Back to search

HAVBRUK2-Stort program for havbruksforskning

Effect of diet and stress on the nutritional value and health of tilapia fish species

Awarded: NOK 0.26 mill.

Project overview Supported by the Research Council of Norway as Project Establishment Support within International HAVBRUK2 Duration 2019 Scope Create an international network to collect and disseminate information about tilapia quality and aquaculture Team Institute of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway Aquaculture Cristalina, Brazil São Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil Description The project developed a platform that provides an informal environment to build new relationships between aquaculture and research institutes to collect and disseminate the knowledge on tilapia nutritional quality and husbandry Experiment Pilot analyses of tilapia from Brazilian aquaculture were performed to test sampling and analytical methods to determine fish quality International collaboration The project collected different issues that might compromise international collaboration in related fields Perspectives The project aims to capture the obtained knowledge, lessons learned and best practices for the benefit of future international projects Project stages Sharing of available data Tilapia Sampling: Red and white tilapia (500 g) were collected in Cristalina aquaculture, Brazil Husbandry practices description was done by Cristalina Brazil ? Norway shipment of frozen fish samples was carried out by the UNESP team Analysis of the nutritional value of red, white, black tilapia, pangasius and salmon was carried out by NTNU Results We have created a strong network between aquaculture and researchers that lead to: Sampling of different breeds of tilapia Assessment of tilapia husbandry practices Tilapia international shipment Analysis of the nutritional quality of fish on a molecular level Statistical analysis of multidisciplinary data We have created a platform of stakeholders eager to participate in tilapia research and dissemination We have obtained valuable preliminary data on the quality of tilapia across countries and aquacultures We will continue our collaboration in the future Conclusions Our research shows that different fish (e.g. salmon and tilapia) should not be considered as competitors because they provide different sets of nutrients for the human diet. A balanced fish diet has to contain both of these fish to provide the whole spectrum of important nutritional compounds for our organism Acknowledgements This project was made possible thanks to the: Excursion to Norwegian aquacultures that was organized by Innovation Norway Trøndelag within Nor-Fishing 2018 Seminar Presentation Brazilian Fish Farming Market that was organized by Innovation Norway South America Support of the Research Council of Norway Thanks to Dr. Renata Costa Prado, Senior Project Manager, Innovation Norway Rio de Janeiro for her valuable help

Obtained during the project data will be used to improve tilapia marketing by Brazilian aquaculture Brazilian aquaculture and UNESP plan future use of the developed extraction procedure and molecular analysis of tilapia quality. NTNU and UNESP plan publish scientific article based on the project results.

The DiStressTilapia project will focus on the foundation of a comprehensive network between different scientific institutions from Norway and Brazil and tilapia producers. Such network will be used as a platform for the creation and dissemination of knowledge on Tilapia quality and safety. Pilot analyses of tilapia from Brazilian aquacultures will be carried out during the project. The aim of this collaboration is to gather enough knowledge on tilapia to lay the foundation for further in-depth research on improving tilapias breeds, wellbeing and nutritional value by changing some of the analysed factors.

Funding scheme:

HAVBRUK2-Stort program for havbruksforskning