Grant: Engage Grants Program

Inclusion of fish in the human diet has become increasingly popular. Fish is known to be a healthy source ofhigh quality protein, n-3 fatty acids, micronutrients and vitamins, all of which are recommended for humanconsumption by various health organizations. Human nutrition facts show that the n-3 long-chainpolyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA) found in fish are an essential part of a healthy diet. Thus, properassessment of the quality and quantity of these particular nutrients in farmed fish before harvest is key toguarantee a high quality product for the consumer. At present, there is no accurate non-lethal method to assessthe n-3 LC-PUFA composition of fish fillets before harvest. Moreover, the final nutrient composition offarmed fish is directly affected by the feed used during the grow-out phase of the fish. Fish farmers do notgenerally have access to the feed formulation or composition which fluctuates depending on the availability,price, and practicality of feed ingredients used by feed companies. Thus, fish farmers lack information aboutthe final nutritional quality of their fish unless they sacrifice the fish and perform biochemical analysis. TheCenter for Aquaculture Technologies Canada (CATC) has developed new technologies to address differentaquaculture industry needs; CATC has a keen interest in developing a novel non-lethal technique to measurethe fatty acid composition of farmed fish. Thus, the objective of this project is to develop the methodology topredict the n-3 LC-PUFA composition in fish fillets from a more accessible tissue readily available to fishfarmers and researchers. By analyzing the fatty acid profile, focusing on n-3 LC-PUFA, of different blood cellsand blood plasma and relating it to the fillet composition in Atlantic salmon, we will be able to select the tissueand methodology which predicts the n-3 LC-PUFA of fillets most accurately. The results from the proposedproject will be valuable for the development and validation of a new cost-effective technique for theaquaculture industry to ensure and enhance the n-3 LC-PUFA composition in farmed fish.