INTENSIVE CULTURE OF LAKE WHITEFISH (COREGONUS-CLUPEAFORMIS) FROM LARVAE TO YEARLING SIZE USING DRY FEEDS

The successful development of exclusively dry feed regimes for the intensive culture of lake whitefish larvae and fingerlings is reported. Whitefish larvae were reared on diets combining commercially-available dry larval feeds, live Artemia spp. nauplii, and decapsulated Artemia cysts, as well as on dry feeds only. Large-scale (> 80 000 larvae per year) experiments were carried out over three consecutive year-classes. Growth to 800-1000 mg final fish weights, and 97-98% survival over the 56-day study periods were achieved on the most successful dry feed regimes. The methods employed for large-scale, production-oriented larval coregonid intensive culture, the performance of various commercial diets. and the potential causes of skeletal deformities observed on some diet regimes are presented.