre where salmonids are artificially reproduced to restock the rivers of the Meuse basin. For this purpose, we assessed the egg quality to ensure a better spawning success and hence a higher survival rate of salmonids. The second objective was to assess the egg nutritional quality in order to evaluate the interest for a Walloon Atlantic salmon egg production. In addition, a sensory test gave us a better insight into the way potential consumers could appreciate the eggs. The egg n-3 HUFA content could have a direct impact on their survival rate. Survival rate of salmonids registered at CoSMos were higher among semi-wild fish, as compared with captive counterparts. The life type difference between captive and semi-wild salmonids appeared to have a direct impact on the n-3 HUFA content of the eggs, which was higher in the migrating semi-wild fish eggs. Besides, the results of the environment impact between the eggs of salmons, which spent two years at sea, either caught in the Meuse system or in their own Loire-Allier system, suggested that they both shared an identical feeding ground at sea. The Allier returners, compared with their Meuse counterparts, may however migrate to a more northern feeding ground. The study of the species impact between the eggs of the semi-wild sea trouts, which spent one year at sea, and the semi-wild Atlantic salmons of Loire-Allier strain, which ...
|
|---|