WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2025 49 From an economic standpoint, cost remains one of the most significant barriers to scaling BSFL use beyond functional levels. A recent analysis by Rethink Priorities (Shah and Jules 2024) estimated that “BSFL producers would need to keep production costs below $1,600 per ton of dried insects in order to displace fishmeal at a meaningful scale”. Current market prices for BSFL meal, however, are estimated at over $3,700/ton, reflecting a substantial cost gap (Shah and Jules 2024) (Figure 5). These figures were corroborated by a global review by Raman et al. (2022), which highlighted persistent challenges, including high capital and operational costs, inconsistent supply chains for feedstock, and limited economies of scale in BSFL production systems. Most BSFL operations are still in early-stage development or pilot phases, and many rely on expensive substrates or require significant investment in automation and standardization to ensure consistent product quality. Thus, incorporating BSFL as a complementary functional ingredient- rather than a bulk protein replacement- offers a more sustainable and cost-effective strategy. At moderate inclusion levels, BSFL clearly improves gut health, immunity, and disease resistance while keeping formulation costs in check. This targeted application also enables producers to take advantage of BSFL’s unique bioactive compounds, such as lauric acid and antimicrobial peptides, without encountering the limitations associated with high inclusion levels. Concluding Remarks With growing interest in circular economy models and sustainable feed inputs, BSFL stands to play a valuable role in nextgeneration aquafeeds. However, realizing this potential requires not only biological validation but also thoughtful economic planning and scalable production innovations. Repositioning BSFL as a functional feed ingredient at moderate inclusion rates in trout diets effectively addresses nutritional challenges associated with high SBM inclusion. By improving growth performance, gut health, and immunity, BSFL offers a balanced, sustainable approach to optimizing aquaculture nutrition, thus advancing both economic and ecological objectives in the aquaculture industry (Figure 6). Continued advancements in production scale and operational efficiency are expected to improve further the economic viability and adoption of BSFL in aquafeed formulations. This article is based on a research paper published by Singha et al. (2025) in the journal Aquaculture (Figure 7). Notes Krishna Pada Singha,* Department of Animal Sciences, CAHNRS, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6310, USA and Vikas Kumar* Aquaculture Research Institute, Department of Animal Veterinary & Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 838443020, and Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA. * Corresponding authors: krishna.singha@wsu.edu (K. P. Singha); kumarv@ bgsu.edu (V. Kumar). References Fawole, F.J., Labh, S.N., Hossain, M.S., Overturf, K., Small, B.C., Welker, T.L., Hardy, R.W., Kumar, V., 2021. Insect (black soldier fly larvae) oil as a potential substitute for fish or soy oil in the fish meal-based diet of juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Animal Nutrition, 7(4), 1360-1370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2021.07.008 Hossain, M.S., Fawole, F.J., Labh, S.N., Small, B.C., Overturf, K., Kumar, V., 2021. Insect meal inclusion as a novel feed ingredient in soy-based diets improves performance of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquaculture, 544, p.737096. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.737096 Kumar, V., Fawole, F.J., Romano, N., Hossain, M.S., Labh, S.N., Overturf, K., Small, B.C., 2021. Insect (black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens) meal supplementation prevents the soybean mealinduced intestinal enteritis in rainbow trout and health benefits of using insect oil. Fish & Shellfish Immunology, 109, 116-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsi.2020.12.008 Ma, J., Singha, K.P., Abanikannda, M.F., Myrsell, V., Romano, N., Koutsos, E., Adams, D., Cain, K.D., Kumar, V., Insect larvae meal as a complementary functional ingredient in high soybean mealbased diets improve the health of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Available at SSRN 4960528. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ ssrn.4960528 Raman, S.S., Stringer, L.C., Bruce, N.C., Chong, C.S., 2022. Opportunities, challenges and solutions for black soldier fly larvae-based animal feed production. Journal of Cleaner Production, 373, p.133802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jclepro.2022.133802 Shah, S., Jules, M.S., 2024. Can Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) Producers Displace Fishmeal? Rethink Priorities, Retrieved from https://rethinkpriorities.org/research-area/can-black-soldier-flylarvae-bsfl-producers-displace-fishmeal Singha, K.P., Abanikannda, M.F., Ma, J., Romano, N., Koutsos, E., Adams, D., Kumar, V., 2025. Complementing the high soybean meal diet with black soldier fly larvae meal as a functional feed ingredient to improve the performance, nutrient profile, and gut health of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. Aquaculture, 603, p.742405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2025.742405 FIGURE 7. Sampling at the conclusion of the feeding trial. From left to right: Mosope F. Abanikannda, Amit K. Yadav, Marina Rubio Benito, and Krishna Pada Singha.
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