September | October 2012 The use of algae in fish feeds as alternatives to fishmeal

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The International magazine for the aquaculture feed industry

FEATURE

The use of algae in fish feeds as alternatives to fishmeal

by Eric C. Henry PhD, Research Scientist, Reed Mariculture Inc., USA

ishmeal is very extensively used in feeds for fish as well as other animals. A recent global survey estimated aquaculture consumption of fishmeal at 3724 thousand tonnes in 2006 (Tacon and Metian 2008). Now it is becoming increasingly evident that such continued exploitation of this natural resource will ultimately become both environmentally and economically unsustainable.

from consideration. This reflects the very early evolutionary divergence of different algal groups in the history of life on earth. Only one of the many algal groups, the Green Algae, produced a line of descent that eventually gave rise to all the land plants. Therefore it can be difficult to make meaningful generalisations about the nutritional value of this extremely diverse group of organisms; rather it is necessary to consider the particular qualities of specific algae.

Any satisfactory alternative feed ingredients must be able to supply compara- Protein and amino acids ble nutritional value at competitive cost. Fishmeal is so widely used in feeds Conventional land-based crops, especially largely thanks to its substantial content grains and oilseeds, have been favoured of high-quality proteins, containing all the alternatives due to their low costs, and have essential amino acids. A critical shortcomproved successful for some applications ing of the crop plant proteins commonly when they were used as substitutes for used in fish feeds is that they are deficient a portion of the fishmeal. But even when in certain amino acids such as lysine, these plant-based substitutes can support good growth they table 1: nutritional profiles of rotifers enriched using optimized protocols can cause significant changes in based on culture using reed Mariculture rotiGrow Plus and enriched with the nutritional quality of the fish n-rich feeds produced.
n-rich feed type High Pro Pl Plus Ultra Pl

methionine, threonine, and tryptophan (Li et al. 2009), whereas analyses of the amino acid content of numerous algae have found that although there is significant variation, they generally contain all the essential amino acids. For example, surveys of 19 tropical seaweeds (Loureno et al. 2002) and 34 edible seaweed products (Dawczynski et al. 2007) found that all species analysed contained all the essential amino acids, and these findings are consistent with other seaweed analyses (Rosell and Srivastava 1985, Wong and Peter 2000, Ortiz et al. 2006). Analyses of microalgae have found similar high contents of essential amino acids, as exemplified by a comprehensive study of 40 species of microalgae from seven algal classes that found that, All species had similar amino acid composition, and were rich in the essential amino acids (Brown et al. 1997).

Taurine
One often-overlooked nutrient is the non-protein sulphonic acid taurine, which is sometimes lumped with amino acids in discussions of nutrition. Taurine is usually an essential nutrient for carnivorous animals, including some fish, but it is not found in any land plants. However, although taurine has been much less often investigated than amino acids, it has been reported in significant quantities in macroalgae such as Laminaria, Undaria, and Porphyra (Dawczynski et al. 2007, Murata and Nakazoe 2001) as well as certain microalgae, for example the green flagellate Tetraselmis (Al-Amoudia and Flynn 1989), the red unicellular alga

Why algae?
The reader may wonder why algae, including both macroalgae (seaweeds) and microalgae (e.g. phytoplankton), and which are popularly thought of as plants, would be good candidates to serve as alternatives to fishmeal in fish feeds. One fundamental consideration is that algae are the base of the aquatic food chains that produce the food resources that fish are adapted to consume. But often it is not appreciated that the biochemical diversity among different algae can be vastly greater than among land plants, even when Blue-Green Algae (e.g. Spirulina), more properly called Cyanobacteria, are excluded
applications

Moderate PUFa; overnight gut-load maintenance

overnight or 2-6 hr enrichment

extreme DHa 2 hr enrichment

Composition of Biomass lipid (Dry wt. % of Biomass) DHa (% of lipids) ePa ara total PUFas Protein Carbohydrate ash Dry weight Biomass 35% 37% 5% 1.0% 45% 38% 19% 8% 9% 44% 41% 2% 1.0% 45% 32% 15% 9% 9% 66% 44% 0.5% 1.2% 48% 18% 7% 10% 9%

