Nutritional status of a nereidid polychaete cultured in sand filters of mariculture wastewater

Abstract

This study examined the nutritional composition of the intertidal marine polychaete Perinereis helleri (Nereididae) when artificially cultured in sand filters treating mariculture wastewater. Moisture levels in harvested P. helleri ranged from 758 to 855 g kg−1, and ash, from 23 to 61 g kg−1 wet matter (WM). Stocking density and graded size after harvest significantly affected their composition. Higher total lipid contents were found in large (>0.6 g) P. helleri (16–19 g kg−1 WM) and those grown at the lowest density (1000 m−2: 18 g kg−1 WM) than in small (≤0.6 g) ones (14 g kg−1 WM) and those grown at the highest densities (4000–6000 m−2: 13–16 g kg−1 WM). Several fatty acids within a very broad profile (some 30 identified) reflected this pattern, yet their ARA/EPA/DHA ratios were relatively unaffected. Feeding the polychaete-assisted sand filters (PASF) with fish meal to increase worm biomass productivity significantly increased their DHA content. Other components (e.g. protein, phospholipids, cholesterol, carbohydrate, amino acids, nitrogen, minerals and bromophenols) and nutritional factors (e.g. maturity, feeding seaweed and endemic shrimp viral content) were also investigated. Results suggest that PASF-produced P. helleri have a well-balanced nutritional profile for penaeid shrimp and fish broodstock.