Marker concentrations (Optimizing the larval nutrition of marine finfish aquaculture species along the West Coast)

Commercial-scale production of marine finfish in the United States has been demonstrated for only a handful of species. However, production of these species is often inconsistent, and the levels of production pale in comparison to ocean finfish farming overseas. Even though the United States has a vast coastline in the west, no marine finfish are farmed commercially. Extensive fisheries closures along the entire West Coast of the United States, an exorbitant national seafood trade deficit, and heightened awareness of food security provide a strong impetus for the western states to develop a sustainable marine aquaculture industry. Marine fish larvae are typically highly sensitive and therefore challenging to rear. Success in the larval rearing phase of culture is widely recognized as the key to economically viable commercial production of marine finfish. As with all forms of animal husbandry, good nutrition is the cornerstone to good health and survival. Because marine finfish farming is relatively new, and each species tends to respond differently in culture, our level of understanding of larval nutritional requirements and feeding behavior is generally poor.

This proposal seeks to promote the development of marine finfish aquaculture along the West Coast of the United States by developing and applying innovative larval feeds and feeding techniques. The approaches and results derived from this study should be generally applicable to other marine finfish species being cultured elsewhere in the United States as well as additional West Coast species that are cultured in the future. ICP results of rare earth oxide concentrations in fish and feed samples