Replacing Fish Meal with Seafood Processing Wastes in Channel Catfish Diets

Abstract

Abstract Various seafood processing wastes were collected, analyzed, and evaluated for their use as primary protein sources in catfish diets. Finfish wastes (flounder racks and mixed finfish) were higher in crude protein content (60 versus 40%) than blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) wastes. Practical diets containing menhaden (Brevoortia spp.) fish meal or one of four seafood processing wastes (flounder racks, mixed finfish, blue crab, and blue crab without carapace) amounting to 10% of the diet were fed to fingerling channel catfish (Ictalurus punciatus) for 7 weeks under controlled, laboratory conditions. Weight gain and feed efficiency did not differ among treatments. Similar diets containing Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) or blue crab meal were compared with a standard production diet containing fish meal in a 139-d field cage culture experiment. Caged channel catfish fed the control or Atlantic herring diets had greater daily gain and net production than those fed the crab diet.