Sustainable shift from fishmeal to insect meal towards a new era of aquaculture: a review

Abstract

Aquaculture has gained attention as fastest-growing food production sectors globally. However, it is dependent on expensive aquatic sources such as fishmeal that raises concerns regarding sustainability of aquatic operations. Recent researches conducted by scientific community have been focused on replacement of protein ingredients. So far insect meals have been acknowledged as one of the most promising alternatives. The preferential reasons are their favorable nutritional profile and lesser environmental footprint. This review comprehensively classifies insect meals into established, emerging and underexplored protein sources for aquaculture. The review critically evaluates their nutritional properties, production potential, processing methods and applications in aquafeeds. It has been demonstrated by evidences from feeding trials that the efficacy of insect meal is extremely species-specific. Different factors including insect species, processing technique, inclusion level, overall diet formulation and the nutritional requirements of the target aquatic species influence the performance of insect meal. This alternative source has proven to be more effective without any compromise on growth performance, feed utilisation or fish health under optimised conditions. But the suitability of insect meals could not be generalised across all aquatic operations despite their significant potential as partial replacement of fishmeal. Contemporary challenges associated with nutritional variability, digestibility, large-scale production, economic practicability, regulatory frameworks and consumer acceptance have been highlighted in this review. Future studies should address standardised processing methods and long-term feeding evaluations. Optimisation of inclusion strategies and life cycle sustainability assessments will provide critical evidence for large-scale adoption of insect-derived ingredients in sustainable aquafeed formulations.