Artificial hatching substrate in the mass rearing of larval Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Abstract

Eggs from individual Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were hatched in a Californian hatching system with and without an astro-turf artificial substrate and growth during the first 200 days following hatching was investigated. The astro-turf promoted yolk absorption rate, yolk conversion efficiency and growth during the hatchery incubation and feeding. However, yolk absorption rate was also dependent on yolk weight at hatching with highest absorption rate in alevins with high yolk weight. Due to an increasing variance, the weight difference between the systems was no longer significant at the termination of the experiment.