Nitrogen allocation of Gracilaria tikvahiae grown in urbanized estuaries of Long Island Sound and New York City, USA: a preliminary evaluation of ocean farmed Gracilaria for alternative fish feeds

• Published in: Algae (Korean Phycological Society) Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 227 - 235
• Main Authors: Johnson, Ronald B, Kim, Jang K, Armbruster, Lisa C, Yarish, Charles
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: red algae; Gracilaria; nitrogen; amino acids; protein; alternative feeds; nutrient remediation
• ISSN: 1226-2617; 2093-0860

The red seaweed, Gracilaria tikvahiae McLachlan, was cultivated in open water farms in urbanized estuaries of Long Island Sound (26-30 psu of salinity) and New York City (20-25 psu), USA in 2011. Plants were harvested monthly from summer (August, $24^{\circ}C$) to fall (November, $13^{\circ}C$) and analyzed for total nitrogen, protein, and amino acid content. On a dry matter (DM) basis, nitrogen and protein significantly increased over the harvest period until October and then plateaued. Nitrogen increased from $22{\pm}1g\;kg^{-1}$ DM in August to $39{\pm}3g\;kg^{-1}$ DM in October (p < 0.001). Protein increased from $107{\pm}13g\;kg^{-1}$ DM in August to $196{\pm}5g\;kg^{-1}$ DM in November (p < 0.001). With two exceptions, amino acid concentrations expressed on a crude protein (CP) basis were similar over the harvest period. Essential amino acids accounted for $48{\pm}1%$ of all amino acids present with lysine and methionine averaging $56{\pm}2g\;kg^{-1}$ CP and $18{\pm}1g\;kg^{-1}$ CP, respectively. Histidine was underrepresented among essential amino acids and averaged $13{\pm}1g\;kg^{-1}$ CP. Taurine ranged from 2.1 to $3.2g\;kg^{-1}$ DM. With its moderate levels of lysine, methionine and taurine, ocean farmed G. tikvahiae has the potential of overcoming many nutrient deficiencies currently associated with terrestrial plant ingredients in alternative feeds for fish and shrimp.