10 | InternatIOnal AquAFeed | September-October 2012

FEATURE Porphyridium (Flynn and Flynn 1992), the dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis (Flynn and Fielder 1989), and the diatom Nitzschia (Jackson et al. 1992).
Macroalgae (seaweeds) of many kinds can form extensive stands with high biomass density

Pigments
A few algae are used as sources of pigments in fish feeds. Haematococcus is used to produce astaxanthin, which is responsible for the pink colour of the flesh of salmon. Spirulina is used as a source of other carotenoids that fishes such as ornamental koi can convert to astaxanthin and other brightly coloured pigments. Dunaliella produces large amounts of beta-carotene.

Lipids
In addition to its high content of highquality protein, fishmeal provides lipids rich in PUFAs, or polyunsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These are the fish oil lipids that have become highly prized for their contribution to good cardiovascular health in humans. But it is not always appreciated that algae at the base of the aquatic food chain in fact originate these fish oil fatty acids. These desirable algal fatty acids are passed up the food chain to fish, and they are indeed essential nutrients for many fish. Algae have been recognised as an obvious alternative source of these fish oil fatty acids for use in fish feeds (Miller et al. 2008), especially eicosapentaenoic

acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and arachidonic acid (ARA). There is a substantial literature devoted to analysis of the PUFA content of microalgae, particularly those used in aquaculture, because they have long been recognised as the best source of these essential nutrients

for production of zooplankton necessary for the first feeding of larval fish, as well as filter-feeding shellfish. Many shellfish producers are aware the sterol profile of feed lipids is of critical importance, but much less attention has been paid to the importance of the

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FEATURE
Various species of microalgae are used as aquaculture feeds, depending on the cell size and nutritional profile needed for particular applications

Often the algae chosen for fish feeding studies appear to have been selected largely for convenience, because they are low-cost and commercially available. For example, microalgae such as Spirulina, Chlorella and Use of algae in aquaculture Dunaliella can be produced by low-cost openMany different algae already play a vital pond technologies and are marketed as dry role in aquaculture. It is widely known that powders, and their nutritional profiles are the addition of microalgae to larval fish well-documented. Macroalgae such as the kelps Laminaria, Undaria, and Durvillea, table 2: Because these algae are produced using continuous-harvest technology that maintains and the brown rockweed Ascophyllum, exponential growth, their protein and lipid contents are comparable to those provided by fish feeds. occur in dense stands that can be harnannochloropsis tetraselmis sp. Pavlova sp. Isochrysis thalassiosira vested economically, and they have a long (Dry Weight) oculata (t-Iso) weissflogii history of use as sources of iodine, as soil amendments, and animal feed additives to supply trace elements. Protein 52% 55% 52% 47% 52% In recent years there has been great Carbohydrate 16% 18% 23% 24% 23% interest in the potential of algae as a biofuel feedstock, and it has often been lipid 17% 14% 20% 17% 14% proposed that the protein portion remaining after lipid extraction might be a useful culture tanks confers a number of benefits, microalgae to improve the PUFA profile input for animal feeds (e.g. Chen et al. 2010). such as preventing bumping against the walls of live prey (Table 1) demonstrate how However, the algae chosen for biofuel producof the tanks (Battaglene and Cobcroft 2007), effectively an algal feed can enhance the tion may not be optimal for use as a feed input, and the economic pressure for the lowest-cost enhancing predation on zooplankton (Rocha nutritional value of these live feeds. methods of fuel production is likely to result et al. 2008), enhancing the nutritional value of in protein residues with contamination that zooplankton (Van Der Meeren et al. 2007), Use of algae in makes them unfit for use as feed (e.g. Hussein as well as improving larval digestive (Cahu et formulated fish feeds al. 1998) and immune (Spolaorea et al. 2006) Various species of macroalgae and micro- et al. 2012). By contrast, the high-value microalgae that are functions. algae have been incorporated into fish feed Furthermore, it has also been shown formulations to assess their nutritional value, used in shellfish and finfish hatcheries are generally that larvae of some fishes benefit greatly and many have been shown to be beneficial: produced in closed culture systems to exclude by direct ingestion of microalgae (Reitan Chlorella or Scenedesmus fed to Tilapia (Tartiel contaminating organisms, and they cannot be et al. 1997). One study has even shown et al. 2008); Chlorella fed to Korean rockfish dried before use without adversely affecting their that that live zooplankton could be elimi- (Bai et al. 2001); Undaria or Ascophyllum fed nutritional and physical properties, greatly reducnated from the larval diet of Red Drum if to Sea Bream (Yone et al. 1986); Ascophyllum, ing their value as feeds. Inevitably their production microalgae were fed along with a formu- Porphyra, Spirulina, or Ulva fed to Sea Bream costs are higher, but their exceptional nutritional lated microparticulate diet (Lazo et al.). (Mustafa and Nakagawa 1995); Gracilaria or value justifies the extra expense. Table 2 presents
12 | InternatIOnal AquAFeed | September-October 2012

