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The effect of adding 0%, 1%, 2% and 5% chitin from prawn shells in the diets for Atlantic cod, Atlantic halibut and Atlantic salmon on growth was investigated. Nutrient digestibility and feed utilization was investigated in salmon and cod. Atlantic cod grew from 186 ± 29 to 383 ± 78 g ( N = 960) over 13 weeks. Dietary chitin had no effect on length, weight, condition, liver size or specific growth rate (SGR). The apparent digestibility ( ADC) for protein ranged from 84.7% to 86.5%, lipid between 88.8% and 93.1% and dry matter from 96.1% to 96.6%. Feed utilization varied between 1.08 and 1.11 and was not correlated with dietary chitin content. Atlantic salmon tripled their weight from 199 ± 9 to 615 ± 75 g ( N = 480) during the 13 weeks. High inclusions of chitin (>1%) reduced both growth rate and condition. Protein and lipid ADC was negatively correlated with dietary chitin. Feed utilization ranged between 0.86 and 0.90 and was not significantly affected by dietary chitin. Faecal protein increased significantly with increasing dietary chitin, while faecal dry matter and lipid did not. Individually tagged Atlantic halibut grew from 1300 ± 470 to 2061 ± 714 g ( N = 70) during 6 months. Individual growth rates varied within each group from being slightly negative to 0.81%·day−1. Diet had no significant effect on growth rates. Atlantic cod and Atlantic halibut seems unaffected by up to 5% chitin additions in the diet, while chitin >1% of diet negatively affects growth and nutrient utilization in Atlantic salmon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study the impact on autochthonous (adherent) bacteria in proximal intestine ( PI) and distal intestine ( DI) of Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua L.) was evaluated following feeding of a control diet and a diet supplemented with 5% chitin. The autochthonous gut bacteria were investigated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis ( DGGE). Analysis of the microbiota associated with PI and DI of Atlantic cod indicate that dietary chitin modulate the intestinal bacterial community. For example, band 25 ( Escherichia coli-like), band 14 ( Anaerorhabdus furcosa-like) and band 29 (uncultured bacterium-like) in PI were depressed by dietary chitin ( P < 0.05). The number of bands (23.7 ± 5.4) in DI of fish fed chitin was marginally higher than the control fish (16.7 ± 2.1) ( P = 0.065), and the relative abundances of band 6 (swine faecal bacterium-like) were marginally stimulated by dietary chitin ( P = 0.095). Furthermore, the present study reports several novel sequences not previously reported in the gastrointestinal tract of Atlantic cod. Whether the dietary effect of chitin on gut bacterial community has any positive effect of fish health merits further investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress in response to anesthesia with benzocaine, MS-222, metomidate and isoeugenol was studied in Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar), Atlantic halibut ( Hippoglossus hippoglossus), and Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) with no concomitant stress from handling or confinement in association with anesthesia or sampling. All of the anesthetics tested induced a stress response in all species, displayed by a release of cortisol to the water. MS-222 anesthesia elicited the highest cortisol release rates, reaching maximum levels 0.5 h post-exposure and returning to basal levels after 3–4 h. Benzocaine anesthesia caused a bimodal response where the initial peak in cortisol release rate was followed by a second increase lasting towards the end of the trial (6 h). This bimodality was more profound in Atlantic salmon than in Atlantic halibut and Atlantic cod. Metomidate anesthesia induced the lowest release of cortisol of the agents tested in both Atlantic halibut and Atlantic cod, but resulted in a bimodal response in Atlantic salmon where the initial increase in cortisol release was followed by a larger increase peaking at 2–2.5 h post exposure before returning to basal levels after 5 h. The stress induced in Atlantic salmon by isoeugenol anesthesia resembled that of MS-222, but did not reach the same elevated level. Overall, the cortisol release was most profound in Atlantic salmon followed by Atlantic halibut and Atlantic cod. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of stress and nutritional state (fed vs food deprived) on the generalized stress response and intestinal integrity in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.). Cod in feeding or food deprived states were subjected to 15 min of acute stress (exhaustive exercise). Blood was collected at 9 intervals from before stress (t =0), to t =48 h post stress and analysed for blood haematocrit and haemoglobin, and plasma cortisol, lactate, glucose, osmolality, chloride, as well as the tissue damage indicators glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, glutamate pyruvate transaminase and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. Intestinal segments were prepared for histology with the same intervals, while assessment of intestinal integrity and microbiology was performed at t =0, 4 and 48 h post stress. Subjecting cod to exhaustive stress