Evaluation of fish meals and their effect on fatty acid deposition in broilers fat

For a long time, fish meal has been recognized as a feed of high nutritive value because of its content of high quality protein, essential amino acids, unidentified growth factors, vitamins, minerals, and energy. The fish meal is obtained through the "fish reduction process," which consists essentially of grinding, cooking, pressing, and drying of either whole fish or fish scrap. The most common species of fish used in the commercial manufacturing of fish meal are the herring, menhaden, anchovy, and pilchards. But by far the most important American source of fish for meal is the menhaden. It supplies approximately 75 percent of all fish meal, 80 percent of the marine oils, and nearly 80 percent of all fish solubles produced in the United States (1)*. A freshwater species that belong to the herring family Clupeidae and have similar characteristics to the menhaden are the gizzard shad. However, they have little food and commercial value (19). Another freshwater species having food value for man, especially in Japan, China, and parts of Europe are those belonging to the carp family Cyprinidae. Although these fish exist abundantly in American waters they have no commercial value in the United States (39) . Both species, the shad and carp, are abundant in Tennessee lakes. The objectives of this study were: 1. To evaluate by chemical methods certain nutrients of fish meals, produced from gizzard shad and carp taken from the Kentucky Lake in Tennessee as a feed ingredient in broilers' diets. 2. To determine by gas liquid chromatography the fatty acid composition of the fish meals and the adipose tissues of broilers fed these fish meals. 3. To compare the fatty acid composition of the diet with that of the abdominal fats of the broilers' carcass.