Composition and Nutritive Characteristics of Atlantic Canadian White Fish Meals

Abstract

Three composite samples of whitefish meals, each representing samples over 4 mo from plants in eastern Canada were analyzed for proximate composition, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, available lysine, and pepsin digestibility. Protein quality was evaluated biologically in feeding trials with chicks. The composite samples were similar in chemical composition with respect to both macro- and micronutrients. In vitro pepsin digestibility was 95–96% and chemically estimated available lysine 6.5–6.9 g/16 g N, or 87–96% of the total lysine present. The growth response to the meals, when they were fed to supply either 4 or 8% of supplementary protein in diets containing a total of 14.5 or 18.5% of protein, respectively, indicated that the supplementary protein value was high.