Abstract
Tilapia does not naturally contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids which can be altered through feed supplementation. This study evaluates the effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on tilapia growth and muscle tissue composition, especially the ability of tilapia to retain omega-3 fatty acids, raised in aquaponics system. Tilapia were fed linseed oil (LO) and sunflower oil (SO) supplemented feeds for 12 weeks and growth was measured at 0, 6, and 12 weeks. Omega-3 muscle tissue retention was measured at 12 weeks. The condition factor significantly increased between 6 and 12 weeks for both LO and SO. At week 12 the condition factor of the negative control (NC) was significantly lower than both LO and SO. LO retained more of some omega-3 fatty acids than SO, however they were not significantly different using either method. NC had higher total omega-3 values than LO and SO according to both methods; however NC also had the highest saturated and total fat. This study determined that increasing fatty acids in the diet resulted in increased growth and a healthier body composition overall for tilapia; however it did not conclusively determine the effect of supplementation on omega-3 retention.
Highlights
Increase in the worldwide human population has resulted in an increased need for food, especially nutrient dense protein sources
One problem with current aquaculture techniques is that commercial compound feeds for omnivorous species like tilapia contain on average 15% fish meal and 1% fish oil resulting in a ratio of 1.41 of wild fish used to farm fish produced [3].This increases the demand for fish meal and fish oil without a sustainable return in terms of production for human consumption [3]
This study investigates the effects of omega-3 supplementation on growth in tilapia
Summary
Increase in the worldwide human population has resulted in an increased need for food, especially nutrient dense protein sources. Aquaculture is rising in prevalence in response to food needs and problems with traditional capture fishing. It represents a major source of food especially in developing countries or countries where livestock farming is not feasible. One problem with current aquaculture techniques is that commercial compound feeds for omnivorous species like tilapia contain on average 15% fish meal and 1% fish oil resulting in a ratio of 1.41 of wild fish used to farm fish produced [3].This increases the demand for fish meal and fish oil without a sustainable return in terms of production for human consumption [3]. In this study we utilized commercial feed supplemented with linseed oil as an omega-3 fatty acid source and looked at growth. It investigates the effect of supplementation on omega-3 fatty acid retention in muscle tissue and overall muscle composition; thereby potentially increasing the sustainability, quality, and marketability of aquaculture products
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