Exploring sustainable alternatives in aquaculture feeding: The role of insects

The aquaculture sector faces uncertainty due to environmental changes, economic factors, and availability of food resources. Conventional aquatic feeds heavily depend on fishmeal. This results in sustainability challenges due to overexploitation of wild fish stocks, rising costs, and environmental impacts, which has driven the search for innovative and sustainable alternatives, such as insects. European Union legislation has evolved to allow the use of certain insect species in aquafeeds, favoring the market access and approval of additional species. However, regulations still need to be standardized across countries and the substrates approved for insect feed clearly defined, since the nutritional composition of insects depend on species and diet. These ingredients have high potential to replace fishmeal in aquatic feeds, although, present challenges regarding optimal growth and digestibility, specially due to the chitin in composition, that need to be overcome. However, chitin and its derivatives may also have positive effects in fish feeds as prebiotic and immunomodulator. These insect-based protein sources have several benefits, such as efficient nutrient utilization, short maturation periods, and profitability, addressing the economic and environmental challenges associated with conventional aquafeed ingredients. Scientific studies indicate that insects have the potential to improve flesh quality, strengthen the immune system, and reduce disease susceptibility in farmed fish, promoting sustainable and productive aquaculture systems. The integration of insects as alternative protein sources in aquatic feeds can offer a promising path towards sustainable and environmentally friendly aquaculture systems. Based on the research available for this topic, this review aimed to evaluate the real potential of using insect-based raw-materials in feeds for aquaculture and their effects on growth, feed utilization, immunological response, disease resistance, quality, and safety of fish.