Benefits of fish oil replacement by plant originated oils in compounded fish feeds. A review

Abstract

Fish oil constitutes a major dietary ingredient in compounded fish feeds for carnivorous marine fish due to its essential fatty acid content, in particular omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA). The issue of fish oil substitution in fish feeds has come to the forefront only recently, due to the release of recent data which indicates that the aquaculture industry uses 40 and 75% of the global production of fish meal and fish oil, respectively. Within the next decade fish oil production may not meet the required quantities for aquaculture, meaning that food grade fisheries which provide fish oil and fish meal have reached their limit of sustainability. Over the past few years, significant breakthroughs have occurred in the replacement of fish oil with plant oils in compounded fish feeds in order to reduce dependence on fish oil as well as reduce costs. All recent data, focussing on the benefits of replacing fish oil with plant oils in compounded fish feeds, are presented in this review.