NON-TRADITIONAL SOURCES OF PROTEIN IN THE FEEDING OF AFRICAN CATFISH CLARIAS GARIEPINUS

Abstract

Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. It supplies half of the world's fish products consumed annually. Therefore, the future global demand can be satisfied only by expanding and intensifying aquaculture production, which, in turn, requires an increase in the production of complete ration compound feeds. This prompts the need to increasingly use alternative feed ingredients to satisfy the significant protein and energy needs of fish, which is a challenge for feed producers on the one hand and a relevant topic for researchers on the other. Currently, unfortunately, there’s not enough research on new fish feeds, especially with the possibility of using non-traditional protein sources in compound feeds. It’s well known that one of the alternative ways to ensure high productivity and reduce the cost of aquaculture products is to replace fish meal with cheaper vegetable protein. The main problem is to preserve its biological value. Vegetable protein is characterized by a lower content of certain amino acids, including irreplaceable ones, and fish necessity for them in several times higher than warm-blooded animals. Therefore, such a replacement shouldn’t lead to a decrease in the biological value of the diet. The article summarizes the results of global scientific research on the possibility of replacing fish meal with various sources of protein in compound feeds for African catfish, Clarias gariepinus. The use of alternative protein sources and their replacement of deficient and rather expensive fish meal are now gradually gaining relevance in the aquaculture industry.