Proximate Composition And Caloric Content Of Eight Lake Michigan Fishes

The proximate composition (percentage lipid, water, fat-free dry material, ash) and caloric content of eight species of Lake Michigan fish were measured: lake trout, coho salmon, lake whitefish, bloater, alewife, rainbow smelt, deepwater sculpin, and slimy sculpin. Except for alewives, proximate composition and caloric content did not differ significantly between males and females. Although the caloric content of all species varied directly with lipid content and inversely with water content, an increase in lipid content did not always coincide with a proportional increasein caloric content when other components of fish composition were essentially unchanged. This observation suggests that the energy content of fish estimated from the proximate composition by using universal conversion factors may not necessarily be accurate.