Optimal rearing conditions for salmon growth in recirculating aquaculture systems

陆基循环水产养殖系统（RAS）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。网围栏行业在RAS中饲养多达1公斤的鱼，然后释放到海洋围栏中，并且有一个新兴的陆基行业试图在RAS中饲养鲑鱼达到市场规模。 虽然充分增长的条件得到了相当好的描述，但最佳增长的条件在很大程度上是未知的。确定真正的最佳条件，最大限度地提高RAS的增长，福利，质量和成本效益，对于可持续和经济可行的RAS行业至关重要。InSEAS（环境及其水生系统研究倡议）是一个新建的世界级水生研究设施，旨在确定RAS中饲养鲑鱼的条件。该补助金的总体目标是确定最佳盐度和温度，以及与光周期的相互作用，大西洋鲑鱼，北美常见的水产养殖物种，以及银鲑，BC本地鱼类，越来越多地被视为养殖物种。 我们将评估盐度，温度和光周期对大西洋鲑鱼和银鲑的生长性能，生理健壮性，福利和产品质量的影响。 我们的实验设计使我们能够确定鱼的最佳条件高达1公斤（网笔行业）和市场规模（陆基行业）。由此，我们将能够精确地量化在更佳条件下饲养鲑鱼的好处。 在最佳条件下的增长表现的差异可以纳入经济可行性模型，以项目的经济影响，我们的研究。凭借其灵活的研究平台和强大的工业支持，从陆基生产商（奇迹泉公司，InSEAS与加拿大水产养殖公司（Kuterra LP和Target Marine Hatcheries）、饲料生产商（Taplow Feeds）和政府（不列颠哥伦比亚省农业部）合作，为陆基封闭式鲑鱼水产养殖业提供科学依据的信息，以提高鲑鱼产量并提高加拿大在这一新兴产业中的竞争力。

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.