MUSCLE HIGH-ENERGY PHOSPHATES AND STRESS AFFECT K-VALUES DURING ICE STORAGE OF ATLANTIC SALMON (SALMO-SALAR)

Initial levels of white muscle high-energy phosphates, IMP, ATP:IMP-ra tio, adenylate energy charge and pH were used as indicators of handlin g stress when Atlantic salmon were slaughtered. Ante-mortem handling i ncluded fish that were either anesthetized (baseline), quickly netted and killed by a blow to the head (unstressed) or chased to exhaustion in the holding tank (stressed). During subsequent storage in ice, fres hness was evaluated in terms of IMP, HxR, Hx and K-values. HPLC showed initial differences in distribution of metabolites induced by struggl ing gradually fell during storage. K-values were different only for 2 days post mortem, but the effect of handling stress was discernible as higher mean K-values and different IMP and HxR contents for up to 7 d ays post mortem.