Broad acceptance of sustainable insect-based shrimp feeds requires reproducible and comparable research

Abstract

The black soldier fly (BSF) has great potential as a sustainable aquaculture feed. However, for shrimp aquaculture, research on BSF-based feeds has only recently started and the few available studies show a heterogeneous picture in terms of growth parameters of shrimp. While some of these varying results may be explained by the properties of the insect feed used, it is likely that yet unknown parameters also play a role. Moreover, pre-treatment, experimental design, and statistical analyses performed may influence the outcome of feeding experiments. Therefore, the general goal of this study is to establish basic reporting guidelines for BSF-based feeding trials in Pacific white shrimp (PWS), building on literature data and a best-practice study. Here, we (i) identify several contributing parameters that may influence life-history parameters of shrimp fed with BSF, including the genetic composition or strain of BSF used; (ii) show that the partial substitution of fishmeal-based compounds with BSF larvae could be a sustainable alternative to fishmeal-based feeds for PWS as the production index did not differ significantly between treatment and control groups in our best-practice study; and (iii) propose reporting guidelines with 39 parameters to be considered in future insect-based feeding studies in PWS to facilitate comparability and reproducibility. Overall, our study may contribute to improving the ecological, economic, and social sustainability of shrimp aquaculture through insect-based feeds.