The Sustainability Conundrum of Fishmeal Substitution by Plant Ingredients in Shrimp Feeds

Wesley Malcorps, Björn Kok, Mike van‘t Land, Maarten Fritz, Davy van Doren, Kurt Servin, Paul van der Heijden, Roy Palmer, Neil A. Auchterlonie, Max Rietkerk, Maria J. Santos and Simon J. Davies
Additional contact information
Wesley Malcorps: MatureDevelopment B.V., World Trade Center, 2595 AM The Hague, The Netherlands
Björn Kok: MatureDevelopment B.V., World Trade Center, 2595 AM The Hague, The Netherlands
Mike van‘t Land: MatureDevelopment B.V., World Trade Center, 2595 AM The Hague, The Netherlands
Maarten Fritz: MatureDevelopment B.V., World Trade Center, 2595 AM The Hague, The Netherlands
Davy van Doren: MatureDevelopment B.V., World Trade Center, 2595 AM The Hague, The Netherlands
Kurt Servin: Mexico Aquaculture Research Inc., Guadalajara 45110, Mexico
Paul van der Heijden: MatureDevelopment B.V., World Trade Center, 2595 AM The Hague, The Netherlands
Roy Palmer: Association of International Seafood Professionals, Southbank, VIC 3006, Australia
Neil A. Auchterlonie: IFFO, The Marine Ingredients Organisation, London SE17 3BZ, UK
Max Rietkerk: Department of Innovation, Environmental and Energy Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Maria J. Santos: Department of Innovation, Environmental and Energy Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Simon J. Davies: Fish Nutrition and Aquaculture Group, Department of Animal Production, Welfare and Veterinary Sciences, Harper Adams University, Newport TF10 8NB, UK

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-19

Abstract: Aquaculture is central in meeting expanding global demands for shrimp consumption. Consequently, increasing feed use is mainly responsible for the overall environmental impact of aquaculture production. Significant amounts of fishmeal are included in shrimp diets, causing dependency on finite marine resources. Driven by economic incentives, terrestrial plant ingredients are widely viewed as sustainable alternatives. Incremental fishmeal substitution by plant ingredients in shrimp feed was modeled and effects on marine and terrestrial resources such as fish, land, freshwater, nitrogen, and phosphorus were assessed. We find that complete substitution of 20–30% fishmeal totals could lead to increasing demand for freshwater (up to 63%), land (up to 81%), and phosphorus (up to 83%), while other substitution rates lead to proportionally lower impacts. These findings suggest additional pressures on essential agricultural resources with associated socio-economic and environmental effects as a trade-off to pressures on finite marine resources. Even though the production of shrimp feed (or aquafeed in general) utilizes only a small percentage of the global crop production, the findings indicate that the sustainability of substituting fishmeal by plant ingredients should not be taken for granted, especially since aquaculture has been one of the fastest growing food sectors. Therefore, the importance of utilizing by-products and novel ingredients such as microbial biomass, algae, and insect meals in mitigating the use of marine and terrestrial resources is discussed.

Keywords: aquaculture; shrimp feed; fishmeal; plant ingredients; marine resources; terrestrial resources (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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