Quick with krill
Quick with krill for faster growth
Quick yield enhancer contains Qrill from Aker BioMarine. This is Superba Krill from the nutrition-rich, pure seawater around Antarctica. Reliable documentation demonstrates that adding Quick to the feed boosts appetite and feed assimilation. This translates into increased growth an improved production.
Krill is one of the cleanest and most potent sources of nutrition in the world. The process for catching Superba krill is MSC-certified. Aker BioMarine’s catches of krill in the Antarctic Ocean account for just 0.35% of the biomass. Adding Quick to the feed improves fish health and boosts growth in a natural, sustainable manner.
Tested and proven
A Nofima study confirms the effect of Quick. Nofima has studied the effect of adding krill meal to the feed as compared to fish fed with standard BioMar feed. The findings reveal that adding krill meal to the feed improves both harvest quality and fillet yield.
- 1.4% higher harvest yield
- 2.9% higher fillet yield
- Improved fillet quality with increased firmness and reduced fillet splitting
Harvest quality improved
The findings from the Nofima survey revealed that feed containing Quick stimulated the formation of more muscle mass and firmer muscles, which translated into higher harvest and fillet yield. Moreover, it reduced the proportion of fillets with soft muscle and fillet splitting.
Adding krill meal to salmon feed produced no negative effects in the entire volume of fish material analysed.
Extra yield in all our products
Adding Quick to the feed boosts appetite and yield, resulting in increased growth. This helps fish farmers to achieve harvest weight more quickly, or to obtain a higher harvest weight from the standard production time. Quick is used in our Rainbow Fjord, Energy X, Power and SMARTfeeds product ranges for improved feed assimilation. All products are marked with a Q behind the product name when the Quick component is added.
This is why BioMar customers are increasingly asking for products containing Quick, and why these products now make up a significant share of our total sales. We generally recommend the use of Quick to boost appetite during different periods where the fish require greater resistance and have the biggest potential for growth. BioMar always recommends using Quick continuously until the fish weigh approx. 1 kg. This provides a solid growth advantage, with a ‘compound interest’ effect until the fish reach harvest size.
Effect on small fish
Quick has been tested and proven to have a particularly beneficial effect on small fish. The fish show an increase in appetite, improved feed assimilation and faster growth. The test, which was checked by Nofima, demonstrated 30% better growth for small salmon.
This result was achieved by adding 7.5% krill to the feed. The tests were carried out at Helgeland Aquaculture Station, Dønna, and checked via CT scans at Nofima. For medium-sized salmon, mixing in 10% krill enhanced growth by 8% compared with the control feed.
Other tests performed by Aker BioMarine in consultation with Nofima revealed an 18–23% improvement in growth from adding krill. The effect is biggest during the first part of the sea phase. However, the increase in growth continues throughout the entire production cycle. We therefore recommend using Quick continuously until the fish weight reaches approx. 1 kg.
Effect on large fish
Quick is thoroughly documented as an appetite enhancer in large fish, which show an increase in appetite, improved feed assimilation and faster growth. Findings from tests checked by Nofima reveal that adding 10% krill meal to the feed produces 11% better growth among large salmon.
The tests were carried out at Helgeland Aquaculture Station, Dønna, and checked via CT scans at Nofima. For medium-sized salmon, mixing in 10% krill boosted growth by 8% compared with the control feed.
17 tonnes of extra biomass
A corresponding trial – 40 days, from November to December – was conducted on large salmon weighing 5.5–6.8 kg. Here, the control feed comprised 30% fish meal and the test involved two feed recipes containing 0 and 10% krill meal respectively. The group receiving the 10% krill mix presented 14% higher growth than the control group. This translates into more than 170 grams, i.e. 17 tonnes of extra biomass per 100,000 fish. In this test, we saw no effect on the feed factor. This may be due to the fact that the fish were originally displaying excellent growth and feed factor, and that additional improvement in growth did not have the same effect on the feed factor as in other tests.
Improved fillet quality
In the same way as in other tests, this test revealed that salmon fed on feed containing krill had a lower content of intestinal and muscle fat, and produced firmer fillets. This was revealed by CT scans performed at Nofima. The improvement in quality may be attributable to the faster growth resulting in more efficient utilisation of the energy in the feed for protein growth rather than fat accumulation. In addition, krill contains high levels of marine phospholipids, which may have an effect on the amount of fat deposited, and how.
We therefore recommend adding Quick to the feed during the final phase before harvesting.
