Recent advances in protein
and amino acid nutrition of marine fish
J.-D. Kim, S.P. Lall
Abstract:
Dietary protein and amino acid supply are major
factors influencing the productivity of marine fish. Protein, the most
expensive dietary component, provides essential amino acids (arginine,
lysine, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, methionine, threonine,
tryptophan and phenylalanine) required for growth and development of fish.
Compared to salmonids, the protein requirement of marine fish is high
(>45%), reflecting their highly carnivorous nature. Certain essential
amino acid requirements determined by different laboratories do not
correspond with each other, not only among species but also within species,
because of the differences in experimental conditions. Essential amino acid
requirement studies are also laborious and expensive due to the use of
synthetic amino acids in a purified diet. Many researchers have introduced
the concept of an ideal amino acid pattern to estimate their dietary amino
acid requirements. However, a proper formulation of a diet for new species
may be still difficult using the reported values due to several constraints.
This paper will briefly review the protein and amino acid requirements of
marine fish in relation to other finfish. Pitfalls in estimating the
requirement of amino acids on the basis of the ideal protein concept also
will be discussed.
(Department of Feed Science and Technology, Kangwon
National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Korea)