A return to nutrition basics with a twist
Insights on the importance of protein, lipid and carbohydrate in aquaculture nutrition
Aquafeed is one of the fastest-growing industries supporting the continued expansion of aquaculture. Around 70% of farmed seafood relies on feed inputs. In 2017, 44.4 million metric tons of formulated feeds were manufactured and valued at about US$140 billion. Aquaculture nutrition research is booming with an overwhelming number of publications on diverse focus areas. An area that continues to receive attention is the investigation of macronutrients: protein, lipids and carbohydrates.
Working jointly with peers from Australia, Brazil, China and Mexico, we broadly investigated the research efforts on macronutrients in aquaculture nutrition for the last 30 years. Additional emphasis was placed on different farmed species and the commercial drivers shaping the research focus.
As expected, for most farmed species, protein-related research led the rankings with the highest number of publications (10,582), followed by lipids (6,098), and lastly carbohydrates (1,363; Figure 1). Salmon was the only exception, displaying a similar number of protein- and lipid-related publications due to the role of dietary lipids on physiology and satisfying the consumer preferences for omega-3 fatty acids.
Despite the hegemony of the protein-focused research, it is important to consider the top farmed species worldwide by volume and the composition of the respective diets. The lipid and carbohydrate-based ingredients of those diets are worth at least half of the global aquafeed production costs highlighting the need to balance the importance of researching all three macronutrients in formulations.
For more information on the methodology, results on the top farmed species, species with different physiology and ecology characteristics, and the commercial drivers influencing those results, discussion and perspectives on this topic, read the full article at Global Aquaculture Advocate – Macronutrients in Aquaculture Nutrition.
Figure 1. Number of peer-reviewed published articles since 1990 related to protein, lipid and carbohydrate in the top produced species (FAO 2020).
Contact:
Artur Rombenso – CSIRO Livestock & Aquaculture, Research Scientist, CSIRO