Organic Aquaculture
The first Danish trout with the Danish eco-label (the red Ø label) was introduced to the marked on 6th September 2005. There is, therefore, almost no practical experience of the challenges related to the rearing and sale of organic fish in Denmark.
This project will contribute to the successful establishment of organic fish farming in Denmark with research upon the most critical areas in the chain that links between organic feed production, organic fish rearing, and the consumer.
The main focus will be on organic fish feeds in which non-renewable fish meals are replaced with sustainable organic vegetable proteins of Danish origin. Special emphasis will be on the need for competitive vegetable protein sources with high protein content. To stimulate the research in that area available scientific and technical knowledge within the animal- and the fish feed sector will be collected and synthesised with regard of improving the protein content of plant ingredients in organic fish feed. Optimized feed compositions and processing methods will be refined to maximise feed protein quality with relevant plant ingredients.
The quality of the organic feed recipes will be studied in terms of their digestibility and nutrient availability. These studies, in turn, will be related to analyses of fish performance indicators such as feed conversion and growth as well as health and welfare performance.
Case studies are carried out to optimize current production systems. The studies will also include field studies of a selected experimental feed from the pilot experiments as well as monitoring of general health and welfare status of the fish.
The impact of organic feed recipes upon product quality will be investigated, to ensure that organic fish are of high quality. This will comprise objective sensory and biochemical analyses of the flesh, to obtain an overall picture of their eating quality.
The results of the project will represent a concrete contribution to the development of Danish organic aquaculture, and so allow organic fish farming to respond more effectively to the challenges it faces.
Project title
Organic Aquaculture - the linkage between sustainable production and superior products (ORAQUA).
Project leader
Alfred Jokumsen, Technical University of Denmark, National Institute for Aquatic Resources (DTU Aqua), The North Sea Science Park, P.O. Box 101, DK-9850 Hirtshals, Denmark. Phone: (+45) 3396 3257; Fax: (+45) 3396 3260. E-mail: ajo@dfu.min.dk
Project participants
Peter B. Jessen (BioMar A/S), Hanne Tolderlund Rasmussen (Danish Technological Institute), Villy J. Larsen (The Danish Aquaculture Organisation), Inger Dalsgaard, Henrik Hauch Nielsen, Lone Madsen, Grethe Hyldig, Charlotte Munch Jacobsen, Flemming Jessen (DIFRES).
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