NOAA is partnering with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service on the initiative, which will include an expert consultation with U.S. and international fish nutritionists, and a national aquaculture feeds conference in 2008. NOAA is also soliciting public comment on alternative feeds as part of the initiative.
Overview of the Issue: Aquaculture Feeds in Context
The issue of feed ingredients is among the top challenges facing the global aquaculture industry. The protein-rich feed pellets used in aquaculture are made in part from small, bony fish species including herring, menhaden, anchovy, and sardines. These species, harvested worldwide, are increasingly in demand as a source of protein and oils used in a variety of agricultural feeds, including feeds for pigs, chicken, and fish.
As ingredients in aquaculture feedstuffs, fish meal and fish oil supply the essential amino acids and fatty acids required for normal growth. Fish meal and fish oil are principal feed ingredients for cultured fish species including carp, shrimp, salmon, tilapia, trout, and catfish. In 2002, 81 percent of the fish oil and 46 percent of the fish meal produced worldwide was used for aquaculture.
In the United States and elsewhere, studies are underway to better understand the nutritional requirements of fish and shrimp and to evaluate the use of alternative dietary ingredients in aquaculture feed, including soybeans, barley, rice, peas, and other crops along with canola, lupine, wheat gluten, corn gluten, various plant proteins, algae, and seafood processing by-products. The joint initiative will feature this type of ongoing research and identify new priority areas.
NOAA Solicits Public Comment on Feeds
NOAA launched the joint initiative by calling for public input on the development of alternative aquaculture feed. The public comments will be shared with the expert panel developed for the initiative. NOAA is seeking responses in four specific areas:
1. Where should the U.S. federal government focus its research efforts in the area of alternative feeds for aquaculture? Are there specific areas that the federal government should not address?
2. What are potential alternative sources of protein and oil for aquaculture feeds? For example, are there specific opportunities for greater use of seafood processing waste and other agricultural by-products in aquaculture feeds? Are there specific obstacles to using these alternatives as alternative dietary ingredients in aquaculture feed?
3. What type of treatments or processes show promise for improvement of existing aquaculture feedstuffs and for developing new feedstuffs? How soon could these technologies be commercialized?
4. Fish meal and fish oil contribute important human nutritional components to aquaculture feeds such as omega-3 fatty acids. As the aquaculture feed industry seeks to replace fish meal and fish oil with alternatives, how can the nutritional benefits of farmed seafood be maintained or enhanced? For example, what technologies exist for producing omega-3 fatty acids?
To submit a question, idea, or recommendation on alternative feeds for aquaculture, send an e-mail to NOAA.Aquaculture@noaa.gov. Information on submitting written comments by February 29, 2008, is included in the November 15, 2007, Federal Register.
February 2008 Render