The European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) is an important fish species for Portugal and the Mediterranean countries due to its cultural, economic and gastronomic importance. Also, by having an important value for the Portuguese and Spanish canning industry, sardines from the fisheries are traditionally absorbed by this sector. Besides, the stock of sardine populations in the Mediterranean Sea reached very low levels that lead to a strict stock management, which raised questions on the viability of the production of the species in captivity. At the Aquaculture Research Station of Olhão (EPPO), an aquaculture facility from the Portuguese Institute from the Ocean and Atmosphere (IPMA), which has the capacity for the conduction of trials at a pre-industrial scale, it was possible to successful adapt three lots of wild sardine’s breeders which are currently on the third year of natural spawns.
The zootechnical parameters of the different stages of sardine culture in captivity (e.g. broodstock management, larval rearing and juvenile fattening) have been studied in order to obtain the maximum information on the aquaculture production of this species. Fish adapted well to captivity and presented a continuous and voracious feeding behavior. The comparison with wild individuals showed a higher content of lipids in the muscle in captive fish with adequate and not significantly different levels of EPA and DHA.
As nutrition is an extremely important factor for the success and quality of broodstock eggs, larvae and juvenile growth, nutrition trials have been carried out to assess the appropriate levels of protein in diets which was shown to be situated around 35% with higher values of protein in the diet favoring gonad maturation.
The results on sardine’s production led us to consider that sardine’s production in aquaculture might be promising in a near future, to ensure the demand for the fresh fish market and mainly to guarantee a constant supply for the canning industry. In order to establish an optimal nutritional protocol for sardine production, further and more detailed studies using metabolomics and molecular biology approaches are being conducted.
This study had the support of the project DIVERSIAQUA II (Mar2020-P02M01-0656P)