The production and use of copepods in larval rearing of halibut, turbot and cod

Citation

Stottrup JG, Shields RJ, Gillespie MJS, Gara B, Sargent JR, Bell JG, Henderson RJ, Tocher DR, Naess T, Mangor-Jensen A, Naas KE, van der Meeren T, Harboe T, Sanchez-Vazquez FJ, Sorgeloos P, Dhert P & Fitzgerald RD (1998) The production and use of copepods in larval rearing of halibut, turbot and cod. Bulletin of the Aquaculture Association of Canada, 98 (4), pp. 41-45. http://www.aquacultureassociation.ca/publication/proceedings-live-feeds-session-98-4-1998

Abstract
This paper summarizes some of the results from a 2-year Concerted Action project financed by the European Commission. The aim of the project was to review the literature on the use of live feed and the rearing techniques for cod, Gadus morhua, halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus, and turbot, Scophthalmus maximus. Ongoing research was also coordinated to provide further knowledge in key areas identified during the project. Analytical work was carried out to supplement present knowledge in the field of larval nutrition. Different rearing strategies are used for the three species of fish larvae examined: rotifers and Artemia nauplii are commonly used as live prey for turbot, whereas for cod and halibut culture, copepod-based rearing techniques have gradually been replaced by more traditional techniques based on the use of Artemia nauplii alone or with rotifers as a starter diet. The shift to more traditional live prey has been accompanied by an increased incidence of malpigmented or deformed juveniles. Copepods are unquestionably nutritionally better than rotifers and Artemia , but because of the difficulties in obtaining sufficient numbers of copepods at the right size and at the right time, rotifers and Artemia remain the preferred species for larviculture. A compromise adopted by many hatcheries is to provide copepods for a short duration during the larval phase, a strategy that has been shown to be particularly important for obtaining high survival rates and normally-pigmented juvenile halibut. In extensive turbot culture systems using copepods as live feed, Artemia are still used when the copepod supply is decreasing, as they provide an important energy source in the form of triacylglycerols.

Keywords
Abnormalities; Diets; Fatty acids; Fish culture; Nutritional requirements; Pigments; Scophthalmus maximus; Artemia; Copepoda; Gadus morhua; Hippoglossus hippoglossus; Marine

Journal
Bulletin of the Aquaculture Association of Canada: Volume 98, Issue 4