AEI

Aquaculture Environment Interactions

AEI is a gold Open Access journal and a multidisciplinary forum for primary research studies on the environmental sustainability of aquaculture.

Online: ISSN 1869-7534

Print: ISSN 1869-215X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/aei

Volume contents
Aquacult Environ Interact 11:221-237 (2019)

Application of polychaetes in (de)coupled integrated aquaculture: production of a high-quality marine resource

ABSTRACT: Capitella sp. and Ophryotrocha craigsmithi received a diet of salmon feces to evaluate their potential to convert fish waste into valuable marine products, e.g. ingredients for fish feed formulation. Production rate and body composition (focusing on fatty acid [FA] profiles) were determined for polychaetes fed fresh, acid-preserved or oven-dried salmon feces to evaluate their application in (de)coupled integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems. Coupled production refers to direct integration of fish and polychaetes within the same (eco)system, while in decoupled production, units can be spatially or functionally separated. For decoupled production, preservation of fish waste is recommended. Although diets contained relatively low polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) levels (5-9% of total FAs), both species were rich in PUFAs (>30% of total FAs) and contained the essential FAs for fish. Feeding Capitella sp. the acid-preserved diet enriched its FA profile. Accumulation of PUFAs, de novo synthesis and/or transfer via bacterial biomass could have played a role in the upregulation of PUFA content. Amino acid profiles indicated that these polychaetes contained the amino acids essential for fish. Highest growth for both species was observed when fed fresh feces, whereas preserved diets resulted in negative growth rates for O. craigsmithi, suggesting an important role of microbes in polychaete diets. Our results indicate that both species are potential valuable marine products. Given growth rates with different diets, O. craigsmithi seems more suitable for integration in coupled systems, while Capitella sp. is interesting for both coupled and decoupled integrated systems.

KEYWORDS

Marit A. J. Nederlof (Corresponding Author)

  • Department of Aquaculture & Fisheries, Wageningen University, 6708 WD Wageningen, The Netherlands
marit.nederlof@wur.nl

Henrice M. Jansen (Co-author)

  • Wageningen Marine Research, 4401 NT Yerseke, The Netherlands
  • Institute of Marine Research, 5005 Bergen, Norway

Thomas G. Dahlgren (Co-author)

  • NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, 5006 Bergen, Norway
  • Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 41319 Gothenburg, Sweden

Jinghui Fang (Co-author)

  • Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Marine Fisheries Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Qingdao 266071, PR China
  • Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, PR China

Sonnich Meier (Co-author)

  • Institute of Marine Research, 5005 Bergen, Norway

Øivind Strand (Co-author)

  • Institute of Marine Research, 5005 Bergen, Norway

Harald Sveier (Co-author)

  • Lerøy Seafood Group, 5020 Bergen, Norway

Marc C. J. Verdegem (Co-author)

  • Department of Aquaculture & Fisheries, Wageningen University, 6708 WD Wageningen, The Netherlands

Aad C. Smaal (Co-author)

  • Department of Aquaculture & Fisheries, Wageningen University, 6708 WD Wageningen, The Netherlands
  • Wageningen Marine Research, 4401 NT Yerseke, The Netherlands