initiated a standard stress response including increased blood Hct and plasma cortisol, glucose, chloride, osmolality and lactate. Food deprived fish did in general have reduced stress resistance compared to fed fish. For many parameters, cod returned slowly to basal levels. Cellular indicators of tissue damage and oxidative stress increased in a biphasic manner following stress. Stress did not affect gut histology but did transiently increase gut permeability. Furthermore, stress had no effect on the adherent bacterial population level in midgut, but did cause a small decrease in hindgut (non-significant) and hindgut chamber (p <0.05). Isolates belonging to Carnobacterium were predominant but not affected by stress. In conclusion, food deprived cod are less resistant to stress than fed cod. The magnitude of the response is less than in salmonids, but the effects are persistent (including tissue damage indicators and oxidative stress) and may have negative long term consequences. The gut is relatively resistant to stress, there is however a transient increase in the intestinal permeability and alterations in microbiota that may indicate lower protection against invading pathogens. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Replicate groups of Atlantic cod were fed 5 diets in which fish meal protein was replaced with 25% (25 PP), 50% (50 PP), 75% (75 PP) and 100% (100 PP) of a plant protein mixture containing 50% wheat gluten, 36% soy protein concentrate and 14% bioprocessed soybean meal. After 28 weeks, fish were sacrificed and analysed for growth, feed conversion, nutrient digestibility (see [Hansen, A.-C., Rosenlund, G., Karlsen, Ø., Koppe, W., Hemre, G.-I., Accepted for publication. Total replacement of fish meal with plant proteins in diets for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) I: Effects on growth and protein retention. Aquaculture]) and health status. Except for small reductions in the mean cell volume and haemoglobin content of red blood corpuscles, health indicators in blood and plasma were mostly unaffected by diet. Although the apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) of nutrients was only marginally affected by diet [Hansen, A.-C., Rosenlund, G., Karlsen, Ø., Koppe, W., Hemre, G.-I., Accepted for publication. Total replacement of fish meal with plant proteins in diets for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) I: Effects on growth and protein retention. Aquaculture], faeces moisture content increased non-linearly peaking in fish fed the 100 PP diet where dry matter was only 11% compared to 18% in the control fish. This indicates a progression towards a diarrhoea-like condition in 100 PP fish. Feeding plant proteins did not affect gut relative weight but did affect intestinal morphology. In particular, there was a general increase in cellularity of the lamina propria and a modest goblet cell hypertrophy and hyperplasia which peaked in fish fed the 100 PP diet. More severe enteritis-like conditions were rare and found in only two fish fed the 100 PP diet. The dietary effect on goblet cells may be caused by phytate or fibres rather than the primary enteritis-inducing compounds found in untreated soybean meal. Hindgut segments seemed to be more affected than midgut thus suggesting an up-concentration of the causative agents of intestinal alteration in hindgut regions. Soyasaponins were not degraded during gut transit although the various conjugates were hydrolysed increasing the level of un-conjugated soyasaponins in the faeces. The intestinal level of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) was unaffected by diet except in one replicate pen of fish fed the 100 PP diet where expression increased fourfold compared to the other replicate and other diets. The reason for this remains obscure. In conclusion, the plant ingredients used in the present study appear not to affect cod health to any major degree when used to replace up to 75% of fish meal protein. An increase to 100% may induce enteritis-like conditions in the guts of some fish and also activate HSP70 stress-gene mRNA expression in the intestine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Farmed Atlantic cod with a mean weight of 4.8 kg were maintained for 9 weeks in sea cages and fed diets where the dietary fishmeal component was substituted with increasing proportions (0%, 22%, 63% and 100%) of meal from Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba. Wild-caught cod were included in the study as external control. At termination of feeding, all fish were slaughtered and muscle pH was immediately recorded. The fish were then stored on ice for three days and assessed for muscle pH and objective (skin and fillet colour, and fillet texture) and subjective (sensory evaluation) quality criteria. Replacement of fishmeal with krillmeal in the diets resulted in the skin colour above and below the lateral line to be more red than the control group without krillmeal substitutions, even though this difference was not significant, and with more yellow hue. Additions of krillmeal increased the muscle whiteness and yellow hue compared with the control group and wild fish. There was no difference in red hue between the groups. Muscle pH, texture or sensory attributes were