Krill meal linked to growth and survival gains in salmon smolts.
A new field trial has suggested that including Antarctic krill meal in salmon feed can improve growth and reduce mortality in the early seawater phase.
The study, published in the Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, compared Atlantic salmon smolts fed a commercial diet containing 15 percent fishmeal with a diet containing 5 percent fishmeal and 10 percent krill meal. The trial ran for 116 days at a commercial farm operated by SalMar Farming in northern Norway.
Fish fed the krill meal diet showed a 4.8 percent higher specific growth rate and 22 percent lower mortality than the control group. Average weight at the end of the trial reached 700 grams for the krill-fed group, compared with 676 grams for the control. Mortality was 0.49 percent for the krill-fed group versus 0.63 percent for the control.
While the differences were not statistically significant, the authors note that even small improvements in growth and survival can translate into substantial economic gains given the scale of production.
Krill meal, supplied in this trial by Aker Biomarine, has been investigated as a sustainable functional ingredient for aquafeeds. The study was conducted in partnership with Skretting and SalMar Farming.
