Meeting the challenge of no fishmeal in practical diets for Litopenaeus vannamei: case studies from Labomar, Brazil

Resumen

Farm-reared shrimp require highly digestible protein with the correct balance of essential amino acids to
achieve maximum growth. In shrimp feeds, much of the animal protein used has been derived from the
fisheries of pelagic fish which is transformed into fish meal and fish oil. The problem is that while fisheries
production remains stagnant, aquaculture continues to grow at an annual rate of 8.8% since 1970. This work
reports the results of three studies in which partial or complete replacement of fish meal was attempted in
Litopenaeus vannamei diets. In study 1 (MET) 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid (HMTBa) was used to
meet L. vannamei methionine requirements as Anchovy fish meal levels dropped and higher inclusion of
soybean meal, soy protein concentrate and fish oil was used in experimental diets. In study 2, performance of
juveniles of L. vannamei fed on practical diets with increasing levels of Antarctic Krill meal, Euphausia
superba, and decreasing levels of costly ingredients, namely fish meal (FML), fish oil (FO), cholesterol
(CHL) and soybean lecithin (SL) was evaluated. In study 3, soybean protein concentrate (SPC) and soybean
oil (SBO) were used to replace fish meal and fish oil following Tacon and Metian’s (2008) prediction on their
maximum inclusion levels in complete diets for penaeid shrimp for the next 15 years. Results have shown that
L. vannamei growth, body weight, survival, yield and FCR were supported by HMTBa supplementation when
150 g/kg of fish meal was replaced by vegetable protein ingredients, namely soybean meal, at 50% and 100%.
In study 2, Krill meal was also able to partially replace fish meal without unfavorable effects on shrimp
growth performance. Study 3 indicated that there was no negative effect on L. vannamei performance when
fish meal was reduced from 12% to 8.5% using SPC as a substitute