Nutrient composition of demersal, pelagic, and mesopelagic fish species sampled off the coast of Bangladesh and their potential contribution to food and nutrition security - The EAF Nansen Programme

Abstract

Fish is a major part of the Bangladeshi diet supplying several essential micronutrients vital for food and nutrition security, but additional data on the nutrient composition of marine fish species is required. Mesopelagic fish is a new potential food or feed resource wherethat we currently have scarce information on the nutrient composition. The aim of this study was to describe the nutrient composition, including proximate composition, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, of marine fish species caught off the coast of Bangladesh and further explore their contribution to recommended nutrient intakes (RNI). Seven species from the pelagic-, mesopelagic-, and demersal zones were trawled at various locations in the Bay of Bengal with the research vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen in August, 2018. Three pooled samples from each species were analyzed at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway. The demersal species, particularly Bombay duck, contained substantially lower concentrations of nearly all nutrients, while the mesopelagic species generally were most nutrient dense. All species, with the exception of the demersal species Bombay duck, were found to potentially contribute ≥100% to the RNI of vitamin B12, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and selenium, in addition to being able to contribute ≥50% to the RNIs of three or more nutrients simultaneously. All sampled species except for the demersal fish were also identified to potentially contribute ≥25% to the RNIs of six or more essential ? nutrients. The data presented in this paper may represent an important contribution to the Bangladeshi food composition table, as well as contribute with new information regarding nutrient composition of mesopelagic fish.