Dr. Rosas holds a master's and a doctorate in aquaculture and has over fifteen years of experience in aquaculture production and nutrition. He completed a postdoctoral research program focused on biofloc systems. Dr. Rosas is currently a visiting professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande. Currently, he is working as a researcher on food security projects, specifically exploring the use of insect meal as a protein source for shrimp farming in Qatar.
By-product fishmeal replacement by insect meal in diets for Penaeus vannamei: effects in growth and health
High pressure on the use of fishmeal (FM) in aquaculture farming has led to the search for alternative sources to replace FM. By-product FM and insect meal (IM) are two proteic sources that could serve as alternatives to FM in shrimp diets. In the present study, five isoproteic (38% protein) and isolipidic (9%) diets were formulated for Penaeus vannamei, in which by-product FM was gradually replaced (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) by a mix of black soldier fly (BSF) larvae meal and soybean concentrate. The diets were tested in triplicate for 56 days at a density of 250 shrimps/m2. Each experimental diet was offered three times a day. At the end of the experimental period, growth parameters and hepatopancreas status were evaluated. The counting of hepatopancreas tubule cells was performed for all treatments. Results indicate that neither by-product FM nor BSF meal alone supported acceptable growth. However, a mixture with up to 50% replacement showed improved growth parameters, especially final weight and total biomass. This effect is related to nutritional deficiencies in the IM and FM, which can be compensated for when combined. Additionally, the hepatopancreas cell analysis revealed that 50% replacement led to larger blister cells (B-cells) and more reserve cells (R-cells), while complete FM replacement resulted in a higher count of embryonic cells (E-cells) in the tubular midgut. The results indicate that both by-products FM and IM can be alternative sources to fishmeal, and it is possible to produce it in Qatar, which will lead to reduced waste production as well, and can become interesting ingredients for aquaculture farming.