State of the Art in Fish Nutrition: Antimicrobials, Immunostimulants, Synbiotics and Alternative Protein Sources
A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Zoology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 254
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The rapidly growing aquaculture industry is facing multiple challenges, such as disease outbreaks, antibiotic resistance, and concerns about environmental sustainability. According to World Bank data, disease outbreaks contribute to a significant loss in the global aquaculture industry, accounting for USD 6 billion annually. In recent decades, many efforts have been invested in R&D to mitigate the risk of disease outbreaks in aquaculture farms.
The use of natural antimicrobial agents, such as plant extracts, insect derivatives, and microbial metabolites, shows promising solutions for combating pathogens while reducing the risk of antibiotic resistance. The exploration of various bio-compounds, such as beta-glucans, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), nucleotides, and herbal compounds, is increasingly recognized for their ability to activate innate immune responses while enhancing disease resilience in farmed fish.
In the 1980s and 1990s, prebiotics and probiotics were commonly used in aquaculture to optimize growth and survival rates in many countries, while the concept of synbiotics (combinations of both prebiotics and probiotics) started to be introduced to aquaculture in the early 2000s. The EU ban on antibiotic growth promoters in 2006 accelerated the global adoption of these feed additives in the aquaculture industry. More recently, research has begun to search for sustainable protein sources in aqua feed. Potential protein sources, including insect meals, single-cell proteins, plant-based proteins (other than soybean meal), and novel proteins from different fungi and bacteria, are also heavily studied to replace traditional fishmeal (FM) and fish oil, with the intentions of reducing overfishing, carbon footprints, and ecological stresses.
This Special Issue, entitled “State of the Art in Fish Nutrition: Antimicrobials, Immunostimulants, Synbiotics and Alternative Protein Sources”, aims to explore the latest advancements and developments in aquaculture nutrition that promote fish health and farm productivity. The collection of research articles, reviews, and case studies in this Special Issue covers a wide range of topics, including the efficacy and mechanisms of various antimicrobials, immunostimulants, synbiotics, and alternative protein sources in the formulation of feeds, as well as the investigation of their effects on the physiological performance of various aquaculture species. This literature integrates the most effective methods that offer a more sustainable and better solution for the future of our aquaculture industry.
We warmly welcome your insights and look forward to receiving your contributions to this Special Issue.
Dr. Jiun-Yan Loh
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- probiotics
- prebiotics
- synbiotics
- immunostimulants
- antimicrobial peptides
- alternative protein/single-cell protein sources
- insect meals
- aquatic species
- metabolisms
- disease resistances
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