Survey of qualitative traits of European sea bass cultivated in different rearing systems

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the main qualitative traits of European sea bass fattened in farms adopting different rearing techniques (offshore cages, inshore cages, land-based basins) but fed the same diets in each production cycle, in a three year survey (2006, 2007, 2008). Three farms were chosen for each rearing technique and two sampling sessions of ten fish each were carried out for each rearing cycle. The proximate composition, the fatty acid profile and the cholesterol content were evaluated in the fillet of marketable size fish as well as the morpho-biometric parameters and the most important indices. Diets administered in 2008 had higher amounts of lipids, lower proportions of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and higher proportions of n-6 PUFA compared to 2006 and 2007 diets. The chemical and fatty acid composition of the fish fillet was affected by the diet composition: fish fattened in 2008 exhibited statistically higher amounts of fat and cholesterol, lower proportions of n-3 PUFA and higher proportions of n-6 PUFA in comparison with fish cultivated in 2006 and 2007. Fish cultivated in cages, both offshore and inshore cages, exhibited leaner fillets, lower amounts of cholesterol and higher proportions of n-3 PUFA than fish cultivated in basins

Fatty acid profile and proximate composition of fillets from Engraulis encrasicholus, Mullus barbatus, Merluccius merluccius and Sarda sarda caught in Tyrrhenian, Adriatic and Ionian seas

The study examined the proximate composition, cholesterol content and fatty acid profile of fillet from the most important species captured in Italian seas and commonly consumed in the European Union, such as anchovy (Engraulis encrasicholus L.), red mullet (Mullus barbatus L.), European hake (Merluccius merluccius L.) and Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda L.). The fish were caught in three different geographic areas of the Italian seas: south Tyrrhenian (ST), south Adriatic (SA) and Ionian (IO). Anchovy from the ST sea had the highest lipid content (2.27%) compared to fish captured in the SA (1.81%) and IO seas (1.91%) (P < 0.01). Red mullet captured in the SA exhibited the highest amount of lipid content (7.54%) compared to fish from the ST (1.82%) and IO seas (3.23%) (P < 0.01). The total cholesterol content of fish did not show significant differences from one geographic area to the other, particularly for European hake (from 98 to 66 mg per 100 g). The fatty acid profile of anchovy species was not affected by the geographical capture area. European hake caught in the ST sea showed the highest proportion of DHA (29.13%) in comparison to those captured in the SA (19.98%) and IO seas (19.84%). Atlantic bonito from the ST had the highest proportions of DHA (24.94%), compared to those from the SA (12.08%) and IO seas (13.83%). The SA bonitos contained a significantly lower proportion of EPA (3.31%) in comparison to fish from both the ST and IO seas (5.66 and 5.17%, respectively). Red mullet captured in the ST exhibited the highest proportions of DHA, n-3 PUFA, and total PUFA, and significantly lower proportions of oleic acid and MUFA. The fish from the ST sea showed better nutritional traits than those from other geographical areas although they all had excellent nutritional traits due to the low fat content and very high n-3 PUFA proportion