The Economic Benefits of Going Vegan, for Fish

The hybrid striped bass industry is the fourth largest aquaculture industry in the U.S. Due to limited supply and high cost of fish meal, fish farmers are looking for more economical ingredients for fish feeds that satisfy nutritional requirements for growth. Commercially formulated feeds for hybrid striped bass typically contain about 10% to 20% marine fish meal, an expensive and limited animal protein source. Although past research shows that hybrid striped bass can be grown to market size on a diet consisting of both animal- and plant-protein meal sources (fishmeal-free) and fishmeal-based feeds, researchers have not evaluated hybrid striped bass’ growth and size when they are fed an all-plant protein-based feed.

A team of researchers from the Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center in Stuttgart, AR, and Natural Products Utilization Research Unit in Oxford, MS, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formulated a feed consisting only of all-plant proteins and having no marine fishmeal. Results from the experimental diet showed that hybrid striped bass that consumed all-plant protein-based feed grew to equal size compared to hybrid striped bass who ate the fishmeal-based feed. These results show that fish farmers can provide their stocks with a lower cost vegan feed without sacrificing market size.

Publication: Performance of phytase-treated fishmeal-free and all-plant protein diets in pond production of mark…