unaffected by dietary inclusion level of krillmeal. Wild-caught cod deviated in several aspects from the farmed cod. It is concluded that the replacement of fishmeal with Antarctic krillmeal in the diets two months before slaughter did not move the sensory attributes more towards wild fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Autochthonous and allochthonous bacteria were isolated from hindgut chamber and large intestine of fed and starved Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.). All bacterial strains isolated from hindgut chamber belong to carnobacteria. However, only 10.2% of the bacteria strains from the large intestine belong to carnobacteria. Random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis using three selective primers, was performed to further identify the carnobacteria strains. Nine of these were isolated from hindgut chamber contents, ten associated with epithelial cells of the hindgut chamber, and six isolated from the large intestines of fed and starved fish. The 25 isolates segregated into eight clusters. The major cluster comprised nine strains isolated from the hindgut chamber of both fed and starved fish showing low similarity with the reference strains. The other strains isolated from the hindgut were located in clusters showing high similarity with Carnobacterium gallinarum or Carnobacterium piscicola. Strains isolated from large intestine appeared more divergent and were located in five different clusters. Autochthonous (indigenous) bacteria were clearly demonstrated in the hindgut chamber as transmission electron microscopy revealed rod-shaped bacteria between adjacent microvilli. Endocytosis of bacteria by epithelial cells was observed in the hindgut chamber. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two studies were performed to study the effect of different light intensities on melatonin secretory profiles in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.). In an indoor tank study, plasma melatonin profiles were measured over a 24-hour cycle in juvenile Atlantic cod reared under a 12h light:12h dark photoperiod, having either a high or low daytime light intensity (15.5 or 0.16μE·cm−2·s−1). In a second study, plasma melatonin levels were measured in Atlantic cod kept in traps at three depths (4, 9 and 14m) in a large sea cage following exposure to the following five experimental light regimes: (1) natural light (NL), (2) NL+artificial constant light (LL) at 2, 7 and 12m depth, (3) NL+LL at 2 or 12m, (4) NL+LL at 2m and (5) NL+LL at 2m together with additional surface shading. The vertical distribution of free swimming Atlantic cod in the same sea cage was monitored using hydroacoustics. In the tank experiment, diurnal plasma melatonin profiles were similar under low and high light intensity, remaining low during the light period, then increasing rapidly within 15–30min of lights off, before peaking around midnight. In the sea cage experiment, fish under NL showed a similar diurnal rhythm in plasma melatonin levels, with high melatonin levels during the dark period, although at sunrise melatonin levels started to fall earlier in fish kept at 4m depth compared to fish kept at 9 and 14m. Overall, melatonin profiles were most effectively reduced, in terms of relative (day/night) plasma levels, in those fish sampled at the deepest depth (14m). Relative plasma melatonin levels were correlated to the distance from the artificial light source and the intensity of the ambient light. Dispersed light (lamps at 2, 7 and 12m) was the most effective light regime for inhibiting the nocturnal rise in plasma melatonin ratios in fish sampled at all three depths. Finally, exposure to the different light regimes did not influence the vertical distribution of Atlantic cod within the sea cage, which consistently remained close to the bottom of the cage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Using reward conditioning to change the cognitive interpretation of stressors has been suggested as a method to reduce stress in farmed fish. We studied the modification of behavioural and physiological responses of Atlantic cod to a stressor. Eight groups of cod were exposed to a moving dip net six times daily over 7 days. Half were rewarded with food 10s after dip net exposure (trace reward conditioning), while the remaining groups were fed 30min after dip net exposure (unrewarded). The swimming speed and oxygen consumption responses after dip net exposure in the unrewarded groups declined at a rate of 13% and 12%trial−1, respectively. The swimming speed response was lost completely, while 37% of the initial oxygen hyper consumption response remained after habituation. The rewarded groups learnt to associate dip net exposure with food delivery. When the dip net stopped moving, they approached it before gathering in the feeding area. Due to this anticipatory behaviour, swimming speed and oxygen consumption remained elevated after dip net exposure in the rewarded groups. Plasma cortisol and glucose levels remained low after dip net exposure on the last day in both groups. The experiment demonstrates that a stimulus that initially evokes a fright response can become a positive signal of a forthcoming reward. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]