The live fossil and nutritional novelty – the effects of insect meal on growth performance, feed utilisation, fish development and trophic environmental sustainability in Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus) juveniles production

This study investigates the inclusion of partially defatted black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) meal (BSFM) in the diet of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus), evaluating its effects on feed physical properties, growth performance, feed efficiency, sustainability, and organosomatic and morphometric indices. The experiment examined the replacement of fish meal (FM) with BSFM at inclusion levels of 15%, substituting 43.75% of FM and 30%, substituting 87.5% FM. While BSFM incorporation influenced certain physical properties of the feed, it had no effect on the fish survival rate or growth performance. Key growth parameters, including body weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, percentage weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and protein efficiency ratio, did not change compared to the control group. Moreover, the reduction in FM use contributed to improved aquaculture environmental sustainability. While significant differences were observed in hepatosomatic index, no such differences were found in condition factor, viscerosomatic index, relative gastrointestinal tract length, or fin indices. These findings suggest that BSFM represents a viable alternative protein source in the conservative aquaculture of Atlantic sturgeon.