Development and Application of a Mechanistic Nutrient-Based Model for Precision Fish Farming

Abstract

This manuscript describes and evaluates the FEEDNETICS model, a detailed mechanistic nutrient-based model that has been developed to be used as a data interpretation and decision-support tool by fish farmers, aquafeed producers, aquaculture consultants and researchers. The modelling framework comprises two main components: (i) fish model, that simulates at the individual level the fish growth, composition, and nutrient utilization, following basic physical principles and prior information on the organization and control of biochemical/metabolic processes; and (ii) farm model, that upscales all information to the population level. The model was calibrated and validated for five commercially relevant farmed fish species, i.e., gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), using data sets covering a wide range of rearing and feeding conditions. The results of the validation of the model for fish growth are consistent between species, presenting a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) between 11.7 and 13.8%. Several uses cases are presented, illustrating how this tool can be used to complement experimental trial design and interpretation, and to evaluate nutritional and environmental effects at the farm level. FEEDNETICS provides a means of transforming data into useful information, thus contributing to more efficient fish farming.

Alternative Feed Formulations Impact Growth Performance, Flesh Quality and Consumer Acceptance of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

“…In the case of seabass fed diets with the same concepts, the VSI was lower when compared to the control, although the HSI was not statistically different [44]. In addition, turbot fed with a mix of ingredients also presented a lower value when fed a PAP diet when compared to control fish [43]. The values that were found in this study for these indexes are in congruence with other findings from the literature [53].…”

“…It is commonly accepted that HSI provides an indication of the status of energy reserves and of the general metabolic activity of fish, and HSI values not exceeding 2% are generally associated with good hepatic functionality [43,44,53]. In the present study, all the HSI indexes ranged from 0.90 to 1.03%, well below this limit.…”

“…The results obtained in the in vivo trial were extrapolated in silico using the FEEDNETICS TM nutrient-based model (software; FEEDNETICS, 2022, Olhão, SPAROS) [43]. The main objective of this application was to evaluate the long-term impact of the experimental diets on the zootechnical and economic performance of rainbow trout cultivated under commercial-like farming conditions.…”

“…Furthermore, turbot-fed diets with the same concept of circular economy-driven ingredients showed no difference in FCR [43]. However, seabass fed NoPAP diets showed lower final body weight and similar weight gain when fed NoPAP+ compared to control [44].…”