Fishmeal in aquaculture, catching fish to feed fish

Kurniati Umrah Nur, AMC UTAS

Introduction
Wild catch fisheries and aquaculture provided the world with
approximately 142 tones of fish in 2008. About 115 million tones of this was
used for human food. Aquaculture contributed to about 46 percent of total fish
supplies and proceeds to be the most rapidly flourishing animal food-producing
field and improve faster than population growth. There was an increase in per
capita supply from aquaculture over the last 3 decades, from 0,7 kg in 1970 to
7,8 kg in 2008. With an average annual growth rate of 6.6 percent, aquaculture
has been forecasted to overtake wild catch fisheries as the main source of food
(FAO 2010).
Over the last 15 years, the production of cultured fish and shellfish have
doubled globally, and some believed that the massive grow development of
aquaculture relieves pressure in wild fisheries. However, a contradictive fact has
occurred for some types of aquaculture practices (Naylor et al. 2000). As
approximately 40 percent of total aquaculture production is now strongly
dependent on commercial feed, for instance Salmon and trout farms using 100%
commercial feeds, while marine shrimp just 83% and carp farms using 38%
commercial feeds in their aquaculture (Deutsch et al. 2007). It then increases a
pressure to wild catch fisheries for fishmeal and fish oil supply for the feed. This
trend regarding the utilization of commercial feeds grows in a remarkable rate
more than what the industry could predict.
Fishmeal is commonly used as main protein source in most of
manufactured feed for aquatic animals, including fish, shrimp and mollusk.
Fishmeal is a high-quality ingredient that could provide large quantity of energy
per unit weight (Miles & Chapman. 2012). Most of the fish processed as fishmeal
or fish oil is wild caught small marine fish and low value or trash fish that is high
in bones and oil content (Miles & Chapman. 2012).
 This paper will then discuss some major issues relating to the utilization
of fishmeal and fish oil as the main ingredients of some commercial feeds,
focusing on commercial aquafeed. The discussion will emphasize on the
economic perspective, the possibility to replace fishmeal and fish oil with
alternative potential protein sources and environmental and social issue in
terms of the sustainability of marine resources and the competition for marine
resource between human consumption and its utilization for fishmeal and fish
oil.

