the growing global demand for food, the reliance on fishmeal has increased significantly. However, fishmeal production has declined in recent years due to overfishing and sustainability challenges. This shortage has led to rising prices and driven the industry to explore alternative feed sources. Therefore, there is a pressing need for the development of additional, cost-effective ingredients to fulfill the increasing demand for aquafeed. As an alternative source of aquafeed, cell-cultured fishmeal presents a promising alternative for several reasons: it alleviates pressure on marine ecosystems, helps preserve biodiversity by eliminating bycatch, stabilizes supply chains by reducing dependence on fluctuating wild fish stocks, and addresses ethical concerns related to traditional fishing practices. Figure 1 shows the overview of cell-cultured fishmeal production.
Undertesting aquaculture community’s perception, willingness and barriers to adoption of novel cell-cultured fishmeal is instrumental for success of the emerging cellular aquaculture industry,
Therefore, a nationwide survey targeting aquaculture producers is being conducted to understand aquaculture and aquafeed producers’ perceptions, acceptability, and criteria for adoption of novel cell-culture protein. We designed the survey based on the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB) and Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) Theory.
The survey gathers descriptive data on respondents’ operations, including fish types, system configurations, and current aquafeed usage. Additionally, respondents’ knowledge, attitudes, and preferences toward cell-based aquafeed will be assessed Our presentation will outline the survey design and its components, as well as illustrating how the collected information can be used to develop aquafeed that meets the needs of the aquaculture industry.