Abstract
This research, which is part of a larger study designed to assess the feasibility of winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, stock enhancement in New Hampshire, identifies hatchery feeds that optimize feeding-related performance of fish once released in the wild. Fish reared on post-nauplii of brine shrimp, Artemia sp., white worms, Enchytraeus albidus, common burrower amphipods, Leptocheirus plumulosus, and formulated pellets were evaluated post-release from in situ cages using survival, growth rate, feeding onset and incidence, stomach fullness, diet composition, and nucleic acid-based condition as indicators of hatchery diet suitability. Amphipod-reared fish had the highest mean stomach content index of all feed types, including wild fish. Wild and worm-reared fish exhibited the most similar survival, overall stomach fullness, and diet composition profiles over time. Amphipod-reared fish ranked highest in overall performance; however, if wild fish performance is viewed as the ideal for a stocked fish, worm-reared fish performed optimally. This study describes hatchery feeding strategies that may ease the transition of flatfish released into the wild for stock enhancement.
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