Next Generation Fish Feeds for Sustainable Aquaculture

The rapid growth of the sector was possible because of understanding of the science of feeding fish to ensure its optimal development, health and maintenance called fish nutrition. Feeding fish in the aqueous environment differs considerably from those of feeding terrestrial animals. Fish feeds require processing methods that provide special physical properties to facilitate feeding in water, and variation in feeding behavior requires special feeding regimens for various species. Oilseed meals such as soybean meal, cotton meal, sunflower meal and groundnut meal are now sought after ingredients for aquafeed formulation because of non-availability of fishmeal and other meals of marine origin. Both floating and sinking feeds are getting increasingly used for feeding fish, which are producing satisfactory results in terms of growth.