Thiamine Deficiency Eyed as Link to Poor Returns of Western Alaska Chinooks
A report from the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) says thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency may play an important role in poor returns of western Alaska Chinook salmon.
The report in the January 2023 edition of the NPAFC newsletter notes that thiamine deficiency causes abnormal neuromuscular signs and mortality in fish consuming diets lacking thiamine or containing thiaminase, an enzyme that destroys thiamine.
The thiaminase enzyme has been found in high levels in certain small pelagic forage fishes that are common prey for juvenile and maturing Chinook.
Diets high in thiaminase have been shown to be associated with depressed thiamine concentrations in the predator species, says the article’s author, research biologist Wesley Strasburger of the Alaska Fisheries Science Ce...