Gatlin and Barrows are Chair and Vice-chair, respectively, of the Plant Products in Aquafeeds Working Group, and coordinated the development of this document; all other authors are listed in alphabetical order. AbstractContinued growth and intensi¢cation of aquaculture production depends upon the development of sustainable protein sources to replace ¢sh meal in aquafeeds. This document reviews various plant feedstu¡s, which currently are or potentially may be incorporated into aquafeeds to support the sustainable production of various ¢sh species in aquaculture. The plant feedstu¡s considered include oilseeds, legumes and cereal grains, which traditionally have been used as protein or energy concentrates as well as novel products developed through various processing technologies. The nutritional composition of these various feedstu¡s are considered along with the presence of any bioactive compounds that may positively or negatively a¡ect the target organism. Lipid composition of these feedstu¡s is not speci¢cally considered although it is recognized that incorporating lipid supplements in aquafeeds to achieve proper fatty acid pro¢les to meet the metabolic requirements of ¢sh and maximize human health bene¢ts are important aspects. Speci¢c strategies and techniques to optimize the nutritional composition of plant feedstu¡s and limit potentially adverse e¡ects of bioactive compounds are also described. Such information will provide a foundation for developing strategic research plans for increasing the use of plant feedstu¡s in aquaculture to reduce dependence of animal feedstu¡s and thereby enhance the sustainability of aquaculture.

Aquaculture's pressure on forage fisheries remains hotly contested. This article reviews trends in fishmeal and fish oil use in industrial aquafeeds, showing reduced inclusion rates but greater total use associated with increased aquaculture production and demand for fish high in long-chain omega-3 oils. The ratio of wild fisheries inputs to farmed fish output has fallen to 0.63 for the aquaculture sector as a whole but remains as high as 5.0 for Atlantic salmon. Various plant- and animal-based alternatives are now used or available for industrial aquafeeds, depending on relative prices and consumer acceptance, and the outlook for single-cell organisms to replace fish oil is promising. With appropriate economic and regulatory incentives, the transition toward alternative feedstuffs could accelerate, paving the way for a consensus that aquaculture is aiding the ocean, not depleting it.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The need for enhanced disease resistance, feed efficiency, and growth performance of cultured organisms is substantial for various sectors of this industry. If growth performance and feed efficiency are increased in commercial aquaculture, then the costs of production are likely to be reduced. Also if more fish are able to resist disease and survive until they are of marketable size, the subsequent cost of medication and overall production costs would be reduced drastically. It has been documented in a number of food animals that gastrointestinal microbiota play important roles in affecting the nutrition and health of the host organism. Thus, various means of altering the intestinal microbiota to achieve favorable effects such as enhancing growth, digestion, immunity, and disease resistance of the host organism have been investigated in various terrestrial livestock as well as in humans. Dietary supplementation of prebiotcs, which are classified as non‐digestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by stimulating growth and/or activity of a limited number of health‐promoting bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacter spp. in the intestine, while limiting potentially pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria and Escherichia coli, have been reported to favorably affect various terrestrial species; however, such information is extremely limited to date for aquatic organisms. Effects of probiotics, defined as live microbial feed supplements, on gastrointestinal microbiota have been studied in some fishes, but the primary application of microbial manipulations in aquaculture has been to alter the composition of the aquatic medium. In general, the gastrointestinal microbiota of fishes including those produced in aquaculture has been poorly characterized, especially the anaerobic microbiota. Therefore, more detailed studies of the microbial community of cultured fish are needed to potentially enhance the effectiveness of prebiotic and probiotic supplementation. This review summarizes and evaluates current knowledge of intestinal microbial ecology of fishes, the various functions of this intestinal microbial community, and the potential for further application of prebiotics and probiotics in aquaculture.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of different dietary sustained-release microencapsulated sodium butyrate (MSB) products (0 (non-supplement), 1·5 and 3·0 h) for a control or oxidised soyabean oil (SBO) diet on fish production, intestinal mucosal condition, immunity and intestinal bacteria in juvenile common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Dietary MSB increased weight gain and reduced the feed conversion ratio within the control and oxidised SBO groups. Gut mucosa was damaged in the oxidised SBO group fed without MSB, in contrast to a normal appearance found in fish fed the MSB1·5 and MSB3·0 diets in the oxidised SBO group. Microvillus density increased in fish fed the MSB1·5 and MSB3·0 diets in the oxidised SBO group (P,0·001); however, microvillus density was affected by the different pre-fed diets in the midgut (P,0·001) and by the different sustained-release times of MSB in the distal gut (DG) (P¼0·003). The interaction between the pre-fed diets and the sustained-release times of dietary MSB was significant for the relative gene expression levels of gut heat shock protein-70 (HSP70), pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1b and TNF-a) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (transforming growth factor-b) within each gut segment, except for HSP70 in the DG and IL-1b in the foregut. Modulation of adherent bacterial communities within each gut segment investigated was not obvious when the common carp were fed the diets with MSB, as similarity coefficients of .0·79 were observed. These results indicated that MSB can be used as a dietary supplement to repair or prevent intestinal damage in carp fed oxidised SBO.Key words: Cyprinus carpio: Microencapsulated sodium butyrate: Oxidised soyabean oil: IntestineThe use of antibiotics as growth promoters is a subject of debate in animal production as well as in feed and food industries. Their application in animal feed creates the possibility of building resistance to antibiotics used against bacterial pathogens in animals and humans (1,2) as well as in fish (3) . In 2006, the European Union banned the use of antibiotics in animal feed as growth promoters (European Parliament and Council Regulation no. 1831/2003). Another issue of concern with fish diets is that lipids are rapidly oxidised during storage due to the high content of PUFA, even though synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene and tert-butyl hydroquinone are supplemented. Furthermore, some plant extracts are used as feed additives in many countries to retard or prevent oxidative deterioration of oil (4) . The products of lipid oxidation such as SCFA, aldehydes and ketones do not only decrease the nutritive value of the feed but also react with cellular membrane components such as protein and DNA (5) . Several studies have reported † Both authors contributed equally to this work.* Corresponding authors: D. M. Gatlin, email d-gatlin@tamu.edu; Z. Zhou, fax þ86 10 82106054, email zhou_zg@msn.comAbbreviations: C-0, basal diet followed by basal diet; C-1·5, basal...