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.