LACK OF SELECTION RESPONSE IN EUROPEAN SEA BASS {Dicentrarchus labrax L.) SELECTED FOR FAST GROWTH ON A 100 PLANT-BASED DIET

摘要

The reliance of carnivorous fish production on marine feedstuffs derived from capture fisheries (fish meal and fish oil) is seen as a major threat to the sustainability of aquaculture production and more generally of seafood (capture + aquaculture) production. Therefore, important efforts have been made in the last two decades to formulate fish feeds where marine ingredients are replaced by more widely available plant-derived proteins and oils. However, high substitution rates may still cause retarded growth and impaired survival. It has recently been shown that rainbow trout could be genetically selected for adaptation to plant-based diets, resulting in improved growth and survival (Le Boucher et al, 2012). In European sea bass, we observed both genetic variation for growth and family re-rankings when the same families were fed a marine or plant-based diet (Le Boucher et al., 2013). Therefore, we set up a selection experiment to test the existence of specific and non specific selection response for growth on marine and plant-based diets in European sea bass.