Sustainable, plant-based diets for salmonid aquaculture

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To meet growing demands for fish products and encourage healthier diet choices by Canadians, the aquaculture industry has been growing at an annual rate of 8-10%.  Growth has brought challenges to the industry, including the need to decrease reliance on declining global supplies of fish meal as the major protein source for carnivorous fish such as salmon and trout.  Plant ingredients have potential as feed ingredients for carnivorous fish and developing this opportunity has the added benefit of creating another market for Canadian producers of crops such as soybean, canola and peas.  Unfortunately, plant ingredients cause intestinal inflammation in salmonid fish, which has a negative impact on fish growth and health. The negative effects of plant ingredients on salmonid fish may be due to direct interactions of ingredients with the intestine or they may be indirect effects, resulting from feed ingredients causing changes in the complex intestinal microbial community that in turn affect intestinal physiology.  By studying the effects of various individual plant ingredients and mixtures on fish growth, intestinal health and the intestinal microbial community, components of the ingredients responsible for the negative effects can be identified and insight gained into the mechanisms responsible. Results of this work will determine the type and degree of processing of plant ingredients required to reduce their negative impact on fish growth and health.  An understanding of the mechanisms at work in the interaction between diet composition and intestinal health will lead to the formulation of improved, sustainable diets for the aquaculture industry and in the future selection and formulation of diets including new plant ingredients.