Quantification of the Differences in Flesh Fatty Acid Components between Farmed and Wild Fish

Abstract

Inconclusive results on the effect of farming on fatty acid composition of fish prevent the application of this possible variable in studies related to human health and environmental policies. The current meta-analysis used results from 39 studies to produce compelling quantitative results on differences in fatty acid components related to human health between farmed and wild fish. With seawater fish, mean effect sizes (Hedges' d) for differences in contents of EPA + DHA, total n-3 fatty acids, and the n-3:n-6 ratio were virtually zero. However, farmed freshwater fish showed a lower total n-3 fatty acid content than their wild counterparts.

Keywords:

• farmed fish
• wild fish
• health characteristics
• lipid
• fatty acids
• meta-analysis

This study was financially supported by Research Plan No. MSM 6007665809 and Grant No. QH92307 from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Research Institute of Fish Culture and Hydrobiology, University of South Bohemia, Vodnany, Czech Republic.