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Black Soldier Fly Full-Fat Meal in Atlantic Salmon Nutrition – Part B: Effects on Growth Performance, Feed Utilization, Selected Nutriphysiological Traits and Production Sustainability in Pre-Smolts
Abstract Black soldier larva meal (BSFM) seems to be a competitive protein and fat source for widely used fish meal (FM) and fish oil. Because of the still present problem of overfished seas and oceans for feed purposes, even a low substitution of the mentioned feed materials could have a positive impact on the environment. Due to the specificity of salmon metabolic processes, with particular attention to smoltification and the various requirements for nutrients related to individual stages, it is important to implement similar dietary inclusion levels of innovative feed materials in different life stages of Atlantic salmon. Thus, a holistic approach was undertaken in the cycle of two studies carried out: on fries and pre-smolts. This study aims to evaluate the effect of FM replacement by full-fat BSFM in Atlantic salmon pre-smolt diets on growth performance, feed utilization, somatic indices, histomorphology of intestines, colorimetric assessment and raw meat quality, as well as environmental sustainability. The following groups were applied: CON – without addition of full-fat BSFM and with 30% FM; BSFM5 – with 5% addition of full-fat BSFM and 27.1% FM; BSFM10 – with 10% full-fat BSFM and 24.3% FM; and BSFM15 – with 15% addition of full-fat BSFM and 21.3% FM. The present study showed satisfactory results of BSFM inclusion up to 15% as a replacement for FM in feeds for Atlantic salmon pre-smolts. The present study showed that BSFM is a suitable feed material for Atlantic salmon proper diet balancing and may be used to decrease FM content. The semi-technical application of BSFM containing diets confirmed their effectiveness during the growth phase of Atlantic salmon. According to our results, BSFM can be recommended as an alternative feed component in Atlantic salmon pre-smolt nutrition at levels up to 15%. Simultaneously, insect inclusion significantly improved the environmental sustainability of the rearing process.
Black Soldier Fly Full-Fat Meal in Atlantic Salmon Nutrition – Part A: Effects on Growth Performance, Feed Utilization, Selected Nutriphysiological Traits and Production Sustainability in Fries
Abstract Black soldier fly larva meal (BSFM) application as an innovative feed material has been developed in aquaculture nutrition. However, recent scientific literature is still lacking in the case of insect meal effects on different stages of salmonid fish, and the vast majority of research is focused on farmed Atlantic salmon. Therefore, the holistic approach was undertaken in the cycle of two studies carried out: on fries and pre-smolts. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of fish meal (FM) replacement by full-fat BSFM in Atlantic salmon fry diets on the growth performance, feed utilization, crude protein and crude fat digestibility, somatic indices, histomorphology of intestines, and environmental sustainability. Additionally, pellet quality was assessed. Two experiments were performed on 360 Atlantic salmon fries – each of which lasted 60 days. For the first experiment, 240 individuals were distributed to four experimental groups: six replicates (tanks) per group and 10 fish per tank. For the second experiment, 120 individuals were distributed to four experimental groups: three replicates (tanks) per group and 10 fish per tank were used. The following groups were applied: CON – without the addition of full-fat BSFM and with 39% FM; BSFM5 – with 5% addition of full-fat BSFM and 36.1% FM; BSFM10 – with 10% full-fat BSFM and 33.3% FM; BSFM15 – with 15% addition of full-fat BSFM and 30.3% FM. The present study showed satisfactory results of BSFM inclusion at the levels of 5% and 10% as a replacement for fish meal in feeds for Atlantic salmon fries. No negative effects on growth performance, feed utilization, protein and fat digestibility, or intestinal structure were recorded. Simultaneously, insect meal inclusion in Atlantic salmon diets significantly improved the environmental sustainability of the feed. In the case of BSFM15, decreases in body weight gain, protein lipid efficiency ratio, and lipid efficiency ratio, as well as increases in feed conversion ratio, were observed. Therefore, the use of shares higher than 10% of BSFM in Atlantic salmon fries may not be recommended.