Aquafeed: An Environment-Friendly Product for Providing a Good Health to the Aquatic Animals

From the past few years, a lot of initiatives have been taken for the development and growth of the aquaculture industry. Unlike former days, when the growth and production of fishes are completely based on a feed of the natural pond water organisms, now, the growth of the industry is profoundly dependent on various aquafeed. This aquafeed is prepared with a mixture of balanced and essential nutrients such as fatty acids, amino acids, and vitamins.

Apparently, aquafeed acts as a vital component in the aquaculture industry by delivering sustainable growth to aquatic animals. This aquafeed provides a unique combination of nutrients to the fishes and other animals to maintain good health. Further, the researchers are still working on the improvement, consistency, and efficiency of aquafeed. Let’s move forward to know the details about the aquafeed.

What are the Various Options of Ingredients Used for Preparing Aquafeed?

Earlier, the maximum percentage of aquafeed was mainly dependent upon 70% of fishmeal and fish oil. The percentage bar has decreased as the fish farmers and scientists are trying various combinations of ingredients to balance the approximately 40 necessary nutrient requirements of the fish. Some of the essential nutrient combinations, used for the commercial applications are listed below:

• Proteins extracted from corn, peas, wheat, etc.
• Various oils and meals from plants
• Oils mainly from seeds and beans such as flaxseeds, soybean, etc.
• Oils from canola, algae, and many more
• Meals that are specially prepared from yeasts, insects, and other beneficial organisms
• Meals consisting of ingredients such as insects, fermented waste food, single-cell organisms, and seaweeds
• Also, some byproducts from other human consumption

What are the Contributions of Aquafeed in Fish Nutrition for a Well-Grounded Future?

With the blend of various new components to provide a balanced diet to the aquatic animals for better production and to meet the rising demand of the millennials all across the globe, the modern aquafeed plays a crucial role. Some of the major benefits of using aquafeed are listed below:

Pleasant Testing- The taste of the feed plays an important role in fish production and enhanced business performance. Most importantly, the taste of the aquafeed prevents causing water pollution and wastage of the feed. With altered flavors of the aquafeed, it has been noticed that this move caused a beneficial growth of fish production all across the globe.

Minimizing Pollution Rate- The growth of the fish or aquatic animals is directly proportional to the good water quality. The advanced aquafeed helps in reducing uneaten feed, the excretion of ammonia and phosphorus to water, and hence, help in maintaining the quality of the water. Further, some of the aquafeed contain high-fat digestibility and help in reducing the excretion process.

Maintaining a Sustainable Planet- With the development in the methodology of preparing aquafeed, our earth will be benefitted from the life cycle management and assessment of the aquafeed. These are produced in such a manner that the production, distribution, and waste treatment come under a life-cycle process. The entire process includes minimized rate of emissions to the atmosphere, saving energy, lower use of lands, which helps in maintaining the resources of the earth to a great extent.

Enhancing Performance of Aquatic Animals- Being manufactured with lots of beneficial ingredients, the aquafeed helps in providing an enhanced growth rate to the aquatic animals. Further, this nutrition helps in improving the energy level of the fishes and others and reducing the feed conversation ratio (FCR).

Future Insights of the Aquafeed Market

With the increasing consumption of seafood among millennials all across the world and the increasing awareness of consuming fish for getting omega oil, which is much beneficial for skin and bones, the global aquafeed market is predicted to witness remarkable growth in the upcoming years. The market is expected to generate a revenue of $120,719.70 million and rise at a CAGR of 10.5% during the forecast timeframe from 2021-2028. Moreover, the increasing demand for aquafeed products by the leading market players is expected to create expansive growth opportunities for the market.

The Bottom Line

The increasing initiatives taken by the government to preserve aquatic animals and the increasing demand for the consumption of seafood are the major factors expected to surge the demand for the production of aquafeed in the near future. In addition, the continuous efforts given by the scientists and fish farmers in the development and launching of aquafeed products will boost the aquaculture industry in the upcoming days.

About the Author(s)

Princy A. J

Princy holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. University at Chennai, India. After a successful academic record, she pursued her passion for writing. A thorough professional and enthusiastic writer, she enjoys writing on various categories and advancements in the global industries. She plays an instrumental role in writing about current updates, news, blogs, and trends.