Sustainable Aquaculture Nutrition
Starting in spring 2024, the Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture (FBA) at Nord University and the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) in France jointly teaches this course. The INRAe lecturers are either online or onsite.
The Sustainable Aquaculture Nutrition course emphasizes the significance of feed and nutrition in the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector. The course covers feed ingredients, macronutrients, and micronutrients, the development of novel nutritional ingredients in line with sustainable production and the importance of functional ingredients, nutrition, and health relationships. Complementary information is available in the course content section.
The course will mainly target salmonid fish and the development of intensive aquaculture. Comparative nutrition tackling other species of commercial interest like tilapia, shrimp, cod, sea bream and sea bass will be further developed as a microtopic.
Some topics will be covered in seminars from the aquaculture industry. As part of the research in nutrition topic, the research station will also be visited.
Lectures and seminars
- Importance of feed and nutrition for sustainable development of the aquaculture industry.
- Macronutrients and their dietary requirements in modern aquaculture
- Micronutrients and their dietary requirements in modern aquaculture
- Feed nutritional ingredients: marine, plant and alternative ingredients in line with sustainable aquaculture
- Functional ingredients and their application: new knowledge and progress in aquaculture nutrition and health
- Research methodology: How to set-up a nutrition study? Methods for studying feed and nutritional needs, performance, feed utilization, insight into proximate analysis, software use and alternative methods.
- Insights in aquatic feed formulation, technology and quality,
Individual project:
- topic in relation to nutritional aspects of your master's thesis project
Presentation of biochemistry laboratory and research station at FBA:
- biochemistry lab (proximate analysis)
- fresh water (RAS) and sea water research facilities
Possibility of a visit to a feed production facility or research cage facilities with salmon
Microtopics to complement the course:
Some of the topics listed below will be available starting from Spring 2026 as micro-credentials to complete the course. They intend to give a more in-depth approach of the topic.
- Laboratory work (overview of analytical methods and possibility to try one more in line with master project or student interest).
- Nutrition basic knowledge (macro-nutrients, digestion, absorption, metabolism)
- Comparative nutrition (species and life stages for global commercial fish/shrimp)
- Feed formulation, production and quality
- Sustainability
For students admitted to the Master in Bioscience and the Nordic Master in Sustainable Production and Utilization of Marine Bioresources.
For exchange students studying in the area of Biosciences and Aquaculture
Knowledge
the student must have gained:
- Gain a general understanding of the importance of feed and feeding for sustainable development in the aquaculture industry
- Gain insight into the importance of nutrients, feed and additives to ensure good growth and good health in farmed fish macronutrients, micronutrients, feed and additives to ensure good growth and good health in farmed fish
- Gain knowledge about feed ingredients, feed technology, feed formulation and feed quality
- Knowledge about how to conduct research in the area of aquaculture nutrition
- Gain knowledge about development trends in the feed industry and the need for research priorities in nutrition in aquaculture species (functional feeds and alternative ingredients)
Skills
- From an academic point of view, students will gain knowledge of various aspects of fish nutrition, including the design of nutritional experiments, as well as the optimization and production of experimental diets.
- Seen from an industry perspective, students are expected to be familiar with different types of feed, production technology, and feeding in practice.
- From an environmental perspective, students are expected to be able to assess different alternative sustainable feed resources
General Competence
- The student should be able to make use of knowledge acquired through this course
- To carry out further studies in aquaculture nutrition
- To work in the feed industry
- To apply knowledge in connection with the production of fish
- To understand the importance of nutrition for the aquaculture production economy
- Be able to handle professional discussions related to feed and feeding in the aquaculture industry
No costs beyond semester fees and literature. Main literature consist of scientific papers.
Under discussion is the possibility to visit a feed production facility or a salmon research facility. Depending on the funding, there might be a slight contribution requested to the students to cover food expenses and accommodation in case of a two-day excursion.
Mandatory course for the Master in Biosciences with specialization in Aquaculture.
Elective course for the Nordic Master in Sustainable Production and Utilization of Marine Bioresources (Students registered at Nord and students from Hòlar and Göteborg partner universities) as well as for any exchange students at Nord.
- Teaching methods
- Face-to-face, on-line teaching and recorded lectures
- Learning activities
- Teaching, seminars and laboratory work are organized in three blocks of approx. 10 to 15 hours over 4 days.
- Continuous active participation throughout the different blocks is part of the organization as well as self-studying prior and after the lectures.
- Self-studying on an individual project in relation to the master's thesis project.
Composite assessment, grading rule Letter grades
- Compulsory participation - for lab, counts 0/100 of the grade, grading rule Approved/ Failed.
- Assessment task - report, makes up 0/100 of the grade, pass or fail.
- Written school exam, 4 hours, counts 100/100 of the grade, grading rule Letter grades.
Pen, ruler and up to 2 bilingual dictionaries English - native language
Generating an answer using ChatGPT or similar artificial intelligence and submitting it wholly or partially as one's own answer is considered cheating.
- The course is based on the course HAV2002 Fish Nutrition and Product Quality offered at the Bachelor's level or similar recognized courses.
- Students are expected to have basic knowledge of biochemistry and metabolism.
- Microtopics will be progressively made available to cover these topics.
Overlap refers to a similarity between courses with the same content. Therefore, you will receive the following reduction in credits if you have taken the courses listed below:
AK320F - Sustainable Aquaculture Nutrition - 7.5 credits