Distinguishing wild and farm‐raised freshwater fish through fatty acid composition: Application of statistical tools

Brazil stands out on the world stage as having the greatest variety of freshwater fish and great aquaculture potential due to a number of factors favorable to fish production. In order to classify fish according to their fatty acid composition and origin (wild vs. farm‐raised), a survey of data from native Brazilian freshwater fish was conducted. These data were subjected to statistical analyses (principal component analysis [PCA], cluster analysis, as well as ordination by nonmetric multidimensional scaling [NMDS]), where wild and farm‐raised fish separated into distinct groups. A combination of higher total HUFA, higher n‐3, lower n‐6, and lower n‐6/n‐3 can be used as qualifying factors of wild fish and the association of lower n‐3, higher total DUFA, higher n‐6, and higher n‐6/n‐3 ratio can qualify the farm‐raised fish. Brazil stands out on the world stage as having the greatest variety of freshwater fish and great aquaculture potential due to a number of factors favorable to fish production. In order to classify fish according to their fatty acid composition and origin (wild vs. farm‐raised), a survey of data from native Brazilian freshwater fish was conducted.