The missing link for fish meal substitution: low-cost, high-volume, sustainable protein and EPA-rich microalgae (spirulina) biomass

Miguel Cizin, President, Biomat

The debate over sustainability of fish feed ingredients such as fish meal, which is mostly sourced from unsustainable pelagic fish wild catch,  has promoted the development of sustainable vegetable-sourced protein alternatives as a viable substitute.  In addition to other aquatic and non-aquatic ingredients, such as soy, microalgae biomass in general, and spirulina algae in particular, has been identified and acknowledged as the most promising ingredient for high-volume, sustainable protein, due to its unique ability to capture CO2 and available energy and very efficiently convert both into protein and nutrient-rich (EPA) biomass.  There is a long-standing and still very strong global consensus that the single missing link for algae to fulfill its promise as the optimal ingredient to substitute a high percent of fish meal in animal feed is the availability of scalable, competitively priced algae biomass produced in a sustainable process, using a limited amount of non-fertile land, water, nutrients, and energy. A new, patent-pending, sustainable algae biomass production technology is described, which can be deployed on non-fertile land, and which does not require a nearby smokestack as it captures the large amount of carbon molecules required directly from the available CO2 in the surrounding atmosphere.  Typical production volumes per unit surface and overall production costs per ton of algae biomass produced in the first facility deployed in Israel will be presented.

Total replacement of fish meal by poultry by-product meal in shrimp feeds

Victor Suresh¹ & Sergio Nates²

¹ Integrated Aquaculture International, Brunei Darussalam

² Fats & Proteins Research Foundation, USA

The presentation will highlight efforts to completely replace fishmeal in shrimp feeds using poultry byproduct meal (PBM). In formulas that are similar to commercial feed formulas and containing 21-24% premium fishmeal, total replacement by PBM results in shrimp performance that is lower by about 15%. We have investigated the attractability and palatability factors in PBM, and found them to be present in significant quantities. Nutritive value of PBM’s fat component for shrimp has also been extensively investigated. The results of the investigations will be discussed in the presentation.       

New Non-GMO High Protein Soybean Meals without Anti-Nutritionals for Aquafeeds

Alejandro Buentello, VP of Research and Aquaculture Business, Schillinger Genetics, Inc.

Soybean cultivars have been selected with 15-20% higher protein content and with the difficult-to-digest carbohydrates raffinose and stachyose, as well as trypsin inhibitors significantly reduced. The defatted meal derived from these cultivars exceeds 56% in protein content and with further gentle processing will surpass 60% in crude protein (CP). Feeding trials comparing protein digestibility, metabolizable energy, mortality, FCR and growth performance have been conducted with Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, Pacific white shrimp, European sea bass, cobia, yellowtail and red drum. Additional trials with other aquaculture species will be conducted in 2012. The search has been intensified for new soy meals and traits that will further improve the nutritive value of aquafeeds in key aquatic species. In order to expand testing efforts on aquafeeds, Schillinger Genetics (SG) has conducted replicated feeding trials utilizing “first feeding” rainbow trout fry with an average initial weight of ~ 0.1 g. Experimental diets were formulated to contain 42% CP, 15% lipid and derive the dietary protein from sardine meal (reference diet), sardine meal plus SG-cultivar 3010 (50:50) or sardine meal plus soy protein concentrate (SPC) obtained from regular commodity soybeans (also 50:50 replacement). The feeding trial was conducted over a 6-week period to allow for adequate treatment separation. Results on growth  and survival indicate that SG-3010, substituting half of the fishmeal is able to support the same growth performance as the fishmeal-based diet and a significantly higher weight gain than the SPC diet. Taken together, these results indicate that the use of SG-3010 allows for a higher fishmeal replacement level in rainbow trout diets. In addition, due to its higher protein density, lesser amounts of SG-3010 are required to meet the dietary requirement for this species. Therefore, the nutritional value of SG-3010 is significantly higher than that of SPC obtained  from conventional commodity soybeans.

Reducing feed cost in aquaculture by optimizing nutrient utilization and gut health

Peter Coutteau, Business Development Manager – Aquaculture, Nutriad International NV, Belgium

As ingredient prices rise, nutritionists search for new options for cost reduction by maximizing the efficiency of digestive and metabolic processes which are at the basis of converting nutrients into meat gain. The presentation illustrates the potential to reducing cost of feeding in aquaculture by improving the efficiency of nutrient utilization and optimizing gut health. Digestibility enhancing additives have the potential to improve nutrient utilization from cheap ingredients and stimulate the conversion of nutrients into meat gain and less into fat accumulation in muscle and viscera. The potential of species-specific digestibility enhancers, tailored to the digestive physiology and feed formulation of each aquaculture species, is illustrated with results from feeding trials with Tilapia (Oreochromus niloticus),  tra catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus),European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), and white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei).  Fish and shrimp are highly exposed to exchanges of microflora between the environment and the digestive system. Furthermore, the digestive system of fish and shrimp is the main entry port for bacterial and viral infections. Synergistic blends of natural compounds (“phytobiotics”) are capable of modulating the microflora towards a favorable composition, favoring the development of beneficial bacteria and inhibiting potentially pathogenic micro-organisms. The efficacy of phytobiotics was tested under lab and field conditions for fish and shrimp production, resulting in significant improvements in survival, growth and food conversion. 

A review of amino acids levels in fishmeal in Southeast Asia

Dhanapong Sangsue, Evonik Degussa (SEA) Pte. Ltd. Technical Sales Manager

Animal protein sources, such as fishmeal, have typically been used in aquatic animal feed to provide essential amino acids and other nutrients, but the nutritional value of these protein sources can vary greatly due to type of species used and processing conditions. Considering the importance of fishmeal in aquatic feeds, it is important to understand this nutrient variation and its impact on production performance if not accounted for. In 2010, 266, 387, 241, 209, and 39 samples of locally-produced fishmeal from Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia, respectively, were analyzed for the crude protein and amino acid contents. The analyzed crude protein contents of those fishmeal samples ranged from 56.23 to 63.18 %, while methionine contents ranged from 1.34 to 1.75%, and lysine contents ranged from 3.61 to 4.71%. Fishmeal from Indonesia had the highest levels of CP, Met and Lys with 63.18, 1.75, and 4.18%, respectively, whereas fishmeal from Vietnam had the lowest with 56.23, 1.34, and 3.61%, respectively. Fishmeal produced in Thailand had the greatest variation with a coefficient of variation of 9.23% for CP, while Philippines had the most-consistent production with a coefficient of variation of 4.59%. A portion of the variation can be explained by origin of fishmeal and processing. For example, analyses of 87 Tra catfish fishmeal samples from Vietnam (by-products from Pangasius processing) revealed 58.5%, 4.04%, 1.48% of average CP, Met and Lys respectively with coefficients of variation of 6.0%, 12.3%, and 14.2%, respectively. To formulate diets as precisely as possible, it is critical to both understand the amino acid requirements of the aqua species being fed and to understand the nutrient variation in the ingredients that will be used to produce that diet. Without this knowledge, safety margins must be increased, which increase diet cost due to less efficient use of this costly raw material. These data highlight the importance of analyzing fishmeal on a routine basis in order to better understand its nutrient content and the variation contained therein.