USES OF RENDERED ANIMAL PROTEINS AS SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS OF FISHMEAL REPLACEMENT IN AQUACULTURE

US rendering industry has been dedicated in developing rendering technologies and optimizing uses of various rendered protein meals, singularly or in combination, as the most sustainable solutions to supply safe and highly digestible proteins for world aquaculture. National Renderers Association International Program (NRA) and Fats and Proteins Research Foundation (FPRF) have been working with aquaculture nutritionists, analytical biochemists, professionals in rendering and aquafeed industries to define nutrient profile and functional components in fish meal of various origins, marine proteins, land animal proteins and plant proteins. The profile of cholesterol, an essential nutrient for shrimp and crustaceans, and free nucleotides in major ingredients for aquaculture were determined. In addition, semi-essential amino acids such as taurine, glycine, proline, hydroxyl-proline (shown in the figure) were also found mainly in marine proteins and rendered land animal proteins. NRA and FPRF also determined nutrient digestibility of rendered animal proteins, evaluate efficacy and efficiency of various animal proteins in diets of various aquacultured species at various growth stages. Most recent findings in optimization of uses of rendered animal proteins with stickwater hydrolysate, showed desirable preservation of functionality of marine proteins and significantly reduction of uses of fishmeal for aquaculture. All the efforts of NRA and FPRF in the past decades,  have led to develop new strategies to enhance efficiency of rendered animal proteins in aquaculture production. Because of the similarity of marine proteins and rendered animal proteins in nature, continuous development of rendering technologies to enhance nutrient availability and preservation of functional molecules inside meats and visceral as well as the research in understanding nutrition of aquatic animals and ingredients, rendered animal proteins will gain more extensive uses in aquafeeds as the sustainable solutions for expansion of world aquaculture.