Protein Fishmeal Replacement in Aquaculture: A Systematic Review and Implications on Growth and Adoption Viability

Abstract

Aquaculture is growing rapidly as a food-producing sector and in recent years fishmeal prices have climbed more than two-fold on a global scale. This review of previous studies was performed to contribute to the extant literature on the aquaculture sector to aid cost reduction of aquafeeds by identifying substitute proteins that can replace fishmeal. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) using the SCOPUS and WOS (Web of Science), DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals), Academia, and PubMed Central databases. A total of 59 articles were included in the synthesis after screening for duplicates and articles that did not conform to the criteria. Results have shown that the 100% replacement of fishmeal with blood meal (BM) did not affect the growth of fish, nor did the 75% to 100% combination of poultry-by-product (PBM), feather meal (FEM), and BM. Moreover, a 10% replacement of fishmeal using seaweed (Gracilaria arcuata) had no adverse effect on the feed efficiency and growth performance of tilapia. Similarly, a 50% replacement of fishmeal using black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), and a 25% replacement using soybean (Glycine max) also showed better results for fish growth. Our review shows that alternative protein can replace fishmeal in the aquaculture sector and reduce the cost of aquafeeds since alternative proteins are much cheaper than the usual fishmeal. Adoption of these alternative protein sources hinges on financial support, start-up incentives for companies, and ongoing studies on waste-to-feed production, which the government can also support.

The Replacement of Fish Meal with Poultry By-Product Meal and Insect Exuviae: Effects on Growth Performance, Gut Health and Microbiota of the European Seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax

“…Various plant protein sources have traditionally been used to partially or completely replace FM in aquafeeds. However, nowadays animal protein sources are considered the best alternative to FM due to their higher protein and lipid content, better amino acid profile, and palatability [42,43].…”

Evaluating of Pea Peels Meal as a Fishmeal alternative in Formulated Diet Ingredients of Oreochromis niloticus

“…Many authors mentioned that the level of crude protein did not affect the hepatosomatic index of the tilapia juveniles reared under biofloc condition that may be related to the higher metabolism of smaller fish Incorporating plant proteins in fish diets is common in aquaculture due to the high cost and sustainability concerns associated with fishmeal. However, this substitution can impact the health status of fish including their hematological parameters (Macusi et al, 2023).…”

Fermentation of Plant-Based Feeds with Lactobacillus acidophilus Improves the Survival and Intestinal Health of Juvenile Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Reared in a Biofloc System

“…However, it is an expensive and increasingly scarce product, causing an excessive rise in the prices of aquafeeds [2,3]. The replacement of fishmeal with plant protein sources [4][5][6] has been widely studied in fish diets [2,7,8], but total substitution is not always possible [9][10][11]. In particular, the use of plant-based ingredients in fish diets presents several challenges, such as the presence of antinutritional factors (ANFs), low palatability, and deficiency in the concentration of essential amino acids [12][13][14].…”