Author: Jennifer Kuo^1,*

¹Grobest Group Limited, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, ROC.

Abstract

    Over the decades, aquatic feed products have largely depended on marine resources and soy production. Both fishery and soy products provide quality protein and oil for human consumption as well. The world population has increased rapidly in recent years so the demand for food has increased dramatically. With the challenges of limited land for cultivation and overfishing issues in the ocean, the need to find alternatives for more sustainable feed products has become essential for a sustainable aquaculture industry.

    There is a lot of research being done on alternatives that include traditional ingredients and novel ingredients. We now know, the production of most novel ingredients have a lower carbon footprint and are more environmentally friendly. This has attracted lots of attention. However, the challenges today are mostly on the availability in large volumes and at an affordable cost.

    We have recently seen production technology for some novel ingredients improve, so more potential novel ingredients are being commercialized and are available in the market. Many of them are good alternatives to be included in aquatic feed, and one such example is insect meal.

    At Grobest, we have conducted numerous animal trials to evaluate the performance of different novel ingredients on shrimp and fish. The indicators for evaluation we consider when using alternatives include nutritional value, digestibility, palatability, amino acid balance, fatty acid balance, minerals, as well as animal growth, survival rate, animal health, and economic benefit.

    With regards to insect meals, they are often high in protein, energy, and lipids. With these benefits, our research show that insect meals may in the future partially replace fish meal. In terms of regulations, insect meal has already been approved by the EU commission regulation as part of feedstuff ingredients in aquatic feed.

    We must, however, conduct further assessment on potential dangers or drawbacks of insect meals. For example: bioaccumulation, deficiencies in amino acids or fatty acids, chitin content, palatability, and digestibility. The above may be reasons why insect meals have yet to be utilized widely in aquatic feed.

    Overall, more trials are still required to further evaluate the benefits of novel ingredients.

Key words: Aquatic feed, Insect meal, Fish meal substitute

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