Use of Plant Products as Candidate Fish Meal Substitutes: An Emerging Issue in Aquaculture Productions

The search for new dietary ingredients for total or partial replacement of fish oil has assumed a growing importance and is currently the subject of advanced scientific research. Plants are recognized to be a good source of both peptides and oils for fish aquafeeds. The present paper reviews the effects played on fish growth and physiology by some plant products, highlighting also their possible detrimental effects related to the presence of anti-nutritional factors. Although complete replacement of fish meal in feeds for cultured species is still difficult, the results obtained by the current studies performed on plant products are promising and encourage further research on this issue.