Fermentation in aquafeed processing: Achieving sustainability in feeds for global aquaculture production

Improving feed suitability and bolstering the global upsurge in fish production is a strategic challenge for aquaculture. The utilization of plant and animal derived ingredients in aquafeed for achieving sustainable in finfish aquaculture is affected by various factors, including the presence of antinutritional factors, lowered nutrient bioavailability, indigestible particles and microbial contaminants. Applying fermentation to overcome these problems in aquafeed ingredients has received considerable attention in recent years as fermentation provides health-promoting probiotic benefits to host organisms. Fermentation has also been shown in many studies to improve nutrient availability and bioavailability of feed, increased palatability and digestibility and eliminate anti-nutritional compounds in dietary feed ingredients, making them more easily digestible which eventually improve growth and health performance of fish. Therefore, it is imperative to accelerate the use of fermented feedstuffs as aquafeed if sustainable aquaculture is to be achieved. This review reported the various methods of fermentation, characteristics of fermented feed ingredients, factors that are considered during fermentation and overall nutritional quality of fermented feed ingredients for aquaculture production. The role of fermented feed ingredients for various farmed species in terms of growth, feed utilization, gut microbiota composition, immunity and disease resistance in fish is thoroughly discussed. The possible drawbacks associated with the fermentation process are also discussed in the article.