Success of Aquaculture Industry with New Insights of Using Insects as Feed: A Review

Abstract

Most of world’s fish and seafood are produced by aquaculture, which is one of the biggest contributors to the world’s food security. The substantial increase in prices of conventional feed ingredients and the over-exploitation of natural resources are some of the biggest constraints to aquaculture production. To overcome this stress, different approaches and techniques are used, among which the use of non-conventional feed ingredients in the aquaculture sector is the most recent approach. Different non-conventional feed ingredients such as plant-based products, algae (both micro and macroalgae), single-cell protein (bacteria and yeast), and insect meal are currently used in aquaculture for sustainable food production. Amongst all these novel ingredients, insects have greater potential to replace fishmeal. The existence of about 1.3 billion tons of food and agriculture waste from the food chain supply poses a serious environmental threat. Insects are tiny creatures that can thrive on organic waste and thus can convert the waste to wealth by the bioconversion and nutritional upcycling of organic waste. Insects have the potential to recover nutrients from waste aquaculture products, and many fish species feed on insects naturally. Therefore, employing insects in the aquaculture sector to replace fishmeal is an eco-friendly approach. The present review briefly highlights emerging non-conventional feed ingredients, with special attention given to insects. The current review also focuses on the nutritional value of insects, factors affecting the nutritional value of insects, potential insects that can be employed in the aquaculture sector, the physiological response of fish when fed with insect meal, techno-functional properties of insect meal, and emerging approaches for addressing possible downsides of employing insect meal in fish diets. Finally, it suggests avenues for further research into these inventive fishmeal replacements.

Assessing the Socio-Economic Benefits and Costs of Insect Meal as a Fishmeal Substitute in Livestock and Aquaculture

“…Thus, it can be logically assumed, there is a place for additional monetary benefits. It has also been stated that the utilization of insects as fish feed in aquaculture presents a multifaceted solution, offering potential fishmeal substitution, efficient utilization of organic waste, and environmental benefits such as reduced natural resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and pollution levels [17].…”

“…Due to having a complete protein profile and being rich in essential amino acids, insects also represent a valuable nutritional resource [16]. They contain all the essential amino acids required by humans and animals, and their protein content ranges from 35% to 75% dry matter (DM) [17]. Thus, it is reasonable to examine the production of insect-based products not only as a business idea, which could be economically profitable for its investors, but also from a societal benefit perspective, because insects are increasingly recognized as a viable alternative to animal-derived proteins for both animal feed consumption and organic waste management, exemplifying a circular approach to resource utilization [18].…”

The huge dilemma: how to increase seafood consumption for health benefits without impacting fisheries' sustainability?

“…This solution has been reviewed and described as an eco‐friendly approach to replace fishmeal, because insects have the potential to recover nutrients from waste aquaculture products and many fish species feed on insects naturally. The success of incorporating insect meal in aquaculture depends on the producer and consumer acceptance, which can be accelerated by making information available to product awareness and reduce information asymmetry (Hameed et al ., 2022) as stated in The need to raise consumers’ awareness.…”

Large Scale Nationwide Screening of Bioavailable Tetracyclines and Arsenic Using Whole-cell Bioreporter from Pangasius and Tilapia Aquaculture System in Bangladesh

“…Aquaculture is the largest sector of food production in the world, which has the potential to contribute to maintainable food production in the upcoming days (Hameed et al, 2022). In the most recent two decades, Bangladeshi aquaculture has improved expanded, and progressed innovatively with a growing trend to intensify cultural techniques in some regions in Bangladesh (Belton and Azad, 2012;Ali et al, 2013).…”