Trends in Fish Nutrition for Sustainable Production

Fish production plays a fundamental role in global nutrition, providing high-quality protein to billions of people around the world, and is very important for ensuring food security.

However, as the demand for fish continues to grow, it is essential to adopt sustainable practices to ensure the health of aquatic ecosystems, fish availability and long-term fish farming production.

Due to the importance of the topic for fish farming, in 2022 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations — FAO — aiming to increase awareness about production and sustainability, dedicated the year to artisanal fishing and aquaculture [1].

The goal was to create a connection between interested parties, fishing and production, and strengthen partnerships for the creation of fish with more sustainable actions [2].

During the 20th Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade (IIFET), some topics deserve to be highlighted, in accordance with the 2nd UN Sustainable Development Goal: Zero Hunger and Sustainable Agriculture.

As we mentioned above, aquaculture plays a central role in global food security, being one of the food sectors that produces the most.

However, for it to continue meeting the demand for aquatic foods, especially fish farming, it is essential that both fishing activity and industry adopt measures for development that takes the environment into account.

Because, in addition to food security, the practice of fishing and/or fish farming also contributes to reducing poverty and increases the socioeconomic development of producers and their respective regions.

Additionally, fostering more sustainable production contributes to improved health levels in livestock. This, in turn, results in healthier and more precise nutrition.

However, we now focus on fish farming production, the food management of fish and other aquatic animals requires sustainable management in several interconnected segments, such as the quality of the farming water and the fish food ingredient.

According to Embrapa data , the focus of aquaculture is on breeding, as it is estimated that “by 2030, 60% of fish available for human consumption will be produced in captivity” [3].

This point meets the two themes that FAO seeks to interrelate: food security and sustainability.

The increase in production represents an environmental gain, considering the reduced fishing pressure on the marine ecosystem. Additionally, it contributes to significant social benefits, as mentioned earlier.

However, it poses a challenge to aquaculture in terms of nutritional management for breeding, requiring foods and ingredients to promote health and metabolism, meeting the nutritional needs of the species in adequate quantities.

It is necessary to emphasize that the metabolic requirements of animals at tank farming level must be focused on the principles of precision nutrition, in order to meet all requirements and support both species and breeders, in a cost-benefit ratio.

Therefore, one of the most promising ways to achieve this goal is through trends in fish nutrition, with sustainable ingredients enriched with bioactive peptides, such as the formulations from the BioActio portfolio, which we will see below.

It is necessary to highlight some of the positive points of these trends in search of more sustainable and ecologically correct fish production:

Improved Feed Efficiency: Precision diets are more efficient than large amounts of feed. Scientifically proven data by BRF Ingredients, in partnership with Research Centers and Universities, indicates that better food conversion contributes to reducing production costs;

Waste Reduction: Formulations such as BioActio have high digestibility and, as a precise and personalized ingredient, help to reduce the amount of waste and leftovers at the bottom of the tanks, which leads to better quality of the culture water, improving the survival rate of the fish;

Replacement of Conventional Ingredients: Alternative ingredients like BioActio protein hydrolysates, produced by BRF Ingredients, are more sustainable and offer a better cost-benefit ratio than traditional, expensive, scarce, and less sustainable fish meal;

Personalized Nutrition: New technologies are allowing the creation of personalized diets for different fish species, taking into account their specific nutritional needs. This improves animal health and increases production efficiency;

Improved Health and Metabolism: Balanced and healthy diets, enriched with bioactive peptides, contribute to the reduction of diseases, increase survival rates, and decrease the need for medication in aquaculture. This is beneficial for both the breeding process and producers.

Reduced Environmental Impact: The BioActio portfolio, for instance, is produced from by-products of BRF's integrated production chain. By adding value to these raw materials, BRF Ingredients repurposes the use of over 13 million ingredients that would otherwise be discarded, mitigating harm to rivers and soil.

In short, trends in fish nutrition play a crucial role in the quest for more efficient, nutritious and sustainable fish production.

By improving efficiency, reducing environmental impact and ensuring fish health, these trends are helping to promote more accurate nutritional management within the aquaculture industry, which is increasingly focused on meeting growing production demands.

Thus, the BioActio portfolio and the importance of nutrition in health and metabolism in aquaculture through enriched and more sustainable ingredients are included.

This way, the BioActio portfolio is introduced, highlighting the significance of nutrition in aquaculture for enhanced and more sustainable ingredients, promoting health and metabolism.

And what benefits does bioactio promote to fish farming?

Focused on precision nutrition to meet the metabolic requirements of fish, BioActio Health & Performance and BioActio Efficiency ingredients have scientifically proven results and deliver maximum cost-effective performance.

BioActio Health & Performance is produced from chicken co-products, and BioActio Efficiency uses these animals' feathers as its raw material.

These co-products originate from BRF's integrated production chain and are transformed into nutrient-rich formulations, following the enzymatic hydrolysis process that unifies innovation and technology.

This process developed by BRF Ingredients adds value to co-products as raw materials and gives rise to BioActio formulations, rich in bioactive peptides, with high digestibility and better feed conversion.

By recycling the use of these co-products, BRF Ingredients removes more than 13 million tons of raw materials from the environment that would otherwise be discarded into the environment, increasing the volume in landfills, damaging rivers and soil.

The BioActio portfolio follows the trend towards healthier and more sustainable nutrition and provides benefits for aquatic animals and production, including:

• ● Enhanced Fillet Yield;
• ● High Attractiveness and Digestibility;
• ● Improvement in Weight and Feed Conversion;
• ● Increased Survival Rate in Early Stages.

Considerations

Therefore, trends in fish nutrition play a vital role in the pursuit of more efficient, nutritious, and sustainable production.

With the global demand for fish increasing, it’s essential to adopt practices that guarantee the health of aquatic ecosystems, the availability of fish and the sustainable development of aquaculture.

Therefore, FAO's initiative to dedicate a year to artisanal fishing and aquaculture demonstrates recognition of the importance of these sectors in global food security and in promoting socioeconomic development.

In this sense, to meet nutritional needs and ensure management within trends, the BioActio portfolio fits in, offering sustainable ingredients enriched with bioactive peptides.

These ingredients, aside from providing improved feed efficiency, waste reduction, replacement of conventional ingredients, personalized nutrition, improved fish health and metabolism, make a lower environmental impact.

Besides, by recycling co-products from the integrated production chain, BRF Ingredients significantly contributes to reducing raw material waste and, consequently, preserving the environment.

Discover the BioActio portfolio and all the ingredient applications. Click here!

References

[1] International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) 2022. Available in: https://www.fao.org/wecafc/iyafa/es/. Access: October, 2023.

[2] Aquaculture Brasil. A produção de pescado e o desenvolvimento sustentável. Available in: https://www.aquaculturebrasil.com/coluna/286/a-producao-de-pescado-e-o-desenvolvimento-sustentavel. Access: October, 2023.

[3] Embrapa. Bases para o manejo alimentar sustentável na piscicultura. Available in: https://ainfo.cnptia.embrapa.br/digital/bitstream/doc/1146321/1/LV-BasesManejoPiscicultura.pdf. Access: October, 2023.