Effects of Non-Heated and Heat Processed Krill and Squid Meal-Based Diet on Growth Performance and Biochemical Composition in Juvenile Pacific Bluefin Tuna Thunnus orientalis

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of krill and squid meal and their heat processing on the growth performance and biochemical composition of juvenile Pacific bluefin tuna (PBT) Thunnus orientalis. An experiment using a 2 × 2 factorial design examined the effects of two dietary protein sources (squid and krill meal) and heat treatment (heated and non-heated). Prey fish were provided to a reference group. Fish with an initial mean weight of 74.1 mg were fed one of the five diets. After six days of the feeding trial, the fish fed with krill meal and non-heated diets showed improved growth compared to those fed with the squid meal and heated diets. Fish fed the non-heated diets showed significantly higher whole-body crude protein and crude lipid contents than fish fed the heated diets. These results suggest that nutrient availability could be improved by using krill meal and the non-heated treatment to improve the growth performance of juvenile PBT.