Alternatives in Aquaculture Feeds
The Importance of Aquaculture
Fish for Food
Fish and their cultivation and growth in the aquaculture industry is considered vital for worldwide food security. Aquaculture is the term used to define the production of fish and other aquatic species in a controlled aquatic environment. This provides sustenence in a renewable and efficient manner while limiting pressures on wild populations. In the case of aquaponics, produce is grown from the nutrient dense water used to grow fish, providing even more sustenance in a renewable and efficient manner.
What's in the Feed?
Fishmeal is currently the main source of protein within traditional aquacultural feeds.
Due to its high cost and limited availability, fishmeal-based aquaculture feeds can have negative economic impacts to limited resource aquaculturists worldwide. Within these higher risk operations, the greatest level of efficiency must be maintained for a system to be sustainable (Wachira, 2021).
In addition to concerns about fishmeal’s economic stability, there are ecological considerations regarding its use. According to Sahin (2025), ecological degradation and marine biodiversity are threatened through the harvesting of fish for use in fishmeal as these stock populations have experienced a 40% decline between 2013-2023. Research has suggested that alternative and more sustainable methods must be discovered and implemented to create more resilient supply chains for aquaculture-related feeds (Sahin, 2025).
Fishmeal use does have many benefits that have facilitated its growth to the main protein source for aquaculture feeds, despite sustainability challenges. It is valued for its high level of digestibility, amino acid profile, and high essential nutrient composition containing necessary EPA fatty acids, DHA, iodine, phosphorus, selenium, calcium, choline, biotin and B12, A, D, E vitamins (Sahin, 2025).
​
While a single ingredient replacement that is equivalent to fishmeal in all nutrient components is not currently available, recent research has provided many potential supplements and partial replacements. A reduction in fishmeal quantities and inclusion rates, even without full replacement, could provide significant positive sustainability results.
Fish Utilized
One of the most commonly used types of fish for aquacultural production is the Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) whose specific nutritional requirements can be found here if you are interested in further reading. Other commonly used species across various regions you may see mentioned on this site include African Catfish (Clarius gariepinus), Red Tilapia, Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar), Mozambique Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), Rohu (Labeo rohita) and European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax).
Fish require not only a their diet to have a general crude protein percentage, but for that protein to be composed of a certain array of essential amino acids. The Dietary Protein (dry basis) for Nile Tilapia must be composed, percentage based, of certain amino acids for fish to maintain optimal health and growth:
-Arginine 4.5% -Leucine 3.39% -Lysine 5.12%
-Histidine 1.72% -Methionine 2.68% -Phenylalanine 3.75%
-Isoleucine 3.11% -Theronine 3.75% -Tryptophan 1%
-Valine 2.8%
(Mjoun, 2010)
​
Some alternative ingredients may possess a good number of necessary components but do not have a high level of digestibility due to things such as Anti-Nutritients or undigestible composition of the whole ingredient such as Chitin in insect meals. Due to this some alternatives have suggested supplemental ingredients such as enzymes to complement these challenges listed within the ingredient webpage.
​
For a full scope of tilapia nutritional requirements click here.
What if there was a Better Way?
Citations
Mjoun, Kamal; Rosentrater, Kurt; and Brown, Michael L., (2010). TILAPIA: Environmental Biology and Nutritional Requirements. SDSU Extension Fact Sheets. 164.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/extension_fact/164
​
ÅžAHÄ°N, T. (2025). Ecological and geopolitical challenges in sustaining global fishmeal supply for aquaculture: Challenges in sustaining global fishmeal supply for aquaculture. MARINE REPORTS (MAREP), 4(1), 55–67. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15764050
​
Wachira, M. N., Osuga, I. M., Munguti, J. M., Ambula, M. K., Subramanian, S., & Tanga, C. M. (2021). Efficiency and improved profitability of insect-based aquafeeds for farming Nile tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus L.). Animals, 11(9), 2599. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/9/2599