Called ficoEst, the system aims to help fish nutritionists and farmers calculate nutrient utilisation rates. One of the main goals of a fish nutritionist is to optimise nutrient utilisation, to ensure the production of healthy and tasty fish in an economical and sustainable way. From the point of view of fish farmers, knowing the body composition of fish more regularly throughout the production cycle can help in the search for more effective feeding strategies and also have a better quality control of their products.
© Sparos
ficoEst uses different mathematical models to estimate the body composition of fish, depending on the input data provided – with options for providing weight, water and ash content: either individually or in combination.
The system is currently available for six fish species:
- Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)
- Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
- Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
- European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
- Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
- Meagre (Argyrosomus regius)
According to Sparos, a manuscript describing the estimation methods behind ficoEst is being prepared for submission to a peer-review journal.
