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SIP-FKD-SIP finansiert av Fiskeri- og Kystdepartementet

Dynamic and integrated production biology of farmed salmon in sea

Awarded: NOK 12.2 mill.

The salmon farming industry demands optimal production through-out the entire life-cycle. This demand is currently not realized due to seasonal environmental changes that dramatically influences on feed intake, lipid accumulation, and growth rate during t he sea stage. To improve the predictability and cost-efficiency of salmon farming, there is a need to compose dynamic diets that are optimized according to the major seasonal changes. In OptiProd, this will be pursued by developing a new and integrated understanding of how growth in salmon relates to the physiological state of the fish, how this interacts with seasonal and climatic conditions, and how this may be manipulated by diet composition and strategic supplements to optimize the performance by th e fish. In particular, we will characterize physiological and underlying biochemical responses to feed supplements such as bioactive fatty acids and nitrogenous components in order to boost and regulate the metabolism of salmon in advance of or during cri tical periods of the production cycle. In addition to traditional nutrional research tools, we will implement new technology within functional genomics and metabolomics to provide detailed information of the metabolic status in salmon and molecular mechan isms involved in season dependent growth regulation. The main experiments will be conducted in sea by using 0+ and 1+ smolts, whereas smaller feeding experiments as well as cell culture studies will be performed to complement our knowledge. OptiProd is a strategic important project that will integrate research experience from production biology, nutrition, and biotechnology in a novel multidisciplinary approach to reduce the severe problem with seasonal dependent growth stagnation in the salmon industry. This will be pursued by feed optimalization and by increasing the global understanding of the mechanisms affecting growth and well-being of salmon during the seawater phase.

Funding scheme:

SIP-FKD-SIP finansiert av Fiskeri- og Kystdepartementet