Tag aquafeed

One of the world’s leading fish nutrition experts talks about how aquaculture can learn to survive, and even thrive without depending on fishmeal and fish oil. It’ll take a lot of innovation, but Giovanni Turchini is confident that the industry is on the right path. 

Carotenoids are important pigments that contribute characteristic quality criteria for the marketing of aquaculture products. Aquatic animals cannot biosynthesize carotenoids de novo, hence their inclusion in aquafeeds is important because they are associated with various metabolic functions. 

The U.S. Soybean Export Council is a huge supporter of aquaculture growth globally, as so many aquafeed formulators rely on U.S. soy to create nutritious diets. The Southeast Asia senior technical advisor for USSEC’s aquaculture program talks about this symbiotic partnership. 

In an opinion piece for the Advocate, the director of ocean sustainability science at the New England Aquarium talks about the F3 Challenge and what the first X Prize for aquaculture could do for the industry: drive innovation.  

Since fish consume more feed in the final stages of growout, the development of ecologically efficient and nutritionally adequate diets for adult fish should be a priority. Digestible protein-digestible energy ratios are important for optimizing feeding efficiency in feed formulation and aquaculture production. 

Turbot are typically fed diets containing 45 to 65 percent fishmeal. In a study that gave turbot feed with 40 percent soy protein concentrate, the fish had decent growth and excellent survival. 

To help produce high-quality aquaculture feeds, the U.S. Soybean Export Council spearheaded the Asian Aquaculture Feed Formulation Database project, designed as a reference tool for individuals involved in feed formulation, ingredient purchasing, quality control and research. 

Poor-quality ingredients can’t become good-quality ingredients. Quality protein is essential for the healthy growth of any omnivorous or carnivorous aquaculture species. Insect meals seem to fill this need, and their mass-scale production appears to be sustainable. 

In life cycle analysis of aquaculture, there is a danger of the entire array of embodied resources and impacts being assigned to the production facility. Producers have no control over the inefficiencies or impacts associated with feed production, but can help lessen resource use through good management practices. 

A growth trial in Canada evaluated the use of algae biomass to increase the concentration of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the tissues of rainbow trout. 

Private aquafeed certification standards have been developed to bring trust and demonstrate responsible industry practices among aquafeed manufacturing stakeholders. 

Since feed costs can contribute up to 60 percent of the expenses for an aquaculture business, it is common for farms to purchase lower-cost feeds. 

Wastes produced during food processing can be treated to generate a valuable single-cell protein ingredient for aquafeed with protein and amino acid content similar to fishmeal. 

The oxygen demand of feed represents the dissolved oxygen removed by the respiration of culture animals, microbial decomposition of uneaten feed and feces, and oxidation of ammonia nitrogen by nitrifying bacteria. 

The National Oceanic and Atmo­spheric Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture joined forces through the NOAA-USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative to identify feed ingredients that will reduce the amount of fishmeal and fish oil in aquaculture feeds while maintaining the human health benefits of seafood. Through research on a variety of sources, promising alternatives are beginning to emerge.