RESEARCH 56 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 Insects are towards the bottom of the food chain and require little area to thrive, and are therefore an attractive type of feed ingredient to investigate in the search for more sustainable fish feed. The species of insect investigated in this trial was the black soldier fly. It is produced at the factory of insect producer Innovafeed in France and processed for use in feed during its larval stage. USING THE WHOLE INSECT IN FEED Currently, not all of the insect is used in feed. The larvae are processed into the three fractions of oil, meal and stickwater. It is the latter two fractions that were tested in feed for juvenile fish. The meal is rich in protein, and stickwater is thought to be rich in bioactive components. The properties these fractions have in fish meal are already well known. From a bioeconomic perspective, it is therefore desirable to test and utilise this resource from insects in salmon feed. Nofima scientists and a master’s student at NMBU measured the effect on digestion and growth in juvenile fish during the growth phase from approximately 20 to 85 grams. At Nofima in Bergen, feed technologists produced trial feed in which they added 10 percent insect meal and different levels of stickwater from insects. The insect ingredient was compared in feed with similar protein content and replaced half of the fish meal in a control diet. The feeds were given to salmon parr held in trial tanks at Nofima’s Sunndalsøra research station. The goal was to find any differences in digestion and growth in fish that were fed feed based on insects with an increasing content of stickwater. GREW JUST AS WELL The trials showed that salmon grew just as well and had just as good digestion when their diet contained stickwater from insects. With 10 percent inInsects are a natural part of the diets of wild salmon when they are in rivers. Insects are also making their way into the diets of farmed salmon. When Nofima scientists wanted to test the species of insect called black soldier fly in salmon feed, it was therefore natural to measure the effects on salmon parr, which are young, freshwater salmon. NEW FRACTION FROM INSECT MEAL TESTED IN FEED By Nofima Scientists
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