Sustainable Fish Production: Practices on Nutritional Management and Novel Farming Systems Application

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal System and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2024 | Viewed by 5100

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CIMAR/CIIMAR—Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal
Interests: aquaculture, fish physiology; fish nutrition; feed intake regulation; alternative ingredients; functional ingredients; prebiotics; probiotics; fish health and welfare
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Dear Colleagues,

Aquaculture will be the most reliable source of seafood in the future. However, concerns arise regarding its environmental impact, due to water quality deterioration and the reliance of feeds on fisheries ingredients. Good nutritional practices, such as the use of alternative ingredients (insect meal, plant feedstuffs, processed animal proteins, single-cell microorganisms) or increased knowledge on feed intake regulation improving feed utilization will enable an improvement in aquafeed sustainability, reducing pressure on fish wild stocks and water pollution, leading to a more sustainable use of the oceans, marine resources, and production patterns, as outlined in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals 12 and 14. The use of new and optimized farming systems will also help in meeting these sustainable development goals.

This Special Issue welcomes contributions on these topics in the form of literature reviews, original research manuscripts, or short communications. Topics of special interest include manuscripts on the use of alternative ingredients, on increasing the knowledge on feed intake, or on the use of novel farming systems.

Dr. Inês Guerreiro
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • alternative ingredients
  • feed intake
  • novel farming systems

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 421 KiB  
Article
Live Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii) Supplementation in a European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) Diet: Effects on the Growth and Immune Response Parameters
by Anna Perdichizzi, Martina Meola, Letteria Caccamo, Gabriella Caruso, Francesco Gai and Giulia Maricchiolo
Animals 2023, 13(21), 3383; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13213383 - 31 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1431
Abstract
The present study has been aimed at evaluating the effects of the dietary inclusion of the live yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii (LSB) administered at increasing concentrations (0, 100, and 300 mg kg−1 of feed, here referred to as LSB 0, 100, [...] Read more.
The present study has been aimed at evaluating the effects of the dietary inclusion of the live yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii (LSB) administered at increasing concentrations (0, 100, and 300 mg kg−1 of feed, here referred to as LSB 0, 100, 300) for 90 days, on the health conditions of European sea bass. The main zootechnical parameters, histological and morphological analyses, innate immunity response parameters (intestinal cytokine expression, lysozyme content, spontaneous hemolytic and hemagglutinating activities, antibacterial activities, and peroxidase activity) were measured as fish welfare parameters. LSB did not impair either growth parameters or the morphometric indexes. LSB down-regulated interleukin-1β transcription in the distal gut of fish treated with 5.4 × 105 CFU g−1 (LSB100) for 21 days. The interleukin-6 mRNA level decreased significantly in the proximal gut for both doses of yeast, after 21 days of feeding; the gene expression of interleukin-6 was significantly lower in the sea bass fed 10.81 × 105 CFU g−1 (LSB300) probiotic. The levels of TNF-α mRNA were not influenced by probiotic supplementation. Increases, although not significant, in the hematological and immunological parameters were also recorded. The data collected in the present study suggests that an LSB-supplemented diet acts on the gut immune system of sea bass by modulating the expression of the key inflammatory genes. Full article
16 pages, 2895 KiB  
Article
Rearing European Eel (Anguilla anguilla) Elvers in a Biofloc System
by Luis Vinatea, Ricard Carbó, Karl B. Andree, Enric Gisbert and Alicia Estévez
Animals 2023, 13(20), 3234; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13203234 - 17 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1104
Abstract
European eel (Anguilla anguilla) elvers (initial body weight (BW) = 3 g) were raised in triplicate for 60 days in a biofloc system (BFT) at 21 °C. Data from the current first study evaluating this farming technology indicated that European eel [...] Read more.
European eel (Anguilla anguilla) elvers (initial body weight (BW) = 3 g) were raised in triplicate for 60 days in a biofloc system (BFT) at 21 °C. Data from the current first study evaluating this farming technology indicated that European eel elvers adapted well to BFT systems as data on growth performance (specific growth rate = 1.48% ± 0.13 BW/day and FCR = 1.05 ± 0.09) indicated, with production costs using BFT being lower than conventional RAS units. The most critical issues associated with this aquaculture system were the maintenance of the biofloc in tanks by the regular addition of refined sugar (46% C) to keep a relationship for C:N of 20:1, and the prevention of emergence of opportunistic pathogens like the monogenean Pseudodactylogyrus sp. The overall results of this study in terms of elvers’ performance and quality and the composition of the biofloc material and its microbial composition indicated that BFT, which is considered to be one of the most cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly farming systems due to its zero water exchange and improvement of feed conversion ratio by the dietary contribution of bioflocs, may be satisfactorily used for farming European eels elvers at a density of 2 kg/m3. However, further studies are needed to test this technology with older eel stages. Full article
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22 pages, 6263 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Rearing of European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in Aquaponic Systems: Investigating the Effects of Enriched Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Prepupae Meal on Fish Welfare and Quality Traits
by Matteo Zarantoniello, Adriana Alves de Oliveira, Tolga Sahin, Lorenzo Freddi, Matteo Torregiani, Isabella Tucciarone, Giulia Chemello, Gloriana Cardinaletti, Elia Gatto, Giuliana Parisi, Cristiano Bertolucci, Paola Riolo, Ancuta Nartea, Giorgia Gioacchini and Ike Olivotto
Animals 2023, 13(12), 1921; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13121921 - 8 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2140
Abstract
Within the modern aquaculture goals, the present study aimed to couple sustainable aquafeed formulation and culturing systems. Two experimental diets characterized by 3 and 20% of fish meal replacement with full-fat spirulina-enriched black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) prepupae meal (HPM3 and [...] Read more.
Within the modern aquaculture goals, the present study aimed to couple sustainable aquafeed formulation and culturing systems. Two experimental diets characterized by 3 and 20% of fish meal replacement with full-fat spirulina-enriched black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) prepupae meal (HPM3 and HPM20, respectively) were tested on European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles during a 90-day feeding trial performed in aquaponic systems. The experimental diets ensured 100% survival and proper zootechnical performance. No behavioral alterations were evidenced in fish. Histological and molecular analyses did not reveal structural alterations and signs of inflammation at the intestinal level, highlighting the beneficial role on gut health of bioactive molecules typical of HPM or derived from the enriching procedure of insects’ growth substrate with spirulina. Considering the quality traits, the tested experimental diets did not negatively alter the fillet’s fatty acid profile and did not compromise the fillet’s physical features. In addition, the results highlighted a possible role of spirulina-enriched HPM in preserving the fillet from lipid oxidation. Taken together, these results corroborate the use of sustainable ingredients (spirulina-enriched HPM) in aquaponic systems for euryhaline fish rearing. Full article
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