Economic Perspective
Aquaculture sector has been globalized with a high dependent on feed
industry (Deutsch et al. 2007). Due to the economic inducement, the growth rate
of the carnivorous species production such as shrimp (with an increase of 19%
per year, mostly in China and Thailand) Salmonids (Norway and Chile experience
an increase approximately 8,2% per year) has transcended the expansion of total
aquaculture production (16,5% per year) during the last decade (Deutsch et al.
2007; Lebel et al. 2002). This increase has raised the worldwide trade of
fishmeal and fish oil, which are the crucial component in those aquacultures
(Deutsch et al. 2007).
Peron et al. (2010) constructed an analysis of conversion ratios of global
fishmeal industry and come into a conclusion that in the coming years, the Fish
Meal Fish Oil (FMFO) industry would experience an increase in demand due to
the rapid growing of aquaculture, one of the major consumer of FMFO. This
analysis is in agreement with fact, that there was an increase in consumption of
commercial feed by some major producers, particularly carp. This increase is
based not on the assumption that those herbivorous fish need it, but probably
because the rapid growth rate achieved by those fish fed with fish meal-based
commercial feed will automatically gain more profit for the fish farmers. This
condition is likely due to the indication that fishmeal may be too cheap and
affordable enough (Deutsch et al. 2007). However, a high demand for fishmeal
and fish oil will eventually increase the price of these ingredients to a level that
fish and shrimp growers are unable to buy fish or shrimp feed contain sufficient
amount of fishmeal and fish oil (New and Wijkstrom 2002).
Replacement of Fishmeal and Fish oil
Fishmeal and fish oil are the main ingredients in manufactured feed for
carnivorous finfish and shrimp. Fishmeal and fish oil provide essential amino
acids for those species such as lysine and methionine that are inadeaquate or
even deficient in plant-based proteins sources. Moreover, fatty acids such as
eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) could not be
obtained in vegetable oils. Fishmeal and fish oil are also an attractant for the fish,
and even more claimed to have unidentified growth factors (Naylor et al. 2000 ;
New and Wijkstrom 2002). Fishmeal and fish oil not only supply an essential food
source, these two ingredients also produce energy which is pivotal since fish tend to
transform carbohydrates to energy ineffectively (Power 2007 ; Naylor et al. 2000).
A high dependence of aquaculture sector for fishmeal and fish oil will
undermine the aquaculture profitability (FAO 2006; Forster et al. 2003). Hence, the
growing demand for fishmeal and the fish stocks overexploitation, has stimulate a
forage for affordable alternative sustainable protein ingredients to minimize or even
substitute the use of fishmeal and fish oil in aquafeeds (Salze et al. 2010; Tacon et al.
2006).
Many studies have been conducted as endeavor to replace fishmeal and fish
oil with plant oils. Replacement of fishmeal and fish oil might lead to a cost-effective
production process owing to the fact that vegetable oils have experienced a steady
increase production, high availability and more beneficial in terms of its economic
value. Soybean, linseed, rapeseed, sunflower, palm oil and olive ail are possible
vegetable oils that could be used to substitute fish oil in manufactured fish feed
(Nasopoulou and Zabetakis 2012).
Soybean meal is one of the ingredients that has been used in experimental
diets to replace the utilization of fishmeal for aquaculture (Alvarez et al. 2007;
Amaya et al. 2007). Nevertheless, soybean meal possesses some limitations in terms
of its antinutritional factors, palatability and inadequacy of some essential amino
acids such as lysine and methionine as well as fatty acids (EPA and DHA). These
soybean attributes may limit its utilization (Davis and Arnold 2010; Gatlin et al.
2007).
 However, a study conducted by Regost et al. (2003) working with Turbot
Psetta maxima has been successfully achieved a total substitution of fish oil by
vegetable oil. Furthermore, up to 60% fish oil replaced by vegetable oils in juvenile
European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax L exhibited a significant achievement
(Montero et al. 2005; Mourente et al. 2005a). This finding confirmed that there is a
high possibility to substitute fish oil with vegetable oils partially, if sufficient
quantities of fatty acids are present in the diets, to fulfill their essential fatty acids
requirement (Figueiredo-silva et al. 2005; Rosenlund 2001).
Environmental and social issue
Development in aquaculture production is a contradictory issue for the
marine resource sustainability. Aquaculture is confidently considered as a
method to diminishing a great amount of fish catches. It is believed that as
human population continues to grow, aquaculture will play a significant role for
the global food supply. Notwithstanding, up to date studies has questioned
whether several marine sophisticated technologies could overtake ecosystem
production and strengthen world food security, or if it, instead, not only a high
demand on fish supply as main inputs to aquaculture feed, but also decreases the
protein sources for human consumption, since massive requirement of fishmeal
and fish oil might convey a further depletion of wild fisheries stocks (Naylor et
al. 1998 & 2000).
Trash fish is fish that economically invaluable due to their low quality,
small size or less preferred by the consumer. This trash fish usually use either as
human food source (processed or preserved) or using as feed for livestock/fish,
either in fresh form or processed as fishmeal/fish oil (FAO 2006). In many
developing countries, poor people consumed trash fish as their important food
source. For instance in Bangladesh, from 70.000 tonnes of trash fish landed in
that country, 60.000 tonnes of it are consumed both as fresh fish or processed
fish (FAO 2006). This condition has been triggered a growing dispute between
who using trash fish for animals and fish feed versus who insisted that those
trash fish should be used for human food. Some people claimed that it would be
more useful and efficient to use the trash fish more for animals/fish feed
product, which is argued as more valuable products (FAO 2006).
 A further point relating to the utilization of trash fish is the sustainability
of this trash fish in nature. The low value of this trash fish does not necessarily
mean that this fish has a high ecological value. From marine ecological
perspective, catching this fish in a large number from their habitat will create
instability in food chain, this condition could induce the extinction of larger fish
species (FAO 2006).

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