Institute of Fisheries Ecology
Herwigstraße 31
27572 Bremerhaven
Phone: + 49 471 94460 201
Fax: + 49 471 94460 199
fi@thuenen.de
Application of stable istopes in aquaculture research
Nutrient flows are an important characteristic of aquaculture systems. The cultivated organisms such as finfish or crustaceans consume compound feeds or natural food, undigested feed/food items and metabolites are excreted and can become incorporated in other aquatic food chains. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen offer the possibility to trace these nutrient flows within and outside the respective aquaculture system. Quantitative knowledge of the nutrient flows allows to improve the efficiency of aquaculture systems and to provide a solid base for the assessment of their environmental impact.
The world wide increasing demand for fish and seafood kan be met only by an increase in aquaculture production. This increase in aquaculture production must be sustainable, i.e. inputs must be used in the most efficient way, and aquaculture must not lead to environmental degradation. Using stable isotopes as tracers, nutrient flows in aquaculture systems can be identified. e.g. the specific demand of the cultured species for essential amino acids can be determined this way, and the utilization of individual ingredients from compound feeds can be determined. using this information in feed formulation will reduce the amount of feed required per unit of product. On the other hand, the incorporation of carbon and nitrogen originating from aquaculture into free living organisms can be quantified. This offers the possibility for a quantification of environmental impact of aquaculture systems.
Aquaculture sector, feed producers, international agencies (ICES, HELCOM, etc.), national and regional environmental agencies, scientists
10.2009 - 12.2026
Projekt type:
Project status:
ongoing
Results 1 - 5 of 12
Results 1 - 5 of 12