A comparison of the fatty acid, amino acid and proximate composition between the roe of wild and cultivated beluga (Huso huso) sturgeon from Iran are presented here. The fatty acid profile varied between wild and cultivated sturgeons but there was no differences observed for proximate composition and amino acid profile. The wild sturgeon roe contained higher amounts of n-3 fatty acids particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA) (wild: 2.9%, cultivated: 1.24%) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3, DHA) (wild: 5.1%, cultivated: 2.38%). Linolenic and linoleic acids were the predominant fatty acids in roe from cultivated beluga, a reflection of diet and also a likely physiological adaptation to a higher temperature environment. Low levels of PUFA in cultivated sturgeon negatively affected fertilization and hatching ratios which were significantly lower than for the wild fish. Hence, in order to culture beluga, feed with higher fatty acid with more n-3 is necessary to reach high quality roe and fertilization and hatching ratio. parameters, have been used to determine egg quality, which are also affected by a nutritional deficiency in broodstock diets. Indeed, one of the major nutritional factors that have been found to significantly affect reproductive performance in fish is the dietary essential fatty acid content [9]. Selective retention of DHA has also been found during embryogenesis and during starvation denoting the importance of this fatty acid for the developing embryo and larvae.At present, studies available on lipid composition of cultured sturgeons are somewhat limited in the sense that they do not provide a comparison of cultured and wild beluga roe or meat [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Here, a comparison of the chemical composition (chemical, fatty acid and amino acid profiles) of the roe from farmed and wild caught beluga (H. huso) from the same watershed in the southern Caspian Sea is presented and how this may affect egg survival is presented.
Materials and Methods
Egg collectionWild beluga (H. huso) (Female: TL = 240 ± 40 cm, weight = 95 ± 7 kg; Male: TL = 180 ± 20 cm, weight = 82 ± 5 kg) were captured during their spawning season (February-March) on the south eastern coast of the Caspian Sea between Gorgan and Sari using gillnets fishing method and taken to the Marjani Hatchery Center (Gorgan, Iran). Eggs collected for the recruitment program were recovered from live fish that had been transferred to this hatchery. After 24 h adaptation, 50 g eggs from each five ovulating females were collected using surgically method, placed into separate 20 ml plastic containers and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. Simultaneously, ovulated eggs from cultured beluga (Female: TL = 190.6 ± 12.5 cm, weight = 94.6 ± 9.3 kg; Male: 160 ± 10 cm, weight: 73 ± 6 kg ) were collected at the Rajaee Sturgeon Hatchery Center, in Sari, Iran in 2009, a culture facility about 120 km far from Marjani and eggs were recovered from three females as described above. These fish had been reared in fresh, warm (19 ± 2ºC) ar...