{"id":6320,"date":"2021-11-29T09:45:09","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T08:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalvetslab.com\/?p=6320"},"modified":"2021-11-29T09:54:43","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T08:54:43","slug":"alternative-protein-sources-in-carnivorous-fish-farming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deltalabs.online\/en\/alternative-protein-sources-in-carnivorous-fish-farming\/","title":{"rendered":"Alternative protein sources in carnivorous fish farming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Index<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Evolution of fish consumption in the last decades<\/li>
  2. Implementation of aquaculture<\/li>
  3. Diets for fish farms<\/li>
  4. Ingredients of vegetal origin: limitations in carnivorous species<\/li>
  5. How to improve diet utilization when using alternative protein sources<\/li>
  6. Conclusions<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    1. Evolution of fish consumption in the last decades<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Prior to understanding the use of alternative protein sources in aqua feeds, we need to talk about the exponential growth <\/strong>of human population since the mid-20th<\/sup> century, which led to greater food demand<\/strong>. This adds up to the increasing percentage of middle-class population in China and other South Asian countries <\/strong>that demand for high-quality protein sources [1].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    These factors caused a great increase in fish demand <\/strong>and, consequently, aquaculture gained importance as a fish source for human consumption <\/strong>[2]. <\/strong>Another reason why aquaculture is gaining weight as a fish source is that fisheries are not sustainable in the long term (see chart 1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    2. Implementation of aquaculture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Nowadays, aquaculture accounts for almost 50% of the marine food and it is forecasted that, in 2030, fish from aqua farms will exceed fish from fisheries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Aquaculture <\/strong>is the sector in food production that experienced the greatest growth in the last three decades, as it is a cheaper, simpler, and more sustainable way to obtain high-quality protein.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Fish is a valuable source of nutrients and micronutrients and has an important role in human nutrition and in the food chain globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    3. Diets for fish farms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Traditionally, fish meal was the base of aqua feeds, but the increasing demand and the exploitation of seas and rivers has put in risk the availability of this protein source. Because of it, there is a trend to decrease the use of fish meal and fish oil for aquaculture diets.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some plant-based ingredients are used to replace this protein source. Usually, these ingredients are easy to obtain <\/strong>and their cost per unit is low<\/strong>, compared to that of fish meal.<\/strong> However, even though using vegetal protein sources reduces feed costs, it is sometimes difficult to reach good performance results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is particularly relevant in aqua farms of carnivorous species<\/strong>, such as salmonids, whose protein requirements are high and above 50% in fingerlings<\/strong>. For this reason, vegetal sources are usually combined with animal sources<\/strong>, such as feather meal, MBM, among others) [3].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Ingredients of vegetal origin: limitations in carnivorous species<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There is a great variety of protein sources from a vegetal origin <\/strong>available for aqua feeds, such as soybean meal, corn gluten meal or rapeseed meal. These ingredients, particularly soybeans and other leguminous, have important limitations that mainly affect the carnivorous fish species, who require protein of an excellent quality at high concentrations.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n