sterol profile of fish feeds. Aside from alterations in the normal sterol profile of the fish, the possible endocrine effects of plant phytosterols in fish feeds (e.g. soy phytohormones) have yet to be thoroughly investigated (Pickova and Mrkre 2007).

It is not surprising that the biochemical compositions of certain marine microalgae are well-matched to the nutritional requirements some marine fish. Larval feeds are probably deserving of the most attention in efforts to discover how algae can best be used in fish feeds, because microalgae are a natural component of the diet of many larval fish, either consumed directly or acquired from the gut contents of prey species such as rotifers and copepods. Existing protocols that use

Ulva fed to European Sea Bass (Valente et al. 2006); Ulva fed to Striped Mullet (Wassef et al. 2001); Ulva or Pterocladia fed to Gilthead Sea Bream (Wassef et al. 2005); Porphyra, or a NannochloropsisIsochrysis combination fed to Atlantic Cod (Walker et al. 2009, 2010). Unfortunately, it has rarely been possible to determine the particular nutritional factors responsible for these beneficial effects, either because no attempt was made to do so, or poor design of the study. For example, in one of the few studies that has focused on the effects of substituting algal protein for gluten protein, the control and all the test diets contained casein plus added methionine and lysine, no analysis of the algal protein was provided, and the algal protein (a biofuel process by-product) contained very high levels of aluminium and iron (Hussein et al. 2012). More and better-designed studies are necessary before we will have a good understanding of how algae can best be used in fish feeds.

Choosing the right algae

FEATURE

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typical nutritional profiles of algae produced by Reed Mariculture Inc. Just as it would be senseless to arbitrarily substitute one conventional crop plant for another (e.g. potatoes for soybeans) when formulating a feed, the particular attributes of each alga must be carefully considered. In addition to the protein/amino acid profile, lipid/PUFA/sterol profile, and pigment content, there are important additional considerations. The type and quantity of extracellular polysaccharides, which are very abundant in certain algae, can interfere with nutrient absorption, or conversely be useful binding agents in forming feed pellets. The thick cell walls of microalgae such as Chlorella can prevent absorption of the nutritional value of the cell contents. Inhibitory compounds such as the phenolics produced by some kelps, and brominated compounds produced by red algae such as Laurencia, can render an alga with an excellent nutritional analysis unsuitable for use in a feed. Depending on growth and processMore inforMation: ing conditions, algae can contain high concentrations of trace elements that may be detrimental. Fur ther careful study of the prop-

er ties of numerous algae will be necessary in order to optimally exploit the great potential offered by this diverse group of organisms. But it is already apparent that algae will play an impor tant part in the effor t to move the formulation of fish feed down the food chain to a more sustainable future.
References available on request

Eric C. Henry PhD, Reed Mariculture Inc. Tel: +1 408 426 5456 Fax: +1 408 377 3498 Email: eric@reedmariculture.com Website: www.reedmariculture.com

Corporate offiCe P.O. Box 8 100 Airport Road Sabetha, KS 66534, USA Phone: 785-284-2153 Fax: 785-284-3143 extru-techinc@extru-techinc.com www.extru-techinc.com

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