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A Low Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) is the Indicator of Efficient Aquaculture
Views : 1776
Author : Mylana
Update time : 2022-01-18 13:42:07
Efficient conversion of feed to biomass is the quintessential feature of a properly managed aquaculture facility. The efficiency of feed use is calculated as either the feed conversion ratio (FCR) or the feed efficiency (FE). The FCR is the feed input divided by the resulting net production; it indicates the units of feed necessary to yield one unit of biomass. The smaller the FCR, the greater is the feed use efficiency. Feed efficiency is simply the inverse of the FCR—the amount of aquaculture biomass realized per unit of feed input. The larger the FE, the greater the efficiency of feed use. The FCR is more commonly used by fish and shrimp farmers than is the FE.
The FCR is based on the air dry or “as is” feed weight, and the live weight of aquaculture biomass. This is perfectly correct from a farm management perspective, for farmers purchase feed on an “as is” basis and sell fish or shrimp on a live weight basis.
Typical FCRs are between around 1.2 to about 2.2 (FE values of 0.83-0.45) depending upon the type of feed, the species, the size of the animals, feeding practices, and water quality conditions in culture systems. Sometimes, FCRs of 1.0 or less are reported—especially in salmonid culture.
A low FCR is important because it reduces the system load of pollutants and protects the quality of water in the culture system. It also reduces the environmental loads in all production systems other than cage culture. Moreover, a low FCR lessens the amount of feed required per unit of production to lower feed costs.
The FCR is based on the air dry or “as is” feed weight, and the live weight of aquaculture biomass. This is perfectly correct from a farm management perspective, for farmers purchase feed on an “as is” basis and sell fish or shrimp on a live weight basis.
Typical FCRs are between around 1.2 to about 2.2 (FE values of 0.83-0.45) depending upon the type of feed, the species, the size of the animals, feeding practices, and water quality conditions in culture systems. Sometimes, FCRs of 1.0 or less are reported—especially in salmonid culture.
A low FCR is important because it reduces the system load of pollutants and protects the quality of water in the culture system. It also reduces the environmental loads in all production systems other than cage culture. Moreover, a low FCR lessens the amount of feed required per unit of production to lower feed costs.
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