IMPROVEMENTS ON FEEDING AND NUTRITIONAL PROTOCOLS FOR LARVAL REARING OF MEAGRE Argyrosomus regius

Aquaculture Research Station (EPPO)  located in the Southeast Coast of Portugal,  in the confluence of the Mediterranean  Sea  with the Atlantic Ocean, is working with marine fish since 1984,  i.e.  the early  start of modern marine  aquaculture.  Building on the large experience of producing g ilthead seabream Sparus aurata an d seabass Dicentrarchus labrax, we could adapt the protocols for broodstock management of several species of breams as  white seabream Diplodus sargus and others species of the genus as D. puntazzo , D. vulgaris and D. cervinus and also sole, Solea senegalensis ,  meagre, Argyrosomus regius, and sardine, Sardina pilchardus, aiming to diversify the Southern European aquaculture industry that  is still highly dependent on gilthead seabream and seabass . W e  also  reproduce and rear grouper, Epinephelus marginatus, to adult stage for restocking.

Meagre,  is  a strong candidate  species for the expansion of the  Mediterranean Aquaculture industry, with a fast growth,  it achieves bigger sizes  in a relatively short time.

In terms of nutrition, optimal levels of essential nutrients are paramount, together with the use of premium ingredients and microencapsulation technologies.

In this work  we present the feeding protocol for  a fast-growing species, such as,  meagre, based on pre-existing protocols developed for other species (Figures 1 and 2).

The  contribution for the development of a nutritional protocol for meagre will also be presented. T he effect of the different zooplankton enrichment on the fatty acids content of the larvae and the  different micro diet formulated with several protein levels, protein:lipid ratios, phospholipid levels and specific nutrients (e.g. tryptophan) were tested to assess their effect on fish quality, growth and survival.

This study had the support of the project DIVERSIAQUA (Mar2020 16-02-01-FMP-0066), DIVERSIAQUA II (Mar2020-P02M01-0656P) and ALGARED+ (INTERREG V A (POCTEP), ID: 1398). Feeds produced by Sparos Lda.