Quality characteristics of sharpsnout sea bream (Diplodus puntazzo) from different intensive rearing systems

An experimental investigation was carried out on sharpsnout sea bream (Dipl odus puntazzo) reared in cage and in tank to evaluate the influence of the different culturing conditions on the nutritional quality of the fish. Fill ets from fish of the same genetic origin and size, reared separately in tan k and in cage, were analysed for proximate composition, inorganic elements, unsaponifiable lipid fraction compounds, fatty acid profiles of total, neu tral and polar lipids and for textural properties. The proximate compositio n of differently-reared fish did not differ significantly except for the gr eater lipid content of the tank-reared specimens. High performance liquid c hromatography of unsaponifiable lipids showed significantly higher levels o f squalene, cholesterol and all-trans retinol in tank-reared fish fillets. Gas chromatography of total, neutral and polar lipids showed few difference s between the fatty acid profiles of tank- and cage-reared fish. Firmness a nd amount of expressed liquid were also influenced by the rearing technique s. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.