Dietary inclusion of a marine microalgae meal for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): Impact of Pavlova sp. 459 on growth performance and tissue lipid composition

An intact-cell meal produced from the marine microalga, Pavlova sp. CCMP459 (Pav459) cultivated in land-based enclosed photobioreactors, was investigated as a protein and lipid source in the diets for post-smolt Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The Pav459 meal contained 60.87% protein, 12.25% lipid, 2.86% EPA and 1.45% DHA. Growth performance and tissue fatty acid profiles of salmon (170.1 +/- 23.9 g/fish initial weight) were evaluated after being fed test diets for 12 weeks containing either 10% (Low Pav) or 20% (High Pav) Pav459 meal; relative to a fish meal and fish oil-based control diet. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were found in salmon comparing dietary treatments for weight gain (271.3-279.6 g/fish), specific growth rate (1.2%/day), or feed conversion ratio (0.9 g feed/g gain). Salmon fed diets containing Pav459 meal had a slightly higher condition factor (1.3) than salmon fed the control diet (1.2). Liver DHA + EPA were significantly higher in salmon fed the control diet (5.1 mg/g) than salmon fed diets containing 10-20% Pav459 meal (3.4-3.5 mg/g). There were no significant differences observed in fillet muscle DHA, EPA, and most fatty acids among salmon fish diets containing 10-20% Pav459 meal compared to salmon fed the control diet. Overall, the results from this study indicate that Pav459 marine microalgae meal is a good candidate source of protein and essential n-3 LC-PUFA in diets for farmed Atlantic salmon.

Automated summary

The study investigated the use of an intact-cell meal produced from the marine microalga Pavlova sp. CCMP459 as a protein and lipid source in the diets for post-smolt Atlantic salmon. The results showed that the inclusion of Pav459 meal in the salmon diets did not significantly affect the growth performance and tissue fatty acid profiles of the fish. Salmon fed diets containing Pav459 meal had a slightly higher condition factor compared to those fed the control diet.