LIPID DISTRIBUTION AND COMPOSITION OF COMMERCIALLY FARMED ATLANTIC SALMON (SALMO-SALAR)

Skin, red and white muscle, belly flap, dorsal fat depot, backbone, he ad, visceral tissue and liver of commercially farmed Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar) were analysed for total lipid content, lipid classes and fatty acid composition. The fat is deposited in a number of tissues an d organs with the highest level in the dorsal fat depot (38.4% of wet weight), red muscle (27.2%) and belly flap (28.1%). The fat content in white muscle is 9.6% of wet weight. The lipid class distribution is n early uniform throughout the fish body. The belly flap contains the hi ghest amount of triacylglycerols (98.8% of total lipid) and white musc le and visceral tissue have the lowest levels, 93.3% and 93.1%, respec tively. The variation in total saturates, monoenes, polyenes, n-6 and n-3 fatty acids was much less between tissues than the variation in to tal lipid content. In the edible part, the belly flap (16.7%) containe d significantly lower levels of n-3 fatty acids than red (18.4%) and w hite muscle (19.7%) mainly due to lower level of 22 : 6n-3 and 20 : 5n -3 fatty acids.