Optimal rearing conditions for salmon growth in recirculating aquaculture systems

陆上循环水产养殖系统提供了控制环境条件的机会，以增加生产机会，同时最大限度地减少对环境的负面影响。网围业在投放到海洋围栏之前，在RAS饲养高达1公斤的鱼，并且有一个新兴的陆上产业试图在RAS养殖三文鱼以达到市场规模。尽管充分增长的条件得到了很好的描述，但最佳增长的条件在很大程度上是未知的。确定在RAS中最大限度地提高增长、福利、质量和成本效益的真正最佳条件，对于可持续和经济上可行的RAS行业至关重要。INSEAS(环境及其水生系统研究计划)是一个新建的世界级水生研究设施，旨在确定在RAS饲养鲑鱼的这些条件。这笔赠款的总体目标是确定北美常见水产养殖物种大西洋鲑鱼和日益被视为养殖物种的不列颠哥伦比亚省本地鱼类Coho鲑鱼的最佳盐度和温度以及与光周期的相互作用。我们将评估盐度、温度和光周期对大西洋鲑鱼和Coho鲑鱼生长性能、生理稳健性、福利和产品质量的影响。我们的实验设计使我们能够确定1公斤以下的鱼的最佳条件(对于网栏行业)和市场规模(对于陆上行业)。由此，我们将能够准确地量化在更理想的条件下养殖三文鱼的效益。最优条件下增长表现的差异可以纳入经济可行性模型，以预测我们研究的经济影响。凭借其灵活的研究平台和来自陆上生产商(Miracle Springs Inc.、KUTERRA LP和Target Marine孵化厂)、饲料生产商(Taplow Feed)和政府(不列颠哥伦比亚省农业部)的强有力的行业支持，InSEAS能够为陆基密闭式三文鱼水产养殖业提供所需的科学依据的信息，以提高三文鱼产量和加拿大在这一新兴行业的竞争力。

Land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) provide the opportunity to control environmental conditions to increase production opportunities while minimizing negative impacts on the environment. The net-pen industry rears up to 1 kg fish in RAS prior to release into ocean pens, and there is an emerging land-based industry attempting to rear salmon to market size in RAS. Although conditions for adequate growth are reasonably well described, conditions for optimal growth are largely unknown. Defining the truly optimal conditions that maximize growth, welfare, quality and cost-efficiencies in RAS is crucial for a sustainable and economically-feasible RAS industry. InSEAS (Initiative for the Study of the Environment and its Aquatic Systems) is a newly constructed, world-class aquatic research facility poised to define these conditions for rearing salmon in RAS. The overall goal of this grant is to determine optimal salinity and temperature, and the interaction with photoperiod, for Atlantic salmon, a common aquaculture species in North America, and coho salmon, a BC native fish that is increasingly being considered as a cultured species. We will assess the impact of salinity, temperature, and photoperiod on growth performance, physiological robustness, welfare, and product quality in Atlantic and coho salmon. Our experimental design allows us to identify optimal conditions for fish up to 1 kg (for the net-pen industry) and to market size (for the land-based industry). From this we will be able to precisely quantify the benefit of rearing salmon under more optimal conditions. Differences in growth performance under optimal conditions can be incorporated into economic feasibility models to project the economic impacts of our research. With its flexible research platform and strong industry support from land-based producers (Miracle Springs Inc., Kuterra LP, and Target Marine Hatcheries), a feed producer (Taplow Feeds) and government (BC Ministry of Agriculture), InSEAS is positioned to provide the land-based closed containment salmon aquaculture industry with the scientifically grounded information needed to enhance salmon production and increase Canada's competiveness in this emerging industry.