STRATEGIES FOR SALMONID PIGMENTATION

Well pigmented flesh is regarded second after freshness as one of the most important quality criteria for farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo sala r). The required redness of salmonid flesh has caused a steady increas e of astaxanthin concentration in salmonid flesh from about 2-3 mg kg( -1) during the 1970s to above 6 mg kg(-1) today. An individual variati on in flesh pigmentation of more than 100% is experienced under practi cal as well as experimental conditions. An individual variation of thi s magnitude makes the precision of carotenoid estimations low, and imp airs comparisons of treatments. The present paper discuss the importan ce of standardisation of the experimental conditions in relation to th e level of flesh pigmentation and to variation in populations with the main focus on the effect of fish size, flesh carotenoid concentration and environmental factors.