PROTEIN AND CALORIE LEVELS OF MEAT-MEAL, VITAMIN- 

 SUPPLEMENTED SALMON DIETS 



By 



Bobby D. Combs, Wilton W . Heinemann, Roger E . Burrows, 

 Allan E. Thomas, and Laurie G. Fowlerl/ 



ABSTRACT 



Feeding trials were conducted to determine the effect on the nutri- 

 tion of fingerling fall chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) of 

 feeding two protein levels, three caloric levels, vitamin fortification, 

 and meat supplementation of a basic meal mixture for a 12 -week period. 

 The results were as follows: 



A protein level of 25 percent produced significantly greater gains 

 in weight and higher protein deposition than a protein level of 20 percent. 



Caloric levels of 1300, 1650, and 2000 calories per kilogram of 

 diet were fed. At the 20 percent pro,tein level, an increase in caloric 

 intake to 1650 calories, by the addition of peanut oil, increased the pro- 

 tein deposition and protein utilization. Increasing the calorie level to 

 2000 calories and retaining the 20 percent protein level did not increase 

 either protein deposition or utilization above the 1650 calorie level. A 

 sparing action on the protein, by the addition of supplemental energy 

 calories, is indicated. The optimum protein to energy calorie relation- 

 ship appears to be 1:1 in these diet combinations. 



Fortification of the diets with a concentrated vitamin supplement 

 had no measurable effect on either growth or mortality in these experi- 

 ments . 



Meat supplementations varying from 10 to 50 percent of the meat- 

 meal combination produced no measurable differences in total gain, 

 protein deposition, protein utilization, or mortality. 



Feeding trials were conducted at the 

 Salmon-Cultural Laboratory, Longview, Wash- 

 ington, during 1961 using fall chinook salmon 

 fingerlings ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as test 

 animals . The objectives of these experiments 

 were to explore desirable protein levels, calor- 

 ic intakes, and meat and vitamin supplementation 

 in a single basic ration. 



Because of the great emphasis placed on 

 artificial propagation as a means of maintaining 

 salmon runs, adequate, economical diets for 

 fingerling salmon which are applicable to large- 



scale production operations are required. The 

 hi^ cost of suitable slaughter-house bypro- 

 ducts precludes their use exclusively in diet 

 formulations. Raw salmon products such as 

 viscera and spawned-out carcasses, while 

 providing a valuable and relatively inexpensive 

 source of protein, are undesirable since they 

 are indicated to be vectors for transmitting 

 fish diseases (Guenther, Watson, and Rucker, 

 1959; Ross, Earp, and Wood, 1959). The 

 utilization of a high quality dry meal combin- 

 ation containing a high level of sterilized salm- 

 on carcass meal and supplemented with low 



)J Salmon -Cultural Laboratory, Longview, Washington 



