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The nutritional value of dietary fibre for rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri was investigated using juvenile fish (lO-30g) maintained in freshwater at ambient temperatures under a natural photo period. A preliminary experiment was conducted using five purified dietary fibre sources, namely, a~cellulose, lignin, lignosulphonate, galactomannan and chitin ·which varied in physical, chemical and textural characteristics. A commercially available, powdered polyethylene was also used as an inert control ingredient and all sources of fibre were included at a, realistically low level of 5'% in separate semi-purified diets. Although there were no significant differences in the growth of fish at the end of the 10-week trial, several nutritional parameters were affected for rainbow trout fed the different experimental treatments. Mean daily food intake was re"d uced for trout receiving the lignin, chitin and galactomannan diets compared to the polyethylene control. Similarly the food conversion ratios (FeR) and protein efficiency ratios (PER) were relatively inferior for diets containing chitin and galactomannan compared to the lignosulphonate treatment. Maximum net dietary nitrogen utilization was obtained for the polyethylene control t' ... ra ~on whilst lower values were again observed with chitin and galactomannan. Apparent dry matter (DM) and nitrogen digestibility coefficients however were in close agreement for each of the dietary treatments except for the lignin diet which was poorly digested. Generally the results implied that the properties of chitin and galactomannan were worthy of further study at higher inclusion levels and in different physical states. A specific·investigation in which 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% additions of a purified a-cellulose replaced dietary starch in separate experimental di e t s f a~'1 e d to produce any significant changes in the growth performance of trout and only slightly influenced nutrient utilization at the higher 15 and 20% inclusion levels. Negative digestibility coefficients for the 'unavailable' carbohydrate fraction of diets calculated from the 'total' and 'available' carbohydrate contents of diet and faecal samples was considered to be evidence of the non-nutritive and bulking qualities of a-cellulose. Growth and digestibility trials were then undertaken to examine the effects of including different levels (10 and 20%) and particle size ranges (45-500, 500-1000 microns) of chitin (poly-Nacetyl- D glucosamine) as a natural source of dietary fibre for trout. In a similar experiment, graded amounts of galactomannan polysaccharide (0, 10 and 20%) were added to moist pelleted diets to examine the long term effects of feeding a gel-type fibre characteristic' of many commercially available binding agents. Negative digestibility coefficients for both chitin and galactomannan based on specific biochemical measurements together with the failure to detect any chitinase activity in stomach and intestinal tissue was confirmation of the inability of rainbow trout to degrade and utilize these materials. Coarse grades of chitin at the 10 and 20% levels impaired food intake, growth performance and nutrient utilization as shown by the Poorer FCR, PER, net nitrogen utilization and digestibility coefficients compared to the diets containing finely ground chitin or the α-cellulose control treatment. Similar findings were obtained with increasing additions of galactomannan and there were associated reductions in the serum glucose and protein concentrations with each increment of dietary galactomannan. The final carcass compositions of fish were also affected by the gel fibre which caused a significant reduction in the tissue lipid content and an inverse trend in moisture content compared to trout receiving an a-cellulose control diet. Further investigations using a sacrificial method to follow and quantify the passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract revealed that the physical properties of fibre such as particle size composition, water retaining capacity and viscosity were among several factors which modified gastric evacuation and digestion rates in rainbow trout. From the predicted gastric emptying times (GET), it was apparent that coarsely graded chitin (20%) and both 10 and 20% inclusions of galactomannan considerably increased the residence time of the gastrointestinal contents compared to finely ground chitin and a control diet without added fibre. Although an exponential relationship was found to best describe the stomach emptying profiles obtained, linearization of the data was achieved by applying surface area and volume dependent mathematical models which emphasized the importance of these physical factors. The combined nutrition and physiological studies supported the contention that fibre is the non-nutritive part of the diet, but it Was concluded that the level and nature of the fibrous material has· important consequences on the processes controlling food intake and the efficiency of digestion, which in turn may affect the assimilation of nutrients and the performance of growing rainbow trout.

Aquaculture is growing rapidly worldwide and is projected to become the major source of fish used for human consumption. A major factor that limits aquaculture reaching its full potential is an adequate supply of the raw materials necessary for formulated fish feeds. The dependence of modern aquaculture on fishmeal obtained from wild fisheries is not environmentally sustainable and replacements for fishmeal must be found. Some animal by-products are viable replacements for fishmeal, and can provide sufficent nutrition for high growth rates, but little is known about the potential of animal by-products to adversely affect fish health. The objectives of these experiments were to determine if animal by-products used in fish feeds impair immune response or alter bone physiology in cultured juvenile rainbow trout. Four animal by-product containing diets (poultry meat meal (PMM)/ PMM plus feathermeal / PMM plus bloodmeal) and two reference diets (fishmeal or soya) were evaluated to determine their effect on innate immune response, the ability of fish to cope with normal husbandry stressors, and bone physiology. PMM was then selected due to its favourable amino acid profile and high digestibility and assessed to determine if the high levels of fishmeal replacement that may be required in the future, impact the health of rainbow trout. Due to the lack of reliable indicators of bone quality and quantity in salmonids the effects of exercise and phosphorus deficiency in rainbow trout were also examined. Relative to the fishmeal control diet, fish fed diets with PMM [(PMM) 50% crude protein, by substitution], PMM plus two percent blood meal, or PMM plus five percent feather meal, did not have an impaired innate immunity (lysozyme, alternative complement, phagocytosis, intracellular respiratory burst, differential counts of peripheral blood leukocytes) or changes in bone physiology as assessed by dynamic bone histomorphometry. Higher levels of PMM (0-70% digestible protein, by substitution) caused a reduction in apparent net mineral retention of phosphorus and calcium (P<0.001), a lower vertebral bone mineral content (P<0.001) and reduced vertebral mechanical properties (compressive extension (P=0.04), Young’s Modulus (P=0.03)), but fish growth was not affected. Exercise influenced bone modelling, with exercised animals having a reduced bone area and trabecular thickness (P=0.01), increased autocentrum width (P=0.04), and higher bone mineral content (P= 0.02); however, bone mechanical properties were unaffected. Induction of genes (receptor activator nuclear factor kappa beta and osteoprotogenerin), involved in the resorption of mineralised tissue, was not observed in fish fed phosphorus deficient diets although scales were evidenced to be an important source of labile minerals. Overall our results indicate that low level replacement of fish meal by poultry meat meal, and blends of poultry meat meal with blood or feathermeal do not affect fish innate immune response, bone physiology, or growth however the greatly elevated levels of poultry meat meal that may be required in future salmonid aquafeeds could increase the risk of spinal malformations. Thus the category 3 animal by products tested are valuable fishmeal replacements for aquaculture based on the endpoints measured in this study.