Aquaculture America 2024

February 18 - 21, 2024

San Antonio, Texas

METAANALYSIS OF USING DUCKWEED Lemnaceae IN FISH FEEDS

Jeremiah J Minich *1 , Todd P Michael 1

 

jminich@salk.edu

Salk
10010 N. Torrey Pines Rd
La Jolla CA 92037

 



One of the primary sustainability challenges in aquaculture is replacing fish meal with plant based ingredients in aquafeeds. Plants are not optimal however due to low protein content and antinutritional factors which can cause gut dysbiosis. Duckweed (Lemnaceae) is a family of aquatic plants with high protein content and has been used successfully for various types of animal feeds. In this systematic review and meta- analysis of 58 papers, we summarize the extent by which duckweed has been used in fish production including the species of fish tested, the grow out stage of fish, and method of application. Duckweed studies spanned a total of 18 species of fish (16 freshwater and 2 marine) that collectively are valued at 263 billion USD annually, and comprise 28% of total aquaculture production by mass. The average experiment length was 72 days (S.D. 42) at the fingerling life stage. Duckweed was fed to fish through live grazing, dried, and pelleted forms with 20% inclusion as the most common formulation. The Lemna spp. were the most commonly used for feeds, dominated by L. minor L. gibba , and unknown Lemna species. Spirodela polyrhiza was the second most common. Duckweed inclusion levels between 15-30% was associated with positive outcomes on fish growth and feed conversion ratio without any negative impact on survival rates. Most duckweed species, especially from Wollfiella have not been tested as a fish feed, but should be explored whereas most studies focused on freshwater fishes rather than marine.